from Neil Best of Newsday,

Let's first state the obvious: Yes, it was strange, is strange and will continue to be strange.

After more than four decades situated in a parking lot in the heart of Nassau County, the Islanders played Friday night in the cacophonous heart of Brooklyn, a move more momentous than mere miles can calculate.

The fact that all concerned had 1,080 days to get used to the idea did nothing to change that reality. But here they are, in a basketball borough in a basketball building retrofitted into a sort-of NHL arena.

None of which is to say it is all bad.

It's just . . . well, this is going to take some getting used to, if that is even possible.

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