For most of the Islanders, the home at Barclays Center never quite felt like home. So any bit of nostalgia that might have come with what could be their final season playing in Brooklyn has never surfaced, not even in the hours before they tried to defend their undefeated streak against the Rangers on Atlantic Avenue on Thursday night.
“I think, honestly, with that place, it always felt temporary,” alternate captain Cal Clutterbuck told The Post before the game, his team having won all six previous matches against the Rangers at Barclays — one in a shootout — along with an overall record in the rivalry of 11-1-0 dating back to the 2015-16 season.