Matt Moulson

Rick DiPietro needed to fill in for an injured Evgeni Nabokov and led the Islanders to two straight wins.

Approximately three years ago, the Islanders debuted their 2009 first round pick, John Tavares in their season opener against the defending Stanley Cup champs, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In the second period, Tavares would pick up a loose puck that had last been touched by both Matt Moulson and Trent Hunter and would roof a backhand over Marc-Andre Fleury to give the Isles a 2-1 lead.

Since then, Tavares has gone on to score 83 more goals and likely several hundred more before his career is over as he currently has 202 points in 243 NHL games.

The boys are back in town and sales will soon increase at Chipotles, Mr. Macs Canteen and dozens of restaurants in the area as the players prepare for the upcoming season.

It will not be long before locals can expect a Swedish flag flying outside a home rented by John Persson, Johan Sundstrom, David Ullstrom and Anders Nillson while larea chefs cringe as Ullstrom adds ketchup to the marinara sauce they spent hours preparing.

On March 16, 2007, his second season with the Oshawa Generals, Tavares scored his 70th and 71st goals of the season, breaking Wayne Gretsky’s OHL record for the most goals scored by a 16 year-old. He won the CHL’s player of the year award that year and returned to ‘The Dungeon’ for more work along side one of his best friends and newest New York Islander, Brandon DeFazio.