Islanders playing at UBS Arena for first time

ELMONT, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders are playing their first game at their new home, UBS Arena, against the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

"It's pretty surreal, to be honest," Islanders captain Anders Lee said after practice at the new arena Thursday. "A lot of guys have been here a long time, and a lot of talk about a lot of different things, different arenas and half-seasons in places. It's just always one of those conversation points you have, and now that it's here it's almost a little surreal.
"But I think it's going to just start to feel more and more like] home. We need to get some people in the stands, and that's what Saturday's for. But it was nice to get our bearings today on the ice. When we open this thing up, it's going to be great. It's an awesome time."
The Islanders will have to move forward for the time being without Lee, forwards
[Josh Bailey
and Anthony Beauvillier, and defensemen
Andy Greene
and Adam Pelech, each in NHL COVID-19 protocol, and defenseman Ryan Pulock, who is out 4-6 weeks because of a lower-body injury sustained during a 4-1 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.
Bailey, in his 14th NHL season, is the longest-tenured player on the Islanders roster. He tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday before a 6-1 loss at the Florida Panthers and stayed in Florida to quarantine.
"It [stinks]," Lee said of Bailey on Thursday. "I feel for him. If there's anyone that deserves to open up this building, it's Josh. It'll be tough not to have him with us, [but] I know he's going to make his mark on this building when he gets a chance when he comes out of this thing. We can't wait to have him back."
The Islanders played at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, from 1972-2015, then moved full time to Barclays Center in Brooklyn for three seasons before splitting games between the arenas from 2018-20. They played all of their home games at the Coliseum last season and started this season with 13 games on the road to allow more time for construction at UBS Arena. New York lost the final four games and is 5-6-2 entering the opener.
"The Coliseum served us well, Barclays served us well," coach Barry Trotz said. "The guys that have been on this team at least the last four or five years, they built this. It's helped that we've been a competitive team the last couple of years, and we've got to continue to be a competitive team. Right now, the last couple of games, we haven't played like a competitive team, but we'll get that back."
Trotz said he noticed a buzz among the players before and during practice.
"The best I can describe it to anybody is it felt like we've done the Winter Classic and those NHL [Stadium] Series games," Trotz said. "It's got a different feel. There was a little pep in the step."

Islanders center Mathew Barzal said he tried to avoid social media in recent months with hopes of not seeing pictures of the construction progress at UBS Arena. He said he was amazed by the finished product.
"Absolutely blew me away," Barzal said. "I walked right in, saw the gym, saw our eating area and I couldn't wait to see more. The entire facility, the rink and how it's set up, it's so high-end. I can't even tell you how nice it is down here (in the locker room). We're a pretty lucky group."
With the road stretch behind them, Lee said he's hoping the new home-ice advantage will help get the Islanders trending back in the right direction. New York was outscored 19-4 in its previous four games.
"We haven't had a chance to play a home game this year," Lee said. "You know how much we feed off of our crowd and how much of an impact they have on our games at home. We've seen it in playoffs, in the regular season, so now we get to be back in front of them again.
"And then after that, you look at it as a brand-new building that this franchise has been looking forward to for a really long time, so there's ton of emotion in that. It's an extremely exciting time for everyone that's put in a lot of work, a lot of fans that have been patient for this. There's a lot that's gone into it, so I think it's just going to bring a lot of life, and I know that life that we're going to be able to feed off the crowd is exactly what we need."