If the Islanders don’t watch out, they are going to have a playoff race on their hands.
Such is the state of play following Saturday’s 5-0 loss to the Sabres in which the Islanders were utterly embarrassed on home ice, their power play dysfunctional and their top line benched for the entire third period.
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The loss means that, if the Flyers beat the Islanders on Monday night in Philadelphia, they will move ahead of New York for third in the Metropolitan Division on points percentage, with the loser below the playoff cutline entirely.
The schedule has been unforgiving to the Islanders, but nevertheless, this is not the position they imagined themselves in a few weeks ago.
It is, though, exactly what they deserve at the moment.
Jason Zucker of the Buffalo Sabres is greeted by his teammates on the bench after scoring a goal during the second period when the New York Islanders played the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, January 24, 2026 at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY. Robert Sabo for NY Post
“I felt good about our game,” coach Patrick Roy said, “until they scored that second goal.”
That second goal, with Zach Benson feeding Tage Thompson on an odd-man rush where Mathew Barzal and Anthony Duclair failed to backcheck in the dying embers of the second period, sucked the life out of the crowd and sucked the life out of the Islanders.
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The entire top line — Barzal, Duclair and Anders Lee — was benched for the whole third period as a result, and the Islanders gave no semblance of coming back. At that point, the afternoon became about the message Roy was trying to send more than salvaging a result.
“It sends a big message,” Casey Cizikas said. “… Guys gotta be responsible. They gotta be held accountable. That’s what Patty did.”
Up until then, the moments in which they could have seized hold of this one were myriad.
There was Tony DeAngelo’s shot off the rush late in the first period that Alex Lyon stretched over to make a great save on; there was Max Shabanov’s backhand in front; there were a trio of shorthanded rushes all on the same Buffalo power play; there were two Islander power plays that amounted to nothing at all; there was a Cizikas goal wiped off for interference and a Barzal goal that came right after the first period buzzer.
Casey Cizikas’ goal was overturned in the Islanders’ loss to the Sabres. Robert Sabo for NY Post
That was all before Buffalo scored for a second time, and the afternoon went to hell.
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The dam broke in the third, with Zucker scoring again inside of 30 seconds before Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch poured it on late, all with the top line sitting and watching.
“The standard here is to win,” Roy said. “And I hope it does because I think Barzy’s a leader on this team. Unfortunately for Anders, he was on that line. Sometimes you gotta take it for the team.”
The power play, whose units were changed up to try to achieve equilibrium following Bo Horvat’s return, is worth dwelling on. Patrick Roy did succeed in creating two equal units: they were just both equally bad.
David Rittich of the New York Islanders reacts after he allows a goal to score during the third period. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Duclair and Cal Ritchie, who had combined for the Islanders’ past three power-play goals, were no longer on the same unit. Neither were Matthew Schaefer and Barzal. The result was two units that could hardly complete one zone entry between them.
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Horvat, in his first game back from a lower-body injury, did not seem to be missing much of a step.
Ditto Isaiah George in his season debut for the Isles following a call-up in place of Ryan Pulock, though his partner, Adam Boqvist, had a nightmare performance.
In that regard, he was not alone.