The New York Islanders are 10 games into the season, and the early snapshot is a mixed one: a 5-3-2 record, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings at UBS Arena, and a team still sitting in the third playoff spot in the Metro Division entering play on Oct. 24. Even if they slip, they’re still in the Wild Card picture.
That’s the broad view. The more interesting part is how they’ve gotten here.
This hasn’t been a smooth opening stretch. The Islanders began the season without Mathew Barzal, then dropped their opener to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1. After that, they settled into a pattern of alternating wins and losses until things started to click over the last few games.
Under head coach Peter DeBoer, New York has looked sharper in its last three outings, picking up two wins - one over the Maple Leafs and another against the Anaheim Ducks - before running into the Kings. DeBoer was surprised by how quickly the group adapted to his system.
He arrived two weeks before the 2025-26 campaign ended, after Patrick Roy was relieved of his duties, so he didn’t have much time to leave a real imprint then. Now, with a full season in front of him, he’s installed his structure and the Islanders have taken to it fast.
There have still been rough edges, as there are for any team this early, but the overall read is positive. The Islanders have bought in, and that commitment has shown up on the ice.
The injury situation, though, has made life harder than it needed to be. Barzal remains out while recovering from left knee inflammation from a previous injury.
Then Alexander Romanov suffered a torn ACL against the New York Rangers on Oct. 6, forcing a major change on the blue line. More recently, in the Oct. 17 win over Toronto, Matias Maccelli and Calum Ritchie both left with lower-body injuries.
Maccelli is sidelined for two to four weeks, while Ritchie is out for four to six weeks.
That’s a lot to absorb, especially with Barzal, Romanov, Maccelli, and Ritchie all unavailable. The offense has been short-handed, and the defense had to be reshaped after Romanov went down.
Still, the Islanders have kept competing. They beat the Ducks 3-2, then pushed the Kings to overtime before falling by the same score. That kind of edge has been there even when the results haven’t all gone their way.
The bigger question now is whether they can keep stacking points and stay in position for the moment when their lineup finally starts to heal.
In Other News...
Islanders Can Prove A Lot Fast On This Road Trip
A tough early test is waiting as the Islanders head out on a road trip that opens against the Dallas Stars and continues in Minnesota, with both opponents viewed as Stanley Cup contenders. It is the kind of trip that can tell a team plenty about itself in a hurry, especially for a club that has started 5-3-2 and is trying to keep building while away from home.
Dallas brings an added layer of intrigue because it is Peter DeBoers first game against his former team, and the matchup carries some extra edge with Mikko Rantanen in the picture. The Islanders will also have to navigate the trip short-handed up front, with several forwards out injured, so the challenge is not just the quality of the opposition but the depth test that comes with it. [Read more 🡒]
Bo Horvat's Start Has Islanders Fans Wondering How High This Can Go
Bo Horvat has wasted no time setting the tone for the Islanders this season, and his start is exactly the kind of early production that gets attention around the league. Through the opening stretch, the captain has been driving offense at a point-per-game clip, a reminder that his ceiling has never really been in question when he finds a rhythm.
The bigger question is how much more there is to come if the current system keeps unlocking chances for him. Horvat has already shown he can pile up points at a high level, including a career-best 70-point season in 2022-23, and the conversation around him only gets more interesting if the lineup eventually gets healthier and the pieces around him fall into place. [Read more 🡒]