Islanders lose 2-1 to Hurricanes, complete late-season collapse: Takeaways
Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images The New York Islanders completed their late-season collapse by losing 2-1 to the JV version of the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night, ending their third non-playoff season in five years after back-to-back trips to the Semifinals/Conference Finals in 2020 and 2021. Depth center Mark Jankowski beat David Rittich from the lower right circle with 5:22 remaining in the third period to break a 1-1 tie. The goal came after the Islanders botched a defensive-zone coverage and left Jankowski uncovered below the face-off dot.
Bo Horvat’s 300th NHL goal tied the game 1-1 at 13:46 of the second period after Carolina’s Nikolaj Ehlers opened the scoring just 3:05 into the game. The Islander scored just two goals in their final three games, all home losses. EKLUND TO BARZAL TO HORVAT.
pic. twitter. com/btmbOYFlSC — New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) April 15, 2026 With the top spot in the Eastern Conference already wrapped up, the ’Canes opted to sit many of their top players, including captain Jordan Staal and top-line center Sebastian Aho.
They also had to dress Thomas Sullivan, who played at Stony Brook, as an EBUG behind Long Island native Brandon Bussi because a technicality prevented planned starter Pyotr Kochetkov from making his return from injury and Frederik Andersen had already been scratched. Bussi, playing on consecutive nights following a 3-2 shootout loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia, made 28 saves. His most notable achievement was denying Isles rookie Matthew Schaefer from breaking a tie with Brian Leetch for the most goals by a rookie defenseman.
Schaefer, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and the almost certain Calder Trophy winner, had to settle for tying Leetch’s mark with 23. “It’s not a big deal,” Schaefer said of not getting the record-setting goal.
Continue to the original source for the full article.