2013 New York Islanders Schedule Announced; Finish with 5 Road Games

With the NHLPA ratifying the tentative agreement for the new collective bargaining agreement Saturday, the NHL could finally release the schedule for the 2013 season.

The matrix for the 48-game season for the New York Islanders is thankfully not as Atlantic-heavy as it could have been, with teams playing their conference opponents three times each and divisional opponents a combo of four or five times each.

[Check this earlier post for some expected invites from the AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers, as well as some injuries heading into camp. Also, apparently players are expected to report to camp by Jan. 14. Your move, Lubo.]

We knew they'd open at home Saturday, Jan. 19, against the New Jersey Devils, but now you can plan your life around the rest of the slate, which runs through late April and finishes with a five-game road trip. In the Atlantic, the Isles face the Penguins and Devils five times and the Rangers and Flyers four times.

For a "compressed" schedule, the back-to-backs are not crazy: One in January, two in February, two in March and two in April. The full schedule is on the Islanders web site, or viewable below, after this snazzy video with On The Forecheck's Dirk Hoag on the end of the lockout and the new CBA (Hoag is who puts together the excellent "super schedule" of travel miles and back-to-backs for each team):

January 2013

February 2013

March 2013

April 2013