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New York Islanders: 2017-2018 Season Preview and Predictions

By John Carroll Jr.

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 25: Head coach Doug Weight (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 25: Head coach Doug Weight (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 25: Mathew Barzal (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 25: Mathew Barzal (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Predictions

Tavares will sign a contract extension. It is scary how far this has gone, but I have the utmost confidence a deal will be done sooner rather than later.

It is a stacked Metropolitan division, so to predict the Isles will win the division would be a long shot.

I do think the Isles will be able to get back to the playoffs in 2017-2018.

The changes Doug Weight made will help, and if you look at what he did last year alone, there is no reason to doubt his ability.

I believe they will score around 93-100 points and qualify for the playoffs as one of the two wild cards.

I predict John Tavares will finish in the top 18 in the league in points.

The Islanders may not have to improve on the 94 point mark last year to qualify this year, but I think they will start the season off better than they did last year.

Key Games

The Islanders open the season on Friday in Columbus.

They have their home opener the following night against the Sabres.

The Islanders have one scheduled nationally televised game vs the Canadiens on January 15th in Montreal.

First game against the rival Rangers is on Thursday, October 19th.

Next: Isles play Montreal on national TV

Isles will play the Golden Knights for the first time ever on Monday October 30th.

They travel to Las Vegas for the first time on Thursday, January 25th.

Their last game of the regular season is vs Detroit on April 7th.

Their last home game will be April 5th 2018 vs the Blue Shirts.

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