NY Islanders Deserve More Recognition in NHL Power Rankings

The New York Islanders have had to overcome a lot of obstacles in the early going of the 2026-27 season, which has led to some up-and-down play on the ice.

Injuries are never an easy thing to handle, especially when it is to key players. The Islanders have been without star forward Mathew Barzal all season thus far. Defenseman Alexander Romanov, who recovered from a season-ending shoulder injury last year, suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the third game of the season.

No. 2 center Calum Ritchie and winger Matias Maccelli were both injured on Oct. 17 in a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. That is three top-six forwards and a key contributor to their defensive game plan all sidelined for those keeping score at home.

Despite those losses, New York is playing well. The team has bought into the system being implemented by head coach Peter DeBoer, with their defensive structure being much improved from where it was under Patrick Roy.

However, even with their success, the Islanders aren’t making much of a move up the NHL power rankings done by Sean Gentille and Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic (subscription required), and they deserve better.

New York moved up one spot, coming in at No. 14 this week after being No. 15 in the previous edition. With at least one point recorded in seven out of their last eight games, the Islanders move up the standings in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference, but that isn’t exactly being reflected in the power rankings.

What has led to this recent stretch of success despite being without so many key contributors in the lineup? Defenseman Matthew Schaefer would be at the top of the list for the historic performances he has strung together.

Against the Nashville Predators, in a 3-3 game that the Islanders won in a shootout, the first win for Semyon Varlamov in nearly two years, their star became the first player on record to be on the ice for an entire five-minute overtime, which also set the record for the longest shift in franchise history.

SCHAEFER IN OVERTIME.

To close out the road trip against the Minnesota Wild, Schaefer had another 30-minute game, scoring two goals, including the game-winner in overtime, with an assist. No player this century has reached those plateaus in a single game.

Along with Schaefer, his partner on the No. 1 pairing, Logan Stanley, has exceeded expectations. He is one of multiple veteran players who have looked better this season, including Brayden Schenn and Ondrej Palat.

DeBoer has been constantly shuffling the lineup, somewhat out of necessity, trying to find the right combination to spark the team. Guys are playing hard and buying in, which is leading to positive results on the ice.