The NY Islanders will play 5 weekday afternoon games in 2026-27

The NHL released the schedules for all 32 teams yesterday, with Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin up to their usual hijinx, taking on their role as “interns” in the NY Islanders' schedule release video.

The Islanders will open the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs on September 29, taking on Gavin McKenna in his second career NHL game.

Aside from the 84-game schedule returning for the first time since the start of the 1993-94 season, one thing that pops out about the Islanders' schedule is the number of afternoon games on Monday-Friday. The Islanders will play five games during the standard work week, with puck drop before 5 pm.

Monday, Dec. 7 vs. Colorado Avalanche 1 pm
Wednesday, Dec. 30 vs. Washington Capitals 4 pm
Monday, Jan. 18 (MLK Birthday) vs. Nashville Predators 3 pm
Monday, Feb. 1 at Florida Panthers 1 pm
Monday, Feb. 15 (President's Day) vs. Utah Mammoth 3 pm

This season, the NHL is making an effort to allow fans in Europe to watch games in prime time, with the Islanders being one of the teams they’ll have the opportunity to view most often.

As has become the standard, the NHL will be playing two European games, one in Helsinki, Finland, and the other in Dusseldorf, Germany. The league has made Germany one of its target audiences, with the recent growing number of German players entering the league. The Bundesliga, Germany's top soccer league, will not be playing Monday night games in the upcoming season, and the NHL has scheduled 20 afternoon starts in North America, which will be prime time in Germany.

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Schedule