The speedy Utah Hockey Club is an excellent test for the New York Islanders out of the gate.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- The Arizona Coyotes turned Utah Hockey Club got off to a strong start, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Tuesday night to earn their inaugural win.
The New York Islanders are now tasked with handing Utah their first-ever loss when they hit the ice on Thursday night at UBS Arena.
The first word that comes to mind when describing Utah's game is raw speed.
Coached by Andre Tourigny, Patrick Roy's former assistant with the Colorado Avalanche, this Utah team is full of young speed and skill.
They're the fourth-youngest team in the NHL (26.6).
"Yeah, they're fast. They're fast," Islanders forward Mathew Barzal said. "They play an up-tempo game, and they got some young legs. They're flying around.
"It's going to be a good game. They got a little bit of everything. They have a little bit of heaviness and skill and speed and a pretty good defense core. So it's going to be a good game."
The Islanders, who have struggled to defend speed in the past, are more prepared now than ever after going through Roy's training camp.
Not only have the Islanders updated their structure, but their aggressive mindset should also help them prevent easy, speedy transitions up the ice.
"We're confident in us, knowing the structure, for sure," Barzal said. "I think we all are pretty dialed in and pretty ingrained in what we're feeling on and doing on the ice. We feel confident."
Utah has been stocking up on draft picks for years, and finally, it seems they have a team ready to fight for a playoff spot.
With names like Clayton Keller, Dylan Guenther, and Logan Cooley, there's tremendous talent up front. And on the backend, adding Mikhail Sergachev should help stabilize their structure.
"Yeah, I watched probably the first half of the game. It got late, but yeah, they obviously had a lot of energy in the new building," Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson said. "It was a fun game to watch, but they definitely have a lot of skill up front, some good forwards that can make plays, and then they play hard as well.
"I think they're well coached and well structured, so it's going to be a good test for us. I think everyone's just really excited to get going. It's been a good camp. Everyone's feeling good going in, and we're excited about the challenge vs. Utah."
There's no question that the Islanders want to get off to a good start, something that hasn't been the case for a few seasons, which has forced the team to play catch-up in the second half.
Barzal has been adamant in each of his last two end-of-the-year media sessions that he's tired of having to grind until Game 81 or 82 to qualify for the playoffs.
The road to not having to do that starts when the puck drops at 7:30 PM ET.
"The points, they'll come if you play the right way. It's all about playing the right way," Roy said. "And that's what I said. That's what I said when I talk about training camp. It was not about the wins and the losses. It was about how we wanted to approach every game, how we wanted to play every game, the mindset that we put in every game. And I think we learn from all those games.
"You're going to learn from game to game. So, I mean, it's a process, and I know that will get better because of it."