Good Morning, Islanders Country.
For about three minutes Thursday night, the Islanders looked a little too committed to the theme.
Four days of rest. A brand-new Fisherman jersey.
And then, right on cue, a start straight out of 1995.
Logan Stankoven scored on Carolina’s first shot, with three Islanders trailing Jackson Blake on the play. Jesperi Kotkaniemi made it 2-0 at 3:20. Two goals on three shots, and Semyon Varlamov looked like he might get the hook.
The old Fisherman teams probably don’t come back from that. This one did.
Mitchell Chaffee and Brayden Schenn scored 2:04 apart early in the second to tie it. When Andrei Svechnikov put Carolina back in front a minute later, Victor Eklund answered with a one-timer from the slot late in the period.
Tied 3-3 after 40, against the best team in the East.
Then, with 5:08 left in regulation, William Carrier buried a rebound in front of Varlamov, and the empty-netter followed.
That stings. Not the loss itself. Losing to Carolina happens. It’s that the Islanders did the hard part twice, climbing out of an early hole against a team that rarely gives anything back, and still walked away without the point their effort deserved.
“I thought we at least deserved one in the first, and it's good to see our group be resilient and battle back,” said Brayden Schenn. “Just can't be giving away points any time of the year late in games.”
In other words, they left Carolina off the hook.
There was plenty to like. Varlamov made 34 saves and kept them in it, even as Carolina outshot them 39-27. The Isles dominated the faceoff dot, winning 40 of 61. Schenn had a goal and an assist, and Eklund’s quick release on his goal from the slot was impressive.
There were familiar problems, too. The power play went 0-for-4. It is now 1-18 over the last five games and 3-32 over the last ten games "I think we got to get a power-play goal,” said Pete DeBoer after the game. “I think tonight that probably changes the game if we find a way to stick one in.”
And it’s now two straight losses heading into a home game against the Devils and a West Coast trip.
The Fisherman got a fresh start Thursday.
The Islanders need one too after two straight losses.
Let’s dive in.
Game Recap
William Carrier scored the go-ahead goal with 5:08 left in regulation, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Islanders 5-3 on Thursday at UBS Arena, spoiling the debut of the Islanders’ Fisherman Hometown Remix jerseys. Carrier buried the rebound of a Sebastian Aho shot to break a 3-3 tie, and Jalen Chatfield added an empty-net goal at 19:09.
Carolina led 2-0 just 3:20 in on goals by Logan Stankoven and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The Islanders tied it early in the second on goals by Mitchell Chaffee (3:40), who redirected a Matthew Schaefer point shot for his first of the season, and Brayden Schenn (5:44) on a wraparound. Andrei Svechnikov restored the Carolina lead at 6:44, but Victor Eklund one-timed a Schenn feed at 17:13 to make it 3-3 after two.
Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves, and Brandon Bussi stopped 24 for Carolina. The Islanders won 40 of 61 faceoffs but went 0-for-4 on the power play and have lost two straight.
GameScore Impact Card
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at UBS Arena. Face-off is 7:00 PM EST. Then they head west for a three-game California trip: at San Jose on Monday, Los Angeles on Thursday and Anaheim next Saturday, all 10:00 PM EST starts.
📊 STANDINGS
Ben Hutton convinces the Islanders
Ben Hutton arrived on Long Island Monday with a professional tryout and 10 days to prove he deserved a contract.
He needed three.
The Islanders signed the 33-year-old defenseman to a one-year deal for the remainder of the season, giving Pete DeBoer another veteran option while Pulock and Romanov remain unavailable. Hutton impressed quickly enough for the Islanders to abandon the rest of the evaluation period.
The contract carries a reported $900,000 cap hit, a minimal commitment for someone with 575 NHL games and a Stanley Cup on his résumé. Hutton also has history with DeBoer from Vegas, where he turned another low-profile opportunity into several seasons of useful depth work.
He now joins Scott Mayfield and Matt Kessel in the competition for the lower part of the Islanders’ defensive rotation.
How High is the Islanders’ ceiling?
Fourteen games isn’t enough to determine what the Islanders will ultimately become, but Ethan Sears laid out a useful inventory Thursday of what already looks real. Pete DeBoer has brought structure, consistency and — maybe most importantly — belief to a team that has dealt with an absurd number of injuries without falling apart. Victor Eklund belongs in the NHL.
Matthew Schaefer has somehow taken another significant step. Veterans such as Ondrej Palát, Brayden Schenn and Anthony Duclair have provided more than many expected. And Logan Stanley has become a legitimate partner for Schaefer rather than merely an emergency signing.
The unanswered question is much more interesting: what happens when the Islanders start getting healthy? Mathew Barzal hasn’t played. Matias Maccelli was producing before he got hurt. Ryan Pulock and Alexander Romanov have both been unavailable on defense. DeBoer has established a floor by making the Islanders difficult to play against, but the roster has not yet shown whether it has enough elite offense to become something more. That’s the point where Mathieu Darche’s next move starts becoming important.
The Fisherman may still divide Long Island. The rest of hockey apparently loves it.
There’s a funny disconnect surrounding the Islanders’ Hometown Remix jersey. On Long Island, the Fisherman still evokes memories of one of the most awkward periods in franchise history.
Nationally? It ranked fourth among all 32 Hometown Remix jerseys in an independent fan poll involving more than 5,000 voters.
Plenty have made the case that basically enough time has passed to separate the design from everything that surrounded it in 1995. This version also fixes one of the original jersey’s biggest problems by using a cleaner white base while retaining the teal, navy and orange wave motif. The Fisherman didn’t suddenly become less weird. Hockey culture simply caught up to weird being fun.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Mitchell Chaffee’s goal was his first in the NHL since March 4, 2025. Brayden Schenn is the first Islander since Marc Gatcomb (March 1, 2025, vs. Florida) to score on a wrap-around.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On Nov. 6, 1993, the struggling New York Islanders earned a much-needed 5-3 win over the Hartford Whalers at the Nassau Coliseum. After Pierre Turgeon scored on the power play to open the scoring, Travis Green was left alone in front, spun, and beat Mario Gosselin to extend the lead at 4:18. Vladimir Malakhov and Marty McInnis would also score for the Isles, and Ron Hextall made 22 saves in the win. Green added an empty-netter.
📺 Upn The Turnpike: Postgame Recap
🔗 Islanders show flashes of brilliance, but same problems turn up again in loss to Hurricanes by Ethan Sears, New York Post “The Islanders repeatedly fought back against the NHL’s top team but failed to capitalize on four power plays and couldn’t sustain their momentum in the third period. It was a frustrating example of how New York can look dangerous for long stretches while still allowing familiar mistakes to determine the result.”
🔗 Islanders’ Emil Heineman not letting lack of goals impact his play by Joe Pantorno, amNewYork “Heineman has only two goals through 14 games, but he says he has learned not to let a cold scoring stretch consume the rest of his game. His ability to forecheck, defend and play physically has kept him alongside Schenn and Eklund even while his shot volume remains below last season’s pace.”
🔗 Islanders Hometown Remix Jersey Ranks Near The Top Of NHL Fan Vote Of Jerseys by Russell Macias, The Hockey News “The updated white Fisherman finished fourth in a poll ranking all 32 Hometown Remix designs, showing just how dramatically the logo’s reputation has changed outside Long Island. What once represented one of the franchise’s most unpopular eras has become one of hockey’s most recognizable retro looks.”
And we leave you with this…Matthew Schaefer’s fisherman first impression
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The non existent PP killed them once again. How many seasons now has that been? To many. The D zone coverage in front of Varly was also non existent. The 4-3 third period GWG by Carolina was totally preventable. Pageau was THERE but as PK said on the broadcast, you CAN'T JUST BE THERE. All too familiar. Had pageau did ANYTHING like tying up the stick or contact the body of the Carolina player, the odds of that delection goal would have dropped dramatically. Maybe not but at least DO SOMETHING. He did nothing.
It's going to be this way ALL SEASON. I can understand lack of talent, I CAN'T ACCEPT LACK OF EFFORT or lack of fundamentals!