from Neil Best of Newsday,

John Forslund has been associated with the Whalers/Hurricanes franchise since 1991, but he said he understands Islanders fans well, having lived the experience in the “Drive For Five” season of 1983-84 while in graduate school at Adelphi.

That is why even though he was surprised by the reaction to one of his calls in Game 2 of the Hurricanes-Islanders playoff series on NBC Sunday, he was not surprised Islanders fans’ enthusiasm led some to misinterpret what he said.

“When I saw this [reaction] after the game, I was taken aback,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it, yet I understand their passion and understand how you could take the word and flip it and use it as if I’m showing bias.”

The word was “we,” which is a no-no on a local sports telecast and a major no-no on national TV, especially when Islanders fans came into the series looking for signs of bias from the Hurricanes’ longtime announcer.

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