NEW YORK — Not all games are going to go as smoothly as the Islanders’ season opener.
But if the Islanders are to follow through on their own high expectations, Thursday night’s 4-0 win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden provided a blueprint of what must go right.
The leaders led, those counted on to score scored, special teams made a difference and goalie Semyon Varlamov displayed a calm, midseason form in making 24 saves.
Captain Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal all scored first-period goals and fellow top-six forward Jordan Eberle added one in the second period.
The teams meet again Saturday night at the Garden before the Islanders open their home schedule against the Bruins on Monday at Nassau Coliseum.
The Islanders, coming off their first Eastern Conference finals berth since 1993, are not shying away from their lofty goals for this season.
"I think our level of determination and focus, as a result of where we’ve been and where we’ve come to, it’s at the highest peak since we’ve been here," Lee said before the game. "I think we know what we have in front of us and the opportunity that’s here and in the group in the room. We just want to make sure we take advantage of our time."
The Islanders have not reached the Stanley Cup Final since 1984 after winning four straight Cups from 1980-83. They have reached the playoffs in each of the first two seasons under president and general manager Lou Lamoriello and coach Barry Trotz but have not reached the postseason three straight times since 2002-04.
"There is no reason to be satisfied at this point," right wing Josh Bailey said. "We didn’t accomplish what we wanted. We took some strides in the right direction. Now, it’s a new season. You learn from those experiences and try to put them to good use and move forward and try to apply them here as we go along this season."
Nelson’s power-play goal from the low slot opened the scoring at 2:33 of the first period and Eberle’s power-play shot from the right circle that deflected in made it 4-0 at 14:54 of the second period. It certainly appeared Lee tipped it in at the crease so that scoring may change. Lee also had a potential third-period goal waved off for contact with goalie Igor Shesterkin (29 saves).
The Islanders were 2 for 8 on the man advantage and an effective power play is another must-have for this season.
The Islanders were 24th in the NHL last season at 17.3% (29 for 168) and 15th out of 24 postseason teams at 15.4% (12 for 78). That included going 2 for 19 (10.5%) in their six-game Eastern Conference final loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Lightning.
The penalty kill was also effective as the Rangers went 0 for 3 on the power play with four shots.
Lee, keeping the puck on a two-on-one with Eberle, beat Shesterkin from the left circle at 3:52 to make it 2-0. Barzal, with a highlight-reel, short-side wrist shot after freezing defenseman Tony DeAngelo at the blue line, pushed it to 3-0 at 13:31.
The younger players contributed as well, another important component.
After being brought along deliberately as a rookie, defenseman Noah Dobson, taking on a full-time role with Devon Toews traded and Johnny Boychuk in de facto retirement, was used both on the power play — setting up Eberle’s goal — and the penalty kill.
Rookie Kieffer Bellows played a physical game as he lined up on Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s left wing, drawing a hooking penalty on No. 1 overall pick Alexis Lafreniere at 14:13 of the second period that led to Eberle’s goal.
