Lighthouse Hockey: Try to fixate on something else.
The 2025-26 New York Islanders begin the rest of their season with a roster that has three veterans they did not have a couple of months ago. Two of them were once semi-stars but are now in their decline — while carrying cap hits that reflect the former phase than the latter — but Mathieu […]
Well this was all most unexpected. Amid rumors of New York Islanders interest in Robert Thomas or Jordan Kyrou of the St. Louis Blues, who were reportedly requiring exorbitant prices for those locked-in prime-age centerpieces, the Isles instead sent a 1st-round pick for 34-year-old Blues captain Brayden Schenn — a center who has declined into […]
Along with Sabres reporter Joe Yerdon, we remember Chad Johnson & Michal Neuvirth, back-up goalies who were traded for each other at the deadline but didn’t help the Islanders much at all. On paper, Chad Johnson was the perfect addition to what looked to be a quality Islanders team in 2014. He was coming off […]
On the NHL’s trade deadline day, the New York Islanders are in playoff position but far from contender position. They have a Vezina candidate (favorite?) goalie and a Calder favorite who have driven an exciting season above expectations. Their power play is abysmal, and their overall team defense often leaves us scratching our head. They […]
It’s a good thing the Islanders managed three dramatic comeback wins coming out of the Olympic break, because then they headed to southern California and played like doodoo. Actually, their starts and play in SoCal wasn’t that much different from the prior three games, just the bounces and outcomes were a little different. They followed […]
The Islanders’ Olympic-spanning win streak ended in a Husso in Anaheim Wednesday night, but they have another chance to pick up points from Southern California tonight vs. the Kings. First Islanders Goal picks go here. Islanders News Elsewhere
The California trip got off to a thud of a start with a 5-1 loss in Anaheim as the Islanders could not get much going and could not finish nor get better looks against the Ducks’ backup-backup goalie. Ville Husso made 42 saves, but the game really turned in the first period as the Islanders […]
The Islanders and their five-game win streak touched down in California and got their skating legs going at practice Tuesday. A back-to-back begins tonight in Anaheim, which will be playing its own back-to-back after losing at home last night to the Avalanche. After an orange-heavy kickoff, this trip includes Los Angeles tomorrow and San Jose […]
The Islanders are headed West, where the Kings are falling but the Ducks are surging again. A few bounces here or there and they could be beginning this trip under a dark cloud, but the comebacks and magical individual efforts to win the last three games have them six points ahead of the next Metro […]
Mike and Dan are relaxed and excited as the Islanders win three in a row and put themselves in good position for both the playoffs and the NHL Trade Deadline. We were worried that going into two places they never win in – Montreal and Columbus – and coming back to face the rabid Panthers […]
The Islanders pulled off a third consecutive two-goal comeback win and this time they didn’t even need overtime, though Anders Lee’s winner was practically that, coming with 32 seconds left in regulation on a stunning individual play by the captain. Oh, also: Matthew Schaefer had another two-goal game, ho-hum, to bring his rookie season goal […]
No rest for the victors, as the Islanders return to Long Island to host the Florida Panthers after winning in Columbus last night. The Panthers are rested and might even be a little healthier, having lost at home to the Sabres on Friday night. The two-time defending champs are 30-26-3 on the season and sit […]
The Islanders pulled out yet another overtime win — their eighth in eight tries this season — and another two points from a game where they didn’t have their best and their opponent left feeling like they deserved better. Trailing 2-0 early in the second period, Ilya Sorokin kept the Isles in the game long […]
The Islanders remain on the road in Columbus before coming back home tomorrow for a meeting with the Panthers. Both opponent are chasing to get back in the wild card spots, though it’s looking bleak for the two-time defending Cup champs. The Blue Jackets have two games in hand on the Isles but trail by […]
Noah Dobson scored two fist-pumping goals in his first meeting against his old team, but Matthew Schaefer scored two of his own to erase those, then the Islanders tied the game late with a sixth attacker, which set the table for Canadiens-killer J-G Pageau to score the OT winner in Montreal. The 4-3 win gives […]
We’re back! Or rather, they’re back. The Islanders face a compressed post-Olympic schedule, with 24 games to go and re-entering play in third place in the Metro, with several teams nipping at their heels. Things begin tonight vs. the Canadiens in Montreal. Your picks for the First Islanders Goal in three weeks go here. Elsewhere […]
The NHL is back in action after its damn-near-monthlong Olympic break with eight games tonight, though the Islanders don’t resume until tomorrow night in Montreal, one of 12 games Thursday. That didn’t keep them from kicking off the looming trade frenzy, though, with a minor league swap of Julien Gauthier to the Blues/Springfield for Matt […]
Mike and Dan look ahead to the Islanders resuming their season with three huge games, and present a special Olympic version of Master Leaf Theatre. The Islanders’ final 24 games will be a brutal sprint, with lots of in-conference opponents, a road trip out west and seven back-to-backs. They get a taste of all of […]
In 1980, it was Jim Craig. In 1996, it was Mike Richter. In 2026, it was Connor Hellebuyck playing the role of goaltender spoiler keying a U.S. victory over a favored opponent. Deciding the gold medal via 3-on-3 overtime feels silly, but it’s at least an improvement over the shootout (Peter Forsberg, 1994, and Czechs […]
The U.S. and Canada battle for gold — the 8 a.m. EST game may be done by the time you read this — and the Olympics mercifully conclude Sunday. Then the Islanders will get their Olympians back and resume play Thursday in Montreal. Bo Horvat will return with either a gold or silver. Islanders News: […]
Along with comedian, podcaster and new author John Cullen, we remember Rob Davison, who had one major moment against a marquee opponent in his very short stint on Long Island. Like a lot of defensive defensemen, Rob Davison was not a player most people would remember. His job was preventing goals, not scoring them, for […]
The U.S. women fulfilled their destiny, completing their running of the table and medal rounds, though this time they needed a late equalizer and overtime to get past Canada to win gold. It’s almost always an epic battle between those two, even when one is a clear favorite as the U.S. were this time around. […]
The practically pre-ordained dream final of Canada vs. USA in Olympic men’s hockey is still on the table after both tournament favorites needed overtime to avoid disaster in the quarterfinals. Canada erased a late Czech one-goal lead (from current Islander Ondrej Palat, lest you forget) to then win on a Mitch Marner OT winner, while […]
Here we are! Well, sort of…almost. The Islanders are now legally allowed to reconvene, while Wednesday at the Olympics offers a full day of men’s ice hockey quarterfinals: The U.S. and Sweden likely gave themselves the toughest mutual matchup, thanks to Sweden’s round-robin slip and the U.S. failure to run up the score against each […]
The Olympic men’s hockey round robin is complete, with things generally playing out as expected save for a couple of exceptions. One of those is Sweden, though “didn’t win your group” is not exactly an emergency crisis like, say, losing to Latvia would be. Back on the home front, non-Olympic NHLers (including all Russians, heh) […]