On Thursday night, the Islanders failed to capitalize on a strong start when they dominated the first period against Florida, failing to score in the opening 20 minutes and ultimately losing the game.

There was no such issue on Saturday.

Following a two-goal first period, the Islanders stepped on the gas pedal, turning it into an 7-1 blowout win over the Ducks at UBS Arena to put an exclamation mark on Lane Lambert’s first win since being named head coach.

“I just thought we played faster,” Lambert said. “That’s basically it. I thought we transitioned the puck faster.”

With Anaheim on the first game of an East Coast trip, the Ducks might have still been feeling some jet lag. The Islanders jumped all over Anaheim in the first 20 minutes, more than doubling their opponent’s shot total and scoring twice within a two-minute span midway through the period.

Scott Mayfield got the first, taking advantage of a heads-up play by Anthony Beauvillier, who stole the puck away in the neutral zone after he came over the boards for a shift. That led to an Isles breakaway, with Mayfield putting away a rebound off Anders Lee’s initial shot at 10:34. Minutes later, after more sustained offensive-zone pressure, Noah Dobson’s shot from the point made its way past Anaheim goaltender John Gibson, doubling the lead.

Instead of faltering in the second period, though, the Islanders scored three more times to break the game wide open. Oliver Wahlstrom — who sat out the season opener with an injury — got free on a breakaway to score with a backhand 5:34 into the period. That was followed by Mayfield scoring his second with a point shot, the first time in his career in which he’s scored two goals in a game, and Beauvillier extending the lead to five with a goal off the rush. By the start of the third, Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins had pulled Gibson, who finished the night with 22 saves on 27 shots.

“I was confident because of the good things that I saw in game one,” Lambert said. “When I talked about little pockets that needed to be improved on and we talked about it, we worked on it.”

The result was a clinic. The Islanders dominated the puck, pressured the offensive zone, passed crisply and won battles. It was the sort of offensive punch that they so often lacked last season, rolling all four lines and never letting up.

It is the sort of performance that they will hope to replicate under this new regime.

During the offseason, it was worth wondering how much the Islanders would change their play style under Lambert. Two games have shown that they are indeed approaching things differently. Mayfield’s goal, for example, came when he got up on the rush — something he may not have done a year ago. Five of the team’s seven goals came from defensemen.

“I just think it’s something we want to implement a little bit more,” Mayfield said. “Part of our game plan. Starts with our forwards being able to backcheck and help us out, too. … That allows us to jump up.”

Technically, it is not Lambert’s first win as the Islanders coach. That came on Jan. 1 of this year against the Oilers while he was filling in for Barry Trotz. It is, though, his first win without an interim title attached to his name and the first in which the team was truly his.

The style Lambert has preached throughout camp was on display Saturday, and with success. That is an encouraging sign, particularly as the Islanders began a stretch of three straight games against teams that didn’t make the playoffs last year, which should equate to six points there for the taking.

Consider Saturday a strong start.