Islanders Five Key Questions

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong 1. What does the new division mean? This year the season returns to the full 82 games. With the NHL restructuring the conference alignment, the Islanders have been placed in the Metropolitan division along with the Rangers, Devils, Flyers, Blue Jackets, Hurricanes, Capitals and Penguins. This means that they will play 30 games this season against these strong teams. The Islanders will play everyone in their division four times except for the Rangers and the Devils. They will play the Rangers and the Devils five times each, with the January 29 game at Yankee Stadium being the most anticipated matchup. However, the Islanders will only play the Rangers at Nassau Coliseum once this season, as the Yankee Stadium game will count as a home game. They will also play the other eight teams in the conference three times for a total of 54 conference games. The Islanders should be used to all these teams except Columbus, considering last year’s entire schedule...