Last week, the Vegas Golden Knights relieved Bruce Cassidy of his duties, replacing him with John Tortorella (they’ve fired off three consecutive wins). Well, the New York Islanders fired Patrick Roy on Sunday morning, replacing him with Pete DeBoer.

Like the Golden Knights, the Islanders made the decision to fire their coach while in a postseason spot. After picking Matthew Schaefer first overall in 2025, they’ve been one of the surprising teams of the 2025-26 season, currently with a 42-31-5 record and 89 points.

While they’re in a playoff spot, they’re still in the thick of things. The Islanders sit third in the Metropolitan Division, five points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins. They have the Philadelphia Flyers right behind them, as the Pennsylvania-based team has 88 points in two fewer games.

If the Islanders were to fall out of the third-placed spot, they’d be battling for a wild card spot with the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Washington Capitals. All four of those teams (and the Flyers) have 88 or 87 points.

DeBoer most recently coached the Dallas Stars, serving as their bench boss from 2022-23 until 2024-25. He’s served as a head coach in each of the last 17 years, spending time with the Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks, and Vegas Golden Knights. DeBoer has made two trips to the Stanley Cup Finals, once in 2012 with the Devils and again in 2016 with the Sharks.

This was Roy’s third season behind the bench of the Islanders, carrying them to a 97-78-22 record in the three seasons. He also spent three seasons with the Colorado Avalanche during the early portion of the 2010s.

Sidney Crosby and Brent Burns reach milestones

Two milestones were reached on Saturday. In Pittsburgh Penguins’ 9-4 victory over the Florida Panthers, Sidney Crosby passed Steve Yzerman to move into seventh in all-time scoring. Additionally, Brent Burns became just the second skater to dress in 1,000 consecutive games in the Colorado Avalanche’s 2-0 win over the Dallas Stars.

Starting with Crosby, he had two assists in the win, giving him 28 goals and 69 points in 65 games this season. The first assist tied the record, and the second broke it. Heading into Sunday’s game (also against the Panthers), Crosby has 653 goals and 1,756 points.

The next milestone for one of the best players of all time is Marcel Dionne’s 1,771 games. After that, Ron Francis had 1,798 points. Both seem obtainable for the Cole Harbour native next season. Despite turning 39 years old later this year, Crosby has continued his excellent play as the Penguins look destined to make the playoffs for the first time since 2021-22. Could Crosby win his fourth Stanley Cup?

Burns is still hunting for his first Stanley Cup of his lengthy career. The closest he’s gotten is in 2016 with the Sharks, where they fell to Crosby’s Penguins. He played all available games that season, same as the season before and every year since.

The 41-year-old defenceman’s iron man streak began on November 21st, 2013 in a Sharks victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. There is only one player in NHL history who has played more consecutive games than Burns, Phil Kessel. His streak of 1,064 games lasted from the 2008-09 season until the end of the 2022-23 season.

Assuming Burns plays next season, he’ll have a chance to break the record.

Sabres clinch playoffs

The last time the Buffalo Sabres made the post-season, Burns was still on the Minnesota Wild. Well, for the first time since 2010-11, the Sabres will play playoff hockey.

Starting this season 11-14-4, something seemed to change after a 7-4 loss to the Calgary Flames. In their next game, they defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in overtime, the first of a 10-game win streak. Since Dec. 9, 2025, the Sabres have gone 35-9-4, one of the best teams in hockey over that stretch.

There’s still a lot to play for before the Sabres make their NHL Bracket Challenge debut, as they’re in a dogfight to finish first in the Atlantic Division. They have 100 points and are third, the same under of points as the Montréal Canadiens have (albeit the Canadiens have played fewer games). Sitting at the top of the Atlantic Division for now are the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Sabres are one of seven teams to have clinched a spot, joining the Lightning, Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes, Avalanche, Wild, and Dallas Stars.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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