Game Preview: Islanders at Senators

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (3-3-0) AT OTTAWA SENATORS (5-2-0)

7 P.M. | CANADIAN TIRE CENTRE  

HOW TO WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN, MSG+ ON DAZN

HOW TO LISTEN: 88.7 FM WRHU | 103.9FM LI NEWS | 92.5FM THE BEACON | ISLES + UBS ARENA APP

The New York Islanders finished their three-game homestand at UBS Arena with a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday and will head to Canadian Tire Centre for a meeting against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Kyle Palmieri opened the scoring with his first goal since Nov. 18, 2025, and netted the game-winner with 14:22 remaining in the third period.

Read a full game recap here

Matias Maccelli scored his first goal as an Islander and had his first multi-point performance with the team. He extended his point streak to four games while Matthew Schaefer had two assists and a three-game point streak.

The Senators have won three of their last four, but are coming off a 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.

They’ve had a hot start to the season due in part to Tim Stützle who has five goals and six assists for 11 points in seven games. Stützle already has four multi-point games and has at least one goal in four of the last six contests.

Unfortunately for Victor Eklund, he won’t get the opportunity to play against his older brother, William, who Ottawa acquired from the San Jose Sharks in June. William is out for an “extended” period due to an ankle injury he sustained against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 8, according to Senators head coach Travis Green.

PROJECTED LINEUP (Updated 11:50 a.m.)

The Isles shook up the lines in the third period against the Canucks and placed Maccelli alongside Palmieri and Bo Horvat on the top line. Emil Heineman was inserted on the fourth line with Simon Holmström and Casey Cizikas. 

That’ll likely remain the case for the Isles against Ottawa as Maccelli was on the top trio during morning skate. Maccelli, Horvat and Palmieri generated four scoring chances and a goal in just 4:37 together 5-on-5 against Vancouver, according to Natural Stat Trick.  

Matt Kessel – who made his Isles debut and played in his 100th NHL game on Tuesday – recorded an assist on Palmieri’s first goal. He’ll remain in the lineup on Thursday as DeBoer continues to swap defensemen in-and-out following the ACL injury to Alexander Romanov. 

Head Coach Pete DeBoer said Semyon Varlamov will make his second start of the season since returning to the lineup on Oct. 6 against the New York Rangers. Linus Ullmark is expected to start in goal for the Senators. 

Here’s the Isles projected lineup:  

Matias Maccelli – Bo Horvat – Kyle Palmieri  
Brayden Schenn – Cal Ritchie – Victor Eklund
Ondřej Palát – JG Pageau – Anthony Duclair  
Emil Heineman – Casey Cizikas – Simon Holmström  

Logan Stanley – Matthew Schaefer  
Adam Pelech – Ryan Pulock  
Matt Kessel – Tony DeAngelo  

Semyon Varlamov  
Ilya Sorokin

Extras: Kyle MacLean, Scott Mayfield

RECORD BREAKING BO

Horvat continued his sensational start to the season on Tuesday against his former team with a secondary assist on Palmieri’s first tally.

Horvat leads the Isles in goals (4) and points (7) and became the first Islander forward to start a season with a six-game point streak since Kyle Okposo in 2009.

The Isles captain has the longest point streak to start a season in his career and is tied for second in the NHL with three power-play goals.

“I don't think it’s anything I've changed or anything like that,” Horvat said. “Obviously, just trying to create as many opportunities offensively as I can and capitalizing on those opportunities too. So thankfully they've been going in so far, but it'd be nice to keep it going.”

SCOUTING THE SENATORS

The Senators have looked unfazed after trading former captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers for two 2026 first-round picks, a 2029 first-round selection and a 2027 second-round pick this summer.

The Senators used the better of those two firsts – No. 9 overall – to acquire William Eklund and two prospects from San Jose. They also signed forward Drake Batherson to an 8-year, $86 million ($10.75 million AAV) extension in September for the largest contract in Ottawa history.

Newly appointed captain and defenseman Thomas Chabot is tied for second in the league with 23 blocked shots and is part of a talented Ottawa defensive unit that remains without Jake Sanderson (lower body injury). Meanwhile, Franklin Square native Shane Pinto has six points and Claude Giroux – who’s in his 20^th NHL season – has five points in seven games.

Goaltender Samuel Ersson played against St. Louis, indicating that Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark will likely get the start against the Isles. Ullmark is 5-0 in his starts this year, third in the NHL with a .948 save percentage and fourth overall with a 1.27 goals-against average.