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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. […]

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’ […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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” […]

The favorite son grew up and went away, and when he returned home for a visit, well, guess what? He was not welcome. Shocker. John Taveras spent the first nine years of his career bleeding the blue and orange of the Islanders franchise he represented with dignity. That barely mattered to the rabid fans who […]

The Islanders desperately don’t want what happened with John Tavares to happen again with the man who took over his team captaincy, Anders Lee. Yet the big-bodied Lee is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, just as Tavares was last summer before he signed a deal with his hometown Maple Leafs. So […]