Islanders miss playoffs again, struggles on power play among factors

The New York Islanders failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season on Sunday.

The Islanders (43-33-5) were eliminated with a 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens at UBS Arena.

New York fired coach Patrick Roy with four games remaining in the season and replaced him with Peter DeBoer, but was unable to qualify for the playoffs.

Here's a look at what happened in the 2025-26 season for the Islanders and why things could be better next season:

The skinny

Potential unrestricted free agents: Anders Lee, F; Carson Soucy, D; Tony DeAngelo, D; David Rittich, G

Potential restricted free agents: Maxim Shabanov, F; Marc Gatcomb; F; Adam Boqvist, D

Potential 2026 Draft picks: 5

What went wrong

Powerless power play: Special teams can win games, but New York had trouble scoring with the man-advantage all season; its 16.7 percent success rate ranks 30th in the League, and its 40 power-play goals scored is tied for 25th. Matthew Schaefer (eight) and Lee (seven) were the only players on the team with more than five power-play goals, and only four (Schaefer, Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat, Calum Ritchie) had more than 10 points with the man-advantage. The Islanders ranked 31st (12.6 percent) last season and did not take a big enough step forward this season, even after selecting Schaefer with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. 

Slumping at the wrong time: On March 28, New York was second in the Metropolitan Division, one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Since then, it has lost six of seven (1-6-0), getting two of a possible 14 points. That included losing four of five at home, in which they were outscored 22-10. The Islanders went from controlling their destiny to not only needing to win, but also getting help on the scoreboard, which is never a good sign.

Health: New York had some key injuries this season, including to forward Kyle Palmieri and defenseman Alexander Romanov. Palmieri, who played 25 games before an ACL injury sidelined him the remainder of the season, was third on the team in goals (24) and points (48) last season. Romanov, who was limited to 15 games because of a shoulder injury he sustained Nov. 18 that required surgery, was third on the team in ice time last season (22:18), first in blocked shots (164) and third in hits (147). The losses of those veterans were hard to overcome.

Reasons for optimism

Schaefer not slowing down: The 18-year-old defenseman did not disappoint in his rookie season. He is tied for the League lead in goals among first-year players with 23 and is third with 59 points. Schaefer did everything he could with 18 power-play points, four game-winning goals, as well as leading all rookies with 217 shots on goal and 24:41 of ice time per game -- almost four minutes more than any of his teammates. The likely Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year made a huge impact offensively and defensively and will continue to do so for years to come.

Full season with DeBoer: When he was hired on April 5, DeBoer faced an uphill battle this season, the Islanders having fallen out of a playoff spot by that point and having played more games than the teams ahead of them. However, in six of his past eight seasons as coach with the Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks, DeBoer has advanced to the conference final, including each of the past six seasons his teams have made the playoffs. DeBoer knows how to push the right buttons, and that should be evident next season. 

Sorokin doing his part: The Islanders are in good hands in goal for the foreseeable future. Ilya Sorokin is 29-24-2 with a 2.68 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 55 games (54 starts) this season, and leads the League with seven shutouts. Since entering the NHL in 2020-21, the 30-year-old leads NHL goalies with 29 shutouts, is tied for seventh in wins (154), is fifth in save percentage (.915) and seventh in GAA (2.60) among goalies to play at least 200 games.