When future hockey historians look back at the 2025-26 New York Islanders, they’ll see a team that faded down the stretch and missed the playoffs after a promising start.
They’ll also see that the Carolina Hurricanes have an outsized role in this particular Islanders season, with countless major events for the Islanders coming against or as a result of the Hurricanes.
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The Islanders only played Carolina three times this season, and went 0-3-0 along the way, completely swept.
The first meeting came all the way back on October 30, when the Hurricanes trounced the Islanders 6-2, an ugly mark.
Matthew Schaefer scored his third of the season that night, the lone bright spot in an otherwise tough loss.
That meeting was relatively quiet and does not carry too much significance.
Then came the April meetings.
The Islanders faced Carolina twice in their final five games of the season. First, they took on the Hurricanes in Raleigh on April 4, then the regular season finale took place in UBS Arena against the Hurricanes.
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The Islanders entered April 4 with a three-game losing streak and fading chances at the playoffs. They desperately needed two points to keep themselves afloat.
Then, the Hurricanes dismantled the Islanders in overall play.
Despite 1-0 and 2-1 leads for the Islanders in the first two periods, the Hurricanes decimated the Islanders.
Carolina outshot the Islanders 13-4 in the first period. The Hurricanes outshot the Islanders 18-2 in the second period.
After two periods, the shots on goal were 31-6 for Carolina, but the score only read 3-2.
24 seconds into the third, Seth Jarvis made it 4-2, and that was it.
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Anders Lee scored to make it 4-3 late in the third. Schaefer assisted the goal, and in doing so, broke Phil Housley’s 43-year-old scoring record for 18-year-old defensemen.
That game on April 4 ensured the Islanders fell out of a playoff spot for the first time in over a month.
One day later, on April 5, Islanders’ general manager Mathieu Darche fired Head Coach Patrick Roy, replacing him with Peter DeBoer, a seismic change for the franchise.
The Hurricanes’ dismantling of the Islanders was the final nail in the coffin for the Roy era on Long Island.
It’s fitting that the Islanders’ final game of the season then came against Carolina, with DeBoer’s first three games behind him.
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With the Islanders officially eliminated from the playoffs, DeBoer publicly stated he wanted to see some future players for the Islanders come get their chance in the season finale.
Victor Eklund, the 16th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, made his NHL debut against the Hurricanes, notching his first-career point on a power play.
Eklund made a beautiful seam pass to Mathew Barzal, who then found Bo Horvat in front for a tap-in goal.
That one assist showed the sheer potential Eklund has as a player with his pure skill.
DeBoer then heaped praise on Eklund, comparing him to Logan Stankoven, whom DeBoer coached in Dallas.
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The Islanders ultimately lost that night, 2-1, ending the 2025-26 season.
The ripple effects of the Hurricanes on the Islanders this year will be felt for years to come.
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