Mike Bossy and captain Denis Potvin fronted a New York dynasty that won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980 through 1983, less than a decade after the Islanders' 1972 expansion debut. That run remains one of the great feats in North American professional sports. The club now plays at UBS Arena, a modern home for a fan base still shaped by that era.
As of Oct 31, 2026, here are the most recently projected forward lines, defense pairings and power-play units for the New York Islanders. On the top line, the New York Islanders are currently projected to run left wing Simon Holmstrom, center Bo Horvat and right wing Kyle Palmieri together, a trio expected to log the heaviest 5-on-5 minutes on the roster, though without last change on the road it does not always draw the other team's top shutdown pairing. On the blue line, the top pairing is Adam Pelech and Matthew Schaefer, who typically log the heaviest 5-on-5 minutes on the back end and face the toughest zone starts, though the team's primary penalty-kill pairing is not always the same duo. On the power play, the PP1 unit runs Kyle Palmieri, Bo Horvat, Brayden Schenn, Simon Holmstrom and Matthew Schaefer, the unit most teams send out first on a power play, though a delayed-penalty scramble already in progress or a late matchup change can put a different five over the boards. These combinations reflect pre-game reporting rather than real-time tracking, and can change between games and even between periods, so check the today's lines tool for the most current deployment before puck drop.
| # | Player | Off | Def | PP | PK | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brock Nelson | 68 | 45 | 52 | 55 | 89 |
| 2 | Anders Lee | 79 | 39 | 43 | 0 | 86 |
| 3 | Mathew Barzal | 63 | 44 | 46 | 0 | 85 |
| 4 | Noah Dobson | 66 | 49 | 61 | 47 | 82 |
| 5 | Matthew Schaefer | 81 | 34 | 47 | 28 | 81 |
As of Oct 31, 2026, the most recently projected lineup for the New York Islanders includes 4 forward lines, 3 defense pairings and 2 power-play units, updated whenever a new pre-game lineup is reported.
As of Oct 31, 2026, the top line projected for the New York Islanders is left wing Simon Holmstrom, center Bo Horvat and right wing Kyle Palmieri.
These projected lines are drawn from Daily Faceoff's pre-game reporting, typically beat writers covering morning skates and warmups before puck drop. They reflect the coaching staff's intended deployment rather than shift-by-shift tracking collected once a game is already underway, and can still shift between a morning skate and the opening faceoff.
Lines can change from game to game, and sometimes within a single game, as a coaching staff reacts to matchups, injuries, scoring droughts or chemistry. Check back before each New York Islanders game for the latest projected combinations, or browse the historical lines archive to see how often this team's lines have shifted recently.
