The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Since their inception in 1972, the team has played their home games in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The Islanders are one of three NHL franchises in the New York City metropolitan area along with the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers, with the Islanders' primary fan base being suburban Long Island.
The team was founded in 1972 as part of the NHL's maneuvers to keep a team from rival league World Hockey Association (WHA) out of the newly built Nassau Coliseum. After two years of building up the team's roster, they found almost instant success by securing fourteen straight playoff...