Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Last night was the kind of hockey game that reminds you why you stick around through the long nights and the slow starts. Fast, chippy, unpredictable — and for the first time this season, fun. On ESPN’s national stage, the Islanders and Oilers delivered a show worthy of streaming. But for the home team, it meant something much more: the first points of the season, a 4-2 win, and the first sign that maybe, just maybe, all the optimism from October hadn’t been misplaced after all.
The Islanders came into the night as the only team in the league without a point, and left it having knocked off the defending Western Conference champions. Not by luck, not by fluke — but by being the better team for long stretches. Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat, the duo that’s supposed to drive this team forward, finally answered the bell. Barzal converted on a first-period breakaway, and Horvat’s short-handed goal that tied the game was surpassed by his game-winner — seven seconds into a power play — the punctuation this group had been desperate for.
A selfless play from Jonathan Drouin gave Bo his hat trick minutes later. It was the first time in Islanders history that a player scored a short-handed goal, a power-play goal, and an empty net goal for a natural hat trick (three consecutive goals without another player scoring in between).
And then there was Matthew Schaefer, of course. The 18-year-old defenseman who seems incapable of playing a quiet game. He took a stick to the face, then took to the ice on the ensuing power play and collected his fourth point in as many games. He’s now the youngest player to string together a four-game point streak to kick off his NHL career. Another night of being a difference-maker.
Games like this are often decided on special teams, and last year, too often, that was a losing equation for the Islanders. Not this time. The power play clicked when it had to and the energy inside UBS felt different — lighter, louder, alive.
Dave Rittich made the big saves as advertised. The fans showed up and went home happy. It’s only one win, sure. But it’s a start — the kind that reminds its fans that the climb back up the standings begins one good night at a time.
Game Recap
Bo Horvat tied the game short-handed in the second period, scored the go-ahead goal on the power play, and finished off the hat trick with an empty-netter with 8.1 seconds left to help the New York Islanders pick up their first win of the season by rallying to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 on Thursday night.
Seven seconds after Trent Frederic high-sticked Matthew Schaefer, Horvat beat Stuart Skinner with 4:46 left to bring fans — some of whom were booing the home team earlier — to their feet. Mat Barzal had the Islanders’ first goal and the primary assist on Horvat’s game-winner, while David Rittich stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced at the other end of the ice in his Islanders debut.
GameScore Impact Card
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders are on the road on Saturday afternoon when they visit the Ottawa Senators. Face-off is set for 3:00 PM EDT.
📊 STANDINGS
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in the 1,100th consecutive Skinny, Bo Horvat is the first Islander since Patrick Flatley (February 1, 1994, vs. SJS) to score a PPG, SHG goal, and even-strength goal in the same game.
3 Goals, Three Ways (Isles with PP, SH, Even Goals in the Same Game)
Bo Horvat 10/16/2025 vs. Edmonton
Patrick Flatley 2/1/1994 vs. San Jose
Bob Bourne, 3/13/1984, in New Jersey
Horvat’s empty-net goal is recorded as an even-strength, empty-net goal
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On October 17, 1992, the Islanders defeated the New York Rangers 6-3 in the home opener at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Six different Islanders scored goals (Benoit Hogue, Vladimir Malakhov, Brian Mullen, Steve Thomas, Bill Berg, and Derek King). Glenn Healy made 30 saves to improve the team’s record to 2-2-1 in the early season.
📺 Post-Game Availability: NYI vs EDM (10/16/25)
🔗 NY Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer decides where he will live this season via Eyes on Isles “During ESPN’s first intermission report on Thursday night, Emily Kaplan revealed that New York Islanders rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer will soon be moving in with Matt Martin and his family for the remainder of the season.”
🔗 Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin receives a confidence-boosting pep talk from coach Patrick Roy by Andrew Gross, Newsday “The extras remained on the ice after the Islanders’ morning skate, Ilya Sorokin included, and so did Patrick Roy. Though most coaches depart the ice as soon as the regulars do, Roy made an exception to put in some one-on-one time with his struggling No. 1 goalie.”
And we leave you with this…For the remainder of the season, the training and equipment staff will be honoring the late Isles equipment manager Ron Waske with an “RW” pin
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