Struggling Stars travel to Islanders, aware of need for improvement

The Dallas Stars begin a four-game road trip Thursday in Elmont, N.Y., against the New York Islanders, hoping new surroundings improve their results.

The Stars (43-17-11, 97 points) were swept on their two-game homestand but still secured a Western Conference playoff spot. They fell behind 4-1 after a period Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils and could not complete the comeback in a 6-4 loss. That defeat marked three straight losses for the first time in more than two months, and coach Glen Gulutzan's team has also lost their last three home games, all in regulation.

The Islanders (40-27-5, 85 points) have gone 3-4 over the past week and a half, falling out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. All four losses were in regulation, three by one goal. Like Dallas, coach Patrick Roy's team allowed four goals to Chicago in under 14 minutes, fell behind by three, and lost 4-3 on Tuesday.

Both teams pulled their starting goalies after one period, but neither coach blamed the netminder.

Gulutzan said pulling Jake Oettinger gave him leverage on players making mental mistakes that led to breakaways.

Defensive lapses and poor puck management have fueled the Stars' slump. With 11 games left, Gulutzan said the timing could be a positive, but improvement is needed before season's end.

"Usually, the way we get out of these is to play a real stingy road game. ... So, we're going to have to find one of those quickly," he said.

Roy, too, blamed turnovers and poor backchecking for Tuesday's loss. However, he also praised the team's fight in the final 30 minutes.

"We had our chance to tie the game, and that's what I love about our group," Roy said.

Health is another concern for the Islanders, especially on defense. Veteran Ryan Pulock has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury. Tony DeAngelo suffered a lower-body injury with 7:14 left in Tuesday's first period and did not return.

The Islanders expected DeAngelo to be re-evaluated on Wednesday.

In addition to those two injuries, the Islanders have also been without defenseman Alexander Romanov since their last game against Dallas on Nov. 18, a 3-2 Islanders road win. Romanov suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery after being hit by Stars forward Mikko Rantanen in the final 30 seconds of that game. Rantanen received a major boarding penalty and a game misconduct.

Rantanen has been out with a lower-body injury since the Olympics. Team radio analyst Bruce Levine reported over the weekend that the Finland native will practice and travel with the team on the road trip.

The Islanders will continue to lean on rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer, who played 31:59 -- the second-highest in a regulation game this season.

Schaefer has provided an offensive spark, too, with four goals and seven assists in 12 games this month. His 22 goals are second on the team (Bo Horvat, 29) and one behind Washington's Jakob Chychrun for the NHL lead among blueliners.

Despite missing Rantanen, who is third on the team with 69 points (20 goals, 49 assists) in 54 games, leading scorers Jason Robertson (39 goals, 46 assists) and Wyatt Johnston (40 goals, 38 assists) have performed well. Robertson had a goal and two assists on Tuesday, while Johnston notched two goals and an assist, and leads the NHL with 24 power-play goals.