ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Islanders got their win song again Thursday night, but the bigger question is whether they can make it matter.
Ace Frehley’s “New York Groove” has become the soundtrack in the dressing room every time the Islanders win this season. That happened again after a 5-2 victory over the Kings at Crypto.com Arena, ending an 0-2-2 slide. But with only eight wins in 18 games, the celebration still feels more like a glimpse than a turning point.
That’s why Saturday night’s game against the Ducks at Honda Center looms as more than just the final stop on a three-game California trip. If the Islanders can follow Thursday’s result with another strong showing, there will be a better case that they’re actually settling into something real.
Captain Bo Horvat put it plainly.
“Yeah, exactly,” Horvat told Newsday. “It’s the following up.
Being consistent with it. We’re playing a high, offensive mindset team that’s got a lot of skill up front.
If we can play well defensively like we did tonight and take away their time and space, it’s going to benefit us for sure.”
That’s the part the Islanders still haven’t answered. Are they a team that can stack good nights together, or one that flashes for a game and then slips back into uncertainty?
So far, it’s been hard to pin them down in Pete DeBoer’s first full season behind the bench. Injuries have kept them from ever really getting settled.
The defense has looked sharp at times, and Ilya Sorokin has been excellent over the last three games. But Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov have both had rough patches, Ryan Pulock’s four-game absence with a shoulder issue hurt the blue line, and finishing chances has been a season-long problem.
The Islanders have shown every version of themselves already. They beat Toronto 4-1 on Oct. 17 after losing Cal Ritchie and Matias Maccelli to injuries.
They handled Minnesota 4-3 in overtime on Oct. 29 against one of the league’s stronger teams. Then came the ugly side: a 6-3 loss in Dallas on Oct. 25, a 4-0 defeat to the Oilers on Oct. 31, and the most frustrating one of all - giving up a two-goal lead in the third period and losing 5-4 in overtime to the Devils at UBS Arena this past Saturday despite Sorokin’s 45 saves.
Thursday wasn’t pretty, either. But it was a win, and that was enough to bring Frehley’s anthem back into the room.
The lineup also got healthier. Pulock returned, and so did Maccelli, who should soon work his way back into the top six.
Mathew Barzal is still trending toward his season debut after inflammation in his left knee kept him out from the start of training camp. The Islanders are also hoping Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s absence from Thursday’s lineup because of a lower-body issue turns out to be temporary.
“We played a solid game, the whole team,” Maccelli told Newsday said after logging 13:35 with a power-play assist in his first game back. “I think we were more detailed. We were trying to put pucks behind them and not mess around too much with it in the neutral zone and trying to make plays all the time.”
Now comes the tougher part: proving that Thursday was more than a one-night fix.
The season is nearing its quarter mark, and the Islanders still need to be better if they want to get back into the playoffs. That path could get even trickier if general manager Mathieu Darche decides to sell, with veterans Kyle Palmieri and Casey Cizikas both in the final year of their deals and next season’s cap space and roster spots potentially becoming a priority.
Even so, the door is still open in the Metropolitan Division. The Hurricanes and Devils look like the class of the group, with the Devils now having acquired three-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck.
The Flyers, Penguins and Blue Jackets are all in different kinds of trouble. That leaves the Islanders in a fight for third place with the Capitals and Rangers, who are without No. 1 goalie Igor Shesterkin for the season.
For the Islanders, the mission is simple enough to say and hard enough to do: find the groove, and keep it.
In Other News...
Islanders Could Hand Mat Barzal The Finisher Hes Been Missing
Matvei Michkovs situation in Philadelphia has become one of the more intriguing loose threads in the early season, and it has obvious appeal for the Islanders if the Flyers ever decide to listen. The 2023 seventh overall pick has already been linked to uncertainty about his future with the club, and with Philadelphia off to a rough start amid internal issues, the chatter around a possible move has only grown louder.
From the Islanders perspective, the fit is easy to imagine. A player with Michkovs skill set would add another layer to a roster that has often leaned on structure and patience, and he could give Mat Barzal the kind of finishing touch that has been missing at times. Nothing is official, of course, but the idea alone is enough to make this one worth watching if the Flyers keep drifting and the Islanders decide they want to get aggressive. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Get Needed Help Back As Bigger Problems Still Loom
Matias Maccelli and defenseman Ryan Pulock were set to rejoin the Islanders for a matchup with the Kings, giving a banged-up roster a little more of the depth it has been missing. With Mathew Barzal also expected back soon, the timing matters for a team that has been trying to steady itself through a rough stretch in which injuries have played a part and the lineup has been forced to shuffle.
The returns offer a welcome lift, but they do not erase the larger issues that have been hanging over the club. The Islanders still have to sort out defensive lapses and a power play that has not delivered enough, so even with key pieces coming back, the next step is proving the team can turn healthier bodies into better results. [Read more 🡒]
Ilya Sorokin Is Giving The Islanders A Chance They Keep Testing
The Islanders four-game losing streak has put a familiar burden back on Ilya Sorokin, who keeps giving them a chance even as the lineup thins out around him. With injuries adding to the strain, the goaltender has been the steadier part of the picture, turning aside enough chances to keep games from getting away and allowing New York to stay within striking distance more often than the results suggest.
Sorokins season line, a 2.57 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage in 12 starts, is another reminder that his level has not dipped even as the team in front of him has had trouble matching it. The Islanders have leaned on him before, and with his track record as a past Vezina finalist, the bigger question now is how long he can keep absorbing this kind of pressure while the rest of the roster works through a rough patch. [Read more 🡒]