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Islanders’ Matias Maccelli calms two preseason concerns with two-goal performance

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Crane, A. (2026, September 23). Islanders’ Matias Maccelli calms two preseason concerns with two-goal performance. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/23/sports/islanders-matias-maccelli-calms-two-preseason-concerns-with-two-goal-performance/

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New York Post · collected 2026-09-23 · by Andrew Crane

Quick Summary

Matias Maccelli addressed two preseason concerns for the Islanders by scoring both goals during a power-play situation in their second preseason game against the Rangers. The 23-year-old forward's performance indicated potential for a top-six role and improving the team’s struggling power play from last season. Head coach Pete DeBoer praised Maccelli’s contributions but cautioned that it was only one game, suggesting more work ahead to solidify his role on the team.
Written by AI on 2026-09-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In their second preseason game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, Matias Maccelli of the Islanders addressed two key uncertainties from training camp with an impressive performance. Skating on the left side of the Islanders’ second line, Maccelli scored two goals, both during power-play opportunities in a 4-3 victory over the Blueshirts. These goals helped revive the Islanders' struggling power play and showed potential for Maccelli to fulfill his role as a top-six forward, possibly replacing Anders Lee. Maccelli had previously played on Toronto Maple Leafs’ top lines but struggled last season with only 14 goals and 39 points, including periods where he was a healthy scratch. His performance against the Rangers suggests he may be poised to establish himself in a more consistent role this upcoming NHL season.

Written for “Islanders Preseason Performance” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Islanders Preseason Performance
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 23% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different preseason games and performances by different players.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
23%
5 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15307 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Andrew Crane
64 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Andrew Crane
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 64 articles by Andrew Crane →

Topics

Blueshirts Islanders NHL Rangers the Maple Leafs’

Subjects

Islanders ORG · 5× Maccelli PERSON · 5× DeBoer PERSON · 4× NHL ORG · 2× Schaefer PERSON · 2× Anders Lee PERSON · 1× Auston Matthews PERSON · 1× Blueshirts ORG · 1× Matias Maccelli PERSON · 1× the Maple Leafs’ ORG · 1×

Narrative

And in their second preseason game, against a lineup containing plenty of NHL regulars, both flashed some potential as Maccelli — who also skated on the left side of the Islanders’ second line in their 4-3 win over the Blueshirts at the Garden — collected two of their three goals with the man advantage.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-23
🔮 Two of the uncertainties that followed the Islanders into training camp involved the version of Matias Maccelli they’d get — whether he could produce in the top six as some type of Anders Lee replacement — and whether they could revive their power play.

Claims (22 extracted, 5 hedged)

Two of the uncertainties that followed the Islanders into training camp involved the version of Matias Maccelli they’d get — whether he could produce in the top six as some type of Anders Lee replacement — and whether they could revive their power play. uncertain
they → follow → play
And in their second preseason game, against a lineup containing plenty of NHL regulars, both flashed some potential as Maccelli — who also skated on the left side of the Islanders’ second line in their 4-3 win over the Blueshirts at the Garden — collected two of their three goals with the man advantage. asserted
who → contain → advantage
Maccelli started last season on the Maple Leafs’ top line alongside Auston Matthews, but he was also at one point a healthy scratch and finished with just 14 goals and 39 points. asserted
he → start → goals
“Obviously, that’s the goal, to play in that role,” Maccelli said of trying to carve out a top six role and run with it. asserted
Maccelli → ’ → it
“It was a good start for that [Tuesday], and try not to think about it too much and just come to the rink and do my job and play as good as I can.” asserted
I → try → job
Maccelli’s first goal contained a fortunate bounce, as he flung a puck toward the net that bounced off Rangers defenseman Sean Durzi and went in. asserted
that → contain → Durzi
But for his second tally, he collected a generous rebound from Spencer Martin off a shot from Matthew Schaefer and deposited the puck into the net. asserted
he → collect → net
Maccelli acknowledged that it was just the preseason, but Tuesday’s goals still served as an encouraging sign that his one-year flier with the Islanders could end up being worth it. uncertain
flier → acknowledge → Islanders
“You need a certain amount of goals in this league in order to get in the playoffs, regardless of how well you defend,” Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer said. asserted
DeBoer → need → playoffs
“You still have to put the puck in the net at a certain level in order to give yourself a chance to get in the playoffs. asserted
You → have → playoffs
So I think our conversations were around ‘how do we add some goals to the lineup,’ and that included adding guys that could help our power play — and I think he checked both those boxes. uncertain
he → think → boxes
“He did what he’s supposed to do [Tuesday] in order to make a statement about where he fits on this team. asserted
he → do → team
And it could directly coincide with the emergence of a power-play unit that finished with the third-worst success rate in the NHL (16.5 percent) last season. uncertain
that → coincide → NHL
DeBoer said the unit “felt dangerous” during their power-play chances — with Schaefer recording the other goal — but said he wanted to “temper our enthusiasm.” asserted
he → say → enthusiasm
“It’s one game,” DeBoer said. asserted
DeBoer → ’ → ?
“We’re working on some things. asserted
We → work → things
If we go 0-for-4 tomorrow, the sky’s not falling, either.” asserted
sky → go → 0
DeBoer said postgame — when asked about Schaefer — that the second-year superstar will be “a future captain of this team.” asserted
superstar → say → team
“He’s one of those players at the end of my coaching career, I’m gonna sit on a deck somewhere and think about that I got a front-row seat to watch that guy play hockey, which is pretty special,” DeBoer said. asserted
DeBoer → ’ → hockey
Defenseman Ethan Bear and goaltender Henrik Tikkanen were waived Tuesday for the purpose of assignment to AHL Hamilton. asserted
Bear → waive → Hamilton
Cameron Berg, Cam Thiesing, Jesse Pulkkinen, Hunter Drew, Ryan Healey, Luke Rowe, Ryan Fanti, Brandon Scanlon, Jesse Nurmi, Joey Larson, Gleb Veremyev and Calle Odelius were all assigned to the Hammers, according to the team. uncertain
Berg → assign → team
… Kyle MacLean scored the first Islanders goal. asserted
MacLean → score → goal
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