Veteran Forward Scores Goal in First Islanders Game After Trade

For Ondrej Palat, his first-ever game with the New York Islanders resulted in him being named the contest's first star.

Against the New York Rangers, the Islanders captured a dominant 5-2 win over a team that has been struggling all year. A whopping 11 members of the Isles' roster posted points. Among them was Palat. He posted both one goal and an assist — all just one day after he was traded away from the New Jersey Devils.

On Jan. 27, the Devils received forward Maxim Tsyplakov in a trade with the Islanders in exchange for Palat and New Jersey’s third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, as well as the club’s sixth-round selection.

At the time of the trade, Palat had 515 points (181 goals, 334 assists) across 876 NHL games played. The left winger was signed as a free agent by New Jersey in July of 2022 but was spotted departing Prudential Center on the day of the transaction.

Now, his numbers have only increased and he since has earned his first Iron Man mask as the Islanders' player of the game after opened the scoring with a one-timer from the slot on the power-play 14:59 into the first period.

Palat Starts Off Islanders Era With Rowdy Crowd Reaction

Palat also earned a secondary assist on Emil Heineman’s goal to make it 5-2 — which would eventually become the final score — with 48 seconds left in the second period. He got a loud ovation from the fans in attendance at UBS Arena when he was named the game’s first star and was photographed in the team's tradition mask of the Iron Man mask postgame.

“For [my] first game, I thought we played well,” Palat said to NHL.com after the win. “Bo and Heinny helped me so much.”

Jan 28, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders left wing Ondrej Palat (81) celebrates his goal against the New York Rangers during the first period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images | Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

Palat had only 10 points for the Devils throughout the current 2025-26 season, with four scores and six assists. The news came in the midst of New Jersey's then-ongoing game against the Jets, which was at 1-1 by the conclusion of the first period.

New Jersey would go on to lose 4-3 to the Winnipeg Jets; the Devils next see action in hosting the Nashville Predators on Jan. 29.

TWO ANGLES. ONE PALAT GOAL. pic.twitter.com/6nv81Lc4MU
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) January 29, 2026

Formerly of the New York Rangers, Carson Soucy also had two shots on goal in 16:38 of ice time in his Islanders debut. On Jan. 26, the Isles had sent the Rangers a 2026 third-round pick for the defenseman.

Coach Patrick Roy of the Isles said it was a positive sign to see both Palat and Soucy have a good debut.

“I think the guys were excited to see these guys come in,” Roy said. “It’s nice to see Ondrej get a goal on the power play. It was a nice shot by him, but I thought both adjusted very well. Ondrej and Carson, I felt like they played a solid game for us, for guys who didn’t have much time to understand or see our structure. You can tell they are good vets.”

General Manager Mathieu Darche made both of the roster transactions. Both the New York Rangers, New York Islanders and Palat are scheduled to face off again on Jan. 29.

The league break for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics also nears, and the Olympic roster freeze begins Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. ET and runs through Feb. 22.

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