With the NHL season a couple weeks old, the Islanders have gotten off to a rocky start, going 3-4-0. While the offense hasn’t been explosive, the Islanders have gotten some key points in the standings early this year, especially considering the season is shortened. With that being said, we are going to break down the New York Islanders schedule month-by-month and look at the big takeaways from it.

January

Sat, January 30 @ Philadelphia

Sun, January 31 @ Philadelphia

The month of January closes out with a pair of weekend games at Wells Fargo Center, which will obviously be tough. The Flyers are a top team in the National Hockey League and will be hungry for revenge after the Islanders eliminated them from the playoffs. Those should be good, tight games.

February

Tue, February 2 vs. Buffalo

Thu, February 4 vs. Buffalo

Sat, February 6 vs. Pittsburgh

Mon, February 8 @ NY Rangers

Thu, February 11 vs. Pittsburgh

Sat, February 13 vs. Boston

Mon, February 15 @ Buffalo

Tue, February 16 @ Buffalo

Thu, February 18 @ Pittsburgh

Sat, February 20 @ Pittsburgh

Tue, February 23 @ New Jersey

Thu, February 25 vs. Boston

Sat, February 27 vs. Pittsburgh

Sun, February 28 vs. Pittsburgh

The thing that should stick out the most is that the Islanders play the Pittsburgh Penguins five times in the month of February. With 14 games in 28 days, the New York Islanders schedule is slightly more packed in February than January, where games were spread out, especially in the beginning. The month will open with two games against Buffalo at the Coliseum, a weekend game against Pittsburgh, and a return to Madison Square Garden for the third time of the season. That is followed by a two game home stand, where the experienced Penguins and Bruins will come to Uniondale. Then, the Islanders will go on the road for five games in a nine-day span, in Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and New Jersey before closing out the month at home. While New Jersey and Buffalo may not seem like the most intimidating opponents, any road trip, especially of that length, can be challenging. While the new division alignment mitigates travel, every road trip is not an easy one.

March

Fri, March 5 vs. Buffalo

Sun, March 7 vs. Buffalo

Tue, March 9 vs. Boston

Thu, March 11 vs. New Jersey

Sat, March 13 @ New Jersey

Mon, March 15 @ Washington

Tue, March 16 @ Washington

Thu, March 18 vs. Philadelphia

Sat, March 20 vs. Philadelphia

Thu, March 25 @ Boston

Sat, March 27 @ Boston

Mon, March 29 @ Pittsburgh

Tue, Mar 30 @ Pittsburgh

The Islanders start March with a four-day break, their longest of the season. They will begin with four consecutive home games, against the Sabres twice, Bruins, and Devils, followed up by a game at Prudential Center. Then, the Islanders will embark on their toughest stretch of the season. In the second half of March and first half of April, the Islanders will be playing teams that will likely be competing for playoff spots with them. The Capitals and Flyers were the top two teams in the Metropolitan Division last year, and the Islanders have four consecutive games against them in the middle portion of the month. Two of those will be at Capitol One Arena, and the two against the Flyers will be at Nassau Coliseum. Then, they’ll travel to Boston and Pittsburgh for two games a piece. In this stretch of the season, the Islanders need to accumulate as many points as possible. They have very tough opponents that they’ll be competing with and can’t get on a cold streak at that point in time down the stretch in the New York Islanders schedule.

April

Thu, April 1 vs. Washington

Sat, April 3 vs. Philadelphia

Tue, April 6 vs. Washington

Thu, April 8 vs. Philadelphia

Fri, April 9 vs. NY Rangers

Sun, April 11 vs. NY Rangers

Tue, April 13 @ Boston

Fri, April 16 @ Boston

Sun, April 18 @ Philadelphia

Tue, April 20 vs. NY Rangers

Thu, April 22 vs. Washington

Sat, April 24 vs. Washington

Sun, April 25 @ Philadelphia

Tue, April 27 @ New Jersey

Thu, April 29 @ NY Rangers

April presents a brutal schedule for the blue and orange. The Islanders begin the month with a six-game home stand, but their opponents aren’t exactly cakewalks. Their first four games are alternating between Washington and Philadelphia, followed up by a back-to-back with the Rangers. While the Rangers have been one of the worst teams in the league thus far, any game in the Battle of New York is a tough one, as the rivalry makes those games much more intense. They then head on a brief road trip to Boston and Philadelphia, taking on arguably the two best teams the division has to offer. After that, the Islanders return to the Coliseum for three games, one of them against the Rangers, and two more against Washington for their third and fourth meetings of the month. They end the month on a three game road trip, in Philadelphia, Newark, and Manhattan. Overall, April is a tough stretch in the Islanders schedule where they will be fighting for playoff positioning.

May

Sat, May 1 vs. NY Rangers

Mon, May 3 @ Buffalo

Tue, May 4 @ Buffalo

Thu, May 6 vs. New Jersey

Sat, May 8 vs. New Jersey

In May, the Islanders close off the regular season with five games in eight days, and quite frankly, they may need to win all of them. While it is foolish to underestimate any opponent, the New York Islanders schedule in May is much softer than it was in April. In the final week of the season, where playoff positioning will be tight, the Islanders can’t afford many mulligans against beatable opponents.