The Devils on Tuesday traded Ondrej Palat, a 2026 third-round pick and 2027 sixth-round pick to the Islanders in exchange for bulky forward Maxim Tsyplakov.

Just one day after being traded away from the New Jersey Devils, this veteran forward scored his first goal for the New York Islanders en route to their win over the New York Rangers.

Pregame analysis and predictions of the Nashville Predators vs. New York Islanders NHL game to be played on January 31, 2026 on ESPN.

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 Rangers

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.

Curiously enough, the Rangers and Islanders meet again tonight at The Garden following last night's weird encounter at UBS Arena in Elmont.

The "Battle of New York' featuring the Islanders and the Rangers is set for Thursday night as the two NHL rivals face off at Madison Square Garden.

Snapshots from the New York Islanders' 2-1 win over the New York Rangers on January 29th, 2026. Photo credit: Dennis DaSilva/New York Islanders and Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images