While Patrick Roy's first game behind the bench for the New York Islanders, a 3-2 overtime win against the Dallas Stars, had a good story, the three games that followed quickly brought the team back to reality.

After returning from the All-Star break, the “Islanders” only have 33 duels left in the regular season.

The five-point gap to the Detroit Red Wings and the last place, which allows access to the playoffs in the East, does not seem insurmountable, quite the opposite. The only problem is that the competition isn't just ahead of Mathew Barzal and his gang.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals are all just one point behind the Islanders and also have between two and three games in hand. The Buffalo Sabers and the Montreal Canadiens are currently four points behind the team from Long Island.

Progress, now results

New York showed good things in the four meetings led by Roy. The playing time of its impact players, such as forwards Barzal and Bo Horvat, who each average more than 23 minutes per game, and defenseman Noah Dobson, who averages more than 28 minutes per game, shows the desire to do so Victory of the new head coach.

Despite the best performances, those must be converted into points in the standings if the team wants to give itself a chance to compete in spring ball and encourage general manager Lou Lamoriello to look for reinforcements by the deadline. Transactions on March 8th.

“Honestly, I know what we're doing is working, and I hope the players feel the same way,” the former goalkeeper said in a press conference Saturday after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Panthers in Florida. “We wanted to win this game. If we keep doing this, good things will happen.”

The first challenge for Roy's squad after the All-Star break will be against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who currently hold the position of the first draft team in the Eastern Conference.