Plauderecke » The New York Islanders don’t have John Tavares anymore.

RALEIGH Thomas Vanek Jersey , N.C. (AP) — The New York Islanders don’t have John Tavares anymore. They still have playmakers.Reigning rookie of the year Mathew Barzal set up Josh Bailey’s power-play winner 43 seconds into overtime, and the Islanders began their post-Tavares era by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 on Thursday night.“That whole power play has been really good through the preseason,” Trotz said. “(Bailey) understands the spots. Obviously, it runs through Mathew on that one side. They’ve got a real good understanding.”Valtteri Filppula also scored as the Islanders gave Trotz a victory in his debut with the team and spoiled Rod Brind’Amour’s first game behind the Carolina bench.“The amount of work this whole staff has put in has been pretty remarkable, and the amount of information coming our way is overwhelming at times,” alternate captain Cal Clutterbuck said. “Good to see him get that first one. He’s a seasoned guy and I think he’s prepared us well.”Trotz took over shortly after leading Washington to its first Stanley Cup, taking over after Doug Weight was fired. Brind’Amour, the captain of Carolina’s Cup-winning team in 2006, replaced Bill Peters after he left for Calgary. Tavares signed with Toronto as a free agent.Jordan Staal sent it to OT by scoring a deflected goal with 1:35 remaining in regulation for Carolina, but the Islanders started overtime with a 4-on-3 advantage after Micheal Ferland was called for tripping Barzal with 3.2 seconds left.Barzal threaded a cross-ice pass from the circle to Bailey, who ended it by snapping the puck past Mrazek.“They made a great shot. They made a great play,” Carolina captain Justin Williams said. “Our goalie was there, but it was the perfect shot.”Mrazek stopped 18 shots for Carolina. Thomas Greiss made 45 saves for the Islanders, and for a long while appeared headed for another save-heavy shutout in Raleigh. He also stopped 45 shots in a 3-0 victory over Carolina on Feb. 16.“They like to shoot the puck, that’s what it is Nick Foligno Jersey ,” Greiss said.But with Mrazek on the bench for an extra attacker, Dougie Hamilton uncorked a blast that clipped Staal’s backside on its way past Greiss. The goal stood following a review to determine whether Ferland interfered with the Islanders goalie.“We dug in,” Brind’Amour said. “We didn’t just fold.”Both teams enter the season optimistic that their meager recent playoff histories are just that — history.The Islanders, who have just one playoff series win since 1993, have made the postseason just three times in the past 11 years.The Hurricanes have been worse. They’ve made the playoffs just once since Brind’Amour hoisted the Cup, and their nine-year postseason drought is not only the longest active dry spell in the league but one year shy of matching the NHL record for futility.A bad omen for them, perhaps: Since the lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season, the Hurricanes have not made the playoffs in any season in which they lost their first game at PNC Arena.“We’re planning on playing a lot more than 82 games this year,” Williams said. “This was just one. One that didn’t go our way.”Six players — led by No. 2 overall draft pick Andrei Svechnikov — made their debuts with the new-look Hurricanes, including Mrazek, who signed with Carolina in July after club stalwart Cam Ward left for Chicago. He drew the start on opening night after Scott Darling injured his hamstring in the preseason finale four days earlier against Nashville.NOTES: Carolina D Justin Faulk and Svechnikov each rang the post in the first. … Both teams had five wins during the preseason, tied for the most in the Metropolitan Division. … The Hurricanes’ 5-0-1 mark in the preseason was its best since the club moved to North Carolina in 1997.UP NEXTIslanders: Play their home opener Saturday night against Nashville.Hurricanes: Play at Columbus on Friday night. The Washington Capitals got the pageantry of winning the Stanley Cup — the banner-raising, one last celebration with their fans — out of their system Wednesday when they opened the 2018-19 season, although a 7-0 win over the visiting Boston Bruins might have seemed like another chapter to the same party.“That’s a huge day for us,” Evgeny Kuznetzov Authentic Oliver Bjorkstrand Jersey , who had two goals, told NBCSN. “Our fans waited a long time to have a night like that.”Now comes perhaps a dose of reality. The Capitals play on the road on the second of back-to-back nights against a longtime rival that didn’t have to play Wednesday and is champing at the bit to greet them.Article continues below ...“The games are already pretty tense, and this game is going to be no different. It’s going to be a fun one to play in,” Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin said after his team practiced Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena, site of the showdown with the Capitals Thursday night. “Even though it’s just a regular-season game, I think the stakes are high.”Dumoulin seems probable to play after recovering from an upper-body injury late in the preseason.The Penguins and Capitals have been division rivals for decades. Pittsburgh had made a habit of beating Washington in the playoffs en route to winning the Cup. Washington flipped the script in the second round last spring and ousted the two-time defending Cup champions along the way to their first title.That left the Capitals thirsty for more.“As soon as you win the Cup, you don’t want to lose that feeling,” Washington captain Alex Ovechkin told the Washington Post. “You want to win more than one. As soon as you taste it, it’s kind of like a really good restaurant. You go there once, and you want to come back more than once because it’s great.”The Capitals will be without winger Tom Wilson, who was issued a 20-game suspension by the NHL Wednesday for a hit he delivered in a preseason game.Wilson was suspended three games during the playoff series with Pittsburgh last spring for delivering a hit that left Zach Aston-Reese with a broken jaw and a concussion.Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby was critical of Wilson before the length of the latest suspension was known.“He still chooses to make those hits,” Crosby said. “I’m sure the league’s well aware of that. It’s not the first time we’re talking about a hit that he made. … For whatever reason, he still decides to do that.“I just don’t know how many opportunities you need, you know? So, obviously Ryan Murray Jersey , the point hasn’t been made yet.”Perhaps anticipating Wilson’s absence, the Capitals Tuesday claimed winger Dmitrij Jaskin off waivers from St. Louis, and he could make his Washington debut against the Penguins. Defenseman Michal Kempny is out because of a concussion.The Wilson suspension aside, both teams returned for the 2018-19 season largely intact, although Pittsburgh has touted the fact that its players got a longer offseason to rest and recover after two short summers following Cup wins.“I think everyone’s really, really excited,” Dumoulin said of the opening of the season. “You feel the energy throughout the team. I think everyone’s excited to start playing for something again and come together as a team — especially after last year, ending it on a sour note.”While Pittsburgh goaltender Matt Murray will be fresh, Washington coach Todd Reirden had not decided whether to go with his No. 1 goalie, Braden Holtby, a second night in a row against the Penguins after he picked up his 33rd career shutout Wednesday.“I definitely have spent some time on this one, probably as soon as the schedule came out,” Reirden said of the decision.