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Islanders coach benches two forwards late in game as he rips team’s poor play

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Sears, E. (2026, October 16). Islanders coach benches two forwards late in game as he rips team’s poor play. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/16/sports/islanders-coach-benches-wingers-during-game-as-he-rips-teams-poor-play/

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New York Post · collected 2026-10-16 · by Ethan Sears

Quick Summary

Pete DeBoer benched forwards Calum Ritchie and Anthony Duclair late in a game against the Senators due to poor play, including penalties taken by both players during the second period. Ritchie played just two shifts in the third period before being benched for 11:30, while Duclair took four shifts before sitting out for 9:25. DeBoer also removed defenseman Matt Kessel from the ice for the final 12:30 of the game. The coach explained that he is still assessing player performance and making in-game adjustments as part of his approach to learning about the team early in the season.
Written by AI on 2026-10-16, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In a recent NHL game against the Ottawa Senators, the New York Islanders' coach Pete DeBoer benched two forwards, Calum Ritchie and Anthony Duclair, late in the contest. This came after Ritchie and Duclair had each taken penalties earlier in the second period. The benching was notably harsh, with Ritchie not playing for 11:30 of the third period and Duclair for 9:25, both towards the end of a 2-1 shootout loss. DeBoer publicly criticized their performance, marking one of his few direct criticisms this season due to poor puck management and penalties taken on the road, which he emphasized as critical mistakes. The Islanders' coach also noted that such decisions are made by players’ performances during games, indicating dissatisfaction with Ritchie's and Duclair’s play during the match.

Written for “Islanders Coach Bench Players For Poor Performance” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Islanders Coach Bench Players For Poor Performance
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Star
Hedges 2 of 57 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different events involving separate teams and players.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 5 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the Islanders' team dynamics and do not describe the same specific incident or time.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss lineup changes involving Calum Ritchie and Anthony Duclair, they describe different games on different dates.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 34 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different phases of the same situation, with Article A reporting on the benching decision and its context, while Article B focuses on Ritchie's response to the benching and his position in a later game.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 24 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 2026-10-16 · 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 · 15868 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Ethan Sears
66 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 And now the Islanders will hold their breath, hoping there is no hearing and subsequent suspension for Emil Heineman following his knee-on-knee hit to Isaac Howard that got him kicked out of Saturday’s match just 2:22 into the proceedings.
🔮 The Islanders were on their heels late in regulation, requiring a few scrambling defensive shifts to get the game to overtime, but they would eventually earn the extra point.
🔮 And second, while it might be true that three goals gives you a good chance every night, it leaves little margin for error.
🔮 To the extent there’s a worry, it’s less about the here and now and more that the mileage Schaefer accumulates as a teenager could affect him in the future.
🔮 The suggestion that Scott Mayfield may soon ask for a trade was shot down earlier this week by Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche.
🔮 DALLAS — The day before a game in which he’s set to be the main character, Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer was typically understated regarding his own return here.
🔮 Since the Islanders’ 3-2 defeat to the Kings in overtime was Eklund’s 10th game with the club this year, the Swede — who scored a power play goal in the loss— will officially burn a year of his entry-level contract.
🔮 Artemi Panarin pondered the question of whether it would feel like a homecoming of sorts to play on Long Island, and in the moment, he never really answered it.
🔮 The last scene similar to that, which greeted Brady Tkachuk in his return to the Canadian Tire Center following an unhappy divorce with the Senators, might be as far back as eight seasons ago when John Tavares was greeted with sheer hostility by the crowd at Nassau Coliseum on Feb. 28, 2019.
🔮 Do all of that and the players who are missing from the lineup will not be so front of mind.
Also by Ethan Sears
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 66 articles by Ethan Sears →

Topics

Islanders OTTAWA Senators

Subjects

DeBoer PERSON · 3× Islanders ORG · 3× Ritchie PERSON · 2× Simon Holmstrom PERSON · 2× Anthony Duclair PERSON · 1× Calum Ritchie PERSON · 1× Duclair PERSON · 1× OTTAWA GPE · 1× Pete DeBoer PERSON · 1× Senators ORG · 1×

Narrative

“I haven’t been with these guys for two or three years where, a coach that has that experience with a group … that’s had success with certain line combinations over a long period of time, maybe gives a little more runway.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-16
🔮 “I haven’t been with these guys for two or three years where, a coach that has that experience with a group … that’s had success with certain line combinations over a long period of time, maybe gives a little more runway.

Claims (24 extracted, 0 hedged)

Pete DeBoer has largely described his approach to making lineup changes on the fly in positive terms — that is, players earning their promotions up the lineup — and did so again Thursday morning. asserted
that → describe → lineup
After the 2-1 shootout loss to the Senators that saw Calum Ritchie and Anthony Duclair both dropped to the fourth line, though, he came as close as he has so far this season to direct criticism of players. asserted
he → see → players
“Well, he wasn’t the only one,” DeBoer said when asked about Ritchie. asserted
DeBoer → say → Ritchie
“There was a group of guys there that fell out. asserted
that → be → guys
“The players make those decisions for me. asserted
players → make → me
I don’t make those decisions on how they play during the game. asserted
they → make → game
You know what, we had some puck management issues at different points. asserted
we → know → points
We took some penalties, which you can’t do on the road. asserted
you → take → road
Guys make those decisions when we get into those situations.” asserted
we → make → situations
Ritchie took just two shifts in the third period, sitting for the game’s final 11:30. asserted
Ritchie → take → 11:30
Duclair took four and sat for the last 9:25. asserted
Duclair → take → 9:25
Both had taken penalties in the second period. asserted
Both → take → period
Defenseman Matt Kessel also sat the last 12:30. asserted
Kessel → sit → 12:30
Emil Heineman and Simon Holmstrom, who started the game as Casey Cizikas’ wingers on the fourth line, played up on the second and third lines, respectively. asserted
who → start → lines
In-game lineup changes have become an early-season trademark of DeBoer’s, which, he explained pregame, comes in part from his relative lack of familiarity with the Islanders. asserted
he → become → Islanders
So, although he stuck with largely the same forward lines throughout training camp, he’s been fairly aggressive in changing things up in the season’s early goings. asserted
he → stick → goings
“I’m still getting to know this group,” DeBoer said. asserted
DeBoer → get → group
“I haven’t been with these guys for two or three years where, a coach that has that experience with a group … that’s had success with certain line combinations over a long period of time, maybe gives a little more runway. asserted
that → have → runway
That’s not the case here. asserted
That → ’ → ?
I’m still getting to know this group, everybody’s trying to show me where they fit and what they’re capable of doing.” asserted
they → get → what
The Islanders won all 10 of their games that ended in overtime last season, but were far less efficient in shootouts. asserted
that → win → shootouts
The latter trend continued Thursday. asserted
trend → continue → ?
Brayden Schenn, Bo Horvat and Simon Holmstrom all failed to convert their shootout chances. asserted
Schenn → fail → chances
Mat Barzal (left kneecap inflammation) didn’t travel with the Islanders north of the border. asserted
Barzal → travel → border
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