Besting The Best
Isles hand Avs only their second regulation loss of season
Good Morning, Islanders Country.
A homestand that felt destined to be branded a missed opportunity — the kind you circle and mutter about come March — suddenly ended with the New York Islanders doing something far more interesting: beating the hottest team in the league, then the best team in the league, flipping the whole narrative on its head.
First came the Tampa Bay Lightning, winners of seven straight and buzzing like their old dynastic selves. The Islanders steadied themselves, played with the kind of structure that had gone missing, and walked out with a win they absolutely needed. It was the start of something.
Then came the Colorado Avalanche, a wagon of a hockey team tearing through the league with one regulation loss in 26 games and a 17-game point streak that looked like it might last until spring. The Isles became the first team all season to beat Colorado by more than one goal. One game after knocking off the top team in the East, they knocked off the top team in the West.
And just like that, a homestand teetering toward disappointment closed with a pair of victories that resonate louder than everything that came before.
Less than a week ago, the Isles were wobbling. They were chasing games, chasing goals, chasing the version of themselves that accomplished that 6-1-0 road trip. Instead, in the face of daunting opponents and mounting injuries, they found resiliency, and character-building wins can serve as a reference point all season.
Colorado pushed; the Isles pushed harder. Tampa tested them; the Isles held firm. These weren’t miracle wins or fluky nights — they were earned, detailed, disciplined. A week ago, this homestand felt like a step backward.
Today? It looks a whole lot better with another slate of games, this time on the road, against some of the best teams in the league.
Game Recap
Mathew Barzal recorded a goal and two assists as the New York Islanders handed the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche a 6-3 loss Thursday night at UBS Arena. The win snapped Colorado’s 17-game point streak and marked just its second regulation loss in 27 games.
Kyle MacLean, Anders Lee, Bo Horvat, and Adam Pelech also scored for the Islanders. Ilya Sorokin made 35 saves, and Casey Cizikas added an empty-netter to seal New York’s second straight victory.
The Islanders jumped out to a 3-0 lead, with MacLean scoring early and Lee finishing a Barzal feed late in the first. Horvat then tapped in his team-leading 17th goal off a Matthew Schaefer rebound.
Colorado rallied with two goals in 85 seconds — from Valeri Nichushkin and Martin Necas — to make it 4-2, but Barzal responded with a highlight-reel backhander on the power play late in the second to restore control. Artturi Lehkonen added a third-period goal for Colorado. Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 36 saves in the loss.
GameScore Impact Card
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders head on the road this weekend for back-to-back games in Florida against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.
📊 STANDINGS
Welcome Back
Brock Nelson’s return to UBS Arena brought out emotion, nostalgia, and even a few jokes from his Colorado Avalanche teammates, who tossed tissues around the visiting locker room “just in case.” But the 34-year-old, known for keeping his emotions in check, stayed composed through a warm first-period tribute video during his first game on Long Island since being traded last March.
Nelson acknowledged the standing ovation with a hand to his heart and a wave toward both the crowd and the Islanders’ bench. “It’s still so familiar,” he said. “Obviously, it’s not home right now, but it was for a long time and a lot of great memories.” His family joined him for the trip, making visits to favorite spots. “It’s the first time for them to be back,” Nelson said. “They said it still feels like home. It feels like we went on a vacation.”
Islanders captain Anders Lee said fans were eager to show their appreciation. “Brock meant a lot to this room and a lot to this organization,” Lee said. “I know the fans are probably excited to give him a little love that he deserves.”
🗞 News & Notes
Forward Jonathan Drouin was a late scratch Thursday after taking part in the morning skate and pregame warmups. The top-six right wing was ruled out with a lower-body injury, and Marc Gatcomb was inserted into the lineup and played on the fourth line.
Center Jean-Gabriel Pageau missed his sixth straight game with an upper-body injury but participated in the morning skate in a non-contact jersey for the second consecutive session. Patrick Roy said he expects Pageau to travel with the team for this weekend’s back-to-back games in Tampa Bay and Florida.
“I don’t know if he’s going to play a game or not,” Roy said. “We haven’t put a timeframe on it. We’re going to make sure that he’s one hundred percent when he comes back.”
The Islanders will hold their annual dads’ trip this weekend, with several players also bringing brothers. Defenseman Adam Boqvist remained a healthy scratch.
🙌🏻 Atta Boy
Picking up an assist on Bo Horvat’s 17th goal of the season, Matthew Schaefer became the fifth-youngest player in League history to reach 20 career points and the youngest since Brian Bellows on Nov. 26, 1982. Only Hall-of-Fame defensemen Larry Murphy and Phil Housley reached 20 points faster.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Honick in The Skinny, Anders Lee tied Brock Nelson for fifth place in Isles history with 295 goals. Coincidentally, it happened with Nelson on the ice for the Avs. “It’s special,” said Lee after tghe game. “We’ve played a lot of hockey together. Had a lot of great memories together. To tie him up tonight was great. Was hoping to maybe get one more.”
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On December 5, 2019, Ryan Pulock scored a power-play goal 3:20 into the extra session to give the Islanders a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights at the Nassau Coliseum. “It was probably one of the faster games we played this year,” Pulock said. “That’s a good team over there. It’s huge to get that extra point. Cal Clutterbuck and Brock Nelson also scored for the Islanders, who won their seventh straight in Uniondale.
“It was fast; it was furious. There were great plays, great saves -- everything you want in a game,” head coach Barry Trotz said. “It was a fun hockey game.”
📺 New York Islanders Postgame Availability | NYI vs COL (12/04/25)
🔗 Brock Nelson on coming back to Long Island to face Isles: ‘It’s weird now’ by Andrew Gross, Newsday. The gag being Nelson typically keeps his emotions in check almost as well as any NHL player. Perhaps playing his first game on Long Island after 13 seasons as an Islander could be conducive to showing emotion, much as he did in an interview with MSG Network’s Shannon Hogan in his last game at UBS Arena before being traded on March 6.”
🔗 Avs fall to ‘surprise’ Isles for just second regulation loss this season by Greg Wyshynski, ESPN “The Colorado Avalanche entered Thursday night’s game at the New York Islanders as a juggernaut, having lost just once in regulation in 26 games. Islanders coach Patrick Roy’s message to his team before that game: “If there’s a team that could surprise them, it’s us and the way we’ve been playing.”
And we leave you with this… The Isles’ wives and girlfriends enjoy shopping for toys that the team will distribute to children in hospitals during the holiday season.
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Two HUGE wins to end the homestand. Shockingly unexpected. Baby steps to progress & be better & more consistent. This weekend will be interesting to see how the Florida trip goes. Can they get combined two points, more??