For the first time in 28 years, the New York Islanders have won their home opener. The Islanders first game of the season on October 14th against the Buffalo Sabres was the first of three home games to open the season and the first time the team clinched a win in their home opener since the 1995-96 season, 28 years ago. The current roster has an average age of 27 and 35 percent of the players rostered were not born yet in 1995.
The 95-96 season was less than favorable for the Islanders. They finished last in their division and second to last in their conference. They had a record of 22-50-10 and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row. This season was the year of “fishsticks” as fans both of the Islanders and of opposing teams took to criticizing the “Fisherman” jersey unveiled for the season.
The story for the Islanders has taken many significant twists and turns since ‘95 with the acquisition of players such as the first overall pick in the 2009 entry draft John Tavares and 16th overall entry draft pick Mat Barzal in 2015. Since 95-96, the Islanders have made the playoffs 11 times including the Toronto Covid bubble season in 2019-20, as well as the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons. In these years, the team exited the postseason in the Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Semi FInals also against Tampa, and the first round against the Carolina Hurricanes, respectively.
After a season that left the players “disappointed and wanting more” according to captain Anders Lee, the New York Islanders are back for the 2023-24 season. The season opened up at the Islanders home arena, UBS Arena in Elmont, New York versus the Buffalo Sabres. With two goals from forwards Brock Nelson and Casey Cizikas as well as defenseman Adam Pelech, the Islanders clinched a 3-2 win over the Sabres. Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves on 28 shots on goal with Buffalo goaltender Devon Levi making 26 saves on 29 shots.
The Islanders have a long season ahead of them to not only clinch a playoff spot but make up for a few less than satisfying seasons in recent years.