The Islanders yesterday defeated the Panthers to win the franchise's first playoff series in over two decades, and Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment CEO Brett Yormark "believes there is growing momentum for hockey in Brooklyn," according to Allan Kreda of the N.Y. TIMES. Yormark said, "This gives us a huge lift for next year." More than six months after the Islanders began their first season at Barclays Center, Yormark said that he was "relieved that the first year had been mostly smooth, a few hiccups notwithstanding." The Islanders averaged 13,627 fans per game, playing to 86.2% of capacity. Yormark: "In any new relationship, there's that period of adjustment. We have to give people a reason to come back, and I think we are." He "acknowledged that at first he might have tried too hard to generate interest in hockey in a borough that had never hosted an NHL game." Yormark: "You can't force it. It has to happen organically." Yormark said that one early-season controversy had "been resolved simply by listening to fans and staying attuned to elements that were popular for decades" at Nassau Coliseum. Yormark: "There was an outcry about fans going down to the ice to see warm-ups. And I finally said to my security team: 'What's the problem? Let's try it.' And we tried it, and we didn't have one issue. I'm glad that the fans pushed, because they were right. It was their tradition. It worked." He added, "There have been a lot of adjustments and a lot of learning" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/24).
SHAKES IN THE GARDEN: In N.Y., Larry Brooks cites sources as saying that "there is belief from the top down" -- starting with MSG Chair James Dolan -- the Rangers are "in need of an overhaul in the form of a transfusion of new and younger blood." Following a first round exit in the playoffs, it seems the Rangers "are further away from contending for the Stanley Cup than they’ve been in a half-decade." But "there is no indication at all anyone who counts within the organization" holds coach Alain Vigneault "responsible for the disappointing finish or the difficult season that preceded it" (N.Y. POST, 4/25). On Long Island, Neil Best writes the Rangers do not seem headed back to "their dark, pre-Lundqvist days" of the late '90s to early '00s, but there was "no denying the end-of-an-era vibe in Pittsburgh as the Rangers were skated out of the rink by the hottest team in the NHL, abruptly ending what had been a heck of a run during the past several seasons." For now, the "show is over in Manhattan as it goes on in Brooklyn, where the Islanders are busy creating an era of their own" (NEWSDAY, 4/25). In N.Y., Frank Isola notes the Rangers this year "gave their fans and Dolan two lousy home playoff games," while the Knicks have had "zero playoff dates in three years." The Rangers, "like the Knicks, are at a crossroads." Isola: "None of this is good for Dolan, who continues to pour money into both championship-starved franchises but is not getting much bang for his buck" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/25).
