As the 2021 NHL season looms, it appears as if most NHL teams will be starting the season without fans. It will most likely be not until the following season that NHL teams begin to allow fans as life begins to return to normal. So, let’s take a peek at how playing in empty arenas will affect the New York Islanders.

When the Barn is rocking, the Islanders indubitably have one of the best home atmospheres in the NHL. The small density, low ceiling Nassau Coliseum provides that electric atmosphere. However, during this past postseason, the Islanders had a marvelous run playing in empty arenas. The Islanders handed the Florida Panthers convincingly, eliminating them in four games in a five-game series. Then, the team handled business with the Washington Capitals, knocking them out of the playoffs in five games. It was quite a decisive defeat; the Islanders put a stranglehold on the Capitals the entire series. Then, the Islanders moved onto the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where they faced off against the number one seed, the Philadelphia Flyers. The Islanders would go on to eliminate the Flyers in seven games. Although the series wound up going seven games, the only games the Islanders lost were games that went to overtime. The Islanders found a way to smother the Flyers in Game 7 and advance to the Eastern Conference Final. Despite the Islanders losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games, the Islanders were a breakaway goal in overtime away from sending the series to Game 7, and put up quite the fight against the NHL’s most stacked team.

So why does all of that matter? Because the Islanders are no stranger to success, even under the special circumstances of no fans.

Although it may seem like the complete opposite, the Islanders are in a better situation without fans than with fans.

It’s not that they are Islanders are only good without fans and bad with fans. The Islanders are a top team in both scenarios. Although the Nassau Coliseum provides the Islanders with a significant advantage, the Islanders are a leg up when they play without fans for a plethora of reasons.

The Islanders play style smothers their opponents and is demoralizing. It suffocates all the momentum out of their foes, due to a physical, structured, and grinding approach, Under normal circumstances, when the Islanders are on the road, they have to worry about fans providing their opponents with energy and momentum that they can feed off. However, because of the situation with COVID-19, the Islanders do not have to worry about this anymore for the given moment.

No fans are only temporary, but for the given time, it does help the New York Islanders by allowing their playstyle to have a more significant impact than it may have before.

Ethan Halle

Ethan is an Economics Major at the University of Florida looking to pursue a double major in Sports Management with a minor in political science.