It was already going to be an emotional night, but the Islanders wanted to make sure it was also a good one.
They did just that, earning a 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets in their return to the Coliseum on Saturday night.
The Islanders (13-9-3) had been playing their home games at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center since the start of the 2015-16 season, but this was their home before that going back to the franchise’s inaugural season of 1972-73. This was their first of 21 games here this season, and after a strong start to the year, they had tempered off recently, coming in having lost two in a row (one in a shootout) and a record of 4-5-2 dating to Nov.