Category: puck

An open letter, to my fellow islanders: I come to you this morning not as a sportswriter, a detached denizen of the press box, but as one who spent dozens of nights — maybe a couple hundred of them — where you will be this evening, in that wonderful old building on Hempstead Turnpike alternately […]

They weren’t going to pay either player on long-term deals to prevent them from hitting the free-agent market, so each was traded prior to the deadline. No, this is not a reference to Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes, sent to Dallas and Winnipeg, respectively, over this past weekend, but rather to Ryan McDonagh and J.T. […]

After implying on Tuesday that Filip Chytil could sit as a for an extended stretch as a healthy scratch, David Quinn was more direct when asked on Wednesday if that was the plan. “Yes,” said the coach. “[I need to see] the consistent effort I know he’s capable of giving,” Quinn said before the Blueshirts’ […]

For most of the thousands inside the Coliseum, Thursday night will be about the return of John Tavares. For Barry Trotz and the Islanders, they insist it will be about a simpler, less emotional focus. “Toronto’s probably rallying around John right now, knowing how important it is to John coming back here,” Trotz said Wednesday. […]

The thing of it is, John Tavares was about to stay. When Lou Lamoriello was hired to run the operation and soon after hired Barry Trotz to take over behind the bench, No. 91 was prepared to forfeit a shot at free agency that was just over a week away, an individual close to Tavares […]

You can’t say they didn’t see this coming. John Tavares’ Thursday return to the Coliseum to face the Islanders as a member of the Maple Leafs went as expected, with boos from spurned fans raining down on the star forward. see also What John Tavares expects from Islanders fans in Coliseum return The vitriol finally […]

The vitriol finally came down, and it came in abundance. And none of it was going to surprise John Tavares. The former Islanders captain, who left as a free agent to join his hometown Maple Leafs, returned to raucous hate in his first game back at the Coliseum on Thursday night. “Obviously I don’t expect […]

This was hardly just the return of a former player. Far from it. What this felt like was the catharsis of an entire fan base, the stress and angst of decades coming to a head and exiting through whooping chants and hateful sing-song. And then an epic celebration, where some 14,000 people leaving the Coliseum […]

Another hopeful piece of the Rangers’ future has arrived. Libor Hajek will make his NHL debut Friday night at the Garden against the Canadiens, just over a year after the Rangers acquired the 21-year-old defenseman from the Lightning as a key part of the trade of Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller. While Hajek had recorded […]

Islanders fans got to enjoy a 6-1 win over John Tavares’ Maple Leafs on Thursday night at the Coliseum. Here’s a list of some of the various chants from Islanders fans at the Coliseum on Thursday for John Tavares’ return: “J.T. sucks” “We don’t need you” “Who’s your daddy?” “Bar-zy’s better” “A–hole” “That’s our captain” […]