NEWARK — The Islanders still have eight days before they open the new UBS Arena at Belmont. But Thursday night was the closest they’ve come to playing a home game, both geographically and with the crowd split roughly 50-50 in its loyalties.
But the rink or the fan support won’t help if the special teams’ edge is tilted dramatically the other direction.
The Islanders lost their second straight as they continued their season-opening, 13-game road trip with the Devils scoring both on the power play and shorthanded for a 4-0 win before a crowd of 13,816 at Prudential Center.