UNIONDALE, NY - Two points separate the three New York metro area hockey teams for first place in the Atlantic Division. The rivalry that already exists between the Islanders, Rangers and Devils could be taken to a new level should the back-and-forth jostling continue throughout the season.

Already, the Islanders defeated the Rangers twice at Madison Square Garden, with their first home game against the Blueshirts set for Tuesday. Heading into the NHL’s two-day Christmas break, they have won five more games than they lost (18-13-3) and can potentially claim four 20-goal scorers in Alexei Yashin, Jason Blake, Viktor Kozlov and Miroslav Satan.

Despite the good record and showcasing players who can score regularly, the Isles are still struggling to consistently draw fans. Saturday night marked a 4-0 win over the Blue Jackets, but just 11,797 witnessed the shutout. They are second-to-last in the league in average attendance, according to the league’s tracker.

With plans for a renovated Nassau Coliseum still going through the bureaucracy and awaiting final approval from the country legislature, they still have not sold out any of their 18 home games

The Islanders are second-to-last in the NHL in average attendance with 11,177 before the Columbus game, , with only the St. Louis Blues averaging less people in the seats. Regardless of the lack of support, those who made the trek so far have seen a team in contention for their first division championship since the 1987-88 season. That lack of support has hurt local business around the Nassau Coliseum and prompted some speculation that owner Charles Wang could possibly move the team.

The Nassau Coliseum is the third-oldest arena in the league and has the smallest capacity of any of the 30 NHL franchises. Yet, the team’s $44 average ticket price is higher than 19 other teams. After a labor lockout canceled the 2004-05 season, some fans said Wang priced out the average patron and need to do more to attract people back to the games or else risk losing the organization to another city.

“Concession stand prices are through the roof, and even up in the nose-bleeds tickets are still relatively expensive,” said Chris Testa, a 20-year old University of Massachusetts-Boston undergraduate and Massapequa native. “I think lowering the prices would help get some fans back. For the most part, the Coliseum is easy to get to for almost every fan on Long Island.”

Low attendance figures impacts more than just Wang, who is the former chairman of the Long Island based conglomerate Computer Associates before purchasing the franchise in 2000. Local business— like Champions restaurant inside the Long Island Marriott—are directly impacted by the volume of people who attend games at the adjacent Coliseum.

For sports bars and other local restaurants in the Uniondale and Hempstead areas, the Islanders’ 41 annual regular season home games provide an outlet to attract upwards of 16,000 people into the area, whereas small crowds can mean less business for those establishments.

Tom Gundersen, Champions restaurant director of sales and marketing, said he expects the average crowd size to increase if the team keeps winning. The Islanders management also said they expect to sell out all four games against the Rangers and could see a spike in attendance should the team continue their rise up the standings. The team has not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 1993.

“Of course, when attendance is lower than expected, this does have an affect on the volume of guests in our outlets,” Gundersen said. “However at this point we are not too concerned as we've enjoyed many busy nights and with the teams good start, we expect attendance to increase as the season moves on.”

In addition to the work stoppage that lasted over a full year, the Islanders received negative publicity this summer when they signed goalie Rick DiPietro to a record 15-year contract worth $67.5 million. The team also fired general manager Neil Smith after 45 days and replaced him with Garth Snow, who played on the team as the backup goalie last year before taking the job in the front office.

The uncertainly in the upper management position coupled with the decision to not buy out Yashin, the team captain, and his $87.5 million contract also drew criticism from the fans and media, with season ticket sales declining to about 7,000 after going to as high as 8,800 before the lockout.

“I think with all the things that went on the team this summer hasn’t helped,” Testa said. “But it’s a winning team and obviously its more fun to watch the team when we’re winning. Student discounts are great. Every time I’m home for school, I try and attend.”

As part of an effort to bolster the fan base, the Islanders attempted an aggressive advertising campaign, offering as much as 50 percent discount over regular box offices prices for full or partial season ticket packages. Those offers included 23-game sets and six-game sets. For the first time Saturday, they also offered a new offer for students to purchase $95 seats for $19 dollars through the box office the day of the game.

Head coach Ted Nolan said a packed house does more than just improve the bottom line. A supportive crowd can make help swing momentum, but the former coach of the year award winner said his team needs to do their part to provide some excitement.

“The one thing about atmosphere is it's something you can't manufacture,” Nolan said. “We have to create an atmosphere with our team, and that's going to create an atmosphere with the fans.

“The fans know how important they are to us and how much encouragement the players get from them. The flip side is that we can't ask them to be loud if we don't give them something to be loud about. It's a Catch-22. We've got to perform to get them on our side.”

Earlier in the month, senior vice president Mike Milbury and the rest of the front office brought in current executives and former players Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier to talk with prospective season ticket holders. Both of those Hall of Famers were key members of the four-straight Stanley Cup championship teams from 1980-1983, and the two most popular players in team history posed for pictures and gave tours of the locker room and team suites as part of the recruiting pitch.

“The thing that's puzzling to me is that we have done more to entice people to become a season-ticket holder than at any time in Islanders history,” Milbury said in October. “I've been pulling in season-ticket holders on a nightly basis five or 10 at a time between periods to get some feedback. It has been interesting. They show their passion and sometimes their frustration, which is good. I can't help if I don't know what the issues are.” -

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