Islanders, Devils ready to make NHL history at Barclays Center

The New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils will make ice hockey history when they meet Saturday night in the first-ever NHL game played in Brooklyn. Despite the game's historic implications, the Isles are preparing for their Saturday night contest at Barclays Center as they would any other exhibition game.

The preseason contest between the Devils and Islanders will be the first NHL game to take place in the borough of Brooklyn, as well as the first hockey game played at Barclays Center.

The exhibition match up will be a glimpse of what the Islanders' familiar orange and blue uniforms will look like in their new surroundings when the team permanently moves into their Brooklyn home in 2015.

Although it wont be the first time the Islanders have skated on the Barclays Center ice.

The Islanders opened training camp last Thursday with a practice at the Barclays Center. Now the team will get a feel for what it is like to play in front of a crowd in Brooklyn.

"I think everyone is looking forward to playing that game," forward Colin McDonald said after Friday’s practice at Nassau Coliseum. "Obviously it’s going to give us a little sneak peak of what’s to come in two years. I thought we had a lot of fun just even in the opening of training camp there and seeing the new building. It will be nice to see what it’s like with all the lights on and the scoreboard going, and obviously the fans in there."

Last week, Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark said that over 10,000 tickets had been sold for Saturday’s game.

The Islanders don't want the significance of history overshadowing their primary goal.

"For us, we want to execute," head coach Jack Capuano said. "We want to play a little bit better with the vets that will be playing than we did in Calgary and Regina. That’s what I want to see."

"We’re not just playing these preseason games to play. We’re trying to win these games and get better as a team," agreed McDonald. "So that’s going to be our main focus when we get there tomorrow."

The Islanders are 1-2-0 during the exhibition season after beating New Jersey 5-3 on Thursday in Newark. The Devils are 1-1-0 in the preseason.

The Islanders will have a morning skate tomorrow at Nassau Coliseum, before heading to Brooklyn for the game.

Islanders take LIRR to get first look at new home inside Barclays Center

How do you get  play hockey at Barclays Center? Practice, practice, practice. Then take the LIRR.

That's exactly how the Islanders got to say Hello Brooklyn and get a look at their future home on Thursday after taking the Long Island Railroad to the ice inside Brooklyn’s House That Jay Z Built for training camp.

The team left together from Garden City, Long Island and took the commuter train to Atlantic Avenue, simulating the trek from the Island will have to make in order to watch their team once the Isles vacate their Nassau County home for  Brooklyn after the 2014-2015 season.

“I think there’s one word for it, it’s beautiful,” Islanders owner Charles Wang said of Barclays. “I’m very happy as you can see from the smile.”

Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark and Wang say the team will keep the same colors and nickname when the NHL franchise moves to Brooklyn.

Yormark did say that the Islanders would likely introduce a patch on their uniforms and unveil an alternate home jersey in order to "speak to Brooklyn fans in an authentic way."

The Islanders will face off against the Devils in a preseason game on Sept. 21, the first NHL game ever to be played in Brooklyn.

“It’s going to be fun,” center Casey Cizikas said. “You could see when the Nets played in the playoffs last year against the Bulls, it was rocking and we’re going to be looking forward to the same thing. I think it’s going to be even louder for us.”

While the building was primarily built to accommodate basketball and concerts, Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark says obstructed view seating will not be offered for hockey games, leaving the sellable capacity at 15,813.

"My job is to work with Charles and make sure that we stay true to the hardcore fan,"said Yormark. "The fan that has been there from day one. But at the same time, we also want to connect with the new fan and we’re going to do it in an appropriate way."

Though the New York Americans played their final NHL season in 1941-42 as the Brooklyn Americans, they played all their games at the Garden and practiced at the Brooklyn Ice Palace.

"It definitely feels really new," captain John Tavares said.

"It’s going to take some time once we really do get here to make it feel comfortable and feel right at home," said Tavares.  "But it’s a beautiful place and in a couple of years it’ll be a nice move. ... It’ll almost feel like playing in a neutral site, but we’re looking forward to the game."