Kyle Palmieri Among NY Islanders Vets in Lineup Against NY Rangers

The preseason game against the New York Rangers will be an important one for Kyle Palmieri.

Nov 28, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders center Kyle Palmieri (21) makes a pass after being injured against the Philadelphia Flyers during the second period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The 2025-26 season changed drastically for the New York Islanders on Nov. 28, 2025, when forward Kyle Palmieri suffered a season-ending ACL injury.

The veteran winger got tangled with Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale along the boards while battling for the puck. He hobbled off the ice, but not before stealing the puck from Emil Andrae and assisting on a goal by Emil Heineman.

That was the last time Palmieri took the ice for the Islanders, but his time away is set to come to an end. The veteran winger is expected to play in his first game since tearing his ACL when New York travels to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers in their second preseason game of the year.

Palmeiri, like so many other Islanders veterans, didn’t play in the team’s first preseason game against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday afternoon, which was a 2-1 loss. Head coach Peter DeBoer was happy with how his team of mostly AHL and rookie camp players performed.

Kyle Palmieri set for highly-anticipated return to ice

Nov 23, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders center Kyle Palmieri (21) celebrates after scoring the game winning shootout goal in overtime against the Seattle Kraken at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In Game 2 against the Rangers, he is going with a lineup that will more closely resemble what fans will see when New York starts the regular season next week against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Islanders are going with a veteran-heavy group so that they can get players into two games, the maximum allowed for some players in the preseason, and avoid having them play in the back-to-back set over the weekend.

Tuesday night is expected to be the first time that Matias Maccelli, the team’s biggest free agent signing this summer, suits up with the orange and blue.

It will be interesting to see what line combinations DeBoer goes with in the exhibition, as it could hint at what he is thinking for the regular season, especially with star forward Mathew Barzal sidelined for another week because of an injury. 

Ondrej Palat, who played in the first exhibition game, is also not taking the ice tonight. Pierre Engvall is another veteran who isn’t taking the ice in Game 2 after playing in Game 1. Also absent is Anthony Duclair, Alexander Romanov and Ryan Pulock.

Tonight’s Game Day Roster in New York! ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/S0N2orvac4

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) September 22, 2026

Brayden Schenn, Bo Horvat, Mitchell Chaffee, Kyle MacLean, JG Pageau, Casey Cizikas and Simon Holmstrom are all taking the ice for the first time at forward.

Calum Ritchie, Cole Eiserman and Victor Eklund are all in the lineup for the second straight game to get another look.

New York will have six defensemen in the lineup tonight. Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield, Matthew Schaefer and Tony DeAngelo are making their preseason debuts. Kashawn Aitcheson and Isaiah George are skating for the second time in as many games.

On the goaltender depth chart, the Islanders are going with Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov after Vitek Vanecek played the entire game against the Devils, stopping 20 out of 22 shots.