from Mark Herrmann of Newsday,

There are roughly 13,917 good reasons why the Islanders should be allowed to play their potential playoff games at Nassau Coliseum. Here is the one that stands out and should count the most: The National Hockey League owes it to them.

Commissioner Gary Bettman announced last week at the All-Star Game and Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello acknowledged in his first post-break interview with reporters Thursday that the league will have the final word on whether the postseason games will be held in Uniondale or Brooklyn.

The league in general and Bettman in particular were gung-ho about the team’s move to Barclays Center, even as we all knew it was going to be a poor fit and a huge pain. Pretty much all of Long Island was skeptical (and disheartened to boot) on Oct. 24, 2012, when Bettman said at a news conference that Barclays Center was “a magnificent arena.”

“To finally be in a position to say, ‘New York Islander fans, you don’t have to worry about the future of this club. The club is staying local,’ ’’ he said at the time, then added this vow: “You’ll be able to get to it easily.”

By last April, in an interview on WFAN, he had changed his tune completely, saying about the Brooklyn arena, “Getting there, especially during the week, isn’t the easiest thing to do.”

But there never has been an “oops” or a “sorry” offered to the Islanders and their change-at-Jamaica-weary fans. The chance for that is now.

If the Islanders qualify for the playoffs, the league should let them play where they are more comfortable, where they have a better chance of success, where they are 6-1-2, where they are home.

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