Defensive Structure Yields Road Point as Islanders Fall to Senators in 2-1 Shootout

J.J. Pavlick | Elmont, NY | October 15, 2026 |

Ottawa, ON — Seven games into the 2026-27 NHL season, the New York Islanders are showing signs that their identity under head coach Pete DeBoer will rely heavily on defensive discipline. DeBoer has failed to get to .500 as the man in charge who replaced beloved head coach Patrick Roy, a move that annoyed fans and players in the locker room. The temperature on DeBoer isn’t in his favor, as the team still hangs below the benchmarks Long Island expects.

Just 48 hours after a high-energy home victory over the Vancouver Canucks, the Islanders took their blueprint on the road for a tight, low-event battle against the Ottawa Senators. While the offense struggled to generate sustained pressure, New York managed to grind out a point in a 2-1 shootout loss at Canadian Tire Centre. Shane Pinto: The Franklin Square native remains a deeply polarizing figure on Long Island; local fans have largely withdrawn their support for the hometown player following his historic 41-game NHL suspension for violating the league’s sports-wagering policies. Pinto’s lone skills-competition marker secured the extra point for Ottawa, but the game clearly indicated the defensive structure DeBoer has been installing since day one of training camp.

“We’ve been working on defending since day one of training camp, and for exactly this type of reason,” DeBoer said following the narrow defeat. “You come into a building like this on the road against a team with a really good record, with a lot of firepower, and I thought we defended really hard tonight in our own end of the rink around Varly.”

Clogging the Middle: Five-on-Five Suffocation

Restricting the High-Danger Zones

The story of the game lay in the Islanders’ ability to dictate the pace and location of Ottawa’s even-strength opportunities. Facing a Senators roster built on transition speed and quick interior plays, New York’s defensive pairings insulated the low slot with high efficiency.

The Islanders restricted the Senators to just seven high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five across the entire evening. By clogging passing lanes and forcing perimeter puck movement, the blue line limited Ottawa to a modest 19 shots through 65 minutes of play. It was a calculated, grinding road performance designed to minimize risk, even if it came at the expense of New York’s own offensive generation.

“Points on the road, you have to collect as many as you can,” defenseman Ryan Pulock observed. “We got away from our game a little bit at times, but I thought we defended hard.”

Flawless Special Teams Under Pressure

That structural discipline extended to the penalty kill, which finished the night a perfect 4-for-4. The definitive test came during the five-minute overtime period when defenseman Adam Pelech was assessed a minor penalty for tripping. Tasked with neutralizing a full two minutes of a 4-on-3 Ottawa advantage, the penalty killers restricted lanes and controlled the crease flawlessly to guarantee the road point.

Varlamov Steady in Second Start of the Campaign

Providing Low-Risk Reliability

Behind that disciplined defensive shell, Semyon Varlamov turned in a reliable performance in his second start of the regular season. Following a two-year competitive absence that included undergoing two partial knee replacements, the veteran netminder stopped 18 of 19 shots, displaying sound positioning and rebound control in the low-event affair.

While Ottawa had two goals disallowed in the opening frame—one hitting the crossbar and another overturned via a successful offside challenge—Varlamov remained steady through regulation and the high-leverage overtime kill, noting post-game that navigating a shootout scenario provided a helpful benchmark for his ongoing competitive rhythm.

Maccelli’s Solo Effort Provides Lone Offensive Spark

Stripping the Slate Clean

While the defense held its ground, the Islanders’ offense struggled to solve Ottawa goaltender Linus Ullmark, managing only 21 shots on net. The lone breakthrough came courtesy of individual effort late in the first period. At the 19:48 mark, forward Matias Maccelli pickpocketed Shane Pinto at the blue line, walked into the offensive zone, and snapped a precise wrist shot past Ullmark on the glove side.

“It’s still early in the year. We’re five or six games in, so I’m getting comfortable around the guys and in the system, learning how each guy plays and what they want from me out there,” Maccelli said.

The unassisted strike marked Maccelli’s second goal of the campaign and extended his active point streak to five games. The Finnish forward, who was the first over the boards in overtime alongside Bo Horvat and Matthew Schaefer, continues to emerge as a reliable top-six fixture as he adapts to DeBoer’s system.

Looking Ahead to Toronto

The Islanders leave Ottawa with an overall record of 3-3-1, having earned three of a possible four points in their last two outings against Canadian opponents. The club will conclude its brief two-game road trip on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, with faceoff scheduled for 7:00 PM Eastern Time at Scotiabank Arena.