Penguins squeak out two points on Long Island

That was an odd hockey game. The defending Stanley Cup champions spent a lot of time behind against last year's league-worst New York Islanders, but they remained persistent and eventually got a few pucks behind Dwayne Roloson to secure a win and move to 2-0 on the season.

Some particulars...

• John Tavares was awesome. He's been a thrill to watch in international competition with Canada, and he looked extraordinarily comfortable in his first meaningful NHL game. His goal was a perfect demonstration of his very tangible nose for the puck, and what a wicked backhander it was that he shelved over Marc-Andre Fleury. He and Kyle Okposo are going to be a scary tandem for the next decade or so.
• Tyler Kennedy continued to play up-tempo, energetic hockey. Everything he touches turns into gold right now, whether it be a scoring chance or just an easy clear of his defensive zone. He has flat-out speed, and he can skate circles around defensemen.
• Sidney Crosby is back to 2007-08 form. He's shooting the puck when opportunities present themselves, and he's burying the puck.
• Bill Guerin needs to motivate himself and get going. He took a dumb penalty that nearly cost his team the game tonight, and though it's only been two games, he could not have been more of a non-factor in either of them.
• Fleury kept his team in the game during a piss-poor second period.
• Eric Godard and, to a lesser extent, Pascal Dupuis are both totally useless with the puck on their sticks. Dupuis is a crasher and a banger who can kill penalties fine, but if you want to waste a world-class talent like Geno Malkin, then Dupuis is the winger for you. Godard does not need to be in the lineup every night, and a player like Chris Bourque could do the Pens some good.
• There's nothing wrong with team toughness, but Jay McKee and Malkin cost the Pens a goal with their little acts after Brendan Witt's beauty of a hit on Ruslan Fedotenko. There is a fine line between being a good teammate and being a dolt, and McKee crossed it.

The Pens are sitting at 2-0 with the highest winning percentage in the history of sports.
Next up are the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday at the Igloo.