It’s still early enough in the season to avoid panic, but not early enough to ignore the math. Fifteen games in, the Islanders have played enough solid hockey to know the effort is there. What they haven’t done often enough is turn that into points.
That’s the part that’s starting to matter.
“They’re in every single game,” captain Bo Horvat told Newsday. “I feel like we’ve given ourselves a chance to win 15 games.”
The Islanders are 7-6-2 heading into Saturday night’s home matchup with the Devils at UBS Arena, the finale of a three-game homestand before a three-game California trip. New Jersey arrives at 11-5-0, sitting second in the Metropolitan Division and riding a four-game winning streak since adding goalie Connor Hellebuyck from the Jets.
For the Islanders, the frustration isn’t that they’ve been blown out over and over. It’s that they’ve been close.
The homestand started with a 4-0 loss to the Oilers, a game that was scoreless in the second period before getting away. Then came Thursday night’s 5-3 loss to the Hurricanes, with Carolina striking twice late in the third, including an empty-net goal.
Still, coach Pete DeBoer wasn’t ready to toss out the bigger picture after Friday’s practice at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow.
“The process is good,” DeBoer said. “I like the process. I like where we’re going.”
That view has some support. The Islanders earned a quality win in Minnesota on Oct. 29, a 4-3 overtime result. But they also haven’t won in regulation since Oct. 20, a stretch of seven games, and six of their last 10 have been decided by one goal.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau pointed to the chances the Islanders created against Carolina as evidence that the structure is there, even if the finish isn’t.
“The Edmonton game, I didn’t really like our game,” Pageau told Newsday. “But I thought [Thursday] night we did a lot of good things.
We had four breakaways, two-on-ones, a lot of chances on our side. To do that against one of the best defensive teams shows us that when we trust our system and trust the way we’re playing that things will come out of it.
Keep buying in and keep working the same way and the results will come.”
The problem is that the results need to come soon. The Islanders haven’t made the playoffs since 2024 and haven’t won a round since 2021. Entering the weekend, they’re fifth in the Metropolitan Division and four points behind the Panthers for the Eastern Conference’s final wild-card spot.
Horvat isn’t interested in staring too hard at the standings yet.
“This early, it’s tough to do,” Horvat said. “There’s still so much hockey left.
I know everybody says the American Thanksgiving, that kind of timeline. But, for us, it’s just one game at a time.
We can’t be looking too far ahead, thinking, ‘We’ve got to win this one or our season’s over.’ If you get into that, then you start getting into your own head.”
Casey Cizikas echoed the same sense that the Islanders are competing, even if they’re not cashing in enough.
“I like where our game is at, I like the way we’re competing,” Cizikas told Newsday. “We’re fighting.
Even if we get down, we’re not giving up, we’re trying to claw back. But, obviously, points are important.
You’ve got to find ways to get wins. Especially last night, you’ve got to find a way to get at least one point out of that game.”
DeBoer made some lineup changes at Friday’s practice in search of more finish. Emil Heineman moved in with Horvat and Kyle Palmieri, Ondrej Palat went up to Brayden Schenn’s line with rookie Victor Eklund, and Simon Holmstrom joined Pageau and Anthony Duclair.
The power play also got a shakeup after going 1-for-18 over the last five games. Eklund was moved onto the first unit, while Palmieri shifted to the second.
“After last night, I think it’s the first time I felt a little bit of frustration with the group,” DeBoer said of the power play.
Even with the changes, the biggest issue remains the same: the Islanders have to finish better. Until the execution gets sharper, the tweaks may not mean much, especially with Mathew Barzal (left knee), Matias Maccelli (lower body) and Cal Ritchie (lower body) still out of the lineup.
“The finishing part just needs to be better,” Pageau said.
The season is far from over. But the window for turning solid performances into the wins they need is getting narrower by the day.
In Other News...
Islanders Are Taking A Low-Risk Look At A Former First-Round Pick
The Islanders AHL affiliate is taking a measured look at a veteran who once carried first-round expectations, bringing Robby Fabbri into camp on a professional tryout agreement. It is the kind of low-commitment move teams use when they want a closer look without tying up roster space, especially this early in the process.
Hamilton also added Antonio Stranges on a PTO, giving the club another experienced option to evaluate after he logged 70 games with the Texas Stars last season. For the Islanders, the appeal is obvious: a chance to see whether either player can fit into the organizations mix before anything more permanent is decided. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Let A Promising Comeback End In A Brutal Finish
The Islanders did enough to make this one feel salvageable after falling behind early against Carolina, clawing back to tie the game and give themselves a real chance to steal points on the road. Semyon Varlamov kept them within striking distance with 34 saves, and the penalty kill did its job, but the power play never cashed in on four chances, leaving the margin for error far too thin.
New York still had life late into the third period, when the game tightened into the kind of finish that can swing on one clean look or one mistake. Instead, the Hurricanes found the decisive goal from William Carrier, and the Islanders were left to absorb a loss that felt especially harsh after how hard they worked to erase the early hole. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Showed Something Important In Road Win Over Islanders
The Islanders were back at UBS Arena looking for a response, but Carolina controlled enough of the night to leave Long Island with a 5-3 win. Andrei Svechnikov chipped in a goal and an assist, Sebastian Aho set up two scores, and the Hurricanes kept the pressure on with a 39-27 edge in shots while Brandon Bussi turned aside 24 chances.
New York got enough from Semyon Varlamov to stay within striking distance, but the game still tilted in Carolinas favor in the third period. William Carrier provided the decisive goal for the Hurricanes, and the Islanders were left trying to sort out a loss that showed both the challenge of matching Carolinas pace and the need for a sharper finish when the game tightens late. [Read more 🡒]