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New York Islanders: 3 biggest takeaways from Opening Night

By Stefen Rosner |
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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The New York Islanders impressive knocked off the New York Rangers.

The New York Islanders kept their feet moving.

When you continue to move your feet, good things will happen. Throughout the entirety of their opening night intracity showdown, the New York Islanders never stopped skating, and it paid off.  They were the first to every loose puck, and when the puck was not on their stick, they went and got it.

This led to many great offensive rushes, including this goal by captain Anders Lee that gave the Isles a 2-0 lead.

https://twitter.com/NYIslanders/status/1349875738212761600

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What moving your feet also does is it forces your opponent to take penalties, lazy penalties. The New York Rangers were Exhibit A.

Eight times the Islanders sent out their power-play unit, coming through twice with the man advantage. During training camp, the Islanders worked hard to create a stronger gameplan with the man up, as the powerplay was a major disappointment during the regular season (17.3%) and even worse in the bubble (15.4%).  Although the power play struggled after scoring the two goals, it definitely was a step in the right direction.

Islanders’ first-line center Mat Barzal had the skates working tonight, as besides scoring a filthy goal, he drew two penalties and made life miserable for the Rangers.

Even if an opponent stops skating, Barzal surely won’t.

Brock Nelson on the powerplay got the scoring going less than three minutes into the game, with Lee picking up the team’s second power-play goal with about five minutes to go in the second period.

What you do not see in this play is Lee’s hard work to retrieve and possess the puck to establish the power-play scheme.

Technically speaking, the Isles powerplay is currently at 25-percent. But diving in more in-depth, even though they did not capitalize more, the Islanders controlled the puck and pace of play.

It was clear that the Rangers were getting tired from chasing the puck all night and playing shorthanded for just under 13 minutes.

As I mentioned in my last piece, once the Islanders get a lead, they are very hard to beat. And that takes us to our next takeaway.

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The Isles defense dominated

This New York Islander team’s greatest strength is their ability to play lockdown defense in their zone.

Even with the losses of Devon Toews and Johnny Boychuk, the Islanders’ defense looked like the shutdown play we saw throughout the bubble. 20-year old Noah Dobson had a strong game, playing 20:13 minutes, recording three blocks, a hit, and an assist.

The defense took away what seemed like every cross-seam pass, and thanks to hard backchecking and strong positioning, the Rangers had little offensive opportunities.

Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech, the team’s top defensive pairing, were a big part of that. Pulock made a great play to break up an odd-man rush late in the first period. Later in the game, the Islanders got caught, leading to a four on two for the Rangers. But Pelech used his long stick to break that up, leading to a scoring chance the other way.

The Islanders as a whole blocked 20 shots, as they allowed just 24 shots on Semyon Varlamov.

Speaking of Varlamov, it was a relatively easy night in net. He faced nine shots in the first period, 12 in the second, and just three in the third as the Islanders allowed nothing as the game neared its end.

During that second period, Varlamov had to be on his game, which he was. His puck-tracking ability was phenomenal, which directly impacted his ability to control his rebounds.

https://twitter.com/IslesMSGN/status/1349901420192018432

After the game, Varlamov spoke about the team he has in front of him.

New York Islanders: Defense is a weapon in the offensively-driven East. light. Related Story

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Third Line makes the most of their minutes

Last season, the New York Islanders acquired J-G Pageau from the Ottawa Senators to help bolster a lineup that went completely dry on offense. The third line, his new home, was especially struggling.

At that time, Michael Dal Colle, Leo Komarov, and Ross Johnston were the players put alongside him, not offensive weapons, to say the least.

Heading into this season, it was important to find linemates that could allow Pageau to play his game.

As camp came and went, we still were not too certain on who head coach Barry Trotz would deploy on either side of Pageau. It looked like youngsters Keiffer Bellows and Oliver Wahlstrom would both get a chance, but Trotz elected to go with the 22-year old Bellows, who played on the left side, with 6-foot-5 Ross Johnston on the right.

Although this line did not get a ton of playing time, they made the most of their minutes. While they did not impact the scoresheet, this line was finishing their checks the entire night. Bellows registered eight hits (10:25 TOI), with Johnston (8:02 TOI) recording three, and Pageau (16:38 TOI, PP time, PK time) with two.

And as we have become accustomed to, Pageau fails to shy away from the big boys. As the second period came to a close, the 5-foot-9 center clocked 6-foot-1 Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux.

Next. This moment isn’t too big for MacKenzie Blackwood. dark

For Bellows, this was a significant check in the book for a player who worked extra hard at camp to make the roster. Although he is a goal-scorer, the fact that we saw him do damage without the puck is a great sign.

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