The Blackhawks arrived fresh off yet another appearance under the wide-open sky, secure in their status as a National Hockey League marketing staple. What was waiting for them under the low latticed roof of Nassau Coliseum was something even more impressive: The Islanders, the league’s best story.
You won’t see the Islanders in the Winter Classic, the Jan. 1 centerpiece in which the Chicago team has played four times (all losses, including one at Notre Dame’s football stadium Tuesday). But at this moment, there is no team as fetching, quirky and compelling as the one that plays (most of the time now) on Long Island.