NEW YORK (AP) — Carson Soucy scored against the team that traded him 72 hours earlier, Matthew Schaefer got the 14th goal of his stellar rookie year and the New York Islanders defeated the Rangers 2-1 on Thursday night.

Snapshots from the New York Islanders' win over the New York Rangers on January 28th, 2026. Photo credit: Dennis DaSilva, Sam Johnston, Emeline Malkin/New York Islanders and Steven Ryan/NHLI via Getty Images

Under head coach Barry Trotz, the New York Islanders reached the NHL semifinals in 2020 and 2021 - the deepest playoff trips for the Islanders since their run of five straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final ended in 1984.

The New York Rangers face the New York Islanders Wednesday at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET.

New York Islanders GM Mathieu Darche made two notable trades this week, adding Carson Soucy and Ondrej Palat from rivals.

Ilya Sorokin stops 21 shots for his sixth shutout of the season, leading the New York Islanders to a 4-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers

New York Islanders GM Mathieu Darche is open to bold trades, including moving first-round picks, to bolster the playoff-contending roster. He emphasized that any moves must make sense and genuinely improve the team,

Matthew Schaefer broke a tie with Bobby Orr for the second-most goals by an 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history when he scored his 14th in the New York Islanders' victory against the

The New York Islanders were 35-23-10 (.588 points percentage) and will enter the Stanley Cup Qualifiers as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference. They will play the No. 10 seed, the Florida Panthers (35-26-8, .565 points percentage), in one of eight best-of-5 series. The qualifiers will start Aug. 1 at a site to be determined.