The Islanders are falling apart and the timing couldn’t be worse
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Cimon Asselin
Apr 13, 2026 (9:00 PM)
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Photo credit: Alexander Wohl-Imagn Images
Mathieu Darche's New York Islanders dropped a 4-1 decision Sunday night at UBS Arena, getting outworked at home by the Montreal Canadiens as the clock runs out on what has been a damaging final stretch to the season.
The loss pushed the Islanders to 3-7 over their last 10 games.
That kind of collapse late in the year will follow a first-year GM. Darche was hired in May 2025, and the scrutiny around his decisions has intensified as New York has stumbled.
Then he hired Peter DeBoer as head coach on April 5. Eight days later, the team has gone 1-2 under DeBoer and is skidding straight toward a brutal finish.
Ilya Sorokin was in net Sunday and allowed 4 goals on 22 shots. A .818 save percentage in a game you're hosting a team fighting for playoff position is not a footnote.
Sorokin's season numbers sit at a .906 SV% over 55 starts. You can't pin this entirely on him. But you can't ignore what the team in front of him has looked like lately, either.
Barzal held scoreless again as Islanders offense goes quiet
Mathew Barzal was held scoreless Sunday, recording 0 points despite putting 4 shots on net and logging over 22 minutes of ice time. Over the last 5 games, he has 3 assists and no goals.
Bo Horvat, who carries an $8.5 million cap hit, was also held scoreless in 20-plus minutes. He's gone 0 points in each of his last 3 outings per the l5 data, with just 1 assist in his last 5 games.
The Islanders finish the season 43-33-5 overall. That's a decent record on the surface. But the trajectory heading into the offseason is what will define how this roster is judged.
What makes the DeBoer hire look worse isn't the two losses. It's that Darche changed coaches with 5 games left. A late-season coaching move is like rearranging the furniture the night before you sell the house.
Matthew Schaefer, the team's rookie blueliner on a $975,000 deal, led all skaters with 28:01 of ice time Sunday. He went minus-2. He's a 22-year-old being leaned on in situations that usually require more experienced bodies.
The Islanders swept the Rangers in all 4 regular-season meetings this year, winning by scores of 5-0, 2-0, 5-2, and 2-1. But right now that feels like a distant footnote compared to how this team has played in April.
The next game is Monday against Carolina, at home. Another loss and the pressure on Darche's front-office decisions will be loud heading into the summer.
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