This Day in Isles History: Dec. 1

Dec. 1, 2018 -The Islanders return to Nassau Coliseum for their first meaningful game in 1,316 days and defeat Columbus 3-2.
Anders Lee, Anthony Beauvillier and Casey Cizikas each scored, while Scott Mayfield and Jordan Eberle added two assists each, in the Isles eventual 3-2 victory.

It was an emotional night, as the Islanders' regular season return to the Coliseum lived up to the hype. The scene started early, as fans started tailgating as early as 8 a.m., with blue and orange jerseys, beers and grills slowly filling in the 200-yard stretch of pavement between the Marriott and Coliseum.

The energy only built from there, with fans lining the glass 10 rows deep for the pre-game warmups. A group of fans dislodged one of the stanchions by banging on the glass in warmups, lending credence to the player's claims that the building actually shakes. The fans delivered another memorable moment by belting out the anthem before puck drop.

After falling behind 2-0 to the Blue Jackets, the Islanders staged a rally. Lee and Beauvillier scored goals 3:25 apart in the back half of the second period to notch the score 2-2. Riding the emotions of the crowd, Cizikas scored the game-winner at 7:09 of the third. After the game, Lee and Cizikas credited the rowdy, charged atmosphere with being a catalyst for the comeback.

"From the get-go the crowd was incredible," Lee said. "That kind of energy wins you hockey games."

"I had a lot of emotions running through my body," Cizikas said of scoring the go-ahead goal. "That was a different atmosphere and something we built off. When they started having a push, the crowd got into it and got the momentum pushed back to our way and we fed off that."

"These points are as much theirs as it is ours," Cizikas said of the fans.