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The New York Islanders hit the ten-game mark of their season with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings at UBS Arena, a result that gave the Kings just their second win of the year and dropped the Islanders' record to 5-3-2. Despite the defeat, New York still held the third playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division as of October 24 and remained in the wild-card conversation even if they were to fall out of that position.
So how are the Islanders performing through ten games? The start has been anything but smooth. The team was already without Mathew Barzal at the beginning of the season and dropped its opener to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1. They then alternated wins and losses for several games until finding a spark. In their last three contests, they have played well under head coach Peter DeBoer's system, earning two wins—including a victory over the Maple Leafs—and an overtime loss to the Kings.
DeBoer was surprised by how quickly his team adapted to his new system. He joined the organization two weeks before the 2025-26 campaign ended, after Patrick Roy was relieved of his duties, leaving him little time to implement changes. Now with a full season ahead, DeBoer has installed new systems, and the Islanders have bought in immediately, adjusting nicely. The coach admitted he thought the adjustment would take much longer, but after just ten games, despite some flaws that every team has, they have been performing well.
Key Analysis
The Islanders are still without Barzal, who is recovering from left knee inflammation stemming from a previous injury—a significant blow to the offense. Then, in an October 6 game against the New York Rangers, defenseman Alexander Romanov suffered a torn ACL, forcing an overhaul of the defensive corps. In the October 17 win over the Maple Leafs, both Matias Maccelli and Calum Ritchie went down with lower-body injuries; Maccelli is sidelined for two to four weeks, while Ritchie will miss four to six weeks. Without Barzal, Romanov, Maccelli, and Ritchie, New York will struggle to generate offense, but the team has fought hard, securing a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks and taking the Kings to overtime in a 3-2 loss. The Islanders are showing plenty of fight and proving they can play under DeBoer's system; the question is whether they can put themselves in a good enough position so that when everyone is healthy again, they have a shot at making the playoffs.