Mike and Dan recap the Islanders' first two games of the season, which were mostly bad except for two new guys who were actually trying to win.

We asked them for a couple of wins, something they haven't started a campaign with in ages. They did not do that, losing in Pittsburgh and against Washington in their home opener. Long stretches of both games featured familiar problems and a general lack of energy, which sapped a lot of the excitement out of what should be an exciting time.

But Matthew Schaefer didn't get the memo. His performances - especially in Game 2, where he scored his first NHL goal - proved that he is already the team's best player and biggest reason to watch. He played the game in a way we've never seen, streaking down the ice and trying to make something, anything - a goal, a scoring chance, a shift in momentum - happen. While his older, established teammates took one or two periods to get going, the kid who turned 18 three weeks ago was leading the way. That's fantastic for him and a bad look for everyone else. Shout out to Max Shabanov, the other guy who apparently hasn't been invited to the Country Club yet.

After talking about the loses and (mostly) Schaefer, we turn to the next few games, all against Canadian teams and all presenting more opportunities for the Islanders to either get right or show they might not have it this season. That might not be a bad thing overall, but it's going to get very old very quickly.

Finally, we go to our first edition of Master Leaf Theatre this season. It's earlier than we expected but the passage was too good to pass up.

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