Thoughts on Hockey at Barclays

It's been a few days since the Isles played their preseason game against the New Jersey Devils at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but I wanted to put my thoughts on here since most people have already beaten me to the punch.

I was fortunate to have been away from my computer the last couple of days, which has allowed me to reflect and think about what I liked and didn't like rather than write anything reactionary.

Isles Drop Both Ends of Split Squad to Flames

The Islanders got their first preseason games under their belts, playing a pair of games against the Calgary Flames in split squad matches.

Naturally it's tough to gauge anything in the early preseason games as it's more of a tune-up. In general vets don't want to get hurt, and that's the best strategy of them all.

The Moment We've Been Waiting for: Tavares Named Captain

On Monday, the Islanders made the worst kept secret of the past few months official as they named John Tavares as their captain. Tavares will be the 14th player in team history to wear the 'C' on his sweater.