Morning Skate: Old barn

It is Wednesday, my dudes.

The Bruins lost to the Islanders again last night in what could be their last-ever game at Nassau Coliseum.

The Islanders, as you probably know, have been bouncing around in arena limbo for a while now, but are slated to move into their new arena to start next season.

I went to a Bruins-Islanders game at Nassau Coliseum several years ago, and it’s quite a place.

As you can see from the picture above, it’s kind of like a football stadium in that it just rises from the ground amidst a sea of parking lots.

When we went to the game, all of the entrances were at ground level, kind of like the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence: you walk in at ground level, then go up a set of stairs and either up or down another flight to get to your seats.

Opened in 1972, the Bruins (per Hockey Reference) played 84 games at Nassau Coliseum, going 39-33-10-2 (that 84 probably doesn’t include last night’s game).

The 10 there is ties, which...yikes. Can’t imagine many things less exciting than a Bruins-Islanders tie in Uniondale.

Anyways, the B’s may return here later this spring in the playoffs, but for now, it’s sayonara to another old hockey barn.

Today’s highlight

Here’s a random Bruins-Islanders game from nearly 14 years ago. Enjoy!

Today’s discussion topic

What’s your favorite road arena in hockey? The Prudential Center in Newark gets my vote for the nicest (read: newest, most updated) that I’ve been to, but Madison Square Garden was a pretty cool place to watch a game.