With yet another first round playoff exit, the Islanders suffered the worst of wounds, as they will also be leaving their long-time home, the Nassau Coliseum, for the Barclays Center in Brooklyn this coming fall. If they weren’t leaving Long Island, this year’s epically awful game seven loss probably wouldn’t have burned as painfully.

But the fact that this year’s, “Let’s make history!” playoff slogan ultimately culminated in a premature, quarter-final booting hurts sorely as the Island faithful have not just lost their series and season, but more importantly the only team that represents Long Island in all of major league sports.

“The Islanders had such a great season,” said BHS junior Patrick Leon. “It’s just so sad to see it all come to an end.”

In the small picture, the Islanders’ 2014/2015 campaign came to an abrupt halt, with Monday’s depressing loss to the Washington Capitals. Long Island’s finest were outshot by a wide margin–ending with the Isles managing a paltry 11–and completely outmuscled in the corners, producing an overall-embarrassing finale.

“I feel like it was so obvious that the Isles were outplayed, and I think that they really deserved to lose game seven,” BHS junior Phil Rapaglia said, ever-so-deflated. “It wasn’t hard to notice, that we were outhit, outshot, and extreamly outskated.” The Bethpage Varsity hockey goalie added.

Even with this terrible ending, there are still some positive highlights. This was a great year for the club. For one, a great fourth line emerged, which manufactured an unrivaled source of energy for the team. Secondly, NYI general manager Garth Snow brought in many new and exciting faces throughout a run-and-gun spree of offseason acquisitions. And, above all, the Islanders brought a palpable sense of excitement back to Long Island, and this is something that cannot be overstated, even if the team is departing.

“Great season by the boys. Now it’s time to rebuild and get back into the postseason,” said BHS junior and avid Islander fan John Hose. “It’s really sad the Islanders leaving Nassau…you almost feel cheated, because of all the rich history we have here on the Island.”

It is undoubtedly upsetting that the Islanders are leaving. Yes, there is much to look forward to in the future with the NY Islanders. But in saying that, it is also worthy to note that it’s also a very dark and sad time to be an Islanders fan. For most Islanders fans now, the games will mostly be enjoyed from the couch.