GAMEDAY: Islanders head to Columbus for regular season opener

It's been 180 days since the Islanders skated off Barclays Center ice with a 6-game winning streak, but without a playoff spot for the first time in three seasons. The drive to get back to the playoffs begins on Friday.

The Islanders begin their 46th NHL season at Nationwide Arena in Columbus as they face the Blue Jackets in an Opener for the first time.

It's the first of four meetings between the teams this season as the Isles return to an arena where they were outscored 13-2 last season after sweeping all three games in Ohio the previous season.

The Isles are 2-1-1 on Opening Night over the last four years; however, they are only 3-8-3 in their last 14 Openers.

Overall, the Isles are 11-22-11 on Opening Night (9-18-8 on the road). The Isles are 11-24-9 in their first road game of the season.

October 6th is the 25th anniversary of their 1992 opener in New Jersey. While the Isles lost 4-3 that night, that season included an upset win over the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins (sound familiar?) in the Patrick Division Final.

- New York Islanders

ISLANDERS LINEUP FOR THURSDAY AT COLUMBUS

FORWARDS

Josh Bailey
Mathew Barzal
Anthony Beauvillier
Jason Chimera
Casey Cizikas
Cal Clutterbuck
Jordan Eberle
Joshua Ho-Sang
Nikolay Kulemin
Andrew Ladd
Anders Lee
Brock Nelson
John Tavares

DEFENSEMEN

Johnny Boychuk
Calvin de Haan
Thomas Hickey
Nick Leddy
Scott Mayfield
Adam Pelech
Ryan Pulock
Dennis Seidenberg

GOALIES

Thomas Greiss
Jaroslav Halak

Injured Non-Roster

Shane Prince
Alan Quine


ROSTER NOTES

-    The Islanders 23-man roster includes 22 players that suited up for the team last season; only Jordan Eberle did not.
-    The Islanders roster includes 11 first-round draft picks: Josh Bailey, Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier, Jordan Eberle, Thomas Hickey, Joshua Ho-Sang, Andrew Ladd, Nick Leddy, Brock Nelson, Ryan Pulock & John Tavares.
-    There are currently three players age 21-or-younger on the Islanders 23-man roster. Mathew Barzal, 20, made his NHL debut last season before returning to his junior club, the Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL). Anthony Beauvillier, 20, made his NHL debut and recorded 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 66 games last year during his rookie season. Joshua Ho-Sang, 21, also made his NHL debut in 2016-17, scoring 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 21 games with the Islanders.