Islanders get served an ugly reminder in blowout loss to Oilers

The Islanders never looked like the Oilers’ equal on Saturday, but for almost the first half of the game, you could at least say they were holding their own, defending hard and giving a good account of themselves.By the end of what became a penalty-laden, 4-0 blowout defeat, that cheery viewpoint had evaporated.Faced with an opponent who wasn’t cowed in the face of some tight checking and high-effort defense, the Islanders imploded first.They were playing with fire from the start, losing Emil Heineman 2:22 into the game after a needless knee-on-knee hit to Isaac Howard that got him ejected and could get him suspended — a scenario that would leave the Islanders scrambling for replacement given the injuries they’re dealing with in the NHL and the way their AHL club in Hamilton is struggling.The last 12 minutes of the second period were when the high-wire act — 11 forwards, playing right up to the physical line and trying as hard as they could to keep Matthew Schaefer matched up with Connor McDavid and friends — broke down.The Islanders made their first big defensive error of the afternoon when both Tony DeAngelo and Logan Stanley went into a battle against Kasperi Kapanen, leaving Ryan Nugent-Hopkins free to come down the slot and put the Oilers ahead when Kapanen won the puck.Just 1:08 later, at 9:50 of the second, the McDavid line got cooking when Vasily Podkolzin was left alone at the back post to finish an easy pass across from Leon Draisaitl.Especially on a day when the Islanders’ power play had no juice, even that looked like it might be the ballgame. Pete DeBoer’s club had defended with gusto, but rarely got on the cycle or forecheck, and never held the puck for shifts at a time against an Edmonton club that has a deeper, faster well of talent.

The Islanders’ first shot didn’t come until the 8:08 mark of the first, and they had next to nothing high-danger all afternoon.Tristan Jarry got the shutout, but for holding the Islanders scoreless,...