Road Warriors.

The Islanders closed out their seven-game road trip with a commanding 5–0 win over the Detroit Red Wings, finishing the stretch with an impressive 6–1 record. The victory featured standout production from the fourth line, as Max Shabanov scored twice and Cal Ritchie tallied his second goal in as many nights. Ilya Sorokin stopped all 29 Detroit shots, earning his second shutout of both the season and the road trip.

Detroit came out fast, forcing Sorokin to be sharp early. The Red Wings’ J.T. Compher was called for slashing Holmstrom’s stick, giving the Islanders their first chance to generate offense. Detroit killed off the penalty, but a turnover near their own bench gave New York an odd-man rush. Shabanov collected the loose puck as he crossed the blue line and fed Cal Ritchie, who snapped a shot past John Gibson to open the scoring. With five minutes left in the period, the fourth line struck again when Shabanov picked up a puck off a faceoff win by Ritchie and ripped a shot over Gibson’s shoulder.

Early in the second period, the fourth line factored in again—sort of. Cal Ritchie absorbed a high stick that went uncalled as the play moved up ice. Matt Barzal jumped on in his place and buried a top-shelf shot off a feed from Casey Cizikas, extending the Islanders’ lead to 3–0. Just 1:45 later, Bo Horvat made it 4–0, tying the league lead in goals. Midway through the period, Detroit’s Ben Chiarot was assessed a double minor for high-sticking Matthew Schaefer, giving the Islanders a four-minute power play. New York controlled play for most of the advantage, but Detroit managed to kill it off. As the period wound down, the Red Wings tried to shift momentum with physical play, but the Islanders carried their 4–0 lead into the intermission.

Shabanov completed his big night in the third, splitting the defense after a steal by Cizikas and beating Gibson low on the glove side with a smooth inside-out deke. Down 5–0, Detroit turned to more physicality, leading to a scrum after Scott Mayfield was called for interference. When it was sorted out, both Mayfield and Chiarot were assessed game misconducts, and Detroit received a two-minute power play—one the Islanders successfully killed.

New York played one of its most complete games of the season, capping an exceptional road trip and securing a critical two points in a tight Atlantic Conference race.