On Tuesday evening, the National Hockey League released the schedule for the first five days of the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers. To the surprise of nobody, the New York Islanders and Florida Panthers are stuck with all afternoon affairs. Scotiabank Arena will be the fourth and final NHL rink to host the matchup this season.
Game 1: Saturday August 1st at 4:00 PM EDT
Game 2: Tuesday August 4th at 12:00 PM EDT
Game 3: Wednesday August 5th at 12:00 PM EDT
Game 4: Friday August 7th at TBD (if necessary)
Game 5: Sunday August 9th at TBD (if necessary)
While fans may have to find creative ways to watch the games while at work for games two and three, the exhibition schedule was also released by the league which puts the Islanders against the New York Rangers on Wednesday, July 29th at 8:00pm ET. That game is designated as a Rangers home game, marking the first time ever in the rivalry’s history that an Islanders-Rangers game, regardless of preseason/exhibition, regular season, or postseason, would be held elsewhere rather than Madison Square Garden. Florida Panthers fans will remain out of luck, being scheduled to play hockey at night still as the team will host the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 29th at 12:00pm ET. The exhibition game will be played at Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto.
All Islander exhibition and qualifier games will be on MSG+ in the New York City market.