When it comes to preseason expectations, the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes were two teams going in two completely different directions.
3 things we learned from New York’s 5-3 win over Carolina
There was only one game on the NHL schedule on Friday, and it featured some of the Islanders’ new offseason toys having huge games in their debut game with their new club.
James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
After acquiring Jaroslav Halak, Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin earlier in the summer, the Islanders continued to bolster their roster just before the start of the regular season by adding Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy to their defense. Their bandwagon quickly started to fill up as they improved two of the biggest weaknesses that sabotaged their 2013-14 season (a defense that gave up way too many shots and a goaltending duo that didn't stop anywhere near enough of them).
Watching them play for much of their 5-3 win season opening win in Carolina on Friday, and it was like watching a completely different team from the one that was on the ice a year. The Islanders were getting great goaltending and getting the puck out of the defensive zone, and until Carolina scored a couple of garbage time goals late in the third period with the game already out of reach, it was a pretty strong effort by the new-look Islanders.
Carolina, meanwhile, was a team that already had a number of shortcomings and then lost two its best players, Jordan Staal and Jeff Skinner, to preseason injuries. They actually looked pretty good for the first seven or so minutes of the game on Friday, but completely fell apart when they started taking penalties that led to a pair of power play goals by Boychuk and Brock Nelson.
3 things
1. Johnny Boychuk had quite a debut - The Islanders didn’t need to throw ridiculous money at any of the free agents on July 1 to upgrade their defense. All they had to do was wait for a couple of cash strapped teams to dump the guys they could no longer afford. Like Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy. They were both outstanding in their Islanders debut on Friday, and it was Boychuk that stole the show with three points (one goal, two assists). It was the first three-point game of his career.
2. It should no longer be Cam Ward's team in net - Perhaps the Hurricanes gave Cam Ward the start on Friday because of the back-to-back situation they have with the Islanders to open the season and figured they had to start him one of the games. And that's fine. But he hasn't been an above average goalie in two years and was badly outplayed last season by Anton Khudobin. It was a brutal start to the season for Ward in Carolina's season-opening loss as he surrendered five goals on 26 shots.
3. A breakout game for Brock Nelson - Former first-round pick Brock Nelson had a promising rookie season for the Islanders last year with 26 points in 72 games. On Friday, he had a huge game with four points (two goals, two assists). He only had one multiple point game last season, a two-point effort during a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 18.
See More:
