The Islanders didn’t have much of an issue with their would-be tying goal getting waived off Saturday.
Coach Patrick Roy did not explicitly agree with the call, but admitted he likely would have lost a challenge had he made one on Bo Horvat’s shot that was tipped in by Blues defender Justin Faulk but immediately discounted, resulting from Kyle Palmieri skating into goaltender Jordan Binnington.
Jonathan Drouin drew a four-minute double minor high stick on the play, giving the Islanders a power play for the last 2:06 of the eventual 2-1 loss to St. Louis, but they couldn’t convert.
The Islanders’ goal in the third period was waived off in their 2-1 loss to the Blues on Nov. 22, 2025. Getty Images
“I think Palmsy went in by himself, and I know there was a bump afterwards,” Roy said. “So we had a four-minute, two-minute, six-on-four. We were confident we could do something with that, but I don’t think we would’ve won the challenge.”
Roy said the play was similar to the goal that was waved off for the Stars at the end of the Islanders win last week in Dallas — a play on which the Islanders were on the right end.
He added that even if the Islanders did not get a power play — which made the math on a 50/50 challenge worse, as the Isles would have been called for delay of game had they lost a potential challenge — he would not have rolled the dice by asking for a review.
“No, I don’t think we would have won that challenge,” he said. “Between you and I, I would prefer the referee call a good goal and let them challenge it, but that’s what it is.”
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It’s rare that a goaltender interference call doesn’t prompt at least some disagreement given the rule’s ambiguity, but this one seemed to be the exception to the rule.
“It’s tough to decipher, let alone challenge,” Anders Lee said. “Sometimes with the rule, I feel like it can be a toss-up sometimes. I think we took the four-minute penalty and used that instead of taking the challenge, losing, [going] four-on-four. I don’t know. It’s just tough.”
Roy did not have an update on Alexander Romanov (right arm), saying Romanov was talking to doctors on Saturday.
The Islanders held a pregame tribute and a moment of silence in honor of Post columnist Larry Brooks, who died Nov. 13 at age 75 while the team was on its seven-game road trip.
On the ice from Long Island
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A seat in the press box was set aside for Brooks along with a flower arrangement.