The New York Islanders and Florida Panthers know when they will be playing their series, as the NHL released the times and days for the first round.
The New York Islanders and Florida Panthers will be squaring off in the first round of the NHL Playoffs in the Eastern Conference. While the playoffs will kick things off starting on April 13th, the Islanders and Panthers will have to wait until April 14th to get things started in their series.
Game 1 will be played at 8:00 PM ET at the BB&T Center, home of the Panthers. In a weird scheduling quirk, the Islanders and Panthers will not have much time to rest, as they will be right back at it the next night, as Game 2 will be played in a back-to-back set.
The second game of the series will be played at 7:30 PM ET, as the teams will have a quick turnaround. No other series has a back-to-back set scheduled, and this will greatly impact the series. The Panthers lose a bit of the home ice advantage, as anything can happen in the second night of a back-to-back set. Also, for a team with as many injuries as the Islanders are enduring, a quick turnaround is the last thing they need.
More from Empire Writes Back
- Caesars New York Promo Code: Win $250 Bonus GUARANTEED on ANY Bet!
- Last Chance Caesars Promo: Claim $1,250 Bonus for ANY MLB Bet!
- Caesars New York Promo Code Gives TWO Chances to Win Betting on Your Yankees!
- PointsBet New York Promo: FIVE $100 Bonus Bets to Back the Yankees or Mets!
- Caesars NY Promo: $1,250 Bonus to Celebrate the Return of Judge!
Defenseman Travis Hamonic was injured in the last week of the regular season, and his status is in serious doubt for the playoffs even though he wasn’t ruled out at the time. Forward Anders Lee fractured his leg and will miss the postseason push, while goalie Jaroslav Halak has been out since March 8th with a groin injury. He has begun skating again in pads, but there is a strong chance that he misses the first round.
Things will return to Barclays Center for at least Game 3 and 4. Those games will take place on Sunday, April 17th at 8 PM ET and Wednesday, April 20th at the same time. The times have not yet been determined for Game 5, 6 and 7, but if needed they will be played on April 22nd, 24th and 26th with the odd numbered games at BB&T Center and Game 6 back at Barclays.
The Islanders will be coming into the series winning six of their last nine games, losing the last two of the season to fall into a series against the Panthers and avoid the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Panthers will come into the postseason playing strong hockey as well, winning seven of their last nine games of the season.
More ny sports: What are the keys to a successful postseason for the Isles?
You can catch the games on CNBC, NHL Network, NBCSN and USA for television. You can also catch the games on SportsNet or SportsNet360 and TVA Sports.