This was exactly the offensive outburst the Islanders needed, at the exact time they needed it.
Their madcap 5-4 win over the Golden Knights on Tuesday night at UBS, with Emil Heineman netting the shootout winner, had such a long list of storylines that by the end of it, Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s return to the lineup was almost an afterthought.
Pageau’s newly constructed line with Mat Barzal and Anders Lee was, in fact, the only one not to score for the Islanders, though that is no indictment of their efforts.
Bo Horvat’s two-goal performance constituted his best game in the last few weeks. It was also the night when Simon Holmstrom broke a goal drought that had gone on 17 games, and another night in which the fourth line contributed at a high level.
New York Islanders celebrate a win by New York Islanders left wing Emil Heineman (51) to end the game with a shootout when the New York Islanders played the Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Matthew Schaefer, after a tough weekend in Florida, was back looking like himself again, too — up ice on nearly every shift, dancing at the blue line, facilitating opportunities. He and Ryan Pulock played nearly 30 minutes of sterling hockey.
The Islanders’ resilience was there, too, and in droves after Pavel Dorofeyev tied the game late in regulation to send the game to the extra period.
“That was a team effort,” coach Patrick Roy said, “in every regard.”
In other words, this was not, as it has too often been lately, Ilya Sorokin against the world. Sorokin, instead, had to overcome a shaky first period in which his rebound control was off and after which the Isles trailed 2-0. He, and the team, rose to the occasion.
New York Islanders center Bo Horvat (14) scores during the first period when the New York Islanders played the Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025 at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY. Robert Sabo for NY Post
“I think we have the opportunity to beat any team,” Horvat said. “I think we’ve got a group in here to do it every single night. Everybody’s buying into what we’re trying to do here. It’s been a huge part of our success.”
The Islanders led 3-2 going into the third period, which was when the game flew straight off the rails.
Ivan Barbashev tied it up for the Knights just 1:27 into the third, diving past Schaefer and chipping the puck past Sorokin.
Simon Holmstrom celebrates with teammates after scoring a second-period goal in the Islanders’ win over the Golden Knights. Robert Sabo for New York Post
After Dorofeyev hooked Anthony Duclair at 8:44 of the third, the Islanders buzzed around Carter Hart’s crease until Horvat finally broke through with Barzal feeding him a one-timer at 10:15 of the period for his second goal of the night.
The Knights got a lifeline with 2:21 to go, though, when Adam Pelech took a delay of game call. The Islanders had absorbed pressure since taking the lead, but it was now a matter of Sorokin and of the penalty kill.
Sorokin had started the night shaky. Here, however, he was note-perfect, denying a series of chances at the crease to help kill off the penalty.
That, however, was for naught. Instead of tying it at five-on-four, the Knights did so at six-on-five, with Dorofeyev stuffing in Mitch Marner’s rebound with 12 seconds to go.
The Islanders’ penalty kill came up big again in overtime after Kyle MacLean was called for a high stick with three seconds left in regulation. This time, they were not left hanging, as Sorokin bested Hart in the skills competition, stopping all four Vegas attempts before Heineman scored to end it.
Ilya Sorokin makes a save during the first period of the Islanders’ win over the Golden Knights. Robert Sabo for New York Post
“You just gotta stick with it,” Pulock said. “You can’t sit back. And obviously taking a penalty late, having to kill it in overtime. Whatever it takes is kinda the mindset.”
Horvat, who had struggled to get going offensively over the weekend, got things started for the Islanders at four-on-four late in the first period, wiring a one-timer from Pulock to cut into a 2-0 Vegas lead.
Marc Gatcomb, recipient of another game in the lineup with Max Tsyplakov coming out instead for Pageau, made good on that decision at 3:56 of the second when he put in Casey Cizikas’ acrobatic cross-crease feed to tie the game.
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Ten minutes later, Cal Ritchie threaded a feed through traffic to Holmstrom on the rush, and the Swede lasered in a wrist shot for the 3-2 lead — his first goal in 17 games and his first point in 14.
And that was only the simple part of the night.
“Resiliency,” Roy said, “was probably the No. 1 thing.”