Game Preview: Islanders at Penguins

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (0-0-0) AT PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (1-0-0)

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New York Islanders hockey is officially back.

The Islanders are kicking off the 2025-26 season in the Steel City when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night. It’s been five long months since the Isles last played a regular season game and after a productive training camp, the Islanders are ramped up and ready.

“Being ready for the first game, that was the focus during training camp,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “We wanted to do everything we can to be ready for the first game and that’s what we did. We put a structure and plan in place. I think we’re ready.”

The Penguins kicked off their season with a 3-0 win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night on the road, making Thursday’s tilt against the Islanders is their home opener. Justin Brazeau potted two goals in his Penguins debut, while Blake Lizotte scored an empty-net tally and goaltender Arturs Silovs earned his first career shutout with 25 saves.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES

- Ilya Sorokin will start for the Islanders on Thursday night. The netminder went 30-24-6 lst season, with a 2.71 GAA, .907 SV% and four shutouts.

- Tristan Jarry will start against the Islanders. Jarry went 35-16-12 last season with a .892 SV%, 3.12 GAA and two shutouts.

- Although Bryan Rust (lower-body) skated with his teammates for the second straight day, he will not play against the Islanders, per Head Coach Dan Muse.

PROJECTED LINEUP

*Lines from morning skate are subject to change

Drouin - Horvat – Heineman
Lee - Barzal – Palmieri
Shabanov - Pageau – Holmstrom
Duclair - Cizikas – Tsyplakov

Pelech – Pulock
Romanov – DeAngelo
Schaefer - Mayfield

Sorokin
Rittich

WELCOME TO THE NHL

Matthew Schaefer and Max Shabanov are primed to make their NHL debuts on Thursday night.

Schaefer earned a spot on the Islanders roster after a training camp where he impressed with his skating, poise and maturity. The first-overall pick will become the youngest player in the NHL this season and will be the youngest defenseman in Islanders history at 18-years and 34-days-old.

Shabanov’s NHL debut comes after four seasons of professional hockey in Russia for the KHL’s Traktor Chelyabinsk. The skilled winger is coming off a 23-goal, 67-point season in Russia.

A PAIR OF ISLES DEBUTS

Emil Heineman and Jonathan Drouin will also debut for the Islanders.

Drouin, who was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline, will wear an Islanders jersey to kick off his 12^th NHL season. Drouin collected 93 points (30G, 63A) in two seasons with the Avalanche and is expected to boost the power play, as he racked up 31 power-play points across those two seasons.

Heineman is primed to make his Islanders debut, coming off a season where he produced 18 points (10G, 8A) for the Montreal Canadiens. The 23-year-old has been touted for his heavy and accurate shot though training camp.

NEW LOOK FOR SPECIAL TEAMS

Special teams were a major focus for the Islanders in training camp after they finished last season with a power play that ranked 32^nd and a penalty kill that finished 31^st.

The Islanders have the personnel to raise the bar. New assistant coaches Ray Bennett and Bob Boughner have been running the power play and penalty kill respectively and the players have been receptive to a system where they're looking to be more aggressive and connected.

“The quality of the people we have, as players and coaches,” Roy said when asked about his confidence in how special teams can vastly improve. “We practiced a lot, almost every day.”

PRESEASON LEADERS

Anthony Duclair (2G, 2A), Kyle Palmieri (2G, 2A) and Mathew Barzal (4A) tied in scoring in preseason action.

SEASON SERIES AGAINST PITTSBURGH

The Islanders went 3-1-0 against Pittsburgh last season and are 9-3-0 over the last three seasons.

NOTABLE RE-SIGNINGS

Alexander Romanov signed an eight-year extension, in Mathieu Darche’s first and only long-term deal of the offseason. Romanov recorded 147 hits last season and lead the team in blocked shots (165).

Max Tsyplakov and Simon Holmstrom signed two-year deals over the summer, while Marc Gatcomb and Tony DeAngelo inked one-year contracts.

OFFSEASON DEPARTURES

• Noah Dobson was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Heineman, along with the 16^th and 17^th overall picks which materialized into Victor Eklund and Kashawn Aitcheson.
• The Isles also saw the departures of Hudson Fasching, Scott Perunovich, Mike Reilly, Grant Hutton, and Sam Bolduc.
• Matt Martin announced his retirement after the 2024-25 campaign and joined the front office staff as Special Assistant to the GM.

ACROSS THE ICE

• The Penguins made a change behind the bench this season, hiring Dan Muse as a first-time head coach after Mike Sullivan’s departure.
• Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are entering their 20th season as teammates, becoming the longest-tenured trio of teammates in the history of the NHL, NFL, NBA and MLB.
• Crosby led the team in scoring with 91 points last season (33G, 58A), while Rickard Rakell paced the Pens with 35 goals.