New York Islanders Fall-Flat in Season Opener, 5-0 to Columbus Blue Jackets (Highlights) 2
COLUMBUS, OH - OCTOBER 6: John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders watches as Cam Atkinson #13 of the Columbus Blue Jackets celebrates after scoring a goal during the first period on October 6, 2017 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

The New York Islanders opened the 2017-18 season on the road in disappointing fashion as the Columbus Blue Jackets bullied them 5-0.

  • New York Islanders 0 (0-1-0, 0 PTS)
  • Columbus Blue Jackets 5 (1-0-0, 2 PTS)
  • NHL, Final, Box Score
  • Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio

The new season opened for the New York Islanders at Nationwide Arena against the Columbus Blue Jackets in an early meeting of Metropolitan Division rivals. This would be a night that the team would like to put in the rearview mirror. The Islanders came out flat from the start, it cost them early and cost them even more in the second period.

It didn’t take long for the Jackets offense to get going as Sonny Milano, of Massapequa, NY scored the first goal of the game beating Thomas Griess only 1:07 into the period. Cam Atkinson later added to the score off of a Calvin de Haan turnover that gave Columbus a 2-0 lead halfway through the period. The goal was checked for a possible kick in but the goal stood. The Islanders had some chances in the opening period but were quickly down 2-0 going into the break and were outshot 14-8 on the ice.

The Islanders had some chances in the opening period but were quickly down 2-0 going into the break and were outshot 14-8 on the ice.

COLUMBUS, OH – OCTOBER 6: Dennis Seidenberg #4 of the New York Islanders can’t block the puck as the shot from Ryan Murray #27 of the Columbus Blue Jackets gets past Thomas Greiss #1 of the New York Islanders for a goal during the second period on October 6, 2017 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

The second period was a different story, the Blue Jackets scored three times within a span of four minutes including a power-play goal to widen the lead to 5-0. The goal scorers were Ryan Murray, Zach Weresnki, and Pierre-Luc Dubois who scored his first career NHL goal. Griess was pulled from the game for the Islanders and replaced by Jaroslav Halak.

The Islanders defense struggled to contain the Blue Jackets offense throughout the period. The offensive chances were limited and they couldn’t get anything going. No scoring in the third period as the final score was 5-0 for a Blue Jackets win in the season opener.

COLUMBUS, OH – OCTOBER 6: Pierre-Luc Dubois #18 of the Columbus Blue Jackets is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of the game against the New York Islanders on October 6, 2017 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

The questions begin with the decisions made to leave out Ryan Pulock and Josh Ho-Sang of the opener and the performance by the defense. Head Coach Doug Weight has to be concerned with the effort shown tonight but knows his group has a quick turnaround ahead. It is way too early to compare this situation to the past.

The pressure is on Weight to get this group playing consistent hockey from the start or else it could lead to the same old problems once again. In net, will Halak stand out as the number one goalie? Time will tell on that position, but he sure will be playing with that same chip on his shoulder from a year ago after his AHL stint and in a contract year. That is something that could also motivate Thomas Greiss to build off this game which was a struggle for him.

The Islanders next game is tomorrow night at Barclays Center for their home opener against the Buffalo Sabres with a puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

 NEXT: Isles 2017-18 Season Preview, Predictions 

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John Santamaria
John Santamaria joins as a writer in March 2017. He is a graduate of New York Institute of Technology with an M.A. and B.F.A. in Communication Arts. John currently is a Technology teacher and prior to that was employed at MLB Advanced Media and CBS Sports Network. He also works as a Public Address Announcer for various colleges including his alma mater NYIT. John is a lifelong sports fan rooting for the Mets, Islanders, Jets, and Knicks.

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