Isles Revved Up and Ready for Playoffs at UBS Arena 

As the New York Islanders get set to host the Carolina Hurricanes for Game 3 of the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday, the team is excited to get back in front of their fans and channel the energy of their home crowd.

“It's going to be electric,” Casey Cizikas said. “It's always electric at UBS Arena and that's the biggest thing we thrive off of as players."

Trailing the series 2-0 to the Hurricanes, the Islanders are determined to make a push and respond with the change in venue. With a fired-up home crowd at UBS Arena behind them, the Islanders are revved up to play their best hockey at a pivotal point in the series.

"Now we get to come home and play in our building, play in front of our fans who I know are going to be excited," Mathew Barzal said. "[We'll] try to give them a good show for two games and play our best hockey of the year and that's what we need."

Though the first two games of the First Round against the Hurricanes didn’t go their way, the Islanders are staying even-keel knowing that the complexion of a playoff series can change quickly - especially when home ice advantage flips to New York.

"We're going back home, it's like a totally new series," JG Pageau said. "That's going to be our mindset. Now we have the energy and the crowd on our side, we know they're going to be super loud, and we need that. They're our seventh man out there."

The Islanders had to play playoff-stye hockey down the stretch, sporting an NHL-best 9-1-1 record in their final 11 games to qualify for the postseason in Game 81. Their run included some momentous wins at home, including a 2-0 win over the Nashville Predators on Apr. 6 and a huge 4-2 win over the New York Rangers on Apr. 9. The Isles finished the regular season on a five-game win streak at home, powered by the fans and their hunger to reach the playoffs. 

"They brought a lot of energy all season and it really helped us down the stretch,” Bo Horvat said. “Playing at home and feeling the energy of the crowd and feeding off of it, they were a big part of that run.” 

The intensity and passion the fans brought was well-received by the Islanders all season long. 

"They're loud and they're proud," Captain Anders Lee said of the fanbase. "The ‘Let's Go Islanders’ chant is a strong one. You can feel it. You can feel it coming out of the fans in the building and it's coming from the heart for sure."

Thursday will mark the fourth-ever playoff game in history at UBS Arena. Last season, the Isles won their first-ever playoff game in their new home with a commanding 5-1 over the Hurricanes in Game Three. The noise and the atmosphere set the standard. 

“I can't wait,” Bo Horvat said. “Playoff hockey on Long Island, it was unbelievable last year at UBS and obviously I expect our fans to be pumped up and ready to go for tomorrow night.”