The New York Islanders will play in just one game that appears on national television this season: A home game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 3.
Even without John Tavares, the New York Islanders are still an exciting and skilled team with names like Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier, Anders Lee, amongst others. They’re gonna be a physical team too with the re-acquisition of Matt Martin and already having guys like Cal Clutterbuck and Ross Johnston on the roster. But don’t tell NBC that.
For the second straight year, the Islanders will have just one of their 82 games appear on national television, hosting the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 3 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The last nationally televised game at Nassau Coliseum was game six of the Islanders-Washington Capitals playoff series on Apr. 25, 2015, the last game they played there before the renovation.
The Islanders’ lone game on NBCSN last year resulted in a 5-4 overtime win over the Canadiens in Montreal. Even though the game was on national television, Islander fans heard a familiar voice as MSG Networks play-by-play man Brendan Burke had the call on the game.
In calling all 82 Islander games last season, Burke, according to Eric Hornick of NYISkinny, joined Jiggs McDonald as the only man to call every Isles game on TV in a season.
The Islanders split their season series against the Blackhawks last season, winning 7-3 on the road in Jan. and losing 3-1 at Barclays Center in March.
The last time the Islanders faced the Blackhawks at Nassau Coliseum was on Dec. 13, 2014, and the Isles won 3-2.