Islanders, Rangers preseason game returns to Bridgeport

Over 22,000 people have come to Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport for NHL exhibition hockey the past three falls. They’ll get a fourth straight chance on Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.

The New York Islanders and New York Rangers will meet at the arena for a third year in a row in a preseason game, the Islanders announced Tuesday. This will be the eighth Islanders preseason game in Bridgeport since 2003, and all but one drew a crowd over 6,400.

The arena is home to the American Hockey League’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Islanders’ top affiliate, who begin their 19th season on the road a week later. Their home opener is Oct. 19. The full AHL schedule is due in mid-July.

Tickets for the Saturdaynight game start at $57.50 plus fees, down a bit from last year, and they go on sale June 26 through Ticketmaster and the arena box office. Sound Tigers season-ticketholders can buy earlier through the team, and group sales for 10 tickets or more are available through the Sound Tigers at 203-345-2300.

The Islanders’ visit to Bridgeport will conclude their seven-game preseason schedule, as it will the Rangers’ six-game schedule.

The Islanders met the Washington Capitals in 2016 in Bridgeport, a game that drew a crowd of 6,432, and little did anyone know that much of Washington’s coaching staff would be running the Islanders two years later.

The Rangers came to town in 2017 and 2018, with crowds of 8,612 (the biggest hockey crowd in the arena’s 18 seasons) and, with higher ticket prices, 7,033.

“We’ve seen some of the NHL’s brightest young talent play in Bridgeport over the last few years and we’re thrilled to continue this popular tradition again this fall,” Sound Tigers president Michael Picker said in a statement. “The Islanders and Rangers rivalry is still the best in sports and we’re thankful to share that experience with our passionate, growing fan base for another season.”