Islanders blow two third-period leads, drop season opener to Utah Hockey Club in overtime

What worked for the Islanders in the preseason was not working once the puck dropped on the regular season Thursday night. The pace was faster with points in the standings at stake and the Islanders just couldn’t seem to consistently connect on passes.

On one sequence in their second-period power play, defenseman Noah Dobson turned an open Mathew Barzal around in the left circle with an off-the-mark feed. Barzal’s return pass then jumped over Dobson’s stick and out of the offensive zone, leaving an unhappy Barzal to retreat to the bench.

But part of being a good team is showing resiliency and the Islanders finally got to their game in the third period, connecting on passes and pressing the attack. Still they opened the season with a 5-4 overtime loss to Utah — the NHL’s newest franchise playing its first road game — on Thursday night at UBS Arena with Dylan Guenther scoring the winner.

Max Tsyplakov, the 26-year-old rookie from the Russian KHL, gave the Islanders a 4-3 lead at 17:53 of the third period with a rising wrist shot. But Josh Doan tied it 13 seconds later.

“Everyone starts off with a clean slate and we’re ready to prove to people that we’re ready for what’s ahead of us,” Casey Cizikas said.

Goalie Semyon Varlamov looked in midseason form in making 21 saves. He kept his teammates in the game long enough.

Though Thursday is just one entry in an 82-game season, it began as the antithesis of what Patrick Roy, starting his first full season as the Islanders coach, pushed for through a taxing training camp. He wanted to see his team get off to a fast start.

“It’s always the overall picture,” Roy said. “The points, they’ll come if you play the right way.”

There were plenty of positive signs through a 4-2-0 preseason, notably the chemistry shown by the top line of Bo Horvat centering Barzal and newcomer Anthony Duclair. The trio had dominant spells, particularly in a 5-2 win over the visiting Rangers this past Friday in the preseason finale.

Plus, the power play, which ranked 19th in the NHL last season, went 6-of-14 over the last three preseason matches. It went a disjointed 1-for-6 on Thursday, failing to convert on a four-minute advantage after defenseman Ian Cole high sticked Anders Lee at 9:22 of the third period. Utah was 2-for-2.

Horvat had tied it at 2-2 at 1:03 of the third period as Duclair set him up for a one-timer in the slot against Utah (for now dubbed Hockey Club but expected to be the Yetis next season). Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s shorthanded tally, backhanding in the rebound of Simon Holmstrom’s try, gave the Islanders a short-lived 3-2 lead at 6:51 of the third period. But Guenther countered with a power-play goal 44 seconds later.

Duclair, who signed a four-year, $14 million deal to join his ninth NHL club in 11 seasons, opened the scoring as Dobson’s power-play shot from the blue line went in off his skate at 11:10 of the first period. The goal survived Utah coach Andre Tourigny’s challenge that Duclair, skating across the crease, interfered with goalie Connor Ingram (21 saves).

That put the Islanders right back on the man advantage and Kyle Palmieri was poised to give them a two-goal lead with an open look at the net from the slot. But Ingram dove back across the crease to keep Utah’s deficit at one. He also stretched his left toe to deny an open Duclair at the crease at 16:12 of the third period.

Lawson Crouse’s power-play one-timer tied it at 1-1 with 58.4 seconds left in the first period and Barrett Hayton, tipping defenseman Mikhail Sergachev’s point shot, gave Utah a 2-1 lead at 13:07 of the second period.

Notes & quotes: Ex-Islander Josh Bailey, marking the start of the new season for the fans in his old jersey standing next to a new, blue-and-orange lighthouse on the second level concourse, was honored with a tribute video during the first period…Forward Julien Gauthier and defenseman Dennis Cholowski were the healthy scratches…The Islanders open a difficult three-game road trip in Dallas on Saturday night before heading to Colorado and St. Louis.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.