The Skinny: Isles 4, Edmonton 2

"The (1,100th Consecutive) Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 4

Isles 4, Edmonton 2

Bo Horvat broke a 2-2 tie with a power play goal at 15:14 of the third period and then cemented matters by completing his natural hat trick with an empty net goal as the Islanders earned their first victory of the season by defeating the Edmonton Oilers, 4-2, before a crowd of 14,837 at UBS Arena. 

David Rittich made 31 saves to earn his first win for a sixth team; the goal scorers were all big names as Mathew Barzal gave the Isles the early lead before Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gave Edmonton the lead. Horvat's first goal, a shorty, got the game even with 2:04 to play in the middle session. 

The Isles improve to 1-3-0; they head to Ottawa for a matinee at 3pm on Saturday. 

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Mathew Barzal (1) 16:23 EDM 0,NYI 1

Leon Draisaitl (3) Connor McDavid (5), David Tomasek (2) 17:40 EDM 1,NYI 1 PPG

2nd Period

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2) Ty Emberson (1) 08:53 EDM 2,NYI 1

Bo Horvat (1) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1), Ryan Pulock (1) 17:56 EDM 2,NYI 2 SHG

3rd Period

Bo Horvat (2) Mathew Barzal (2), Matthew Schaefer (3) 15:14 EDM 2,NYI 3 PPG

Bo Horvat (3) Jonathan Drouin (2), Emil Heineman (1) 19:51 EDM 2,NYI 4 

The Skinny

Bo Horvat recorded his second career hat trick (10-22-2019 for Vancouver in Detroit; all three of those goals came in the third period)… Horvat's power play goal at 15:14 of the third period was the latest go-ahead power play goal for the Isles in regulation play since Anders Lee (2/6/2021 vs. Pittsburgh at Coliseum – 17:16); Jonathan Drouin has a point in all three games he has played... Matthew Schaefer extended his point streak to four games… The Isles had four shots on goal in 6:09 of power play, giving them 34 shots on goal in 34:31 of 5-on-4 this season (8.5 per game); they averaged just over 3.5 shots per game last season at 5-on-4…The Isles have scored three power play goals in their last three games; they scored 3 PPGs in a span of three games or less only once last season – March 4 vs Winnipeg (1), March 8 at San Jose (2)…The Isles did not have a hat trick last season, and had only one in the prior three seasons (Kyle Palmieri 3/2/2024 vs. Boston); each of the last three Islander hat tricks (Horvat, Palmieri and Jean-Gabriel Pageau 4/3/2022 at New Jersey) have been natural hat tricks…It was the sixth hat trick for the Isles against the Oilers; Kyle Okposo had the last one on February 7, 2016, in Brooklyn…Horvat now has sixteen career shorthanded goals, including five in 196 games with the Isles; he has scored at least one shorty in six straight seasons, and nine of the last ten seasons…Connor McDavid has five assists in the Oilers' four games; Leon Draisaitl has points in six straight games against the Isles (8-4-12, including two OT goals last season).

First Time in a Ridiculously Long Time

Bo Horvat is the first Islander since Patrick Flatley (February 1, 1994, vs. San Jose) to score a power play goal, shorthanded goal, and even strength goal in the same game. Ray Ferraro, who broadcast tonight's game for ESPN had an assist on the power play tally.

3 Goals, Three Ways (Isles with PP, SH, Even Goals in the Same Game)

1. Bo Horvat 10/16/2025 vs. Edmonton

2. Patrick Flatley 2/1/1994 vs. San Jose

3. Bob Bourne 3/13/1984 at New Jersey

Horvat's empty-net goal is recorded as an even-strength, empty net goal.

Butch Goring (10/14/1982 vs. Pittsburgh) and Zigmund Palffy (4/17/1999 at Pittsburgh) are the only other Isles with both a power play goal and shorthanded goal in a hat trick game – both had two power play goals.

Good Company 

Bo Horvat's three goals give him 272 goals, passing nine others on the career goal list, including Jake Guentzel (269), Bobby Orr (270), and Nicklas Backstrom/Kyle Palmieri (271).

King David

David Rittich earned a win in his Islander debut, becoming the 59th goalie to play for the Isles. Rittich is the first since Cory Schneider (4/3/22 at New Jersey) to earn a win in his Islander debut and the 53rd goalie to win a game. Only 44 have won at least two. Rittich has won 109 NHL games (63-CGY, 29-LA, 9-WPG, 6-NAS, 1-TOR/NYI) and has finished above NHL-.500 in eight of his last nine seasons.

Last season, Ilya Sorokin recorded 30 of the Isles' 35 victories. The other goalies combined for only five, matching the club record for the fewest, set in the 12-win 1972-73 season, when Billy Smith won seven and Gerry Desjardins won five.

King Mathieu

Mathieu Darche was presented with a game puck after earning his first NHL win as a General Manager.

Milestone Men

• Matthew Schaefer is the second 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history to record a point in his first four games, but the first to do so in four consecutive games  (NHL recognizes only consecutive games played as a streak. Phil Housley did it in Buffalo's 1/4/5/6 games in 1982)

• Schaefer is also the first defenseman selected first overall to earn a point in his first four games.

• Schaefer has faced four #1 picks in his first four games (Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins tonight)

• Casey Cizikas played his 901st game, passing Bobby Nystrom and tying Brock Nelson for 4th place on the club's all-time list.

Record Seeker

With points in his first four games, Matthew Schaefer is:

• Two games shy of Marek Zidlicky's defense record (6 with Nashville in 2003-04) to start a career; 5 others, including Cale Makar had five-game streaks. Schafer is tied with Zack Werenski and four others at four games.

• Three games shy of Alexander Daigle's expansion era record (7) to start a career at 18 or younger; two players did it in six straight: Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky. All others with at least four games are forwards.

• Only the second Islander to have at least a four-game point streak to start his career, trailing only Bob Bourne (6 games in 1974); he passed five others tonight both Sutters, Mike Bossy, John Tavares, and AHL President Scott Howson (all forwards).

• Three games shy of Stefan Persson's club defense record for a rookie (1/28-2/11/1978; 7 games)

Most Games Played as an 18-Year-Old (Isles history)

Tim Connolly 81

Dave Chyzowski 34

Nino Niederreiter  9

Mathew Schaefer 4

Brent Sutter 3

Brad Dalgarno 2

Paul Boutilier 1

Most Ice Time by an Islander Teenager, Game

1. Eric Brewer 26:57 4/3/1999 vs Anaheim (OT)

2. John Tavares 26:46 4/11/2010 vs. Pittsburgh (SO)

3. Matthew Schaefer 26:35 10/13/2025 vs. Edmonton

4. Matthew Schaefer 26:04 10/11/2025 vs. Washington

Did Somebody Say Comeback?

The Isles have one come-from behind win this season, including zero when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win one time this season, including one time in the third period.

Overtime

The Isles are 0-0 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 0-0 in shootouts. 

Empty Netters 

The Isles have scored 1 empty-net goal and allowed 0.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 1 time this season:

• Score the next goal: 0 times

• Allowed the next goal: 0 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 1 time 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2025-26  1-3-0 for 2 points in 4 games

• 2024-25  1-1-2 for 4 points in 4 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-2-2

• Season: 1-6-7

• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161

Home and Road

The Isles are 1-3-0 overall; they are 1-2-0 at home and 0-1-0 on the road.

Edmonton is 2-0-1 overall; they are 1-0-1 at home and 1-1-0 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 0-2-0 against the East (0-2-0 vs. Metropolitan and 0-0-0 vs. Atlantic) and 1-1-0 against the West (0-1-0 vs. Central and 1-0-0 vs. Pacific).

First Things First

The Isles are 1-0-0 when scoring first and are 0-3-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles       11-7-7=25

Edmonton 8-16-9=33

The Isles are 0-3-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-0-0 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

David Rittich made 31 saves in his Isles debut; he is 1-0-0 this season and 6-5-1 vs. Edmonton.

Stuart Skinner made 21 saves; he is 1-1-1 this season and 2-2-0 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-5 (6:09); Edmonton was 1-4 (4:22) but allowed a Bo Horvat shorthanded goal .

The Isles are 1-1-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 0-2-0 when they do not. The Isles are 1-2-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 0-1-0 when they do not.

The Isles are 1-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 0-2-0 when they are outscored, and 0-0-0 when special team goals are equal.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 1-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-2-0 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 0-1-0 in games decided by a single goal including 0-1 in regulation. They are 0-0 in games decided in overtime and are 0-0 in shootouts. The Isles are 1-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     

The Isles are 0-0-0 on the front end and 0-0-0 on the back end this season. 

The Isles are 0-0-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 0-0-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Mathew Barzal (24:31); Edmonton: Leon Draisaitl (25:22)

Barzal led Isles forwards (24:31).

Face-offs

Isles 25, Edmonton 33 (43%)

Bo Horvat won 8 of 13 for the Isles, but his teammates won only 17 of 45. Leon Draisaitl won 14 of 21 for Edmonton. 

Hit Count

Isles 18 (Alex Romanov -6)

Edmonton 7 (Vasily Podkolzin -1)

Fights 

None. Season total: 0 

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 13 (Alex Romanov -4)

Edmonton 13 (Darnell Nurse-6)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 58, Edmonton 63

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 42, Edmonton 45

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Adam Pelech +7

Edmonton: Five with +5

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 10, Edmonton 15

5-on-5: Isles 8, Edmonton 9

Scratches

(Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Ethan Bear – IR), Max Tsyplakov, Adam Boqvist

Games Lost to injury: 8. (Last season's total: 304)

The Ironmen

Kyle Palmieri is the Islanders' ironman, having played 202 consecutive games. Casey Cizikas (112) and Anders Lee (95) are the only other Isles to have also played every game since the start of last season.

National TV Games 

Including tonight, the Isles are 1-0-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners. Their next appearance will be on October 30th in Carolina.

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 0-1-0 in matinee games this season; the next matinee will be at 3pm Saturday in Ottawa. 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 15-18-13 in matinees.

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures  

Opponents: 0 successful, 1 failure (No hand pass – WAS 10/11) 

Hockey Opps: 0 favorable, 0 unfavorable

Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)

For (0): 

Vs (0): 

Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)

Isles responses (0): 

Opponent responses (1): WPG 10/13

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 (0): 

Vs (0):  

OT Winners

For (0): 

Vs (0):  

Shootout Winners

For (0): 

Vs (0):  

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 ***  3. Josh Bailey 1,057 ***

4. Brock Nelson and Casey Cizikas 901 *** 5. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 7. Clark Gillies 872 *** 8. Matt Martin 855 *** 9. Anders Lee 845 …

22. John Tonelli 594 *** 23. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 564 *** 25. Ken Morrow 550 *** 26. Duane Sutter 547 *** 27. Lorne Henning 543 *** 28. Scott Mayfield 539 *** 29. Claude Lapointe 535 *** 30. Mathew Barzal 534

Goals    

1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 ***  3. Denis Potvin 310 …

5. Brock Nelson 295 *** 6. Anders Lee 289 …

20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 135…

29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 114

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …

7. John Tonelli 338 *** 8. Mathew Barzal 330…

19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 218…

27. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 29. Jean Potvin 167 *** 30. Jeff Norton 166 *** 31. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 32. Ryan Pulock 162… 

34. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 35. Casey Cizikas 148

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

12. Bob Bourne 542 *** 13. Anders Lee 506… 

15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 465…

27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 262

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467  ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380

15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +81 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76  *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 ***  19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +59 *** 22. 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 166 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 162 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 135… 

17. Bryan Berard 100 *** 18. Vladimir Malakhov and Scott Mayfield 98

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 215…

10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 161…

18. Gerry Hart 128 *** 19. Scott Mayfield 126

Goalie Games

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 ***

4. Ilya Sorokin 256 … 

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 125 …

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 1-0-1-0; they will host Providence on Friday and Wilkes Barre-Scranton on Saturday, both at 7pm. 

Marshall Warren is the reigning AHL Player of the Week. 

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The teams will meet next on January 15th in Alberta.

The Isles have earned at least one point in all five games against Edmonton at UBS Arena (3-0-1) and are 2-0-2 in their last four meetings with the Oilers.

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18th —ISLANDERS AT OTTAWA 3:00pm

[MSGSN (pre-game at 2:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]

The Isles head to the Canadian capital, or at least its suburb (Kanata) to face the Ottawa for the first time this season.

The Isles have won three straight games in Ottawa and are 4-1-2 in their last seven games against the Sens. Going back to 2018, the Isles are 14-3-2 against Ottawa.

AND FINALLY…

Thanks for reading the 1,100th consecutive edition of The Skinny! 

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