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The Skinny: Minnesota 6, Isles 3

"The Skinny"  By Eric Hornick Game 55 Minnesota 6, Isles 3 The Wild scored the game's final five goals to erase a 3-1 Islander...

Wednesday, February 05, 2025

The Skinny: Isles 2, Vegas 1

"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 53
Isles 2, Vegas 1
Ilya Sorokin made 33 saves for his seventh straight win and Brock Nelson answered Brandon Saad's third period tying goal with the go-ahead goal just 3:03 later as the Isles completed a sweep of the season series with Vegas by earning a 2-1 victory before a crowd of 16,031 at UBS Arena. 

Bo Horvat scored late in the first period to give the Isles the lead; it also gave Horvat the team lead in points with 40. 

The Isles are 8-1-0 in their last nine games and have won six straight at UBS Arena as they improve to 25-21-7. The Isles head to Winnipeg and Minnesota to close out the pre- Four Nations Cup portion of the schedule. 

The Scoring:  
1st Period
Bo Horvat (19) Adam Pelech (14), Maxim Tsyplakov (16) 18:21 VGK 0,NYI 1

2nd Period
No Goals 

3rd Period
Brandon Saad (8) Nicolas Hague (5), Nicolas Roy (12) 07:40 VGK 1,NYI 1
Brock Nelson (16) Alexander Romanov (12), Tony DeAngelo (3) 10:43 VGK 1,NYI 2

The Skinny
The Isles are 8-1-0 in their last eight games and are 11-3-0 in their last fourteen games (Including 3-0 in OT)…The Isles have outscored the opposition 29-16 over the last nine games…The Isles have outscored their opponents 89-83 in the first two periods but have been outscored 67-55 in the third period and overtime; the Isles are much improved in third period and OT in the last twelve games, outscoring their opponents 18-10…The Isles have scored 105 goals and allowed 91 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 60-39 in all other situations… The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 32 of the last 41 games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 55-43 in the second period this season (including 14-5 in the last nine games); they were outscored 107-83 in the second period a season ago… The Isles have killed 25 of 27 over their last twelve games (92.6%) … The Isles went 0-1 on the power play; over the last 22 games, the Isles have been outscored 11-4 on the power play…The Isles were credited with 264 hits (22.3 per game) during their 8-1-0 stretch…Bo Horvat won 12 of 22; he has won 166 of 258 during the 11-3-0 stretch (64.3%)…Max Tsyplakov has a four-game point streak for the first time in his career…Adam Pelech has seven assists in nine games for the first time in his career…Brock Nelson recorded his 46th game-winning goal, third in club history (Bossy 80, Trottier 69)…The six straight home wins matches the longest stretch at UBS Arena (also in 2021-22); they have not had a longer home winning streak since winning seven straight on Coliseum ice from November 11- December 2, 2014…The Isles are now in the Top 10 in percentage of assists and points derived from defensemen: 80 of 237 assists and 99 of 381 points have come from the "D".

First Times in a Long Time
The Isles were held to eight shots through two periods for the first time since March 19, 2019, vs Boston (in Brooklyn).
The Isles were held to 14 shots, fewest in a home games since they had 13 in that same 2019 game. 
The 14 shots were the fewest in a home win since October 10, 2011, vs. Minnesota. (also 14)
With 57 points in 53 games, the Isles have matched last year's total. It is the first time since mid-November that they have been on pace with last season's point total.

What a Stretch
The Isles are 11-3-0 since January 5th. The ten wins are tied for the NHL lead in that span, and their .786-win percentage is tied for the 2nd-best in the NHL in that span. The Isles have outscored the opposition 43-28; their 3.07 goals per game rates tied-11th, while their 2.00 goals allowed is third the NHL. The Isles have won 55.6% of their draws over those 14 games (2nd in NHL).

Individual Leaders:
Games:  Only seven players have played all 14 games, with Adam Pelech being the only defenseman.
Goals:  Horvat 9, Lee 6, Nelson 6
Assists: Barzal 8, Pelech 8, Nelson 6, Palmieri 6, Pageau 6, Romanov 6
Points:  Horvat 13, Nelson 12, Barzal 11
+/-:  Lee +13, Barzal +11, Romanov +9
Shots: Horvat 41, Lee 37, Nelson 37
Faceoff Percentage: Horvat 64.3, Cizikas 57.5, Pageau 56.7
Goalies   Sorokin 9-1-0 .942 1.66;  Hogberg 2-1-0 .946 1.26; Skarek 0-1-0 .844 5.29

Streaking Ilya
Ilya Sorokin has now won six straight starts and seven straight appearances (including his overtime-only outing); it is the second time in his career that he has had a winning streak of at least seven games (8 in 2021). He has allowed just seven goals in those six starts.

Most Consecutive 20-Win Seasons (Isles)
Chico Resch 5 (1975-76-1979-80)
Rick DiPietro 4 (2003-04, 2005-06-2007-08)
Ilya Sorokin 4 (2021-22 to present)

Quite the Numbers
Marcus Hogberg has now played 332 minutes for the Isles, allowing eight goals on 151 shots for a 1.45 GAA and a .947 save percentage. Both the GAA and save percentage are the best in Islander history for any goalie who played multiple games. He is the 44th goalie to win multiple games for the Isles.

Weekend Warriors
The Islanders have won nine straight Saturday games (six at home and three on the road). The Isles are 18-14-3 in their last 35 games (9-0-0 on Saturday; 9-14-3 on other days). 

Successive Saturday Successes
The Isles have won nine straight Saturday games, matching the longest Saturday win streak (single season) in franchise history; the Isles also won straight Saturday games from December 19, 1981- February 20, 1982, with the final five games being games 2, 5, 8, 11, and 15 of the historic 15-game win streak.

Third Periods
Goals:  Isles 51, Opponents 62
Tying Goals: Isles 6, Opponents 13 (in 12 games)
Go Ahead Goals: Isles 10 (in 9 games), Opponents 9
Empty Net Goals: Isles 10, Opponents 15

The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 35 of their 53 games. In the 18 games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (3-14-1), they have been within one goal at some point in all but five of them (10/12 @ DAL, 12/5 vs SEA, 12/17 @ CAR, 12/23 vs BUF, 12/31 @TOR) 

Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have twelve come-from behind wins this season, including three when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win ten times this season, including seven times in the third period.

Overtime
The Isles are 4-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 4-4 in overtime and 1-0 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 0-2 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts. 

Sorokin has 34 OT/SO losses, extending his club record (Rick DiPietro had 28). 

Empty Netters 
The Isles have scored 10 empty-net goals and allowed 15.

Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 35 times this season:
Score the next goal: 14 times
Allowed the next goal: 16 times
Game ended with 2-goal difference: 5 times 

Last Year vs. This Year
2024-25  25-21-7 for 57 points in 53 games
2023-24  22-18-13 for 57 points in 53 games 
 
Offense from Defense
Today:   0-3-3
Season: 19-80-99
Last Season (Final) 33-137-170
The Islander defense scored only four times in the first 26 games but have 15 goals in the last 26 games.

Oh Canada
The Isles are playing 17 games against Canadian-based teams this season; they are 5-3-3 so far (1-1-0 at home and 4-1-3 on the road). After opening with a home shootout win over Montreal, the Isles played eight straight road games in November/December going 4-1-3. They went 0-1-0 in January; five of the six remaining games will be at home. 

Going back to last season the Isles are 8-3-3 in the last 14 games against Canadian teams; the next Canadian opponent will be Winnipeg on February 7th in the Isles' final game in Canada this season. 

Home and Road
The Isles are 25-21-7 overall; they are 13-11-2 at home and 12-10-5 on the road.
Vegas is 31-17-6 overall; they are 19-6-3 at home and 12-11-3 on the road.

East and West
The Isles are 16-15-3 against the East (8-5-2 vs. Metropolitan and 8-10-1 vs. Atlantic) and 9-6-4 against the West (5-2-2 vs. Central and 4-4-2 vs. Pacific).

Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:
1. David Poile 1,531
2. Lou Lamoriello 1,469
3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,469) and Patrick Roy (175) have combined for 1,644 career wins as general manager and coach. That is the highest in the NHL among active combinations by a wide margin.

First Things First
The Isles are 12-4-4 when scoring first and are 13-17-3 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots
Isles    4-4-6=14
Vegas 5-14-15=34
The Isles are 12-13-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 12-7-4 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 33 saves; he is 20-14-4 this season and 3-2-1 vs. Vegas. 
Ilya Samsonov made 12 saves; he is 12-7-2 this season and 6-6-1 vs the Isles. 

Special Teams
The Isles were 0-1 (2:00); Vegas was 0-1 (2:00).

The Isles are 9-3-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 16-18-6 when they do not. The Isles are 10-11-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-10-1 when they do not.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles are 23-5-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-16-3 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 11-5-7 in games decided by a single goal including 5-5 in regulation. They are 4-6 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-8 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     
The Isles are 5-1-1 on the front end and 3-4-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be February 7th-8th  when they visit Winnipeg and Minnesota.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Alex Romanov (28:51); Vegas: Two with (22:21)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (19:58).

Face-offs
Isles 27, Vegas 28 (49%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 7 of 12 for the Isles; Jack Eichel won 12 of 18 for Vegas. 

Hit Count
Isles 26 (Casey Cizikas -7)
Vegas 21 (Two with 5)

Fights 
None. Season total: 7 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin-2, Pageau, Tsyplakov, Gatcomb)
 
Blocked Shots
Isles 11 (Alex Romanov -4)
Vegas 13 (Alex Pietrangelo -5)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 40, Vegas 62
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 35, Vegas 55
 
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: No Isle was a +
Vegas: Shea Theordore +17

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 5, Vegas 16
5-on-5: Isles 5, Vegas 14

Scratches
(Mike Reilly-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-LTIR), (Noah Dobson-LTIR),  (Ryan Pulock -IR), (Margus Hogberg -IR), Matt Martin,  (Scott Mayfield-INJ), (Mathew Barzal – IR), (Hudson Fasching -IR)
Games Lost to injury: 198. (Last season's total: 181)

The Ironmen
Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 219 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (169) has also played every game since the start of last season.

Most Overtime Goals, Career (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 11 
2. Brock Nelson 9 
3. Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey 6
5. Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Thomas Hickey, and Anthony Beauvillier 5

Most Overtime Assists, Career (Islanders)
1. Mathew Barzal 16
2. John Tavares 12

Most Overtime Points, Career (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 23
2. Mathew Barzal 21
3. Brock Nelson 19
Barzal has a point on 21 of the 43 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.

National TV Games 
The Isles are 2-3-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with five games remaining. The next national game will stream April 1st on ESPN+/Hulu as the Isles host the Lightning; five of the last nine games will be nationally-televised. 

Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-4-1 in matinee games this season, with six games remaining. The next matinee will be on March 1st vs Nashville. The NHL considers games that start before 5:00 local time to be afternoon contests. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Isles are 13-16-11 in matinees.

Challenges
Isles: 6 successful, 3 failures  (No offsides -PIT 11/5, No goalie interference – SEA 11/16, Goalie Interference- WAS 11/29, goalie interference – TOR 12/31, no goalie interference – BOS 1/5, offsides-VEG 1/9, goalie interference – OTT 1/14, goalie interference – COL 1/28, goalie interference – PHI 1/30)

Opponents: 5 successful, 2 failures (No Goalie Interference -UTA 10/10, Offside-VAN 11/14, Goalie Interference-STL 11/23, Offside -BUF 11/30, No Goalie Interference-CHI 12/15, Goalie Interference – PIT 12/28. Offside 12/31)

Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (2): CHI 12/12, PHI 1/24
Vs (1): CHI 12/15

Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)
Isles responses (4): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7, BOS 1/5, SJ 1/18
Opponent responses (6): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31, BOS 1/5

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins 
For (1): Vs. PIT 11/5 (Trailed 3-1, won 4-3 (SO))
Vs (2):  Vs. NJ 11/9 (Led 3-1, Lost 4-3 (OT)), WSH 11/29 Led 4-2, Lost 5-4 (SO))

Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):
For (3): Maxim Tsyplakov 10/10 vs. UTA (17:53, GAG but lost in OT); Anders Lee 11/12 @ EDM (17:20-GTG; EDM won in OT); Mathew Barzal 1/11 vs UTA (18:35-GAG)
Vs (8): Josh Doan 10/10 vs. UTA (18:06- GTG; UTA won in OT); Cole Caufield 10/19 vs MTL (17:50-GTG; NYI won in SO); Jesper Bratt 10/25 at NJD (18:31-GTG; NYI won in OT); Stefan Noesen 11/9 vs NJ (19:10-GTG; NJD won in OT); Lucas Raymond 11/21 at DET (19:09-GAG); 12/15 Connor Bedard at CHI (19:06-GAG); Bobby McMann 1/2 vs. TOR (17:01- GAG); Nikita Kucherov 2/1 at TB (19:13-GTG; NYI won in OT)

OT Winners
For (4): Bo Horvat 10/25 @ NJD (1:09), Bo Horvat 1/5 @ BOS (3:10), Brock Nelson 1/25 vs CAR (2:03), Tony DeAngelo 2/1 @ TB (0:32)
Vs (6): Dylan Guenther 10/10 vs. UTA (2:18); Jake Neighbours 10/17 @ STL (2:04); Jack Hughes 11/9 vs NJD (2:35); Leon Draisaitl 11/12 @ EDM (1:52); Jakub Chychrun 11/29 @ WAS (1:20); Nick Suzuki 12/3 @ MTL (2:39)

Shootout Winners
For (2): Noah Dobson 10/19 vs MTL, Bo Horvat 11/5 vs PIT
Vs (1): Andrei Kuzmenko 11/19 @ CGY 
 
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 ***  3. Josh Bailey 1,057 ***
4. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 5. Brock Nelson 893 *** 6. Clark Gillies 872 *** 7. Casey Cizikas 868 *** 8. Matt Martin 848 *** 9. Bob Bourne 814 *** 10. Anders Lee 812 …
23. Ken Morrow 550 *** 24. Duane Sutter 547 *** 25. Lorne Henning 543 *** 26. Claude Lapointe and Ryan Pulock 535 *** 28. Adam Pelech 533 ***29. Tomas Jonsson 532 *** 30. Pat LaFontaine and Mathew Barzal 530 ***  32. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 33. Scott Mayfield 520

Goals    
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 ***  3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Brock Nelson 291 *** 6. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287  *** 8. Anders Lee 282 …
20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 134…
29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 111

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
7. John Tonelli 338 *** 8. Patrick Flatley and Mathew Barzal 328…
13. Derek King 288 *** 14. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 15. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 16. Brock Nelson 272…
19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 210…
25. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 26. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 28. Noah Dobson 169 *** 29. Jean Potvin 167 *** 30. Jeff Norton 166 *** 31. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 32. Ryan Pulock 157… 
35. Travis Green 145 *** 36. Casey Cizikas 143

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
7. Josh Bailey 580 *** 8. Pat LaFontaine 566 ***  9. Brock Nelson 563 …
13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Anders Lee 491 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 462…
28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258 ***  30. Casey Cizikas 254

+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467  ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +79 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76  *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 ***  19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +62 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 23. Patrick Flatley +57 ***  24. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 25. Gord Lane +48

Defense Goals
1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57 ***
4. Stefan Persson 52 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 51 *** 6. Jean Potvin and Noah Dobson 46…
13. Bryan Berard 31 *** 14. Vladimir Malakhov and Scott Mayfield 27 *** 16. Adam Pelech and four others 26  

Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742***  2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…
5. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 6. Noah Dobson 169 *** 7. Jean Potvin 167 *** 8. Jeff Norton 166 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 157 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 128… 
17. Bryan Berard 100 *** 18. Vladimir Malakhov 98 *** 19. Johnny Boychuk and Scott Mayfield 96

Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…
5. Kenny Jonsson 232 *** 6. Noah Dobson 215 *** 7. Jean Potvin 213 *** 8. Ryan Pulock 208…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 154…
18. Gerry Hart 128 *** 19. Vladimir Malakhov 125 *** 20. Scott Mayfield 123

Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 ***
4. Kelly Hrudey 241 *** 5. Ilya Sorokin 230 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 193 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177***  9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173

Wins
1. Billy Smith 304  *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130 ***
4. Ilya Sorokin 115 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 ***  8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76

Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 21 *** 
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm   
Bridgeport is 10-30-2-2 at the AHL All-Star break. 

Brian Pinho, who played in the AHL All-Star Classic on Monday, leads the team (and is tied for 10th in the AHL) with 18 goals. Chris Terry's 26 assists and 40 points pace the Baby Isles in both categories; Terry is tied for 4th in the AHL in points.

The Islanders resume play Friday when they visit Wilkes Barre-Scranton.

Season Series Stats
The Isles sweep the season series, 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 0). 

The Isles are 8-5-1 all-time vs. Vegas, including three sweeps. 

UP NEXT
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7th  –ISLES AT WINNIPEG 8:00pm
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 7:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The best team in the NHL for most of the season has been the Winnipeg Jets, and the Isles will see them twice in their next eight games, beginning Friday in Manitoba.

The Isles have been successful against the Jets in recent years, winning 8 of the last 9 overall, and 4 of the last 5 in Winnipeg. 

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

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