Islanders know they need to win to establish home-ice advantage at UBS Arena
New York Islanders' Jonathan Drouin (29) celebrates after his goal with Matthew Schaefer (48), Scott Mayfield (24) and Emil Heineman (51) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. Credit: AP/Gene J. Puskar
UBS Arena still needs a little more Nassau Coliseum in it.
The Islanders faced the Capitals on Saturday night for their fifth home opener in the new state-of-the-art facility still trying to establish the type of home-ice advantage they had when they played in their antiquated former home, which had long ceased to be financially viable in terms of sustaining an NHL team.
“That was special,” Anders Lee said. “You felt like you had a half-goal lead before the game started. It was a great place.”
The 17,255-seat UBS Arena has all the ingredients to give the Islanders a home-ice edge, particularly with approximately two-thirds of the capacity in the lower bowl and closer to the ice. Really, the main factor comes down to the Islanders winning more consistently.
They were just 19-17-5 at home last season and the Islanders’ overall regular-season record at UBS Arena entering Saturday was 85-66-23. Just as important, the building has hosted just five playoff games since it opened.
“I feel like you’ve got to build it up,” Mathew Barzal said. “We’ve been just OK at home the last few years. We’re looking to change that. I remember when we were back at the Coliseum, we were so hard to play against at home. Hopefully we can kind of bring that mentality this year and find a way to be good at home.
“It just starts with a win and you get that feeling as a group. You just feel good at home. When our fans are loud and bringing energy, that also plays a big part. I’d say it just comes down to winning a few games and feeling that shield on us when we’re at home.”
The schedule gives the Islanders an opportunity to do so.
Saturday’s match marked the start of a three-game homestand and a stretch of five-of-six at UBS Arena.
“Go there and play one good game,” coach Patrick Roy said. “I think it’s about shift by shift and period by period. It sounds very cliched but that’s what it is in reality. I think the fact that we’re starting to know what brings success to us, that’s a step in the right direction.”
“Just start with the first period,” defenseman Alexander Romanov said. “Start fast, play a physical game from the first seconds. Give them pressure.”
The Islanders entered Saturday with a 1-2-1 record in their home openers, losing 5-4 in overtime to Utah last season. Their lone win came in a 3-2 victory over the Sabres on Oct. 14, 2023 to start a season-opening 2-0-1 homestand that eventually led to their last playoff berth.
This three-game homestand features particularly tough challenges. The Capitals were a playoff team last season. The Jets, who come to UBS Arena on Monday afternoon, led the NHL with 116 points and the Oilers, Thursday’s opponent, have advanced to the Stanley Cup Final two straight years, losing both times to the Panthers.
But the Islanders showed noted improvement in their pace of play in Thursday night’s season-opening 4-3 loss in Pittsburgh. In addition to the speed, the Islanders simply played a more entertaining game than many of last season’s inconsistent slogs.
There’s always a buzz associated with the home opener. The Islanders’ job is to build off of it by sustaining that level of hockey.
“Early in the season, there’s excitement,” Lee said. “The building’s going to be in a good spot. I feel like we have to go play good hockey, too, to earn some of that and get the energy in the building to be consistent. It tends to get better throughout the season.
“Look, the home-ice advantage thing, when you’ve got a crowd that’s behind you with energy and good support, it goes a long way. It makes it a tough place to play in. We travel all over and play in buildings that are tough to play in. You’ve got to fight through a couple of things. But it also brings just a great energy to the game. We feed off of that big time. When the belief is there and the energy is there, it definitely does trickle down. We believe it on the bench but it helps when you’ve got 17,000 people thinking the same thing.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
