East Division Catchup

The Islanders will play the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres eight times each this season, as the NHL temporarily realigns. Officially, it's branded as the East Division, though it could very well be called the Acela, given the teams' close proximity and the popular rail route.
The East Division bears a resemblance to the Metropolitan Division, with two major changes. The Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets, who have played in the Islanders' division since the 2013-14 season, have moved to the Central Division, while Boston and Buffalo have taken their places. The Islanders last played in the same division as the Bruins and Sabres in the 1973-74 season.

Per NHL PR, the Islanders and Rangers have played in the same division for 48 consecutive years, while the Islanders, Rangers, Flyers and Devils are in the same division for the 38th straight season.
These teams have seen a lot of each other and soon they'll be seeing a lot more, as this marks the first year since 2007-08 that divisional rivals will meet eight times.
Before they get reacquainted on the ice, NewYorkIslanders.com has a quick refresher on the Islanders East Division rivals.

BUFFALO SABRES
2019-20 Record:30-31-8 (68 points, .493P%) 13th Eastern Conference
2019-20 NYI vs BUF:2-0-0
2019-20 Leading Scorers:Goals: Eichel (36), Assists: Eichel (42), Points: Eichel (78)
Additions:Taylor Hall, Eric Staal, Tobias Rieder
Subtractions:Jimmy Vesey, Wayne Simmonds, Marcus Johansson
The Sabres landed one of the top free agents of the offseason, inking Taylor Hall to a one-year deal on Oct. 11. Hall and Eric Staal, acquired from Minnesota via trade, added more offensive punch to a Sabres team already featuring Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner and Victor Olofsson.
With the hired guns, the Sabres are looking to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2010-11.
BOSTON BRUINS
2019-20 Record:44-14-12 (100 points, .714 P%), 1st Eastern Conference
2019-20 NYI vs BOS: 1-1-1
2019-20 Leading Scorers: Goals: Pastrnak (48), Assists: Marchand (59), Points: Pastrnak (95)
Additions:Craig Smith, Greg McKegg
Subtractions:Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara (still a UFA), Alex Petrovic
After finishing first in the Eastern Conference in the regular season, the Bruins were eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the postseason. Boston enters the year without all-star defenseman Torey Krug, who signed a seven-year deal with St. Louis, and potentially without longtime captain Zdeno Chara, who is still unsigned.
While the Bruins' defense may look different this season, Boston still features one of the top lines in hockey in Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, the team's top three point leaders from last season.

NEW YORK RANGERS
2019-20 Record:37-28-5 (79 points, .564P%) 11th Eastern Conference
2019-20 NYI vs NYR:1-2-1
2019-20 Leading Scorers: Goals: Zibanejad (41), Panarin (63), Panarin (95)
Additions:Alexis Lafreniere, Jack Johnson
Subtractions:Henrik Lundqvist, Jesper Fast
Since being eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers in August, there's been a changing of the guard in the Rangers' crease. Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev assume the goaltending duties previously held by veteran Henrik Lundqvist, who backstopped the Rangers for 15 seasons before being bought out by the team in the fall.
Alexis Lafreniere, the first-overall pick in the 2020 Draft, also joined the Rangers in the offseason, adding to an offense that already featured Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad.
NEW JERSEY DEVILS:
2019-20 Record:25-34-12 (68 points, .493P%) 14th Eastern Conference
2019-20 NYI vs NJD: 1-1-0
2019-20 Leading Scorers:Goals: Palmieri (25), Assists: Gusev (31), Points: Palmieri (45)
Additions:Lindy Ruff (Head Coach), Corey Crawford, Dmitry Kulikov, Andreas Johnsson, Ryan Murray
Subtractions:Cory Schneider, Mirco Mueller
The Devils are looking to return to the postseason for the first time since 2017-18 after finishing last in the Metropolitan Divisions each of the previous two years.
They'll do so with a new coach, as veteran bench boss Lindy Ruff takes the reigns of a young Devils team. The Devils signed Corey Crawford to a two-year deal on Oct. 9. Crawford, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, two-time All-Star and two-time Jennings Trophy winner.

PHILDELPHIA FLYERS:
2019-20 Record:41-21-7 (89 points, .645 P%) 4th Eastern Conference
2019-20 NYI vs PHI:3-0-0
2019-20 Leading Scorers:Goals: Konecny (24), Assists: Voracek (44), Points: Konecny (61)
Additions:Erik Gustafsson, Derrick Pouliot
Subtractions:Matt Niskanen, Nate Thompson, Derek Grant
A second-half surge propelled the Flyers into the playoffs last season, where they fell to the Islanders in a seven-game, second-round series. The Flyers, who boast a young D corps. and goaltender in Carter Hart are largely intact from this past season, aside from Matt Niskanen's retirement.
Islanders fans should know the Flyers well, after seven meetings in the summer - and even better after eight more meetings this year.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS:
2019-20 Record:40-23-6 (86 points, .623P%) 5th Eastern Conference
2019-20 NYI vs PIT:2-0-1
2019-20 Leading Scorers:Goals: Rust (27), Assists: Malkin (49), Points: Malkin (74)
Additions:Kasperi Kapanen, Pontus Aberg, Mike Matheson, Evan Rodrigues, Cody Ceci
Subtractions: Patric Hornqvist, Matt Murray, Conor Sheary, Jack Johnson, Justin Schultz
After falling in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, the Penguins underwent substantial changes in the 2020 offseason, notably trading Patric Hornqvist and Matt Murray, both of whom won Stanley Cups with the club in 2016 and 2017.
Pittsburgh also dealt for 2014 first-round pick Kasperi Kapanen and acquired Florida Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson, as they re-tool on the fly. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin remain the Penguins top offensive threats, as they return for their 15th season together.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS:
2019-20 Record:41-20-8 (90 points, .652P%) 3rd Eastern Conference
2019-20 NYI vs WSH:2-2-0
2019-20 Leading Scorers:Ovechkin (48), Assists: Carlson (60), Points: Carlson (75)
Additions:Peter Laviolette (Head Coach), Conor Sheary, Justin Schultz, Trevor van Riemsdyk
Subtractions:Braden Holtby, Radko Gudas, Ilya Kovalchuk
The Capitals also underwent changes in the 2020 offseason. Peter Laviolette is the Capitals new head coach, taking over for Todd Reirden, while longtime Capitals netminder Braden Holtby signed with Vancouver, effectively turning the crease over to 23-year-old Ilya Samsonov.
Washington signed Lundqvist to have a veteran presence in goal, but a heart condition will cause him to miss the 2020-21 season. Ilya Kovalchuk and Radko Gudas also left the team via free agency, but familiar names like Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson and Evgeni Kuznetsov remain.