Before anyone starts planning the Boston Bruins' funeral because Zdeno Chara's knee injury will keep him out of the lineup for four to six weeks, if not more, how about a little perspective.

The Tampa Bay Lightning made the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season despite not having Steven Stamkos in the lineup for 45 games. The Detroit Red Wings made the playoffs last season even though Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk each missed 37 games.

The Lightning and Red Wings overcame those significant losses because they're deep, talented, well-coached teams. They overcame because players who formerly were considered prospects stepped up to become full-time contributors.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- One could make a strong case that last season's version of the New York Islanders would have lost to the Boston Bruins on Thursday. After all, the Islanders lost 13 games in 2013-14 in which they led by two goals.

But Islanders general manager Garth Snow shored up the goaltending during the offseason and added defensemen Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk a week before the start of the season with hopes of getting his team back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Chad Johnson was one of Snow's signings when the free agent market opened July 1. The former Bruins goalie stopped 14 of 15 shots in the third period to help the Islanders hang on for a 3-2 win at TD Garden.

"It might, yeah. It might," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said when asked if it was a game the Islanders would have let slip away in years past. "But I think our guys know systematically and the framework of how we need to play, but at the same time you gotta defend hard. As I tell them, you don't want easy. Nothing easy is worth having. You just go out, you battle every day for each other and I think the hard work pays off. The one that hits the post maybe a year ago, it goes in. But the guys are working extremely hard, they're paying attention to detail and we need some puck luck along the way."

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins have righted themselves after a 1-3-0 start and take a 4-4-0 record into their game against the New York Islanders on Thursday at TD Garden.

It was apparent during the early going that the Bruins, in addition to other problems, had difficulties adjusting to the aftermath of defenseman Johnny Boychuk's trade to the Islanders on Oct. 4, four days before the beginning of the regular season.

Boychuk, though, isn't surprised his old team has been playing better.

"They always find a way," Boychuk said Thursday, after the morning skate before his first game against his former team. "I remember after we won [the Stanley Cup in 2011] everybody was saying what a tough time we had [to start the 2011-12 season] and we turned it around in November and went undefeated [12-0-1]. So it's not out of the ordinary."

Peter Laviolette understandably wants to take things slow in the first month of his first regular season as coach of the Nashville Predators. He wants to ease his foot onto the gas pedal so to speak, but with the mindset that points are already at a premium in the Central Division.

"The points are so important," Laviolette said following Nashville's 4-3 shootout win against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday. "In your division you've got to keep winning, got to keep collecting points."

The Predators have been, to the tune of a 4-0-2 record through six games. They've got a chance to collect two more points Thursday against a Central Division rival, the Chicago Blackhawks, at Bridgestone Arena.

CHICAGO -- It's early, but it's starting to look like the Western Conference and Central Division need to make room for another legitimate contender.

After missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs two straight seasons and parting with the only coach they'd ever known, Barry Trotz, the Nashville Predators (4-0-2) are off to their best start since 2010-11 under new coach Peter Laviolette.

The Predators are one of two teams in the West without a regulation loss, joined by the Chicago Blackhawks (4-0-1). Chicago happens to be the next opponent for Nashville, and the Blackhawks are ready to put their great start to the test Thursday at Bridgestone Arena (8 p.m. ET; CSN-CH, FS-TN).

Matt Niskanen

Defense - WSH

GOALS: 0 | ASST: 2 | PTS: 2
SOG: 5 | +/-: 3

Niskanen went on to have the best season of his career and this past summer he cashed in with a seven-year, $40.25 million contract from the Washington Capitals. Now it's the Capitals reaping the rewards from the experience Niskanen gained while playing for their biggest rival.

"I'm realizing he's a pretty outstanding player," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said.

Niskanen's ice time reflects Trotz's praise.

PITTSBURGH -- Four years ago the Pittsburgh Penguins traded for a forward with unproven potential and put him in position to become one of the NHL's more dangerous scorers.

Pittsburgh might have done it again.

The Penguins acquired forward Patric Hornqvist, along with forward Nick Spaling, from the Nashville Predators for forward James Neal during the first day of the 2014 NHL Draft. In much the same way Neal was brought in from the Dallas Stars during the 2010-11 season, Pittsburgh banked on its ability to put Hornqvist in the right position to improve his career-high 53 points from last season.

Through four games entering Tuesday, Hornqvist was tied for third in League scoring with eight points, one point behind linemate Sidney Crosby and New York Islanders forward John Tavares, and is tied with Crosby for the team lead in goals with four.

ANAHEIM -- Frederik Andersen first got the urge to get in goal at about 10 years old. Before practice got underway he would get between the goal posts, challenging his teammates to get a puck past him.

He might have done better had he been wearing goalie equipment.

"I ended up with a lot of bruises because you didn't have too much protection. As a goalie you get hit here all the time," Andersen said as he pointed to his arms.

Andersen's father, Ernst, is a former goalie but he didn't really want his son to follow his path. Andersen was doing fine as a forward; center, to be specific. Or, as Frederik puts it, "As much as you can call that at 10 years old."

Welcome to the rivalry, Mike Johnston. Are you ready for your first taste of Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers hockey?

"I'm excited," Johnston, Pittsburgh's first-year coach, told the Penguins website Tuesday in advance of the NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry game against the Flyers at Consol Energy Center (8 p.m. ET).

Johnston has coached in some bitter rivalries before. For example, in the Western Hockey League, where he was coach and general manager of the Portland Winterhawks for the previous six seasons, games against the Seattle Thunderbirds were circled on the schedule.

Johnston's history in the NHL includes stops as an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks (1999-06) and Los Angeles Kings (2006-08). He said Flyers-Penguins is one that jumps off the schedule page at him.

MONTREAL -- As Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin went about changing the look of his team in the offseason, he had a keen observer in Alex Galchenyuk.

Alex Galchenyuk

Center - MTL

GOALS: 3 | ASST: 4 | PTS: 7
SOG: 17 | +/-: 4

Most people took that to mean players like P.K. Subban and Max Pacioretty, established stars in the NHL, would be given more important roles with the Canadiens this season.

But Galchenyuk saw it differently.

He decided, at age 20, he would need to become a player the Canadiens could lean on. It is seven games in to the season, but the early returns are that Galchenyuk has become just that.