Sunday, March 31, 2024

Happy Birthday Stan Fischler!

 

Today is Stan Fischler's 92nd birthday.


As a birthday treat, check out this audio/video from a  February 28, 1978, Islander-Leaf game.  If you look carefully, you'll see that this is one of the games that Harold Ballard had the Leafs wear blue letters on the back of their blue uniforms.

Stan not only did some commentary on the game --if you go about 8 minutes in, you will find him doing play-by-play. (Hawley Chester, the first Isles PR guy is one of the other voices.)




The Islanders won the game, 4-3.  The Leafs of course defeated the Isles in 7 games in the playoffs two months later on an overtime goal by Lanny McDonald. 

The (1000th Consecutive) Skinny: Tampa Bay 4, Isles 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 73
Tampa Bay 4, Isles 1
Darren Raddysh and Anthony Cirelli scored 35 seconds apart in the first period to erase a 1-0 Islander lead and the Lightning went on to defeat the Isles 4-1 before a sellout crowd of 19,092 at Amalie Arena. 

Kyle Palmieri scored on the Isles' first shot of the game; Semyon Varlamov made 36 saves but lost for the first time in regulation over his last five starts (3-1-1). The Isles are 12-12-4 under Patrick Roy and 31-27-15 overall as they now trail both the Capitals (for 3rd place in the Metro) and Flyers(for the 2nd Wild Card) by five points.

The Isles make their only trip to Philadelphia this season on Monday as they begin their final back-to-back of the season.

The Scoring:  
1st Period
Kyle Palmieri (24) Ryan Pulock (11), Mike Reilly (14) 02:25 NYI 1,TBL 0
Darren Raddysh (6) Nikita Kucherov (83), Anthony Cirelli (22) 14:25 NYI 1,TBL 1 PPG
Anthony Cirelli (17) Nick Perbix (22), Brandon Hagel (42) 15:00 NYI 1,TBL 2

2nd Period
No Goals

3rd Period
Steven Stamkos (30) Emil Lilleberg (5), Brandon Hagel (43) 00:21 NYI 1,TBL 3
Anthony Cirelli (18)EN Nikita Kucherov (84), Victor Hedman (59) 17:14 NYI 1,TBL 4 

The Skinny     
The Isles are 11-10-3 since the All-Star Break … Since Christmas, the Isles are 7-7-4 at home and 8-12-2 on the road… The Isles' defense has 62 points under Patrick Roy (12-50-62) and have 52 points in the last 23 games (11-41-52)…The Isles have outscored their opponents 64-45 in the first period (fewest allowed in NHL), but have been outscored 100-75 in the second period (most allowed in NHL); the 55 goal difference would be the second-highest between any two periods in club history (56 in 1984-85, 41 in 1995-96)…The Isles have been outscored 95-76 in the third period and overtime this season, but that reflects a 20-2 difference in empty-net goals…The Isles have been outscored 62-36 in the second period since the Christmas break and have allowed at least two goals in 20 of the 40 games; the goals allowed are the most in the NHL over that span …The Isles are 22-5-10 when they score the first goal …Mathew Barzal is 23-51-74; he has set a career high in goals while his assist and point totals are the highest since his rookie season (22-63-85 in 2017-18)....The Isles are 2-7-1 in the ten games since their six-game winning streak… One game after drawing six power plays for only the second time this season, the Isles did not have a power play until the final minute of the game …The Isles went 6-7-1 in March…It was the 366th consecutive home sellout for the Lightning…Steven Stamkos' third period deflection was his 545th NHL goal, passing Maurice Richard for 32nd place on the NHL list.  Richard held the NHL record for goals from November 8, 1852 (when he scored his 325th) until November 10, 1963, when he was passed by Gordie Howe…Stamkos now has nine career 30-goal seasons; among actives only Alex Ovechkin (17) and Sidney Crosby (12) have done so more often…Anthony Cirelli had his sixth career three-point game…Victor  Hedman moved ahead of Noah Dobson into 3rd place in the NHL assist race among defenders with an assist on the empty-netter…Nikita Kucherov had two assists; he is just two points shy of the club record of 128 points that he set in 2018-19…The Lightning went 9-1-1 in March….Kyle Palmieri went 9-1-10 in March; it is only the 24th time in club history an Islander has scored nine goals in March…Ryan Pulock went +10 in March; Matt Martin was second on the team with a +4 rating.…The Isles allowed 40 shots for the 15th time this season (7-8-0).
 
First Time in a Long Time 
The Isles allowed at least 20 first period shots for the first time since March 7, 2022, vs. Colorado.

Playoff Chase
Metro Division
3rd  Washington  82 points in 73 games  (Tuesday at Buffalo)
4th  Philadelphia 82 points in 75 games  (Monday vs. Isles)
5th  Isles 77 points in 73 games  (Monday at Philadelphia)

Wild Card
1st WC Tampa Bay  89 points in 73 games  (Monday vs. Detroit)
2nd WC  Philadelphia 82 points in 75 games  (Monday vs. Isles)
3rd      Detroit         80 points in 74 games  (Monday at Tampa Bay)
4th      Isles            77 points in 73 games  (Monday at Philadelphia)
5th       New Jersey 76 points in 74 games  (Tuesday vs. Pittsburgh)
6th      Pittsburgh    75 points in 73 games  (Monday at Rangers)
7th      Buffalo         75 points in 75 games  (Tuesday vs. Washington)

Milestone Men    
Mike Reilly recorded his 100th career assist.
Anders Lee played his 751st game; he is one game behind Mike Bossy for 10th place.
Brock Nelson has 270 goals, two behind John Tavares for 7th in club history.
Brock Nelson is one goal away from his third consecutive 30-goal season, a feat last accomplished for the Islanders by Matt Moulson.
Bo Horvat has 499 career points.
Bo Horvat has tied his career high in assists (34)
Matt Martin played his 814th  Islander games, tying Bob Bourne for 7th place. 
You are reading the 1,000th consecutive edition of The Skinny.

Woah Noah
Noah Dobson is the first Islander defenseman with at least 66 points since 1984-85 when Denis Potvin had 68, and the first with at least 58 assists since 1983-84, when Potvin recorded 63.

Dobson has recorded only the fifth season in club history with at least 58 assists by a defenseman:  
1. Denis Potvin 70 (1978-79)
2. Denis Potvin 67 (1975-76)
3. Denis Potvin 64 (1977-78)
4. Denis Potvin 63 (1983-84)
5. Noah Dobson 58 (2023-24)

Dobson is tied-21st overall for assists in a season by an Islander.

Most assists (Islanders, last 35 years)
1. Pierre Turgeon 74 in 1992-93
2. Mathew Barzal 63 in  2017-18
3. Noah Dobson 58 in 2023-24

Career Year?
Bo Horvat is 29-34-63 on the season. His 29 goals trail only 2022-23 (38) and 2021-22 (31) while his 63 points are his 2nd- highest total behind last season's 70. Horvat has tied his career-high of 34 assists which he set in 2018-19.

Coach Roy
The Isles are 12-12-4 under Patrick Roy and have allowed only two goals or fewer in nine of their twelve wins. Ilya Sorokin is 9-8-2 under Roy while Semyon Varlamov is 3-4-2.

Scoring Leaders Under Patrick Roy
1. Mathew Barzal 11-17-28
2. Brock Nelson 9-15-24
3. Bo Horvat 11-10-21 (4 GWG)
4. Noah Dobson 2-19-21
5. Kyle Palmieri 13-5-18

Since the Break
The Isles are 11-10-3 since the all-star break. While they were outshot 34.9-30.0 per game (-4.9) prior to the break, the Isles have out-shot their opponents 30.4-29.0 (+1.4) since the break.

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles have played 23 overtime games, two behind Boston for the NHL lead. They are 7-11 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-4 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 6-7 in overtime and 1-3 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 1-4 in overtime and 0-1 in shootouts. 

The Isles have won 18 of the last 46 games decided by an overtime goal (since January 11, 2020).

Most Islander OT/SO Losses 
15 (2023-24; CURRENT)
13 (2010-11)

Most OT/SO Losses in a Season (Isles Goalie)
1. Ilya Sorokin 11 (2023-24; CURRENT)
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 29 (CURRENT)
Rick DiPietro 28 

Empty Netters 
The Isles have scored 2 empty-net goals and allowed 20.

Most Empty-Net Goals Allowed (Isles):
1. 20  2023-24 (CURRENT)
2. 18  2021-22
3. 17  2022-23
4. 14  2011-12

Killing Their Own PP
The Isles have taken a penalty to interrupt their power play 21 times this season.

Power Play Up; Penalty Killing Down
The Isles have scored 42 power play goals; they scored 35 all last season.
The Isles have allowed 58 power play goals (most since they allowed 63 in 2017-18); they allowed 39 all last season. 

Under Patrick Roy, the Isles Power Play is 14-85 (16.5%) and the Penalty Kill is 21-68 (69.1%). 
 
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 49 times this season:
Score the next goal: 14 times
Allowed the next goal: 31 times
Game ended with 2-goal difference: 4 times 

Heavy Hitters
Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin are 1-2 all-time in hits:
1. Cal Clutterbuck 4,006
2. Matt Martin 3,838

Martin (7) and Clutterbuck (3) have combined for the 10-biggest hits seasons in Isles history in the Real-Time era, which began in 2005-06. 

The 25-Goal Club
Brock Nelson is 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

Last Year vs. This Year
2023-24  31-27-15 for 77 points in 73 games
2022-23  37-27-9 for 83 points in 73 games

Offense from Defense
Today:   0-2-2
Season: 29-120-149
Last Season (Final) 41-132-173

The Islander defense scored 41 goals last season, which was the most since they scored 42 in 2003-04. The 173 points were their most since 1993-94, when they had 174 points in an 84-game season.

Lots of Work for Sorokin
Most shots against:
Ilya Sorokin 1,688
Juuse Saros 1,647
Connor Hellebuyck 1,637
Alexandar Georgiev 1,620
Jordan Binnington 1,604
Petr Mrazek 1,579
No goalie has ever played the full season for the Islanders and led the NHL in this category; Kelly Hrudey led the NHL in 1988-89; he was traded at the deadline to Los Angeles.

Facing 40
Ilya Sorokin has faced at least forty shots ten times this season and 27 times in his career. 

Most Games, 40+ Shots in a Season vs Isles Goalie
1. Jaroslav Halak 11  2017-18
2. Gerry Desjardins 10 1972-73
    Ilya Sorokin 10 2023-24

No other NHL goalie has faced 40+ shots more than six times this season.

Most games, 40+ Shots (Since 2021-22)
1. John Gibson 34
2. Ilya Sorokin 27
3. Darcy Kuemper 23
4. Sam Montembault 21
    Karel Vejmelka 21

Most Games, 40+ Shots (Islander History)
1. Billy Smith 46    (674 games)
2. Kelly Hrudey 27 (241 games)
    Ilya Sorokin 27 (187 games)

Sorokin has made at least 40 saves six times this season and a franchise-record 16 times in his career. 

Varly, Varly
Semyon Varlamov has 40 career shutouts and 281 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
50. Tiny Thompson 284
51. Semyon Varlamov 281
52. Brian Elliott 279

Home and Road
The Isles are 31-27-15 overall; they are 16-10-10 at home and 15-17-5 on the road.
Tampa Bay is 41-25-7 overall; they are 23-9-4 at home and 18-16-3 on the road.

East and West
The Isles are 19-15-9 against the East (8-7-5 vs. Metropolitan and 11-8-4 vs. Atlantic) and 12-12-6 against the West (6-6-2 vs. Central and 6-6-4 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 117 games at UBS Arena and recorded 84 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 1,436
3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,436) and Patrick Roy (142) have combined for 1,578 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 are 22-5-10 when scoring first and are 9-22-5 when allowing the opening goal. Under Patrick Roy, the Isles are 9-2-1 when they score first and are 3-10-3 when they do not.

The Shots
Isles       6-15-8=29
Tampa Bay 21-8-12=41
The Isles are 12-10-6 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 18-16-9 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 37 saves; he is 9-8-4 on the season and 10-9-2 vs. Tampa Bay.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves; he is 28-16-2 on the season and 13-4-0 vs the Isles.

Special Teams
The Isles were 0-1 on the power play (0:55); Tampa Bay was 1-1 on the power play (1:53).

The Isles are 16-8-9 when they score at least one power play goal and 15-19-6 when they do not. The Isles are 11-18-10 when they allow at least one power play goal and 20-9-5 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 29-5-11 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-22-4 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 17-3-15 in games decided by a single goal including 9-3 in regulation. They are 7-11 in games decided in overtime and are 1-4 in shootouts. The Isles are 2-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     
The Isles are 4-1-4 in the front end and 0-6-3 in the back end this season. The final back-to-back set will be on April 1st in Philadelphia and April 2nd vs. Chicago. 

Fewest Wins on Back-end:
0 1972-73 (0-22-3)
0 2023-24 (0-6-3, with one remaining)
1 2012-13 (1-5-1; 48-game schedule)
2 1994-95 (2-3-3; 48-game schedule)

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Noah Dobson (23:34); Tampa Bay: Victor Hedman (23:00)
Mathew Barzal led Islander forwards with 19:00 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (6-2-2), Noah Dobson (22-22-9), Alex Romanov (2-2-0), Adam Pelech (0-0-2), Matthew Barzal (0-1-1), Bo Horvat (1-0-0).

Face-offs
Isles 27, Tampa Bay 36 (43%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 7 of 9 for the Isles; Anthony Cirelli won 8 of 9 for Tampa Bay.

Hit Count
Isles 34 (Cal Clutterbuck -6)
Tampa Bay 27 (Tanner Jenannot -5)

Fights 
None. Season total: 11 (Martin 4, Lee 3, Pelech 1, Mayfield 1, Horvat 1, MacLean 1)
 
Blocked Shots
Isles 15 (Six with 2)
Tampa Bay 17 (Six with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 63, Tampa Bay 73
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 63, Tampa Bay 67
 
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Noah Dobson +15
Tampa Bay: Darren Raddysh +13

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 10, Tampa Bay 11
5-on-5: Isles 10, Tampa Bay 10

Scratches
(Scott Mayfield – LTIR), Sebastian Aho, Oliver Wahlstrom, Simon Holmstrom, Samuel Bolduc
Games Lost to injury: 169

The Ironmen
Anders Lee is the Islanders' ironman, having played 185 consecutive games. Brock Nelson (157), Kyle Palmieri (107), and Noah Dobson (103) are the only other Islanders to have played at least 100 consecutive games. Two other Islanders: Cal Clutterbuck (88) and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (87) have played every game this season.

Most Overtime Goals, Season (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 4 (2014-15)
2. Bo Horvat 3 (2023-24)
Brock Nelson 3 (2019-20)
John Tavares 3 (2010-11)

Most Overtime Assists, Career (Islanders)
1. Mathew Barzal 15
2. John Tavares 12

Most Overtime Points, Career (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 23
2. Mathew Barzal 20
Barzal has a point on 20 of the 37 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.

National TV Games 
The Isles are 5-2-3 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners. The next nationally televised game will be on April 13 (ABC) at the Rangers.

Matinee Isles
The Isles are 1-4-1 in matinee games (all at home, including an OT loss at Met Life). The final matinee game is April 13th at NYR.
The NHL considers games that start before 5:00 local time to be afternoon games. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Isles are 13-13-9 in matinees.

Challenges
Isles: 2 successful, 4 failures – WSH goalie interference (11/2), OTT offside (11/24), LA no goalie interference (12/9), VGK no goalie interference (1/6), PIT no hand pass (2/20) , BUF no goalie interference (3/14)

Opponents: 4 successful, 3 failures – BUF no offsides (10/21), CAR no high-stick (11/30); ANA goalie interference (12/13), CGY offside (2/10), TB offside (2/24), FLA goalie interference (3/28); FLA no goalie interference (3/28)

Quickies
The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute seven times this season (four times at home – CBJ 12/7 x2, WSH 12/29, NYR 2/18-MetLife and three time on road-@OTT 11/24, @ARI 1/4, @SJ 3/7)  and allowed two in the same span nine times (COL 10/25 x2, MIN 11/8, @MTL 12/16, PIT 12/27, @NAS 1/13, @PIT 2/20, @STL 2/22 (3 in :32), @ TB 3/30)

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
The Isles have come from at least two goals behind in the third period to win one time this season and have allowed the opposition to do so five times.
For (1): LA 12/9 (trailed 0-2, won 3-2 in OT)
Vs (5): DET 10/30 (trailed 0-2, won 4-3 in OT); CAR 11/4 (trailed 1-3, won 4-3 in OT) ; @ NJ 11/28 (trailed 2-4, won 5-4 in regulation); SJ 12/5 (trailed 1-4; won 5-3 in OT); NYR 2/18 (trailed 3-5, won 6-5 in OT)

Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have scored four goals and have allowed six goals in the final three minutes of the third period to tie or go-ahead:
For (5): Bo Horvat 10/20 vs NJ 18:49 (Isles lost in OT); Simon Holmstrom 12/13 vs ANA 18:27 (GWG); Kyle Palmieri 1/27 vs FLA 18:31 (Isles lost in OT); Pierre Engvall 2/5 @ TOR 17:58 (GWG); Bo Horvat 3/16 vs OTT 19:22 (Isles lost in OT).
Vs (7): Curtis Lazar 11/28 @ NJ 19:37 (GWG); Sebastian Aho 11/30 @ CAR 19:57 (Isles won in OT); Tomas Hertl vs SJ 18:30 (SJ won in OT); Morgan Rielly 12/11 vs TOR 19:53 (Isles won in OT); Alexandre Carrier 1/13 @ NAS 19:52 (GWG); Sean Monahan 1/25 @ MTL 17:48 (GWG); Mika Zibanejad vs NYR – Met Life 18:31 (NYR won in OT)

OT Winners
For (7): Mathew Barzal (vs CAR) 11/30, Jean Gabriel Pageau (vs LA) 12/9, Bo Horvat (vs TOR) 12/11, Mathew Barzal (vs TOR) 1/11, Bo Horvat (vs DAL) 1/21, Adam Pelech (vs PIT) 2/20, Bo Horvat (vs DAL) 2/26
Vs (11): Jack Hughes (NJ) 10/20, Lucas Raymond (DET) 10/30, Sebastian Aho (CAR) 11/4, Quinn Hughes (VAN) 11/15; William Eklund (SJ) 12/5; Dylan Strome (WAS) 12/20; Nathan MacKinnon (COL) 1/2; Seth Jones (CHI) 1/19, Oliver Ekman-Larsson (FLA) 1/27; Artemi Panarin (NYR) 2/18; Brady Tkachuk 3/16

Shootout Winners
For (1): Oliver Wahlstrom (Vs CGY) 11/18
Vs (4): Kailer Yamamoto (SEA) 11/16, Tyson Foerster (PHI) 11/25, David Pastrnak (BOS) 12/15, Tomas Tatar (SEA) 2/13
 
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 831 *** 7. Bob Bourne and Matt Martin 814 *** 9. Casey Cizikas 806 *** 10. Mike Bossy 752 *** 11. Anders Lee 751 *** Patrick Flatley 712 *** 13. Cal Clutterbuck 709…
32. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 34. Ed Westfall 493 *** 35. Mathew Barzal 492 *** 36. Adam Pelech 491 *** 37. Radek Martinek 479 **** 38. Ryan Pulock 476 *** 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. John Tavares 272 *** 8. Brock Nelson 270 *** 9. Anders Lee 258 …
20. Kyle Okposo 139 ***21. Mathew Barzal 128…
29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Benoit Hogue, Ed Westfall, and Casey Cizikas 105

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
9. Brent Sutter 323 *** 10. Stefan Persson 317 *** 11. Mathew Barzal 308…
16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Brock Nelson 252…
21. Nick Leddy 198 *** 22. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 23. Anders Lee 190…
31. David Volek 154 *** 32. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 33. Noah Dobson 148 *** 34. Travis Green 145 *** 35. Steve Thomas 140 and Ryan Pulock 139

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
10. Bob Bourne 542 *** 11. Brock Nelson 522 *** 12. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Anders Lee 448  *** 16. Billy Harris 443 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 436…
31. Nick Leddy 243 *** 32. Casey Cizikas 241

+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105  *** 16. Tomas Jonsson +76 ***  17. Garry Howatt +75 *** 18. Adam Pelech +73  *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54  

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 40 *** 10. Noah Dobson 38

Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742 *** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…
7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Noah Dobson 149 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 140…
12. Dave Lewis 117 *** 13. Adam Pelech 112… 
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. Jeff Norton 188 *** 8. Ryan Pulock 188 *** 9. Noah Dobson 187…
13. Dave Lewis 141 *** 14. Adam Pelech 138 *** 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 188 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177 *** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 158

Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130…
5. Thomas Greiss 101 *** 6. Ilya Sorokin 92 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 68

Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 18 *** 
4. Rick DiPietro 16 *** 5. Semyon Varlamov 15

On the Farm   
Bridgeport is 23-34-6-1 on the season after splitting a pair of home games with Charlotte this weekend. Matthew Maggio had the only goal in a 4-1 loss on Friday, while Dennis Cholowski scored the only goal of the game on an overtime power play on Saturday. Ken Appleby made 36 saves for his first shutout in two seasons; he also assisted on the overtime goal.

Ruslan Iskhakov continues to lead the team in goals (17), assists (28) and points (45).

Bridgeport hosts Utica on Tuesday at 10:30am in a School Day matinee.
 
Season Series Stats
Tampa Bay wins the season series 2 games to 1 (and 4 points to 2). 

The Isles have lost five straight regular season games at Amalie Arena since a 5-1 win on December 9, 2019.

UP NEXT
MONDAY, APRIL 2nd –ISLANDERS AT PHILADELPHIA– 7:00pm
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 6:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].
The Isles make their only trip this season to Philadelphia on Monday; the Isles have a chance to get within three points of the Flyers (and still have two games in hand). 
It has been over four months since the division rivals played at all; the teams split a pair of games over Thanksgiving weekend at UBS Arena with the Isles winning 3-2 on Wednesday and dropping a 1-0 decision in a shootout on Saturday.

That shootout loss was the Isles' fourth shutout of the season (and Ilya Sorokin's second). The Isles do not have a shutout in the 53 games that they have played since then.

It is the Isles' first game in Philadelphia since February 6, 2023 – the game Bo Horvat made his Islander debut. The Isles are 7-2-2 in their last 11 trips to Philadelphia.

AND FINALLY…
You are reading the 1,000th consecutive edition of The Skinny. Thanks to my family for their continuous support, my MSG teammates, and to all of you who read and comment on The Skinny!

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 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

Friday, March 29, 2024

The (First) Skinny : Washington 6, Isles 1 (October 8, 2003)

Following Saturday's game in Tampa I will publish the 1,000th consecutive edition of The Skinny.  It has been published after every regular season and playoff game for well over a decade. It actually debuted in the 2003-04 season, with the first game the Isles played after Peter Laviolette left the Isles.  (It's gotten longer, and hopefully better, since then)  Here's a look at it.


"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Long-time Islander fans may remember a post-game segment on Islander telecasts in the mid-90's called "The Skinny"… it was filled with information you might not find anywhere else.  A decade later, we've moved "The Skinny" to newyorkislanders.com

Game 1
Capitals 6, Islanders 1

For Openers:
The Isles drop to 8-16-8 on Opening Night, losing their 2nd straight opener and falling to 2-7-3 in their last dozen openers. The Isles are now 2-7-2 when they open on a Thursday. The six goals allowed are the most in an Opener in 14 years [10/5/89 Isles 5 @ Minnesota 6]. It's the most lopsided Opening Night loss since a 7-2 defeat in New Jersey in 1984.

Never in Washington:
The Isles remain winless at the MCI Center, falling to 0-10-2-1 in 13 visits. They are 1-23-3-1 in their last 28 overall vs. Washington. 

Inauspicious Debut:
Steve Stirling lost his debut as an NHL coach.  Overall, Islander coaches are 5-7-2 in coaching debuts including 2-4-2 when the game is a season opener.

Results of First Game as Islander Coach
Phil Goyette 10/07/72 * L 3-2 Atlanta
Earl Ingarfeld 01/31/73 L 5-3 @ Toronto
Al Arbour 10/10/73 * T 1-1 @ Atlanta
Terry Simpson 10/09/86 * L 3-2 @ Chicago
Al Arbour II 12/09/89 L 6-5 @ New Jersey
Lorne Henning 01/21/94 * W 2-1 Florida
Mike Milbury 10/07/95 * T 4-4 @ Boston
Rick Bowness 01/24/97 W 5-2 @ Hartford
Mike Milbury II 03/12/98 L 2-1 Washington
Bill Stewart 01/21/99 W5-2 @ Pittsburgh
Butch Goring 10/02/99 * L 4-2 @ Tampa Bay
Lorne Henning II 03/04/01 W 5-2 @ New York Rangers
Peter Laviolette 10/05/01 * W 3-2 @ Tampa Bay
Steve Stirling 10/09/03 * L 6-1@Washington
* Season Opener

Jagr, for Openers
Jaromir Jagr had a goal and an assist, and now has 23 points in Season Openers, seven points shy of Ray Bourque's NHL record.  He now has 507 career goals, tying Jean Beliveau for 30th all-time.

1 + 2 = 3
Since 1993-94, Jaromir Jagr has scored more goals than anyone in the NHL: 414, including one in this game.  Peter Bondra, who scored twice, now 376, which ranks second in this span.

Super Bowl to NHL Goal:
John Gruden, the namesake of the Buccaneer coach, scored the 2nd goal for the Capitals – it was his first NHL point since 1999 and his first career NHL goal. He played for the Berlin [Germany] Polar Bears last season. Gruden debuted as a Bruin in the 1993-94 season; this was his 82nd  NHL game. Gruden, who turned 33 in June, is the oldest player to score his first NHL goal since Helmut Balderis did it in 1989 at age 37.

13.64?
Garth Snow allowed all six goals, and was pulled just 26:24 into the contest.  Snow's GAA is 13.64. 

Perfect in Relief
Rick DiPietro stopped all 11 shots he faced after replacing Snow. In last year's opener, Snow stopped the only shot he faced over the final 20 minutes after replacing Chris Osgood.

Mariusz' Back
Mariusz Czerkawski made his return to the Isles and scored his 121st Islander goal, tying Duane Sutter for 15th place on the Isles' all-time goal scoring list.

It's a Start
Two players, both drafted in the first round in 2002, made their NHL debuts:  Boyd Gordon for the Capitals and Sean Bergenheim for the Islanders.  Gordon, who was picked 17th in 2002 [five picks before Bergenheim] played for Brent Sutter at Red Deer. Alexander Semin, also a 2002 first rounder, was a scratch for Washington.

Somebody Has to Sit
Opening Night scratches for the Isles: Justin Papineau, Trent Hunter and Sven Butenschon.

Up Next
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11TH  -- ISLANDERS AT BUFFALO 7:00PM
[Metro (pre-game at 6:30pm); Disney-1560 (pre-game at 6:50pm)]

It's the Sabres' Home Opener, as they look to score their first goal under new owner Tom Golisano. Buffalo was blanked 2-0 by the Flyers in their opener.

It's the first of four meetings on the season with the Sabres.  The Isles, who defeated Buffalo twice in overtime last season, won the 2002-03 series six points to four.  The Isles won the final three games last season after dropping the season opener 5-1 and now own a three-game win streak over Buffalo for the first time since 1995-96.

Jason Blake scored two overtime goals for the Isles against Buffalo last season, marking the first time an Islander player has ever scored two overtime goals in one regular season against the same opponent.

The Isles are 4-7-2-1 in 14 all-time visits to the HSBC Arena.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources.



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

Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Skinny: Isles 3, Florida 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 72
Isles 3, Florida 2
Mathew Baral and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored second period goals to erase a 2-1 deficit as the Islanders earned a 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers before a crowd of 19,201 at Amerant Arena. 

Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves to improve to 3-0-1 in his last four starts (2.47 GAA, .915). The Isles are 12-11-4 under Patrick Roy and 31-26-15 overall as they close within four points of Washington in the Wild Card race and within five points of Philadelphia for third place in the Metropolitan.

The Isles head to Tampa Bay to face the Lightning on Saturday before a showdown with the Flyers on Monday in Philadelphia.

The Scoring:  
1st Period
Vladimir Tarasenko (21) Aleksander Barkov (50), Dmitry Kulikov (18) 08:13 NYI 0,FLA 1
Ryan Pulock (5) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (20), Casey Cizikas (10) 13:20 NYI 1,FLA 1

2nd Period
Aleksander Barkov (19) Sam Reinhart (34), Niko Mikkola (11) 06:32 NYI 1,FLA 2
Mathew Barzal (23) Noah Dobson (58), Casey Cizikas (11) 08:43 NYI 2,FLA 2
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (10) Adam Pelech (13), Pierre Engvall (15) 10:42 NYI 3,FLA 2

3rd Period
No Goals

The Skinny     
The Isles are 11-9-3 since the All-Star Break … Since Christmas, the Isles are 7-7-4 at home and 8-11-2 on the road… The Isles' defense has 60 points under Patrick Roy (12-48-60) and have 50 points in the last 22 games (11-39-50)…The Isles have outscored their opponents 63-43 in the first period (fewest allowed in NHL), but have been outscored 100-75 in the second period (most allowed in NHL); the 57 goal difference would be the highest between any two periods in club history (56 in 1984-85, 41 in 1995-96)…The Isles have been outscored 93-76 in the third period and overtime this season, but that reflects a 19-2 difference in empty-net goals…The Isles have been outscored 62-36 in the second period since the Christmas break and have allowed at least two goals in 20 of the 39 games; the goals allowed are the most in the NHL over that span …The Isles are 9-22-5 when they allow the first goal …Mathew Barzal is 23-51-74; he has set a career high in goals while his assist and point totals are the highest since his rookie season (22-63-85 in 2017-18)....The Isles improve to 2-6-1 in the nine games since their six-game winning streak…The Isles had allowed seven consecutive goals over 97:48 before Ryan Pulock's goal  (Pulock had had a goal disallowed earlier in the period…. Steve Lorentz won all six face-offs he took; Connor Dewar (MIN) was the last opponent to do so 1/12/23, also 6-0…Mike Reilly (23:10) and Brock Nelson (22:54) each posted season-high ice times…Despite their loss, the Panthers clinched a playoff spot when Detroit lost to Carolina…Aleksander Barkov reached 50 assists for a club-record fourth time, and then became the first Panther to hit the 700 point mark with his 19th goal of the season; he is 11-12-23 in 25 career games against the Isles…Casey Cizikas had a third assist taken away by NHL Hockey Operations; it would have been the first three-assist game of his career…Noah Dobson re-gained the NHL defense lead, and tied Mathew Barzal for the club lead with his 34th primary assist…Mathew Barzal drew two second period penalties, tying Kyle Palmieri for the club lead with 22 penalties drawn….It was only the second time this season that the Isles had at least six power plays (eight in Montreal on January 25th)…The Isles are 6-6-1 in March.
 
First Time in a Long Time
• The Isles have allowed 100 goals in the second period; it is the first time that they have allowed 100 goals in a period since the second period in 2017-18 (108).
• The Isles have four players with 23 goals for the first time in 13 years (2010-11 – Blake Comeau, Michael Grabner, Matt Moulson, and John Tavares).

Playoff Chase
Metro Division
3rd  Philadelphia 82 points in 74 games  (Saturday vs. Chicago, Monday vs. Isles)
4th  Washington  81 points in 72 games  (Saturday vs. Boston, Tuesday at Buffalo)
5th  Isles 77 points in 72 games  (Saturday at Tampa Bay, Monday at Philadelphia)

Wild Card
1st WC Tampa Bay    87 points in 72 games  (Saturday vs. Isles, Monday vs. Detroit)
2nd WC  Washington 81 points in 72 games  (Saturday vs. Boston, Tuesday at Buffalo)
3rd      Detroit          79 points in 73 games  (Saturday at Florida, Monday at Tampa Bay)
4th      Isles             77 points in 72 games  (Saturday at Tampa Bay, Monday at Philadelphia)
5th      New Jersey   76 points in 73 games  ( Friday at Buffalo, Tuesday vs. Pittsburgh)
6th      Pittsburgh    74 points in 72 games  (Saturday at Columbus, Monday at Rangers)
7th      Buffalo         73 points in 73 games  ( Friday vs. New Jersey, Saturday vs. Toronto)

Milestone Men  
Mathew Barzal set a career high in goals (23)
Cal Clutterbuck became the first NHL player with 4,000 career hits.
Anders Lee is the 11th player in club history to play 750 games; he is two games behind Mike Bossy for 10th place.
Brock Nelson has 270 goals, two behind John Tavares for 7th in club history.
Brock Nelson is one goal away from his third consecutive 30-goal season, a feat last accomplished for the Islanders by Matt Moulson.
Bo Horvat has 499 career points.
Bo Horvat has tied his career high in assists (34)
Mike Reilly has 99 career assists.
Matt Martin has played 813 Islander games, one behind Bob Bourne for 7th place. 
You are reading the 999th consecutive edition of The Skinny.

Mr. Consistency
Mathew Barzal has had five separate point streaks of at least five games this season, including an 8-game and a 7-game streak.

Woah Noah
Noah Dobson is the first Islander defenseman with at least 66 points since 1984-85 when Denis Potvin had 68, and the first with at least 58 assists since 1983-84, when Potvin recorded 63.

Dobson has recorded only the fifth season in club history with at least 58 assists by a defenseman:  
1. Denis Potvin 70 (1978-79)
2. Denis Potvin 67 (1975-76)
3. Denis Potvin 64 (1977-78)
4. Denis Potvin 63 (1983-84)
5. Noah Dobson 58 (2023-24)

Dobson is tied-21st overall for assists in a season by an Islander.

Most assists (Islanders, last 35 years)
1. Pierre Turgeon 74 in 1992-93
2. Mathew Barzal 63 in  2017-18
3. Noah Dobson 58 in 2023-24

Career Year?
Bo Horvat is 29-34-63 on the season. His 29 goals trail only 2022-23 (38) and 2021-22 (31) while his 63 points are his 2nd- highest total behind last season's 70. Horvat has tied his career-high of 34 assists which he set in 2018-19.

Coach Roy
The Isles are 12-11-4 under Patrick Roy and have allowed only two goals or fewer in nine of their twelve wins. Ilya Sorokin is 9-8-2 under Roy while Semyon Varlamov is 3-3-2.

Scoring Leaders Under Patrick Roy
1. Mathew Barzal 11-17-28
2. Brock Nelson 9-15-24
3. Bo Horvat 11-10-21 (4 GWG)
4. Noah Dobson 2-19-21
5. Kyle Palmieri 12-5-17

Since the Break
The Isles are 11-9-3 since the all-star break. While they were outshot 34.9-30.0 per game (-4.9) prior to the break, the Isles have out-shot their opponents 30.5-28.6 (+1.9) since the break.

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles have played 23 overtime games, one behind Boston for the NHL lead. They are 7-11 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-4 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 6-7 in overtime and 1-3 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 1-4 in overtime and 0-1 in shootouts. 

The Isles have won 18 of the last 46 games decided by an overtime goal (since January 11, 2020).

Most Islander OT/SO Losses 
15 (2023-24; CURRENT)
13 (2010-11)

Most OT/SO Losses in a Season (Isles Goalie)
1. Ilya Sorokin 11 (2023-24; CURRENT)
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 29 (CURRENT)
Rick DiPietro 28 

Empty Netters 
The Isles have scored 2 empty-net goals and allowed 19.

Most Empty-Net Goals Allowed (Isles):
1. 19  2023-24 CURRENT
2. 18  2021-22
3. 17  2022-23
4. 14  2011-12

Killing Their Own PP
The Isles have taken a penalty to interrupt their power play 21 times this season.

Power Play Up; Penalty Killing Down
The Isles have scored 42 power play goals; they scored 35 all last season.
The Isles have allowed 56 power play goals; they allowed 39 all last season. 

Under Patrick Roy, the Isles Power Play is 14-84 (16.7%) and the Penalty Kill is 20-67 (70.1%). 
 
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 49 times this season:
Score the next goal: 14 times
Allowed the next goal: 31 times
Game ended with 2-goal difference: 4 times 

Heavy Hitters
Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin are 1-2 all-time in hits:
1. Cal Clutterbuck 4,000
2. Matt Martin 3,837

Martin (7) and Clutterbuck (3) have combined for the 10-biggest hits seasons in Isles history in the Real-Time era, which began in 2005-06. 

The 25-Goal Club
Brock Nelson is 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

Last Year vs. This Year
2023-24  31-26-15 for 77 points in 72 games
2022-23  37-27-8 for 82 points in 72 games

Offense from Defense
Today:   1-2-3
Season: 29-118-147
Last Season (Final) 41-132-173

The Islander defense scored 41 goals last season, which was the most since they scored 42 in 2003-04. The 173 points were their most since 1993-94, when they had 174 points in an 84-game season.

Lots of Work for Sorokin
Most shots against:
Ilya Sorokin 1,688
Juuse Saros 1,620
Jordan Binnington 1,603
Connor Hellebuyck 1,585
Alexandar Georgiev 1,582 (*)
Petr Mrazek 1,579
(*) Late Game Thursday

No goalie has ever played the full season for the Islanders and led the NHL in this category; Kelly Hrudey led the NHL in 1988-89; he was traded at the deadline to Los Angeles.

Facing 40
Ilya Sorokin has faced at least forty shots ten times this season and 27 times in his career. 

Most Games, 40+ Shots in a Season vs Isles Goalie
1. Jaroslav Halak 11  2017-18
2. Gerry Desjardins 10 1972-73
Ilya Sorokin 10 2023-24

No other NHL goalie has faced 40+ shots more than six times this season.

Most games, 40+ Shots (Since 2021-22)
1. John Gibson 34
2. Ilya Sorokin 27
3. Darcy Kuemper 23
4. Sam Montembault 21
Karel Vejmelka 21

Most Games, 40+ Shots (Islander History)
1. Billy Smith 46    (674 games)
2. Kelly Hrudey 27 (241 games)
Ilya Sorokin 27 (187 games)

Sorokin has made at least 40 saves six times this season and a franchise-record 16 times in his career. 

Varly, Varly
Semyon Varlamov has 40 career shutouts and 281 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
50. Tiny Thompson 284
51. Semyon Varlamov 281
52. Brian Elliott 279

Home and Road
The Isles are 31-26-15 overall; they are 16-10-10 at home and 15-16-5 on the road.
Florida is 46-22-5 overall; they are 21-13-2 at home and 25-9-3 on the road.

East and West
The Isles are 19-14-9 against the East (8-7-5 vs. Metropolitan and 11-7-4 vs. Atlantic) and 12-12-6 against the West (6-6-2 vs. Central and 6-6-4 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 117 games at UBS Arena and recorded 84 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 1,436
3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,436) and Patrick Roy (142) have combined for 1,578 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 are 22-4-10 when scoring first and are 9-22-5 when allowing the opening goal. Under Patrick Roy, the Isles are 9-1-1 when they score first and are 3-10-3 when they do not.

The Shots
Isles    6-13-5=24
Florida 9-5-15=29
The Isles are 12-10-6 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 18-15-9 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves; he is 9-7-4 on the season and 9-4-2 vs. Florida.
Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves; he is 14-6-2 on the season and 1-3-0 vs the Isles.

Special Teams
The Isles were 0-6 on the power play (12:00); Florida was 0-1 on the power play (2:00).

The Isles are 16-8-9 when they score at least one power play goal and 15-18-6 when they do not. The Isles are 11-17-10 when they allow at least one power play goal and 20-9-5 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 29-5-11 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-21-4 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 17-3-15 in games decided by a single goal including 9-3 in regulation. They are 7-11 in games decided in overtime and are 1-4 in shootouts. The Isles are 2-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     
The Isles are 4-1-4 in the front end and 0-6-3 in the back end this season. The final back-to-back set will be on April 1st in Philadelphia and April 2nd vs. Chicago. 

Fewest Wins on Back-end:
0 1972-73 (0-22-3)
0 2023-24 (0-6-3, with one remaining)
1 2012-13 (1-5-1; 48-game schedule)
2 1994-95 (2-3-3; 48-game schedule)

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:10); Florida: Gustav Forsling (22:26)
Brock Nelson led Islander forwards with a season-high 22:54 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (6-2-2), Noah Dobson (22-21-9), Alex Romanov (2-2-0), Adam Pelech (0-0-2), Matthew Barzal (0-1-1), Bo Horvat (1-0-0).

Face-offs
Isles 26, Florida 25 (51%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 8 of 11 for the Isles; Steven Lorentz won 6 of 6 for Florida.

Hit Count
Isles 28 (Adam Pelech -4)
Florida 13 (Two with 5)

Fights 
None. Season total: 11 (Martin 4, Lee 3, Pelech 1, Mayfield 1, Horvat 1, MacLean 1)
 
Blocked Shots
Isles 26 (Three with 3)
Florida 8 (Two with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 42, Florida 68
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 28, Florida 48
 
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Adam Pelech +4
Florida: Gustav Forsling +14

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 5, Florida 12
5-on-5: Isles 3, Florida 6

Scratches
(Scott Mayfield – LTIR), Sebastian Aho, Oliver Wahlstrom, Simon Holmstrom, Samuel Bolduc
Games Lost to injury: 168

The Ironmen
Anders Lee is the Islanders' ironman, having played 184 consecutive games. Brock Nelson (156), Kyle Palmieri (106), and Noah Dobson (102) are the only other Islanders to have played at least 100 consecutive games. Two other Islanders: Cal Clutterbuck (87) and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (86) have played every game this season.

Most Overtime Goals, Season (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 4 (2014-15)
2. Bo Horvat 3 (2023-24)
Brock Nelson 3 (2019-20)
John Tavares 3 (2010-11)

Most Overtime Assists, Career (Islanders)
1. Mathew Barzal 15
2. John Tavares 12

Most Overtime Points, Career (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 23
2. Mathew Barzal 20
Barzal has a point on 20 of the 37 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.

National TV Games 
The Isles are 5-2-3 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners. The next nationally televised game will be on April 13 (ABC) at the Rangers.

Matinee Isles
The Isles are 1-4-1 in matinee games (all at home, including an OT loss at Met Life). The final matinee game is April 13th at NYR.
The NHL considers games that start before 5:00 local time to be afternoon games. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Isles are 13-13-9 in matinees.

Challenges
Isles: 2 successful, 4 failures – WSH goalie interference (11/2), OTT offside (11/24), LA no goalie interference (12/9), VGK no goalie interference (1/6), PIT no hand pass (2/20) , BUF no goalie interference (3/14)

Opponents: 4 successful, 3 failures – BUF no offsides (10/21), CAR no high-stick (11/30); ANA goalie interference (12/13), CGY offside (2/10), TB offside (2/24), FLA goalie interference (3/28); FLA no goalie interference (3/28)

Quickies
The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute seven times this season (four times at home – CBJ 12/7 x2, WSH 12/29, NYR 2/18-MetLife and three time on road-@OTT 11/24, @ARI 1/4, @SJ 3/7)  and allowed two in the same span eight times (COL 10/25 x2, MIN 11/8, @MTL 12/16, PIT 12/27, @NAS 1/13, @PIT 2/20, @STL 2/22 (3 in :32))

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
The Isles have come from at least two goals behind in the third period to win one time this season and have allowed the opposition to do so five times.
For (1): LA 12/9 (trailed 0-2, won 3-2 in OT)
Vs (5): DET 10/30 (trailed 0-2, won 4-3 in OT); CAR 11/4 (trailed 1-3, won 4-3 in OT) ; @ NJ 11/28 (trailed 2-4, won 5-4 in regulation); SJ 12/5 (trailed 1-4; won 5-3 in OT); NYR 2/18 (trailed 3-5, won 6-5 in OT)

Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have scored four goals and have allowed six goals in the final three minutes of the third period to tie or go-ahead:
For (5): Bo Horvat 10/20 vs NJ 18:49 (Isles lost in OT); Simon Holmstrom 12/13 vs ANA 18:27 (GWG); Kyle Palmieri 1/27 vs FLA 18:31 (Isles lost in OT); Pierre Engvall 2/5 @ TOR 17:58 (GWG); Bo Horvat 3/16 vs OTT 19:22 (Isles lost in OT).
Vs (7): Curtis Lazar 11/28 @ NJ 19:37 (GWG); Sebastian Aho 11/30 @ CAR 19:57 (Isles won in OT); Tomas Hertl vs SJ 18:30 (SJ won in OT); Morgan Rielly 12/11 vs TOR 19:53 (Isles won in OT); Alexandre Carrier 1/13 @ NAS 19:52 (GWG); Sean Monahan 1/25 @ MTL 17:48 (GWG); Mika Zibanejad vs NYR – Met Life 18:31 (NYR won in OT)

OT Winners
For (7): Mathew Barzal (vs CAR) 11/30, Jean Gabriel Pageau (vs LA) 12/9, Bo Horvat (vs TOR) 12/11, Mathew Barzal (vs TOR) 1/11, Bo Horvat (vs DAL) 1/21, Adam Pelech (vs PIT) 2/20, Bo Horvat (vs DAL) 2/26
Vs (11): Jack Hughes (NJ) 10/20, Lucas Raymond (DET) 10/30, Sebastian Aho (CAR) 11/4, Quinn Hughes (VAN) 11/15; William Eklund (SJ) 12/5; Dylan Strome (WAS) 12/20; Nathan MacKinnon (COL) 1/2; Seth Jones (CHI) 1/19, Oliver Ekman-Larsson (FLA) 1/27; Artemi Panarin (NYR) 2/18; Brady Tkachuk 3/16

Shootout Winners
For (1): Oliver Wahlstrom (Vs CGY) 11/18
Vs (4): Kailer Yamamoto (SEA) 11/16, Tyson Foerster (PHI) 11/25, David Pastrnak (BOS) 12/15, Tomas Tatar (SEA) 2/13
 
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 830 *** 7. Bob Bourne 814 *** 8. Matt Martin 813 *** 9. Casey Cizikas 805 *** 10. Mike Bossy 752 *** 11. Anders Lee 750 *** Patrick Flatley 712 *** 13. Cal Clutterbuck 708…
32. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 34. Ed Westfall 493 *** 35. Mathew Barzal 491 *** 36. Adam Pelech 490 *** 37. Radek Martinek 479 **** 38. Gerry Hart and Ryan Pulock 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. John Tavares 272 *** 8. Brock Nelson 270 *** 9. Anders Lee 258 …
20. Kyle Okposo 139 ***21. Mathew Barzal 128…
29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Benoit Hogue, Ed Westfall, and Casey Cizikas 105

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
9. Brent Sutter 323 *** 10. Stefan Persson 317 *** 11. Mathew Barzal 308…
16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Brock Nelson 252…
21. Nick Leddy 198 *** 22. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 23. Anders Lee 190…
31. David Volek 154 *** 32. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 33. Noah Dobson 148 *** 34. Travis Green 145 *** 35. Steve Thomas 140 *** 36. Mark Streit and Ryan Pulock 139

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
10. Bob Bourne 542 *** 11. Brock Nelson 522 *** 12. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Anders Lee 448  *** 16. Billy Harris 443 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 436…
31. Nick Leddy 243 *** 32. Casey Cizikas 241

+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105  *** 16. Tomas Jonsson +76 ***  17. Garry Howatt +75 *** 18. Adam Pelech +73  *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54  

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 40 *** 10. Noah Dobson 38

Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742 *** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…
7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Noah Dobson 149 *** 9. Mark Streit and Ryan Pulock 139…
12. Dave Lewis 117 *** 13. Adam Pelech 112… 
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. Jeff Norton 188 *** 8. Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock 187…
13. Dave Lewis 141 *** 14. Adam Pelech 138 *** 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 188 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177 *** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 157

Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130…
5. Thomas Greiss 101 *** 6. Ilya Sorokin 92 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 68

Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 18 *** 
4. Rick DiPietro 16 *** 5. Semyon Varlamov 15

On the Farm   
Bridgeport is 22-33-6-1 on the season, heading into home games on Friday and Saturday vs. Charlotte.

Ruslan Iskhakov continues to lead the team in goals (17), assists (27) and points (44).
 
Season Series Stats
The Isles win the season series 2 games to 1 (and 5 points to 2). 

All three meetings ended in one-goal wins for the road team. The Isles are 4-3-0 in their last seven trips to Sunrise and are 7-4-2 in their last 13 meetings with the Panthers.

UP NEXT
SATURDAY, MARCH 30th –ISLANDERS AT TAMPA BAY– 7:00pm
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 6:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].
The Isles make their first trip to Tampa Bay in exactly 52 weeks as they face the Lightning for the final time this season. The teams split a pair of February games at UBS Arena.

The Isles have lost four straight regular season games at Amalie Arena since a 5-1 win on December 9, 2019; however, the Isles did win game one of the 2021 Conference Finals in Tampa Bay.

AND FINALLY…
You are reading the 998th consecutive edition of The Skinny. I expect to publish the 1,000th consecutive edition after the game in Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 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

Sunday, March 24, 2024

The Skinny: New Jersey 4, Isles 0

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 71
New Jersey 4, Isles 0
Timo Meier had a Gordie Howe hat trick, all in the second period, as the New Jersey Devils scored three times in the middle session and defeated the Islanders 4-0 before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena. 

Ilya Sorokin dropped to 0-6-0 in his last six decisions; he has allowed three goals in a period in his last five starts. The Isles are 11-11-4 under Patrick Roy and 30-26-15 overall as they fall four points behind Washington in the Wild Card race and remained six points behind Philadelphia for third place in the Metropolitan.

The Isles have three days off before playing the Florida Panthers on Thursday in Sunrise. 

The Scoring:  
1st Period
None

2nd Period
Timo Meier (23) Jack Hughes (45), Luke Hughes (31) 00:38 NJD 1,NYI 0 PPG
Jack Hughes (24) Timo Meier (20), Jesper Bratt (46) 02:57 NJD 2,NYI 0
Alexander Holtz (16) Simon Nemec (16) 06:12 NJD 3,NYI 0

3rd Period 
Chris Tierney (3)EN Erik Haula (19), Kevin Bahl (10) 15:53 NJD 4,NYI 0

The Skinny     
The Isles are 10-9-3 since the All-Star Break … Since Christmas, the Isles are 7-7-4 at home and 7-11-2 on the road… The Isles' defense has 57 points under Patrick Roy (11-46-57) and have 47 points in the last 21 games (10-37-47)…The Isles have outscored their opponents 62-42 in the first period (fewest allowed in NHL), but have been outscored 99-73 in the second period (most allowed in NHL); the 57 goal difference would be the highest between any two period in club history (56 in 1984-85, 41 in 1995-96)… The Isles have been outscored 93-76 in the third period and overtime this season, but that reflects a 19-2 difference in empty-net goals…The Isles have been outscored 61-34 in the second period since the Christmas break and have allowed at least two goals in 20 of the 38 games; the goals allowed are the most in the NHL over that span …The Isles are 8-22-5 when they allow the first goal …Mathew Barzal is 22-51-73; he has tied career high in goals and his assist and point totals are the highest since his rookie season (22-63-85 in 2017-18)....Over the last fourteen games, the Isles outscored their opponents 36-14 in their last seven during their six-game winning streak but have been outscored 30-9 in the other seven (0-6-1) games… Kyle Palmieri's home goal streak ended at five games…The Isles are 0-8-3 in their last eleven back-ends, including 0-6-3 this season…Timo Meier has an NHL-leading twelve goals in March, giving him 23 on the season…Anders Lee was assessed his first career game misconduct… Jack and Luke Hughes assisted on the same goal for the sixth time this season… The Isles have been shut-out seven times this season, all in the last 52 games…Since scoring six times in the first 35:32 on Saturday, the Isles have been outscored 6-0 in the last 84:28…Jack Hughes played his 300th NHL game…Kaapo Kahkonen beat the Isles for the second time this season; he earned the win in December with San Jose.
 
First Times in a Long Time
Anders Lee is the first Islander to receive 20 penalty minutes in either a game or a period since Ross Johnston had 27 on March 16, 2018, vs. Washington (2nd period).
It is the first time since 2011-12 (ten times) that the Isles have been shut-out at least seven times. 
The Isles have allowed 99 goals in the second period; it is the most goals  they have allowed in any period since the second period in 2017-18 (108).
• The Devils shut out the Isles in New York for the first time since February 3, 2013.

Playoff Chase
Metro Division
3rd  Philadelphia 81 points in 72 games  (Thursday at Montreal)
4th  Washington  79 points in 70 games  (Tuesday vs. Detroit, Thursday at Toronto)
5th  Isles 75 points in 71 games  (Thursday at Florida)

Wild Card
1st WC Tampa Bay  83 points in 70 games  (Sunday LATE at Anaheim, Wednesday vs. Boston)
2nd WC  Washington 79 points in 70 games  (Tuesday vs. Detroit, Thursday at Toronto)
3rd Detroit        78 points in 71 games  (Tuesday at Washington, Thursday at Carolina)
4th         Isles           75 points in 71 games   (Thursday at Florida)
5th  New Jersey 74 points in 71 games  (Tuesday at Toronto, Friday at Buffalo)
6th Buffalo        71 points in 71 games  (Sunday LATE at Calgary, Wednesday vs. Ottawa, Friday vs. New Jersey)
7th Pittsburgh    70 points in 70 games  (Tuesday vs. Carolina, Thursday vs. Columbus)

Milestone Men  
Ilya Sorokin played his 188th game, passing Tommy Salo for 6th place in club goalie history.
Brock Nelson has 270 goals, two behind John Tavares for 7th in club history.
Brock Nelson is one goal away from his third consecutive 30-goal season, a feat last accomplished for the Islanders by Matt Moulson.
Mathew Barzal has tied his career high in goals (22)
Bo Horvat now has 499 career points.
Bo Horvat has tied his career high in assists (34)
Mike Reilly now has 99 career assists.
Cal Clutterbuck has 3,997 hits as he looks to become the first NHL player with 4,000 career hits.
You are reading the 998th consecutive edition of The Skinny.

Mr. Consistency
Mathew Barzal has had five separate point streaks of at least five games this season, including an 8-game and a 7-game streak.

Woah Noah
Noah Dobson is the first Islander defenseman with at least 65 points since 1984-85 when Denis Potvin had 68, and the first with at least 57 assists since 1983-84, when Potvin recorded 63.

Dobson has recorded only the fifth season in club history with at least 57 assists by a defenseman:  
1. Denis Potvin 70 (1978-79)
2. Denis Potvin 67 (1975-76)
3. Denis Potvin 64 (1977-78)
4. Denis Potvin 63 (1983-84)
5. Noah Dobson 57 (2023-24)

Dobson is now tied-24th overall for assists in a season by an Islander.

Most assists (Islanders, last 35 years)
1. Pierre Turgeon 74 in 1992-93
2. Mathew Barzal 63 in  2017-18
3. Noah Dobson 57 in 2023-24

Career Year?
Bo Horvat is 29-34-63 on the season. His 29 goals trail only 2022-23 (38) and 2021-22 (31) while his 63 points are his 2nd- highest total behind last season's 70. Horvat has tied his career-high of 34 assists which he set in 2018-19.

Coach Roy
The Isles are 11-11-4 under Patrick Roy and have allowed only two goals or fewer in eight of their eleven wins. Ilya Sorokin is 9-8-2 under Roy while Semyon Varlamov is 2-3-2.

Scoring Leaders Under Patrick Roy
1. Mathew Barzal 10-17-27
2. Brock Nelson 9-15-24
3. Bo Horvat 11-10-21 (4 GWG)
4. Noah Dobson 2-18-20
5. Kyle Palmieri 12-5-17

Since the Break
The Isles are 10-9-3 since the all-star break. While they were outshot 34.9-30.0 per game (-4.9) prior to the break, the Isles have out-shot their opponents 30.8-28.6 (+2.2) since the break.

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles have played 23 overtime games, one behind Boston for the NHL lead. They are 7-11 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-4 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 6-7 in overtime and 1-3 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 1-4 in overtime and 0-1 in shootouts. 

The NHL record for overtime games is 30, played by Boston in 2003-04. The Isles are on pace to play 26 overtime games.

The Isles have won 18 of the last 46 games decided by an overtime goal (since January 11, 2020).

Most Islander OT/SO Losses 
15 (2023-24; CURRENT)
13 (2010-11)

Most OT/SO Losses in a Season (Isles Goalie)
1. Ilya Sorokin 11 (2023-24; CURRENT)
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 29 (CURRENT)
Rick DiPietro 28 

Empty Netters 
The Isles have scored 2 empty-net goals and allowed 19.

Most Empty-Net Goals Allowed (Isles):
1. 19  2023-24 CURRENT
2. 18  2021-22
3. 17  2022-23
4. 14  2011-12

Killing Their Own PP
The Isles have taken a penalty to interrupt their power play 21 times this season.

Power Play Up; Penalty Killing Down
The Isles have scored 42 power play goals; they scored 35 all last season.
The Isles have allowed 56 power play goals; they allowed 39 all last season. 

Under Patrick Roy, the Isles Power Play is 14-78 (17.9%) and the Penalty Kill is 20-66 (69.7%). 
 
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 49 times this season:
Score the next goal: 14 times
Allowed the next goal: 31 times
Game ended with 2-goal difference: 4 times 

Heavy Hitters
Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin are 1-2 all-time in hits:
1. Cal Clutterbuck 3,997
2. Matt Martin 3,836

Martin (7) and Clutterbuck (3) have combined for the 10-biggest hits seasons in Isles history in the Real-Time era, which began in 2005-06. 

The 25-Goal Club
Brock Nelson is 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

Last Year vs. This Year
2023-24  30-26-15 for 75 points in 71 games
2022-23  36-27-8 for 80 points in 71 games

Offense from Defense
Today:   0-0-0
Season: 28-116-144
Last Season (Final) 41-132-173

The Islander defense scored 41 goals last season, which was the most since they scored 42 in 2003-04. The 173 points were their most since 1993-94, when they had 174 points in an 84-game season.

Lots of Work for Sorokin
Most shots against:
Ilya Sorokin 1,688
Juuse Saros 1,585
Alexandar Georgiev 1,582
Connor Hellebuyck 1,543
Jordan Binnington 1,542

No goalie has ever played the full season for the Islanders and led the NHL in this category; Kelly Hrudey led the NHL in 1988-89; he was traded at the deadline to Los Angeles.

Facing 40
Ilya Sorokin has faced at least forty shots ten times this season and 27 times in his career. 

Most Games, 40+ Shots in a Season vs Isles Goalie
1. Jaroslav Halak 11  2017-18
2. Gerry Desjardins 10 1972-73
Ilya Sorokin 10 2023-24

No other NHL goalie has faced 40+ shots more than six times this season.

Most games, 40+ Shots (Since 2021-22)
1. John Gibson 34
2. Ilya Sorokin 27
3. Darcy Kuemper 23
4. Sam Montembault 21
Karel Vejmelka 21

Most Games, 40+ Shots (Islander History)
1. Billy Smith 46    (674 games)
2. Kelly Hrudey 27 (241 games)
Ilya Sorokin 27 (187 games)

Sorokin has made at least 40 saves six times this season and a franchise-record 16 times in his career. 

Varly, Varly
Semyon Varlamov has 40 career shutouts and 280 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
50. Tiny Thompson 284
51. Semyon Varlamov 280
52. Brian Elliott 279

Home and Road
The Isles are 30-26-15 overall; they are 16-10-10 at home and 14-16-5 on the road.
New Jersey is 35-33-4 overall; they are 17-18-2 at home and 18-15-2 on the road.

East and West
The Isles are 18-14-9 against the East (8-7-5 vs. Metropolitan and 10-7-4 vs. Atlantic) and 12-12-6 against the West (6-6-2 vs. Central and 6-6-4 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 117 games at UBS Arena and recorded 84 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 1,435
3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,435) and Patrick Roy (141) have combined for 1,576 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 are 22-4-10 when scoring first and are 8-22-5 when allowing the opening goal. Under Patrick Roy, the Isles are 9-1-1 when they score first and are 2-10-3 when they do not.

The Shots
Isles           13-10-13=36
New Jersey 6-17-7=30
The Isles are 12-10-6 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 17-15-9 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves; he is 22-19-11 on the season and 6-5-1 vs. New Jersey.
Kaapo Kahkonen made 36 saves; he is 7-22-3 on the season and 4-1-0 vs the Isles.

Special Teams
The Isles were 0-5 on the power play (8:16, including :02 on a 5-on-3); New Jersey was 1-4 on the power play (7:07), including failing on a :38 5-on-3 and then scoring after :43 of a second 5-on-3).

The Isles are 16-8-9 when they score at least one power play goal and 14-18-6 when they do not. The Isles are 11-17-10 when they allow at least one power play goal and 19-9-5 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 28-5-11 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-21-4 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 16-3-15 in games decided by a single goal including 8-3 in regulation. They are 7-11 in games decided in overtime and are 1-4 in shootouts. The Isles are 2-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     
Including today, the Isles are 4-1-4 in the front end and 0-6-3 in the back end this season. The final back-to-back set will be on April 1st in Philadelphia and April 2nd vs. Chicago. 

Fewest Wins on Back-end:
0 1972-73 (0-22-3)
0 2023-24 (0-6-3)
1 2012-13 (1-5-1; 48-game schedule)
2 1994-95 (2-3-3; 48-game schedule)

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Noah Dobson (25:37); New Jersey: John Marino (22:42)
Brock Nelson led Islander forwards with 21:56 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (5-2-2), Noah Dobson (22-21-9), Alex Romanov (2-2-0), Adam Pelech (0-0-2), Matthew Barzal (0-1-1), Bo Horvat (1-0-0).

Face-offs
Isles 25, New Jersey 32 (44%)
Kyle MacLean won 6 of 10 for the Isles; Tomas Nosek won 8 of 11 for New Jersey.

Hit Count
Isles 20 (Cal Clutterbuck -5)
New Jersey 13 (Kevin Bahl -4)

Fights 
Anders Lee fought Timo Meier in the second period. Season total: 11 (Martin 4, Lee 3, Pelech 1, Mayfield 1, Horvat 1, MacLean 1)
 
Blocked Shots
Isles 24 (Alexander Romanov -6)
New Jersey 15 (Nick Desimone -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 71, New Jersey 65
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 47, New Jersey 45
 
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Simon Holmstrom +9
New Jersey: Luke Hughes +9

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 15, New Jersey 7
5-on-5: Isles 11, New Jersey 3

Scratches
(Scott Mayfield – LTIR), Sebastian Aho, Oliver Wahlstrom, Matt Martin, Samuel Bolduc
Games Lost to injury: 167

The Ironmen
Anders Lee is the Islanders' ironman, having played 183 consecutive games. Brock Nelson (155), Kyle Palmieri (105), and Noah Dobson (101) are the only other Islanders to have played at least 100 consecutive games. Two other Islanders (Cal Clutterbuck, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau) have played every game this season.

Most Overtime Goals, Season (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 4 (2014-15)
2. Bo Horvat 3 (2023-24)
Brock Nelson 3 (2019-20)
John Tavares 3 (2010-11)

Most Overtime Assists, Career (Islanders)
1. Mathew Barzal 15
2. John Tavares 12

Most Overtime Points, Career (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 23
2. Mathew Barzal 20
Barzal has a point on 20 of the 37 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.

National TV Games 
The Isles are 5-2-3 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners. The next nationally televised game will be on April 13 (ABC) at the Rangers.

Matinee Isles
The Isles are 1-4-1 in matinee games (all at home, including an OT loss at Met Life). The final matinee game is April 13th at NYR.
The NHL considers games that start before 5:00 local time to be afternoon games. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Isles are 13-13-9 in matinees.

Challenges
Isles: 2 successful, 4 failures – WSH goalie interference (11/2), OTT offside (11/24), LA no goalie interference (12/9), VGK no goalie interference (1/6), PIT no hand pass (2/20) , BUF no goalie interference (3/14)

Opponents: 3 successful, 2 failures – BUF no offsides (10/21), CAR no high-stick (11/30); ANA goalie interference (12/13), CGY offside (2/10), TB offside (2/24)

Quickies
The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute seven times this season (four times at home – CBJ 12/7 x2, WSH 12/29, NYR 2/18-MetLife and three time on road-@OTT 11/24, @ARI 1/4, @SJ 3/7)  and allowed two in the same span eight times (COL 10/25 x2, MIN 11/8, @MTL 12/16, PIT 12/27, @NAS 1/13, @PIT 2/20, @STL 2/22 (3 in :32))

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
The Isles have come from at least two goals behind in the third period to win one time this season and have allowed the opposition to do so five times.
For (1): LA 12/9 (trailed 0-2, won 3-2 in OT)
Vs (5): DET 10/30 (trailed 0-2, won 4-3 in OT); CAR 11/4 (trailed 1-3, won 4-3 in OT) ; @ NJ 11/28 (trailed 2-4, won 5-4 in regulation); SJ 12/5 (trailed 1-4; won 5-3 in OT); NYR 2/18 (trailed 3-5, won 6-5 in OT)

Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have scored four goals and have allowed six goals in the final three minutes of the third period to tie or go-ahead:
For (5): Bo Horvat 10/20 vs NJ 18:49 (Isles lost in OT); Simon Holmstrom 12/13 vs ANA 18:27 (GWG); Kyle Palmieri 1/27 vs FLA 18:31 (Isles lost in OT); Pierre Engvall 2/5 @ TOR 17:58 (GWG); Bo Horvat 3/16 vs OTT 19:22 (Isles lost in OT).
Vs (7): Curtis Lazar 11/28 @ NJ 19:37 (GWG); Sebastian Aho 11/30 @ CAR 19:57 (Isles won in OT); Tomas Hertl vs SJ 18:30 (SJ won in OT); Morgan Rielly 12/11 vs TOR 19:53 (Isles won in OT); Alexandre Carrier 1/13 @ NAS 19:52 (GWG); Sean Monahan 1/25 @ MTL 17:48 (GWG); Mika Zibanejad vs NYR – Met Life 18:31 (NYR won in OT)

OT Winners
For (7): Mathew Barzal (vs CAR) 11/30, Jean Gabriel Pageau (vs LA) 12/9, Bo Horvat (vs TOR) 12/11, Mathew Barzal (vs TOR) 1/11, Bo Horvat (vs DAL) 1/21, Adam Pelech (vs PIT) 2/20, Bo Horvat (vs DAL) 2/26
Vs (11): Jack Hughes (NJ) 10/20, Lucas Raymond (DET) 10/30, Sebastian Aho (CAR) 11/4, Quinn Hughes (VAN) 11/15; William Eklund (SJ) 12/5; Dylan Strome (WAS) 12/20; Nathan MacKinnon (COL) 1/2; Seth Jones (CHI) 1/19, Oliver Ekman-Larsson (FLA) 1/27; Artemi Panarin (NYR) 2/18; Brady Tkachuk 3/16

Shootout Winners
For (1): Oliver Wahlstrom (Vs CGY) 11/18
Vs (4): Kailer Yamamoto (SEA) 11/16, Tyson Foerster (PHI) 11/25, David Pastrnak (BOS) 12/15, Tomas Tatar (SEA) 2/13
 
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 829 *** 7. Bob Bourne 814 *** 8. Matt Martin 812 *** 9. Casey Cizikas 804 *** 10. Mike Bossy 752 *** 11. Anders Lee 749 *** Patrick Flatley 712 *** 13. Cal Clutterbuck 707…
32. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 34. Ed Westfall 493 *** 35. Mathew Barzal 490 *** 36. Adam Pelech 489 *** 37. Radek Martinek 479 **** 38. Gerry Hart 476 *** 39. Ryan Pulock 475 ***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. John Tavares 272 *** 8. Brock Nelson 270 *** 9. Anders Lee 258 …
20. Kyle Okposo 139 ***21. Jason Blake and Mathew Barzal 127…
29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Benoit Hogue, Ed Westfall, and Casey Cizikas 105

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
9. Brent Sutter 323 *** 10. Stefan Persson 317 *** 11. Mathew Barzal 308…
16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Brock Nelson 252…
21. Nick Leddy 198 *** 22. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 23. Anders Lee 190…
31. David Volek 154 *** 32. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 33. Noah Dobson 147 *** 34. Travis Green 145 *** 35. Steve Thomas 140 *** 36. Mark Streit and Ryan Pulock 139

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
10. Bob Bourne 542 *** 11. Brock Nelson 522 *** 12. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Anders Lee 448  *** 16. Billy Harris 443 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 435…
31. Nick Leddy 243 *** 32. Casey Cizikas 239

+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105  *** 16. Tomas Jonsson +76 ***  17. Garry Howatt +75 *** 18. Adam Pelech +73  *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54  

Defense Goals
1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57…
4. Stefan Persson 52 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 47 *** 6. Jean Potvin 46 *** 7. Nick Leddy 45 *** 8. Roman Hamrlik 43 *** 9. Mark Streit 40 *** 10. Noah Dobson 38

Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742 *** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…
7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Noah Dobson 148 *** 9. Mark Streit and Ryan Pulock 139…
12. Dave Lewis 117 *** 13. Adam Pelech 111… 
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. Jeff Norton 188 *** 8. Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock 186…
13. Dave Lewis 141 *** 14. Adam Pelech 137 *** 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 188 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177 *** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 156

Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130…
5. Thomas Greiss 101 *** 6. Ilya Sorokin 92 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 67

Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 18 *** 
4. Rick DiPietro 16 *** 5. Semyon Varlamov 15

On the Farm   
Bridgeport is 22-33-6-1 on the season, heading into home games on Friday and Saturday vs. Charlotte.

Ruslan Iskhakov continues to lead the team in goals (17), assists (27) and points (44).
 
Season Series Stats
New Jersey leads the season series 3 games to 0 (and 6 points to 1). 

It is the first time since 2018 the Devils have won three consecutive games against the Isles. 

UP NEXT
THURSDAY, MARCH 28th –ISLANDERS AT FLORIDA– 7:00pm
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 6:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]
The Isles begin a three-game road trip as they face the Florida Panthers. Florida could be the number one team in the East by the time they host the Isles; the Panthers are currently tied with Boston for the Atlantic Division lead and trail the Rangers by just one point. 

Each of the first two meetings have ended in one-goal wins for the road team, with the Isles winning 4-3 in Sunrise on December 2nd and the Cats earning a 3-2 overtime win at UBS Arena on January 27th. The Isles are 3-3-0 in their last six trips to Sunrise and are 6-4-2 in their last 12 meetings with the Panthers.

AND FINALLY…
You are reading the 998th consecutive edition of The Skinny. I expect to publish the 1,000th consecutive edition after the game in Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 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