The roller coaster the NY Islanders have been on after one month of play

It’s hard to believe, but the 2026-2027 NHL season is already a month old.

Midway through a four-day break between games, the New York Islanders sit at 7-5-2. That record is good for eleventh in the Eastern Conference. Making up their first fourteen games has been a mix of good, bad, and downright ugly. The latter, the downright ugly, is not within their control.

With one month in the books, let’s look at the Isles’ first fourteen games.

The Downright Ugly

Starting a conversation about the Isles’ first month of the 2026-2027 NHL season by discussing injuries is hard not to do. While, of course, out of the team’s control, it’s by far the ugliest part of the first month. And it’s seemingly in the faces of Isles fans more and more with each passing week.

The injury problems started early. Alexander Romanov suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for the rest of the year, and Isles fans are still searching for answers when it comes to Mat Barzal. Romanov was expected to be an addition to the team after missing time last year, and Barzal is, of course, a critical cog in the Isles’ machine.

The hits kept on coming. Later in the month, Matias Maccelli and Calum Ritchie were both added to the injury list. Maccelli is currently scheduled to be out until at least mid-November, while Ritchie is listed as out until at least December 1st.

For those keeping track at home, which all Isles fans are, injuries were felt at the center position, on defense, and on the wing. The injuries on defense didn’t stop there, with Ryan Pulock leaving the game in the Isles’ recent win in Minnesota. Pulock is currently scheduled to be out until at least November 28th.

There is only so much the Isles can do to mitigate these circumstances. And unless modern science is advancing at a far more rapid rate than anyone previously thought, the answers are going to have to come from Hamilton or schematically. 

Or through potential trades, of which there are certainly interesting options.

Focusing on addressing the injury issue schematically, coach Peter DeBoer has shown he’s willing to try different approaches. In the Isles’ victory over Nashville, DeBoer went with eleven forwards and seven defensemen.

DeBoer’s reason for playing 11/7 had to do with getting more out of his lines. Speaking on the 11/7 decision, per Stefen Rosner, DeBoer said: “We do need some more out of the depth of our lineup, though. I think our fourth line's underlying numbers haven't been good”.

The overarching point here is that DeBoer has shown he’s not afraid to try things. That will be important if the only way to address the injury issues is schematically.

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