Islanders News: Opening Night in the City

NOTE: Hey! It's your last day to enter Torgo's annual prediction content. If you've been waiting for whatever reason, do it now.

The NHL opened the 2016-17 season with some good theater last night. Hopefully the Islanders add to the lore against their cross-town rivals at the Garden tonight, against a foe the Isles swept (tee hee hee) last season.

We had a bunch to say about it all yesterday...

Islanders News

• Do you worry about your Metro foes? You should, and Leboff can help you... Seriously, even Carolina "put a bunch of skills in a computer and use a 3-D printer to create players with code names like Sebastian Aho, Sergey Tolchinsky, and Jaccob Slavin." Seriously, best preview you'll read.  [LHH]
• Jaroslav Halak, an illness question, is expected to start tonight. Like Eric Stratton, rush chairman (or Alan Stanwyk, if you prefer), he's just damned glad to be here. [Newsday]
• "It's fun just to think about." re: Islanders vs. Rangers in the playoffs. [NHL]
• Andrew Ladd (full-time), Travis Hamonic (part-time) and Cal Clutterbuck (same) get the A's for this year's captain crew. [LHH]
• Arthur Staple took questions and made the most of them on a variety of Isles topics ahead of the opener. [Newsday]
• The Islanders are different, yet the questions feels the same. Let Dan explain. [LHH]
• You may have seen yesterday that the Chimera-on-line-one thing continued. Jack Capuano was cagey about what the mix would be tonight, but ultimately the guy is just preaching a balanced, four-line attack. [Newsday]
• What's in Jack Capuano's inbox? Spizzwolf returns with perhaps his best interpretation yet. [LHH Fanpost]
• New season, new Opening Night Skinny from Hornick. [NYI Skinny]
• Some awesome photos from Isles Media Day, frankly. [Isles]
• Not to be forgotten, the Sound Tigers season preview is also here. And at least for now, they have some serious studs up front and on the blueline thanks to Isles camp cuts. [CT Post]
• Speaking of which, Isles camp PTO Stephen Gionta signed a deal with Bridgeport. (I can only imagine the number of LHH comment spiral threads were devoted to the outrage of Gionta surely making the Isles 23-man roster.) [Soundin' Off | Sound Tigers]
• If nothing else, Eamon McAdam has a great new mask. [Penn Live]
• Puck Daddy had various predictions with the Isles in various positions. [Yahoo]
• In case you didn't catch this in yesterday's bits, it seems the Isles approached Kris Versteeg before they inked a deal with P.A. Parenteau. It's a business, you know. [TSS]

The Great Beyond

• Here are all 30 teams' top lines (maybe) and guess what? If Chimera remains then the Islanders are really old. Like Sedin twins old. [TSN]
• Before any of the games started, there was lots of drama yesterday, like Chimera on the first line, Carey Price ill for the Habs opener, and Jack Eichel being felled in practice. [Die By The Blade]
  
• Auston Matthews had himself a debut. Four goals. Naturally, the Leafs still lost, 5-4 (OT). [PPP]
• Matthews’ colleagues were watching. And commenting. Cool reactions collected here. [NHL]
• Big Leafs acquisition Frederik Andersen wasn't the only goalie to be torched in his debut. Brian Elliott experienced the same in Calgary. [Matchsticks & Gasoline]
  
• Jonathan Quick left the Kings-Sharks game with an injury. Bummer. [JFTC]
  
• Sportsnet had a bunch of damn predictions too.
• Cool story of two Flyers teenagers who were drafted and made the NHL together. [BSH]
• I work on a college campus and yesterday I saw a girl wearing a Patrick Kane jersey and I thought, "Huh, that's not a jersey I'd wear, especially if I were a woman," but anyway he has a way with umbrellas. [SB Nation]
• Boo-hoo, the NHL is sticking it to Canada somehow again. [Globe and Mail]
• WAYNE GRETZKY IS RETURNING TO THE OILERS. Not as a player though; he's kinda old. It's some "ambassador of fun" type position. [Copper & Blue | TSN]
• Original Kings play-by-play man and Isles legend Jiggs McDonald will call a game for L.A. this season. [JFTC]