Islanders Morning Skate: Shabanov Out vs. Red Wings; MacLean Talks Gatcomb Situation

The Islanders battle the Red Wings at 7 PM ET on MSGSN.

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Oct 23, 2025

EAST MEADOW, NY — The New York Islanders (3-3-0) host the Detroit Red Wings (5-2-0) at UBS Arena on Thursday night. This game can be found on MSGSN with puck drop at 7 PM ET.

LINEUP UPDATES

Alexander Romanov (upper body, day-to-day) has been placed on IR (retro Oct. 16) and will miss his third straight game.
Maxim Shabanov (upper body) will not play.
Mathew Barzal did not take part in the morning skate due to “load management” but will play as the Islanders are being proactive with his knee.
David Rittich (1-0-0, 2.00 GAA, .939 SV%) will make his second start of the season.
- Won his Islanders debut with 31 saves on 33 shots vs. Edmonton.
- Has dominated the Red Wings in his career: 4-0-1 record, 1.68 GAA, .926 SV% in five appearances.
- Last meeting: 17 saves on 18 shots in a win on Nov. 16, 2024.

LINES:

Jonathan Drouin -- Bo Horvat -- Emil Heineman

Anthony Duclair -- Mathew Barzal -- Kyle Palmieri

Anders Lee -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Simon Holmstrom

Kyle MacLean -- Casey Cizikas -- Maxim Tsyplakov

Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock

Matthew Schaefer -- Scott Mayfield

Adam Boqvist -- Tony DeAngelo

David Rittich

Ilya Sorokin

WHO’S HOT

Bo Horvat scored his fifth goal in three games on Tuesday.
- First Islander since Jean-Gabriel Pageau (April 2022) to record five goals in a three-game span.
- His career-best goal streak is four straight (March 2022).
Emil Heineman: goals in back-to-back games, points in four straight (3G, 1A).
Mathew Barzal: points in three straight games (1G, 3A).
Matthew Schaefer extended his historic career-opening point streak to six games (1G, 1A Tuesday).
- Tied Marek Zidlicky (2003) for the longest point streak by a defenseman to begin a career.
- Second Islander ever with points in six straight games to start a career (joining Bob Bourne).
Anders Lee leads all Islanders with 13 goals in 30 career games vs. Detroit.
Barzal (20 assists) and Jonathan Drouin (25 points) top the Islanders in career production vs. the Red Wings.

OPPONENT’S NOTES — DETROIT RED WINGS

Fell 4-2 to Buffalo on Wednesday in the first of a back-to-back.
- Goals by Jack Quinn and Josh Doan sealed Buffalo’s win; Colten Ellis earned his first NHL victory (25 saves).
Patrick Kane (upper body) is out for the entire road trip.
Dylan Larkin has points in all seven games this season (5G, 7A, 12 PTS).
- Achieved this feat twice to start a season (also 2023-24).
- First Red Wing to do so since Brian Rafalski (2008-09).
James van Riemsdyk leads active Red Wings in career scoring vs. Islanders: 13G, 28A, 41 PTS in 58 GP.
Cam Talbot (3-3-0, 1.78 GAA, .932 SV%) will start Thursday.
- Last start: 20 saves on 21 shots vs. Florida (Oct. 15).
- Career vs. Islanders: 8-3-1, 2.52 GAA, .922 SV% in 14 games.
- Last faced New York on Dec. 9, 2023 (3 GA on 30 shots, OT loss with L.A.).

KYLE MACLEAN ON MARC GATCOMB

On Wednesday, the Islanders placed forward Marc Gatcomb on waivers. We await to see what happens and will know for sure at 2 PM, but there’s an incredibly likely chance that he gets claimed. Kyle MacLean was kept over Gatcomb, and the two are close.

Here’s my chat with MacLean on the unknown and seeing a friend who has to go through waivers.

Stefen Rosner: Obviously, you’ve known Gatcomb for a while and gone through a lot together. How tough is it to see him go through this situation

Kyle MacLean: “Yeah, you don’t want to see that, but we’ll see what happens. Gats a great guy. He’s great to have in the locker room, so we’ll see what happens. But, yeah, it’s kind of crappy.”

Stefen Rosner: How much has he pushed you?

Kyle MacLean: “I mean, we played together a lot last year, and obviously we’re in a similar situation this year. That’s the on-ice relationship and stuff. I played a lot of minutes with him last year and being on my line. So, like I said, we’ll see what happens, and hopefully we don’t lose him.”

Stefen Rosner: Obviously, it’s tough to see it happen, but for you — you kind of won the job. How do you look at it? What’s your mindset when you see that they had a choice and you’re still here?

Kyle MacLean: “Yeah, well, I think it’s just timing, when things shake out. I don’t read too much into it. You know, you gotta focus on yourself and what you can do. Can’t read too much into what Darche’s doing — that’s his job. So he’ll worry about that. We’ll just worry about playing on the ice and doing our thing.”

Stefen Rosner: How have you felt so far this season?

Kyle MacLean: “Pretty good. I thought my first game was maybe a little better than my second, but I think playing tonight, I just gotta be consistent, bring some energy, and keep building.”