Good Morning, Islanders Country.
There is a temptation that comes with every opening night. You wait six months for hockey to return, spend three weeks dissecting meaningless preseason games, and convince yourself you’ve figured out what your team will be.
And then you watch one game.
Suddenly, you know everything.
Except you don’t.
Remember, the Islanders lost their first three games last season before becoming one of the NHL’s surprise teams. For a while, anyway. Until they weren’t. But I digress.
The point is, whatever you thought about the Islanders after Wednesday’s opener in Toronto, and whatever happens Saturday night in their home opener, it probably isn’t time to start drawing conclusions.
Especially without Mathew Barzal.
Have you looked at those forward combinations? It’s difficult not to grimace. Not because there aren’t capable NHL players in the lineup, but because losing one player makes the entire group look considerably thinner. And if it looks that way on paper, it’s even more obvious when they’re on the ice.
Barzal carries the puck through the neutral zone, gains the offensive zone, and makes everyone around him a little more dangerous. Without him, the Islanders have to work considerably harder to manufacture offense.
Fortunately, Mathieu Darche offered encouraging news. Barzal could begin skating this weekend or early next week, and the general manager doesn’t believe he’ll need much practice time before returning.
That’s the good news.
The bad news? Until then, we’re evaluating an Islanders team that isn’t the team we expect to watch this season. And even when Barzal returns, give him a few games. He’s missed training camp. Pete DeBoer is installing a new system. Chemistry doesn’t magically appear because your most talented forward puts his skates back on.
There will be plenty of time to judge these Islanders.
Just not yet.
Duclair Flashes
Anthony Duclair has spent two seasons trying to become what the Islanders envisioned when they signed him. Injuries, inconsistency, and stretches of disappearing made that increasingly difficult to picture.
Wednesday offered a reminder. Duclair was one of the Islanders’ most noticeable forwards in the 2-1 loss, skating with pace, creating one of their best offensive chances, and eventually earning a promotion from the fourth line because DeBoer believed his legs could help the top six.
One good game doesn’t erase the previous two years. It also shouldn’t be dismissed simply because the Islanders lost. Duclair’s skill set is exactly what this lineup still lacks in places: speed that backs defenders off and enough individual creativity to make something happen without a perfectly constructed possession.
If Wednesday becomes normal rather than notable, suddenly DeBoer has another legitimate top-nine option instead of a contract he has to find somewhere to hide. For a team still looking for offense while Barzal is out, Duclair becoming useful again could feel like adding a player without making a trade.
Barzal Timetable Revealed
Mathieu Darche delivered the most encouraging Mathew Barzal update yet.
Barzal is expected to begin skating this weekend or early next week after making what Darche described as “really, really good progress” with the inflammation in his knee. He hasn’t skated in roughly two weeks and missed all of training camp, but the Islanders don’t believe he’ll require a traditional multi-week ramp-up once he gets back onto the ice.
“Barzal is not a guy that needs three weeks to get ready,” Darche said. “You give him a few practices and he’ll be good to go.” That’s the optimistic part.
The actual checkpoint comes afterward: how does the knee respond once Barzal starts skating hard again? If the inflammation stays down, the timeline could accelerate quickly. If it returns, everything changes. For an Islanders offense that looked awfully ordinary without him Wednesday, there probably isn’t a more important early-season medical update.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders host the New Jersey Devils in their home opener on Saturday night at UBS Arena. Face-off is set for 7:30 PM EST.
📊 STANDINGS:
Blank Check?
Matthew Schaefer played exactly one game of the second year of his entry-level contract Wednesday. Naturally, we’re already discussing whether his next one could begin with a $20 million-plus annual salary.
Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek and Isles’ beat reporter Stefen Rosner kicked around what an extension might eventually look like in a salary-cap environment where teams are paying young stars earlier and earlier. Rosner said he doesn’t expect Schaefer to take a conventional hometown discount and suggested that on a shorter deal, $21–22 million may not be impossible.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per NHL Edge Stats, Matthew Schaefer, who's 19 years old, had the fastest max skating speed (22.97 mph) across the NHL on Wednesday night & also led the slate in total skating distance (4.26 miles).
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On October 2, 2009, the Islanders named Doug Weight as the 12th captain in franchise history. Weight previously served as an alternate captain the year prior under Bill Guerin before wearing the "C" for two seasons.
Weight capped his playing career by winning the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, given annually to the player who "best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community."
📺 A Timelapse of a Minecraft Nassau Coliseum
🔗 Islanders’ In-Game Line Changes On Opening Night Show Pete DeBoer Won’t Wait To Make Adjustments by Stefen Rosner, The Hockey News “I thought Duke had good legs tonight. I thought he had some juice, so I wanted to get him up with some better players.”
🔗 Islanders rookie Victor Eklund holds own versus Auston Matthews’ line by Ethan Sears, New York Post “I thought he got better as the game went on,” Pete DeBoer said after Eklund’s NHL debut, which included significant minutes against Auston Matthews and Toronto’s top line.
And we leave you with this…the Islanders dropped their hometown remix jersey schedule; the sweaters themselves will drop in early November.
Thanks for reading! Follow us on X for regular updates until the next newsletter.
And please check out our newsletters about the Knicks and Mets, too.
