The New York Islanders haven't succeeded under head coach Patrick Roy, going 1-2-1 in his four games behind the bench.
Their penalty kill and lack of discipline have remained an issue, and their untimely turnovers have proved ultra-costly.
In the game the least likely deserved to win, they came away victorious, a 3-2 overtime win against the Dallas Stars last Sunday.
The Islanders were a turnover machine, with 17, and were outshot 43-28. The penalty kill came up large, killing off three power-play chances and allowing for the comeback win.
It was the first game under Roy, coming just a handful after his first skate with the team, so expecting significant changes in their game wasn't realistic.
"You always want to win that first game," Roy said. "And I'm very thankful to our players for the effort that they put out there, and I was just hoping to give a good show to our fans as well and have them enjoy their night."
Roy's Islanders were dominant on Tuesday against the Golden Knights, especially early.
But a few mistakes in the second period shifted the momentum in a 3-2 loss.
The turnovers came down a tad, with 14, and the Islanders had a substantial shot differential, outshooting Vegas 42-27.
The penalty kill went 2-for-3, with the one power-play goal against, a weak one, proving to be a killer.
"I saw a lot of good things. I mean, great progression from our guys," Roy said. "Our breakouts were much better. I felt like we were working. We were skating harder to pick up pucks. We were willing. I mean, we were moving our feet much more than I saw in the previous game. Maybe we should have lost against Dallas, and we should have won tonight, but that's the nature of hockey."
The positives from that loss were their forechecking, relentless effort in the neutral zone, and limited scoring chances, but Vegas made the most of theirs.
Then came Roy's return to Montreal, where the Islanders went down 3-0 early before coming all the way back.
It was another game where the Islanders recorded a high shot count, 46 to Montreal's 26, but a turnover late led to Montreal taking a 4-3 lead and holding on.
"I was very proud of our guys, how resilient they were to tie the game," Roy said. "But it's unfortunate that we just hurt ourselves with that last play."
The Islanders finished their first week under Roy battling the red-hot Florida Panthers and held their own. At 5-on-5, the Islanders were strong and had prime chances to turn the tide, but two penalties and two power-play goals were the difference before a bad line change in overtime led to a 4-3 loss.
"I really liked our game," Roy said. "I thought we had a really good first period. We had some good chances early in that second period, two 2-on-1s and one breakaway. If we scored there, it could have been a difference-maker."
Winning is important for Roy, but the progression part -- given that this is a longer-term relationship -- is ultra important as the Islanders are "building a blueprint to win a championship," per the words of Mathew Barzal.
Through four games under Roy, the Islanders have been outscored 12-10, own a 25-percent power play (3-for-12), a 66.7 penalty-kill percentage (10-for-15), collectively winning 46.9 percent of their face-offs.
Bo Horvat -- who scored the overtime winner in the win over the Dallas Stars and got the Islanders on the board against Montreal -- and Kyle Palmieri -- who scored the tying goal late against the Canadiens and the Panthers -- lead the team with two goals each.
Noah Dobson has continued his dominance under Roy, leading the team with seven assists through four games (seven points), including an unreal pass to find Palmieri Thursday night:
He leads the team in points, plus/- (+7), points-per-game with 1.75, and has averaged a team-leading 28:07 minutes per game.
Barzal sits second on the Islanders with four assists and five points.
Palmieri has been on a tear, leading the team in shots with 21 through four games.
Regarding the penalties, Kyle MacLean, Barzal, Scott Mayfield, and Anders Lee lead the team with two penalties each.
Brock Nelson, yes Nelson, and Horvat lead the Islanders in the face-off dot at 52.8 and 52.5 percent, respectively.
The Islanders' best line under Roy has been the top line.
When that threesome has been on the ice (55:42), the Islanders have outshot their opponents 42-23, own a Corsi For percentage of 65.08, and have out-chanced their opponents 39-21, with a tremendous amount of high-danger chances (17-6).
They only have one goal, but it's not from a lack of chances.
The Islanders enter their bye week, and the All-Star break five points back of the second wild-card spot and four points back of the third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Roy and the Islanders continue their season on Feb. 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.