The 2025-26 New York Islanders have run into their ceiling, falling short of a goal that didn\u2019t seem realistic before Matthew Schaefer put up a historic rookie season and Ilya Sorokin bounced back with a Vezina year in the face of a steady stream of high-danger chances. (And we shouldn\u2019t forget the secondary assist from their never-to-be-repeated 10-0 overtime record. They didn\u2019t fix the power play but they did fix that.)<\/p>\n
By running out of steam in the final weeks, the Islanders deprived the franchise of two or three games of playoff revenue, robbed us of some postseason fun (and heartache, always heartache), and kept Schaefer from getting an early taste of postseason intensity. But they also probably spared us the traditional first-round humbling by the Hurricanes or, worse, a tough first-round loss to an in-form Penguins team whose greatest 2025-26 contribution will be driving more people in Toronto mad over the Shanahan-Dubas-yada-yada turning point.<\/p>\n
Standings points in the no-tie, 3-on-3, shootout-and-hotdog-eating-contest era of deciding regular season \u201cwinners\u201d are always a little bit smoke and mirrors. But last night when I switched my standings view from \u201cWild Card\u201d to \u201cLeague\u201d to resume assessing where the Islanders are likely to pick in the draft, I was struck by the fact their 91 points \u2014 even amid a 3-7 slump \u2014 was still ahead of the Western playoff-bound Oilers, Mammoth and Ducks. No no no, my conference doesn\u2019t suck, your conference sucks.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s small comfort that will soon be moot and forgotten, but each of those teams has 9 or 10 OT wins, too. The Islanders: Flawed like some other interesting teams!<\/p>\n
And what\u2019s better, this season Schaefer has shown they have something incredible to build off of, hopefully while Ilya Sorokin (who, don\u2019t look now, turns 31 next year) can still be a game changer. Dear Mathieu Darche, please don\u2019t Chiarelli, Holland or Bowman this up, and maybe introduce young Schaef-daddy to Connor McDavid this summer, okay?<\/p>\n