Takeaways: Islanders Fall to Rangers 6-1 in Preseason Action
Semyon Varlamov plays full game, while Alexander Romanov and Ryan Pulock make preseason debuts
Semyon Varlamov plays full game, while Alexander Romanov and Ryan Pulock make preseason debuts
By Shannon Bickert September 26, 2026 Link copied The New York Islanders fell 6-1 to the New York Rangers on Friday night in preseason action at UBS Arena.
Oliver Bjorkstrand, J.T. Miller (1G, 1A), Tye Kartye, Gabe Perreault, Will Cuylle and Mika Zibanejad (1G, 1A) netted the Rangers' goals. Adam Fox had three assists on a night where the Rangers iced an NHL-heavy lineup while the Isles iced a largely AHL squad.
"There's a mismatch in lineups, an obvious mismatch in lineups, but I think when you look at the game from an evaluation point of view, you've got to pick out the good moments,” Head Coach Pete DeBoer said. “The things that guys did individually well, even though the team game was tilted in their favor."
Pierre Engvall was the Islanders lone goal scorer, breaking Igor Shesterkin’s shutout bid with 8:38 remaining.
Shesterkin stopped 15-of-16 shots. Semyon Varlamov stopped 21-of-27 shots for the Islanders.
The Islanders will play their final preseason tilt on Saturday at UBS Arena against the New Jersey Devils.
Varlamov played his first full 60 minutes since Nov. 29, 2024. After coming off a clean sheet against the Blueshirts in a half game on Tuesday, Friday's matchup was a tougher outing for Varlamov, who conceded six goals on 27 shots.