NEWARK - The Islanders can pencil in at least one VIP guest for their home opener against the Blackhawks at Barclays Center on Oct. 9.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday he plans to be in the house for the team's first regular-season game in Brooklyn, after years at the center of the team's long, winding road out of Nassau County.
"I'm generally in places where something special is happening," Bettman said after appearing on a panel with former Islander and Ranger Pat LaFontaine and former Ranger Mike Richter at Beyond Sport United, a conference at the Prudential Center designed to promote and discuss social consciousness in sports.