Islanders need hard forecheck and special teams dominance to beat highly skilled foes

The Islanders’ will is about to be tested against some serious skill in the Oilers, Hurricanes and Devils on a three-game homestand.

But they’ve demonstrated exactly how they must approach these games: Wear down the skill through a balanced four-line forecheck, stick to a sound defensive structure that keeps the puck to the outside and continue to win the special teams battles.

Can the Islanders (7-4-2) be a playoff contender? If the above is how they play consistently, then yes.

It was all on display as the Islanders gutted out a 4-3 overtime win over the Minnesota Wild (9-3-3), one of the Western Conference’s top teams, on Thursday night to conclude a 2-1-0 road trip.

“We’ve just got to stick to our style,” said Matthew Schaefer, whose elevated play as a 19-year-old defenseman is a key factor in the Islanders’ competitiveness. He scored two goals, including the winner, and logged more than 30 minutes for the second straight game.

“When we’re in our systems, when we’re playing our Islanders hockey, it’s tough to play against,’’ he added. “It frustrates the other teams.”

The Oilers, Saturday’s matinee opponent at UBS Arena, have three of the NHL’s top six scorers in Connor McDavid (eight goals, 28 assists), Leon Draisaitl (12 goals, 12 assists) and defenseman Evan Bouchard (seven goals, 15 assists).

The Hurricanes, in town on Thursday, are the defending Stanley Cup champions and are leading the NHL in points. The Devils, who will visit two days later, just paired Jack Hughes with goalie Connor Hellebuyck, his Team USA Olympic gold medal teammate.

“We’ve talked since training camp that when we have detail in our game and we play hard like that in the hard areas of the rink, we give ourselves a chance to win and we can be a hard team to play against,” coach Pete DeBoer said.

Schaefer, whose current six-game point streak matches his career high, is a big reason why the Islanders did — and can — compete.

But it was a balanced effort. Schaefer cannot be an Islander unto himself no matter how talented he is.

“We got contributions from everybody,” DeBoer said. “I know everyone talks Schaefer and he deserves every accolade he gets. But this was a team win tonight. We had four lines and five defensemen [without injured Ryan Pulock] that were committed to giving us a chance to win and play the right way.”

The penalty kill was 3-for-3 and the power play went 1-for-2. It left the Islanders 24th in the NHL on the man advantage but with an improved ability to move the puck, enter the zone and rotate personnel throughout the offensive zone as compared with the previous two seasons. The penalty kill is fifth in the league, though not having Pulock would be a challenge.

“Your special teams have to be good in order to win in this league with the amount of power plays,” said Bo Horvat, who scored a power-play goal against the Wild. “If we’re not scoring, we’re at least generating some really good chances and momentum for our team. We’ve got to keep that going.”

It wouldn’t be surprising if DeBoer went back to goalie Semyon Varlamov against the Oilers; he and Ilya Sorokin have alternated the last four games. Varlamov, coming back from two partial knee replacement surgeries, made 20 saves and earned his first victory since Nov. 14, 2024, in a 4-3 shootout win in Nashville on Tuesday.

Sorokin stopped 22 shots against the Wild but let two goals get through his pads and another past his glove despite getting a good look at it. He also started the trip-opening 6-3 loss in Dallas on Sunday.

“I thought Ilya battled tonight,” DeBoer said Thursday. “This isn’t an easy rink to play in and that’s not an easy team to play against.”

It won’t get any easier against the Oilers, Hurricanes and Devils.

The Islanders’ will — which they’ve demonstrated — will have to surpass the opponent’s skill.

Notes & quotes: There was no word on Friday about the status of Pulock, who exited early in the first period Thursday with an upper-body injury that could be another shoulder issue. Losing Pulock would further test the Islanders’ defensive structure with Alexander Romanov (right knee) out for the season.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.