The Islanders held a tribute to slain NYPD Detective Jonathan Diller on Friday night at UBS Arena just two days after Diller’s shooter was stunningly acquitted on a charge of first-degree murder.
The killer, 36-year-old Guy Rivera, was convicted on lesser charges, including aggravated manslaughter and attempted murder of Diller’s partner and weapons charges.
“Today the Islanders family remembers the life and legacy of NYPD detective Jonathan Diller,” public address announcer Alex Anthony said at the under-10 TV timeout of the first period. “We will always stand with his wife, Stephanie, their son Ryan and the entire Diller family. Detective Diller will be in our thoughts and hearts forever.”
Diller, who was killed in March 2024 during a traffic stop in Far Rockaway, Queens, was a diehard Islanders fan, so much so that at his funeral, the priest included the team in his prayers.
“I have to add, I think John might be upset if I didn’t say, we pray for his Islanders, too, today,” Father Michael Duffy said.
At an April 2024 game soon after the killing, the Islanders held a moment of silence for Diller and donated proceeds from their 50/50 raffle to the family.
Police commissioner Jessica Tisch’s statement following the verdict this week said she was “deeply disappointed” at Reyes’ acquittal for murder.
“I am grateful that he has been convicted on all other counts,” Tisch said. “My hope is that the ultimate sentence in this case will reflect the gravity of his actions, and the profound loss he caused for Stephanie, Ryan, the Diller family, the NYPD, and the entire city of New York.”
Simon Holmstrom returned from the upper-body injury that kept him out of Tuesday’s match in Buffalo, with Anthony Duclair coming out of the lineup as a healthy scratch.
The Islanders returned to the same lines they’d been using prior to that game, with Holmstrom, JG Pageau and Ondrej Palat on the third line and Cal Ritchie, Brayden Schenn and Mat Barzal as the second line.
Tony DeAngelo skated on his own Friday morning before the Islanders held an optional skate. Roy said it was not his first time on the ice since suffering a lower-body injury.
It was yet to be decided whether DeAngelo would go to Carolina on Saturday when Roy spoke to reporters Friday morning.
