Isles channel crowd, win emotional return to Coliseum

The Islanders delivered a heck of a homecoming in their return to Nassau Coliseum - and the Coliseum gave them something in return.
Saturday's sold out crowd at NYCB LIVE was loud, rowdy and hostile, everything the Isles needed in a 3-2 comeback win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, their first regular-season game on Long Island in over three years.
The energy in the building caused goosebumps for newcomers like Anthony Beauvillier and felt just like old times for Casey Cizikas, who started the game with a big hit on Boone Jenner and ended it with the game-winner in the third period.
"From the get-go the crowd was incredible," captain Anders Lee said. "That kind of energy wins you hockey games."
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The Islanders' return to the Coliseum lived up to the hype on Saturday. The scene started early, as fans started tailgating as early as 8 a.m., with blue and orange jerseys, beers and grills slowly filling in the 200-yard stretch of pavement between the Marriott and Coliseum. The fans chirped at the Blue Jackets on their walk from the hotel to the rink, ensuring that the Isles home-ice advantage started outside.
"I walked [from the Marriott to the Coliseum] the playoff series four years ago and it was the worst thing I ever did," Head Coach Barry Trotz said referencing the 2015 playoffs. "It's great, I love the passion of this area and this team."
The energy only built from there, with fans lining the glass 10 rows deep for the pre-game warmups. A group of fans dislodged one of the stanchions by banging on the glass in warmups, lending credence to the player's claims that the building actually shakes.
"It shakes alright," Matt Martin said. "You're a little worried it's coming down. It's the best. That's really all I can say. It's really the best building I've ever played in."

Martin, Cizikas, and Cal Clutterbuck, who Barry Trotz called the identity of the building back in September, got the start for the Islanders, alongside Coliseum veterans Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk. The Cizikas line was there to set a physical and emotional tone against the Blue Jackets.
"I wouldn't want to play against them," Trotz said of the Cizikas line. "They can go at you pretty hard and they have sort of an identity. They can all work, all play and they make it hard on you."
The Isles may have felt destined to win with the crowd behind them on Saturday, but the game was no gimme, not with the Blue Jackets entering the game second in the Metro Division. Columbus even accomplished the mammoth task of quieting the Coliseum for a couple of minutes in the second period after a pair of quick goals from Markus Hannikainen and Pierre-Luc Dubois.

Lee revived the building shortly after, as the Islanders captain kickstarted the comeback. Lee went to the front of the net, where Jordan Eberle's shot deflected off him and behind Sergei Bobrovsky at 11:59.
That was the spark the Isles and the crowd needed. Beauvillier tied it up shortly after, keeping, shooting, depositing his own rebound and scoring on a two-on-one with Mathew Barzal. Beauvillier's celebration was emphatic, reciprocating the crowd's reaction.
"It's so fun," said Beauvillier, who was moved by the crowd's rendition of the national anthem. "The atmosphere here, the fans. It's just so hard to play here for the opposing team… It's just loud, everyone is screaming 'Let's go Islanders!' And it's great. It's a lot of fun and gives us an extra jump."

Trotz quantified the advantage, estimating the Isles new, but also old, home-ice advantage could yield 12 more points in the standings during the team's 21 games. It worked on Saturday, as the Isles completed the comeback in the third period. Ryan Pulock pinched off the blue line and skated around the Blue Jackets net to feed Cizikas, Trotz's junkyard dog, who buried the eventual winner at 7:09.
"I had a lot of emotions running through my body," Cizikas said of scoring the go-ahead goal. "That was a different atmosphere and something we built off. When they started having a push, the crowd got into it and got the momentum pushed back to our way and we fed off that."
"These points are as much theirs as it is ours," Cizikas said of the fans.

The celebration carried on long after the game ended. Fans crowded around the MSG set for Shannon Hogan's postgame show, chanting for Trotz as he made his way to his post-game press conference. Even as the coach delivered his assessment of his team's resilient win, the fans could be heard through the wall.
The energy impressed Trotz and clearly meant a lot to players like Martin, who wanted to be back in the building as much as the fans. Martin, who soaked in some extra time on the ice after warmups officially ended, said he had the same amount of excitement for Saturday as he did for his first NHL game. That's the Coliseum difference.
"It was just an amazing feeling and you're ready to run through a wall for them," Martin said. "It's awesome, they're so fun to play in front of. There's no better building in the league to play in, or fans to play in front of."