Islanders Eastern Conference Finals schedule released

The schedule for the New York Islanders Eastern Conference Finals showdown with the Tampa Bay Lightning is set. Here are the dates and times.

With a dominant 4-0 win in Game 7 to eliminate the Philadelphia Flyers, the New York Islanders booked their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1993.

A full generation of fans only know the Islanders as a team that has never made it past the second round, and that was only achieved over the last four years. My 25-year-old colleague Matt O’Leary has never known this level of success for the Islanders. To be fair I barely remember it. I was in third grade back in 1993.

We won’t have to wait long to see the Islanders in action. They fly to Edmonton today and hit the ice against the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow. Here’s the schedule.

No B2B

All seven games are mapped out, even if the last three may not be necessary:

• Game 1: Sep. 7 @ 8PM
• Game 2: Sep. 9 @ 8PM
• Game 3: Sep. 11 @ 8PM
• Game 4: Sep. 13 @ 3PM
• Game 5: Sep. 15 @ 8PM
• Game 6: Sep. 17 @ 8PM
• game 7: Sep. 19 @ 7:30PM

The Islanders have had to play on back-to-back nights in two of the three series this postseason. Against the Panthers, Games 2 and 3 were back-to-back, and against the Flyers, Games 3 and 4 were back-to-back.

The only series where the Islanders got a day between each game was against the Capitals. A series they dominated.

Against the Lightning this season, the Islanders hold a 2-1-0 record and a +5 goal differential. The Isles have scored an average of 3.67 goals against the Lightning while the Bolts have been held to 2.00 goals per game.

The Isles’ two wins against the Lightning came while the blue and orange were still rolling over the entire NHL and the one loss came while they were in the middle of their free fall in February.

This should be a good series. And may go the full seven.