"The Skinny" on the Opener
By Eric Hornick
It has been nearly 5 ½ months since the Carolina Hurricanes ended the Islanders' season in a five-game playoff series. It all starts up again on Thursday as the Isles begin their fourth season at UBS Arena.
UP FIRST
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10th— UTAH AT ISLANDERS 7:30pm
[MSGSN (expanded pre-game at 6:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Islanders begin their 52nd season by hosting Utah HC for the first time. While Utah acquired all of the players that were on Arizona's reserve list, the NHL considered them an expansion franchise.
Opening Night Skinny Notes
The Isles are 3-5-0 on Opening Night over the last eight years and they are only 6-12-3 in their last 21 Openers. Overall, the Isles are 14-26-11 on Opening Night (11-20-8 on the road and 3-6-3 at home). Only four teams (all Original Six teams) have opened their season on the road more often than the Isles.
The NHL considers Utah HC to be an expansion franchise so this will be the second time that the Isles will open their season against an expansion team. The Atlanta Flames defeated the Isles, 3-2, on October 7, 1972, in the first-ever game for both teams. Utah will be playing the second game in their history, having opened the season at home on Tuesday.
The Isles defeated Buffalo 3-2 in last year's season-opener; it was the first home-ice win on Opening Night since January 21, 1995. Overall, the Isles are 2-4-0 in their last six home openers, including 1-2-0 at UBS Arena. In their history, the Isles have gone 29-16-6 in their first home game of season.
The Isles 14-26-11 (.382) Opening Night record is the second-worst among current teams who have played more than three openers (Seattle is 0-2-1). Anaheim has the worst record on opening night of any other team: 10-19-0 (.345). This will be Patrick Roy's first Opening Night as the Isles' head coach; he went 1-2-0 in three Openers with Colorado. Lou Lamoriello (20-11-5 in 36 games) has more wins on Opening Night as a General Manager than any other GM has games (Doug Armstrong -19).
The Isles have been involved in five shutouts on Opening Night. Chico Resch blanked the Flyers in 1976, and Semyon Varlamov had a clean sheet against the Rangers in January 2021, while the Kings (Stephane Fiset in 1996), Panthers (Jose Theodore in 2011), and Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky in 2017) turned the trick on the Isles.
The Islander club record for the fastest goal on Opening Night is 1:01, set by Dave Scatchard on October 10, 2002, in Buffalo. The NHL record for the fastest Opening Night goal is 0:10, set by Kent Nilsson of Minnesota (10/11/86 @ Quebec).
No Islander has ever had an opening night hat trick; twelve Isles have scored twice in an Opener, with Brock Nelson (2014) and Anders Lee (January 2021) being the two players on the current roster to have done so.
Schedule Skinny:
Schedule Format
For the fourth straight season, the Isles will play only 26 games against the Metro this season. The Isles will host New Jersey only once (November 9th) and visit Washington only once (November 29th) while facing the other division foes four teams. The Isles will play each of the eight teams in the Atlantic Division three times and will play a home and home series with each Western Conference foe. Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, and Montreal are the four Atlantic Division teams that will visit UBS Arena twice: the Isles will play twice in Boston, Ottawa, Toronto, and Tampa Bay.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles will play twelve sets of back-to-backs including five sets on the road and six home/road splits. The Isles will host Philadelphia and Carolina on January 24-25 in their only home set of back-to-backs.
Every Day's a Home Game
The Isles will play eleven home games on both Saturday and Tuesday, and seven times on Thursday. They will play four times on Monday, three times on Sunday and Friday, and twice on Wednesday.
Schedule by Month
October (10), November (15), December (13), January (12), February (8), March (15), April (9). The Isles will complete the regular season in Columbus on Thursday, April 17th.
The Isles will reach the midway point of their schedule on January 9th, when they visit Vegas.
Schedule Streaks
The Isles will open the season by playing 13 of their first 20 games on the road, capped by a five-game trip November 12th November 21st. That will be the only time all season that the Isles play more than three consecutive road games.
After splitting their next 22 games (11 at home and 11 on the road) the Isles will have a seven-game homestand January 14th-28th; the first five of those games are against teams that missed the playoffs last season. Ten of the following 15 games are on the road, before the Isles finish the season by playing 11 of the final 18 at home.
Overall, 23 of the first 41 are on the road while 23 of the final 41 are at home.
Matinee Isles
The Isles will play eleven afternoon games this season, including three at UBS Arena (March 1st vs. Nashville at 12:30, March 22nd vs. Calgary at 4:00, and April 6th vs Washington at 12:30). The Isles will play one 5:00 home game (December 7th vs. Carolina), two 7:00 home games, one 7:45 home game and one 8:00 home game, with the other 33 home games all scheduled for 7:30pm.
Four Nations Cup Break
The Four Nations Cup tournament replaces the All-Star Break this season. As a result, the Isles will play in Minnesota on February 8th and not play again until February 23rd, when they host Dallas.
The 2024-25 Islanders:
Coach Roy
Patrick Roy begins his first full season as the Islander head coach after leading the team to a playoff berth in 2023-24.
Active Roster
The Isles have 22 players on their active roster, as submitted to the NHL on Monday:
FORWARDS (13)
Mathew Barzal
Casey Cizikas
Anthony Duclair
Julien Gauthier
Simon Holmstrom
Bo Horvat
Anders Lee
Kyle MacLean
Brock Nelson
Jean-Gabriel Pageau
Kyle Palmieri
Max Tsyplakov
Oliver Wahlstrom
DEFENSEMEN (7)
Dennis Cholowski
Noah Dobson
Scott Mayfield
Adam Pelech
Ryan Pulock
Mike Reilly
Alexander Romanov
GOALTENDERS (2)
Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov
There are five (or six) changes from last season's season opening roster.
Anthony Duclair, Kyle MacLean, Max Tsyplakov, Dennis Cholowski and Mike Reilly are newcomers on the Isles roster from last October, replacing Cal Clutterbuck, Pierre Engvall, Ross Johnston, Matt Martin, Samuel Bolduc, and Sebastian Aho. Note that Anaheim claimed Johnston before the Isles played a game last season after being on the original 23-man roster; Simon Holmstrom replaced him on the roster.
The twenty-two active players represent four nationalities: American (Lee, MacLean, Mayfield, Nelson, Palmieri, Reilly and Wahlstrom), Canadian (ten players), Swedish (Holmstrom), and Russian (Romanov, Sorokin, Tsyplakov, and Varlamov).
Old and Young
Semyon Varlamov (April 27, 1988) is the only player born in the 1980s, with Anders Lee (July 3, 1990) being the oldest skater. Simon Holmstrom (5-24-2001) remains the youngest Islander and the only one born in 2001; Alexander Romanov and Noah Dobson (who are born one day apart) and Oliver Wahlstrom are the only other Isles born in the 2000s.
Of the twenty-two active players, Bo Horvat is the 11th oldest (and 12th youngest) while Ilya Sorokin is the 12th oldest (and 11th youngest) . Horvat, turns 30 late in the regular season while Sorokin will turn 30 next summer. The average Islander is 29.26 years old, making the Isles the 5th-oldest team in the NHL, behind Edmonton, Nashville, Pittsburgh, and Toronto.
Big and Small
Scott Mayfield is the tallest (6' 5") while Anders Lee is the heaviest (231 pounds). Casey Cizikas, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Kyle Palmieri are the only Isles under six feet tall (all at 5' 11") while Mathew Barzal (190 pounds) is the lightest. The average Isle is 6'1" and 206 pounds.
Brock-tober
Brock Nelson has been a fast starter during his NHL career, including on Opening Night. Nelson has six Opening Night goals, which is second in club history, behind Mike Bossy (7).
Isles Opening Night Leaders:
Goals: Bossy 7, Nelson 6, Trottier/Harris 5
Assists: Trottier 9, Gillies 7, Nelson 6
Points: Trottier 14, Nelson 12, Bossy 11
Penalty Minutes: Rich Pilon 39, Ray Schultz 23 (in 1 game!), Duane Sutter 21
Nelson also shares the club record for Opening Night power play goals (2) with five others.
Captain, My Captain
Anders Lee will serve as the Isles' captain for the seventh straight season. He joins Denis Potvin as the only player to start seven consecutive seasons as Captain. Sidney Crosby (18), Alexander Ovechkin (16), Gabriel Landeskog (13), Jamie Benn (12), Anze Kopitar and Connor Mc David (9), and Roman Josi (8) are the only longer tenured captains.
Mighty Max
Max Tsyplakov will be the only rookie on the Islanders' roster and one of only eighteen players leaguewide with no NHL experience on season-opening rosters. Tsyplakov is already 26; he qualified for rookie status by four days and is actually older than the average player on both Buffalo and Montreal. Tsyplakov scored 31 foals and added 16 assists in 65 games for Moscow Spartak last season.
A Look Back
The Isles finished the 2022-23 regular season with a 39-27-16 record, earning the top wild card seeding in the Eastern Conference for the second straight season.
The Isles went 21-10-10 on UBS ice and 18-17-6 on the road.
Tale of Three Seasons
Isles were 14-7-7 in their first 28 games, 9-13-7 in their next 29 games, and 16-7-2 in their final 25 games.
Woah Noah
Noah Dobson (10-60-70) is the first Islander defenseman with at least 70 points since 1983-84 when Denis Potvin had 85, and the first with at least 60 assists since 1983-84, when Potvin recorded 63.
Most Assists (Islanders, last 35 years)
1. Pierre Turgeon 74 in 1992-93
2. Mathew Barzal 63 in 2017-18
3. Noah Dobson 60 in 2023-24
4. Mathew Barzal 57 in 2023-24
Most Points (Islanders in the 2000s)
1. John Tavares 86 (2014-15)
2. Mathew Barzal 85 (2017-18)
3. John Tavares 84 (2017-18)
4. John Tavares 81 (2011-12)
5. Mathew Barzal 80 (2023-24)
Bo Knows Points
Bo Horvat went 33-35-68 last season. His 33 goals are the second-highest total of his career and trail only 2022-23 (38), while his 68 points are his 2nd- highest total behind last season's 70. Horvat set a career-high with 35 assists.
Career Year?
Kyle Palmieri scored 30 goals last season, matching his career high of 30 that was set in 2015-16. His 54 points are the 2nd-highest of his career (2016-17). Palmieri scored 15 goals in the final 23 games, matching the best single season 23-game span of his career.
Coach Roy
The Isles were 20-12-5 under Patrick Roy and allowed only two goals or fewer in 15 of their 20 wins. Ilya Sorokin was 11-8-3 under Roy while Semyon Varlamov was 9-4-2.
Scoring Leaders Under Patrick Roy
1. Mathew Barzal 11-23-34
2. Brock Nelson 14-19-33
3. Kyle Palmieri 19-10-29 (6 GWG)
4. Bo Horvat 15-11-26 (4 GWG)
5. Noah Dobson 4-21-25
Since the Break
The Isles went 19-10-4 after the all-star break. While they were outshot 34.9-30.0 per game (-4.9) prior to the break, the Isles out-shot their opponents 30.8-30.0 (+0.8) after the break.
Overtime is Our Time
The Isles played 26 overtime games, tied with Boston and Montreal for the NHL lead. They were 9-11 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-5 in shootouts The 16 combined OT/SO losses were a franchise record.
Most Islander OT/SO Losses
• 16 (2023-24)
• 13 (2010-11)
Most OT/SO Losses in a Season (Isles Goalie)
1. Ilya Sorokin 12 (2023-24)
2. Rick DiPietro 9 (2006-07)
3. Ilya Sorokin 8 (2022-23)
Evgeni Nabokov 8 (2013-14)
Most Career OT/SO Losses (Isles Goalie)
• Ilya Sorokin 30 (CURRENT)
• Rick DiPietro 28
Power Play Up; Penalty Killing Down
Last season, the Isles scored 47 power play goals (most since they scored 58 in 2017-18) and allowed 63 power play goals (most since they also allowed 63 in 2017-18).
The 25-Goal Club
Last season, Brock Nelson became the 8th player in club history to have at least six seasons of at least 25 goals:
• Bryan Trottier 12
• Mike Bossy 10
• John Tavares/ Clark Gillies 7
• Pat LaFontaine/ Brent Sutter/ Anders Lee/ Brock Nelson 6
Offense from Defense
The Islander defense contributed 33 goals and 137 assists for 170 points last season. The 137 assists are the most since 2006-07, when they also had 137.
Facing 40
Ilya Sorokin has faced at least forty shots twelve times this season and 29 times in his career.
Most Games, 40+ Shots in a Season vs Isles Goalie
1. Ilya Sorokin 12 2023-24
2. Jaroslav Halak 11 2017-18
3. Gerry Desjardins 10 1972-73
No other NHL goalie faced 40+ shots more than eight times last season.
Most games, 40+ Shots (Since 2021-22)
1. John Gibson 34
2. Ilya Sorokin 28
3. Darcy Kuemper 24
4. Sam Montembault 22
Karel Vejmelka 22
Most Games, 40+ Shots (Islander History)
1. Billy Smith 46 (674 games)
2. Ilya Sorokin 29 (192 games)
3. Kelly Hrudey 27(241 games)
Sorokin made at least 40 saves eight times last season and 18 times in his career. Both are franchise records.
Varly, Varly
Semyon Varlamov has 41 career shutouts and 286 career wins. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is seventh in wins and fourth in shutouts.
All-time Goalie Wins
47. Ed Giacomin 290
48. Semyon Varlamov 286
Jose Theodore 286
Dan Bouchard 286
East and West
Last season, the Isles went 25-15-10 against the East (13-7-6 vs. Metropolitan and 12-8-4 vs. Atlantic) and 14-12-6 against the West (8-6-2 vs. Central and 6-6-4 vs. Pacific).
Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 122 games at UBS Arena and recorded 89 sellouts of 17,255.
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 1,444
3. Glen Sather 1,319
Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,444) and Patrick Roy (150) have combined for 1,594 career wins as general manager and coach. That is the highest in the NHL among active combos by a wide margin.
First Things First
The Isles were 27-5-10 when scoring first and were 12-22-6 when allowing the opening goal. Under Patrick Roy, the Isles are 14-2-1 when they score first and are 6-10-4 when they do not.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles were 35-5-11 when they scored at least three goals (including shootout winners) last season and are 4-22-5 when they did not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles were 21-3-16 in games decided by a single goal including 11-3 in regulation. They were 9-11 in games decided in overtime and are 1-5 in shootouts. The Isles were 5-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Most One-Goal Wins
• 26 2014-15
• 23 2007-08
• 21 2023-24
• 21 2015-16
• 21 2005-06
Back-to-Backs
The Isles went 5-1-4 in the front end and 1-6-3 in the back end last season.
Fewest Wins on Back-end
0 1972-73 (0-22-3)
1 2023-24 (1-6-3)
2 2012-13 (1-5-1; 48-game schedule)
3 1994-95 (2-3-3; 48-game schedule)
The Ironmen
Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 166 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (116), the since departed Cal Clutterbuck (97) and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (96) also played every game last season.
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057…
5. Clark Gillies 872 *** 6. Brock Nelson 840 *** 7. Matt Martin 823 *** 8. Casey Cizikas 815 *** 9. Bob Bourne 814 *** 10. Anders Lee 759 …
32. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 34. Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech 500 *** 36. Ed Westfall 493 *** 37. Ryan Pulock 486 *** 38. Radek Martinek 479 *** 39. Gerry Hart 476 *** 40. Mariusz Czerkawski 472 *** 41. Scott Mayfield 469
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
5. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 *** 7. Brock Nelson 275 *** John Tavares 272 *** 9. Anders Lee 260 …
20. Kyle Okposo 139 ***21. Mathew Barzal 128…
29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 107
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
9. Brent Sutter 323 *** 10. Stefan Persson 317 *** 11. Mathew Barzal 314…
16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Brock Nelson 256…
21. Nick Leddy 198 *** 22. Pierre Turgeon and Anders Lee 193…
31. David Volek 154 *** 32. Noah Dobson 151 *** 33. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 34. Travis Green 145 *** 35. Ryan Pulock 143 *** 36. Steve Thomas 140 *** 37. Mark Streit 139 *** 38. Casey Cizikas and Greg Gilbert 138
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
10. Bob Bourne 542 *** 11. Brock Nelson 531 *** 12. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Anders Lee 453 *** 16. Billy Harris 443 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 442…
30. David Volek 249 *** 31. Casey Cizikas 245
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 17. Adam Pelech +75 ***17. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67
Defense Goals
1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57…
4. Stefan Persson 52 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 48 *** 6. Jean Potvin 46 *** 7. Nick Leddy 45 *** 8. Roman Hamrlik 43 *** 9. Mark Streit and Noah Dobson 40
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742 *** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…
7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Noah Dobson 151 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 143…
12. Dave Lewis 117 *** 13. Adam Pelech 114…
20. Dave Langevin and Thomas Hickey 95 *** 22. Scott Mayfield 91
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…
6. Jean Potvin 213 *** 7. Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock 191…
13. Dave Lewis 141 *** 14. Adam Pelech 140 *** 15. Tom Kurvers 134 …
19. Vladimir Malakhov 125 *** 20. Thomas Hickey 117 *** 21. Scott Mayfield 116
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 …
5. Thomas Greiss 193 *** 6. Ilya Sorokin 192 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177 *** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 163
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130…
5. Thomas Greiss 101 *** 6. Ilya Sorokin 95 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 73
Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 18 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
Same Voices, Same Places
MSG Networks will carry 72 of the Isles' 82 games this season (TNT will carry two games, ABC will air one game, ESPN will carry one game, while ESPN+/Hulu will exclusively stream six games). All MSG broadcasts will also be streamed.
Brendan Burke and Butch Goring partner for the ninth season; Shannon Hogan hosts Isles telecasts for her eleventh season and Thomas Hickey returns for his third year. It is Butch's 15th season in the Isles booth; he has broadcast more than twice as many Isles games than he played and coached, combined.
On radio, Chris King, and Greg Picker team up for the ninth straight season. All games will air on WRHU (88.7FM) and on WRCN (103.9FM), and stream on the Isles + UBS Arena App, as well as the NHL App and on Satellite Radio.
And Finally…
We begin the 15th consecutive season of The Skinny as I begin my 44th season on Islander telecasts. The Skinny streak stands at 1,014 consecutive games, including playoffs.
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
