RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Brock Nelson had two goals and two assists, Johnny Boychuk added a goal and two assists in his Islanders debut, and New York beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 on Friday night.
Key free-agent acquisition Mikhail Grabovski had a goal, Travis Hamonic also scored one and John Tavares had three assists in his return after injuring his knee during the Olympics.
Boychuk – picked up from Boston last week for draft picks – and Nelson scored 1:48 apart in the first period.
Nelson later added a deflected goal off a Boychuk shot in the second to put New York up 3-0 and in control of this matchup of the Metropolitan Division’s two worst teams last year.
Jaroslav Halak made 21 saves in his Islanders debut.
Eric Staal, Nathan Gerbe and Chris Terry scored third-period goals for Carolina. Cam Ward made 21 saves. The Hurricanes lost Bill Peters’ NHL head coaching debut.
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