New York Islanders
Islanders Room: Consistency the Key; Holmstrom Chats 1-on-1

ELMONT, NY — The New York Islanders (19-20-7) won their second straight game at home, this time over the Columbus Blue Jackets (22-18-7) 3-1. It’s the first time this season that the Islanders have won two straight games when both are at home.
The win featured a power-play goal and a short-handed goal, the first time the team has scored both in the same game since December 19, 2023.
Moreover, all three goals came in just 5:04 for New York in the win. In total, the Islanders have gone 5-2-0 in their last seven games. That’s what makes the beginning of this home stand so frustrating for the team.
They ride into it with renewed optimism and hope that they could possibly turn it around, only to lay two eggs against the Ottawa Senators and the Philadelphia Flyers. That’s been the story of the season, truly.
The potential is there, but finding consistency and consistent results has been the ultimate boogeyman for the Islanders this year.
Consistency and Desperation:
Bo Horvat, who scored twice tonight, spoke with Andrew Gross of Newsday about what’s changed for New York: “Our forecheck was way better than previous games and, obviously, special teams have gotten better.”
That’s been a major factor in it all. The Islanders scored on the power play and won. That means they’re now 9-2-1 when they’ve scored with the man advantage this season, which is a telling statistic.
Mathew Barzal asked what’s maybe changed in the recent stretch, specifically saying, “Crunch time, I guess. It should be there every game.”
Barzal has been visibly and vocally frustrated at times throughout this season. He started slower, especially when his injury completely disrupted any rhythm he might’ve gained. With his two primary assists tonight, he’s up to three goals and seven points in the last five games. In total, it’s 11 points in his last nine games.
Head Coach Patrick Roy showered praise on his team. He loved what they brought for 50 minutes, noting he didn’t like the initial response to the Columbus power-play goal.
He singled out the effort of the fourth line, specifically saying how happy he was to see Pierre Engvall stick up for himself after Sean Kuraly came after him during a third-period scrum.
Overall, Roy said he’s really liked most of what he’s seen during the recent 5-2-0 stretch. He thinks his team is far from out of it, in direct contrast to the public opinion.
Holmstrom Speaks 1-on-1 with NYIHN:
Simon Holmstrom played in his second game since returning from an upper-body injury. Based on his play, you’d never have known he missed seven straight games. After the game, the Islanders forward chatted with me about the victory.
Q- The PK allowed an early one but recovered extremely well. You get the shorty, but how important was it for the unit to reset as a whole?
A- Yeah, it was it was huge for us. You know, I think we got a couple there in the second. It’s big for us to kill that off, and I thought we got a lot of energy out of it, and (I was) able to score a couple as well.”
Q- That goal had to feel good, right?
A- Yeah, it felt really good. Just a world-class pass from Pager, and it was really good to get one.”
Q- It’s the second straight game where you guys are able to really take over in the second period; what’s gone into that?
A- It’s come down to really keeping things simple and making the right decisions at the right time. (We have to) Work them down low and play to our strengths.”