The New York Islanders will start the 2024-5 season against the Utah Hockey Club, which moved from Arizona and does not even have a name yet. This game gives the Islanders an awesome opportunity to win if they play well.
The Utah Hockey Club already had a regular season game, they beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2, which should give them some confidence, but this is a winnable game if the Islanders play well, despite being shorthanded. The Islanders also need to stay healthy.
The Importance Of a Fast Start
Last season the Islanders won their first two games but then went on to win only three more games in their first 16 as they endured a seven-game losing streak. Five times in their first sixteen games the Islanders either lost in overtime or a shootout, getting a “loser point.” They made the playoffs but in the last game of the season. The Islanders need to do much better than this to start the 2024-25 season. This game is a must because a difficult West Coast swing is coming up after the home game against the Utah Hockey Club.
2024-25 Islanders Roster
A little troubling is that the Islanders have a very similar roster to last year, except a year older. They did add Anthony Duclair, probably the best free-agent signing in the National Hockey League. They also signed a player from the KHL, Maxim Tsyplakov. Tsyplakov is a bit of a wild card, but will he develop into a player like Alexi Yashin?
Duclair will play on the first line with Mat Barzal and Bo Horvat. Tsyplakov will play on the second line with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri. The third line will be Captain Anders Lee, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Simon Holmstrom. The fourth line will be greatly changed. Gone is the Identity Line. This season this fourth line will have Casey Cizikas, Kyle MacLean, and Oliver Wahlstrom.
The defensive pairings for the New York Islanders this season will be Alexander Romanov and Noah Dobson; Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech; Mike Reilly and Scott Mayfield. Dobson is one of the best players in the National Hockey League and a candidate for the Calder Trophy (presented to the NHL’s best defenseman). Mayfield missed 41 games last year and played the other 41 games with a broken ankle. In goal, the New York Islanders have one of the best goal-tending combinations in the National Hockey League and a Russian connection. The Islanders have Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov.
Utah Hockey Club This Season
The Utah Hockey Club moved from Arizona in the offseason. They do not have a real name yet but are skilled. The Utah Hockey Club sports lines of Clayton Keller, Barrett Hayton, and Nick Schmaltz. On the second line for the Utah Hockey Club this season are Jack McBain, Logan Cooley, and Dylan Guenther. On the third line for Utah are Matias Maccelli, Josh Doan, and Lawson Crouse. On the fourth line for Utah will be Liam O’Brien, Kevin Stenlund, and Alex Kerfoot.
On defense, Utah has Mikhail Sergachev paired with Sean Durzi; Juuso Valimaki paired with Michael Kesselring; and, Ian Cole paired with Vladislav Kolyachonok. At goaltender Utah has Connor Ingram and Karel Vejmelka.
Conclusion
The Islanders need two points in the game tonight at home against the Utah Hockey Club because they go on a difficult West Coast road trip for the next three games. If they play well they will get those two points. The New Jersey Devils have already won two games so these two points are crucial.
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