from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

No doubt it was different here than at the Coliseum, just as it has been different at the Garden since the transformation that robbed the midtown Manhattan building of so much of its soul. But it was Rangers-Islanders in a match that was so much about soul on the ice.

“[The rivalry] definitely adds another element to the game,” Marc Staal said after a steady performance. “You’re emotionally involved before you step on the ice.”

This was a crackling, entertaining game of up-and-down hockey featuring board battles all over the ice in front of a sellout crowd that supplied its own electricity. The obstructed-view seats were filled, even if by a sizeable majority of Ranger fans who had the convenience of the subway at their disposal as opposed to the automobile-dependent islanders forced to make the trek by the LIE/Grand Central/BQE.

On Tuesday, Blueshirts coach Alain Vigneault cracked a little joke when asked his thoughts about the rivalry’s move to Brooklyn from the Long Island.

“Are they still called the Islanders?” Vigneault asked rhetorically....

Brooklyn is in the league now, in the NHL, even if the Islanders are identified as “New York” the way the Mets of Queens are identified.

But of course, the Islanders’ identity is still hooked to the Island, which is where they practice, which is where all of their players live. They live in the suburbs, they commute to the city. The franchise’s identification with Brooklyn will bind with more games like this one.

more

The Islanders beat the Rangers 2-1 in a shootout, watch the game recap below...