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Here is how the Islanders can survive whatever injuries come. Play like they did Tuesday.
Play territorial, tight hockey, hound the puck relentlessly and outwork teams that are still easing into the season. Play with intensity and emotion, make quick, crisp, correct decisions with the puck.
Do all of that and the players who are missing from the lineup will not be so front of mind.
Do all of that, and there will be a lot more games like Tuesday’s 3-2 win over Anaheim, in which the Islanders played their most complete 60 minutes of the season to improve their record to 5-3-1 with the hapless Kings coming into town Thursday.
This was a near-perfect showcase of how the Islanders can make it through the next few weeks, and the philosophy showcased Tuesday would be the right one even if Mat Barzal, Calum Ritchie and Matias Maccelli received clean bills of health tomorrow.
The Islanders weren’t perfect and missed chances to put away Anaheim in the second period, but they were hardworking and, mostly, smart with the puck.
They owned the neutral zone, suffocating Anaheim for shifts at a time. They backchecked. They looked all game like the faster team despite being the far older team — a sign of preparedness if there ever was one.
Even so, failing to make good on any chances in the second period meant the Islanders went into the third leading 3-1, still needing to stitch up the result.
The score stayed right there, with Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s short-handed attempt drawing iron, but the Islanders rarely looked troubled.
They continued to own the puck. When the Ducks emptied their net with 3:32 to go, they had just two shots in the period.
Their third, an Alex Killorn one-timer in the slot, made it a 3-2 game with 2:40 to go.
If there was a criticism to be had of this Islanders performance, it’s that they played with their food, and it nearly came back to bite them.
Nevertheless, it didn’t.
The four goals in the first period had all come in a 5:05-long flurry, starting with Ondrej Palat burying Pageau’s feed off the rush.
Victor Eklund doubled the lead off Emil Heineman’s rebound before Frank Vatrano pulled one back for the Ducks, having been lost in the crease by Tony DeAngelo.
The Islanders got their third on the power play with Matthew Schaefer’s bullet from the top of the zone that was tipped in by Simon Holmstrom, denying No. 48 his first goal of the season, albeit happily so.
Kyle MacLean and Mitchell Chaffee, the two injury-induced additions to the lineup, both had solid nights on the fourth line with Casey Cizikas.
Chaffee dropped gloves with A.J. Greer, the latter challenging him after a legal hit on Vatrano along the boards.
While DeAngelo had a few too many questionable decisions in his own end, there was little overall to nitpick in the Islanders’ game.
Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock had one of their better games as a pair so far. Schaefer was impeccable. Matt Kessel had his best game of the season so far.
All four lines contributed.
This was, in whole, the closest the Islanders have come to Pete DeBoer’s vision of what they can be.
The timing of this performance made it all the more a statement.