The New York Islanders overpowered the Colorado Avalanche 6–3 on Thursday, improving to 15-10-3 and handing Colorado just its second regulation loss of the season—spoiling Brock Nelson’s Long Island homecoming in the process. It was an especially commanding win for New York, not only because of the final score, but because of how convincingly they executed despite missing a host of key contributors.
The Islanders entered the night severely depleted. Alexander Romanov was lost for the season after being on the receiving end of the Mikko Rantanen freight train, and Kyle Palmieri had recently been ruled out for the year as well after tearing his ACL. J.G. Pageau remained sidelined on a week-to-week timetable, with a tentative return projected just before Christmas.
Given the mounting injuries—and the fact that the Islanders had already fallen to Colorado earlier this season at Ball Arena—many viewed this matchup as a scheduled loss.
Compounding matters, Jonathan Drouin, who spent the previous two seasons with the Avalanche before signing a two-year deal with New York in the offseason, was a late scratch due to a back injury. Despite the mounting absences, the Islanders delivered one of their most resilient performances of the season.
Avs Lose Convincingly
Despite all of the adversity the Islanders have gone through leading up to this game, one person who truly believed this team had a chance to deliver the NHL’s juggernaut a defeat, Isles head coach Patrick Roy.
“The focus was to play against the best team in the NHL… I believe that if there’s a team that could surprise them, it’s us,” Roy said.
Patrick Roy says he didn't know he won his 200th NHL game as a head coach until Anders Lee gave him a game puck
— Islanders Videos (@SNY_Islanders) December 5, 2025
"The focus was to play against the best team in the NHL. Like I said to them before the game, I believe if there's a team that could surprise them it's us" pic.twitter.com/jVD2pehRwM
With a 6–3 victory over the Avalanche, New York didn’t simply defeat one of the league’s strongest teams; they brought Colorado’s impressive 17-game point streak to a convincing end.
Sure, the goaltender interference didn’t help, but what also didn’t help the Avalanche is the fact they were bad with the puck and committed a lot of bad turnovers that put the Islanders in prime position to capitalize, and indeed they did.
Mathew Barzal paced the Islanders’ offense with a goal and two assists, while Kyle MacLean, Anders Lee, Bo Horvat, and Adam Pelech each found the back of the net as New York secured its second straight victory. Ilya Sorokin was sharp throughout, turning aside 35 shots, and Casey Cizikas sealed the win with an empty-netter.
#Avalanche 1 @ #Islanders 4 [P2–11:21]:
— NHL Goal Videos (@NHLGoalsVideo) December 5, 2025
Goal: Valeri Nichushkin (6)
13’ Deflection
Assists: S.Malinski (12), B.Nelson (9)#GoAvsGo#Isles#NHLpic.twitter.com/7IEpCmjzBU
For Colorado, Valeri Nichushkin, Martin Necas, and Artturi Lehkonen provided the scoring, and Mackenzie Blackwood delivered a 36-save effort in the losing effort.
Next Game
There were, unquestionably, a few bright spots for the Avalanche, and they were all just mentioned. Nichushkin, Necas, and Lehkonen each broke through after prolonged scoring droughts, and Blackwood—despite the loss—made several key saves early that kept the game from spiraling further out of reach.
The best approach now is to take this one on the chin, clean up the mistakes, and return to the form that has carried them through the season so far.
The Avalanche (19-2-6) will look to rebound on Saturday when they face the New York Rangers (15-12-2) at Madison Square Garden, opening a back-to-back with a 10:30 a.m. local start.
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