With Series Tied, Islanders Return Home to Host First Conference Semifinal Games in 23 Years

To put it lightly, Saturday was a wash for the New York Islanders, who seemed more content on skating laps around Amalie Arena than competing in their second Conference Semifinals game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Isles escaped the warm Tampa weather with a win in Game 1, however, and return to Brooklyn hoping to gain an edge in Games 3 and 4 this week.
The hometown faithful will have their rally towels ready as they play their first Second Round home games since 1993, and plenty of tickets are still available for both games on Tuesday and Friday. According to TiqIQ, the cheapest New York Islanders tickets on the secondary market for Game 3 are now $84. It will be the cheapest game in Brooklyn during the Second Round.
For those traveling from out of town, considerable rates can be found on New York City hotels on Hipmunk.com. Prices start from just $123 each night this week while four-star hotels and up can be found beginning at $173 per night. Flights to New York City can also be arranged from anywhere in the country.
If looking to attend Game 4 on Friday night, resale prices will be considerably more expensive than Game 3. The cheapest Game 4 tickets are currently $127, marking a 51.2% jump in get-in price between both games in Brooklyn. That price hasn’t dropped despite the Islanders’ inability to now sweep the series with a win on Friday; ahead of Game 2 last Saturday, the cheapest ticket for Game 4 was listed from $110, which marks a 15.5% boost since then.
Interestingly enough, fans will find cheaper ticket prices during Game 6 in Brooklyn should the series stretch into next Tuesday. The get-in price for Game 6 tickets is now $122 – $5 cheaper than Game 4 on Friday.
How the Islanders will respond to their no-show performance during Game 2 is anyone’s guess, but fans can expect the team to bounce back with the support of the home crowd behind them. They’ll have home-ice advantage during the now-five-game series after splitting the opening pair of games. Such a scenario served them well during the First Round, as the team won two of its three games at Barclays Center against the Florida Panthers.
The offense will need to return if they hope to skate past the reigning Eastern Conference champions, however, and netminder Thomas Greiss can only hold the levee for so long without his team scoring on the opposite side of the ice. It would benefit the Islanders to wrap things up sooner rather than later as both Steven Stamkos and Anton Stralman near their returns, but one thing remains clear – with the first Second Round action in nearly a quarter of century, Islanders fans will bring the noise to their new home for as long as their team continues its pursuit of the Stanley Cup.