Sign up for the new Hockey Night in New York Patreon at patreon.com/hockeynightny and get 40% off your first month with promo code “ISLESFIX”
Good Morning, Islanders Country.
It’s over. The Isles finished the season with 82 points in 82 games, and while they were an NHL .500 team at 35-35-12, which sounds more respectable than the realization that they skated off losers 47 times in 87 chances.
“This season, I don’t want to say least competitive, but it’s the team that had the least threat of advancing, making the playoffs.” Thomas Hickey said after the game. “To the eye test … less of a threat of winning over the past three years.”
In other words, the Islanders are going in the wrong direction.
The team needs more youth and speed, just as they have after each of the last five or six seasons. We’re supposed to believe that change is coming because GM Lou Lamoriello said so back in March, but there’s always change. The moment calls for a material, franchise-altering change, and I’m just not sure that’s happening.
You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse, and there’s no debate as to which category the Islanders are headed. It was their worst 82-game regular season finish since the 2017-18 season (80 points). That season led to a long-overdue change in the front office that brought Lamoriello to Long Island. It’s hard to find reasons why, other sentimental and unrealistic ones, why this season’s results shouldn’t end with the same type of change.
Let’s dive in.
🏒 IN SHORT: Cole Sillinger and Zach Werenski each had a goal and an assist and the Columbus Blue Jackets routed the New York Islanders 6–1 on Thursday night in the final game of the season for both teams. Dante Fabbro, Dmitri Voronkov, Sean Kuraly and Adam Fantilli also scored for the Blue Jackets (40-33-9), who won six straight to end the season and tied a franchise record with 57 home points. Jet Greaves stopped 36 shots and was 5:12 from his third straight shutout. Hudson Fasching scored and Marcus Hogberg made 19 saves for the Islanders (35-35-12). They finished with 82 points, good for sixth in the Metro.
KEY MOMENT(s):
🔻 Fabbro made it 2-0 at 7:43 with his second goal in as many games. Jordan Harris kept the puck in the zone and passed to Fabbo for a wrist shot.
🔻 Late in the 3rd, Werenski pushed the lead to 5-0 at 17:27 on a 3-on-1, scoring from low in the right circle off a Sean Monahan pass.
3 REACTIONS
❶ NOT THE RESULT: “Not the result we wanted at all,” Captain Anders Lee said. “We gave too many odd-man rushes. They’re a skilled team that puts them in when they get them.”
❷ APPRECIATION: “I appreciate that,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said of Columbus staying out to shake Martin’s hand. “It’s nice what they did for Martin, and he deserved that. He did so much for this organization, he’s been great for the game.”
❸ GRINDED THINGS OUT: “We have to regroup in some form, individually and as a team,” said Lee. “Lot to reflect on and learn from here. We grinded this thing out and weren’t able to pull ourselves above water and give ourselves a chance. Everyone has to go home, get themselves ready for the fall and get ready to go after this thing again.”
GAME IMPACT SCORE
📰 NEWS: With the loss, the Islanders clinched the 10th spot in the NHL Draft Lottery, which gives them a 3.5% chance of winning the lottery and the No. 1 pick.
The Sting of Missing Out
As the Islanders closed out a disappointing 2024–25 season, that all-too-familiar empty feeling of missing the playoffs settled in. For the first time since 2022, the Islanders won’t be part of the postseason dance—and that sting, as Bo Horvat put it, “just becomes motivation for next year.”
🎙️ Bo Horvat Gets Honest
No stranger to playoff disappointment from his time in Vancouver, Horvat didn’t sugarcoat the reality: “Missing the playoffs stinks… It’s a crappy feeling playing meaningless games. Tonight, we wish we were playing for something like we were the last couple of years.”
Asked whether the team’s mix needs to change, Horvat answered candidly but diplomatically: “It’s not up to me… You never want to see anybody go. But it’s a business, right? We need to find ways to improve our team. For me, it’s working hard in the summer, trying to be better and come back and be a difference maker. I think I can play better. I’ve got more in the tank.”
From Question Mark to Ironman
Not too long ago, Kyle Palmieri was widely considered injury-prone. In his first two seasons with the Islanders, he missed 68 games, battling through a lower-body injury and two separate stints in concussion protocol. During that stretch, the once-reliable scorer tallied just 33 goals in 141 games, and questions mounted about his long-term role on the roster.
For a player entering his 30s, and after GM Lou Lamoriello chose to protect Palmieri over Jordan Eberle in the 2021 Expansion Draft, it felt like a gamble gone wrong. But then… Palmieri flipped the script and has now played all 82 games in consecutive seasons.
When Lamoriello chose not to move Palmieri at the trade deadline—despite interest around the league—it wasn’t just about loyalty. It was a calculated decision. While an extension hasn’t materialized yet, many around the organization believe it’s still on the table. And with Palmieri’s durability and consistency over the last two seasons, he suddenly looks like a safe bet to continue producing into his mid-30s.
Boom Goes The Butchie
During the pre-game, Butch Goring was startled by the Columbus cannon, leading to a funny reaction. He would then hear the cannon six more times.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, the Isles finished at NHL-.500 for the first time since 1993-94, when they went 36-36-12 in an 84-game season (that was good enough to make the playoffs that time). Either Anders Lee (4x) or Brock Nelson (5x) has led the Isles in goals for the last nine seasons. Noah Dobson shared the team lead in assists after leading outright last season. It is only the second time in eight seasons that Mathew Barzal, who missed 52 games, did not have at least a share of the club point lead. Despite missing 17 games, Scott Mayfield led the team and matched a career-best with a +18 rating.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On April 17, 1987, the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals played the longest Game 7 in NHL history, forever known as the Easter Epic. The game started on Saturday night but ended just before 2 a.m. on Easter Sunday. Future Hall-of-Famer Pat LaFontaine scored the winner at 8:47 of the 4OT, spinning and firing a shot past a screened Caps goalie Bob Mason for the dramatic win that remains etched in hockey lore. Isles’ bandana-wearing goaltender Kelly Hrudey made 73 saves in the epic win.
🔗 The numbers behind the Islanders’ undoing and what they mean for the future by Ethan Sears, New York Post “Excuse us for getting some end-of-season content out before the season is technically over. Even with one last game left before things officially wrap, the Islanders facing the Blue Jackets on Thursday night, it felt like time to start taking some big-picture looks at the season and how things went so wrong for the Islanders. So we’re starting with 10 stats that told the story of the season.”
🔗 Islanders Clinch Top-10 Lottery Odds At 2025 NHL Draft by Michael Ostrower, The Hockey News “The New York Islanders will enter the NHL draft lottery with the 10th-best odds of moving into a top-two pick. They will have a 3.5% chance of landing the first overall pick and a 3.7% chance of landing second overall. There is a 73.3% chance the team remains at the 10th-overall slot, while an 18.4% chance of moving to 11th and a 0.9% chance of falling to 12th.”
And we leave you with this ….see you next time, Islanders Country
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter for regular updates until the next newsletter.
And please check out our newsletters about the Knicks and Mets, too.