Islanders All-Star Streit paves way for ‘homecoming’

By Bill Bernardi
PA SportsTicker Staff Writer

Mark Streit feels like he’s headed home this weekend.

Where’s the native of Switzerland who plays on Long Island going? Well, Montreal of course.

The lone All-Star representative of the New York Islanders, the 31-year-old Streit will see many of his former mates with the Montreal Canadiens during the upcoming NHL All-Star Weekend.

“I’m just really honored and thrilled to play there,” said Streit, who will be joined by fellow defensemen and current Canadiens Andrei Markov and Mike Komisarek, as well as All-Star captain Alexei Kovalev and goaltender Carey Price.

“It will be nice to see those guys. It’s going to be sweet to go back and have fun with them.”

And what about hockey-crazed Montreal itself?

“It doesn’t get any better than this. I knew it was going to be crazy, but I didn’t expect it to be that crazy,” Streit said. “There were, I don’t know, how many people when we got off the plane asking for autographs?

“It’s a celebration of hockey - all over they will see the fans are so crazy for hockey, how much they are into hockey. I think it will be great for hockey and it will be a really great game, there’s so much atmosphere at the Bell Centre.”

While he’s there, perhaps the two-time Olympian could share a secret or two to jump-start the Canadiens’ lackluster power play.

With Streit at the helm, Montreal was the proud owner of the top-ranked power play for the last two seasons. This season, with Streit toiling on Long Island after signing a five-year contract in the summer, the Canadiens have converted 16.1 percent of their power plays - 24th-best in the league.

For his part, Streit’s 22 power-play points place him in a tie for seventh-place in the league - four behind All-Star Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks.

Considering Streit’s a contestant in the hardest shot competition, it’s no wonder why opposing foes are a bit leery of venturing too close to him.

With eight goals and 27 assists for a team-leading 35 points, Streit has been the lone bright spot for the cellar-dwelling Islanders (13-29-5, 31 points).

And for his efforts, Streit can enjoy his trip “home”.