Islanders' return after long hiatus a mix of good and not so good

The Islanders’ back-from-vacation 4-3 overtime loss to the Canucks on Saturday afternoon at Barclays Center was very much like a Rorschach test.

And the picture will only become clearer when the Islanders, who did not practice on Sunday, continue their three-game Brooklyn homestand against the Stars on Tuesday night.

On Saturday, it was possible to see the resiliency in rallying from a two-goal deficit to earn a crucial point. It was possible to see how the team knocked off the rust after a 10-day All-Star Game/bye-week break.

But it also was possible to spot some shaky goaltending from Thomas Greiss and worry about Derick Brassard’s third line with Michael Dal Colle, who did score his third goal, and Tom Kuhnhackl, who was benched in the third period.

It’s likely that coach Barry Trotz will turn back to Semyon Varlamov after Greiss made 20 saves in his third straight start.

“I thought it was a little off,” said Greiss, who acknowledged that defenseman Quinn Hughes’ blocker-side overtime winner was a shot he lost momentarily and typically would turn aside. “It’s just getting your reads back. It’s tough to get that in practice, just the game speed and seeing a game again. So it’s always a little different.”

Of his goalies, Trotz said, “They’re both going to be a big part of us moving forward.”

The other lineup decision may be whether to stick with Kuhnhackl or turn to Ross Johnston.

Brassard and Kuhnhackl were on the ice for all three of the Canucks’ goals in regulation and Dal Colle was with them for two of the three. But Trotz had no issues with Brassard’s or Dal Colle’s performances.

“Dally was good,” Trotz said. “We looked at all the goals and Brass, he’s a dash-three [minus-3] but there wasn’t anything you could say that was Brass’ fault. It’s not the blame game. I just didn’t think Tommy was going well so I didn’t use him. I felt that the other guys were going so I was giving extra ice time for guys that are going.”

Another positive perception from Saturday’s game was the hope that top-line right wing Jordan Eberle bridged the in-season vacation to continue his streaky scoring.

Eberle’s backhander brought the Islanders within 3-2 at 16:45 of the second period. It was his fifth goal in nine games, though only his eighth of the season in 40 games.

But what Trotz really saw from Eberle’s tally was the solid reaction after the Islanders fell behind by two goals just 109 seconds earlier.

“All of a sudden, they get two sort of easy goals and our bench could have sagged there,” he said. “It told me a lot about our bench. We focused on the right things. We stayed with it. That’s why you stay with the game right to the very end.”

But it will take until Tuesday to determine which images from Saturday are the true ones.

Notes & quotes: The Islanders slid to fourth place in the Metropolitan Division — and into the second and final Eastern Conference wild-card spot — on Sunday as the Blue Jackets leapfrogged them for third place with a 4-3 win in Montreal.

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.