PENGUINS WILL GET TO EXPERIENCE HOCKEY HISTORY.
Islanders playing part of schedule at old Nassau home
UNIONDALE, N.Y. — The path to his NHL debut is something Mike Sullivan will never forget.
No, not playing at Boston University for legendary coach Jack Parker, getting drafted by the New York Rangers or working his way up through the (now-defunct) International Hockey League to skate for the expansion San Jose Sharks.
Literally walking across the parking lot from the Long Island Marriott to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum the night of Oct. 29, 1991, a couple hours before an 8-4 loss to the New York Islanders.
That’s when Sullivan was stopped by a drunk tailgater and asked for his autograph, a moment that shocked the Penguins coach — who back then was a noname minor-leaguer trying to make it — and had a few family members in stitches.
“That’s something I always think about and laugh,” Sullivan was saying last week. “My uncles were at the game. My dad drove them from Boston. They happened to be outside. They witnessed it. Every time we had a team function, they always laugh about that.”
That memory will likely be on Sullivan’s mind Sunday or Monday, as the Penguins prepare for one of their most unique games of the 2018-19 season: a visit to Nassau Coliseum, brought back to life recently by $165 million in renovations.
As they await the 2021 opening of Belmont Park Arena, a $1 billion multipurpose facility about 15 minutes west of Nassau, the Islanders are playing 21 games this season at their home from 1972-2015.
In the age of cookie-cutter buildings, where everything is usually spacious and sponsored, the Coliseum is a bit of a throwback. It’s small. It’s loud. It’s personal. And it should be plenty of fun.
Although they’ve gutted much of Nassau to ensure functional seats and passable concourses — they’ve also reportedly started to sell edible food — an unmistakable authenticity remains.
Close your eyes, and you can almost picture the Islanders winning four consecutive Stanley Cups or any number of memorable concerts that’ve taken place here.
The Islanders bolting Brooklyn and returning to Long Island also restores some semblance of order to the world.
“There’s a lot of history in that building,” Sullivan said. “The Islanders of the [1980s] were one of the great dynasties of the league. I’ve had lots of experiences [at Nassau] both as a player and coach. When I was coaching with the Rangers, that was a big rivalry. There were a lot of emotional games that took place in that building.”
For Nassau’s re-release eight days ago on Dec. 1, a 32 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, 13,917 fans filled the building, which is now officially known as NYCB Live.
Monday will be the second of 21 dates for the Islanders in 2018-19, and the next two seasons are supposed to include 48 total, although there’s an expectation that number could increase.
One reason for that is just how bad it’s been at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Islanders finished last in attendance in 2017-18 and were in the same place through 11 games this season, averaging just 10,447 per game in the basketball style arena.
But Nassau is much different. First off, the team practices only a couple of minutes away, in Eisenhower Park. Many of the players live close, too. And going to Brooklyn, for Islanders fans, makes zero logistical sense.
As bad as the atmosphere at Barclays Center might be, those who remember playing at Nassau remember something completely different.
“I like it,” Olli Maatta said. “That building, it just feels like everything is even louder. The people are right on top of you, right next to you.
“You can kind of get nostalgic there, too. You walk in, you definitely notice there’s some years played in that building.”
There’s been some for the Penguins, who have met the Islanders four times in the playoffs (1975, 1982, 1993 and 2013).
While the obvious Islanders/playoff connection is probably David Volek’s gut-wrenching overtime game-winner in 1993, that occurred in Pittsburgh. The most memorable Penguins moment at Nassau arguably came via Brooks Orpik’s overtime goal in 2013, which clinched a six-game series victory in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
Sidney Crosby has been thinking about that lately with a trip to Nassau on the horizon. While he said he never expected to go back after the Penguins’ last visit here — a 6-3 Islanders win Jan. 16, 2015 — Crosby isn’t about to complain, either.
“I’m interested to see what it looks like and how it’s changed,” Crosby said. “We had the playoff series there, and we had some really close games there, especially early on. I felt like every time we played the Islanders, it always went to a shootout or overtime. It was always a good atmosphere. Everyone got into the game.
“I’m sure people will be excited, too, to be back in that rink. It’ll just be a cool environment.”
While that walk across the parking lot — most players and coaches make it, although the Penguins do offer a bus service for those who’d rather not be bothered — produced a funny moment for Sullivan and his family, a trip to Nassau does have its limitations.
Built on 63 acres that started out as an Army airfield and later became an Air Force base, amenities around the arena are, well, nonexistent. It’s the Marriott, the parking lot and Nassau.
“I don’t like Nassau at all,” Kris Letang said. “In Brooklyn, at least you’re in New York City. You can have a nice meal with your teammates and walk around. I definitely like Brooklyn better.”
Fair enough. But Letang doesn’t hold the same opinion as Islanders fans, who are universally thrilled to finally have their team “home” again.
And while things might be a little different this time — the Islanders dress in the old visitors’ room, and they added crazy-looking, metal “fins” to the outside that make it look like a spaceship — the Penguins are expecting the same sort of raucous environment.
“They have a very strong fan base there, on the Island, and that building tends to bring out the best in them,” Sullivan said with a smile.
“It’s a unique building. It’s one of the older buildings in the league. It kind of has that old-school feel to it. The fans are right on top of the ice. It should be a lot of fun.”