Back Where They Started From

Isles lose 5-4 in OT in deja vu start to the season

Good Morning, Islanders Country.

We didn’t hear Maxine Nightingale last night, but it felt like the Islanders were right back where they started from… There were highlight reel plays, a poor penalty kill, scoring a short-handed goal, blowing a lead, blowing a late third-period lead (a personal favorite), and losing in overtime. Sound familiar?

Cory Schneider called the game fun but frustrating. That’s one way to put it, but it also felt way too much like last season, with old habits creeping back into the early season narrative. It’s only 1 of 82, but the Islanders were already talking about “cleaning things up” after another “loser point” that should have been two. These are the same defensive breakdowns that required fixing last season but persisted throughout the year.

Two newcomers, Anthony Duclair and Maxim Tsyplakov, led the way for a game that otherwise felt so similar to last year. They were two big positives to take away, and there were some others, but after a training camp that emphasized a solid start to the season, a repeat performance of missed opportunities was a weak way to come out of the gate in front of the home fans.

Coming up, you can now meet at the lighthouse, and Josh Bailey will receive his video tribute. Plus, the Isles’ new jersey patch is 🔥, Peter Laviolette gets off to a historic start behind the bench and meet this year’s Pup with a Purpose.

Let’s dive in.

🏒 IN SHORT: Dylan Guenther scored the game-winner, his second of the night, to lift Utah Hockey Club to a 5-4 win over the New York Islanders in OT at UBS Arena on Thursday night. Josh Doan tied the game with 1:54 left, just 13 seconds after Maxim Tsyplakov scored his first NHL goal to give the Isles the lead. Lawson Crouse and Barrett Hayton also scored, and Connor Ingram stopped 21 shots to help Utah win their second consecutive win to start the season. Anthony Duclair scored to open the scoring, Bo Horvat and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored. Semyon Varlamov made 21 saves in the loss.

KEY MOMENT(s):

🔷 Anthony Duclair scored the first goal of the game and the first of his Islanders career on the power-play when Noah Dobson's shot deflected off his skate and in past Ingram. Utah challenged the play for goalie interference, but the goal stood.

🔶 They’re doing it again. Jean-Gabriel Pageau banged in a rebound to give the Isles a 3-2 lead with a short-handed goal at 6:51 after Ingram stopped Simon Holmstrom's initial shot off close in from the slot.

🔻 13 seconds after Max Tysplakov gave the Islanders a 4-3 lead at 17:53, a defensive breakdown led to Josh Doan sneaking behind Noah Dobson to tie the game 4-4 and send it to overtime.

3 REACTIONS

❶ BETTER DECISIONS: "Without playing our best game, I thought we did a lot of good things, [and] we kept them a little about 25 shots,” said Patrick Roy. “They were putting pressure on us, but I felt like we could have made better decisions at times."

❷ A LOT OF JUMP: "They've been good all camp and had a good game, scored some goals for us," Noah Dobson said of the top line. "They're, big part of our team. They give us a lot to jump off of, it's nice to see."

❸ GREAT DEBUT: "He was great, made some really good wall plays and had a lot of poise with the puck," Ryan Pulock said of Tsyplakov. "Obviously, a great shot there on that goal. I think we're going see him continue to grow."

GAME IMPACT SCORE

⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders head out on the road for the first time this season against the Dallas Stars. Face-off is set for 8:00 PM EDT on Saturday.

📊 STANDINGS:

📰 NEWS: Meet me at the lighthouse! You can do that now at UBS Arena. As part of the pre-game festivities, the Islanders had Josh Bailey flip the switch and light up a massive blue, orange, and white lighthouse above the Blue and Orange Army section on the main concourse level. It was pretty cool and a big improvement from the failed siren experiment from two years ago. We’ll see whether this happens before everyone's home game or is erected for only special occasions.

Tribute Time

It was a bit overdue, but the Islanders played a tribute video for Josh Bailey during the first period. The footage captured some of the great moments during his long-tenured Islanders career. The fans then, on cue, broke out into song.

The Islanders traded Bailey to the Blackhawks at the 2023 NHL Draft. Chicago promptly bought him out, leading to Bailey signing a PTO with the Ottawa Senators, but he was released before the start of the season. Though he started to come back around UBS Arena late in the season, there wasn’t a perfect time to do this type of a moment until last night.

Hot Stove

In a first for the franchise, Solo Stove will be the Islanders’ exclusive jersey patch partner. Per NewYorkIslanders.com, Solo Stove’s iconic flame logo will be prominently stitched into the jerseys of both the Islanders and Bridgeport for all home and away games beginning this season.

📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Maxim Tsyplakov played 20:46, most by an Islander in his first NHL game in the Real-Time Era; only seven rookies forward leaguewide have played more in their debut contest. He also became the 22nd Islander to score in his first NHL game with his goal that broke a 3-3 tie late in the third period - the first to do so since Aatu Raty (Dec. 23, 2022).

🎥 ISLES REWIND:  On October 11, 2011, Peter Laviolette became the first NHL coach to open a career with four straight road wins as the Islanders defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-4 in East Rutherford. Mark Parrish led the way with a hat trick, including an empty-net power-play goal at 19:58 to play in the game.

The Isles, the worst team in the NHL the previous season, would post a record of 9-0-1-1 in October and made the post-season for the first time since 1994.

🎧 Isles House: House Warming - Season Preview “Ethan, Jack, Rocco, and Producer Greeny run through end of training camp storylines and give their thoughts on the roster, season expectations, and their season-long BEST BETS”

🔗 Islanders get some early déjâ vu in season-opening overtime loss to Utah by Ethan Sears, New York Post “Patrick Roy mentioned more than once in the days leading up to Thursday that the Islanders’ preseason was successful not for its results, but for a process he felt was successful. And though he can keep stressing that message all he wants after opening night, it doesn’t tend to be something people say after wins in the regular season.”

🔗 Upon His Return To UBS Arena, A Chat With Former Islanders Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo On His Double Overtime Magic by Stefen Rosner, The Hockey News “I think the coolest thing was that I had some friends and family in town," Bortuzzo told The Hockey News on Thursday morning as he reminisced before battling the Islanders. "It's kind of the back end of my career here, so for them to be in the building for that was probably the coolest part.”

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And we leave you with this ….The new Isles Puppy with a Purpose will be named Butchie, as voted on by New York Islanders fans, in partnership with the Guide Dog Foundation.

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