Trotz not satisfied with win in Islanders debut against Hurricanes

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Barry Trotz made his first two big decisions as coach of the New York Islanders this week.

The second was the larger of the two; he named forward Anders Lee the 15th captain in Islanders history on Thursday. Lee takes over for John Tavares, who signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent July 1.
But the first decision proved to be big too, opting to start Thomas Greiss in goal in the season opener against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena rather than Robin Lehner, who played 112 games for the Buffalo Sabres over the past two seasons.
Trotz's hunch to go with Greiss in his debut as Islanders coach was the difference in a
2-1 overtime win Thursday
that was highlighted by Greiss' 45 saves.
"We've got some work to do," Trotz said after his first win as Islanders coach and the 763rd of his NHL career, which ranks fifth all-time. "We had way too many turnovers. I don't think we managed the puck; our decisions weren't really great, especially on our exits. We turned pucks over on exits. Our execution wasn't good, but that'll come. We'll be better.
"I thought we had a lot of watching other than playing today in some areas."

Greiss came within 1:35 of a shutout. The 44th shot he faced, a one-timer from Hurricanes defenseman Dougie Hamilton, was redirected in front by forward Jordan Staal and was upheld after a lengthy video review; Trotz challenged that Greiss was bumped moments before the shot by Hurricanes forward Micheal Ferland.
"He was good tonight," Trotz said of Greiss, whose biggest save came at 4:49 of the third period on a one-timer from Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho. "You're gonna steal some, and he was good. He had friendly posts. He was good. He gave us a chance all night. I was hoping he'd get a shutout, he played that well."
The challenges will continue for Trotz, who must find ways to get the Islanders to be more responsible with the puck, particularly in their own zone. The Islanders returned to New York shortly after Josh Bailey scored a power-play goal 43 seconds into overtime in preparation for their home opener against the Nashville Predators, the team Trotz began his NHL coaching career with in 1998, at Barclays Center on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, FS-TN, NHL.TV).
"As a coach, you always want perfection," Trotz said. "You didn't have perfection tonight. You're starting to think, 'OK, what do I have to fix and repair?' "
Thursday wasn't only Trotz's debut as coach, but also for Lou Lamoriello as Islanders general manager, not to mention the makeover that transpired up and down the staff after New York missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a second straight season. Garth Snow was fired as GM and Doug Weight as coach on June 5. Trotz was hired on June 21, exactly two weeks after he led the Washington Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship.
"The amount of work that this whole staff has put in has been pretty remarkable," right wing Cal Clutterbuck said. "The amount of information coming our way is overwhelming at times, but it's good to see him get the first one. Obviously, he's a seasoned guy and I think he's prepared us well and we'll start to really take hold of these things as we move forward. I think we're kind of building towards progressing and peaking at the right time. But they've done a great job and I'm happy for him."