Spoiled NHL debuts were the prevailing theme of this season-opening two-game series between the Islanders and Rangers. This time, the Islanders’ rookie caught the short end of the stick.
During warm-ups, Semyon Varlamov suffered an injury—as a result of a puck to the throat— and Ilya Sorokin, on short notice, got the call to make his NHL debut. Between an angry Rangers team sore from the beating they took Thursday and a guy taking the crease without any of the preparation that would normally precede his highly anticipated first game, it had the foundation of an ugly Islanders loss.