"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 30
Florida 4, Isles 1
The Champs are the champs until someone beats them. The Florida Panthers got goals from four different players and did not allow a shot from an Islander forward in the final 26 ½ minutes as they defeated the Isles 4-1, before a sellout crowd of 19,334 at Amerant Bank Arena.
Matthew Barzal had the only Islander goal as they lost for only the second time this season while being outshot and for the first time on the back-end of a back-to-back.
The Isles are 12-6-2 in their last twenty games; they are 8-2-0 on the road in that span. The Isles now return home for a three game homestand, beginning with a nationally televised game against Vegas on Tuesday.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Uvis Balinskis (1) Mackie Samoskevich (11), A.J. Greer (6) 12:14 NYI 0,FLA 1
2nd Period
Carter Verhaeghe (8) Jeff Petry (6) 07:05 NYI 0,FLA 2
Mathew Barzal (9) Matthew Schaefer (13), Ryan Pulock (14) 09:03 NYI 1,FLA 2
3rd Period
Seth Jones (5) Anton Lundell (15), Sam Reinhart (12) 13:57 NYI 1,FLA 3
Sam Reinhart (15)EN Gustav Forsling (13) 17:06 NYI 1,FLA 4
The Skinny
The Isles are 16-8-3 since they opened 0-3-0; the 35 points since October 16th are the most of any team in the Eastern Conference…Both teams went 0-1 on the power play; the Isles are 4-19 on the power play in the last six games and have killed 32 of the last 34 and 49 of the last 54; The 49-54 dates back to October 30th, and their 90.7% kill rate is the best in the Eastern Conference in that span… The Isles are 2-10-0 when tied after two periods (14-1-3 when leading or tied) …Matthew Schaefer recorded his 13th assist, which would have tied for the club lead had Ryan Pulock not earned his 14th assist on the same play… The Isles held Brad Marchand without a point; he is now 17-26-43 in 51 games against the Isles…With the Rangers and Penguins both getting only one point, the Isles remain in sole possession of 3rd place in both the Metro and the Eastern Conference.
Milestone Men
• Anders Lee remains tied with Brock Nelson for fifth place in Isles history with 295 goals.
• Lee played in his 871st game with the Isles; he will tie Clark Gillies for 7th place with his next game.
• Ryan Pulock recorded his 175th assist, tying Kenny Jonsson for 6th among Isles defensemen, and 26th overall; Pulock is two points behind Noah Dobson for 6th and four points behind Kenny Jonsson.
• Matthew Schaefer is only the 2nd 18-year-old NHL defenseman to record at least 21 points in his first 30 games, trailing only Phil Housley (25).
First Times in a Long Time
• Ilya Sorokin is the first Islander goalie to win each of his first seven games that he faced at least thirty shots since Chico Resch won eight straight in 1980-81. It is the 3rd-longest streak in club history.
Return to Form
Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 8-4-1 (.935 and 1.78) since October 31st with three shutouts. Only Jesper Wallstedt (4) has more shutouts in that span or this season.
Sorokin should be considered for one of the Three Stars of the Week, having gone 3-0-0 (.960 and 1.33) by beating Florida twice and Colorado once, while allowing only four goals. He won the First Star last season for the week ending February 1st, going 3-0-0 (.953, 1.33).
Big Save Dave
David Rittich is 6-3-1 on the season. In his last five games (3-1-1), he has stopped 112 of 122 shots for a 2.12 GAA and a .918 save percentage.
Islander goalies not named Sorokin won only five games all last season (tying a franchise record for fewest by the non-winningest goalies on the team).
Most Ice Time by an Islander Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 28:53 11/28/2025 vs PHI (SO)
2. Matthew Schaefer 27:40 10/25/2025 at PHI (SO)
3. Matthew Schaefer 27:30 11/22/2025 vs. STL
4. Matthew Schaefer 27:23 11/23/2025 vs. SEA (SO)
5. Eric Brewer 26:57 4/3/1999 vs ANA (OT)
6. John Tavares 26:46 4/11/2010 vs. PIT (SO)
7. Matthew Schaefer 26:35 10/13/2025 vs. WPG
8. Matthew Schaefer 26:12 11/30/2025 vs. WAS
9. Matthew Schaefer 26:04 10/11/2025 vs. WAS
A 20-year-old Islander has played more than 28:53 only twice (Bryan Berard -31:30; Travis Hamonic -28:54). The younger of these was Hamonic (vs PIT) on April 8, 2011, when he was 20 years, 235 days old; Schaefer will not hit that age until April 27, 2028.
Most Ice Time by an 18-Year-Old, Game
1. Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) 29:15 12/4/2018 vs TOR (OT)
2. Drew Doughty (LA) 29:04 11/22/2008 vs COL (SO)
3. Matthew Schaefer 28:53 11/28/2025 vs PHI (SO)
Schaefer is the first 18-year-old to play at least 27 minutes four times since ice-time became official; Victor Hedman (also seven times) is the only 18-year-old to play 26 minutes as often as Schaefer.
Most Goals by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Matthew Schaefer 8
2. Bryan Berard 7
Most Assists by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Bryan Berard 32
2. Matthew Schaefer 13
Schaefer will still be a Teenager for the next 136 Isles games.
Most Games Played as an 18-Year-Old (Isles history)
1. Tim Connolly 81 (14-20-34)
2. Dave Chyzowski 34 (8-6-14)
3. Mathew Schaefer 30 (8-13-21)
Home for the Holidays
The Isles are in a stretch where they play 13 of 17 games at UBS Arena through December 27th. They are 4-4-1 so far in this stretch (3-3-1 at home and 1-1-0 on the road).
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have eight come-from behind wins this season, including four when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win six times this season, including three in the third period.
Overtime Is Our Time
The Isles are 3-0 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-3 in shootouts.
Empty Netters
The Isles have scored 5 empty-net goals and allowed 6.
Most Career Empty Net Goals
1. Bryan Trottier 27
2. John Tavares 20
3. Mike Bossy 15
4. Brock Nelson 13
5. Jason Blake 11
Casey Cizikas 11
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 15 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 6 times
• Allowed the next goal: 6 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 3 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2025-26 16-11-3 for 35 points in 30 games
• 2024-25 11-12-7 for 29 points in 30 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-2-2
• Season: 10-46-56
• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161
Rookie Scoring
• Today: 0-1-1
• Season: 14-23-37
• Last Season (Final) 19-30-49
The 14 rookie goals are tied with Montreal for the NHL lead; the 37 points are 2nd in the NHL.
Home and Road
The Isles are 16-11-3 overall; they are 7-6-2 at home and 9-5-1 on the road.
Florida is 14-12-2 overall; they are 10-6-2 at home and 4-6-0 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 9-7-3 against the East (4-4-2 vs. Metropolitan and 5-3-1 vs. Atlantic) and 7-4-0 against the West (3-4-0 vs. Central and 4-0-0 vs. Pacific).
First Things First
The Isles are 12-3-2 when scoring first and 4-8-1 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 10-8-3=21
Florida 11-11-8=30
The Isles are 3-9-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-1 when the shots are even and 11-2-0 when the opposition has more shots. (Their only previous loss when being outshot was on October 30th in Carolina.)
In the Nets
David Rittich made 26 saves; he is 6-3-1 this season and 4-2-0 vs. Florida.
Daniil Tarasov made 20 saves; he is 3-4-1 this season and 1-0-0 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-1 (2:00); Florida was 0-1 (2:00).
The Isles are 8-3-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-8-2 when they do not. The Isles are 5-4-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 11-7-0 when they do not.
The Isles are 9-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 3-4-1 when they are outscored, and 4-6-2 when special team goals are equal. (Their only loss when outscoring the opposition on special teams was in the home opener against Washington.)
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 13-2-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-9-0 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 9-2-3 in games decided by a single goal including 5-2 in regulation. They are 3-0 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
Including tonight, the Isles are 2-3-0 on the front end and 4-1-0 on the back end this season; the next back-to-back will be on December 19-20 when they host Vancouver and visit Buffalo.
Including today, the Isles are 4-3-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 2-1-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Adam Pelech (23:07); Florida: Niko Mikkola (21:57)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (19:10).
Face-offs
Isles 24, Florida 25 (49%)
Casey Cizikas won 7 of 10 for the Isles; Anton Lundell won 9 of 15 for Florida.
Hit Count
Isles 23 (Marc Gatcomb and Emil Heineman -5)
Florida 18 (Three with 3)
Fights
None. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, MacLean, Lee, De Angelo)
Blocked Shots
Isles 16 (Tony DeAngelo -4)
Florida 15 (Aaron Ekblad -4)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 53, Florida 62
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 45, Florida 56
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Tony DeAngelo +7
Florida: Uvis Balinskis +15
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 7, Florida 10
5-on-5: Isles 6, Florida 8
Scratches
(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Ethan Bear-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), (Jean-Gabriel Pageau-INJ), (Jonathan Drouin -INJ), Adam Boqvist
Games Lost to injury: 132. (Last season's total: 304)
The Ironmen
Casey Cizikas is the Islanders' ironman, having played 138 consecutive games. Anders Lee (112) is the only other Isle to have also played every game since the start of last season.
National TV Games
The Isles are 1-1-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners. Their next appearance will be on TNT on December 9th vs Vegas.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 1-3-2 in matinee games this season; the next matinee will be at 3:30pm on December 13th against Tampa Bay. The NHL considers games that start before 5:00 local time to be afternoon contests. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Isles are 16-20-14 in matinees.
Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure (No goalie interference – VEG 11/14)
Opponents: 0 successful, 4 failure (No hand pass – WAS 10/11), (No interference – DET 10/23), (No offside – WAS 10/31), (No interference – COL 12/4)
Hockey Opps: 1 favorable, 1 unfavorable (No missed stoppage- NJ 11/10), (goalie interference -DAL 11/18)
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (2): DET 10/23, CBJ 11/2
Vs (4): BOS 10/28, COL 11/16, PHI 11/28, TB 11/30
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)
Isles responses (3): OTT 10/18, SJS 10/21, BOS 11/4
Opponent responses (3): WPG 10/13, CAR 10/30, COL 12/4
Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
For (0):
Vs (0):
Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):
For (5): Anders Lee, GWG(18:57)10/18 OTT, Matthew Schaefer, GTG (18:53) and Simon Holmstrom GWG (19:22) 11/2 CBJ, Kyle Palmieri GAG (17:07 11/10 NJ)- Isles won in OT, Mathew Barzal (17:23 11/13 VEG); Isles won in OT
Vs (1): Simon Nemec GTG (19:55 11/10 NJ) but NYI won in OT
OT Winners
For (3): Mathew Barzal 11/10 @ NJ, JG Pageau 11/13 @ VEG, Matthew Schaefer 11/14 @ UTA
Vs (0):
Shootout Winners
For (1): SEA 11/23
Vs (3): PHI 10/25, BOS 11/4, PHL 11/28
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057 ***
4. Casey Cizikas 927 *** 5. Brock Nelson 901 *** 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 7. Clark Gillies 872 *** 8. Anders Lee 871 …
20. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 21. Garry Howatt 596 *** 22. John Tonelli 594 *** 23. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 590 *** 25. Scott Mayfield 563 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 559
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Brock Nelson and Anders Lee 295 …
19. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 20. Mathew Barzal 143…
26. Steve Thomas/Matt Moulson/Mark Parrish 118 *** 29. Casey Cizikas 117
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
5. Clark Gillies 359 *** 6. John Tavares 349 *** 7. Mathew Barzal 341…
18. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 227…
24. Ed Westfall 181 *** 25 Noah Dobson 180 *** 26. Kenny Jonsson and Ryan Pulock 175…
32. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 33. David Volek 154 *** 34. Casey Cizikas 152
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
12. Bob Bourne 542 *** 13. Anders Lee 522…
14. Derek King 499 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 484…
27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 269
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +88 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +65 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 23. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 24. Greg Gilbert +54
Defense Goals
1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57 ***
4. Ryan Pulock 53…
13. Bryan Berard 31 *** 14. Scott Mayfield 28 *** 15. Adam Pelech and Vladimir Malakhov 27
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742*** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249 ***
5. Noah Dobson 180 *** 6. Kenny Jonsson and Ryan Pulock 175 …
9. Jeff Norton 166 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 137…
15. Tom Kurvers and Gerry Hart 108 *** 17. Bryan Berard and Scott Mayfield 100
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…
5. Kenny Jonsson 232 *** 6. Noah Dobson 230 *** 7. Ryan Pulock 228…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 164…
16. Johnny Boychuk and Bryan Berard 131 *** 18. Gerry Hart and Scott Mayfield 128
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 ***
4. Ilya Sorokin 273 …
8. Jaroslav Halak 177*** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 135 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Ilya Sorokin and Glenn Resch 25 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
Bridgeport is 8-11-1-1 on the season and are just two points out of a playoff spot. They are off until next weekend, when they travel to Laval on Friday and Belleville on Saturday.
Leaders: Goals: Joey Larson- 9; Assists: Matthew Maggio-12; Points: Maggio-16
Goalies: Marcus Hogberg 4-7-2, 3.25, .876; Henrik Tikkanen 2-0-0, 1.92, .925
Season Series Stats
Florida leads the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The teams will meet on March 1st and March 28th at UBS Arena to conclude the season series.
The Isles are 2-5-0 in their last seven trips to Sunrise and are 4-7-2 in their last 13 meetings with the Cats.
UP NEXT
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9th —VEGAS AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[MSGSN (pre-game at 4:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles will play their fifth straight game against a team that won the Stanley Cup at least once in the last six years when they look to sweep the season series from the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Isles defeated Vegas on November 13th on a shorthanded overtime goal by JG Pageau and have won three straight from Vegas overall.
The Isles are 9-5-1 all-time against Vegas, including 4-2-1 at home. They will be looking for their fourth win over Vegas in 2025, and to win both games in the season series for the fourth time.
The game will be nationally televised on TNT; John Forslund, Ed Olczyk, and Colby Armstrong will have the call.
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
