New York Islanders First Game at UBS Arena is in Mid-November

The New York Islanders will open UBS Arena in November.

The New York Islanders will play their home opener at the newly built arena on Nov. 20 against the Calgary Flames, which will be followed by three straight games at their new home. With UBS Arena needing to be worked on more than a month into the season, the Islanders will start the regular season with a 13-game road trip.

NYI Hockey Now’s Stefen Rosner was first to report the date of the Islanders’ home opener.

Hearing #Isles home opener will be November 20th vs #NHLFlames.

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) July 22, 2021

UBS Arena officials deferred to Lou Lamoriello’s comments about an opening date for the building during a recent tour of the construction site. Lamoriello told reporters during his end of the year media availability he expected the Islanders to start the 2021-22 season on the road.

It won’t be the first time that a New York Hockey team started their season on the road. The New York Rangers were forced to start on the road twice because of renovations at Madison Square Garden in 2011 and 2013.

The Islanders will open the season in Carolina against the Hurricanes and then travel to face the Florida Panthers. They will see only three divisional rivals during their first 13 games of the year, traveling to Columbus on Oct. 21 and New Jersey on Nov. 11.

The Islanders’ first trip to Seattle to face former teammate Jordan Eberle will be on Jan. 4 and Seattle will make its first trip to UBS Arena on Jan. 29.

Below is the full New York Islanders schedule.