So Happy Together
Barzal and Horvat are reunited; Isles host Wild
🚨 🚨 🚨 The winner of the Matthew Schaefer “I Love This Place” BreakingT Giveaway is “Craig Mc,” a subscriber since 2022! Thank you for the support!
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Good Morning, Islanders Country.
Some things in hockey are experiments. Others are inevitabilities. Putting Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal back together was never really a question of if — only when. And now that it’s happened, it looks less like a reunion and more like the smartest move the New York Islanders could make.
Because when Horvat and Barzal share a line, everything feels a little easier, a little faster, a little more dangerous. The chemistry isn’t theoretical, it’s lived-in. They see the ice the same way, they move in rhythm, and they turn broken plays into scoring opportunities. “They feel each other on the ice,” head coach Patrick Roy said. “They see each other. It’s been working really well.”
What makes the timing of this work even better is what’s happening behind them. The emergence — and maybe more importantly, the trust — in Cal Ritchie has given Roy the freedom to put the pieces where they actually fit best. The 20-year-old center, poised beyond his years, will anchor the second line between Jonathan Drouin and Kyle Palmieri, giving the Islanders the balance they’ve lacked.
Ritchie’s ability to handle both ends of the ice means Roy doesn’t have to keep Barzal in the middle out of necessity. It allows Barzal to be a creator and playmaker beside Horvat. And with Emil Heineman on the wing, bringing speed and bite to complement the skill, it suddenly looks like a line that can tilt the ice every shift.
It’s early November, still the season’s experimental phase, but some things don’t need overthinking. Horvat and Barzal belong together. Ritchie’s maturity made it possible. And the Islanders, for the first time in a while, might finally have the lineup they’ve been trying to build all along.
📰 NEWS: The Islanders returned to the ice Thursday for practice at Northwell Health Ice Center, tuning up ahead of a weekend back-to-back.
🥅 Roy outlines goalie plan
Patrick Roy confirmed that David Rittich will start Friday’s game vs. the Minnesota Wild, with Ilya Sorokin slated to go Saturday vs. the Rangers.
Rittich enters the weekend with a 3-1-0 record, a 3.01 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. The veteran netminder has provided reliable depth early in the season, while Sorokin has started to regain form with a string of strong outings. With two games in under 24 hours, the Islanders will aim to strike a balance between rest and momentum as they seek to build on their recent strong play and keep pace in the Metropolitan Division.
On The Mend
Prospect Cole Eiserman is making steady progress in his recovery and could be back on the ice soon. The Boston University sophomore forward will not play this weekend against Merrimack College, but head coach Jay Pandolfo said Eiserman is expected to return to practice next week.
Eiserman, the Islanders’ 2024 first-round pick (No. 20 overall), suffered a lower-body injury on October 25 against UConn and was seen using crutches after the game. The 18-year-old winger had been off to a promising start with the Terriers before the setback, showcasing his elite scoring touch and strong skating ability.
His expected return to practice marks a positive development for both BU and the Islanders, who view Eiserman as a key piece of their future offensive core.
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders host the Minnesota Wild tonight at UBS Arena as they play the first game of a back-to-back. The face-off is set for 7:00 PM EST.
📊 STANDINGS:
Beau Knows Who Did It?
No. 19 in Elliotte Friedman’s 32 Thoughts had a playful note about how “someone with the Capitals who is friendly with Mathew Barzal” left an alarm clock at his dressing room stall after he missed the team bus and was disciplined for the team’s game the previous night in Carolina. You don’t have to be an investigator to deduce that the culprit was most likely former Islanders forward and longtime Barzal friend and linemate, Anthony Beauviller.
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, Matthew Schaefer’s 11 points are already tied for the second-highest (with Eric Brewer) by an Islander teenage defenseman; Bryan Berard had 39 in 1996-97. Both of the other players were 19, not 18, at the time. His six assists tie David Chyzowski for the second-highest total by an 18-year-old Islander; Tim Connolly had 20.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On November 7, 1990, Pat LaFontaine had two goals and an assist to carry the Islanders to a 6-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils in East Rutherford. Patrick Flatley’s 11th goal of the season at 13:35 of the third period was part of a four-goal third period and gave the Isles the lead. It was the Devils’ first loss at home during the 90-91 season.
📺 New York Islanders Practice Availability | (11/06/25)
🔗 Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat better together for Islanders by Neil Best, Newsday “It’s early Nov, still time for experiments in the chemistry lab on every NHL team. But the Islanders already have a reaction that need not be tinkered with moving forward. Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal are combusting on the top line, as they did two seasons ago, and show every sign of being hockey soulmates, this time for the long haul.”
🔗 How Ilya Sorokin’s rebound changes the range of outcomes for the Islanders by Ethan Sears, New York Post “The Islanders might be able to breathe a little easier about Ilya Sorokin. Things finally appear to be trending in the right direction for the star netminder after a messy start to the season in which Sorokin gave up four or more goals in each of his first four starts and goaltending coach Piero Greco was axed after just six games.”
And we leave you with this…Meet Luke Rowe, Bridgeport Islanders Defenseman and Future Drone Pilot for the United States Air Force [NewYorkIslanders.com]
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