"Ryan thinks the game at such a high level and like very few others," Terry said. "He's so smart. You can see why guys like Panarin have always loved playing with him and it's because he's so smart. He makes these little area passes where, all of a sudden, I find myself with a bunch of space. It's made the transition really easy.
But as much as he's impressed me on the ice, he's impressed me off the ice. It's his attitude and the way he wants to talk about hockey. He wants to talk about how we can get better. He's pushing me every day in practice...It's just been fun. We're pushing each other and will keep building on it."
Tonight's game marks a homecoming for Strome, who was drafted fifth overall by the Islanders in 2011 and played the first 258 games of his NHL career in the blue and orange.
For the Ducks, the early season trip offers a chance for some team identity building and bonding, a welcome opportunity to lay the foundation for a long campaign.
"The schedule early on is good for us to get on the road, have some dinners together and become a tighter group," Adam Henrique said.
The Islanders host the Ducks looking to bounce back after a season-opening 3-1 loss to Florida on Thursday in head coach Lane Lambert's debut. New York tied the game early in the third period with a Noah Dobson power-play goal, but Florida reclaimed the lead just 30 seconds later and never looked back.
"I thought our pace, we knew it was going to be a little bit of a different level from exhibition games,"
Lambert said postgame.
"I wasn't pleased with the way we transitioned the puck...I thought we moved the puck too slow at times. We went D to D instead of going quick up and it allowed (the Panthers) to get into their structure. It's a two or three second hockey game out there. We just had to move a little bit quicker at times."
The Ducks have earned points in seven of their last ten matchups with the Islanders (5-3-2). The two teams will meet again in March at Honda Center.
