Chris Conner

Sydney Crosby

Marc-Andre Fleury

Coach Dan Blysma

Contact Bob Trainor at trainorcomm@gmail.com for more information.

John Tavares’ NHL debut went better than the two perennial All-Stars he opposed last night. The first overall draft pick fired a sweeping backhand shot in the second period for his first goal after adding a first-period assist, picking up a multi-point game in his debut.

But Crosby scored Pittsburgh’s first goal and the game-winner, combining with Kris Letang for Pittsburgh’s two shootout goals in a 4-3 win. Trent Hunter and Mark Streit added goals for the Islanders, allowing the club to salvage a point in the season opener.

“I think I felt better out there than I did all preseason,” said Tavares, who had his parents and sister in the stands. “All the fans were into it. The pace was high and it was exciting.”

Trent Hunter broke a 2-all deadlock with his snap-shot goal below the circles 7:36 into the final period. Former Islanders’ forward Ruslan Fedotenko prevented his ex-teammates from celebrating in front of a sold-out crowd, sending a wrist shot into the open net with 3:49 remaining in regulation.

Letang and Crosby scored on Pittsburgh’s first two shootout attempts to earn the full two points. Though the shootout scores do not count towards individual goal totals, Tavares missed the chance to find the net again when his attempt sailed high. Crosby then beat new Islanders goalie Dwayne Roloson to send the Penguins off the ice with a win for a second straight night.

Yet the Islanders story centered on Tavares, who sent most of the 16,234-strong Nassau Coliseum throngs into a frenzy with his second-period goal that beat Marc-Andre Fleury and prompted a group hug from teammates Trent Hunter, Kyle Okposo and Matt Moulson. It took only 27:09 into his first game for the 19-year-old Tavares to post his first career milestone.

“It’s just a lot of excitement,” Tavares said. “All the hard work and everything [I’ve] strived for since I was three years old. It was such a good feeling and it was an important goal at the time.”

Tavares jumped near the glass before his teammates enthusiastically embraced him near the Islanders bench. Moulson didn’t get an assist but Tavares said his fellow Ontario native’s presence made the goal extra sweet.

“We grew up training together for a few years and it was special for him to start the game on my line and help me score my goal,” Tavares said.

Tavares logged two shots in 22:05, including 5:02 of power play time. Gordon said Tavares is maturing in his own zone instead of focusing solely on scoring.

“I think John has been attentive in the defensive zone,” Gordon said. “In training camp and tonight, he’s been committed to the d-side of it. Right from the get-go, we want him to be not just a great offensive player, but to be a great two-way player.”

Roloson allowed an early goal to Crosby before two Pittsburgh third-period goals forced overtime.  The Penguins raised a banner in its home opener the previous day in a win against the Rangers yet still mustered 42 shots playing back-to-back days. Roloson stopped 39, including four overtime saves in prompt a shootout .

Roloson, a former first-string goalie for Edmonton, capitalized on his first chance to be a starter in place of the injured Rick DiPietro. One-time Flyers starting goalie Martin Biron will also look to earn a bulk of minutes as the Isles try to shoot up the Eastern Conference standings.

“It’s a process and we have to believe we were as low as we could possibly get last year and now we have to start building positively in the standings,” Gordon said. “I think tonight was a good start.”

Coming off a last-place finish, the Islanders failed to have a single 20-goal scorer for the first time in franchise history. The offense returned to Long Island at least for a night as Tavares’ goal broke a 1-all tie.

The 6-0, 190-pound left-handed shot caused the crowd to pulsate again when he raced in for a breakaway chance just more than two minutes later. Fleury extended his glove to acrobatically knock down Tavares’ breakaway chance midway through the second as Tavares went for his first NHL multi-goal game.

The Islanders were the second-worst scoring team last season yet Tavares said the talent level could improve those scoring chances.

“We’re looking to surprise a lot of people in the future and this year as well,” Tavares said. “Building this nucleus with a lot of veterans we have, I think it’s going to be great this year and down the road.”

Coach Scott Gordon paired Tavares with fellow former first-round pick Kyle Okposo and Matt Moulson. Okposo, the Islanders leading scorer from last season, will be looking to form an offensive duo akin to the Pens’ Crosby-Malkin tandem that combined for 216 points last season.

“I don’t think you can compare yourself to anybody,” Okposo said about the parallels to Pittsburgh. “We’d love to do what they did and start from a young core and win a Stanley Cup somebody  but we’re looking to improve and get better this season.”

Crosby, the 2004 first-overall pick who led the Penguins to a title last season, showed Islanders’ fans what a highly touted player can do for a moribund franchise. At 22, Crosby is barely old enough to drink but already won a championship ring, a scoring title and an MVP trophy.

The NHL’s 2007 scoring leader scored his second goal in as many games, racing in all alone on Roloson before burying a shot as Pittsburgh surged to a 1-0 lead  8:50 into the game.

But Okposo and Tavares worked towards the Isles’ first goal, each earning the assist 12:40 into the contest when Mark Streit blasted a hard top-of-the-right circle shot for the power play goal. Tavares was credited with the secondary assist and Okposo the first; marking what Islanders fans hope is a harbinger of future success.

“I try not to look too far ahead but we have a good group of guys here,” Okposo said. “We were moving the puck pretty well out there.

“Maybe down the road it can lead to something special. Hopefully this year it does, too.”

Notes: Okposo served as the on-ice captain with Doug Weight out of the lineup…Malkin added one assist, two shots and was a plus-2 in 23:12…Fleury finished with 25 saves.

John Tavares, the No. 1 overall draft choice, signed a three-year entry level contract worth almost $900,000 per season that could escalate to as much as four million dollars annually if incentives are reached. Should the 18-year-old center make the Islanders out of training camp, his first NHL game action will come against former top overall draft picks in Sidney Crosby and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

“It’s really not going to change the way I think or the way I live my daily life or approach the game,” Tavares said at the team’s Iceworks facility.

The contact came during the last day of prospect camp. Tavares was named the fourth top overall draft selection in Islanders history during June’s draft in Montreal and will now compete for a roster spot right away when the club assemblies for the Saskatoon-based training camp.

“It’s good to be here and officially be part of the organization,” Tavares said. “It’s nice to have it behind me but it’s not going to change me.

“I still have to work on a lot of things, getting physically stronger and getting my pace up to NHL standards.”

General manager Garth Snow worked with Tavares to reach an agreement early in the offseason. It took the Islanders until Oct. 2 to sign last year’s first round pick Josh Bailey, who missed the first 14 games with an unspecified lower body injury.

The Islanders will not have to worry about a holdout and Tavares said he can concentrate on preparing for the season instead of worrying about the game’s business aspect.

“He’s a driven kid and obviously we’ve said all along he’s another piece of the puzzle of what we’re trying to build here,” Snow said. “He’s going to fit in nicely with the group that we have.”

Scott Gordon led the practice for the team’s prospects and other invited young players that started Friday and concluded yesterday.

The Islanders head coach said the sessions were designed to be instructional instead of a way to evaluate skills, though Gordon said he came away impressed with the teenage Tavares’ poise and offensive skills near the net.

“Sometimes it looks like he has three sticks to the defender’s one stick in his ability to do the things he does with the puck,” Gordon said. “His nose around the net is a unique talent and to me that was the most evident thing about his game that really stood out.”

Almost 500 people attended Tavares’ public press conference last week and a similar crowd lined up to get into the practice facility here on Sunday when a scrimmage was open to the public. Before his first shift, Tavares already has helped generate excitement to a team that finished the season last in attendance.

“It’s great to see the fan support in the middle of July when they could be on the beach instead of in a cold rink,” said Calvin de Haan, the Islanders other first-round pick and a former teammate of Tavares in the OHL. “It’s an exciting time for this team. They’re rebuilding and we have a lot of talent coming up through the system.”

But the Islanders duo out-played its Pittsburgh counterparts in the clutch Monday afternoon, with both struggling youngsters beating Marc-Andre Fleury in the shootout while Joey MacDonald stymied All-Stars Malkin and Crosby in the skills competition to help the Isles post a 3-2 win in front of a sold-out Nassau Coliseum crowd.

Tambellini still has just two goals in 39 games and logged just 12:16 of ice time before coach Scott Gordon turned to the winger in the second round of the shootout after Nielsen and Petr Sykora traded goals in the shootout’s first round.

Afterwards, Tambellini said he had one strategy against Fleury.

“The high glove,” he said about his strategy. “I was looking to go there and he plays that butterfly style, so if you can catch him off guard, it’s a good chance.”

MacDonald logged 35 saves in helping the Islanders snap a five-game losing streak. He used a poke-check to stop Malkin’s attempt and secured the victory with a pad save on Crosby’s final attempt.

The netminder stopped all but two shots, including Malkin’s individual move that resulted in his 25th goal and Ryan Whitney’s power play tally to erase two Islander leads.

“Those guys are exceptional and you have to bump your game up a little  bit and put more pressure on yourself,” MacDonald said about facing one of the league’s best 1-2 combination. “It’s a lot easier when your team scores, that always helps.”

Sean Bergenheim’s pass hit Chris Campoli in the skates before slipping past Fleury for a lead just 11:34 into the contest. Malkin tied it with 1:53 remaining. The NHL’s point leader increased his total to 82, getting off a shot before blue liner Jack Hillen could step up defensive pressure, Malkin unloaded a wrist shot that beat MacDonald from the left circle to tie it at 1 just before the first intermission.

“You don’t want to get into one of those losing streaks, but at the same time, the last couple of games I think we fell away from playing like we always do; like working hard in the corners and battling in front of the net. I thought got back to that today.”

Nielsen gave the home team the lead again by crashing the net and pushing the puck past the goal line moments before Jordan Stall pushed Richard Park into the crossbar, knocking the net off its moorings. The officials signaled a goal immediately, marking Nielsen’s third goal of the season.

“It’s not fun when you have a losing streak,” Nielsen said. “We really needed this.”

Crosby set up Whitney’s game-tying goal with 2:53 left in the second. Whitney took Crosby’s right circle backhand pass that floated right to his stick blade and buried the one-time wrist shot to knot it at 2.

Pittsburgh still picked up a point in interim head coach Dan Bylsma’s debut. The Penguins fired Michel Therrien Sunday nearly eight months after he guided the Pens to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Pens are four points behind Buffalo for the last playoff spot despite having two of the league’s top three leaders in points. Crosby’s assist gave him 73 points, one behind Alex Ovechkin for the second spot.

“Anytime Sid and Malkin come to town, it’s a good chance,” Tambellini said.  “They were coming off an emotional night. Our defense was fantastic and Joey MacDonald stood on his head as usual. We rolled lines all night. It was a solid effort.”

Yet the Penguins had to settle for the one point despite having a mismatch in talent and a 41-21 advantage in faceoffs. Gordon said the Islanders used a total team effort to stay competitive against the reigning Eastern Conference champions.

“We didn’t have too many passengers today,” Gordon said. “I thought we got a pretty good effort from everybody.”

The Islanders will be off Tuesday before heading to the Garden for a key game for the struggling Rangers. With the Blueshirts sinking downwards, the Isles can deliver another difficult loss that might hinder its rival’s postseason chances.

Scott Clemmensen continued his great play for New Jersey. (Bill Menzel/NYSD)

NEWARK, NJ – The night was dedicated to man whose voice has defined the modern era of hockey, and Mike “Doc” Emrick asked the two teams on the ice to play hard and to give the crowd a great game.

Doc’s request was honored, as the team on the ice gave a fitting tribute, as the Devils came back from a 3-1 deficit to win 4-3 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime.

“We played pretty darn well here tonight again, we were down two goals but we played well and that was the encouraging side of it. They stayed with it,” said Coach Brent Sutter.

The win continued the Devils winning streak to eight games, which had boosted the team into second place in the Eastern Conference and first in the Atlantic Division coming into Friday night’s game.

Pittsburgh seemed impatient during the ceremonies honoring Mike “Doc” Emrick, but the pent up energy was put to good use as the Pens scored two goals within 20 seconds in the first period.

Max Talbot deflected a shot by Ryan Whitney over Scott Clemmensen’s left shoulder and in 9:33 into the game. Moments later, Sidney Crosby took the puck up the right side and fired a laser of a shot in the same spot.

“Playing every night against those types of players, you get used to it. It doesn’t get any easier though,” Clemmensen said about facing scorers like Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. “They’re very shifty with their feet. You never know when the shot’s going to come.”

New Jersey answered, scoring with 11:21 off the clock, when Bobby Holik converted on a deft pass from Brendan Shanahan. Shanahan was pinned behind the net and made a back handed pass to Holik as he skated past the net. Holik put the puck on the back of his stick and tapped it past Marc-Andre Fleury.

Neither team scored in the second period, although the Devils increased their shot-on-goal total to 26-13.

Brian Gionta nearly deflected in a shot, and Travis Zajac took a pass from Jamie Langenbrunner and rifled the puck off of the post.

New Jersey went on the power play with 53 seconds left on the clock and peppered the net with shots, but Fleury was able to skate into the locker room unscathed.

In the third period, Malkin seemed to put the game away by scoring 8:35 into the third period. Malkin took a pass from Crosby while flying into the offensive zone, and fired a shot five-hole on Clemmensen. The puck trickled through Clemmensen’s legs to give the Pens what seemed to be an insurmountable 3-1 lead.

But the Devils came back from a 3-2 deficit Thursday night in Boston, and knew they could do it again.

New Jersey received its first break when Petr Sykora took a four minute penalty with just under 10 minutes to play. Sykora was called for hooking, and discussed with the referee how much he disliked the call, which earned him two more minutes in the box for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Shanahan took the opportunity, and in a flash, the puck was in the net. Dainius Zubrus and Brian Gionta worked the face-off win to Shanahan at the left point, and the newest Devil torched Fleury for his third goal with the team.

“In the first period, we won the draw and I gave the one-timer to (Rolston) and then I thought that they cheated toward him off the draw, so I just wheeled and fired,” Shanahan explained.

As the Prudential Center crowd came back from the dead, the Devils continued to dominate the control of the puck. New Jersey out shot Pittsburgh 13-3 in the third, and the pressure paid off.

Clemmensen was pulled with under a minute to go, and the extra attacker meant the difference in the game.

New Jersey kept the puck in the zone, and Jamie Langenbrunner put a shot on net from the right side of the crease with 30 seconds left. The puck bounced off of Pittsburgh defenseman Ryan Whitney and into the net.

Clemmensen returned to the ice, just in time to make one last game-saving stop as the clock expired.

The extra session was an extension of the offensive energy displayed in the final minutes of the game.

New Jersey put the only four shots on goal in the over time, and with a minute to go before the game would have to be decided by shootout, Langenbrunner decided it was time to go to the locker rooms.

Zajac saw Langenbrunner open in the left face-off circle and made a pass to the captain from the right circle. Langenbrunner wound up and sent the puck past Fleury and into the net for his second overtime game-winning goal in as many nights.

“I saw Jamie was open for a one-timer, I put it on his stick and he did the rest and made it count,” said Zajac.

“I guess I’ll ride this as long as I can,” said Langenbrunner of his six goals in the last three games.

The Devils will try to keep the winning streak going on Tuesday when Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals come to The Rock to try to regain the second slot in the Eastern Conference.

Emrick was honored for receiving the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster. The pre-game ceremony included his family and fellow broadcasters. Emrick was honored with a replica antique microphone with “Doc” engraved on it, a crystal commemorative plaque, and a painting done by a New Jersey artist.

Doc has been the voice of the Devils for 16 consecutive seasons, and 19 overall.