In their third preseason game, the New Jersey Devils faced the New York Islanders in a Friday night Metropolitan matchup at UBS Arena. This marked the second time this week the two teams faced off, following the Devils’ 6-2 victory on Tuesday night.
Predictably, the Devils gave most of their starters a break, while the Islanders played a mixture of veterans and prospects. Most notably, the Devils had Paul Cotter, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Dougie Hamilton in the lineup, while the Islanders played Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat, and Matthew Schaefer—to name a few. The result was a 4-2 Devils victory, outshooting their opponents 27-25.
As planned, goaltender Jake Allen played the first half of the game, stopping 11 of 12 shots faced before Jakub Malek took over for the second half. The Islanders intended to do the same with Ilya Sorokin and Tristan Lennox, but Sorokin ended up staying in net for all three periods.
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The Devils opened the scoring two minutes into the first period on a goal from Luke Glendening, which was assisted by Seamus Casey and Brian Halonen. They maintained a 1-0 lead until the middle of the second period, when Marc Gatcomb scored for the Islanders to make it a tie game.
Yeah, this is filthy. pic.twitter.com/02YkWtgaY9
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) September 26, 2025
Tensions were high heading into the third, but the Devils fought back, rallying to score two unanswered goals. Nathan Legare and Arseni Gritsyuk helped the Devils regain a 3-1 lead. The Islanders made a valiant effort with a goal from Anthony Duclair, but the Devils sealed the deal with an empty netter courtesy of Angus Crookshank, securing a 4-2 victory.
The Devils will be back in action for a busy Sunday afternoon, with half the squad facing the Washington Capitals and the rest playing the Ottawa Senators. Meanwhile, the Islanders will face the New York Rangers at home on Monday night.
