Occasions like Wednesday night in Ottawa do not come around often in the regular season. The last scene similar to that, which greeted Brady Tkachuk in his return to the Canadian Tire Center following an unhappy divorce with the Senators, might be as far back as eight seasons ago when John Tavares was greeted with sheer hostility by the crowd at Nassau Coliseum on Feb. 28, 2019.
“Our playoff series at the Coliseum were crazy,” Ryan Pulock told The Post on Thursday before the Islanders faced the Kings. “But that game was one of the crazier atmospheres I’ve ever been a part of.”
Tavares was booed mercilessly — and still is whenever he touches the puck on Long Island. Snakes were tossed onto the ice pregame. Fans chanted “JT sucks” and “We don’t need you,” to give a few less explicit examples. The Islanders crushed the Leafs 6-1, vindication for their fan base.
It was highly anticipated on Long Island, in Toronto and around the league. It drove conversation around the league.