
With the New York Islanders hosting the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night, we flash back to Dec. 23, 2013, a day that a chirp went viral.
With the New York Islanders hosting the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night, we flash back to Dec. 23, 2013.
It was a 3-0 win for New York, backed by a 23-save Evgeni Nabakov shutout, with goals from Kyle Okposo, Michael Grabner, and Casey Cizikas.
Ten years later, there's only one part of that game that people remember. That's when Matt Martin chirped Red Wings forward Drew Miller, an interaction that went viral and still remains on top chirp lists to this day.
Following Monday's morning skate, The Hockey News asked Martin if he remembered that moment and what went into it.
First, here's some information about the two chirpees.
Drafted in the fifth round (No. 148) of the 2008 NHL Draft, Martin played the majority of his first season (2008-09) with the organization in Bridgeport, dressing for 76 AHL games.
The Windsor native did play five NHL games that year.
Martin played 68 games for New York during his sophomore season and just seven in the AHL. From 2011-12, he's been a staple in the Islanders starting lineup.
In total, Martin played 83 AHL games.
On the flip side, Miller, the brother of the legendary goaltender Ryan Miller, was drafted in the sixth round (No. 186) of the 2003 NHL Draft by the Anaheim Ducks.
After finishing a three-year stint at Michigan State, Miller began his career with the Ducks organization, suiting up for the Portland Pirates (AHL) for one game in 2005-06 before playing 79 games for them a season later.
Miller made his NHL debut for Anaheim in the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs, skating in three games.
Over the next few seasons, Miller split time between the Ducks and the Pirates before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the summer of 2009.
After just 14 games in 2009-10, the Lightning placed Miller on waivers, and Detroit scooped him up.
He went on to play the next eight seasons with Detroit, last playing in the NHL in 2016-17.
In total, Miller played 163 AHL games.
Now, let's get to the chirp, shall we?
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ-r2iciLbs[/embed]
It being 10 years ago, Martin didn't remember much about what led to the interaction.
"It was like a TV timeout or something, and I just went on the ice, and I was skating and getting my leg going, and he said something to me," Martin told THN. "And then we just kind of fired back and forth, and I didn't really have any beef with the guy.
Here's the funny part. Martin didn't know that Miller was mic'd.
"It kind of just happened. It was done. He was wearing a mic. I wasn't the one mic'd up in that situation," Martin said. "So it was interesting."
Martin did catch up with Miller down the road, and the two shared a laugh.
"Actually, during one All-Star break, I ran into him and his family on a trip. I met him there and got to know him. We had a little bit of a laugh about it."