third place in the Metropolitan Division<\/a> \u2014 the last automatic playoff spot \u2014 and just one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for second.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cI expected this,\u201d defenseman Ryan Pulock, another member of that 2021 team who is now working alongside Schaefer on the Islanders\u2019 top defensive pairing, said. \u201cI knew we were capable of it. I think the disappointing past couple of years, with this room and the guys we brought in, I felt that we could be here. But it\u2019s easier said than done. It takes commitment, it takes a lot of work, it takes a lot to put yourself in this position. So I just think we understand that, and now it\u2019s about finding another level to take our game to. There\u2019s more we can do. We can be better. There\u2019s more we can bring.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just have to give ourselves a chance to make the playoffs. That\u2019s our first goal. The second goal is trying to work through the playoffs and find a way to win. But we have to make it there first.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Mathew](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2024-02-09T025029Z_1884237438_MT1USATODAY22476398_RTRMADP_3_NHL-TAMPA-BAY-LIGHTNING-AT-NEW-YORK-ISLA.jpeg\" "\\"Islanders")
Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n
There is something satisfying about all of this for that veteran core, which had been prematurely cast off by many. Mathew Barzal is back to thriving under Patrick Roy and Darche\u2019s aggressive system with 51 points in 57 games. Lee has graciously grown into his third-line role and ranks fourth on the team with 31 points (11 goals, 20 assists). Pulock is already a plus-12 this season after being a plus-5 over the previous two seasons combined, and his 20 assists in 56 games are on pace to set a new career high. Lee\u2019s linemate on the third unit, center Jean-Gabriel Pageau, is on pace to score his most goals since 2021-22 while holding the fifth-best face-off win percentage among all skaters in the NHL who have taken at least 500 draws.<\/p>\n
Then there is goaltender Ilya Sorokin, who will be a significant player in Vezina Trophy talks behind a 2.44 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage, and a league-leading six shutouts.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not surprised. Who cares what happened the year before?\u201d Lee asked. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of stuff that happens. It\u2019s a tight league. You lose three or four games in overtime, you lose four in a row, all of a sudden, it happens quick. It doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re a bad hockey team. So you don\u2019t have to reinvent the wheel. You have to get back to work. I think overall this season, we\u2019ve taken care of some big moments, won games we shouldn\u2019t have, and gotten some big overtime goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose five, six points add up at the end of a hockey season, at the end of 82. I always believe in this group, and regardless of what everyone else thinks, I think that\u2019s the way you have to do it. If you don\u2019t believe in this group, what are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
Just 24 games remain in the Islanders\u2019 regular season, and the last push begins on Thursday night in Montreal against the Canadiens.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had enough practices. It\u2019s nice to compete,\u201d Lee said. \u201cThe stretch we\u2019re going into, our final 24 here, it\u2019s the best part of the year. I love this run, how hard it can be, and the challenges it creates, but also how rewarding it can be.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more on the Islanders, visit AMNY.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dec 11, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders left wing Anders Lee (27) celebrates his goal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5110],"tags":[8493,5,122,3328,159,5190,5189,4,5549,43],"class_list":["post-471696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-new-york-islanders","tag-anders-lee","tag-hockey","tag-islanders","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-islanders","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkislanders","tag-nhl","tag-ryan-pulock","tag-sports"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116133003758311052","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471696","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=471696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471696\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Islanders](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2025-12-12T005856Z_1522137526_MT1USATODAY27795604_RTRMADP_3_NHL-ANAHEIM-DUCKS-AT-NEW-YORK-ISLANDERS..jpeg\" "\\"Islanders")
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