NYIslanders From the opening puck drop to the cheering for Barry Trotz in his return to Long Island to every one of Semyon Varlamov's 41 saves, the UBS Arena was making their presence felt.

When the New York Islanders signed then 25-year-old left winger Maxim Tsyplakov out of the KHL off a career-high 31-goal season for Moscow Spartak, he was just a name and a major question mark.