Islanders Prepare for Condensed Season

"The hard way is the easy way."
Originally spoken, it was advice delivered by Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz during the team's run to Eastern Conference Final this past September.

While the message was preached to a group that was battling to keep their season alive in a best-of-seven series against the eventual Stanley Cup champs in Tampa Bay, it very well applies to the mentality of competing in the upcoming, 56-game regular season in a division full of lethal competition.
This season, the Islanders
will play in the East Division
alongside the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. To only intensify matters, the Islanders will play each of their opponents eight times. Only four teams from each division will qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which are scheduled to begin on May. 11.
And there shouldn't be any love lost in matches against former Metropolitan Division opponents, which has arguably become the most competitive division in the league. Last year, only 10 points separated the first and sixth place team in the Metro and six of the eight East Division clubs qualified for the expanded playoffs.
"We have a tough division this year, but I cannot say that previous years the division was easier for us," Semyon Varlarmov said. "Every year we play is always tough to get in the playoffs. We're just going to be focused on ourselves this year. It's only 56-game games and we're going to be playing [our opponents] in eight games each. It's going to be like the playoffs. Every game is going to be important. We're going to need to have a great start."

READ: 5 Takeaways: Islanders 2020-21 Schedule
Surely games against recent playoff foes like Philadelphia (lost in Game 7 of 2020 Second Round), Washington (knocked out of 2020 First Round in five games) or Pittsburgh (swept in 2019) will be expected to heat up.
"We're going to be playing good teams every day and we're going to be tested every day," Cal Clutterbuck said. "To be honest, we're all looking forward to that. We're looking for the toughest test. We're not looking to have anything come to us easy. We're just looking to put our heads down and work. Sometimes it can be an advantage having a division that strong. You've got to be on your game every night and it makes you stronger as a team. In a way, we're fortunate to be in this division."
The Islanders travel schedule will fortunately be much more limited and convenient as a result of the division-only slate; their longest travel distance totaling 417 miles to Pittsburgh's PPG Paints Arena. As far as back-to-backs go, the Islanders schedule is slated to have eight different sets, but no more than twice per month.
And while it's unknown whether or not fans will be permitted to attend games in any buildings at any point in the season, the Islanders understand how vital every night's result will be.

"Every game is going to be a playoff game," Anthony Beauvillier said. "Every game is going to be a four-point game. Every game is going to be important. We obviously have a really tough division, but that's something to be excited about. Having really tough games the whole time will be fun."
For veterans like Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas, they're leveraging some of the insight they gained from the 48-game lockout-shortened season in 2013 to help them in this year's 56-game campaign. The Islanders made it to the Conference Quarterfinals in 2013 after posting a 24-17-7 record through 48 games.
"Looking back to that year, you didn't have any time off," Cizikas said. "You didn't have any time to think about the game before, it was the next game mentality. You're playing every other night. You've got to have a short memory going into every game. In a shortened season, if you don't come ready to play you could be behind the eight ball really quick. We have a between group here that went through that. Going into this season, it's going to be huge that we lean on each other and that we play as a group and not as individuals."
While Trotz is entering his 22nd season as a head coach in the NHL and his third season behind the Islanders' bench, the 58-year-old isn't dwelling on his experiences in past abbreviated seasons, especially given the unprecedented conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I want to say yes, but I think I'd be fooling myself," Trotz admitted. "I think this season is way different than the past. The last time we had a shortened season, we weren't dealing with a pandemic, we weren't dealing with protocols, we weren't dealing with all of the uncertainty. You were certain that you would have this many games, be in this city, [you were] just worried about hockey. This is a different animal. This is a new adventure for every team and every coach in the league."

Following their 10-day training camp, the Islanders will jump into competition without any preseason games and open their 2020-21 campaign with two road games against the Rangers on Jan. 14 and 16. They'll return to Long Island to host Boston in their home opener on Jan. 18.
Per league rules, each team must name a 23-man roster with a four-six man taxi squad. In total, a maximum of 29 players are permitted to travel.
Logistics and unknowns aside, it'll be a season to remember and one the Islanders look forward to relishing in, no matter how challenging.
"When you hit the ground running with no preseason games you've got to really get into those games," Anders Lee said. "We'll learn enough about each other throughout the course of this year just how many times just with how many times you play one another. I expect nothing out of those divisional games, because that's all they will be, to get more and more heated as the season goes on. Those are the only guys you're playing to try to get into the playoffs. It'll be really good hockey for sure."