Kyle Palmieri made one of the courageous plays in recent NHL history.
The veteran New York Islanders winger tore the ACL in his left knee during New York’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, stuck with the play while limping to the bench, stole the puck from Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae, and helped set up a goal from Emil Heineman before departing the ice.
Palmieri’s incredibly gutsy play came with 14:38 remaining in the second period. As he chased a loose puck in the corner with defenseman Jamie Drysdale, Palmieri awkwardly got his leg caught under him as he tried to shove Drysdale into the boards. The 34-year-old forward immediately clutched at his knee while down on the ice and needed to use the boards to get to his feet.
Disregarding the nearest referee’s advice to “stay down,” Palmieri made his slow way to the Islanders bench as the Flyers recycled the puck in their own zone. However, the unaware Andrae back-skated right into Palmieri’s path. The injured forward then shoveled a backhand sauce pass to Jonathan Drouin, who dropped the puck to Heineman for a wicked wrister from the high slot.
“That’s the hockey culture,” former Washington Capitals forward TJ Oshie tweeted. “Torn ACL and still made his way to the bench without help. Oh and he stripped the puck and got an assist on the way. What a warrior. What a sport. Hoping for a full recovery.”
Palmieri did not return after earning the secondary assist, and the Islanders officially ruled him out for the rest of the season on Saturday as he will need surgery to repair the torn ligament.
While Palmieri’s play was impressive, it didn’t come without controversy over the officiating. As X user @andygorel points out, the Islanders had six skaters on the ice when Palmieri played the puck. Mathew Barzal had already jumped onto the ice in place of Palmieri, likely not expecting the clearly injured forward to play the puck.
The missed call saw the Islanders have four forwards play roles in the goal: Palmieri, Drouin, Heineman, and Barzal. The three latter forwards, as well as defensemen Scott Mayfield and Matthew Schaefer, earned a plus-one on the play for the five-on-five marker.
Too many men. @ScoutingTheRefs pic.twitter.com/2t32OfyKZn
— Andy Gorel (@andygorel) November 29, 2025
The goal did have an impact on the final score, as it sparked a comeback from down 3-0 for the Islanders. Schaefer and Anders Lee would also score in the second period, ultimately forcing the game to overtime and a shootout, where the Flyers inevitably prevailed.
Palmieri’s play helped the Islanders earn a standings point in an incredibly tight Eastern Conference playoff race. The Islanders, with 29 standings points, are currently not in a playoff spot based on points percentage alone and are just 4 points behind the East’s best New Jersey Devils.
