OTTAWA, Ontario _ The Islanders returned their roster almost intact from last season, which the team and its fans hoped would translate into a quick start in 2019-20.
So far, so good. Their 4-2 victory over the Senators on Friday night at Canadian Tire Centre improved their early record to 7-3 and gave them a six-game winning streak _ the longest in the NHL this season.
The eventful, frenetic game featured Nick Leddy becoming the first defenseman in Islanders history to score on a penalty shot, and nearly becoming their first defenseman with a hat trick since Denis Potvin.
He initially was awarded a third goal, but it was changed to Matt Martin on a deflection.
The Islanders improved to 13-1-1 under coach Barry Trotz in the second of back-to-back games over his two seasons.
The evening was marred by a potentially serious left leg injury to Tom Kuhnhackl, who rammed into the end boards and did not return, putting the Islanders in a tough spot because they had dressed only 11 forwards.
Martin also suffered a left leg injury _ he later returned _ and Cal Clutterbuck missed more than half the second period after a fight, so for a while the Islanders had only eight forwards available, and at one point defenseman Noah Dobson filled in as a forward on the power play.
The Islanders led 2-1 after the opening period.
It began with the Senators (2-7-1) taking a lead at 7:59, when Tyler Ennis tipped in Thomas Chabot's shot from the point one second after the expiration of a penalty on Anders Lee.
Things got worse for the Islanders a few minutes later when Kuhnhackl crashed into the end boards while batting Dylan DeMelo.
Fans in Ottawa groaned in unison when the play was shown on the video board as Kuhnhackl was helped off.
At 13:00 of the first, Leddy tied it with a lovely end-to-end rush through the Senators and backhanded the puck between the pads of Ottawa goaltender Anders Nilsson, a former Islander.
Leddy only was getting started.
The Islanders were on a rare power play _ they have had the fewest such chances in the league by far _ when Leddy was brought down by Nikita Zaitsev on a breakaway chance and was awarded a penalty shot.
He skated in on Nilsson and beat him to the stick side at 17:19 to give the Islanders the lead.
Leddy, who totaled four goals in 82 games last season, then appeared to score on a blast from the top of the left circle at 4:58 of the second. But during the second intermission the scoring was changed to a goal for Martin.
Derick Brassard made it 4-1 at 6:08, chasing Nilsson from the net in favor of Craig Anderson.
It was soon after that that Martin collided with an open door on the Senators bench and had to be helped off the ice, seemingly having injured his left leg. But he was back for the third period.
The already short-handed Islanders survived 1:10 of 5-on-3 skating in the second period against the woeful Senators power play. But after not scoring a power-play goal at home all season, the Senators finally broke through when Ennis scored at 7:08 of the third to make it 4-2.
Ennis later angered Thomas Greiss for trying to dislodge the puck from the goalie's glove. Greiss shoved him, then Clutterbuck tackled him.
Next up for the Islanders are the Flyers at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on Sunday. Their regular season is not even one-eighth over, but this was the start they hoped for when they looked around the room in training camp and saw so many familiar faces.
