Islanders begin 26/27 season looking to get back to playoffs under DeBoer

Isles lose Season Opener to the Leafs; some questions answered, others remain

The Islanders started their 26/27 campaign with high tempo for the first eight minutes of their season opener, then things fizzled out. Toronto jumped out to a 1-0 lead after a turnover by Tony DeAngelo lead to sustained pressure and a tip in goal by Colton Sissons past Isles netminder Iyla Sorokin. Toronto then doubled their lead almost five minutes later on the power play. With Victor Eklund in the box, Easton Cowan converted a bad rebound left by Sorokin on a Jack Roslovic shot form the slot. After that goal, Sorokin settled into his usual Vezina-like ability, stopping the rest of the Leafs shots for the evening. The highlights for the Islanders was the play of Anthony Duclair creating several chances, defenseman Logan Stanley not looking out of place and the PK creating the Islanders only score with an Emil Heineman goal with just under six minutes to play in the game. The Islanders PP looked as bad as last year going 0-4 in the game, defenseman Alex Romanov looked rusty in his return from last years' season-ending injury, and the inability clear the puck at key moments in the game all hampered the Islanders chances of pulling out a win.

The Islanders play for most of the first two periods of play proved why Head Coach Pete DeBoer claimed the Islanders roster was "Clear as Mud" following the team's final preseason game. The opening night lineup showed their age, looking slow on breakouts and offensive zone entries. For an organization with such highly thought of prospects, having the NHL's sixth oldest roster on opening night at 30.0 yrs of age, may not be what the fanbase wants to see trotted out on a nightly basis. Ondrej Palat, 35, looked out of place in his 10:06 of ice-time and failed to make any sort of impact whatsoever. Having already sent Pierre Engvall (and his horrid contract) to Hamilton of the AHL, keeping Palat around may not prove to be a viable option. Conversely, much maligned winger Anthony Duclair made the most of his first real opportunity under DeBoer, moving up in the lines by the end of the game. The injury to star forward Matt Barzal and the unknown timeline of his return may force GM Mathieu Darche to make some moves, either within or outside of the organization.

With the season-opening lineup not looking in sync, the Islanders coaching staff have some decisions to make to form some sort of chemistry amongst the lines for the Islanders. Islanders standout defenseman, the young Matthew Schaefer, plays in every situation throughout a game. But is Adam Pelech the right partner for him to be assigned with regularly? Why not have a line of the younger players, such as RW Victor Eklund-C Cal Ritchie-LW Matias Maccelli play together to possibly create a line that plays together for seasons to come? With an aging roster, when does LW Cole Eiserman, D Kashawn Aitcheson or any of the other recent draft picks get their chance? With such talent waiting in the wings, this truly is a season that can make or break an organization for the future. Only time (and the remaining 81 games) will tell how close the team is to their elusive fifth Stanley Cup celebration.

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