{"id":415785,"date":"2026-01-19T10:35:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T10:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/415785\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T10:35:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T10:35:18","slug":"islanders-week-ahead-schedule-storylines-horvats-hopeful-return-playoff-push-and-more-the-hockey-writers-new-york-islanders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/415785\/","title":{"rendered":"Islanders Week Ahead: Schedule & Storylines – Horvat’s Hopeful Return, Playoff Push and More – The Hockey Writers – New York Islanders"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Islanders are in the midst of a critical stretch of their season, navigating significant injuries while fighting for playoff positioning in the Metropolitan Division. Here are their key storylines and upcoming schedule for the week of Jan. 18-25, 2026.<\/p>\n

Bo Horvat Still Sidelined<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s leading goal scorer and top-line center, Bo Horvat, is out with a lower-body injury. He did not join the team for the current Western road trip. The team hopes he can return<\/a> for the first home game back on Jan. 24 against the Buffalo Sabres, but his absence leaves a massive hole in the offense that players like Mathew Barzal<\/a> and Jean-Gabriel Pageau<\/a> are trying to fill.<\/p>\n

Ilya Sorokin\u2019s Vezina-Caliber Play<\/p>\n

Goaltender Ilya Sorokin has been the team\u2019s MVP, recently recording his league-leading fifth shutout<\/a> of the season against the Edmonton Oilers. With the defense thinned by injuries (including Alexander Romanov being out for the season), Sorokin\u2019s elite performance is the primary reason the Islanders remain in the playoff hunt.<\/p>\n

The \u201cWestern Gauntlet\u201d Road Trip<\/p>\n

The team is currently finishing a grueling road trip through Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest. After a win in Edmonton and a loss in Calgary, they face two more difficult tests (Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken) before finally returning to UBS Arena.<\/p>\n

Playoff Push<\/p>\n

Despite the injuries, the Islanders are holding onto a playoff spot, sitting 2nd in the Metropolitan Division just two points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Their playoff odds currently sit around 62%<\/a> according to MoneyPuck, making this week\u2019s points crucial to stay above the cut line.<\/p>\n

Islanders Schedule Jan. 18 \u2013 25<\/p>\n

DateOpponentTime (ET)VenueMon, Jan. 19@ Vancouver Canucks10:00 PMRogers ArenaWed, Jan. 21@ Seattle Kraken9:30 PMClimate Pledge ArenaSat, Jan. 24vs. Buffalo Sabres1:00 PMUBS Arena<\/p>\n

AI tools were used to support the creation or distribution of this content, however, it has been carefully edited and fact-checked by a member of The Hockey Writers editorial team. For more information on our use of AI, please visit our Editorial Standards<\/a> page.<\/p>\n

\"SUBSCRIBE<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Islanders are in the midst of a critical stretch of their season, navigating significant injuries…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415786,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5110],"tags":[3669,5,277,122,3328,159,5190,5189,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-415785","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-islanders","8":"tag-bo-horvat","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-ilya-sorokin","11":"tag-islanders","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-islanders","14":"tag-newyork","15":"tag-newyorkislanders","16":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115921324068571778","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}