The Ducks have reached the .500 mark and could continue to improve if they even their score during their four-game road streak, which ends Thursday in Pittsburgh when they face the Penguins.

On Tuesday, they defeated another group of seasoned Metropolitan Division veterans, the New York Islanders, to their first victory of the trip. It was an outing that wasn’t without its flaws – the Islanders won more than twice as many faceoffs and nearly doubled the Ducks in shots on goal – but one in which the Ducks’ three stars of the season this day have emitted a lot of light. .

Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry each scored on the power play, extending Terry’s point streak to eight games and leaving Carlsson alone in possession of the team’s second-leading scorer, while Lukáš Dostál turned away 40 offers.

It took a five-on-three advantage, a pass to the left faceoff dot and a perfectly placed one-timer from Mathew Barzal to break what would have been Dostál’s second shutout of the season. He has allowed two goals or fewer in five of his seven starts, including his last four starts. His other two decisions were a victory against Utah and 45 saves displayed in an overtime loss in Colorado.

“I can’t not talk about Lukáš Dostál and what he did for us,” Terry heard from reporters, whose goal was number 100 of his career. “Other than that it was good to get our power play going, that’s the difference in a lot of these games early on, you see it around the league. I’m proud of how the guys did, and now we have a chance to get to .500 on this road trip.

Even last year’s big revelation, Frank Vatrano, who led the team in goals and points in 2023-24, scored his first goal of this campaign into an empty net.

Above all, getting robbed by Dostál became a rite of passage for the Islanders, including for captain Anders Lee, whose seemingly sure-fire goal during a two-on-one was negated by Dostál’s blocker after his post throw in office.

“We can’t continue to rely on him as much, but he’s doing a great job,” Terry told reporters.

Even though the Ducks have greatly improved their defensive structure, Sunday’s debacle in New Jersey Nonetheless, and Dostál largely took care of the rest, the Penguins struggled with defense, goaltending, and, as a result, their overall performance.

They have allowed the most goals overall (47) and per game (4.27) with a .886 save percentage which ranks 23rd in the NHL. Their 30-something cast has consistently been productive up front with Evgeni Malkin leading the team (14 points in 11 games) and Sidney Crosby placing second (10 points) ahead of former Duck Rickard Rakell (eight points). Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang have only teamed up for 10 points so far, and they have also contributed to the chaos in the Penguins zone.