Key Takeaways and highlights from the NY Islanders 2024-25 schedule release

The full 2023-24 NHL regular season schedule was released on Tuesday, and this time around, the New York Islanders and rival New York Rangers will face off four times, with two games at UBS Arena. The first and only game of 2024 between the two will be on Nov. 3 at Madison Square Garden, followed by games on Feb. 25 at UBS Arena, Mar. 3 at MSG, and then back on Long Island on Apr. 10.

As for the rest of the Metro, the Isles will also play the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Philadelphia Flyers four times, and they will match up with the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals only three times next season.

We learned on Monday that the Islanders' home opener will be Thursday, Oct. 10, at UBS Arena against the Utah Hockey Club. However, it won't be the first game for the team formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes, as Utah will open their season two days earlier at home against Chicago.

The Islanders struggled last season in back-to-backs and will play 12 back-to-back games next season, four of them on the road, one at home, and one split. The Isles went 5-1-4 in the front end and 1-6-3 in the back end this season. There's also a flurry of games before the end of the calendar year and into 2025. The Isles will play Pittsburgh on Dec. 28th and 29th, take on Toronto on New Year's Eve north of the border, and kick off the New Year on Jan. 2 at UBS Arena vs. the Maple Leafs.

The longest home stand of the season will be seven games from Jan. 14-28, and there are three matinee games currently planned at UBS Arena on March 1 vs. Nashville at 12:30 PM, March 22 vs. Calgary at 4:00 PM, and Apr. 6th vs. Washington at 12:30 PM.

There is a 14 day break in February that coincides with the inaugural 4-Nations Face-off from Feb. 9-22. The final game of the regular season is Apr. 17 at Columbus.