The Islanders released their schedule yesterday. It's a bit... um... interesting.
OK, let's not pull any punches. It looks like the kind of schedule you'd see in a video game when you play a second season. For example, in my 2008-09 season in NHL 08, I open up at home against the Devils... only to play the Devils at home again two nights later. The Isles' schedule isn't that horrific - and for that, we are eternally grateful - but it is a bit bizarre.
Let's dig into this thing.
- Unlike last year, the Islanders will actually be playing games in October this year. No more ridiculous strings of three games in two weeks. Thank God. That the Islanders play some teams they traditionally play well against (Rangers, Flyers, Devils, Lightning) as well as some bad teams (Blues, Panthers) helps out as well.
- The Isles booked a number of matinee games, which don't seem to make that much of a difference to many of us, but are great for getting kids to come out. (No, little Kylie will not be attending her first Islander game this year, but at least she'll get to watch the earlier games on TV.) They have a matinee on just about every holiday - Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, New Year's Eve, MLK Day, and President's Day. They've scheduled some other random ones as well.
- On the national TV front, the Islanders have two chances to crack NBC's flex schedule: March 8 vs. Phoenix and March 15 vs. Chicago. Great. Figures that the NHL screws the Islanders by putting them in useless matchups against the West on Sundays. Meanwhile, on those two dates, the Rangers will be playing the Bruins and Flyers respectively. Gee, I wonder which direction NBC will take.
- Now, we get to what makes this schedule so ridiculous - the extreme number of lengthy home/road swings the Islanders will go on. They're on the road for four straight in December and then they go out to the West Coast for four more in January (thankfully, they only have one West Coast swing). The West Coast trip is followed immediately by five straight home games. Then, we get to the season's crucial point - February 26th. This is the date when the Islanders will begin a six-game home stand, which will be directly followed by six straight road games. Who the hell came up with that idea? Everyone knows attendance on Long Island picks up significantly (as in, the Coliseum is sold out) if the Islanders are involved in a playoff chase in mid-March, so let's capitalize on that by sending them on the road for two weeks in crunch time. Good f'ing job, NHL.
- The final stretch of the season is a doozy, with nine of the Isles' final eleven games being played against playoff teams from last year. One of the two non-playoff teams is the Lightning, who will be significantly better this year. Uh-oh.
- If anybody cares, the Islanders will be playing twice against the following Western Conference teams: Columbus (hello, Mr. Filatov), Phoenix (The Great One, not to mention a good young team), and Minnesota (zzzz). Let's hope the geniuses in the Islanders corporate offices make these promotional giveaway nights. Something tells me the sizzle of an Islanders-Blue Jackets matchup isn't going to sell a lot of tickets on its own.
So, how do I see this season playing out? Well, it looks like the NHL did the Islanders a favor by giving them a lot of rivalry games early on so people can see them playing at their best, thereby helping the Isles to sell tickets for their remaining slate of games. However, the lengthy road trips will take their toll on this team; if they don't do the Islanders in, their punishing April will. They could sneak into the playoffs, but it's going to be a tall order indeed.
OK, let's not pull any punches. It looks like the kind of schedule you'd see in a video game when you play a second season. For example, in my 2008-09 season in NHL 08, I open up at home against the Devils... only to play the Devils at home again two nights later. The Isles' schedule isn't that horrific - and for that, we are eternally grateful - but it is a bit bizarre.
Let's dig into this thing.
- Unlike last year, the Islanders will actually be playing games in October this year. No more ridiculous strings of three games in two weeks. Thank God. That the Islanders play some teams they traditionally play well against (Rangers, Flyers, Devils, Lightning) as well as some bad teams (Blues, Panthers) helps out as well.
- The Isles booked a number of matinee games, which don't seem to make that much of a difference to many of us, but are great for getting kids to come out. (No, little Kylie will not be attending her first Islander game this year, but at least she'll get to watch the earlier games on TV.) They have a matinee on just about every holiday - Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, New Year's Eve, MLK Day, and President's Day. They've scheduled some other random ones as well.
- On the national TV front, the Islanders have two chances to crack NBC's flex schedule: March 8 vs. Phoenix and March 15 vs. Chicago. Great. Figures that the NHL screws the Islanders by putting them in useless matchups against the West on Sundays. Meanwhile, on those two dates, the Rangers will be playing the Bruins and Flyers respectively. Gee, I wonder which direction NBC will take.
- Now, we get to what makes this schedule so ridiculous - the extreme number of lengthy home/road swings the Islanders will go on. They're on the road for four straight in December and then they go out to the West Coast for four more in January (thankfully, they only have one West Coast swing). The West Coast trip is followed immediately by five straight home games. Then, we get to the season's crucial point - February 26th. This is the date when the Islanders will begin a six-game home stand, which will be directly followed by six straight road games. Who the hell came up with that idea? Everyone knows attendance on Long Island picks up significantly (as in, the Coliseum is sold out) if the Islanders are involved in a playoff chase in mid-March, so let's capitalize on that by sending them on the road for two weeks in crunch time. Good f'ing job, NHL.
- The final stretch of the season is a doozy, with nine of the Isles' final eleven games being played against playoff teams from last year. One of the two non-playoff teams is the Lightning, who will be significantly better this year. Uh-oh.
- If anybody cares, the Islanders will be playing twice against the following Western Conference teams: Columbus (hello, Mr. Filatov), Phoenix (The Great One, not to mention a good young team), and Minnesota (zzzz). Let's hope the geniuses in the Islanders corporate offices make these promotional giveaway nights. Something tells me the sizzle of an Islanders-Blue Jackets matchup isn't going to sell a lot of tickets on its own.
So, how do I see this season playing out? Well, it looks like the NHL did the Islanders a favor by giving them a lot of rivalry games early on so people can see them playing at their best, thereby helping the Isles to sell tickets for their remaining slate of games. However, the lengthy road trips will take their toll on this team; if they don't do the Islanders in, their punishing April will. They could sneak into the playoffs, but it's going to be a tall order indeed.
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