Tavares helps Islanders cool off Golden Knights, 6-3

By VIN A. CHERWOO
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — John Tavares and the New York Islanders are on quite a roll.

Tavares kept up his scoring surge with two more goals and the Islanders beat Vegas 6-3 on Monday night, handing the expansion Golden Knights their second loss of the season.

Andrew Ladd, Mathew Barzal, Cal Clutterbuck and Nikolay Kulemin also scored, and Jaroslav Halak stopped 31 shots to help New York win for the fifth time in six games. Tavares has eight goals in the last four games.

“Guys did a great job of creating chances, playing hard, winning battles and playing with pace again,” Tavares said. “We had contributions up and down the lineup. Obviously, that’s key to score six goals. ... The execution is there and we’re just competing really hard.”

William Karlsson, Alex Tuch and Colin Miller scored for Vegas (8-2-0), which snapped a five-game winning streak and lost another goalie to injury. With starter Marc-Andre Fleury and backup Malcolm Subban already sidelined, Oscar Dansk left with an apparent leg injury after Tavares scored the tying goal late in the second period.

Dansk, who came in 3-0 with an NHL-best 1.34 goals-against average, made 17 saves. Maxime Lagace, the fourth goalie Vegas has used in its inaugural season, came on for his NHL debut and gave up four goals on 11 shots.

“We didn’t help Max out,” Miller said. “He’s getting thrown in the fire a little bit. I’m sure he’ll do fine. He’s played hockey for a long time. I’m sure he’ll be all right.”

Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant didn’t have an update on Dansk after the game. He said Lagace would start Tuesday at the New York Rangers, and another goalie would be called up to be the backup.

Vegas led 2-1 after one period before Tavares tied the score with his 10th goal with 5:10 left, deflecting a shot by Nick Leddy past Dansk, who was injured on the play. The Golden Knights challenged for goalie interference, but the goal stood after a review.

With Reilly Smith off for high-sticking, Barzal gave the Islanders their first lead as he knocked in the rebound of a backhand by Anders Lee that went off the right post for his third.

Smith’s penalty was the Golden Knights’ third of the second period and fifth of the game.

“If we’re going to win on the road, you can’t take five penalties in the first two periods and get behind the 8-ball there,” Gallant said. “When the game was real close we made a couple of big mistakes there and opened the door for them to get six goals.”

Clutterbuck extended New York’s lead to 4-2 at 4:44 of the third as he skated up the right side and fired the puck past Lagace’s glove for his second.

Kulemin made it a three-goal lead with his first of the season at 8:26 of the third.

Tavares scored on a breakaway with 7:22 left for his 11th of the season, giving New York six goals for the second straight game.

“We built some good momentum,” Tavares said. “Now it’s just to keep it going. It’s a long season.”

Miller beat Halak from the right circle with 5:19 to go to pull Vegas to 6-3.

Vegas got on the scoreboard first with the first short-handed goal in franchise history as Karlsson got a pass from Cody Eakin and beat Halak, who was out of position trying to disrupt the pass, at 9:31. It was the sixth short-handed goal allowed by the Islanders, tying Buffalo for most in the NHL.

“Yet another short-handed goal against — it just can’t happen,” Islanders coach Doug Weight said. “I’m glad they battled back, put pucks to the net and scored on a couple of power plays.”

Ladd tied it with 6:10 remaining in the period as he fired a shot from the top of the right circle past Dansk’s blocker side for his third.

The Golden Knights went back ahead 2-1 nearly two minutes later with a power-play goal when Miller’s shot deflected off Tuch’s skate in front and past Halak. It was Tuch’s third of the season.

NOTES: Tavares has nine goals and 12 points in the last five games. ... Josh Bailey had three assists to give him points in seven straight games (two goals, 10 assists). ... The Islanders improved to 4-0-1 at home this season. ... The teams conclude the season series Jan. 25 at Las Vegas. ... Gallant was back at Barclays Center for the first time since coaching Florida against the Islanders in the first round of the 2016 playoffs. New York won the series at home in two overtimes in Game 6. Gallant was fired by the Panthers last Nov. 27. ... Each team went 2 for 5 on the power play. ... Vegas gave up two power-play goals after going 10 for 10 on the penalty-kill the previous three games. ... Miller had an assist for the fifth straight game.

UP NEXT

Golden Knights: At the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

Islanders: At the Washington Capitals on Thursday night.

GAMEDAY: Isles, Golden Knights face each other for first time

The New York Islanders and the Vegas Golden Knights face off for the first time ever tonight at 7pm ET at Barclay's Center.

The Islanders, who are 2-1-0 in their last three games, will try to dethrone a Golden Knights team that is shattering records in their debut season.

"They work hard, they are well coached and they have done a good job," said Isles coach Doug Weight. "[GM] George [McPhee] has built a team of guys that have a lot to prove and guys that have skill, a solid D corps... They had a pretty good pool of players to pick from. They have a good team and are up in the top of the league for a reason - their work ethic and they're scoring some big goals."

Weight also added that Jaroslav Halak will start in net tonight, and that the Isles will use the same lineup from their most recent contest, a win over the Nashvile Predators over the weekend.

"[Vegas has] a good squad. A lot of teams maybe underestimate them and I don't think they will now," said Isles forward Jordan Eberle, who scored his first goal as an Islander in the win over the Preds. "They are off to a great start. We have to be ready and we have to be at our best and match the effort that we gave in Nashville."

ISLANDERS PROJECTED LINES

Forwards:

Lee-Tavares-Bailey

Nelson-Barzal-Everle

Ladd-Cizikas-Chimera

Kulemin-Beauvillier-Clutterbuck

Defense:

Leddy-Boychuk

De Haan-Seidenberg

Pelech-Pulock

Goaltender:

Halak

GOLDEN KNIGHTS PROJECTED LINES

Forwards:

Perron-Eakin-Neal

Marchessault-Karlsson-Smith

Haula-Lindberg-Tuch

Carrier-Edouard-Nosek

Defensemen:

Schmidt-Sbisa

McNabb-Engelland

Miller-Theodore

Goaltender:

Dansk

RAISING THE BAR(ZAL)

20 year-old rookie Mathew Barzal scored his first NHL point on Oct. 15 at LAK and followed it up with his first NHL goal on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. Barzal became the fifth Islander to score his first NHL goal at MSG vs the Rangers. Barzal posted a three-game point streak (1G,2A) from Oct. 15-21 and has posted six points in his last six games (2G, 4A). Barzal recorded his first multi-point game on Oct. 26 at MIN.

HOW THE WEST WAS WON

The Islanders are 23-4-4 all-time vs. Western Conference opponents at Barclay Center. Starting on Oct. 21 vs SJS, the Islanders will play 9 of their next 10 games against Western Conference teams (five at home). This season the Islanders are 2-0-1 against the West at home.

WEIGHING-IN

In Saturday night's win over the Predators in Nashville, Head coach, Doug Weight became the fastest Islanders coach to 30 wins (51 games) beating Peter Laviolette (60 games) and Ted Nolan (61 games). Weight is 30-16-5 as the Islanders head coach.

THREES COMPANY

The Islanders are 6-1-0 when scoring at least three goals (including SO winners). They are 0-3-1 when they do not hit the three-goal mark.

BACK-TO-BACKS

The Islanders will play 16 sets of back-to-backs this season. The Islanders are 1-1-0 in front ends of back-tobacks and 1-1-0 in back ends. Their next back-to-back set will be Nov. 10-11 at Dallas and San Jose.

SHOOT-OUT HEROES

The Islanders improved to 72-57 all-time in the shootout with their SO win Thursday vs. the Rangers. Their 72 SO wins are second in the league only behind Pittsburgh (73). 

IRONMEN

Jason Chimera is the Islanders reigning ironman with 199 consecutive games played (106 w/ WSH, 93 with NYI). Jordan Eberle is second with 162 straight games (151 with EDM w/ NYI). Josh Bailey holds the longest ironman streak in an Isles uniform (160).

BENCH BOSSES

Doug Weight was named interim head coach of the New York Islanders on January 17, 2017, and became the 19th Head Coach in Islanders history. The Islanders went 24-12-4 in 40 games under Weight. On April 12 the ‘interim’ tag was removed. Weight promoted Greg Cronin to associate coach and named Kelly Buchberger, Luke Richardson, Scott Gomez and Fred Brathwaite to his coaching staff over the summer. Weight, Cronin, Buchberger and Richardson will coach from the benches in-game.   

THE OPPOSITION

With Friday’s victory over the Colorado Avalanche, the Golden Knights became the first club in the 100-year history of the NHL to win eight of its first nine games in its inaugural season. The win gave Vegas its fifth straight victory which matched the longest winning streak by a team at any point in its inaugural NHL season, joining the 1926-27 Rangers and 1979-80 Oilers.

The Golden Knights also became the first expansion team in NHL history to start with a 3-0-0 record, besting the Oakland Seals and Los Angeles Kings who both started the 1967-68 season with a 2-0-1 record.

Goaltender  Marc-Andre Fleury, defenseman  Clayton Stoner and goaltender Malcolm Subban  are on the injured reserve list.

Since being forced into action after injuries to Fleury and Subban, Dansk has played phenomenally and was named the NHL's second star for the week after going 2-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average, .968 save percentage and one shutout. He has a 3-0-0 record on the year and he leads the league with a 1.34 goals-against-average and .959 save percentage. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no other goaltender in the NHL's expansion era (since 1967) has won his first three games playing for a first-year team.

John Tavares named NHL's First Star of the Week

New York Islanders captain John Tavares was named the NHL's First Star of the Week on Monday for the Week ending October 29, 2017.

Tavares led the NHL with 6-1-7, including a pair of hat tricks, to power the Islanders (6-4-1, 13 points) to two wins in three starts. He posted 3-1-4, including the decisive goal and his 10th career four-point performance, in a 5-3 triumph over the Arizona Coyotes Oct. 24. After being held off the scoresheet in a 6-4 loss to the Minnesota Wild Oct. 26, Tavares added his eighth career hat trick in a 6-2 victory against the Nashville Predators Oct. 28. In doing so, he became the third player in Islanders history to record two hat tricks within a span of three team games - and the first to accomplish the feat since March 3-5, 1996 (Ziggy Palffy). The 27-year-old Mississauga, Ont., native ranks third in the NHL with nine goals in 11 outings this season, pacing the Islanders with 13 points overall.

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Oscar Dansk was named the Second Star, and Ottawa Senators forward Jean Gabriel Pageau was named the Third Star.

Staal, rookies power Wild to 6-4 win against Islanders

By BRIAN HALL
Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A quick start, two rookies contributing and some scoring opportunities while on the penalty kill helped the Minnesota Wild recover from a dreary loss at home.

Eric Staal had a goal and assist, Luke Kunin and Zack Mitchell each scored their first NHL goals, and Minnesota beat the New York Islanders 6-4 on Thursday night.

Marcus Foligno, Jason Zucker and Jonas Brodin also scored for Minnesota. Devan Dubnyk stopped 29 shots to win for the second time in six starts this season for the Wild, who lost 1-0 at home on Tuesday against Vancouver, their fifth loss in regulation or overtime through seven games in a season filled with high expectations.

“Not a game we were happy with, which we shouldn’t have been,” Staal said of the loss to the Canucks. “The right response is to come out firing and ready to go, and we showed that in the first period by being on top of them, executing and creating a gap. Good win for us and now we’ll try and build on it and be ready for a big team on Saturday.”

Anthony Beauvillier, Nick Leddy, Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal scored for New York, which had won three in a row. Thomas Greiss finished with 27 saves.

“They’re pretty banged up, a lot of their top guys are out, and it’s an opportunity for us to take advantage of a team that’s just fighting it a little bit,” Lee said. “Clearly, they came out and did a much better job tonight.”

Staal scored short-handed to cap a three-goal first-period burst for Minnesota in 7:26. He later assisted on Kunin’s tally as the rookie became the first player in Wild history to score short-handed for his first NHL goal, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

New York entered the game with the league’s worst power play at 7.1 percent this season and had allowed three short-handed goals in its first nine games. The Islanders were 0 for 5 on the power play against the Wild, in addition to allowing two more short-handed goals.

“The power play, just lethargic, lax, soft,” New York coach Doug Weight said. “Zero battle. Decisions, execution, little flip passes, half speed breakout, just really unacceptable.”

Minnesota overwhelmed the Islanders from the outset.

The Wild were outshooting the Islanders 10-0 at the start of the game and 13-1 after Staal earned a breakaway for a short-handed marker. Kunin’s tally came in the second as Staal broke free on a 2-on-1. The veteran center sent a cross-ice pass to Kunin, who snapped a quick shot past Greiss.

“Yeah, I would take it any way, whether it’s five on five, power play, shorthanded, I don’t care as long as it’s going into the back of the net,” Kunin said.

Mitchell, who was recalled from Iowa of the AHL earlier in the day, earned his first goal in the third when he pushed a rebound back towards Greiss, who appeared to kick the puck in the net.

“It wasn’t as pretty as Luke’s, but it still counts,” Mitchell said. “I wouldn’t say I envisioned it that way. Scoring around the net, that’s where the goals are.”

Greiss has allowed 17 goals on 166 shots in five games this season.

NOTES: Wild F Nino Niederreiter (left high ankle sprain) skated with the team during Thursday’s morning skate and could be looking at a return next week. He’s missed five games with the injury. ... New York is 2 for 33 on the power play this season (6.1 percent). ... Minnesota tied its franchise record with two short-handed goals in a game, the third time it’s done so in franchise history. ... Islanders F Josh Bailey had three assists and leads the team with seven assists this season.

UP NEXT

Islanders: At Nashville on Saturday.

Wild: Host Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Tavares' tiebreaker finishes hat trick, Isles top Coyotes

By ALLAN KREDA
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Islanders invariably look to their captain John Tavares for a boost and he delivered with a timely hat trick against the struggling Arizona Coyotes.

Tavares completed his three-goal night with a tiebreaking score in the third period, lifting the Islanders over the winless Arizona Coyotes 5-3 on Tuesday night.

The Islanders won their third straight and improved to 5-3-1. Jaroslav Halak made 32 saves for New York.

“He was good. Obviously he was on the puck,” Islanders coach Doug Weight said of his captain’s performance. “He led us tonight. We needed his leadership.”

Adam Pelech had three assists for the Islanders, and fellow defenseman Scott Mayfield cemented the win with his first goal of the season at 17:03, a goal on which Tavares assisted. It was the first goal for an Islanders defenseman this season.

The Coyotes — starting a five-game road trip — fell to 0-8-1 under new coach Rick Tocchet.

“We played hard but a couple of plays here or there went against us and the puck was in the net,” Tocchet said.

Weight credited the opposition for putting up a good fight against the Islanders, who improved to 3-0-1 on home ice.

“They are a quick team, they want to play fast,” he said. “They did a good job of getting out of their zone. They battled.”

Tavares’ seventh career three-goal game came on a night when he also moved past Islanders forward Bob Bourne into seventh place on the career franchise goals list. The 27-year-old Tavares has six goals this season and 241 career tallies. Bourne, a swift-skating forward, had 238 goals with the Islanders from 1974-86.

Tavares also passed John Tonelli into seventh place on the team’s all-time points list. Tavares now has 547 career points after his four-point night. Tonelli had 544 points during his Islander career, which included winning four Stanley Cups from 1980-83 with Bourne.

“It’s significant and special to me because you look up to those guys and they obviously laid the foundation here for the Islanders,” Tavares said. “I have to pinch myself sometimes when I see some of the names I’ve passed. Hopefully I can keep going.”

Brock Nelson put the Islanders ahead 3-2 early in the third on the power play, but Arizona’s Nick Cousins tied it at 8:57 with a long-range shot that eluded Halak.

“We tied the game and were in good shape but we decided to do a couple of things differently.” Tocchet added.

Nelson’s fifth goal of the season on a snapshot from the right circle beat goalie Louis Dominque at 4:32 of the third, three minutes after Arizona’s Mario Kempe tied it at 2.

Tavares scored his fourth and fifth goals of the season in the second after Arizona’s Anthony Duclair scored early in the first.

Duclair opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 4:47 of the first. Duclair finished off a passing play started by former Ranger Derek Stepan and rookie Clayton Keller.

The goal was Duclair’s second of the season and came with Anders Lee of the Islanders in the penalty box for tripping.

It was the seventh time in nine games the Coyotes scored a first- period goal.

Starting an eight-day road trip, the Coyotes had the better of play in the first, outshooting the Islanders 14-6 before a sparse crowd of 9,795 at Barclays Center.

Stepan, traded to Arizona by the Rangers after last season, has two goals and five assists in his last seven games for the low-scoring Coyotes, who have 21 goals in nine games. Six of those goals are from the 19-year-old Keller, who had two assists against the Islanders.

Tavares tied it at 3:41 of the second when he tipped in a pass from Jordan Eberle after linemate Anders Lee stripped the puck from Coyotes defenseman Jason Demers to the right of Dominque, who is 0-5 so far after being pressed into a leading role with starter Antti Raanta out with a lower-body injury for the past two weeks.

Tavares put the Islanders ahead when a pass from Pelech towards Tavares in the slot, banked in off Tavares’ skate at 14:25 of the second.

“The results are coming, which is nice,” Tavares added. “Obviously when I get opportunities I want to put them in.”

Eberle, who assisted on Tavares’ first two goals and has six assists on the campaign, has yet to score through nine games in his first season with the Islanders.

NOTES: The Coyotes will host the Islanders on Jan. 22. ... The Islanders scratched forward Josh Ho-Sang and defensemen Ryan Pulock and Dennis Seidenberg while the Coyotes scratched defenseman Kevin Connauton, forward Lawson Crouse and goaltender Antti Raanta.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: At New York Rangers on Thursday night.

Islanders: At Minnesota on Thursday night.

Tavares helps Islanders beat struggling Rangers 4-3 in SO

By VIN A. CHERWOO
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — John Tavares came through in the shootout and helped the New York Islanders keep up their recent domination of their struggling crosstown rivals.

Tavares got the deciding goal in the shootout to lift the Islanders to a 4-3 win Thursday night, beating the Rangers for the eighth time in the last nine games. Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal scored in regulation, and Jaroslav Halak stopped 38 shots as the Islanders recovered after blowing a two-goal lead in the third to finish 2-2-0 on a four-game trip.

“They found some momentum and some energy and brought a lot (in the third period), but we did a good job for the most part to get it to overtime, get a point and find a way in the shootout,” Tavares said.

David Desharnais, Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes scored, and Henrik Lundqvist finished with 35 saves for the Rangers, who earned a point for the second straight game but lost their fifth straight (0-3-2) to fall to 1-5-2. It’s their fewest points after eight games since they were 1-6-1 to start the 1959-60 season. Back then, teams got a point for a tie, and there was no overtime or shootouts.

Jordan Eberle scored for the Islanders and Zuccarello got one for the Rangers in the first round of the shootout. Halak then stopped Mika Zibanejad and, after Tavares scored, Halak denied Desharnais to secure the win.

“He’s a confident goaltender,” Islanders coach Doug Weight said of Halak. “He doesn’t get too rattled. It was a big win, and he was a big part of it.”

The Rangers trailed 3-1 after two periods and pulled within one about 3 1/2 minutes into the third. Brandan Smith rushed up the ice and tried to send a pass across in front to Hayes. Lee got his stick on the puck to block the pass, but Zuccarello swooped in and put it past Halak.

Smith appeared to tie it with about 7:53 left when the puck went off his left skate, then his right skate and in. The goal was disallowed after a video review because officials ruled he had kicked the puck in.

Hayes tied it about two minutes later on a backhander at a sharp angle as he passed the goal line.

“We battled back again tonight,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. “We buckled down, our guys worked extremely hard. Maybe our execution might not be perfect, but the work ethic in that room and the commitment to try and play the right way is there.”

Barzal gave the Islanders a 3-1 lead with his first career goal early in the second. The 20-year-old skated around Rick Nash, went in on Lundqvist and chipped it over the goalie’s glove at 1:15. Teammate Josh Bailey then retrieved the puck for Barzal, who was playing in his ninth NHL game.

Lee got the Islanders on the scoreboard first with their first power-play goal of the season as he put in a diving rebound of a shot by Ryan Pulock, who was making his season debut, past Lundqvist 2:40 into the game. The Islanders came in 0 for 20 with the man advantage over their first six games.

“We made a couple of adjustments, some things we wanted to emphasize,” Tavares said of the Islanders’ power play. “It was a good job, nice to obviously get one and get that monkey off our back. Hopefully it leads to some more good opportunities and some more results.”

Desharnais tied it at 5:02 when he tipped a shot by Kevin Shattenkirk from the right point past Halak.

Nelson put the Islanders back in front just 1:04 later, shooting a wrist shot past three players into the upper left corner past a screened Lundqvist. It was Nelson’s fourth of the season and the 13th first-period goal allowed by the Rangers.

“I’ve got to be better, as a group we got to be better,” Lundqvist said. “Just really focus on the first 10 (minutes) to give ourselves a chance to feel good about ourselves. But still, being down 3-1, we stick to our system and played a really strong third.”

NOTES: Halak played in his 400th career game and improved to 214-126-42. ... Tavares was held without a point for the fifth straight game since he had two goals and an assist in a 6-3 win over Buffalo on Oct. 7. ... The teams will meet three more times: back at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 13, and at Barclays Center on Feb. 15 and April 5. ... Shattenkirk’s assist on Desharnais’ goal gave him five assists and seven points in eight games this season. ... Desharnais now has five goals and 16 points in 20 career games against the Islanders. ... The Rangers fell to 0-3-1 when giving up the first goal.

UP NEXT

Islanders: Host San Jose on Saturday night to open a two-game homestand.

Rangers: Host Nashville on Saturday in the fourth game of a season-high five-game homestand.

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Kopitar, Doughty lead Kings to 3-2 victory over Islanders

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Second-string goalie is one of the toughest jobs in hockey. Long lulls between starts, constant rust, trying to stay sharp in practice.

Los Angeles called on its new backup for the first time this season Sunday night and Darcy Kuemper responded just as the Kings had hoped.

Kuemper stopped 23 shots and, boosted by timely offense from Anze Kopitar and defenseman Drew Doughty, the Kings held off the New York Islanders 3-2 for the best five-game start in team history.

“It’s a tough spot for a goalie, when you don’t get a chance to play games all the time,” Los Angeles coach John Stevens said. “You have to keep your game sharp in practice.

“He was great. He was ready to play. He made some key saves at key times.”

Kopitar and Doughty each had a goal and an assist. Kopitar’s steal and feed to Doughty for a short-handed goal 5:44 into the third period proved to be the difference.

New York closed within one when Casey Cizikas followed his own shot and poked it in at the 14:20 mark when the puck got stuck between Kuemper’s skate and the post.

But the Kings held on down the stretch.

“That was a fun hockey game to be a part of,” Cizikas said. “It was fast. Everybody was taking a body, and it just came down to a few little mistakes.”

The Kings (4-0-1) took a 1-0 lead on Kopitar’s fourth goal of the season. He fired a shot from outside the circle that went through the legs of New York’s Calvin de Haan, deflected off the stick of Adam Pelech in front of the net and past goalie Jaroslav Halak.

The Islanders (2-3-1) tied it in the second period when Josh Bailey capitalized on a flurry in front of the Los Angeles net.

The Kings responded with the next two goals.

Los Angeles took a 2-1 lead in the second on a power play. The Kings started the season 0 for 16 on power plays, but Jake Muzzin scored on a wrist shot that gave Los Angeles goals in four of its last five opportunities.

Tanner Pearson was standing in front of the crease and had Halak screened on Muzzin’s first goal of the season.

The Islanders where on a power play when Kopitar stole the puck to start a breakaway. He passed at the last moment to Doughty, who deflected the puck between Halak’s legs.

“I’m not usually used to being in a 2-on-1 situation,” Doughty said. “To be honest, I couldn’t even see the puck when he passed it and luckily saw it at the last second. I just tried to get some wood on it.”

The Islanders tried to score the tying goal in the frantic final minutes, but could not slip another past Kuemper.

“After that first period, we played well,” Cizikas said. “We were getting pucks in deep and we had opportunities. We just have to bear down on them.”

NOTES: At 4-0-1 for nine points, the Kings have their best record through five games in franchise history. It is the fourth time they’ve gone five games into a season without a loss in regulation. . The short-handed goal was the first of the season for the Kings and the second of Doughty’s career. Said Islanders forward John Tavares: “Obviously, the power play has really let us down to this point in the season. It’s good sometimes and not at others. We’re just not executing.”

UP NEXT

Islanders: Play the rival New York Rangers on Thursday for the first time this season in a road game at Madison Square Garden.

Kings: Stay home to face Montreal on Wednesday.

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Islanders host Sabres after disappointing season opener

Stats, LLC

(TSX / STATS) -- NEW YORK -- The New York Islanders begin their third, most pivotal and possibly even final season of playing home games at Barclays Center on Saturday night. They hope Friday night wasn't a harbinger of things to come.

A pair of teams looking to bounce back from season-opening losses will meet when the Islanders host the Buffalo Sabres.

But while the Sabres were competitive in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, the Islanders followed up an impressive postseason by getting blanked 5-0 by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.

The loss was considerably dispiriting for the Islanders, who began a potentially franchise-defining season by going a league-best 6-0-2 in exhibition play.

"We didn't react as well as we had in the preseason," Islanders head coach Doug Weight said following the game. "We stopped moving. After that third goal, it was lights out."

The Islanders are hoping they can begin the process of shutting out the lights on Brooklyn and Barclays Center at some point this season. The ownership group of Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin recently placed a bid to New York State to build a new arena at Belmont Park, located far closer to the franchise's suburban fan base along the Nassau/Queens border.

The Islanders played at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale from 1972 through 2015. They have ranked 28th in the NHL in attendance in each of their two seasons at Barclays Center, which is not easily accessible from Long Island by either car or public transportation, even though the club made the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2016 and missed the playoffs by a point last year.

Both the Islanders and Barclays Center can opt out of a 25-year agreement on Jan. 30, 2018. If the plans for a new arena are in motion by then, it's possible the Islanders could play the next couple seasons at the revamped Nassau Coliseum, which is owned by the same management group that runs Barclays Center. The NHL does not view the new Coliseum, which has only a handful of luxury suites and a seating capacity of 13,000, as a long-term home for the franchise.

The uncertain arena situation appears to be impacting the decision-making process of superstar center John Tavares, who is in the final season of his contract but has yet to sign an extension even though he was eligible to do so beginning July 1.

"The possibility with Belmont and that (bid) coming out, there's great potential there," Tavares told Newsday in August. "We'll see where it goes. A lot of those things are out of my hands. Some things, I don't try to worry about them too, too much. I'm just a hockey player. I try to be as best-prepared as I can be."

The Sabres, under first-year head coach Phil Housley, looked better Thursday than they did during a preseason in which they went an NHL-worst 1-4-1. Buffalo peppered star Canadiens goalie Carey Price with 41 shots while Jason Pominville scored twice.

"We did a lot of good things," said Housley, a Hall of Fame player who spent the first eight seasons of his 21-year career with the Sabres. "We can take a lot away from that game. But it's just one game."

Jaroslav Halak is expected to start in goal for the Islanders after Thomas Greiss struggled Friday. Sabres goalie Robin Lehner, who made 38 saves Thursday, will likely draw a second straight start.

The Islanders had no notable injuries Friday night. Sabres defenseman Zach Bogosian, who missed the season opener with a lower-body injury, skated on Friday, though he didn't practice with the team.

Blue Jackets shut out Islanders to win opener

(TSX / STATS) -- COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Opening night could not have gone much better for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky began the season with a shutout, newcomer Artemi Panarin contributed three assists in his Columbus debut, Sonny Milano and rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois scored their first NHL goals and the Blue Jackets dominated the New York Islanders in a 5-0 victory at Nationwide Arena.

"It was a good night," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "We played a good 60-minute hockey game."

Milano scored the first goal a little more than a minute into the new season and the Blue Jackets were off and running.

Five Columbus players had one goal each in the home opener and the dynamic Panarin, acquired during the summer from the Chicago Blackhawks, did his part by creating scoring chances.

Bobrovsky, the Vezina Trophy winner last season as the top goaltender in the NHL, posted his 20th career shutout. He finished with 29 saves.

"It's always nice," Bobrovsky said of the opening win. "Definitely I try to enjoy the experience of the game. Obviously, to have that shutout is even better."

Milano and Cam Atkinson staked the Blue Jackets to a 2-0 lead with first-period goals. Columbus increased the lead to 5-0 with second-period goals from Ryan Murray, Zach Werenski and rookie Dubois.

Murray's goal came on a one-timer after a pass from Panarin at 6:57 of the second period for a 3-0 lead. The Islanders were essentially toast from that point forward.

"It was disappointing," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "It seemed a little like deer in the headlights after it was 3-0. We just didn't react well.

"It's good to get your face smacked once in a while. We'll certainly be better tomorrow (in the home opener against Buffalo). We had our faces licking the ice with our sticks. It wasn't a good reaction."

The Blue Jackets went ahead 4-0 when Werenski fired a shot from just inside the blue line on a long rebound of a shot by Alexander Wennberg that beat Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss at 10:25 of the second period.

Dubois added his first NHL goal at 11:50 of the second period with an assist from Seth Jones. The 19-year-old Dubois became the fourth Blue Jackets player to score his first NHL goal in his debut as a teenager.

"I thought we started really well," Dubois said. "It was really fun. I wanted to get that first goal, too."

The only suspense in the third period was whether Bobrovsky could finish the shutout. The Islanders could not get anything past him despite several prime scoring chances.

"Bob wasn't that busy, but he made some key saves at key times," Tortorella said.

Greiss struggled and gave up all five goals on 26 shots before being pulled in the second period and replaced by Jaroslav Halak, who made 11 saves.

"The first period wasn't that bad," Griess said. "Maybe a little too cute offensively. They got those first two and we started to get away from what we do well. It's a good wakeup call for us. Is there panic in here? Not at all."

The Jackets came out with plenty of energy and Milano scored the first goal of the season just 1:07 into the first period. Skating in from the right circle, Milano took a pass from behind the net from Oliver Bjorkstrand and beat Greiss.

"It was a like a 10-second shift," Milano said. "I just got out there and the puck landed on my stick and the puck goes into the net. It was pretty cool. It was an unbelievable feeling. I've never been happier in my life."

Atkinson and Panarin combined for what likely will be the first of many goals this season between them at 11:02 of the first period. Panarin rushed the net and sent a backhand pass across the crease that hit Atkinson's skate and went in to make it 2-0.

Weight was upset because he thought the goal was a kick-in.

"That was surprising to me and it hurt us," he said. "We didn't react as well as we had in the preseason. We stopped moving. After that third goal, it was lights out."

NOTES: Islanders G Jaroslav Halak will start the Islanders' home opener on Saturday against Buffalo. ... Blue Jackets C Artemi Panarin returns to Chicago on Saturday to face his former team on the back end of back-to-back games against the Blackhawks. ... The Blue Jackets loaned F Josh Anderson to Cleveland of the American Hockey League for conditioning on Thursday. Anderson signed a three-year, $5.5 million contract on Tuesday after missing all of training camp. ... Injured Blue Jackets F Boone Jenner's consecutive games streak ended at 175. He last missed a game on March 21, 2015. ... Blue Jackets D Markus Nutivaara was sent to Cleveland of the AHL.

GAMEDAY: Islanders head to Columbus for regular season opener

It's been 180 days since the Islanders skated off Barclays Center ice with a 6-game winning streak, but without a playoff spot for the first time in three seasons. The drive to get back to the playoffs begins on Friday.

The Islanders begin their 46th NHL season at Nationwide Arena in Columbus as they face the Blue Jackets in an Opener for the first time.

It's the first of four meetings between the teams this season as the Isles return to an arena where they were outscored 13-2 last season after sweeping all three games in Ohio the previous season.

The Isles are 2-1-1 on Opening Night over the last four years; however, they are only 3-8-3 in their last 14 Openers.

Overall, the Isles are 11-22-11 on Opening Night (9-18-8 on the road). The Isles are 11-24-9 in their first road game of the season.

October 6th is the 25th anniversary of their 1992 opener in New Jersey. While the Isles lost 4-3 that night, that season included an upset win over the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins (sound familiar?) in the Patrick Division Final.

- New York Islanders

ISLANDERS LINEUP FOR THURSDAY AT COLUMBUS

FORWARDS

Josh Bailey
Mathew Barzal
Anthony Beauvillier
Jason Chimera
Casey Cizikas
Cal Clutterbuck
Jordan Eberle
Joshua Ho-Sang
Nikolay Kulemin
Andrew Ladd
Anders Lee
Brock Nelson
John Tavares

DEFENSEMEN

Johnny Boychuk
Calvin de Haan
Thomas Hickey
Nick Leddy
Scott Mayfield
Adam Pelech
Ryan Pulock
Dennis Seidenberg

GOALIES

Thomas Greiss
Jaroslav Halak

Injured Non-Roster

Shane Prince
Alan Quine


ROSTER NOTES

-    The Islanders 23-man roster includes 22 players that suited up for the team last season; only Jordan Eberle did not.
-    The Islanders roster includes 11 first-round draft picks: Josh Bailey, Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier, Jordan Eberle, Thomas Hickey, Joshua Ho-Sang, Andrew Ladd, Nick Leddy, Brock Nelson, Ryan Pulock & John Tavares.
-    There are currently three players age 21-or-younger on the Islanders 23-man roster. Mathew Barzal, 20, made his NHL debut last season before returning to his junior club, the Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL). Anthony Beauvillier, 20, made his NHL debut and recorded 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 66 games last year during his rookie season. Joshua Ho-Sang, 21, also made his NHL debut in 2016-17, scoring 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 21 games with the Islanders.