My Five Stars are based on a love of the game and the passion of a historic team. It's hockey season and I'm looking at all the teams in my home area! The New York Islanders (aka the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, and play their home games at UBS Arena. The Islanders are one of three NHL franchises in the New York metropolitan area, along with the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers, and their fanbase resides primarily on Long Island. The Islanders won four consecutive Stanley Cup championships between 1980 and 1983, the seventh of eight dynasties recognized by the NHL in its history. Their 19 consecutive playoff series wins between 1980 and 1984 is a feat that remains unparalleled in the history of professional sports. They are the last team in any major professional North American sport to win four consecutive championships, and to date the last NHL team to win more than two consecutive Stanley Cup championships. All I can say is I do not understand the low Stars. I saw a documentary about this team on Television and I was enthralled by the spirit and passion in addition to heartbreaking ups and downs of this team. There's a lot of emotion around this team and I hope their fans hold strong! read more

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The New York Islanders have done OK for themselves since their first season in 1972-73. The Islanders and the Edmonton Oilers dominated the NHL in the 1980s, combining for eight of the decade's 10 Stanley Cup championships. The Isles went to five straight Stanley Cup Finals from 1980 to 1984 and won four straight championships from 1980 to 1983. In terms of total number of Cups won (4), the Islanders rank in the league's top nine all time. Teams like the New Jersey Devils and the recent back-to-back 2020-2021 champs, the Tampa Bay Lightning, with three titles each, are knocking on the Isles' door. Hall-of-fame coach Al Arbour led the Islanders during those record-setting seasons in the 80s. No US-based NHL team has won as many consecutive Stanley Cups as Arbour's Islanders. No team in any of the North American major professional sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL) has won 19 consecutive playoff series nor four consecutive championships since the 1979-1984 Islanders. It was a historic stretch. Arbour coached many guys who would end up in the hall of fame: team captain and defenseman Denis Potvin, right-winger Mike Bossy, goalie Billy Smith, center Bryan Trottier, and the late left-winger Clark Gillies. These core players are each considered among the best in hockey history and, along with center Butch Goring, won four championships together. After winning the Hart Memorial Trophy (NHL MVP) in 1979, Trottier would go on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP) in 1980. Goring, Bossy, and Smith won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1981, 1982, and 1983, respectively. Potvin, Bossy, Trottier, and Gillies were all drafted by the Islanders. Potvin in 1973 (1st overall pick), Gillies and Trottier in 1974 (4th and 22nd, respectively), and Bossy in 1977 (15th). Coincidentally, both Goring (1969) and Smith (1970) were drafted by the Los Angeles Kings. Goring now does TV color commentary for the Islanders. Trottier is the only player in franchise history to win the Hart Trophy. After playoff droughts in both the 90s and 2000s, things are starting to look up again for the Isles. Center Mathew Barzal, who was drafted by the Islanders with the 16th overall pick in 2015, won the Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year) for the 2017-18 season. He became the first Islander to win the trophy since Bryan Berard won it in 1997. Potvin (1974), Trottier (1976), and Bossy (1978) won the trophy as well. Now a two-time All-Star, Barzal has helped lead the Islanders to three straight playoff appearances in the last three seasons. The team advanced to the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Lightning and the 2021 Stanley Cup semifinals again against the eventual champion Lightning (2021 had a unique playoff format due to the COVID-19 pandemic). read more

It's really hard to love the Islanders if you live in the five boroughs. If you are a member of a minority, you generally don't care for hockey (even though it's a men slamming each other into glass partitions in the pursuit of a black disk, delving into donnybrooks, and what red blooded men don't enjoy fights and crashes?). If you were turned onto hockey (asian and your boyfriend is white, or work scored you box seats in MSG), then you generally follow the Rangers. However, that's not how I got into the sport. I was in Montreal during the 2011 playoffs when their archrival the Bruins made it into the finals against the Canucks, and a bunch of massholes drove to the city just to be obnoxious and rub it onto the faces of the locals - given that form of disrespect, I became an instant Habs fan. During the subsequent months I found out my best friend's girlfriend's sister was an Isles ice girl - and I got invites to games at Nassau Coliseum. A couple of games at the old barn and I was hooked. Not necessarily an Isles fan, but somewhat sympathetic to their plight. The Isles have a long and illustrious history of being a solid team with crap management. They hired Bill Torrey who built a set of contenders which won 4 back-to-back cups in the early 80s. Then they fire the man and became less competitive throughout the years. They had illustrious players, like Mike Peca or Ziggy Pelffy, but also dawdling morons in the front office who can't retain talent, make trades, or do due diligence against scammers (the John Spano saga was hilarious). They thought a purple jockey jersey with a Long Islander fishermen holding a hockey stick was a good idea (leading Rangers fans to scream "We want fishsticks"). About the best thing you can say about Charles Wang was that he told the team to suck so they can draft JT (John Tavares) afterwards. Of course, it didn't do well for ticket sales or profitability. Of course, this was not to say that they can't play Hockey. They are capable of not losing, and sometimes, their methods of not losing was downright hilarious. Just look at the infamous Penguins-Isles Brawl of February 11th 2011. JT was drafted, but the team was still the league doormat. A few weeks prior the Pittsburgh Penguins injured an Isles winger, and the team took exception to that. What resulted in that game was a non-stop donnybrook masquerading as a hockey game, where the Isles won 9 to 3 with penalty ejections in nearly every shift. It got so bad that Penguins GM Mario Lemieux expressed his distaste for hockeys played that way (never mind that his team led the league in penalty points that year, and he was constantly defended by goons throughout his career). Just this year (2018) the Isles can start 3rd period of a game down 5-2 and still manage to win 7-6 in overtime. They had a good run in the beginning of the year when they were 6th in a league of 31 teams, but then their defense shut down and went into dormant mode, and here we are questioning their ability to make the playoffs this year. I am not sure if I liked them in Brooklyn - they are not near their core fanbase in Nassau and Eastern Queens, they are not winning the hearts of Brooklyn hipsters, and their backoffice suck so much at marketing their team (I literally saw season passes shrilled at the local CostCo during the inaugural season) that they might as well not bother. Shoehorning an NHL team into a basketball arena just made things worse (bad sightlines, mediocre amenities, poor ice making and subsequent ice quality for the playing surface). Cheap(er) seats don't really help if their on-ice product doesn't match expectations. That being said, I still go to their games, and I still buy their merchandise. I think they have a solid team (they lost Okposo, Martin and Hamonic and gained Barzal, Erbele, Ho-Sang and Mayfield, which isn't too bad). Not sure if the move to Belmont park might bring the crowds back, and I can't read JT's mind (he might not sign up for more of this). They need to work on their defense and zone coverage in order to be a contender, but you know what? I hate the Rangers and am not prepared to pledge allegiance to the Devils. As long as Malkin, Ledecky and Wang is not planning to sell the team to Seattle, I'll still watch their games and cheer them on. I also have my Nashville Predators jersey on "just in case". read more

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This team loves to disappoint me. But the players are cool, and so are the newly appointed coaches. Hated Wang for so long - thus the 3 stars. "Hey, I have an idea, let's take our back-up mediocre goaltender who has no prior management experience, and turn him into a professional General Manager and President of Hockey Operations of a National Hockey League club - what could go wrong?" read more

New York Islanders - Professional Sports Teams Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Love those Scrappy Isles ! When Nabby is hot..they got a shot to beat anybody ! Poor (WEALTHY) DiPietro :( I hope he stays healthy and makes it back read more

The New York Islanders are the ONLY professional sports team on Long Island, and a team that more people who live on Long Island should be proud of. Nevermind the fact that the team, building, and ownership has not fared well in the past 15 years. The fact is, this team won 4 straight cups. Almost a fifth. No team in the NHL has even come close to that since, or ever will again. People on LI should take PRIDE in that. But everyone only thinks of the now. Long Islanders have this sense of entitlement and dont understand how a fan of a team should be. Look at the Chicago Cubs. Haven't won anything in DECADES. Over a CENTURY! Yet they have loyal loyal fans. Nothing but a bunch of band wagoners in NY. If the team isnt winning, they dont care. Period. Which is a shame because I have seen the decline of entertainment on Long Island in my lifetime, and the Nassau Coliseum closing its doors would be the final nail in this coffin. But enough of my gripes with the people of Long Island, lets get to the real review here. The team itself. I have given them 3 stars, because in their 40 year history, they have missed the playoffs 17 times , and have a .500 all time win-loss percentage. I gave them that extra star because of the 4 Cups. Like I said earlier, no team will ever do that again. The rich history that this team managed to write in its short life is better than teams that have been around for 100 years. There are still many teams out there that have yet to win a stanley cup at all! So to give this team a bad rating because of its current woes, would be like giving the Yankees 2 stars during the 80's. I have so many fond memories going back as far as I can remember of this team. Going to NYI games, even during losing seasons, is always fun for me. Kids always seem to be having a good time, and fans are usually knowledgeable and friendly. Legends like Bossy, Potvin, Smith, Nystrom, Gillies, Arbour, Torrey, Trottier, LaFontaine, Turgeon are etched in my mind and will be forever. Hopefully with the likes of Tavares, we can add a few more to that list soon. Also, how dare someone post a link to the New York Rangers here. Yea I would recommend going to MSG to see them as well if you want to be surrounded by businessmen who got their tickets through the company they work for and have no real interest in hockey or the team and are only there to take clients out for a night on the town. I'm sure you'll see them at "Scores" afterwards too! That's why these jerks come to "MSG East" as they like to call it. They can get good seats for nothing and annoy the piss out of us diehards. But I'll take my lifetime of great memories of the NYI over the RagS any day. Stay classy NYC. read more

New York Islanders - NYI - Professional Sports Teams Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

What is going on? All game and no replays! We get it. The islanders want us to buy Ford cars. But can they please show a replay of a goal??? Horrible fan experience. read more

Let's support the Islanders, you just made the playoffs after what, 10 years? Or just not enough hockey yelpers here, first review in 2 years. Tavares is a great player and leader, will do whatever it takes to win. Represented Canada literally every opportunity that arises. I'm not big on Leddy being your QB back there, but the offense is impressive with Gabrovski, Grabner and Okposo. What a historic franchise, those Islander dynasties...always have cheered for them but looks like Garth Snow has finally turned it around...how he has kept his job for this long remains a mystery. Will be in NY soon, and cant' wait to check out the new arena! read more

Must agree with Dan as I'm not sure anyone watches hockey anymore. Maybe because there's no basketball right now. Was a huge fan back in the 80's when I was a kid and they were well run and winning. Since then, they have had poor ownership and even worse management. Will not get involved in the arena discussion, but if they want to leave, let them go. read more

C'mon Isles... being a fan while growing up in Queens.. and frequenting games I, for the most part had a great time. Talking about the Peca/Yashin/Parrish/Blake "era" of the Islanders. Unfortunately that time has passed.. and although Tavares does look promising the rest of the team does not. I've always loved solid defensive play and have "officially" declared my allegiance with the Devils a few years ago. A friend of mine scored me some front row tix to a recent Isles game on presidents day.. and the Isles did not disappoint. They lost in the usual humiliating shut-out fashion to a score 6-0 Flyers. Horrible. I wonder if Brooklyn will change anything? Time will tell. In the mean time... LETS GO DEVILS!!! read more

Although I find the bandwagon fans to be absolutely insufferable and especially good at trying to ruin your experience by constantly standing during the game (courtesy is to wait for the whistle) and getting in drunken moronic quarrels, the team itself is entertaining to watch. I'm excited for when they aren't in the middle-of-nowhere NY and relocate. Farewell Nassau! read more

An inferior team in a far inferior venue that never belonged where it was and doesn't deserve a new stadium. Go to Queens and maybe change your name or some shizz, guys. For better entertainment, see http://www.yelp.com/biz/new-york-rangers-new-york#hrid:HJOhaxSB6u0yp_J1uT_8Hg, but LBS, who even watches hockey anymore anyway? read more

Lets Go Islanders!!!!!!! They have been getting much better lately. I hope they can actually win a stanley cup this year. I hate that they moved to Brooklyn but it is still the same team and they practice close by. read more

This place is a D U M P ! I'm not an Islander fan but I'll rate this a 2 since I love hockey and it's a so called "New York" team. See you in Brooklyn...buh-bye islanders! read more

My boyfriend has been a season ticket holder for the islanders since they've been at Barclays. He unexpectedly passed away in November and in December I emailed vip services asking how I could obtain the tickets or a refund. I didn't receive a response until 3 and a half months later, after sending numerous emails and leaving messages. The VIP account manager for the Islanders, Marc Gerstein, did finally email me back and tried calling me 2 days ago. I called him back and he not only was he unhelpful but also rude and insensitive to me and to the situation. He stated the account was deactivated due to a balance on the account for the remaining games after March 18th. When I inquired why I hadn't received a response earlier he said he didn't get the emails - but suddenly received them yesterday. When I inquired about the games before March 18th and why I didn't receive a response earlier, because If I did I could've attended them, his only response was that since he signed a contract he should have to pay for the balance on the tickets. When I reminded him my boyfriend had died and was not able to pay the balance, he said the account was deactivated due to the balance and "shouldn't worry since there is no longer a $200 balance". Not once did he offer his condolences or try to help me understand why I wasn't contacted earlier so I could at least make use of the tickets. It also seems like a very strange coincidence that I finally received a reply on March 22nd, just a few days after the games he paid for ended, and not previously. It is such a shame that a team and their representatives would treat a fan in this manner and be so unwilling to help. The only thing Marc cared about was getting a credit card for next seasons tickets and the balance paid for the last 3 games. I don't know how the Islanders have someone so callous representing their team in their VIP customer service department. I will make sure everyone knows how I was treated and what this team really seems to stand for which does not define true sportsmanship or loyalty to their fans or customers. What an upsetting and huge disappointment. I will be tossing all of his Islanders gear as they now hold unpleasant memories instead of fond ones. What a disgrace Marc is to this team and the sole reason why myself and his family will no longer be fans or attend any games. read more

Nobody cares about them. The Rangers own Ny. Even at the playoff games it seems like a Monday night game in October- bad atmosphere. Even in they're own county they have less than half the fans! read more