Islanders: Last season at Coliseum needs to be winning one at home
Nick Leddy of the Islanders skates with the puck in the first period against Nathan Gerbe of the Carolina Hurricanes at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Islanders' long goodbye to Nassau Coliseum through this season, before they stamp their passports for the move to Brooklyn next year, will generate a lot of marketing of the team's long history there.
But to the players, the urgency is to improve their winning percentage in the building, and the past won't help them in that area.
Last year, the Islanders were 13-19-9 at the Coliseum and 21-18-2 on the road. "That's something that's got to change," winger Kyle Okposo said. "We know that. Last year, we probably would've been right there if we had a halfway decent home record."
Coach Jack Capuano reinforced the obvious. "It's crucial. If you want to make the playoffs, you've got to win at home,'' he said. "But that's in the past now. We move forward. But we know, in order to be successful, it's got to be better than last year."
The mantra Saturday night, with all the fuss over the team's final home opener at the Coliseum, was "this game," Capuano said. "Obviously, there's a lot of talk, a little bit of history of this last game before the team decides to head to Brooklyn. We know that.
"But for us, it's three periods. It's one shift at a time, one period at a time. We have a job to do."
First OT win: 1984
Of the various "firsts" for the Islanders at the Coliseum, there was a listing of their first overtime regular-season victory, which didn't come until the team's 12th season, in 1984. That's because the NHL previously left regular-season games tied and didn't play overtime. (Your mother, or grandmother, would know.)
Scratches
Saturday night's healthy scratches for the Islanders were the same as in their Friday night opener in Carolina: Forwards Colin McDonald and Eric Boulton and defenseman Matt Donovan.
