A-Mac behind the scenes
From the Islanders' new "Skates on a Plane" blog: The best sequence that didn’t make the broadcast was MacDonald’s reaction to a knee-to-knee hit absorbed by teammate Jack Hillen. A-Mac, who was on the bench during the play, was convinced that his teammate could have broken his leg, and expressed as much to his bench neighbors… then to the refs, then to players on the other team, and eventually, to Hillen himself. All, of course, in pretty colorful language. What did come across on the air was MacDonald’s leadership abilities. The assistant captain is the unquestioned leader of the defense on the bench, and the most vocal player on the ice. From assigning a back-checking forward to the "low" position, to coaching defensive partner Travis Hamonic through a breakout, A-Mac showed TV viewers why the coaching staff has put so much faith in him this season.