On Saturday, the NHL returned from the 4 Nations Face-Off break, and there were some lopsided results.
The New York Rangers, who had six players at the tournament, got destroyed 8-2 against the Buffalo Sabres.
The Washington Capitals, who had no one at 4 Nations, took down Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins 8-3.
The Dallas Stars, who had three players participate, defeated the New Jersey Devils, who had four players at the tournament, by a score of 4-2.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, who had three players at the tournament, won 6-3 against the Carolina Hurricanes, who also had three players there.
The point is that teams with many players at the 4 Nations tournament impacted teams very differently in their first game back from break.
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I asked New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson if he thought playing in the tournament kept him fresh enough where rust wouldn’t be a factor.
“I feel like you could look at different situations and say a break would be good, or you could say keep playing is good,” Nelson said. “You don’t have rust to wear off.
“I feel good, and I hope all the guys who got breaks are fresh and ready because we have to kind of come out of the gates here and get running again right back out in the race.”
The Islanders return to action on Sunday night against the Dallas Stars, five points back of a wild-card spot with a game in hand.
“You switch the mindset into the playoff race now and get back into it and how important these games are for us here,” Nelson said on snapping back to reality after two weeks with the national team. “I talked a little bit with Patrick just about the energy of the guys and the preparation and how different guys attack it, and just trying to bring that back here and reintegrate and implement it here with the guys.”
Bringing that energy back to the group will be critical to starting the stretch run on the right skate, as Dallas is no easy task.
As mentioned, the Stars beat the Devils on Saturday night, which means the Islanders get them on the second of a back-to-back.
It will be Jake Oettinger, Team USA’s backup between the pipes, with Casey DeSmith getting the nod on Saturday.
The Islanders can’t afford…