5 takeaways from Islanders' California road trip

Players and coaches frequently talk about how quickly things can change in the NHL. Often, it can take a week or less to change perceptions.

Such is the case with the Islanders after an encouraging 2-0-1 California swing which ended with their first back-to-back regulation wins since Oct. 17-20. Remember, they departed a week earlier off a very disappointing 0-2-1 homestand in which their defensive structure — the foundation of their game — had frayed.

There are still valid questions about how strong a playoff contender the Islanders (9-6-4) truly are. But if goalies Ilya Sorokin, who strung together his three best outings of the season to bridge the end of the homestand and the first two games of the road trip, and Semyon Varlamov, who earned his first regulation win since Nov. 14, 2024, with 26 saves in Saturday’s impressive 6-2 win over the Ducks, can anchor a revived defense-first mentality, the Islanders will have a chance to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2024.

Here are five other takeaways:

1. Mathew Barzal is a center, for now

The elite-skating playmaker, who led the Islanders in scoring last season with 72 points (19 goals, 53 assists), made his long-delayed season’s debut on Saturday with an assist in 16:21 of ice time. His left knee had prevented him from proper offseason training and kept him out from the opening of training camp. After last season, coach Pete DeBoer said he planned to use Barzal as a center rather than a wing and Barzal was in between Ondrej Palat and Anthony Duclair on the third line against the Ducks. But Barzal may go back to wing to get him back into the top six.

“I still like him in the middle but that doesn’t mean he can’t play on the wing, the way we play we’re interchangeable,” DeBoer said. “I wanted to get him in the middle [Saturday] just because it was his first game back, you take less contact. I wanted him to skate and use his legs and get up and down the ice.”

2. There are still injury concerns

Even with Barzal (left knee), potential top-six forward Matias Maccelli (lower body) and defenseman Ryan Pulock (shoulder) all returning over the course of two games — the latter two were back for Thursday’s 5-2 win over the Kings — the Islanders still didn’t have a complete lineup. Third-line center J ean-Gabriel Pageau  (lower body) missed both matches and Logan Stanley — No. 1 defenseman Matthew Schaefer’s usual partner — exited with a lower-body issue in the second period against the Ducks. Plus, captain Bo Horvat went hard elbow-first into the end wall in the third period. Horvat said he was OK and, so far, neither Pageau nor Stanley are believed to have long-term issues.

3. Softer schedule ahead

The Islanders have a chance to expand upon their 2-0-1 streak over the next two weeks as none of their next seven opponents, starting with the Eastern Conference-worst Blue Jackets on Tuesday night at UBS Arena, are currently in a playoff position. It’s a stretch the Islanders must use to their advantage.

4. The power play can help

The Islanders departed for California in a 1-for-18 rut over six games on the power play. But they went 3-for-10 in California, with a goal in each of the three matches. Putting Maccelli back on the first unit helped the puck movement and zone entries and Barzal saw some time on the second unit in his first game back. The Islanders are 6-2-2 in games in which they score on the power play.

5. Bo Horvat and Simon Holmstrom are on strong paces

Horvat and left wing Simon Holmstrom, two-thirds of the top line, share the team lead with nine goals apiece after Holmstrom notched his first career hat trick on Saturday and Horvat scored on the power play. That puts each on pace for a 42-goal season. Horvat scored a career high 40 in 2022-23, the season the Islanders acquired him from the Canucks at the All-Star break. Holmstrom’s career best is 20 goals, set in 2024-25.

“It’s been a good trip for us,” Holmstrom said. “We have four lines that can score goals and defend hard and I thought we did a great job with that.”

However, top-line right wing Kyle Palmieri has just three goals in 19 games and none in eight games since Oct. 25, despite being third on the Islanders with 37 shots. Maccelli replaced him on the top line for a shift in the second period.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

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.