Ilya Sorokin and Matthew Schaefer Keep the Injury-Battered New York Islanders Afloat at 7-6

Through 65 tense minutes of regulation and overtime plus seven nerve-wracking shootout rounds in San Jose on Monday night, Ilya Sorokin lunged from post to post trying to rescue two standings points before an eighth-round decider handed the New York Islanders a 3-2 defeat. Walking down the SAP Center tunnel with a lone consolation point extended a frustrating slide, yet nobody inside that room questioned why Long Island remains competitive.

Seventeen games into head coach Pete DeBoer's first autumn at the helm, the Islanders sit 7-6 with four overtime or shootout setbacks, clinging to fifth place in the Metropolitan Division. Stripped of dynamic pivot Mathew Barzal and two top-four defensemen, New York is surviving on Sorokin's .914 save percentage, emerging blueliner Matthew Schaefer's 12 assists, and relentless shorthanded grit entering Thursday night's road test in Los Angeles.

Pete DeBoer's Battered Lineup Treads Water in Close Divisional Battles

Installing Pete DeBoer behind the bench was meant to modernize Long Island's offensive-zone activation without sacrificing its hardened playoff identity. Instead, DeBoer has spent the opening six weeks managing triage while squeezing standings points out of razor-thin margins. Four overtime or shootout losses—tied for the third-highest total in the NHL—tell the story of a roster tough enough to push opponents past 60 minutes yet short on healthy game-breakers to seal extra-time wins.

Recent results illustrate both that resilience and the strain on defensive coverage: a 5-3 loss to league-leading Carolina last Thursday, a wild 5-4 overtime defeat against surging New Jersey on Saturday, and Monday's 3-2 shootout heartbreaker in San Jose. Holding a 7-6 mark and a +3 overall goal differential despite missing half an All-Star lineup speaks to DeBoer's structural steadiness, even as underlying shot totals flash warning signs. Offensive playmaking depth has understandably dried up amid the injury wave, leaving Long Island 29th in the NHL with just 78 team assists and forcing Horvat's unit to manufacture individual rush looks out of defensive-zone faceoff wins.

Matthew Schaefer's Breakout and Veteran Additions Reshaping the Depth Chart

No storyline on Long Island shines brighter than young defenseman Matthew Schaefer (#48), who has vaulted onto the top pairing beside towering 6-foot-7 newcomer Logan Stanley and leads the entire team with 12 assists. Schaefer's effortless edgework and poise walking the offensive blue line have cushioned the absence of veteran anchors, while Adam Pelech pairs with offensive blueliner Tony DeAngelo on the second unit ahead of Ben Hutton, Matthew Kessel, and Scott Mayfield.

Up front, Bo Horvat shoulders massive two-way responsibility, pacing the Islanders with seven goals and 17 points between clever winger Simon Holmstrom and veteran finisher Kyle Palmieri. Summer and recent roster reshaping imported championship-tested center Brayden Schenn to pivot emerging winger Victor Eklund and Emil Heineman on the second line, while veteran Ondrej Palat and speedy Anthony Duclair flank Jean-Gabriel Pageau on the third unit above fourth-line grinders Casey Cizikas, Kyle MacLean, and Mitchell Chaffee.

Sorokin's .908 Team Save Percentage Masks a 28th-Ranked Shot Differential

Peeling back the box scores exposes how heavily New York leans on Ilya Sorokin (.914 personal save percentage) and veteran backup Semyon Varlamov. Collectively, the Islanders own the NHL's third-best team save percentage at .908, fueling a 2.94 goals-against average (10th league-wide) despite surrendering 29.1 shots per contest against just 25.8 shots generated. That 47.0 percent five-on-five shot share and minus-56 shot differential (28th in the NHL) have pushed New York's five-on-five PDO—even-strength shooting plus save percentage—to an elevated 101.7.

Because PDO figures above 101.4 carry negative regression risk if crease magic dips even slightly, DeBoer cannot afford to leave Sorokin under constant siege. Fortunately, elite detail work in specialized phases keeps Long Island afloat: the Islanders rank second in the NHL in faceoff win rate (56.3 percent), sixth in puck security (just 256 giveaways), and fourth in penalty killing at a lockdown 86.7 percent, offsetting a sluggish 15.4 percent power play (tied for 28th) to post a respectable 102.1 percent Special Teams Net Index. Impressively, that fourth-ranked penalty kill has weathered 60 shorthanded situations (tied for 11th most in the league) while scoring two shorthanded goals and allowing zero shorthanded goals against on the power play—a vital buffer given New York has drawn just 52 man-advantage opportunities (tied for 24th).

Surviving Without Barzal, Pulock, and Romanov Until Reinforcements Arrive

Evaluating New York's 28th-ranked power play and 2.82 goals per game (tied for 25th) requires acknowledging one of the league's heaviest injury ledgers. Dynamic playmaker Mathew Barzal resides on injured reserve with a knee injury (eligible November 14), though his presence traveling on the current California trip signals an encouraging step toward returning after posting 19 goals and 53 assists last season. Playmaking winger Matias Maccelli (six points in eight outings) also sits on IR with a lower-body injury (eligible November 14) after skating in a red no-contact jersey.

Compounding the forward crunch—which also has young center Calum Ritchie on IR with a lower-body issue until at least December 1—the blue line is missing top-four pillars Ryan Pulock (Out, upper body, estimated return November 28) and physical stopper Alexander Romanov, whose knee injury places his IR eligibility way out at April 8, 2027. Until Pulock returns late this month, Schaefer, Pelech, and Stanley must continue logging heavy defensive-zone minutes.

Hanging Around the Metropolitan Cutline Into Early 2027

Everything over the next three weeks for Long Island is about survival without letting the Metropolitan top four pull out of sight. Getting Barzal and Maccelli back off injured reserve in the second half of November should immediately resuscitate a 15.4 percent man advantage by restoring controlled zone entries alongside Horvat, Schaefer, and Eklund. Generating only 139 second-period shots (27th in the NHL) highlights how badly Long Island misses Barzal's puck-carrying ability to beat the long change and sustain middle-frame cycle shifts.

With Romanov shelved until April 2027, however, fixing a minus-56 shot differential will demand tighter neutral-zone gaps from all five skaters rather than waiting on a single miracle cure. Thursday night's road test at crypto.com Arena against the Los Angeles Kings offers a prime opportunity for DeBoer's veterans to turn Sorokin's brilliance into two full points instead of settling for overtime heartbreak.