3 Takeaways: Islanders Finish Road Trip with 4-1 Loss to Flames

The New York Islanders four-game road trip ended on a losing note, as the Isles fell 4-1 to the Calgary Flames on Friday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The adversity started for the Islanders before the game did, as leading scorer Mathew Barzal was a late scratch with a lower-body injury. That was a harbinger of things to come, as the Isles fell behind 3-0 in the first period and were unable to climb out of the early hole.

Zach Parise scored for the Islanders, while Milan Lucic, Blake Coleman, Nikita Zadorov and Nazem Kadri scored for the Flames.
With the loss, the Islanders finish their western road trip with a 1-3-0 record.
"It was a long [road trip] and not how we envisioned it going," Parise said. "We'll learn from the mistakes that we made and hopefully get some guys back healthy and then go from there."

SLOW START SINKS ISLES FOR SECOND STRAIGHT NIGHT:

A slow start against the Edmonton Oilers was a key reason for the Islanders' 4-2 loss on Thursday night - and was a prime culprit for Friday's 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames.
The Islanders found themselves in a 3-0 hole in the first period, with Calgary racking up goals on their first, third and fifth shots of the game.
FLAMES 4, ISLANDERS 1
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Postgame: Parise
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"The results weren't great," Head Coach Lane Lambert said. "I didn't think we started the game bad, there were just some individual turnovers that ended up in the back of our net. We didn't start the game bad, they just scored three goals on five shots."
Milan Lucic opened the scoring at 4:36, burying a feed from Jonathan Huberdeau after a Scott Mayfield clearing attempt couldn't get out of the zone.
The Flames followed it up 89 seconds later, as Semyon Varlamov kicked Blake Coleman's shot back to the Calgary forward for a sharp-angled goal at 6:05. Nikita Zadorov made it 3-0 at 14:21, beating Varlamov with a slapper through traffic at the point.
Zach Parise got the Islanders on the board with a top shelf wrister with a minute to play in the period. While Friday's first period wasn't as lopsided compared to Thursday's in terms of shots, which the Islanders led 8-6 compared to getting outshot by the Oilers 18-4, it was the same result, with the Isles down two goals.
The Islanders attempted to mount a comeback in the second period, but Jacob Markstrom turned aside a pair of breakaways from Casey Cizikas and JG Pageau respectively.
Instead, the Flames extended their lead to 4-1 in the third period, with Kadri beating Varlamov from a sharp angle. The Islanders held the Flames to 21 shots against, tying their season low for shots allowed, but ultimately, the slow start led to the same result as Thursday's 4-2 loss in Edmonton.
"We've certainly talked about putting more of an onus on our starts and making sure each guy is just that much more ready to go," Josh Bailey said. "I thought we were. I think some plays ended up in the back for a net and that's hockey sometimes and we tried to rebound and regroup and keep pushing, but it wasn't in the cards tonight."

BARZAL A LATE SCRATCH WITH LOWER-BODY INJURY:

Mathew Barzal is day to day with a lower-body injury, the Islanders announced prior to Friday's game against the Calgary Flames.
Barzal took warmups, but was a late scratch for the final game of the Isles' four-game road trip.
"There was a tweak last night and he tried to warm up and couldn't go," Head Coach Lane Lambert said. "He's day to day."
Barzal leads the Islanders with 30 assists and 41 points. The center had scored in a career-long five consecutive games heading into Friday.
Aatu Raty, who did not take line rushes and appeared to be a scratch, drew into the lineup in Barzal's absence, with Casey Cizikas centering Anders Lee and Josh Bailey in Barzal's place.
Barzal is the latest Islander to wind up injured, joining Adam Pelech, Simon Holmstrom, Oliver Wahlstrom and Kyle Palmieri.
"We've had a real tough stretch of injuries," Parise said. "We've had guys fill in and do a good job filled, and tonight was no different. You kind of have to be ready for whatever. We'd like to get healthy roster back as soon as we can."

SEMYON VARLAMOV RETURNS:

Semyon Varlamov returned after missing eight games with a lower-body injury.
Varlamov was making his first appearance since leaving a win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Dec. 17.
There was no easing back into action for the Russian netminder, who had to contend with a Lucic one-timer as his first shot of the game. He stabilized his game in the second period, but likely wanted Kadri's sharp-angled goal back in the third period.
Varlamov finished the game with 17 saves. His personal five-game point streak ended with the regulation defeat.
"There were moments where he was sharp," Lambert said. "He's been huge for us all year and he'll be sharp going forward."

NEXT GAME:

After a week on the road, the Islanders are heading home to being a five-game homestand, starting on Tuesday night against the Dallas Stars. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.