"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 11
Isles 3, Washington 1
Bo Horvat scored 4:29 into the third period to break a 1-1 tie and that proved to be the winning goal as the Isles rode the goaltending of Ilya Sorokin for a 3-1 victory over the Washington Capitals before a crowd of 16,471 at Capital One Arena.
Trailing 1-0, Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored shorthanded with 5:02 remaining in the middle session to tie the game; Mathew Barzal added an empty net goal. Sorokin finished with 22 saves, including thirteen in the first period.
The Isles finish their road trip with a 1-2-1 record; they open a three-game homestand against Columbus at 5:00 on Sunday.
The Scoring:
1st Period
No Goals
2nd Period
Tom Wilson (6) Jakob Chychrun (4), Matt Roy (1) 04:48 NYI 0,WSH 1
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (3) Simon Holmstrom (4) 14:58 NYI 1,WSH 1 SHG
3rd Period
Bo Horvat (7) Emil Heineman (2), Ryan Pulock (5) 04:29 NYI 2,WSH 1
Mathew Barzal (3)EN Adam Pelech (2) 18:44 NYI 3,WSH 1
The Skinny
The Isles played 22 0-0 first periods last season; this was the first this season… Emil Heineman has 48 hits through 11 games, placing him in tied-6th inf the NHL…Simon Holmstrom is 3-3-6 in the last six games…Ilya Sorokin allowed fewer than three goals for the first time this season… Shot attempts ended 56-52 in the Isles' favor after Washington had the first fifteen attempts….Bo Horvat is the first Islander since Brock Nelson (2021-22) with seven goals in the first eleven games; John Tavares (twice) is the only Islander with more than seven goals through game 11 in the last nineteen seasons…The Isles deprived Alex Ovechkin of his 900th goal; the Capitals' Captain was -3 in the game…NHL coaches have won 8 of 13 offside challenges this season.
Pageau, Pageau, J-G Pageau!
Jean-Gabriel Pageau has points on all three Islander shorthanded goals this season (1-2-3) and leads the NHL with three shorthanded points. Pageau is now second among active players with 22 career shorties (Brad Marchand has 36 SHGs) and has scored at least one in seven straight seasons.
Milestone Man
Ryan Pulock now has 166 assists, tying Jeff Norton for eighth place among Islander defensemen; Jean Potvin had 167.
First Times in a Long Time
• The Isles have been outscored 40-37 (including SO winners) through 11 games. The 77 combined goals are the highest since 1995-96 (80) and the 40 allowed are the most since 2008-09 (also 40).
• The Isles played on Halloween for the first time since 2015 and only the second time in the last sixteen years. Over the last 29 Halloween's, the Isles are 5-0-1.
Most Ice Time by an Islander Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 27:40 10/25/2025 at PHI (SO)
2. Eric Brewer 26:57 4/3/1999 vs ANA (OT)
3. John Tavares 26:46 4/11/2010 vs. PIT (SO)
4. Matthew Schaefer 26:35 10/13/2025 vs. WPG
5. Matthew Schaefer 26:04 10/11/2025 vs. WAS
A 20-year-old Islander has played more than 27:40 seven times (Bryan Berard – four times; Travis Hamonic -3 times). The youngest of these was Hamonic (at MTL) on February 10, 2011, when he was 20 years, 178 days old; Schaefer will not hit that age until March 1, 2028.
Most Games Played as an 18-Year-Old (Isles history)
Tim Connolly 81 (14-20-34)
Dave Chyzowski 34 (8-6-14)
Mathew Schaefer 11 (3-5-8)
Nino Niederreiter 9 (1-1-2)
Brent Sutter 3 (2-2-4)
Brad Dalgarno 2 (1-0-1)
Paul Boutilier 1 (0-0-0)
Lots of Travel
The Isles are in a stretch where they are playing 11 of 14 games on the road. They are 1-2-1 in this stretch (0-0-0 home, 1-2-1 road).
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have four come-from behind wins this season, including one when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win three times this season, including twice in the third period.
Overtime
The Isles are 0-0 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 0-1 in shootouts.
Empty Netters
The Isles have scored 2 empty-net goals and allowed 2.
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 6 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 1 time
• Allowed the next goal: 3 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 2 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2025-26 5-5-1 for 11 points in 11 games
• 2024-25 4-5-2 for 10 points in 11 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-2-2
• Season: 4-21-25
• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161
Home and Road
The Isles are 5-5-1 overall; they are 3-2-0 at home and 2-3-1 on the road.
Washington is 6-5-0 overall; they are 3-41-0 at home and 3-1-0 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 3-4-1 against the East (1-3-1 vs. Metropolitan and 2-1-0 vs. Atlantic) and 2-1-0 against the West (0-1-0 vs. Central and 2-0-0 vs. Pacific).
First Things First
The Isles are 2-1-1 when scoring first and are 3-4-0 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 6-10-7=23
Washington 13-6-4=23
The Isles are 0-4-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-1 when the shots are even and 4-1-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves; he is 3-4-1 this season and 5-5-1 vs. Washington.
Logan Thompson made 20 saves; he is 5-3-0 this season and 3-2-1 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-5 (8:45); Washington was 0-4 (6:45), allowing Pageau's shorthanded goal.
The Isles are 2-2-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-3-1 when they do not. The Isles are 3-3-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 2-2-0 when they do not.
The Isles are 3-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 2-3-0 when they are outscored, and 0-1-1 when special team goals are equal.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 5-1-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-4-0 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 2-1-1 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 0-0 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 2-0 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 0-1-0 on the front end and 1-0-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be on November 7-8 vs. Minnesota and the Rangers.
Including tonight, the Isles are 1-1-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 0-0-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Bo Horvat (20:34); Washington: John Carlson (25:08)
Horvat led Isles forwards (20:34).
Face-offs
Isles 32, Washington 19 (63%)
Bo Horvat won 14 of 18 and Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 10 of 12 for the Isles. Hendrix Lapierre won 5 of 8 for Washington.
Hit Count
Isles 11 (Emil Heineman -4)
Washington 13 (Nic Dowd-4)
Fights
None. Season total: 2 (Mayfield, McLean)
Blocked Shots
Isles 16 (Alexander Romanov -4)
Washington 13 (Martin Fehervary -4)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 56, Washington 52
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 34, Washington 42
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Ryan Pulock +6
Washington: Two with +10
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 13, Washington 14
5-on-5: Isles 7, Washington 12
Scratches
(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Ethan Bear – IR), (Max Shabonov --INJ). Max Tsyplakov, Adam Boqvist.
Games Lost to injury: 43. (Last season's total: 304)
The Ironmen
Kyle Palmieri is the Islanders' ironman, having played 209 consecutive games. Casey Cizikas (119) and Anders Lee (102) are the only other Isles 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 1-1-1 in matinee games this season; the next matinee will be at 3:30pm on November 22nd against St. Louis. 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 16-18-13 in matinees.
Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures
Opponents: 0 successful, 3 failure (No hand pass – WAS 10/11), (No interference – DET 10/23), (No offside – WAS 10/31)
Hockey Opps: 0 favorable, 0 unfavorable
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (1): DET 10/23
Vs (1): BOS 10/28
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)
Isles responses (2): OTT 10/18, SJS 10/21
Opponent responses (2): WPG 10/13, CAR 10/30
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 (1): Anders Lee, GWG, 10/18 OTT (18:57)
Vs (0):
OT Winners
For (0):
Vs (0):
Shootout Winners
For (0):
Vs (1): PHI 10/25
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 908 *** 5. Brock Nelson 901 *** 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 7. Clark Gillies 872 *** 8. Matt Martin 855 *** 9. Anders Lee 852 …
22. John Tonelli 594 *** 23. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 571 *** 25. Ken Morrow 550 *** 26. Duane Sutter 547 *** 27. Scott Mayfield 546 *** 28. Lorne Henning 543 *** 29. Mathew Barzal 540
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
5. Brock Nelson 295 *** 6. Anders Lee 291 …
20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 137…
29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 115
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
7. John Tonelli 338 *** 8. Mathew Barzal 334…
19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 224…
27. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 29. Jean Potvin 167 *** 30. Jeff Norton and Ryan Pulock 166…
34. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 35. Casey Cizikas 149
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
12. Bob Bourne 542 *** 13. Anders Lee 515…
15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 471…
27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 264
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +82 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +58 *** 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. Vladimir Malakhov 27 *** 16. Adam Pelech and four others 26
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742*** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249 ***
7. Jean Potvin 167 *** 8. Jeff Norton and Ryan Pulock 166 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 137…
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 219…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 163…
18. Gerry Hart and Scott Mayfield 128
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 ***
4. Ilya Sorokin 261 …
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 128 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith and Ilya Sorokin 22 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
Bridgeport is 2-5-1-0 after falling 3-2 to Wilkes-Barre Scranton on Friday; Marcus Hogberg made 31 saves in defeat.
The Baby Isles return home to host Springfield on Sunday at 3pm and Lehigh Valley on Wednesday night.
Leaders: Cam Berg and Cole McWard 3; Assists: Matthew Highmore and Matthew Warren 4; Points: Warren 6
Goalies: Marcus Hogberg 1-3-1 2.67, .910; Parker Gahagen 1-2-0 3.73, .869
Season Series Stats
The season series is tied, 1 game to 1 (and 2 points to 2). The teams will close out Thanksgiving weekend with a 1pm game on November 30th at UBS Arena and finish the season series on February 2nd in Washington.
The Isles have points in seven of their last eight trips to the Nation's Capital (4-1-3). Overall, the Isles are 7-5-3 in their last fifteen games with Washington.
UP NEXT
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2nd —COLUMBUS AT ISLANDERS 5:00pm
[MSGSN (pre-game at 4:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles look to go back over NHL-.500 as they return home to host the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first meeting of the teams this season.
The Isles went 1-2-1 against the Jackets last season, including a 6-1 defeat in the season finale at Nationwide Arena. However, going back to 2022, the Isles are 10-2-2 in the last fourteen games with the Jackets, including 6-0-1 at UBS Arena.
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