5 Takeaways: Islanders 2020-21 Schedule

While the 2020-21 NHL season will take place entirely in 2021, the
NHL released the 56-game regular season schedules
for all 31 teams on Wednesday afternoon.

Due to the ongoing circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak, the NHL will play an abbreviated season with temporarily realigned divisions to provide easier and safer travel schedules. The season will begin on Jan. 13 and end on May 8. The Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin on May 11 and July 9 is tentatively scheduled as the last possible day for the Stanley Cup to be awarded due to the 2021 Summer Olympics. There will not be an All-Star Weekend this season.
The Islanders will play in the East division and face the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals over the course of 56 regular-season games.
The Islanders season will begin on Jan. 14 as the visiting team taking on their crosstown rivals the New York Rangers. The Islanders first home opener of the season is on Jan. 18 against Boston. The Islanders regular season will conclude on May 8 with a home game against New Jersey.
Check out the full schedule
here
, but also take a look at this breakdown that was provided by NewYorkIslanders.com to provide the key takeaways from the Islanders 2020-21 schedule.
Video: Jumping into the 2021 Isles season like...

LONGEST HOMESTAND

The Islanders' longest homestand spans for seven games from Feb. 25 through March 11. During that time, the Islanders will host Boston (Feb. 25), Pittsburgh (Feb. 27 and 28), Buffalo (March 5 and 7), Boston (March 9) and New Jersey (March 11).

LONGEST ROAD TRIP

The Islanders will have two sets of five-game stints where they are on the road for a week. The first of the Islanders longest road trips is from Jan. 24-31. During that span the Islanders will take on New Jersey (Jan. 24), Washington (Jan. 26 and 28) and Philadelphia (Jan. 30 and 31).
The Islanders second longest road trip stretches from Feb. 15-23 where the Islanders will be the visiting team against Buffalo (Feb. 15 and 16), Pittsburgh (Feb. 18 and 20) and New Jersey (Feb. 23).
Luckily, the Islanders won't have to travel far this year when they're on the road.

BACK-TO-BACKS

The Islanders are slated to have eight back-to-back sets this season. Here are the Islanders back-to-back sets this season:
Jan. 30 and Jan. 31 at PHI
Feb. 15 and 16 at BUF
Feb. 27 and 28 against PIT
March 15 and 16 at WSH
March 29 and 30 at PIT
April 8 and 9 against PHI and NYR
April 24 against WSH and April 25 at PHI
May 3 and 4 at BUF
The Islanders have performed well in back-to-backs under Barry Trotz, with a 17-2-2 record on the second night.

SERIES SETS

Tweet from @PR\_NHL: Teams in the East Division share rich playoff histories and the 2020-21 grouping also will mark the 50th consecutive season that the Bruins and Sabres play as intradivisional rivals.#NHLStats: https://t.co/hkOXa1s25Q pic.twitter.com/aVgkfEN4ll
This year's schedule will resemble that of a Major League Baseball (MLB) team with a slate of consecutive games versus individual games. The Islanders will not play any team in their division more than twice in a row. In total, the Islanders will play 19 such series.
Against the Boston Bruins, the Islanders will have two series sets. The Islanders will be the visiting club against the Bs on March 25 and 27 and again on April 13 and 16.
Against the Buffalo Sabres, the Islanders will have four series sets. The first set is scheduled for Feb. 2 and 4, where the Islanders will host Buffalo. The Islanders will be the visiting team for the second set on Feb. 15 and 16. The Islanders will host Buffalo on March 5 and 7. For the final series set, the Islanders will be the away team on May 3 and 4.
Against the New Jersey Devils, the Islanders will have three series sets. The first two pairs of meetings will be home-and-home sets beginning with the Islanders hosting New Jersey on Jan. 21 and then, being the away team on Jan. 24. During the second series set, the Devils will visit the Islanders on March 11 and then, the Islanders will visit New Jersey on March 13. The Islanders will host the final series set as they close out the regular season on May 6 and 8.
Against the New York Rangers, the Islanders will play three series. Beginning with Jan. 14 and 16 at the Garden, April 4 and 11 at home against the Blueshirts and a home-and-home scheduled for April 29 (away at the Rangers) and May 1 (hosting the Rangers).
Against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Islanders will have two series sets. The first set takes place on Jan. 30 and 31, where the Islanders will visit the Flyers. The Islanders will host the second set on March 18 and 20.
Against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Islanders will have three series sets. On Feb. 18 and 20, the Islanders will visit Pittsburgh. On Feb. 27 and 28, the Islanders will host the Penguins. The final series set is scheduled for March 29 and 30 with the Islanders on the road.
Against the Washington Capitals, the Islanders will have three series sets. The first set is slated for Jan. 26 and 28 with the Islanders as the away team. On March 15 and 16, the Islanders will host the Caps. And on April 22 and 24, the Islanders will host Washington again.

NOTEABLE GAMES:

The realigned divisions and intradivisional schedule should foster heated rivalries. The Islanders will face familiar foes in the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins all eight times each throughout the season.
While every game should be exciting, there are a few notable games to circle.
- Jan. 14 - The Islanders season opener - and first Islanders-Rangers game of the season. - Jan. 18 - The home opener vs Boston. While no fans are permitted to attend pro sporting events in New York State, this will be the first game at Nassau Coliseum since March. - Jan. 26 - The Islanders and Capitals meet for the first time since the 2020 playoffs. The Islanders advanced to the Second Round on Aug. 20 following their 4-0 Game 5 victory over the Caps in the best-of-seven First Round series. - Jan. 30 - The Islanders and Flyers will meet for the first time since Sept. 5, where the Islanders had methodically defeated Philadelphia 4-0 in Game 7 of the Second Round and thus, advanced to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 1993. - Feb. 2 - The Islanders get their first look at the Buffalo Sabres, who added forwards Taylor Hall and Eric Staal in the offseason. - Feb. 6 - The Islanders first meeting vs Pittsburgh, a fierce divisional rival. During the 2019-20 regular season, the Islanders held the edge in the season series with two overtime wins on Nov. 19 (5-4 OT) and Nov. 21 (4-3 OT) versus Pittsburgh's solo OT win on Nov. 7 (4-3). - May 8 - The Islanders close out the regular season vs the New Jersey Devils at Nassau Coliseum.