Islanders defenseman Andy Greene is 37 now, with a salt-and-pepper playoff beard and 14 years of NHL experience that gives him plenty of credibility when he speaks. Back in 2001, Greene was 18 years old when two passenger airliners crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
So, while Greene understood the importance of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final to the Islanders Friday night, as the Isles trailed the best-of-seven series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-0, he hadn’t lost sight of the fact that Friday was the 19th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept.