The New York Islanders keep the Dallas Stars' offense on ice 2-1

The Dallas Stars kicked off their East Coast road trip against the New York Islanders tonight. After losing to the New Jersey Devils at home on Tuesday, the Stars need to get back on track before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on April 18. However, the Stars ran into a hot goalie tonight, as Ilya Sorokin kept the Stars offense on ice 2-1. Dallas was doing all it could to score, but couldn't get the puck across the goal line. It's just one of those nights for the Stars.

Now it wasn't a complete disaster for the Stars tonight. They were pretty physical against the Islanders, trying to take the puck away. While that might not seem like a huge takeaway, the Stars needed that during their playoff run last season. It seems the Stars might end up being a physical team in the playoffs with the way they played tonight. Sometimes you run into a hot goalie, and he shuts you out. Here are the four takeaways from tonight's loss to the Islanders.

Dallas Stars vs. New York Islanders Recap: 4. Get ready for the Minnesota Wild

Tonight's loss should pretty much seal the Stars' fate as their first-round opponent. Based on the effort the Stars put in the game, they will play the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs. There's really no way to catch the Avalanche unless they have a complete meltdown down the stretch and Dallas wins out the rest of their schedule. I hope the Stars are starting to prepare for the Wild because, based on how they played tonight, Wild fans are dancing in the clubs, happy about Dallas being their first-round opponent.

Dallas Stars vs. New York Islanders Recap: 3. Sorokin was on his game

Stars fans know that it's tough to stop Jake Oettinger when he's on his game. Ilya Sorokin definitely brought his A game tonight against the Stars. Dallas could not find the back of the net, and it was a tough time for Dallas to tie the game up. You could tell that Dallas was getting to the front of the net, but he was a brick wall tonight. Since the Stars won't see the Islanders until next season, there's no need to worry about Sorokin until next season.

Dallas Stars vs. New York Islanders Recap: 2. At least Dallas was physical

I will give the Stars some credit for being physical tonight. They were throwing their bodies into the Islanders and disrupting their offense. They didn't do it in the first period when Bo Horvat found the back of the net, but at least the Stars led in hits tonight. Sometimes you have to take the small wins during the regular season. It was one of the things the Stars were lacking in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. At least the Stars are hitting teams at this point in the season.

Dallas Stars vs. New York Islanders Recap: 1. WAKE UP JAKE!!!!!!!!!!

The Olympic honeymoon tour is over with Oettinger; you need to get a grip on your game now. What a horrible save attempt on that first goal that made it 1-0 Islanders. That felt like a goal that you should have been able to save with your blocker. I hope everything is okay with you because Dallas needs you for the Stanley Cup Playoffs right around the corner. You have got to snap out of it against these playoff teams. Dallas returns on Saturday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Penguins in what could be Evgenii Malkin's final game against Dallas for his career.