Just moments after the video board showed a live shot from the stands of Shawn Bates, who had broken the sound barrier at Nassau Coliseum with a penalty-shot goal during the 2002 playoffs, Frans Nielsen scored to bring the Islanders even after they had faced a two-goal deficit. At that point, the past passed the baton to the present and the future.
Now the important focus is not on yesteryear, and the wonderful postseason atmosphere at their previous home, but on Wednesday night, when the Islanders have a chance to put a stranglehold on the series, which they lead 2-1.