EAST MEADOW, NY — On Oct. 2, the New York Islanders hosted the New Jersey Devils for their home opener.
The result was spectacular for Pete DeBoer’s squad: a 6-0 victory in which six different players found the back of the net in a well-balanced offensive attack.
However, when you look beyond the scoreboard, it wasn’t necessarily the Islanders’ best performance.
Despite the shutout, New York surrendered more quality scoring chances than it would have liked, relying on Ilya Sorokin to bail the team out on several occasions.
“Even though that was a 6-0 game, I think we gave up too many Grade-A’s in that game,” Islanders captain Bo Horvat told The Elmonters on Friday. “Soroky was incredible, as he usually is. But I think our defensive play has come a long way since that game.”
Fast-forward to now, and the Islanders are a different team.