The Islanders are changing plenty as they head into their matchup with the Ottawa Senators, and the biggest adjustment comes in goal.
After finishing their three-game homestand with a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks, New York now turns to a Senators team that has come out hot with a 5-2-0 record. Ottawa has gotten standout work from Linus Ullmark, who is 5-0-0 with a 1.27 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage, setting up a tough test for the Islanders no matter how their lineup shakes out.
And shake it out they have.
According to Andrew Gross of Newsday on X, Matias Maccelli is moving onto the first line after extending his point streak to four games and scoring his first goal with the Islanders against Vancouver. He’s flanking Bo Horvat, who has picked up at least one point in each of the team’s first six games, and Kyle Palmieri, who scored his first two goals of the season against the Canucks, is on the other side.
The second line keeps Brayden Schenn alongside the club’s young center Cal Ritchie and Victor Eklund on the right side. Ondrej Palat is set on the third line with JG Pageau and Anthony Duclair.
#Isles at morning skate Maccelli-Horvat-Palmieri Schenn-Ritchie-EklundPalat-Pageau-DuclairHeineman-Cizikas-HolmstromExtra: MacLeanStanley-SchaeferPelech-PulockKessel-DeAngeloExtra: MayfieldSorokinEBUG
The fourth line has Emil Heineman, Casey Cizikas and Simon Holmstrom, with Peter DeBoer hoping the wingers can get something out of Cizikas’s style the way Maccelli, Palat and Duclair have at different points this season.
On the blue line, Matthew Kessel stays in the mix with Tony DeAngelo on the third pair after Kessel’s successful season debut against Vancouver. Scott Mayfield is again a healthy scratch.
Logan Stanley and Matthew Schaefer remain together as the top pair, while Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock make up the second pair.
The other notable twist: Ilya Sorokin is out of the net. Semyon Varlamov gets the start instead, and it’ll be his second outing of the season after he played Oct. 6 against the New York Rangers in a 5-2 loss.
In Other News...
Senators Suddenly Have A Scoring Void A Former Canadien Could Fill
The Senators attack took a hit when William Eklund went in for surgery on a torn tendon, and the timing could hardly be worse for a team looking to keep its offense moving. Eklund is expected to miss 10 to 12 weeks, leaving Ottawa with a noticeable scoring gap at a spot where finishers matter and where the power play can tilt games one way or the other.
That is why Patrik Laine has entered the conversation, with his camp and the Senators having discussed a possible fit. Laine would make sense as a shooter who could plug into the man advantage and give Ottawa another dangerous option, but there is still no agreement in place, and for now the idea remains just that - an idea the Senators may keep weighing as they look for help up front. [Read more 🡒]
Senators May Be Running Out Of Time To Fix Backup Goalie Trouble
The Senators backup goaltending situation has become one of those roster puzzles that can linger quietly until it starts to affect everything around it. Samuel Ersson has struggled in limited work this season, and Ottawa has another option in Jonas Johansson, a goalie with NHL experience behind Andrei Vasilevskiy but a track record that has been more serviceable than standout. With the schedule demanding steady support behind the starter, the question is no longer whether the Senators have options, but which one gives them the safest path forward.
What makes the decision trickier is the roster math attached to it. Ottawa has to weigh whether to bring Johansson up and change the mix in goal, knowing the club would need a plan if it wants to move Ersson to Belleville, where waivers come into play. For a team trying to avoid a crease problem turning into a larger depth issue, the next move could say a lot about how aggressively it wants to solve the backup spot before it becomes harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Senators May Have Found An Answer In This Injury Shuffle
William Eklunds injury left Ottawa with a hole to fill, and Travis Green responded by shuffling the forward groups in a way that gave the Senators a different look against the Islanders. Stephen Halliday was bumped to the left side of the top line, while Ridly Greig slid into the middle on the fourth line, a tweak that helped settle the group in a tight game that the Senators eventually won 2-1 in a shootout.
The changes were more than just temporary patchwork, because Ottawa needed some kind of answer after losing a key winger and Greens lineup choices immediately put familiar names in unfamiliar spots. Hallidays promotion and Greigs move down the lineup gave the Senators a new center of gravity on a night when structure mattered, and it will be worth watching whether this alignment sticks as the team tries to navigate the weeks ahead without Eklund. [Read more 🡒]