The start to the Islanders season was a long wait but now remains flawless: A disciplined, professional 1-0 home win over the Arizona Coyotes brings their record to 2-0.
Ilya Sorokin needed just 14 saves for the shutout — eight in the first period as the Isles protected their slim but never shaky lead. His 17th shutout moves him to third place on the franchise list behind Chico Resch and Billy Smith.
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Of note:
- Mat Barzal scored on the power play with a one-timer right after they set up with an O-zone faceoff win. Really nice to see them get right to it instead of getting cute or forcing bad passes.
- Speaking of faceoff wins…J-G Pageau was absolutely dominant at the dot. Officially, #44 won 11 of his 14 draws.
- Samuel Bolduc was fine in his season debut, replacing Scott Mayfield. Whether to be conservative with Bolduc or because that move forces Sebastian Aho to the right side, Bolduc was kept to 11 shifts and 9:19. Aho had 16:23, including 1:20 on the power play.
- For the second game in a row, the Islanders were pretty suffocating down the stretch protecting the one-goal lead. It wasn’t a desperate finish to the game, rather a pretty frustrating one for the visitors.
- Congratulations to Matt Martin, 900 NHL regular season games!
All told, the season is young, nothing is proven yet, and the Isles haven’t faced a daunting-and-rested opponent. But they have two regulation wins from teams they should beat more often than not.
Also, a pivotal power play goal! More of that, please.