The New York Islanders have lost their last 2 games and have started to slip down the Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division standings, but that is not even the worst part. The Islanders now will be without Kyle Palmieri, one of their good veteran forwards, for the rest of the season as he is set to undergo ACL surgery.
#Isles Injury Update: Kyle Palmieri will get surgery to repair an ACL tear in his left knee. He is out 6-8 months. https://t.co/1jtSjmalPU
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) November 29, 2025
Palmieri got hurt in the Islanders’ recent loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. He was able to steal the puck after he got hurt and send a pass over to forward Emil Heineman who shot and scored. It was pretty remarkable that he was able to get up and make a sweet pass as he was skating off the ice in pain and pick up an assist before going down the runway.
Kyle Palmieri after getting hurt on the boards, stole the puck while heading to the bench, got the assist and then went to the dressing room ðŸ˜ðŸš¨ pic.twitter.com/EBg7ugtYwc
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 28, 2025
The Islanders will now have to do what they can to navigate without Palmieri and figure out how to replace his scoring production and leadership. Head coach Patrick Roy is going to have his hands full trying to replace Palmieri, but he has time and options.
One of the main forces behind the Islanders offense and their leadership, Mat Barzal and company are going to have to step up in Palmieri’s absence for the rest of the year. Roy has counted on Palmieri and Barzal among others to be the leader of the team, but now Barzal is really going to have to kick it into high gear.
When someone thinks of star players and the New York Islanders in general, usually Barzal’s name is brought up. Barzal is that guy that can really light up the scoresheet and bring that leadership and veteran presence that a team needs to be able to make a deep playoff run towards the end of the year.
Nov 22, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal (13) controls the puck in the second period against the St. Louis Blues at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
It is going to be a struggle for the Islanders to make a push for the playoffs without Palmieri as he is one of those guys that usually scores a ton of clutch goals towards the end of a season and in the playoffs. But Barzal now is going to have to gather the troops and be that guy to help the offense figure things out.
If anybody can lead this Islanders team to the playoffs and make sure the team is scoring goals and winning games, it’s Barzal. Barzal can definitely be the leader of the locker room and pick up where Palmieri left off, there is still a ton of season left to do so.