Rangers, Islanders Stanley Cup Qualifiers Schedule Released

(CBSNewYork)- The NHL officially announced its schedule for the qualifying and round robin round of games as part of its 24-team return to play tournament beginning August 1. The New York Islanders and New York Rangers both find themselves in best-of-five qualifying series in order to claim a spot in the normal Stanley Cup Playoffs. The teams will play the qualifying and any further rounds of games in the Eastern Conference hub city of Toronto.

The Rangers, the 11 seed in the Eastern Conference, draw a matchup with the six seed Carolina Hurricanes in the qualifying round. The series opens on August 1 at 12 p.m. EST as the first game of the league's return from its hiatus. The Blueshirts were a perfect 4-0 against the Hurricanes prior to the pause of the regular season.

For the Islanders, the seven seed in the Eastern Conference, they face a matchup against the 10 seed Florida Panthers. The first game of the series comes just hours after the Rangers first game, set for a 4 p.m. Eastern start time on August 1. Similar to the Rangers, the Islanders had plenty of success against their qualifying round opponent in the regular season sweeping the three games played against the Panthers.

Here is the full schedule for each team.

New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes

Game 1- Saturday, August 1, 12 p.m. EST

Game 2- Monday, August 3, 12 p.m. EST

Game 3- Tuesday, August 4, 8 p.m. EST

Game 4- Thursday, August 6 (if necessary)

Game 5- Saturday, August 8 (if necessary)

New York Islanders vs. Florida Panthers

Game 1- Saturday, August 1, 4 p.m. EST

Game 2- Tuesday, August 4, 12 p.m. EST

Game 3- Wednesday, August 5, 12 p.m. EST

Game 4- Friday, August 7 (if necessary)

Game 5- Sunday, August 9 (if necessary)