When Dan Bylsma took a seat at the table in front of the Stanley Cup back-drop, the microphones had all been tested. However, something went wrong and when he went to answer his first post game question, a long, loud electronic screech filled the 60,000 square foot exhibit hall and it reverberated to your bones. “That was like the building tonight.” the deadpan Bylsma said softly. And it was.
Loud, ear piercing and soul shaking.
He called the building “pretty crazy” and said it took a short break to settle the Pens down to deal with the Isles momentum. There was little settling the fans down, even after the game winning overtime goal by Chris Kunitz.
Boos and beer bottles rained down on the Penguins as the fans reacted to what they felt was no way to lose in overtime; not after the way the Isles had battled all game long. Another case of inconsistent calls by the refs gave the strongest team in the East a way to win the game in dramatic fashion on National television and end the overtime period quickly and not disrupt NBC’s afternoon program schedule too much.
Coincidence? Conspiracy? Maybe. But you can’t deny that the stars in the league, especially THE brightest star in the league will ALWAYS get the call FOR him and not AGAINST him. There’s no official NHL memo on it, it’s just the way it is.
And I heard it all afternoon long from those I spoke to in the lot as I left, to friends calling my cell phone, to my own family when I finally returned home to make Mexican dinner for Cinco de Mayo. “That was a BS call!”
The truth of the matter is the New York Islanders CAN beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, but they can’t beat the officials. So what do they have to do on Tuesday? Play a more disciplined game. They can’t let the Penguins get the benefit of the calls so they can go on the power play.
What do the fans have to do Tuesday? The same exact thing they did on Sunday morning: Loud, proud and soul shaking.
In today’s Newsday there are three articles that reference the Coliseum and the fans. Around the internet last night, there were dozens. If this is the Coliseum’s last hoorah, then we have to make it count. There will be no tailgating in Brooklyn. There will be no strolling from one barbeque to another with red cup in hand two hours before puck drop.
The wind won’t kick up between the Marriott and the flattened pancake Coliseum and whistle through the 77 acres of asphalt we’ve called home. No tents perched off the back of cars, no flags flying high off antennas, no sounds of ball hockey sticks scrapping the ground. There will be only the sound of the Long Island Railroad trains and the hustle from platform to Barclays through the city streets of Brooklyn.
So enjoy this while you can, because thanks to Nassau County, the Town of Hempstead, the people of Garden City and mostly KATE MURRAY, in the very near future the voice of the Coliseum that was so deafening to the Penguins will be silent.
(taken with my less than professional camera from high in the press box)
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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