"Historically, Opening Night has not been kind to the Islanders. They're 14-26-11 all-time to start a season (.385 points percentage), including 11-20-8 on the road and just 3-6-4 at home. Only four teams - all Original Six franchises - have opened more seasons away from home. Over the last nine years, New York is 3-5-1, and just 6-12-4 in their last 22 openers."
"The Islanders have been involved in five Opening-Night shutouts. Chico Resch blanked Philadelphia in 1976, while Semyon Varlamov did the same to the Rangers in 2021. On the flip side, the Isles were shut out by the Kings (1996), Panthers (2011), and Blue Jackets (2017). The club's fastest goal to start a season came from Dave Scatchard, who scored 1:01 into the ope"
The New York Islanders open their 53rd season on Thursday in Pittsburgh, their only trip to PPG Paints Arena this season. The team went 3-1-0 against Pittsburgh last season (1-1-0 on the road) and 9-3-0 versus the Penguins over the last three years. Eighteen-year-old Matthew Schaefer, the first-overall pick in this year's draft, makes his NHL debut against Sidney Crosby. Opening Night has been difficult historically: 14-26-11 all-time, 11-20-8 on the road, and 3-6-4 at home. Patrick Roy begins his first full season as head coach, and the club has recorded multiple Opening-Night shutouts and shutouts against them.
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