A perfect three-game road trip convinced the New York Islanders they were on the verge of mounting another midseason push for a playoff berth.
But losses in the first two games of a season-long seven-game homestand might have underscored the reality facing the Islanders, who will attempt to snap their latest ill-timed slump Saturday night when they host the San Jose Sharks in a battle of last-place teams in Elmont, N.Y.
Both teams were off Friday after suffering defeats Thursday, when the Islanders fell to the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 and the visiting Sharks lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1.
The Islanders overcame January skids to reach the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. They were just two points out of a wild-card spot on Jan. 20, 2024, when head coach Lane Lambert was fired and replaced by Patrick Roy. New York was five points out of a wild-card spot on Jan. 25, 2023, when it finished a 1-7-3 stretch five days before acquiring Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks.
But after Thursday’s loss, the Islanders are in 15th place in the Eastern Conference — ahead of only the Buffalo Sabres — and eight points behind the Boston Bruins in the race for the second wild card. New York won consecutive games just twice this season before it swept the Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Hockey Club from Jan. 5-11.
Horvat and his teammates understand they are running out of time to author a familiar comeback and avoid a retool around the March 7 trade deadline. Top-six forwards Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri are each due to hit free agency after the season and would likely be amongst the top rentals on the market.
“We have to start winning hockey games if we want everybody to stay, right?” Horvat said. “It’s not going to be easy, but if there’s any group that’s going to do it, we’re pretty relentless in here and I have definite confidence that we’re going to pull through.”
A rebuild is well underway for the Sharks, who are on pace to miss the playoffs for the sixth straight season after they failed to qualify for the postseason just six times in the franchise’s first 27 campaigns.
The Sharks entered the season with higher expectations after selecting center Macklin Celebrini with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, but San Jose lost its first nine games — eight of which it played without Celebrini, who aggravated a hip injury in the season opener Oct. 10 and didn’t return until Nov. 5.
The Sharks endured another eight-game losing streak from Dec. 14-31 to begin a 15-game stretch in which they’ve gone 3-11-1. San Jose won consecutive games against a pair of Eastern Conference contenders, the Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils, Jan. 2 and 4 but has been outscored 16-11 while going 1-4-0 since.
“We just can’t seem to put a couple (wins) together,” defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic said. “We had some at the beginning of 2025 and then let up. In this league, you’re not guaranteed a win no matter who you’re playing, so we’ve got to find a way to put these together, start on time, execute passes — the things we need to do to win.”
Tyler Toffoli scored his team-leading 17th goal and Celebrini provided the lone assist in Thursday’s loss in Columbus.
–Field Level Media
