"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 55
Minnesota 6, Isles 3
The Wild scored the game's final five goals to erase a 3-1 Islander lead as they defeated the Isles 6-3 before a sellout crowd of 18,539 at Xcel Energy Center.
Kyle Palmieri, Brock Nelson, and Anders Lee had the goals for the Isles, but they lost their third straight road game. Matt Boldy hit the 20-goal mark with a pair of goals and added an assist; Jared Spurgeon added two helpers as the Wild scored six goals against the Isles for the first time since October 26, 2017.
The Isles fall to 8-3-0 in their last eleven games as they hit the Four Nations Cup break with a 25-22-7 record. Following a two-week break, the Isles return to action on February 23rd vs. Dallas.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Marco Rossi (19) Matt Boldy (28), Jared Spurgeon (13) 03:19 NYI 0,MIN 1
Kyle Palmieri (16) Brock Nelson (18), Maxim Tsyplakov (17) 03:32 NYI 1,MIN 1
2nd Period
Brock Nelson (17) Maxim Tsyplakov (18), Kyle Palmieri (21) 00:28 NYI 2,MIN 1
Anders Lee (23) Scott Perunovich (7) 07:17 NYI 3,MIN 1
Frederick Gaudreau (11) Liam Ohgren (3), Brock Faber (16) 13:21 NYI 3,MIN 2 PPG
Matt Boldy (19) Jonas Brodin (14), Jared Spurgeon (14) 17:59 NYI 3,MIN 3
Yakov Trenin (6) Jake Middleton (11), Marat Khusnutdinov (5) 18:50 NYI 3,MIN 4
3rd Period
Matt Boldy (20)OWN 05:53 NYI 3,MIN 5
Marcus Foligno (10)EN 15:46 NYI 3,MIN 6
The Skinny
The Isles are 8-3-0 in their last eleven games and are 11-5-0 in their last sixteen games (Including 3-0 in OT)…The Isles have outscored the opposition 35-26 over the last eleven games…The Isles have outscored their opponents 94-91 in the first two periods but have been outscored 69-56 in the third period and overtime; the Isles are much improved in third period and OT in the last thirteen games, outscoring their opponents 19-12…The Isles have scored 111 goals and allowed 99 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 62-39 in all other situations… The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 32 of the last 43 games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 57-49 in the second period this season; they were outscored 107-83 in the second period a season ago… The Isles have killed 28 of 31 over their last fourteen games (90.3%) … The Isles went 0-2 on the power play; over the last 24 games, the Isles have been outscored 12-4 on the power play… Max Tsyplakov has six assists in the last six games to move himself into the top five among rookies in both assists and points… Anders Lee passed Bo Horvat for the team lead with 41 points… Minnesota is 22-0-0 when leading after 2 periods; Toronto (23-0-0) and Seattle (13-0-0) are the other teams with perfect records…The Isles fall to 56-7-5 in games where both Anders Lee and Brock Nelson score…The Isles used the same eighteen skaters for the last four games (1-3-0)…Kyle Palmieri scored for the second straight game and the fourth time in the last six games…Palmieri's goal came 13 seconds after Minnesota took the lead; it was the fastest response for the Isles this season…Jonas Brodin recorded his 200th assist on the tying goal…The Wild scored twice in 51 seconds to go from down 3-2 to up 4-3; it was the fastest two goals against an Islander goaltender this season…It was the Wild's fifth multi-goal comeback win...The Isles have lost three straight games in regulation that they have scored at least three goals (first time since March 2022) after going 23-4-4 prior to that this season…The Isles have lost three straight road games for the first time this season.
Brock Ties Patty
Brock Nelson tied Pat LaFontaine for 8th place on the club's point list (566), and for the lead among American-born players. LaFontaine had been the leader in this category since January 21, 1986, when he passed Dave Langevin.
Most Consecutive 20-Win Seasons (Isles)
• Chico Resch 5 (1975-76-1979-80)
• Rick DiPietro 4 (2003-04, 2005-06-2007-08)
• Ilya Sorokin 4 (2021-22 to present)
Quite the Numbers
Marcus Hogberg has now played 332 minutes for the Isles, allowing eight goals on 151 shots for a 1.45 GAA and a .947 save percentage. Both the GAA and save percentage are the best in Islander history for any goalie who played multiple games. He is the 44th goalie to win multiple games for the Isles.
Weekend Warriors
The Islanders had won nine straight Saturday games (six at home and three on the road). The Isles are 18-16-3 in their last 37 games (9-1-0 on Saturday; 9-15-3 on other days).
Successive Saturday Successes Ends
The Isles had won nine straight Saturday games, matching the longest Saturday win streak (single season) in franchise history; the Isles also won straight Saturday games from December 19, 1981- February 20, 1982, with the final five games being games 2, 5, 8, 11, and 15 of the historic 15-game win streak.
Third Periods
Goals: Isles 52, Opponents 64
Tying Goals: Isles 6, Opponents 13 (in 12 games)
Go Ahead Goals: Isles 10 (in 9 games), Opponents 9
Empty Net Goals: Isles 10, Opponents 16
The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 35 of their 54 games. In the 20 games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (3-16-1), they have been within one goal at some point in all but five of them (10/12 @ DAL, 12/5 vs SEA, 12/17 @ CAR, 12/23 vs BUF, 12/31 @TOR)
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have twelve come-from behind wins this season, including three when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win twelve times this season, including seven times in the third period.
Overtime
The Isles are 4-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 4-4 in overtime and 1-0 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 0-2 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts.
Sorokin has 34 OT/SO losses, extending his club record (Rick DiPietro had 28).
Empty Netters
The Isles have scored 10 empty-net goals and allowed 16.
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 36 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 14 times
• Allowed the next goal: 17 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 5 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2024-25 25-23-7 for 57 points in 55 games
• 2023-24 23-18-14 for 60 points in 55 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-1-1
• Season: 19-82-101
• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170
The Islander defense scored only four times in the first 26 games but have 15 goals in the last 29 games.
Home and Road
The Isles are 25-23-7 overall; they are 13-11-2 at home and 13-11-5 on the road.
Minnesota is 33-19-4 overall; they are 13-12-1 at home and 20-7-3 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 16-15-3 against the East (8-5-2 vs. Metropolitan and 8-10-1 vs. Atlantic) and 9-8-4 against the West (5-4-2 vs. Central and 4-4-2 vs. Pacific).
Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:
1. David Poile 1,531
2. Lou Lamoriello 1,469
3. Glen Sather 1,319
Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,469) and Patrick Roy (175) have combined for 1,644 career wins as general manager and coach. That is the highest in the NHL among active combinations by a wide margin.
First Things First
The Isles are 12-5-4 when scoring first and are 13-18-3 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 8-14-12=34
Minnesota 12-9-12=33
The Isles are 12-15-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 12-7-4 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves; he is 20-16-4 this season and 0-4-1 vs. Minnesota.
Filip Gustavsson made 31 saves; he is 22-11-3 this season and 3-1-0 vs the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-2 (4:00); Minnesota was 1-2 (3:43).
The Isles are 9-3-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 16-20-6 when they do not. The Isles are 10-12-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-11-1 when they do not.
Three is (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles are 23-7-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-16-3 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 11-6-7 in games decided by a single goal including 5-6 in regulation. They are 4-6 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-8 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
Including tonight, the Isles are 5-2-1 on the front end and 3-5-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be March 3rd -4th when they visit the Rangers and host the Jets.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Alex Romanov (27:06); Minnesota: Brock Faber (23:25)
Brock Nelson led Isles forwards (19:05).
Face-offs
Isles 32, Minnesota 22 (59%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 14 of 18 for the Isles; no Wild player who took multiple draws won more than he lost.
Hit Count
Isles 17 (Max Tsyplakov and Kyle MacLean -3)
Minnesota 13 (Four with 2)
Fights
None. Season total: 7 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin-2, Pageau, Tsyplakov, Gatcomb)
Blocked Shots
Isles 21 (Alex Romanov -4)
Minnesota 12 (Jake Middleton -3)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 65, Minnesota 72
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 53, Minnesota 59
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Simon Holmstrom +6
Minnesota: Yakov Trenin +12
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 13, Minnesota 9
5-on-5: Isles 10, Minnesota 8
Scratches
(Mike Reilly-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-LTIR), (Noah Dobson-LTIR), (Ryan Pulock -IR), (Margus Hogberg -IR), Matt Martin, (Scott Mayfield-INJ), (Mathew Barzal – IR), Hudson Fasching
Games Lost to injury: 211. (Last season's total: 181)
The Ironmen
Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 221 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (171) has also played every game since the start of last season.
Most Overtime Goals, Career (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 11
2. Brock Nelson 9
3. Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey 6
5. Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Thomas Hickey, and Anthony Beauvillier 5
Most Overtime Assists, Career (Islanders)
1. Mathew Barzal 16
2. John Tavares 12
Most Overtime Points, Career (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 23
2. Mathew Barzal 21
3. Brock Nelson 19
Barzal has a point on 21 of the 43 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.
National TV Games
The Isles are 2-3-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with five games remaining. The next national game will stream April 1st on ESPN+/Hulu as the Isles host the Lightning; five of the last nine games will be nationally-televised.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-4-1 in matinee games this season, with six games remaining. The next matinee will be on March 1st vs Nashville. The NHL considers games that start before 5:00 local time to be afternoon contests. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Isles are 13-16-11 in matinees.
Challenges
Isles: 6 successful, 3 failures (No offsides -PIT 11/5, No goalie interference – SEA 11/16, Goalie Interference- WAS 11/29, goalie interference – TOR 12/31, no goalie interference – BOS 1/5, offsides-VEG 1/9, goalie interference – OTT 1/14, goalie interference – COL 1/28, goalie interference – PHI 1/30)
Opponents: 5 successful, 2 failures (No Goalie Interference -UTA 10/10, Offside-VAN 11/14, Goalie Interference-STL 11/23, Offside -BUF 11/30, No Goalie Interference-CHI 12/15, Goalie Interference – PIT 12/28. Offside 12/31)
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (2): CHI 12/12, PHI 1/24
Vs (2): CHI 12/15, MIN 2/8
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)
Isles responses (5): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7, BOS 1/5, SJ 1/18, MIN 2/8
Opponent responses (6): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31, BOS 1/5
Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
For (1): Vs. PIT 11/5 (Trailed 3-1, won 4-3 (SO))
Vs (2): Vs. NJ 11/9 (Led 3-1, Lost 4-3 (OT)), WSH 11/29 Led 4-2, Lost 5-4 (SO))
Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):
For (3): Maxim Tsyplakov 10/10 vs. UTA (17:53, GAG but lost in OT); Anders Lee 11/12 @ EDM (17:20-GTG; EDM won in OT); Mathew Barzal 1/11 vs UTA (18:35-GAG)
Vs (8): Josh Doan 10/10 vs. UTA (18:06- GTG; UTA won in OT); Cole Caufield 10/19 vs MTL (17:50-GTG; NYI won in SO); Jesper Bratt 10/25 at NJD (18:31-GTG; NYI won in OT); Stefan Noesen 11/9 vs NJ (19:10-GTG; NJD won in OT); Lucas Raymond 11/21 at DET (19:09-GAG); 12/15 Connor Bedard at CHI (19:06-GAG); Bobby McMann 1/2 vs. TOR (17:01- GAG); Nikita Kucherov 2/1 at TB (19:13-GTG; NYI won in OT)
OT Winners
For (4): Bo Horvat 10/25 @ NJD (1:09), Bo Horvat 1/5 @ BOS (3:10), Brock Nelson 1/25 vs CAR (2:03), Tony DeAngelo 2/1 @ TB (0:32)
Vs (6): Dylan Guenther 10/10 vs. UTA (2:18); Jake Neighbours 10/17 @ STL (2:04); Jack Hughes 11/9 vs NJD (2:35); Leon Draisaitl 11/12 @ EDM (1:52); Jakub Chychrun 11/29 @ WAS (1:20); Nick Suzuki 12/3 @ MTL (2:39)
Shootout Winners
For (2): Noah Dobson 10/19 vs MTL, Bo Horvat 11/5 vs PIT
Vs (1): Andrei Kuzmenko 11/19 @ CGY
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057 ***
4. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 5. Brock Nelson 895 *** 6. Clark Gillies 872 *** 7. Casey Cizikas 870 *** 8. Matt Martin 848 *** 9. Bob Bourne and Anders Lee 814 …
23. Ken Morrow 550 *** 24. Duane Sutter 547 *** 25. Lorne Henning 543 *** 26. Claude Lapointe, Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech 535 ***29. Tomas Jonsson 532 *** 30. Pat LaFontaine and Mathew Barzal 530 *** 32. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 33. Scott Mayfield 519
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Brock Nelson 292 *** 6. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 *** 8. Anders Lee 283 …
20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 134…
29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 111
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
7. John Tonelli 338 *** 8. Patrick Flatley and Mathew Barzal 328…
13. Derek King 288 *** 14. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 15. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 16. Brock Nelson 274…
19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 211…
25. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 26. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 28. Noah Dobson 169 *** 29. Jean Potvin 167 *** 30. Jeff Norton 166 *** 31. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 32. Ryan Pulock 157…
35. Travis Green 145 *** 36. Casey Cizikas 143
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
7. Josh Bailey 580 *** 8. Pat LaFontaine and Brock Nelson 566 …
13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Anders Lee 493 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 462…
28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 254
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +79 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +62 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 23. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 24. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 25. Gord Lane +48
Defense Goals
1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57 ***
4. Stefan Persson 52 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 51 *** 6. Jean Potvin and Noah Dobson 46…
13. Bryan Berard 31 *** 14. Vladimir Malakhov and Scott Mayfield 27 *** 16. Adam Pelech and four others 26
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742*** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…
5. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 6. Noah Dobson 169 *** 7. Jean Potvin 167 *** 8. Jeff Norton 166 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 157 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 128…
17. Bryan Berard 100 *** 18. Vladimir Malakhov 98 *** 19. Johnny Boychuk and Scott Mayfield 96
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…
5. Kenny Jonsson 232 *** 6. Noah Dobson 215 *** 7. Jean Potvin 213 *** 8. Ryan Pulock 208…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 154…
18. Gerry Hart 128 *** 19. Vladimir Malakhov 125 *** 20. Scott Mayfield 123
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 ***
4. Kelly Hrudey 241 *** 5. Ilya Sorokin 232 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 193 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177*** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130 ***
4. Ilya Sorokin 115 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 21 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
Liam Foudy had a goal and an assist as Bridgeport improved to 11-31-2-2 with a 5-1 win over Charlotte on Saturday night.
Brian Pinho leads the team with 18 goals. Chris Terry's 28 assists and 42 points pace the Baby Isles in both categories (and puts him in the Top 5 in the AHL).
The Islanders host Hartford on Wednesday.
Season Series Stats
Minnesota leads the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The rematch is April 4th at UBS Arena.
Minnesota has beaten the Isles seven straight times, with the Isles going 0-6-1 in that span. The last Islander win over the Wild was December 29, 2019, with Matt Martin scoring the winning goal.
UP NEXT
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23rd – DALLAS AT ISLES 7:30pm
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 7:00), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles have two weeks off and then get back into action after Four Nations Cup as they host Dallas.
Jake Oettinger stopped 34 shots back on October 12th as Dallas blanked the Isles 3-0. The Isles are 3-0-1 in their last four home games with the Stars, who have not beaten the Islanders in regulation in New York since November 18, 2018.
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources. Follow Eric @ehornick on Twitter & on his blog www.nyiskinny.com
Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick
