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Tavares shines with two-point performance in National Hockey League debut 27 · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, October 7, 2009 Continued from page 25 to its fifth consecutive gold medal. Even when the New York Islanders selected him first overall in June, the question became if Tavares' prolific scoring could be translated to the NHL. And really, that's the only question anyone ever really wanted to know the answer to. So, after five years of anticipation and speculation, the Oakville native finally got the opportunity to show what he could do on the sport's biggest stage Saturday night. Playing against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in front of a capacity crowd at the Nassau County Coliseum, Tavares assisted on Mark Streit's first-period goal and then scored in the second period to give the New York Islanders a 2-1 lead in a game they would eventually lose 4-3 in a shootout. For Tavares, it was more about realizing the dream he had played out on the backyard rink of childhood friend Sam Gagner. "It was awesome for a lot of reasons. Playing your first game, great support from the fans all night for me and for everybody," he told The Toronto Star. "And for Matt Moulson, I almost grew up with him back home, to get an assist, it's kind of unique. And my family here and just the reaction I got from my teammates made it really good." After years of shuttling her son between arenas, Barbara Tavares said she was proud to see her son reach his goal. "It was an unbelievable feeling. We tried to keep everything levelheaded until the puck dropped," she said. "The atmosphere was unbelievable and they really welcomed the newcomers with open arms -- not just John, but the other players too." Tavares was the focal point, though. After all, more than 10,000 people had filled the rink in June just to watch the draft on the score- board. The place exploded with joy after the Islanders selected Tavares. Since then, fans had been anxiously awaiting Saturday night and the rest of the hockey world was watching full of curiosity. There will be high expectations but, for now, Tavares' debut has given the Islanders faithful hope. "It's exciting but I'm glad it's over with," Barbara Tavares said of the much-anticipated debut. "But we're looking forward to the future." So is everyone else. One game will not make the questions disappear, but finally John Tavares can finally just play. Mason, Gagner also start well Tavares wasn't the only Oakville player to open the season on a high note. With the Calder Trophy he won last season on display for fans at Nationwide Arena, Steve Mason stopped 32 shots to lead Columbus Blue Jackets to a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. He followed that up Monday with a 40-save effort in a 53 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. 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