The NHL season is currently paused for the 2026 Winter Olympic Break, which began after games on Feb. 5 and will continue until play resumes on Feb. 25, 2026.
Islanders at the Olympics
While the team is off, two key Islanders will be competing for gold in Milan:
Bo Horvat (Team Canada): The Islanders’ top center and leading goal scorer (24 goals) was selected to represent Canada. He is expected to play a defensive/checking role and contribute on the penalty kill for a stacked Canadian squad.
Ondrej Palat (Team Czechia): The newly acquired winger (see below) will represent his country. Palat is an Olympic veteran (Sochi 2014) and brings experience to a Czech team looking to surprise in the knockout stages.
Ilya Sorokin (Rest): Notably, star goaltender Ilya Sorokin will not be at the Olympics due to the ban on Russian national team participation. This is a significant “win” for the Islanders, as their elite starter gets nearly three weeks of rest before the final playoff push.
Related – Guide to the 2026 Winter Olympics Men’s Hockey Tournament
The Playoff Push & Standings
The Islanders entered the break on a high note, winning their last two games (5-4 OT vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1 vs. New Jersey Devils). They sit third in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 32-21-5 (69 points).
They are firmly in a playoff spot but face a tight race with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Washington Capitals chasing them. The break allows them to freeze this momentum and heal up.
Major Acquisitions
A major recent development is the acquisitions of Palat from the Devils and Carson Soucy from the New York Rangers.
Palat has already slotted into the top line alongside Horvat and Mathew Barzal. The trade adds a two-time Stanley Cup champion to the top six, addressing a need for veteran leadership and two-way play on the wing for the stretch run.
Youth Movement: Ritchie & Schaefer
Rookie forward Cal Ritchie returned to the lineup just before the break (Feb. 5) after missing six games with a lower-body injury. He is skating on a line with Jonathan Drouin and Emil Heineman.
The 18-year-old rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer continues to turn heads. He scored a goal in the final game before the break, contributing offensively and quarterbacking power-play units. He is currently a frontrunner for the Calder Trophy, and it is widely believed that it is in large part his performance that has the Islanders’ front office buying aggressively before the trade deadline.
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