UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- It'll be the Penguins and Matt Murray vs. the Islanders and Robin Lehner ... and the renovated shrunken remnants of old Nassau Veterans Coliseum.
Oh, the place is prettier than ever, inside and outside ...
DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS
DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS... but it's not anywhere near standard NHL size and, in fact, nowhere near the size it once was. After the Islanders left here for Brooklyn's Barclays Center in 2015, local government committed to an $89 million renovation that completely coated the exterior with a new design and gutted the interior, replacing pretty much everything in view. In the process, hockey seating capacity was slashed from 16,170 to the current 13,917.
That would make it the NHL's smallest arena by a broad margin -- Winnipeg's Bell MTS Place seats 15,321 -- and Gary Bettman wanted no part of a permanent return, even after the Islanders' move into Brooklyn almost immediately flopped. The latter's a basketball-first venue with bizarre sightlines, and Long Island fans couldn't be bothered with the commute, combining for average crowds there of 12,059. That's why the Islanders turned instead toward a new Long Island arena project as part of the famous Belmont Park horse racing track, one that's underway and will be done by the 2021-22 season.
In the meantime, this will again be the Islanders' home. At least for this round. Any further rounds would be in Brooklyn. But beyond these playoffs, they'll be right back here.
People here can't stop smiling about that, and count the team's members themselves, as the setting is expected to be electric.
"I'm looking forward to the atmosphere," Barry Trotz spoke after the Islanders' skate today. "It's the right feel, it’s the right place and the right time. We’re going to need all their energy to sustain what we do…If it gives you a one percent advantage through your lineup, that’s pretty good. You’re looking for any advantage and the difference between winning and losing in the playoffs is minimal."
But is it an advantage for the Islanders?
Theoretically, of course, it should be. As Trotz seemed to carefully mention, the crowd could "sustain" what they do. But they're the NHL's best defensive team because of their poise and patience, not because they run around and lose their minds. Moreover, it's a mostly younger group on a team that hasn't been in the playoffs since 2016. Their best player, 62-point producer Mat Barzal, will be a first-time participant.
That might have been best expressed by Leo Komarov, one of the Islanders' forwards: "You can’t get too excited or too mad about anything. You just need to keep going."
If anything, at least as I see it, this could play to the Penguins' favor.
Listen to Nick Bjugstad when I brought this up today:
That's part of it. That's the part he can be comfortable addressing. The other part is that the Penguins were overall better outside Pittsburgh all season: They had 50 points each at home and on the road, and both the power play and penalty-killing were better on the road. They stayed tighter. They were sharper, crisper. They actually defended.
"I think it can be good for us, I do," Jack Johnson said. "I enjoy it. I know that. But I think it can also be good for us in terms of playing the right way right from the start."
"It'll be fun," Dominik Simon said. "Places like this can really get you going."
In the right way?
"We'll see. I hope so. I think so."
Check Taylor Haase's news report for more from the skate.
Also, check my other column today on six things the Penguins must do to take this series.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins at Islanders morning skate, Game 1, Uniondale, N.Y. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS