Islanders Celebrate Final Regular-Season Game At Nassau Coliseum

The Islanders last night played their final regular-season game at Nassau Coliseum, and the contest "was free to be a celebration 43 years in the making rather than an abrupt farewell," with the team having already qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The mood "was set to Party Time from the start, inside and outside the old barn, beginning with parking lots full of tailgaters on a fine spring day." Islanders C John Tavares: "The atmosphere was incredible" (NEWSDAY, 4/12). The crowd was "treated to a video tribute" and Hockey HOFer Al Arbour's family "dropping the puck before the game" (NEWSDAY, 4/12). NEWSDAY headline: "Islanders Fans Melancholy At Last Regular Season Game At Coliseum."