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NY Islanders begin new chapter in franchise history with first game in Brooklyn

NY Islanders begin new chapter in franchise history with first game in Brooklyn

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – At first it was just like old times.

At 6 p.m., when fans where allowed to entered Barclays Center, the faithful crowd let loose with their first Let’s Go Islanders! chant of the evening. Later, during a ceremonial puck drop, legends Bryan Trottier, Bobby Nystrom, Mike Bossy and Billy Smith were at center ice donning jerseys, like they had done so many times before in the old barn 29 miles east.

But once the puck dropped for real, a page was turned and a new era began for the New York Islanders franchise.

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Fans filed into the hockey rink in the middle of Brooklyn on stormy Friday night to see the home team christen a new building, eyes peered toward the rafters to view the newly aligned championship and retired banners. They scanned the seat setup, probably wondering which ones came with the obstructed views. And they stood in awe of an actual high-definition scoreboard above the ice – a little off-center, sure, but still nice nonetheless.

Despite five preseason games at Barclays Center over the last three years, being inside the arena was still a new experience for many fans. Even the Blackhawks, as they entered the ice for their morning skate, took a minute to look around and get a feel for the new rink after 43 years of playing at Nassau Coliseum.

The routine will be different for Islanders fans and players for the next long while. Gone are the days of traffic on the Meadowbrook, Long Island Expressway, Northern State or Hempstead Turnpike. Now it’s all about hopping on the Long Island Rail Road and hoping your train shows up on time (spoiler alert: it never does). Players have planned their routes via trains and automobiles since the team announced the Brooklyn move in 2012. Home game days will be treated like road games with the team staying at a local hotel between the morning skate and puck drop.

Following Friday's home opener, the hype beginning to die down about the Islanders move to Brooklyn is something the players have been looking forward to.

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“It’s been a lot of questions, ‘what’s going on?,’” said forward Frans Nielsen, the longest-tenured Islander. “We just want to start playing now. It’s nice to be playing some meaningful hockey again. Hopefully from now on we can focus on hockey and not this building.”

“It’s good because it’s a lot of hype. As a group we’re excited just to get playing hockey,” said defenseman Travis Hamonic. “Training camp’s almost a month long. Things can get drawn out … As an organization we’re excited. I think the new building is just going to help draw some more positive hype around our team and I think as an organization.”

Nielsen and Hamonic both had a good laugh when asked how nice it was to finally be in a home dressing room where they could stretch their legs without worrying about tripping someone. Space was a bit of an issue in their old room at the Coliseum, but not any longer. A new “campus” was built for the Islanders inside Barclays Center, separate from the NBA’s Nets’ facilities featuring state-of-the-art technology, improved cold tubs, video room, fitness machines, and players’ and coaches’ lounges.

Basically, stuff too expensive to have in the old building.

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The Blackhawks won the opening game in Brooklyn 3-2 after Patrick Kane’s overtime goal. Artem Anisimov stamped his place in history as the player to score the first official NHL goal at Barclays Center (a shorthanded tally). Captain John Tavares, of course, scored the first goal for the Islanders and the YES! YES YES! chant made its way from Uniondale to Brooklyn.

It was Home Game 1 of at least 41. It was a night to celebrate hockey's return, build off the excitement created from the Islanders' 2014-15 season and begin a new chapter in the franchise's history.

Now, it’s over. There’s no more talking about the first game in Brooklyn. No more questions about missing Nassau Coliseum and the big move west. The Islanders can now focused solely on getting back into the postseason. They have no choice. The past is the past.

“We don’t talk about it anymore, and it’s a routine that we have to go through as professionals,” said Islanders head coach Jack Capuano. “A lot of teams and players and coaching staffs do it.

“We’re here and now we play.”

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