Takeaways: Isles Earn Point in 2-1 Shootout Loss to Sens

The New York Islanders picked up a point on Thursday night, but fell 2-1 in a shootout to the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.

Matias Maccelli scored the Islanders’ lone goal, while Ridly Greig tied the score in the second period. Long Island native Shane Pinto scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Senators the extra point in a game that featured tight defensive play from both teams.

“We've been working on defending since day one of training camp, and for exactly this type of reason,” Islanders Head Coach Pete DeBoer said. “You come into a building like this on the road against a team with a really good record, with a lot of firepower, and I thought we defended really hard tonight in our own end of the rink around Varly.”

Semyon Varlamov stopped 18-of-19 shots in the shootout loss, while Linus Ullmark stopped 20-of-21 in the win.

Both teams were perfect on the penalty kill, with each killing a penalty in overtime.

“Points on the road, you have to collect as many as you can,” Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock said. "We got away from our game a little bit at times, but I thought we defended hard.”

Varlamov Strong in Second Start

Varlamov was more than solid in his second regular-season start since returning from a two-year absence and two partial knee replacements.

“What he's done to get here, and then what he did tonight was so, so good to see. I think everyone wishes we could have won one for him, but he was outstanding,” DeBoer said. “We saw game one; he got through against the Rangers. I thought he was pretty good, and then tonight, he looked like the old Varly, which is great to see, and it's great for us because we're going to need him.”

Varlamov made key saves throughout regulation and overtime, helping the Islanders kill all four Senators power plays, including a full two-minute penalty in overtime after Adam Pelech was called for tripping.

The veteran goaltender – and the Islanders – benefitted from a pair of disallowed Ottawa goals in the first period. The first was mistakenly thought to have gone in, when it actually hit the crossbar, while the Isles successfully challenged and overturned the second on an offside review.

The Isles did their part in front of Varlamov at five-on-five limiting Ottawa to just seven high-danger chances at five-on-five.

Varlamov said Thursday was beneficial for him to play in all sorts of situations, including overtime and a shootout.

Maccelli Extends Point Streak to Five Games

Maccelli opened the scoring at 19:48 of the first period, stripping the puck from Pinto and beating Ullmark on the glove side for his second goal of the 2026-27 season.

The goal extended Maccelli’s point streak to five games and gave him a goal in consecutive games. His most recent five-game point streak ran from Feb. 28 to March 7 last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. His career-long was a nine-gamer in October and November 2023. The Finnish forward said he’s starting to feel more comfortable the longer he spends around the team.

“It’s still early in the year. We’re five or six games in, so I’m getting comfortable around the guys and in the system, learning how each guy plays and what they want from me out there,” Maccelli said Thursday morning when asked about his recent offensive success.

Maccelli was also first over the boards in overtime skating with Bo Horvat and Matthew Schaefer.

Next Game

The Isles wrap up their two-game Canadian road trip against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. EDT, with coverage on MSGSN.