News Islanders Team Notes

Islanders Back-to-Back Gameday: Eyes on the Cats

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It wasn’t pretty (other than Ilya Sorokin’s saves and Calum Ritchie’s cheeky finish), but the Isles pulled it off again to collect two regulation points and stun the Lightning in Tampa. Their march against recent Cup winners and their back-to-back weekend continues early this evening with a visit to the Panthers.

Florida is also playing back-to-back, though without travel, after getting past the Blue Jackets in a wild 7-6 OT affair yesterday that Columbus coach Dean Evason called “a joke.”

J-G Pageau is a candidate to return, though Jonathan Drouin is not.

First Islanders Goal picks go here.

Islanders News​

  • Sorokin earned his 25th regular season shutout— and boy do we mean earn, keeping the Isles in it until they could pounce — to tie Chico Resch for the franchise mark. [LHH | Newsday]
  • “Statement” wins this week against the Avs and Lightning… [THN]
  • “Every time I look at [Sorokin and his longtime goalie coach], it reminds me of the relationship I had with Francois Allaire when I was in Montreal,” says Patrick Roy. “I think it means a lot for a goalie to have a connection with a goalie coach. That’s exactly what’s going on for him right now.” [Post]
  • Ritchie’s goal: Not “goal of the year” but still damn impressive. [NHL]
  • The Skinny: “The Isles moved into 3rd place in the Metro (and 3rd place in the East), and are just two points behind the first place Caps…Five points separate the eight teams in the Metro, and three points separate 2nd-8th.“ [Isles]
  • J-G Pageau is so close to returning, he might even appear tonight. [Isles | THN | NHL]
  • Speaking of Roy and relationships, his dad is joining him on this fathers trip. [Newsday]
  • Mathieu Darche’s brother is enjoying it, too. [Isles]
  • Behind the affable smile, Darche is fiery competitive. [Newsday]
  • In their first visit since exiting Tampa, Darche and equipment manager Jason Berger received the videoboard tribute treatment from the Lightning. [THN]
  • Islanders legend and one-time Devil Zach Parise reflects on his route to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, recalls lessons from his dad J.P. [NHL]

Elsewhere​


Saturday’s dozen games also included the Rangers taking the Avalanche to OT, the Bruins defeating the Devils. Everyone in the East is going to be crowded this Christmastime.

  • How today’s opponent, riddled with injuries, could miss the playoffs. [Sportsnet]
  • Meanwhile, their fellow Cup finals counterpart may be emerging from their early season mediocrity? [TSN]
  • Somewhere buried in this Tim Horton’s ad is info about Winnipeg hosting the Canadiens for the next outdoor Heritage Classic. [NHL]
  • Fellow “everyone loses this trade” party Aatu Raty gets his first three-point game. [NHL]
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Source: https://www.lighthousehockey.com/is...465/islanders-gameday-panthers-sorokin-parise
 
Panthers 4 (EN), Islanders 1: UNSYNC

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The Islanders couldn’t complete the Florida sweep, though all things considered they can come away marginally pleased to have exited the back-to-back with a couple points. They finished it with a 4-1 loss to the Panthers that they described as “out of sync,” while a positive-looking Patrick Roy said they can take away some learning experiences from the Cup champs.

[NHL Gamecenter | Game Summary | Event Summary | Natural Stat Trick]

After a fella who goes by the name of Uvis Balinskis gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead in the first, Max Shabanov had an oopsy in the second to allow one-that-got-away Carter Verhaeghe to make it 2-0.

Petry with the elite poke!

Verhaeghe with 6 goals in his last 6 games. pic.twitter.com/cfRSjzpeA1

— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) December 7, 2025
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Two minutes after that one, Mat Barfzal scored another backhand goal to keep the Isles in it and give them some spirit. Great netfront disruption by Anders Lee and yet another assist (13) for Matthew Schaefer:

Mat Barzal on the backhand! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/976dakFbge

— Islanders Videos (@SNY_Islanders) December 7, 2025
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If they were going to pull this off, it was likely going to be like the win in Tampa where the Isles hung around long enough for a smash-and-grab. But that never happened.

Despite only mustering three shots in the third period, they weren’t totally out of it until deep in the final frame when Seth Jones restored the Panthers’ two-goal lead at 4-on-4. Coverage on the play was a perplexing mixup for Schaefer and Tony DeAngelo:

#Islanders 1 @ #Panthers 3 [P3-6:03]:

Goal: Seth Jones (5)
24’ Wrister

Assists: A.Lundell (15), S.Reinhart (12)#Isles #TimeToHunt #NHL pic.twitter.com/uVpE7c1U3Z

— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalsVideo) December 8, 2025
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Patrick Roy frames this as a good learning experience for #Isles against a Cup-tested team. And a good learning experience for Max Shabanov on the speed of the game.

— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) December 8, 2025
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With Dave Rittich pulled for a sixth attacker, Sam Reinhart sealed it into the empty net with just under three minutes to go, allowing us all to get back to our Sunday evening.

Lineup Notes​

  • Despite some rumblings stirred by Mathieu Darche’s media update, J-G Pageau did not return to the lineup. Sounds like he’ll be in this week though.
  • Travis Mitchell slotted back in for Adam Boqvist, who didn’t get the chance to face his brother and his old team. Mitchell was minus-2 in 13 minutes.
  • After his miscues leading to the Verhaeghe goal, Shabanov and Simon Holmstrom were swapped between the second and third lines.

Up Next​


As the Isles return home, the fun continues with a visit from Vegas Tuesday night, the upstart Ducks on Thursday and one more meeting with the Lightning — who will surely be out for blood — on Saturday.
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Source: https://www.lighthousehockey.com/game-recaps/43470/panthers-4-en-islanders-1-unsync
 
Islanders Anxiety – Episode 350 – They Proved Us Wrong

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Mike and Dan enjoy being proven wrong by the Islanders, who won three of their tough games this week before losing to the Panthers on Sunday afternoon.

Last week, things were not looking good. The Islanders had squandered much of their homestand on losses and had a run of games against recent Stanley Cup champions on the horizon. But using a more balanced attack – including from a new, actual fourth line – and some dominant goaltending, they beat Tampa Bay twice and Colorado, who had only lost once this season. The games against the Lightning and Avalanche were some of the most fun this season, even if Saturday’s 2-0 win at [whatever it’s called] Arena in Tampa was also nerve-wracking. Even Adam Pelech, of all people, got in on the scoring fun. The games were so good for our psyche that losing to the Panthers in a sludgy Sunday matinee didn’t even bother us.

In the second half, we look at tricky upcoming games against the Golden Knights, Ducks and Lightning – again! – for the final time this season. They can win them if they keep using their new identity. We also discuss the delights of Brock Nelson’s return to UBS Arena and the induction of Pat LaFontaine into the Islanders Hall of Fame coming up on Saturday. Finally, we thank you for letting us do this for 350 episodes (so far) and for giving us another great year of growth and laughs. We hope you’re having as good a time as are.

REFERENCES


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PLUGS!​

  • Vintage Ice Hockey for t-shirts, hoodies and jerseys with hundreds of classic hockey logos, as well as the full line of Islanders Anxiety merch. As always our portion of those sales go directly to the Center for Dementia Research.
  • The Pinot Project has a Rosé, a Pinot Grigio and a Wine Enthusiast Best Buy Pinot Noir, all under $15 a bottle. Available at local wine stores and UBS Arena.
  • Visit Lighthousehockey.com for the most up-to-date Islanders news and discussion.
  • Islanders Anxiety podcasts are part of the Fans First Sports Network (@FansFirstSN).

Theme song: “Morning Haze” by Family Dinner. Hear more of their music on Spotify.


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Source: https://www.lighthousehockey.com/is...ghtning-avalanche-brock-nelson-pat-lafontaine
 
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