For The Isles Fans - 7 PM It Is!
Islanders home games during the week will begin at 7 PM ET as opposed to 7:30 PM ET, like it's been.
Since UBS Arena opened its doors in Belmont Park for the 2021-22 season, the New York Islanders have opted to start their games at 7:30 PM instead of the usual 7:00 PM start.
The reason why was simple: Hempstead Turnpike.
Due to rush hour traffic, which seems to get earlier and earlier each year, having a 7 PM start would have made it tough for the driving fan to get to the rink before the scheduled opening face-off.
But, as the organization, now under the leadership of Mathieu Darche, game plans for the 2025-26 season, he and ownership believed that certain things required changes, one being the start times of games.
The 2025-26 schedule was released on Wednesday afternoon, and as you can see, the Islanders will now have their home games during the week at 7 PM ET.
There are a few exceptions for national broadcasts.
Islanders owner John Ledecky spoke with hundreds of fans during the 2024–25 regular season and since that trying campaign ended.
He, along with Darche, learned that more fans wanted the earlier start so that they could bring their families and not have to worry about getting home at an absurd hour.
Another thing that fans asked for was weekend matinee games.
The Islanders will play 13 afternoon games this season, with five home games scheduled for 1 p.m.—a significant change from previous seasons.
One thing we've come to notice under the Darche administration is his willingness to cater to the fan base.
It's why the Islanders opened the doors of Northwell Ice Center for development camp and reintroduced the Blue & White Scrimmage. Not to mention, Darche held a dev camp right after the 2025 NHL Draft, as opposed to a week before training camp. This allowed not only collegiate prospects to attend, but also gave fans the opportunity to see the entirety of the future—not just a small portion.
Being closed off and working in the shadows works when a team produces on the ice. However, once the on-ice production becomes stale, paying customers need more to stay satisfied.
Ultimately, these schedule decisions won't matter if the team struggles out of the gate and throughout the season, but Darche did what he could this summer to fill holes without financially handcuffing the team.
The Islanders' 2025–26 season schedule is a direct reflection of fan feedback. That's exactly why Ledecky roams around the arena every home game—because he truly cares what the fans think.
So does Darche.
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I get some fans wanting to have afternoon games, but there are way too many on this schedule.
"learned that more fans wanted the earlier start so that they could bring their families and not have to worry about getting home at an absurd hour"
Kind of silly to allude to 30 minutes earlier being the difference between being an absurd hour or not, but for me to come from Westchester the 30 minutes was very helpful