Tavares leading Isles out of the darkness

There were many things to take away from the Islanders' home opener against the Penguins Saturday night, but chief among them was this -- the worst is over.

It couldn't get much worse last season. The Isles finished with the fewest points in the NHL, and had so many injuries it was almost impossible to gauge the development of their young players or the success of first-year coach Scott Gordon's system.

That failure, however, yielded the No. 1 overall draft pick, and the Islanders selected John Tavares. And while the rookie center scored a goal and an assist in his debut, the points were almost secondary to the other thing he delivered in spades -- hope.

The full house at Nassau Coliseum came to see a savior, and they were not disappointed. But they got much more. The Islanders outplayed the defending Stanley Cup champions for much of the game, and if victories were awarded solely on effort, the Isles would have notched one in the win column.

Mark Streit scored on a 5-on-3 power play, rifling the puck in off a feed down low from Trent Hunter, with Tavares getting the secondary assist. Then Tavares scored the first of his career with a quick backhander on the power play. Hunter scored the Isles' third goal, creating some space for himself before converting a sweet backhand pass from Josh Bailey.

The Penguins, however, are champs for a reason, and the great teams often enjoy the good bounce. Two of the Pittsburgh goals went in off the stick shaft or skate of an Islander. Otherwise, Dwayne Roloson made those of us born in the 60s proud by turning in a strong effort.

Tavares was paired with training camp feel-good story Matt Moulson and Kyle Okposo, and that line looked downright dangerous -- a welcome sight for fans desperate for some offensive firepower.

Brendan Witt leveled Ruslan Fedotenko, leading to the 5-on-3 power play, which almost made up for the fact that he forgot that it was Sidney Effing Crosby streaking down the right wing for Pittsburgh's first goal.

You'd think that after such a dismal season, to earn a point against the champs in the opener would be satisfying, and to some degree it was. But the effort was so strong, you couldn't help but be disappointed.

Islanders fans can only hope the team felt the same way and has no regard for moral victories.

I have to admit, when the Islanders didn't go out and get any free agent help this past offseason beyond the two goalies, I was disappointed. After Saturday's game, I'm glad they didn't. I want to see how this group develops. I want to see them struggle and learn how to win. I want to go along for that ride.

Of course, the Isles could get blown out in game two and all the optimism of the opener could get swept away, but I can't shake the feeling that this is going to be a very interesting -- and dare I say, enjoyable -- season.

The dark days are behind us.

Islanders opening night: On with the show!

Overture, curtain, lights!
This is it. We'll hit the heights!
And oh, what heights we'll hit!
On with the show, this is it!

You know what that's from, don't you? Answer at the end of the post (and if you're over 40 and you don't know, you didn't watch enough television as a child).

A few quick thoughts as we get ready for the Islanders' season opener Saturday night against the visiting Stanley Cup champs, the Penguins.

Doug Weight was named team captain, and it is the absolute right call. A team with so much youth needs a respected veteran as captain, and the players clearly hold Weight in high regard. Good call with Streit, Witt, Park and Okposo getting the 'A.' They all deserve it.

Charles Wang and Tom Suozzi announced the new lease, which will finally allow the Islanders to retain most if not all of the income from games, including ticket sales and concessions. Now they just have to get approval and build the Lighthouse. Piece of cake, right?

It will be refreshing to actually focus on hockey and not meetings and press conferences and politics, and hopefully the Coliseum will have a full house to greet the Pens with ire. And, of course, we'll get to see the NHL debut of John Tavares, who has some expectations to fulfill.

Kyle Okposo should be ready to play in the opener after suffering a mild concussion after being freight-trained by Dion Phaneuf. Here's the thing -- I watched the hit over and over, almost hoping to see something dirty. I didn't.

To anyone who thinks Phaneuf left his feet, his skates left the ice after the hit was made, and that was lucky for Okposo. It means some of the impact was felt by Phaneuf. It's simple physics, people.

Anyway, here's hoping Okposo can play his normal game and get back on the horse. Scoring a goal will help quite a bit in that regard.

In fact, let's see a few goals. Last season, if the opposition scored twice you knew the game was over. When Scott Gordon was hired there was a promise of fast-paced, high-scoring hockey. The pace was there but not the production.

One year later, maybe this mix of young forwards can start making things happen. Or at least make things exciting again.

Answer: It's a verse from the opening theme of The Bugs Bunny Show. You're welcome.

Your season is now - Islanders preview

So what did you do over the summer?

If you're like me, you mowed the lawn (a lot), took the kids on vacation, and tried to complete at least a couple of items on the neverending honey-do list. Some of us were immersed in the baseball season, and today Yankees fans eagerly await another playoff run, while Mets fans step down from the ledge. The lucky ones are also hockey fans, and therefore have something to live for now that October is here.

The really lucky ones are Islanders fans, of course, and the summer was also good for providing some breathing room and perspective on the free agent signing period, which began with an exodus not seen since Spaulding yelled "Doodie!" at the Bushwood pool.

It was a dark day, indeed, mostly because Ryan Smyth decided to take the money in Colorado, which we know from Mike Hampton has excellent schools. But were we really surprised? You knew Blake and Poti were going, and that Smyth would have been incredible here but was probably a long shot. So give Garth Snow a ton of credit for sticking with a game plan and then going out and finding quality players who fit the system.

And that, dear reader, is the key: Fitting the system. Ted Nolan and Snow are on the same page and Nolan knows what he wants in his players, and Snow did his best to find those players. And he did a good job. Mike Comrie and Bill Guerin will help provide some of the pop lost with the departure of Smyth and Blake, and Guerin also steps into the captain's role, one that never suited Alexei Yashin, whose buyout is almost the definition of addition by subtraction.

Throw in Mike Sillinger, the underrated Ruslan Fedotenko and a solid player like Jon Sim, and the offense should produce, providing players like Miro Satan and Trent Hunter can step up their games. We love the tenacity of Richard Park and the strength of Chris Simon (we forgive you, even though Hollweg won't), and Josef Vasicek, in his second season following his knee injury, could surprise. Andy Hilbert on the second line is a surprise. We can't believe Darryl Bootland is wearing Tonelli's No. 27. If the fans had any say, that number would be retired, too.

The key could be Sean Bergenheim, who played in Europe last season having not signed with the Islanders. He is back and could be one of those special players; he is already a fan favorite. Jeff Tambellini did not make the opening roster, but Nolan put it best when he said Tambellini is not a fourth-line guy. Expect Tambellini to make it back to the Island at some point this season, and stay.

The Islanders got tough on defense with the addition of Andy Sutton. Nolan begins the season with eight defensemen, and with Brendan Witt, Marc-Andre Bergeron, a healthy Radek Martinek, Bruno Gervais, Chris Campoli, Aaron Johnson and Freddy Meyer, there is certainly depth. And don't forget about Bryan Berard, who could well end up on the team if, as reported on several blogs, the Isles can work out a trade.

That's plenty of support for Rick DiPietro, who is rounding into one of the top goalies in the league. Here's hoping his play gets more coverage than his contract, which is old news. Wade Dubielewicz gets the backup spot and we couldn't be happier.

So what does it all mean? In a tough division, the Islanders took a step back and then a few steps forward. This was a playoff team last season and despite the losses, this year's model is deeper and more well-rounded, with plenty of talent surrounding DiPietro, who should carry the Islanders to another post-season berth. Can you say sleeper? Shhhhhhhhhhh. It's going to be a fun season.