Jean-Gabriel Pageau found the perfect combination to be loved by his new teammates and fans on Tuesday at the Nassau Coliseum.
In his first game with the Islanders, the forward scored a goal as well as a fight. See in the video above.
Late in the second period, Pageau scored his 25th goal of the season to close the lead to 2-1 against the Rangers.
Then, in the third period, he threw the gloves in front of defender Jacob Trouba, who had just given a hard shoulder to the head of his trio mate Michael Dal Colle.
His night of work was then ended as he received a game misconduct, with a two-minute penalty for being the instigator and a five-minute penalty for fighting.
This is what we call a memorable debut! Unfortunately for Pageau, the “Islanders” lost 4-3 in overtime. It was Mika Zibanejad who scored the decisive goal.
“I wanted to prove that I want to be a member of this family and this group,” Pageau commented to the daily “Newsday”. You saw that Bails [Josh Bailey] had also dropped the gloves. It shows how much guys care about other people. Everyone wants to be there for their teammates. “
“He’s really a player of character,” praised Bailey, who was the Ottawa native’s roommate when playing for Team Canada at the 2018 World Championships. He’s a good person and we are. knew that he would immediately fit into the formation. He left a great first impression. ”
Impact player
Islanders head coach Barry Trotz also said he was happy to count on the Francophone veteran who accepted a six-year, $ 30 million deal shortly after his arrival.
“He has a big impact,” he said. You see how he changes our club in various ways and how he takes matters into his own hands. What a great decision from Lou [Lamoriello, le directeur général]! Draft picks are nothing; a lot of them will never play in the NHL. ”
The main interested party certainly continues to swim like a fish in water, especially since the local crowd quickly adopted him.
“It was a warm welcome and I really enjoyed it,” he admitted. The organization, the team and all the players made me feel comfortable from day 1. They made me feel like a full member of their family. On top of that, the supporters followed suit. I consider myself lucky to be here. ”
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