The New York Islanders’ five-game road trip started with failure as the team lost 4-3 to the Edmonton Oilers (8-7-1) on Tuesday night. Leon Draisaitl won the game in overtime thanks to a pass from Connor McDavid. McDavid scored four points tonight, leaving him at 999 and one away from 1,000. Draisaitl scored two, including the game-winner.

The Islanders (6-6-4), short five regulars, began their odyssey to Western Canada in Edmonton against the reigning Western Conference champions. There have been no updates on the myriad of injured islanders, except for Alexander Romanovwho joined the team to skate in a non-contact jersey.

Antoine Duclaireligible for reinstatement from LTIR as of Thursday, was not seen skating and the team gave no updates.

Still, Anders Lee put the team on his back when the Islanders were down 3-1 with less than eight minutes remaining in the third. Lee scored twice, tying the game on his own. Lee has six goals this year and is currently on pace to surpass his meager 20 from last season. Kyle Palmieri added two more points to his total with a goal and an assist.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 38 of 42 shots, while Stuart Skinner stopped just 19 of 22 shots.

Brief history of the game:

The Oilers scored first thanks to a power play goal from Draisaitl. Maxim Tsyplakov allowed Palmieri to equalize in the second period. Once the third started, Edmonton pushed harder. Evan Bouchard gave the Oilers a 2-1 lead. Then, McDavid openly eliminated That of Olivier Wahlström legs under him, but nothing was called. Moments later, McDavid scored on a backhand to make it 3-1.

That’s when Lee took over. Lee scored on a Ryan Pulock rebound. Then, with Sorokin out, Lee scored following a nice passing play right in front of Skinner on a pass from Jean-Gabriel Pageau. This sent the game into overtime, where the Oilers showed their skill and drained the Islanders of all their energy before Draisaitl ended the game on a pass from McDavid.

The return and why the islanders are so weird.

This team is never, and I mean NEVER, boring. In the second half of the last two games, the Islanders had a 3-1 lead over the New Jersey Devils and trailed 3-1 tonight. They ended up with 2 points from the matches and zero wins. A collapse, a comeback, zero victories. Two points. Defying logic.

Hockey is so weird. The Islanders make things even stranger. They played 16 games and only won six. Still, continuing last season’s theme, the team is finding ways to get points and participate in a dogfight around the playoff bubble. Injuries and all, the Islanders aren’t giving up.

Even when it comes to mind-boggling, completely baffling collapses or inspiring comebacks, the only thing certain is uncertainty regarding the New York Islanders.

According to Islanders postgame MSGSN Broadcast, Edmonton absolutely dominated the Islanders. Edmonton had 16 HD chances to New York’s 2. The Oilers had 12 chances out of the cycle, while the Islanders had 2. OZ Time of possession? 8:55 a.m. to 4:03 p.m. You can guess who held this advantage.

Head coach Patrick Roy told the media after the game that the team should be happy to steal a point in the game they have been getting beat all night. He’s right. This isn’t a game the Islanders should win or score a point, especially after trailing 3-1 late in the third.

The next stop on the road trip will take place Thursday evening in Vancouver against the Canucks. Bo Horvat’s old club welcomes him as a visitor for only the second time in his career, and he now carries a letter for the Islanders. Puck drop will fall shortly after 10 p.m. on the East Coast Thursday evening.