I made the trek out to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Monday night for Islanders/Flyers. It’s the final season at the deteriorating arena in Uniondale and it could be a special one the way the Isles are playing so far.
When defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy unexpectedly fell into Islanders GM Garth Snow’s lap just before the regular season opener, the Isles got a pair of talented blue liners to perfectly complement their speed and skill up front. Boychuk is great. Boston couldn’t afford to keep him because of the cap so now the Islanders are getting all-star like performances from Boychuk night in, night out. Wearing jersey number 55, Boychuk logged 27 minutes of ice time last night and fired six shots from both long and short range. His shot from the point is high velocity so they call him “Johnny Rocket.”
Islander captain John Tavares is back at full speed after ripping up his left knee in Sochi last winter. Kyle Okposo was all over the place with the puck against the Flyers and had three or four great scoring chances. The Islanders have a lot of speed and pass the puck well. They’re not afraid to turn it over in the name of full court pressure on the offensive side. It’s a fun team to watch, that’s for sure.
This game was zip-zip after 65 minutes thanks to brilliant goaltending by Philly’s Steve Mason (46 saves) and New York’s Jaroslav Halak (21 saves). That left it up to the “gimmick” as Howie calls it – and the shootout which went the Isles way after Tavares was allowed to deke about 20 different ways before finally putting in the winner. Knowing it was kind of a cheap way to close it out against Mason who had been so amazing, Tavares barely celebrated the score and skated without much emotion back to his own end to congratulate Halak.
Next season, the Islanders will call the arena at Flatbush and Atlantic in Brooklyn their new home. It’s good for me. Easier to get to. But I feel bad for Long Island. It feels like New York City is stealing their team. New York City already has everything and now they add a franchise that is dearly loved by a small but unique fan base. Yeah, Nassau County had a chance to keep the Islanders and failed to get it done. But it’s too bad the Islanders can’t stay put because they really do belong there.
Some fans will get on the train to Brooklyn and put a little bit of Nassau/Suffolk County in the new building. But I fear much of the Long Island flavor so deeply enmeshed with the Islander crowd will go away with time.
My seat up in the second to last row in section 310 cost $36.70 with Ticketmaster charges.
Before the anthem, there was a moment of silence for Pat Quinn. Not the governor. The ex-hockey coach.
Attendance was 12,409. Why a team tied for first place with fifteen wins in the first 21 games isn’t selling out against a regional rival can be explained only two ways. Either the tickets are too expensive or the franchise’s imminent relocation puts a bad taste in the mouth. It certainly wasn’t because people were staying home to watch the football Jets.
16-ounce cups of Oyster Bay IPA and Hoptical Illusion (Blue Point Brewing Co.) were $9.75. To keep the beer budget healthy, I waited until I got home to eat. It’s about an hour and 45 minute trip to reach the Coliseum. Subway to commuter train to bus and then the reverse on the way back. Next season, it’ll be a 45-minute subway ride with one transfer.