Islanders vs. Mammoth Gameday: New year, new Olympian

The year 2026 is upon us, Bo Horvat is an Olympian and something called the Utah Mammoth is in town to kick the new year off with a 3 p.m. EST start.

Before the calendar flipped, the Islanders eked out a shootout win in Chicago in far-from-convincing performance against a injury-laden squad. Hopefully they’ve got their heads screwed on straight this afternoon.

No practice on New Year’s Eve and no morning skate for this matinee, so lineup news will come shortly before gametime. Ilya Sorokin’s status and which forward gets scratched are among the open questions.

First Islanders Goal picks go here.

Islanders News

• Previewing this afternoon: The Mammoth have lost their last two, though Islander killer Dylan Guenther — who absolutely will score today — has been hot. [Isles]
• Looking back at some franchise turning points in 2025. [LHH]
• Bo Horvat was named to the Team Canada Olympic team that will play at the short rink in Italy! Exciting for him, hopefully he doesn’t get hurt, exhausted, etc. He’s thrilled, shared the moment with family. [Newsday | Isles]
• Here’s full video of Horvat’s media availability, post-Olympic news. [Isles]
• Canada GM Doug Armstrong raved about Matthew Schaefer, said it’s unbelievable how he entered the Olympic conversation at age 18, and after not being on the radar three months ago. [Sportsnet]
• There are players who have been asked to “stay ready” in case of injury heading into the Olympics. Armstrong did not disclose who they are. [Sportsnet]
• Mat Barzal was asked about his slash on Mason Marchment. [Newsday]
• Chatting with Matt Maggio on rebounding in Bridgeport, where he’s started to produce and said he’s improved his overall game under Rocky Thompson. [Isles on the Sound]

Elsewhere

• Here’s the full Team Canada roster. [NHL]
• The Sabres have now won 10 in a row. They are now in a wild card spot, two points behind the Isles. [Sportsnet]
• The Flyers and Penguins swapped a couple Who? guys. [TSN]