Lighthouse Hockey: Try to fixate on something else.
The Islanders capped an impressive third period with a stunning reversal of fortune in a 29-second span to steal back a 3-2 win over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday. The Blue Jackets were playing back-to-back, after withstanding a similar third-period surge at home the night before. With a pretty entertaining and physical game […]
about 1 month ago | 1 read
The Islanders return home for a brief spell with an early 5 p.m. EST start — though maybe not so early, given body clocks still on EDT — with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are coming in on a back-to-back. The Blue Jackets beat the Blues at home, 3-2, last night, behind 37 saves by […]
about 1 month ago | 2 reads
Our friend John Muir is back to talk about three hockey cards of inaugural Islanders he came across in an unlikely location. While on a hunt for Pokémon cards with his kids, John found some NHL trading cards from 1972 that captured the soon-to-be-hapless Islanders in all their haplessness. One was a depth forward who […]
about 1 month ago | 1 read
The Islanders’ fruitless four-game road trip continues in Washington after an eminently forgettable loss to the Hurricanes last night in Raleigh. They enter the evening last in the Eastern Conference — by points percentage as well as raw points now after last night’s regulation loss — and for many Isles fans, that’s quite according to […]
about 1 month ago | 2 reads
The Islanders lost easily in Raleigh, a fairly predictable result made moreso by the pre-game news that Mathew Barzal would be scratched as discipline for being late to the morning skate. It was never really close, with the Isles down 2-0 just over five minutes in — ex-Isles Mike Reilly adding a WTF shorthanded wraparound […]
about 1 month ago | 2 reads
The Islanders did not skate yesterday, so today’s morning skate is where we’ll get lineup updates (if any) and further sentiments on what went wrong against the Bruins. The 6-3 Carolina Hurricanes are their foes tonight, while the Islanders sit last in the conference by points — though their points percentage is a little better […]
about 1 month ago | 1 read
The Islanders came up empty against a struggling Bruins team, wasting a good first period and countless power play opportunities to end up losing convincingly, 5-2 in Boston. The story could look like it came down to special teams, with the Isles going 0-for-5 on the power play while giving up two Bruins power play […]
about 1 month ago | 2 reads
The Islanders continue what becomes a very busy road trip tonight in Boston, where the Bruins are coming home after being thumped in Ottawa. So the back-to-back, the special opportunity and road trip narratives are all in play. (The Isles have a back-to-back later in the week vs. the Canes and Caps.) First Islanders Goal […]
about 1 month ago | 1 read
Mike and Dan discuss an eventful week for the Islanders including wins, a loss, another good rookie, a guy lost for the season, a coach firing and an All Star event canceled. The team righted its ship with two big wins, one eliciting a now-iconic quote from its star rookie. After a rare blow out […]
about 1 month ago | 1 read
It’s a strange October: Montreal and Detroit lead the Atlantic, Utah leads the West, and the Rangers are last in the East. Their four-game winning streak stopped via shootout, the Islanders (currently still in the second wild card) are now preparing for tomorrow night in Boston. That’s before the road trip continues with a tough […]
about 1 month ago | 2 reads
The Islanders missed a few opportunities to extend a four-game win streak Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia, but they at least came away with a point and Marshall Warren got an NHL debut to remember. The Laurel Hollow native had his mom and sister in the stands — and dad surely watching from a hospital while […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read
The Islanders are in Philadelphia for an early start (12:30 EDT) in an early-season Metro battle with the Flyers. One point separates them in the opening month, with both teams probably exceeding (Isles 4-3, Flyers 3-3-1) very modest initial expectations. But the big hook today is the expected NHL debut of hometowner Marshall Warren. First […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read
The Islanders extended their win streak to four and rose above .500 by taking advantage of a previously hot team team on a back-to-back that had somehow lost the previous night in Buffalo. Tony DeAngelo got them on the board with the first shot of the game, Emil Heineman notched his first of two goals […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read
A fair bushel of Islanders news came out in the day between mid-week games, before the Islanders host the Red Wings tonight. David Rittich gets the start tonight before Ilya Sorokin (more on him later) returns to the net for Saturday afternoon in Philly. First Islanders Goal picks for tonight go here. Islanders News Elsewhere
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
The Islanders established a three-game win streak and upended their 0-3 start with a 4-3 win over the winless San Jose Sharks Tuesday in Elmont. Mathew Schaefer continued his now six-game points streak to start his career with his first two-point game, a goal and an assist earning him his first first star nod. In […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read
The Islanders host the last winless team — uh oh! — tonight as the 0-3-2 Sharks rebuild steamrolls into town. Your absolute dread at being their first victim is pre-baked into tonight’s program. First Islanders Goal picks go here. Islanders News If you haven’t kept up with the travels of Trotz-era former Isles, Nick Leddy […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read
Mike and Dan recap the Islanders’ exciting first two wins of the season and the warts that are still very evident in their play so far. For a little while, they were 0-3 and staring down a quickly lost season. But two wins – neither perfect, but gutty and pesky – helped everyone breath easy […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read
It’s a bit of a lighter week for the 2-3 Islanders, with another day before they host the (still winless) Sharks on Tuesday, the (shockingly Atlantic leading) Red Wings on Thursday, then visit Philadelphia on Saturday. With two wins at the end of last week, they avoided falling into a nightmare start, but a variety […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read
The Islanders walked away from a back-and-forth afternoon in Ottawa with two regulation points after a stunning Anders Lee goal gave them their first lead of the game with 63 seconds left to go, setting up a 5-4 win. The Isles did well to come back multiple times, from 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3, but escaping […]
about 2 months ago | 0 reads
Today the New York Islanders face the Senators in Ottawa, where both teams have stumbled out of the gate amid modestly increased expectations over last year. The Senators, who finally broke through the playoff line last spring, they’re also dealing with injuries highlighted by Brady Tkachuk’s expected two-month departure due to surgery on his thumb. […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read
Mike and Dan begin Season 5 of Weird Islanders: The Podcast! by talking to affable one-game Islander Cory Schneider about his great NHL career and path to Long Island. From a standout career at BU to a run with a great Canucks team to a monster trade to New Jersey to years in the AHL, […]
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
Bo Horvat notched his second career hat trick, David Rittich made 30 saves in his debut, the Isles scored an elusive empty net goal while surviving a pulled goalie, and they avoided an 0-4 start to get their first win of the season, 4-2 over the Edmonton Oilers. The Islanders dominated the first period but […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read
Whenever their first standings point of 2025-26 comes, the Islanders will be the 32nd NHL team to get one. With the sadsack(TM) Sabres winning big last night over the Senators, the Islanders are the last team in the league with zero points and one of two teams (San Jose is the other) yet to win. […]
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
It’s early and all that, but the Islanders really need a win — hell, even an extra-time loss — to avoid all the terrible associations that would come with an 0-4 start. Buffalo and San Jose are the only other winless teams thus far, and that’s not great company to keep. Worse, their opponent on […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read
The New York Islanders have zero standings points through their first three games but 18-year-old (and TOI leader) Matthew Schaefer has a point in each game. That could be a harbinger of how the 2025-26 transition season will go, we’ll see. It’s only three games in, but their power play is still whiffing, their franchise […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read