5 New York Islanders Games To Watch This Season

May 11, 2013; Uniondale, NY, USA; The New York Islanders celebrate a goal by New York Islanders right wing Colin McDonald (13) against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period of game six of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Last week, the National Hockey League announced its regular season schedule. Of course, nobody has the time to watch a complete 82 game schedule (if you can, tell me your secret pronto!), so if you’re going to tune into some Islander games or sit through it live, these are the ones to take in.

1. Friday, October 4th, 2013. New York Islanders at New Jersey Devils.

It may not seem like barn burner of a match up but this game starts off our Islanders campaign and they are sure to be pumped right up. The Devils will be just as eager as well now that they’ve signed a replacement for Ilya Kovalchuk, that being Jaromir Jagr. I swear that guy has been passed around more teams then a……..well, I’ll keep this family friendly. Anyway, with both teams raring to go, it’ll make for a good night of hockey.

2. Saturday, October 5th, 2013. Columbus Blue Jackets at New York Islanders.

Here we go! The first home game of a complete season in two years! The Blue and Orange faithful will be out in full force at Nassau Coliseum. The opponents include last year’s Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, so that will put Evgeni Nabakov up to the test. We are sure to see a goaltender’s duel in this one. Let the brand new Metropolitan division shine!

3. Saturday, October 26th, 2013. Philadelphia Flyers at New York Islanders.

This game should be interesting. Former Islander captain Mark Streit will make his first appearance in Nassau Coliseum in the black and orange colours of the Flyers. I’m anxious to see how he’s going to be recepted. Will there be cheers or a chorus of boos? The Flyers themselves however have bolstered their lineup with the addition of Vincent Lecavalier and goaltender Ray Emery. I’m sure it’ll be no match for the Islanders though.

May 7, 2013; Uniondale, NY, USA; New York Islanders celebrate scoring during the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins in game four of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

4. Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013. Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Islanders.

Sidney Crosby and company invade NVMC for the first time this season. While I am not a fan of Crosby or the Penguins in general, you can’t pass up the talent this team has. You can’t ignore it. The only thing that could put the Penguins at a disadvantage for this game is if they succumb to the injury bug and let’s face it, it could happen. The Islanders have a good shot if they remain healthy as well. This game will be fun to watch.

5. Wednesday, January 29th, 2014. New York Rangers vs New York Islanders at Yankee Stadium.

These two teams play each other 5 days before the Yankee Stadium game so I’m sure the rivalry will be at full force. The third game in the Coors Light NHL Stadium Series, the game will be played outdoors in the infield of Yankee Stadium. It’s a unique feature the NHL has added in this but certainly has been seen before. The only thing that would make this game better is HBO’s 24/7 filming it. But they’ll have their hands full with Toronto and Detroit at the Winter Classic.