The legendary Nassau Coliseum is already getting one hell of a sendoff.
The home of one of hockey's great dynasties has awakened with the return of fans and the return of the Islanders to the Eastern Conference Finals, and the energetic crowds that have packed the Coliseum for New York's latest playoff run has been at the forefront of headlines in recent weeks.
The home crowd has certainly been easy for the Islanders themselves to notice.
"It is fantastic," team president Lou Lamoriello said. "I don't know any other word. The energy that this fanbase brings is just something special. If you haven't experienced it, I think you should try to be there live. If you think it's exciting watching it on TV, you should be there."
More than 12 thousand were there the Islanders clinched a trip to the conference finals with a win over the Bruins in game six, which started in memorable fashion when the crowd sang the National Anthem in unison in a now viral video, and the chorus of other chants echoed through the Coliseum all the way to the final horn, when New York had clinched its second playoff series at home this season after last clinching inside the Coliseum in 1993.
"I don't know what to expect each and every night, and how the synchronize the things they do," Lamoriello said. "It's almost like they're talking to each other when they decide to do a certain chant or anything else."
The Coliseum crowd has provided a perfect storm of circumstance: the playoffs have been the first chance for fans to gather together in a large indoor group for a sporting event since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Islanders fans are also trying to make up for lost time after no fans were able to be in attendance last postseason, when New York fell just two wins short of a trip to the Stanley Cup. And of course, this is the last hurrah for the Coliseum itself, as the Islanders will move to UBS Arena next year.
Add it all up, and you get a true home ice advantage that Lamoriello and the Islanders hope can help carry the team through eight more victories.
"They're real fans," Lamoriello said. "They're certainly used to some great success in past years, and right now they're thriving in the experiences they're going through, and we're feeding off of it."
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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