Islanders rout Ducks as Simon Holmstrom scores three goals, Matthew Schaefer gets three assists
Islanders defenseman Ben Hutton, left, celebrates his goal with left wing Anthony Duclair during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Ducks on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. Credit: AP/Kyusung Gong
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Islanders scored a goal on Mathew Barzal’s first shift of the season. Then they kept on scoring.
They matched a season high for goals in a 6-2 win over the Ducks on Saturday night at Honda Center as they concluded a 2-0-1 California swing with their first back-to-back wins in regulation since Oct. 17-20.
Simon Holmstrom notched his first career hat trick, including two goals in a four-goal second period. Defenseman Matthew Schaefer added three assists to move past Hall of Famer Ray Bourque into sole possession of third place in NHL history for a teenaged defenseman with 80 points. Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves for his first regulation win since Nov. 14, 2024, as he continues his comeback from two partial knee replacement surgeries.
The Islanders (9-6-4) swept the two-game season series from the Ducks (10-9-1), who got 19 saves from Lukas Dostal.
Holmstrom, who had seven career two-goal games, completed his hat trick with a snap shot from the slot at 2:41 of the third period to make it 6-2.
Barzal returned after struggling with inflammation in his left knee, which flared after he led the Islanders last season with 72 points (19 goals, 53 assists). He initially was hurt blocking a shot off his left kneecap on Feb. 1, 2025, which required season-ending surgery.
Coach Pete DeBoer had Barzal center Ondrej Palat and Anthony Duclair on the third line with Jean-Gabriel Pageau (lower body) missing his second straight game. The Islanders played with five defensemen after Logan Stanley exited with a lower-body injury at 2:57 of the second period.
Defenseman Ben Hutton opened the scoring at 1:55 of the first period after Barzal beat Tim Washe on an offensive-zone faceoff.
Bo Horvat’s power-play one-timer at 1:33 of the second period gave the Islanders a man-advantage goal in each of the three games on the road trip after going 1-for-18 in their previous six games. Holmstrom pushed the lead to 4-1 at 8:28 with his second goal and Schaefer’s cross-ice feed to Mitchell Chaffee made it 5-1 at 10:28.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
More Islanders
