Islanders Open the Season with two Losses against the Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks

from: imgarcade.com

In a back-to-back series with the Chicago Blackhawks the Isles walked away with one point while the Hawks stole four from the Isles’ opening weekend. Fans old and new poured into the Barclay Center Friday night, despite the massive thunderstorm.

The Islanders welcomed their fans to their new home, while taking the time to memorialize the Dynasty Coach, Al Arbour.

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The energy of the Barclay’s Center was different than that of the Old Barn.

Coach Jack Capuano stated: “It was a great atmosphere, you don’t really know what it’s going to feel like until you get out there, but I thought the fans were into it, it was loud. Obviously a different atmosphere than the Coliseum, but I think the guys were looking forward to this game and dropping the puck tonight.”

Game one of the season ended in a power play overtime goal by Chicago’s Patrick Kane, final score 3-2.

John Tavares continued his streak of scoring in the opening game of the season and Marek Zidlicky scored his first goal as a New York Islander.

Fans adjusted well to the new arena, from concessions to the bathrooms having a much more upscale gameday experience than that of the Coliseum.

Although the commute was rough for some, it was a lot shorter than Kansas City which was a possibility as far as Islanders’ relocation.

The very next night both teams flew to Chicago where the Hawks defeated the Isles 4-1. Goaltender Jean-Francois Berube had his NHL debut sporting the orange and blue. Berube won the AHL Calder Cup last season with the LA Kings affiliate Manchester Monarchs.

To get the Isles on the board, Cal Clutterbuck scored a short-handed goal with just over a minute left in the third period.

The Islanders are back in Brooklyn for the Columbus Day matinée game against the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets are 2-0 so far this season, defeating the Boston Bruins 6-2 in their season opener, and this past Friday beating the New Jersey Devils 3-1.