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 Center John Tavares scored in the fifth round of the shootout
Thursday night and the Islanders continued their perfect start with
a dramatic 4-3 win over the previously perfect San Jose Sharks.
The Islanders, who have reached the playoffs once in the last seven
seasons, are 4-0-0 for only the third time in franchise history.
Neither of the first two Islanders squads to open with at least four
straight wins -- the 1976-77 team, which began 4-0-0, or the 2001-02
team, which started 6-0-0 -- went on to win the Stanley Cup, though
both reached the playoffs.
The longest perfect start by the Islanders' dynastic teams happened
in 1981, when the second of the four straight champions opened
2-0-0.
"It's early, but certainly all the points, all the wins count,"
Tavares said. "We've got a great group in here. Everyone's kind of
fitting in nicely. It's nice to see. We've just got to keep it
going."
The rebuilt-on-the-fly Islanders -- who share the NHL lead in points
with Montreal (4-1-0) and are one of two unbeaten teams, along with
Minnesota (2-0-0) -- were buoyed by holdovers and newcomers alike
Thursday.
Defenseman Nick Leddy, who was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks
on Oct. 4, tied the score with a second-period goal.
Right winger Kyle Okposo, a first-round pick of the Islanders in
2006, and center Josh Bailey, New York's first-round pick in 2008,
scored the tying and go-ahead goals in the third period before
Sharks center Tomas Hertl tied the score at 3-3 with 9:44 left.
Center Logan Couture gave the Sharks a quick lead in the shootout by
scoring on San Jose's first shot, but Okposo kept the Islanders
alive by scoring on their third shot.
Two rounds later, Tavares -- whom the Islanders selected first
overall in 2009 -- added yet another entry to his resume of
impressive shootout goals. He came to a nearly complete stop a few
feet in front of Sharks goalie Alex Stalock and shuffled the puck at
the edge of his stick about 10 times before flipping it into the
upper right corner of the net.
"What more can you say? I think the move speaks for itself," Bailey
said. "It was an incredible move. We've come to expect those things
out of Johnny. He's that special of a player."
Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak, who signed a four-year deal as a
free agent in July, then stopped Sharks center Joe Thornton to send
the crowd of 11,248 into a frenzy.
Chants of "YES! YES! YES!" filled the corridors as fans exited the
42-year-old Coliseum. The Islanders begin play at Brooklyn's
Barclays Center next season.
"We have high-character guys in that room that went through a period
obviously of the rebuild," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "We're
at a point now that we believe when we go into games, we can win
games. We always believed that, but (general manager) Garth (Snow)
made some real good acquisitions for our hockey club."
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Halak finished with 20 saves in regulation and overtime for the
Islanders.
Defenseman Brent Burns and center Patrick Marleau scored in the
second period for the Sharks (3-0-1), who were trying to open the
season with at least four straight wins for the third straight
season. San Jose began last season at 6-0-0 and started the 2013
campaign 7-0-0.
The shootout loss soured an otherwise magnificent performance by
Stalock, who made 42 saves, including 14 in a scoreless first period
in which the Sharks got off just three shots of their own.
"Played a remarkable game," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "Gave
us the game we thought we'd get from him. Some really good saves.
Gave us a chance to regroup between periods, come out and wade our
way into the second and third."
The Sharks became the first visiting team to play its last game at
Nassau Coliseum, where they went 6-7-2-1 (wins-losses-ties-overtime
losses).
NOTES: Islanders C Mikhail Grabovski didn't return to the game after
suffering an upper body injury when he was leveled by Sharks LW John
Scott late in the first period. Grabovski laid motionless for about
a minute before slowly making his way off the ice. ... Before the
game, the Islanders activated D Calvin de Haan from injured reserve
and sent D Griffin Reinhart to Bridgeport of the AHL. De Haan missed
the first three games with an upper-body injury. ... The Islanders
had a trio of healthy scratches: LW Eric Boulton, D Matt Donovan and
RW Colin McDonald. ... The Sharks scratched RW Mike Brown, who
missed his second straight game with a hand injury, and C James
Sheppard, who has yet to play this season because of a knee injury,
as well as healthy D Scott Hannan. ... Sharks C Joe Thornton said
his jaw felt fine Thursday, less than two days after he was hit
there by a puck that caromed off the crossbar before the Sharks' 6-5
win over the Washington Capitals. Thornton underwent a precautionary
jaw exam Wednesday.
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