Jack Capuano

The second game of the year started off a little differently than most early starts for the Islanders in recent years. These day games usually saw the Islanders sleep walking and getting outworked by their opponents.

Maybe Matt Martin and Joe Finley both knew that the team needed an alarm clock to get the team and the crowd into it. (Photo Credit: Flickr/capwell)

Whatever the reasoning was for dropping the gloves, it worked. The team was inspired. The crowd was loud.

Lost in the fisticuffs to begin the game, Jack Capuano took his spot behind the bench despite undergoing surgery to remove kidney stones just days prior.

The new slimmed Capuano could have helped inspire an energized Islanders' squad.

The Islanders came out swinging and their energy resulted in a much better effort than Saturday's opener vs. New Jersey.

The New York Islanders opened their abbreviated 48-game season tonight with a 2-1 regulation loss at home to the defending Eastern Conference champs, the New Jersey Devils.

A sold out crowd was introduced to the 2012-2013 roster before puck drop. However, head coach Jack Capuano was missing, forcing assistant coach Doug Weight to take over along with Brent Thompson. Capuano missed the game due to a medical reason that was not disclosed to the media. It had been mentioned in the locker room that it is not life threatening, and that an update will likely be provided tomorrow.

But for the Isles, playing without their head coach behind the bench might have thrown the team for a bit of loop by the time the first period was underway. The Isles provided a lot of sloppy play in their end of the ice which resulted in poorly executed break outs and many mistakes in the neutral zone.

In this weeks NHL 2013 the standings are released and the Islanders sit in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference.

The Islanders head to the West coast in this weeks simulation of the Islanders season