Stefen Rosner on Morning Cuppa Hockey Talking Islanders Home is where the heart is. Home is also where the New York Islanders will play on Saturday night when they host the St. Louis Blues at 7:30 PM. Their next three games and eight of the next 11 will be at UBS Arena after they played 13 of their first 20 on the road. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwOTExNzcxMTc3Nzg5NDE3/screenshot-2024-11-23-at-30458-pm.png] Being back at home is important, but it's also not a place where the Islanders have seen an advantage going 2-3-2 in Elmont this season. After dropping their last three and four of five on their road trip (1-2-2), getting off to a good start in their return to Long Island is paramount to turning what's been a shaky season around. "I want us to be homers. We want to be homers. We want to try to win as many games as possible at home, but we need to start tonight," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said. "We're going to focus on tonight and see how it goes. But yeah, it's time for us to win some home games and play well in front of our fans." The Islanders have been outscored 25-17 on home ice, where they've blown four third-period leads, losing two of them in extra time and one in regulation. "It's a huge opportunity over the next week. This is an important stretch," Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson said. "We know where we're at at this point of the season. You see how tight the standings are and how many good teams are out there that you have to make the most of opportunities like long homestands or things like that. "Especially with us coming off a big trip, this is important. We don't want to look too far ahead. Start with tonight, get one, and then start to build off that. But it is definitely an important stretch here." The Islanders, who have dropped two games to the Detroit Red Wings this season, falling to the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets, to name a few, can't take any team lightly. Over their next eight home games, five of their opponents are not holding down a playoff spot. Three of those five games are against teams they are currently fighting with for a wild-card spot: Detroit, Boston, and Buffalo. As Roy and Dobson said, winning at home starts with beating the Blues when the puck drops at 7:30 PM ET.
