Good Morning, Islanders Country.

On Butch Goring’s birthday, the Islanders and Kings fittingly gave everyone the gift of a pretty entertaining hockey game.

It just ended in a way Islanders fans haven’t seen in a while.

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For the first time since April 8, 2025, the Islanders lost in overtime, falling 3-2 to Los Angeles after spending much of the night looking like the better team. They put 43 shots on Darcy Kuemper, controlled long stretches in the offensive zone and had the puck enough to make you think two points were there for the taking.

But the underlying feel of the game was a little more balanced than the shot total suggested. The scoring chances and high-danger chances were nearly even, which made a 2-2 score after regulation feel about right.

Semyon Varlamov, playing his first game at UBS Arena since November 2024, was solid again. He gave the Islanders a chance to win, even if there were a couple of goals you’d expect him to stop when he’s at his absolute best. Down 2-0, his penalty shot save of Adrian Kempe kept the Isles in the game. Although winless, he’s only allowed six regulation goals in three starts. The team has scored five.

There were other encouraging signs.

Matthew Schaefer finally broke through with his first goal of the season, firing home the third-period equalizer. For Schaefer, it was his 24th career goal, tying Bobby Orr for the second-most goals by a teenage defenseman. "It's crazy to have your name next to him with so many great things he's done. It's an honor. You don't really look at records and things like that."

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Victor Eklund scored for the second straight game, and his line was the Islanders’ best all night, another step forward for a player who looks more comfortable every night.

"As well as we were playing and executing, and doing what we wanted to do, you’re in a 2-0 hole,” Head Coach Pete DeBoer said. “It's how do you handle that? I love the way we stuck with it. An immature team in that situation will open it up and try and cheat for offense, and we didn't do that. I thought we stuck to what we were doing well and just kept going at it and finally found a way to crack them and get back in the game so great maturity by our group.”

So the winning streak didn’t continue. The point streak did.

That’s five straight with at least one point, a 3-0-2 stretch that has the Islanders playing some pretty good hockey.

Good timing, too.

Because now comes the first legitimately difficult stretch of the season.

Let’s dive in.

Game Recap

The Islanders erased a two-goal deficit but couldn’t finish the comeback, falling 3-2 to the Los Angeles Kings in overtime Thursday at UBS Arena. Brandt Clarke scored with 2:18 remaining in the extra session after Los Angeles controlled possession for several shifts. The Islanders outshot the Kings 43-26, but Darcy Kuemper’s 41 saves helped Los Angeles secure its second straight victory.

Artemi Panarin scored twice on the Kings’ first five shots before Victor Eklund answered on the power play with just under six minutes remaining in the second period. Matthew Schaefer tied it with a wrist shot at 7:06 of the third. Semyon Varlamov made 23 saves in his first home start since November 2024, including a penalty-shot stop against Adrian Kempe.

GameScore Impact Card

⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders will have two days off before they start their road trip in Dallas on Sunday night against the Stars. Face-off is 6:00 PM EDT.

📊 STANDINGS

Barzal’s return could be the best kind of uncomfortable

The Islanders obviously need Mathew Barzal back.

That doesn’t mean simply inserting him into the lineup will be as easy as writing No. 13 onto a line card. The New York Post examined the interesting problem Pete DeBoer will eventually inherit: Barzal missed training camp, hasn’t played a game and will be returning to a team that has developed a distinctly different identity without him. DeBoer’s Islanders are structured, aggressive defensively and committed to winning battles along the walls — all while asking every forward to participate in the details away from the puck.

New Timeline for Potential Mathew Barzal Return for NY Islanders Revealed - Yahoo Sports

None of that argues against Barzal. His speed and creativity are precisely what a team still lacking elite offensive creation needs. But there will be an adjustment period. The power play has also functioned well without him, creating another decision about how quickly DeBoer puts everything back through Barzal once he returns. The ideal outcome isn’t Barzal changing what the Islanders have become. It’s Barzal adding elite skill to the identity they’ve already established. If that happens, the awkwardness will be temporary — and very much worth it.

Phil Housley sees something special in Schaefer

Phil Housley’s records stood for 43 years.

Matthew Schaefer needed one season to rewrite them. Before getting his first look at Schaefer from behind the Kings’ bench Thursday, the Hall of Famer told Newsday what impressed him about the teenager who surpassed his marks for goals and points by an 18-year-old defenseman. Schaefer finished with 23 goals and 59 points, also matching Brian Leetch’s rookie defenseman goal record.

Los Angeles Kings assistant coach Phil Housley looks on as...

“He’s a terrific talent,” Housley said. “He has really good escapability on breakouts. He has great edges. He can evade and escape. He’s not afraid to lead a rush, he’s not afraid to join the rush, he’s not afraid to beat someone one-on-one because of his skating ability and also his hockey IQ. He sees the ice very well. All those things add up to being a dominant player for years to come.”

Varlamov finally gets to hear UBS Arena welcome him back

Semyon Varlamov has already completed the hard part of his comeback. Thursday offered something different: the chance to enjoy it. Varlamov took the ice for his first regular-season game at UBS Arena since Nov. 25, 2024“I wanted to get him into a home game,” DeBoer said, reiterating the larger plan to keep Varlamov in a regular rhythm so Ilya Sorokin doesn’t have to carry everything.

“I'm happy to be back,” Varlamov said. “When they're chanting your name, it's always giving you the extra boost. The fans are unbelievable. The building was very loud today, and it was very exciting game, fun game to play. Whole game and then overtime. Unfortunately, we gave up the goal at the end but got the point so I'm pretty happy with the point.”

📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Semyon Varlamov stopped Adrian Kempe on a 2nd-period penalty shot. Varlamov has stopped eight of the nine penalty shots he has faced in his career, including both as an Islander.

🎥 ISLES REWIND: On Oct. 23, 1980, Bryan Trottier became the first player to score 200 goals as a member of the Islanders. The milestone came in a 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers at the Spectrum. Trottier scored exactly 500 goals with the Islanders, the second-most in franchise history behind Mike Bossy’s 573.

📺 Up The Turnpike: Islanders vs Kings Postgame Recap, Reaction, Highlights

🔗 Varlamov To Make First Regular Season Home Start Since Nov. 25, 2024 When Islanders Host Kings by Stefen Rosner, The Hockey News “Varlamov’s first two starts of his comeback came on the road, making Thursday his long-awaited opportunity to play again in front of Islanders fans. DeBoer says keeping the veteran in a regular rhythm is important both for Varlamov himself and for managing Sorokin’s workload.

🔗 Islanders know the reality of Ottawa’s vitriolic Brady Tkachuk return by Ethan Sears, New York Post “Islanders players understood immediately why Tkachuk’s hostile Ottawa homecoming generated memories of John Tavares’ return to Long Island. The night also illustrated something the NHL sometimes struggles to capitalize on: genuine emotional rivalries are among the league’s most marketable events.”

And we leave you with this…Bryan Trottier and the late Ron Duguay in 1982

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