The 2025-26 New York Islanders have run into their ceiling, falling short of a goal that didn’t seem realistic before Matthew Schaefer put up a historic rookie season and Ilya Sorokin bounced back with a Vezina year in the face of a steady stream of high-danger chances. (And we shouldn’t forget the secondary assist from their never-to-be-repeated 10-0 overtime record. They didn’t fix the power play but they did fix that.)
By running out of steam in the final weeks, the Islanders deprived the franchise of two or three games of playoff revenue, robbed us of some postseason fun (and heartache, always heartache), and kept Schaefer from getting an early taste of postseason intensity. But they also probably spared us the traditional first-round humbling by the Hurricanes or, worse, a tough first-round loss to an in-form Penguins team whose greatest 2025-26 contribution will be driving more people in Toronto mad over the Shanahan-Dubas-yada-yada turning point.
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Standings points in the no-tie, 3-on-3, shootout-and-hotdog-eating-contest era of deciding regular season “winners” are always a little bit smoke and mirrors. But last night when I switched my standings view from “Wild Card” to “League” to resume assessing where the Islanders are likely to pick in the draft, I was struck by the fact their 91 points — even amid a 3-7 slump — was still ahead of the Western playoff-bound Oilers, Mammoth and Ducks. No no no, my conference doesn’t suck, your conference sucks.
That’s small comfort that will soon be moot and forgotten, but each of those teams has 9 or 10 OT wins, too. The Islanders: Flawed like some other interesting teams!
And what’s better, this season Schaefer has shown they have something incredible to build off of, hopefully while Ilya Sorokin (who, don’t look now, turns 31 next year) can still be a game changer. Dear Mathieu Darche, please don’t Chiarelli, Holland or Bowman this up, and maybe introduce young Schaef-daddy to Connor McDavid this summer, okay?
Islanders News
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Takeaways: a disaster in 55 seconds. [Isles]
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Gross: In the end, they were not playoff-worthy. [Newsday]
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For game 82, Pete DeBoer wouldn’t mind seeing players “in game action who are potentially part of this moving forward,” but knows it’s up to Mathieu Darche. In hopefully related news, Ondrej Palat was a scratch last night. [Post]
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Another reason to cheer up: After finishing 32nd the last two AHL seasons, Bridgeport, in its final season, finally made the playoffs again! And Victor Eklund The Greater continues to score. [B-Isles]
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Check this site for lots on Bridgeport, including their clincher, where Matt Maggio returned after a long run of scratches and Cole Eiserman sat out. [Isles in the Sound]
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Elsewhere
Last night’s NHL scores included the Penguins continuing to roll over for the Capitals, almost like they’d prefer a first round vs. D.C. instead of vs. the Flyers.
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James Hagens had an assist (and penalty) in his debut, as Boston reversed its slide and dealt the Blue Jackets a near-fatal blow. [Sportsnet]
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An emotional and brief speech from Anze Kopitar, who vowed to Kings fans they would try to get into the postseason and create a couple more home games. [NHL]
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Alex Ovechkin “will think about” playing another year. [NHL]
