EAST MEADOW, N.Y. AtIslanders morning skateThursday, "focus" was a word Barry Trotz kept repeating. For him and his team, this is just another game in an 82-game schedule, another matchup as they make their playoff push. While this game does have two critical points up for grabs, focus will be critical and difficult to master. The atmosphere inside the Na sau Veterans Memorial Coliseum is expected to be anything but the norm former Islanders captain John Tavares returns. "I dont know what to expect, really, honestly," Islanders forward Cal ClutterbucktoldSporting News. "I just hope that its the welcome that hes earned, I think. (He) put a lot of time into this place, a lot of hard work. Ive seen it first hand and I just hope that he gets some recognition for that." MORE:MapleLeafs' John Tavares readies for return to Long Island Clutterbuck spent five seasons with Tavares in New York, including two playoff appearances after being acquired from the Wild in the 2013 offseason. "I dont really know and I cant imagine," he added, speaking in regard to what it will be like for Tavares to play in the game. "Its tough enough being traded and going back to your old team for the first time and that building and trying to play. Its a very surreal, kind of, you dont nece sarily feel like youve got all your focus. Youre a little bit out ofbody. Its not normal. So I cant imagine what this ones going to be like for him." "Extremely pa sionate," new Islanders captain Anders Lee said about the team's fans. "They love our team, they love the Island and without them we have nothing so its Mark Prior Jersey going to be a fun night for everyone and obviously theres a lot going on for us its another important hockey game." The Coliseum is the second-oldest building in use by the NHL this season, with Madison Square Garden being the oldest. It's an intimate atmosphere with a low-hanging roof that creates a loud, booming sound that echos around the "Old Barn." It can be an intimidating place to play and the general conjecture is that fanswho feel angry and betrayed by Tavares' leavingwill make it a hostile one for the team's former first overallpick. DEADLINE WINNERS & LOSERS Fans are entitled to have opinions and feel the way they want," noted Matt Martin, who spent time with Toronto in between stints with the Islanders. They kind of watched him grow, watched him become a star and that wasnt easy to watch him leave. "I expect and Im sure he expects they will be hard on him tonight. Inside of hockey thats all great, fans, booing thats all fine. Some of the other stuff is ... whatever. Hes happy in Toronto, were happy where we are in the standings. Weve moved on from him, hes moved on from us." John Tavares will have a tribute video tonight. Laura Albanese (@AlbaneseLaura) New York has definitely moved on. With a new head coach, who would have been Tavares' fourth in what would have been his 10th season with the team, the Islanders are sitting tied with Trotz's old squad atop the Metropolitan Divison. When these teams matched up earlier in the season, New York blanked Toronto 4-0 at Scotiabank Arena. "Its pretty hard to block out in the situation like the one tonight but at the end of the day its just Islanders vs. Maple Leafs," noted Mat Barzal, who netted a hat trick in the December game. "We got a 22-man roster in here thats excited to play tonight and gonna compete hard so I think were looking forward to it." In the end, the game will pit two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference vying for postseason placement with the Tavares storyline as the gorilla in the room. "You have to respect that John gave his all for a long time for the organization," Trotz said. "He was the face of the organization. From his standpoint, and everybody's standpoint he's earned the right to go back home and also people are upset or whatever. Just be respectful, cheer us on and let's have a good hockey game tonight." Dave Kingman Jersey