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Pageau makes quite the Islanders debut with fight, goal

Time will tell if the Islanders will be glad that they invested so much in Jean-Gabriel Pageau. If nothing else, Pageau made quite the first impression in his Islanders debut on Tuesday.

Pageau didn’t just score a goal against the hated Rangers. The feisty forward also responded to a questionable Jacob Trouba hit on Michael Dal Colle by fighting the much larger Rangers defenseman. A fight and a fluky goal? That’s quite the way to endear yourself to new fans.

Check out the goal below, and watch the hit and fight in the video above this post’s headline.

Pageau collected his 25th goal of 2019-20, which again was his first with the Isles.

It’s surprising that Trouba didn’t get whistled for a penalty on this hit. Credit Pageau for sticking up for his new Islanders teammate, though:

Again, the Islanders gave up a lot for Pageau, and then doubled-down by handing him a hefty extension. That said, Pageau strikes as very much both a Lou Lamoriello guy and a Barry Trotz guy, and that showed right off the bat.

Pageau ended up getting tossed from the game following the fight and instigator penalty.

The Rangers won 4-3, but the Islanders rallied to get a point in a memorable Pageau debut by forcing the game to overtime.


James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.