New York Islanders

After New York Islanders winger Anthony Duclair was ripped by head coach Patrick Roy for showing "god-awful" effort in Tuesday night's loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, he won't be on the ice for a while.

Roy told reporters on Thursday that he and Duclair had "a very good conversation" in which the 29-year-old asked to "take some time off and reflect." The team agreed to "give him all the time that he needs."

Duclair spent long stretches on the bench and finished with just 12:15 of ice time in Tuesday's loss, and Roy didn't hold back his thoughts after the game.

"He was god-awful. He was god-awful. He had a bad game. That's why I didn't play him a lot. And he's lucky to be in the lineup. Sorry if I lose it on him right now, but that's how I feel," Roy said, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

When asked why Duclair's ice time was cut, Roy said it was "an effort thing" and added: "He's not skating. He's not competing. He's not moving his feet. He's not playing up to what we expect from him."

An 11-year veteran, Duclair is in his first season with the Islanders. In 44 games, he has recorded seven goals and four assists for 11 points, well below his typical level of production.

Perhaps some time away from the ice can help Duclair get back on track. The Islanders (32-32-10) must start building momentum to stay alive in the race for a wild-card spot.

The New York Islanders will be without defenseman Mike Reilly for an indefinite amount of time because he is scheduled to undergo a heart procedure Tuesday, per Stefen Rosner of NHL.com.

The 31-year-old has been sidelined since he suffered a concussion during a game on Nov. 1, and the heart condition was discovered when he was undergoing concussion testing.

"It was picked up through the different echocardiograms that you do for different reasons that you go through with any post-concussion situation," Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said Monday. "It's probably a blessing in disguise of what transpired. They detected this, something that you're sometimes born with but never knew."

While there is no timetable for Reilly's return, Lamoriello also said: "[His quality of life will be] 100 percent, and he will be able to play once this procedure is done. It takes quite a bit of time. It could be several months before he's back because of the type of procedure."

The defenseman signed a one-year deal with the Islanders ahead of the 2024-25 season.

He has appeared in 11 games this year after playing 59 games for New York last season. He finished the 2023-24 campaign with 24 points on six goals and 18 assists.

Reilly has been in the NHL since the 2015-16 season and previously played for the Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers.

It only took the Carolina Hurricanes five games to eliminate Mathew Barzal and the New York Islanders from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Islanders' season ended Tuesday night with a 6-3 Game 5 loss after a third-period collapse in North Carolina.

Barzal assisted twice as the Islanders recovered from an early deficit to head into the final frame with the score tied.

The Islanders then allowed two goals in eight seconds.

The late collapse disappointed Islanders fans, especially after New York blew a three-goal lead earlier in the series while losing Game 2 to the Hurricanes:

The elimination loss was particularly painful after fans watched former Islanders captain John Tavares set up a game-winning overtime goal, keeping the Toronto Maple Leafs' playoff hopes alive in their own series against the Boston Bruins, the same night:

To add insult to injury, the New York Knicks also lost in overtime to the Philadelphia 76ers, squandering a chance to close out their own first-round series in five games.

In addition, the New York Yankees lost 4-2 to the Baltimore Orioles.

The Islanders now face the question of how much to rebuild the current roster in the offseason after a regular season in which they only narrowly qualified for the playoffs.

Tuesday night's collapse had some fans calling for a complete rebuild:

While the Islanders prepare for locker cleanout, the Hurricanes will advance to the second round. Next the Canes will take on the New York Rangers, fresh out of their first-round sweep of the Washington Capitals.

The 2026 NHL All-Star Game will take place at the New York Islanders' UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.

This will be the first All-Star event hosted at UBS Arena, where the Islanders moved in 2021.

"We have been looking forward to UBS Arena playing host to one of our major League events since before construction of this wonderful arena began," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

The Islanders last hosted the All-Star Game at Nassau Coliseum in 1983. Wayne Gretzky earned his first NHL All-Star MVP Award during the event.

The news was announced on Sunday's ABC broadcast by Islanders alumni and Hockey Hall of Famers Dennis Potvin and Brian Trottier.

Although the dates of the 2026 All-Star weekend have yet to be announced, the event will take place before the 2026 Winter Olympics, which are scheduled to begin in Milan on February 6.

The Games will feature NHL players for the first time since Sochi 2014 thanks to an agreement brokered between the league, the players' association, the International Ice Hockey Federation, and the International Olympic Committee.

Marty Walsh, NHLPA Executive Director, called the upcoming All-Star Game "an exciting lead-in to the 2026 Olympic Winter Games."

The event at UBS Arena will also mark the first NHL All-Star weekend in two years after the league skips the event during the 2024-25 season.

Next season, the All-Star weekend will be replaced by the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, which is set to take place from Feb. 12 to Feb. 20. The seven-game tournament will take place in two host cities, one in the United States and one in Canada, that have yet to be announced.

The 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend took place at the Toronto Maple Leafs' Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario from Feb. 1-3 as Mathew Barzal represented the Islanders. The event featured an expanded three-day schedule revamped skills competition designed with input from Connor McDavid.

For the 2026 event, the league is considering "a format with more international emphasis," according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.