The Skinny: Washington 4, Isles 1

"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 26

Washington 4, Isles 1

Tom Wilson scored twice, and Logan Thompson made 30 saves as the Washington Capitals handed the Isles their third straight defeat (0-2-1) with a 4-1 victory before a crowd of 15,648 at UBS Arena.

Bo Horvat got the Isles on the board with a third period power play goal, but the Caps hit the empty net twice to seal matters.

The Isles fall to 9-5-2 in their last sixteen games and 1-3-1 on this homestand; they will host Tampa Bay, winners of seven straight on Tuesday in the penultimate game of this seven-game homestand.

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Tom Wilson (14) Alex Ovechkin (13), Ryan Leonard (8) 07:37 WSH 1,NYI 0 PPG

2nd Period

Tom Wilson (15) 13:58 WSH 2,NYI 0

3rd Period

Bo Horvat (15) Ryan Pulock (11) Matthew Schaefer (11) 13:43 WSH 2,NYI 1 PPG

Aliaksei Protas (7)EN Matt Roy (5), Tom Wilson (14) 18:49 WSH 3,NYI 1

Alex Ovechkin (12)EN Anthony Beauvillier (4) 19:29 WSH 4,NYI 1

The Skinny

The Isles are 13-7-3 since they opened 0-3-0…The Isles have allowed first power play goals in consecutive games for the first time since October 25-28th; they have still killed 23 of the last 25, and 40 of the last 45 … The Isles scored on the power play for the second straight game; they are 7-75 over the last 20 games … Alex Ovechkin played his 1517th game, passing Matt Cullen for 22nd all-time; his empty net goal was his 5th career goal at UBS (third into empty net); 68 of his 909 goals have been into empty nets (both are NHL records)….Ovechkin has scored 46 goals against the Isles (fourth all-time), including a record five ENG's against the Isles; his 29 road goals against the Isles breaks a tie with Jaromir Jagr for most all-time.…The Isles ended Jakub Chychrun's five-game goal streak and ten-game point streak…Bo Horvat scored for the first time in six games, and is now tied for 5th in the NHL in goals; he is the first Islander since John Tavares (16 in 2017-18) to have fifteen goals at the end of November…The Isles went 8-5-2 in November (6-1-0 on the road and 2-4-2 at home)…Tom Wilson moved into 8th place in all-time goals for Washington with 194, passing Dave Christian (193) and TJ Oshie (192).…A late scoring change gave Matthew Schaefer an assist on the Isles goal as it was ruled Anders Lee did not deflect Ryan Pulock's shot.

First Times in a Long Time

The Isles are below NHL-.500 at home and are at least three games over NHL-.500 overall for the first time since it happened four times in a five-game stretch in April 2013 (late in a 48-game schedule). That is the only other time it has happened in club history.

The Isles have allowed only:

• 94 shots in the last five games; it is the lowest four-game stretch in a single season since March 2002. 

• 72 shots in the last four games; it is the lowest four-game stretch in a single season since March 2002. 

• 53 shots in the last three games; it is the lowest three-game stretch in a single season since February/March 1976. 

Lots of Shots

The Isles outshot the Caps 31-18 and have a 172-94 advantage over the last five games; however, they have been outscored 12-6 in those games.

Milestone Men

• Anders Lee remains one goal behind Brock Nelson for fifth place in Isles history.

• Patrick Roy remains at 198 wins as an NHL coach (68 with the Isles).

Return to Form

Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 5-4-1 (.925 and 1.91) since October 31st with two shutouts. 

However, Sorokin is 0-3-0 on this homestand, allowing goals on the 1st shot vs. St. Louis and Boston, and the third shot vs. the Caps. He is 1-5-1 this season at UBS Arena.

Big Save Dave

David Rittich is 6-2-1 on the season. In his last four games (3-0-1, all by one goal), he has stopped 86 of 93 shots for a 1.68 GAA and a .925 save percentage. Rittich is also 4-1-1 this season at UBS Arena.

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 pay 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 11

The Isles will play 140 more games before Schaefer is no longer a Teenager

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 26 (8-11-19)

Home for the Holidays

The Isles are 1-3-1 in their seven-game homestand that also starts a stretch where they will play 13 of 17 games at UBS Arena through December 27th.

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 3 empty-net goals and allowed 5.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 10 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 3 times

• Allowed the next goal: 5 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 2 times

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2025-26  13-10-3 for 29 points in 26 games

• 2024-25  10-10-6 for 26 points in 26 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-2-2

• Season: 9-39-48

• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161

Rookie Scoring

• Today:   0-0-0

• Season: 13-17-30

• Last Season (Final) 19-30-49

The 13 rookie goals tie Montreal for the NHL lead; no other team with at least ten goals from rookies.

Home and Road

The Isles are 13-10-3 overall; they are 5-6-2 at home and 8-4-1 on the road.

Washington is 15-9-2 overall; they are 9-5-1at home and 6-4-1 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 7-6-3 against the East (4-4-2 vs. Metropolitan and 3-2-1 vs. Atlantic) and 6-4-0 against the West (2-4-0 vs. Central and 4-0-0 vs. Pacific).

First Things First

The Isles are 9-3-2 when scoring first and 4-7-1 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles            9-13-9=31  

Washington  7-7-4=18

The Isles are 2-9-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-1 when the shots are even and 10-1-0 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 14 saves; he is 7-8-2-this season and 5-6-1 vs. Washington.

Logan Thompson made 30 saves; he is 11-6-1 this season and 4-2-1 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-3 (5:19); Washington was 1-2 (2:12).

The Isles are 6-3-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 7-7-2 when they do not. The Isles are 5-4-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-6-0 when they do not.

The Isles are 7-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 3-4-1 when they are outscored, and 3-5-2 when special team goals are equal.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 12-2-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-8-0 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 8-2-3 in games decided by a single goal including 4-2 in regulation. They are 3-0 in games  decided in overtime and are 1-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 2-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     

The Isles are 1-3-0 on the front end and 4-0-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be on December 6-7 when they visit Tampa Bay and Florida. 

The Isles are 4-2-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 2-0-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Matthew Schaefer (26:12); Washington: Matt Roy (22:38)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards (23:54).

Face-offs

Isles 27, Washington 19 (59%)

Cal Ritchie won 8 of 11 for the Isles; Dylan Strome won 7 of 9 for Washington. 

Hit Count

Isles 23 (Emil Heineman -5)

Washington 21 (Three with 3)

Fights 

None. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, MacLean, Lee, De Angelo)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 141 (Ryan Pulock -4)

Washington 13 (Rasmus Sandin -3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 62, Washington 51

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 50, Washington 40

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Mathew Barzal +19

Washington: Martin Fehervary +9

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 14, Washington 11

5-on-5: Isles 10, Washington 8

Scratches

(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Ethan Bear-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), (Jean-Gabriel Pageau-INJ), Adam Boqvist, Marc Gatcomb

Games Lost to injury: 106. (Last season's total: 304)

The Ironmen

Kyle Palmieri's streak ended at 223. Casey Cizikas is now the Islanders' ironman, having played 134 consecutive games. Anders Lee (108)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 the Lightning. 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, 3 failure (No hand pass – WAS 10/11), (No interference – DET 10/23), (No offside – WAS 10/31)

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 (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 (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 923 *** 5. Brock Nelson 901 *** 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 7. Clark Gillies 872 *** 8. Anders Lee 867 …

20. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 21. Garry Howatt 596 *** 22. John Tonelli 594 *** 23. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 586 *** 25. Scott Mayfield 559 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 555

Goals    

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

4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Brock Nelson 295 *** 6. Anders Lee 294 …

19. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 20. Mathew Barzal 141…

26. Three with 118 *** 29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 115

Assists

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

5. Clark Gillies 359  *** 6. John Tavares 349 *** 7. Mathew Barzal 339…

18. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 226…

26. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 27. Ryan Pulock 172… 

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 520… 

15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 480…

27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 267

+/-

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

15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +85 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76  *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 ***  19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +63 *** 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 ***

5. Noah Dobson 180 *** 6. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 7. Ryan Pulock 172 … 

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 225…

10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 163…

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 270 … 

8. Jaroslav Halak 177***  9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173

Wins

1. Billy Smith 304  *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 132 …

7. Jaroslav Halak 88 ***  8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76

Shutouts 

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Ilya Sorokin 24 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***

4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm   

Bridgeport improved to 7-10-1-1 on the season with a 3-2 shootout victory in Springfield to earn a split of the home-and-home. Luke Rowe's first goal with the Islanders tied the game late in the third; Chris Terry and Matthew Maggio scored in the shootout to earn Henrik Tikkanen his first win of the season.

Bridgeport is off until Friday, when they visit Utica; they will then host Hartford in the Teddy Bear Toss game on Saturday.

Leaders:  Goals: Joey Larson- 8;  Assists: Matthew Maggio-11; Points: Matthew Highmore and Matthew Maggio-14

Goalies:  Marcus Hogberg 4-6-2, 3.10, .885;  Henrik Tikkanen  1-0-0, 1.85, .939

Season Series Stats

Washington leads the season series, 2 games to 1 (and 4 points to 2) as the road team has won all three games this season.

The Isles fall to 3-6-1 in ten games all-time against the Caps at UBS Arena. The final meeting will be in Washington on February 2nd.

UP NEXT

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2nd  —TAMPA BAY AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM

[MSGSN (pre-game at 6:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]

The Tampa Bay Lightning ended November with seven straight wins and three of the first seven Islanders games in December are against the Lightning, beginning on Tuesday.

The Lightning have taken two out of three in each of the last three seasons from the Isles; Tony DeAngelo's overtime goal gave the Isles their only win last season over the Bolts.

The Isles are 2-4-0 six games played all-time against Tampa Bay 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

The Skinny: Philadelphia 4, Isles 3 (SO)

"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 25

Philadelphia 4, Isles 3

Anders Lee scored a late second period power play goal to cap a three-goal rally and earn the Isles a point, but Trevor Zegras and Travis Konecny scored in the shootout as the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Islanders 4-3 before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Trailing 3-0 early in the second period, Emil Heineman and Matthew Schaefer scored 2:29 apart to get the Isles close, before Lee tied it up late in the middle session.

The Isles are 9-4-2 in their last fifteen games and 1-2-1 on this homestand; they will host Washington on Sunday at 1:00 in the fifth game of this seven-game homestand.

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Tyson Foerster (9) 08:30 PHI 1,NYI 0

Sean Couturier (4) 08:52 PHI 2,NYI 0

2nd Period

Trevor Zegras (8) Emil Andrae (5), Matvei Michkov (6) 01:55 PHI 3,NYI 0 PPG

Emil Heineman (10) Jonathan Drouin (12), Kyle Palmieri (12) 05:42 PHI 3,NYI 1

Matthew Schaefer (8) Anthony Duclair (5), Ryan Pulock (10) 08:11 PHI 3,NYI 2

Anders Lee (5) Max Shabanov (4), Matthew Schaefer (10) 19:13 PHI 3,NYI 3 PPG 

3rd Period

No Scoring

OT

No Scoring

The Shootout

Trevor Zegras (G) /Mathew Barzal (NG)

Matvei Michkov (NG)/ Simon Holmstrom (G)

Travis Konecny (G/GDG)/ Bo Horvat (NG)

The Isles are 1-3 in the shootout while Philadelphia is 5-0… Sam Ersson improves to 12-3 in shootouts while David Rittich falls to 11-8 …The Isles are 4-11 in shootouts all-time at UBS Arena…. The Isles are 93-92 all-time in shootouts; only Buffalo (94) has more wins… Trevor Zegras is 4/4 on shootouts this season and 17-25 (68%) in his career; he holds the highest success rate in NHL history of any player to attempt more than 10 shootout attempts…Simon Holmstrom is the first Islander with multiple shootout goals this season (2 of 4)…Travis Konecny improves to 6-29 in shootouts with his third game-deciding goal…Ersson's .800 winning percentage is the best in the NHL among goalies who have been involved in more than 10 shootouts.

The Skinny

The Isles are 13-6-3 since they opened 0-3-0…The Isles allowed their first power play in seven games (11-12); they have killed 21 of the last 23, 25 of 29, and 39 of the last 43 … Anders Lee's power play goal was the Isles' first in eight games (1-28); they are 6-62 over the last 19 games …Matthew Schaefer scored his eighth goal to set a club record for a teenage defenseman and became the fastest 18-year-old in NHL history to reach eight goals, surpassing Bobby Orr …Matthew Schaefer  also drew another penalty, giving him a league-leading 16; he has taken only four himself, so he is a net of +12 penalties, which is the best in the NHL (four others started play at +8)….The Isles scored three goals in a period for the fourth time this season and first since doing so in three straight games October 18-23…All four games on this homestand have been sell-outs….The Flyer shootout win prevented the Isles from recording their first three-goal comeback win since October 29, 2022, vs. Colorado.

The Injury

Kyle Palmieri suffered a lower body injury in the second period and did not return. On his way off the ice, Palmieri helped set up Emil Heineman for the Isles' first goal.

First Times in a Long Time

The Isles have allowed only 76 shots in the last four games; it is the lowest four-game stretch in a single season since March 2002. 

The 54 shots that the Isles have allowed in the last three games are the fewest since the first three games of the 2002-2003 season. 

More Schaefer 18-Year-Old Defenseman Notables (NHL Live Updates)

• Schaefer ties Bobby Orr for the 2nd-highest goal total in a calendar month, trailing only Phil Housley (7 in January 1983)

• Schaefer ties Ray Bourque for 2nd-highest point total through 20 games, trailing only Housley (18).

• Schaefer is already tied-5th highest goal total by an 18-year-old defenseman; his next goal will tie Rasmus Dahlin and Zach Bogosian for third.

Lots of Shots

The Isles outshot the Flyers 31-21 and have a 141-76 advantage over the last four games; however, they have been outscored 8-5  in those games.

Milestone Men

• Anders Lee is now one goal behind Brock Nelson for fifth place in Isles history.

• Patrick Roy remains at 198 wins as an NHL coach (68 with the Isles).

Return to Form

Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 5-3-1 (.929 and 1.89) since October 31st with two shutouts. 

Big Save Dave

David Rittich is 6-2-1 on the season. In his last four games (3-0-1, all by one goal), he has stopped 86 of 93 shots for a 1.68 GAA and a .925 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 26:04 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 (seven times) is the only 18-year-old to pay 26 minutes more often than 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 10

The Isles will play 141 more games before Schaefer is no longer a Teenager

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 25 (8-10-18)

Home for the Holidays

The Isles are 1-2-1 in their seven-game homestand that also starts a stretch where they will play 13 of 17 games at UBS Arena through December 27th.

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 3 empty-net goals and allowed 3.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 10 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 3 times

• Allowed the next goal: 5 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 2 times

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2025-26  13-9-3 for 29 points in 25 games

• 2024-25  9-10-6 for 24 points in 25 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   1-2-3

• Season: 9-37-46

• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161

Rookie Scoring

• Today:   1-2-3

• Season: 13-17-30

• Last Season (Final) 19-30-49

The 13 rookie goals lead the NHL; Montreal (12) is the only other team with at least ten goals from rookies.

Home and Road

The Isles are 13-9-3 overall; they are 5-5-2 at home and 8-4-1 on the road.

Philadelphia is 13-7-3 overall; they are 8-3-2 at home and 5-4-1 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 7-5-3 against the East (4-3-2 vs. Metropolitan and 3-2-1 vs. Atlantic) and 6-4-0 against the West (2-4-0 vs. Central and 4-0-0 vs. Pacific).

First Things First

The Isles are 9-3-2 when scoring first and 4-6-1 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles              6-13-9-3=31  

Philadelphia  3-12-5-1=21

The Isles are 2-8-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-1 when the shots are even and 10-1-0 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

David Rittich made 18 saves; he is 6-2-1 this season and 6-0-1 vs. Philadelphia.

Samuel Ersson made 28 saves; he is 4-2-2 this season and 5-0-0 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-5 (9:20); Philadelphia was 1-2 (3:31).

The Isles are 6-2-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 7-7-2 when they do not. The Isles are 5-3-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-6-0 when they do not.

The Isles are 7-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 3-4-1 when they are outscored, and 3-4-2 when special team goals are equal.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 12-2-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-7-0 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 8-2-3 in games decided by a single goal including 4-2 in regulation. They are 3-0 in games  decided in overtime and are 1-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 2-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     

The Isles are 1-3-0 on the front end and 4-0-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be on December 6-7 when they visit Tampa Bay and Florida. 

The Isles are 4-2-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 2-0-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Matthew Schaefer (28:53); Philadelphia: Travis Sanheim (26:34)

Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (24:41).

Face-offs

Isles 26, Philadelphia 23 (53%)

Bo Horvat won 12 of 17 for the Isles; Christian Dvorak won 7 of 11 for Philadelphia. 

Hit Count

Isles 17 (Emil Heineman and Kyle MacLean -3)

Philadelphia 20 (Nick Seeler- 4)

Fights 

None. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, MacLean, Lee, De Angelo)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 11 (Matthew Schaefer -4)

Philadelphia 18 (Cam York -5)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 72, Philadelphia 43

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 49, Philadelphia 28

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Matthew Schaefer +15

Philadelphia: Sean Couturier +3

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 14, Philadelphia 11

5-on-5: Isles 11, Philadelphia 8

Scratches

(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Ethan Bear-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), (Jean-Gabriel Pageau-INJ), Adam Boqvist, Max Tsyplakov

Games Lost to injury: 100. (Last season's total: 304)

The Ironmen

Kyle Palmieri is the Islanders' ironman, having played 223 consecutive games. Casey Cizikas (133) and Anders Lee (107) 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 1-2-2 in matinee games this season; the next matinee will be at 1pm on Sunday against Washington. 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 16-19-14 in matinees.

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure  (No goalie interference – VEG 11/14)

Opponents: 0 successful, 3 failure (No hand pass – WAS 10/11), (No interference – DET 10/23), (No offside – WAS 10/31)

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 (3): BOS 10/28, COL 11/16, PHI 11/28

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 (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 (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 922 *** 5. Brock Nelson 901 *** 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 7. Clark Gillies 872 *** 8. Anders Lee 866 …

20. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 21. Garry Howatt 596 *** 22. John Tonelli 594 *** 23. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 585 *** 25. Scott Mayfield 558 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 554

Goals    

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

4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Brock Nelson 295 *** 6. Anders Lee 294 …

19. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 20. Mathew Barzal 141…

26. Three with 118 *** 29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 115

Assists

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

5. Clark Gillies 359  *** 6. John Tavares 349 *** 7. Mathew Barzal 339…

18. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 226…

26. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 27. Alexei Yashin, Duane Sutter, and Ryan Pulock 171… 

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 520… 

15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 480…

27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 267

+/-

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

15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +86 *** 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. Vladimir Malakhov 27 *** 16. Adam Pelech and four others 26  

Defense Assists

1. Denis Potvin 742***  2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249 ***

5. Noah Dobson 180 *** 6. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 7. Ryan Pulock 171 … 

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 224…

10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 163…

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 269 … 

8. Jaroslav Halak 177***  9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173

Wins

1. Billy Smith 304  *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 132 …

7. Jaroslav Halak 88 ***  8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76

Shutouts 

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Ilya Sorokin 24 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***

4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm   

Bridgeport fell to 6-10-1-1 on the season with a 6-3 loss to Springfield in the home half of a home-and-home. The rematch is Saturday in Springfield.

Leaders:  Goals: Joey Larson- 8;  Assists: Matthew Maggio-11; Points:  Maggio-14

Goalies:  Marcus Hogberg 4-6-2, 3.10, .885;  Parker Gahagen  2-4-0, 3.55, .868

Season Series Stats

Philadelphia leads the season series, 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 2). 

The Isles are 9-1-2 in the last twelve home meetings with the Flyers and are 6-1-2 all-time again Philly at UBS Arena.

UP NEXT

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30th  —WASHINGTON AT ISLANDERS 1:00PM

[MSGSN (pre-game at 12:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]

Game five of the homestand will be on Sunday as the Isles welcome Alex Ovechkin and the Caps to UBS Arena for the final time this season.

It is the third meeting between the teams with each team winning on the road previously.

The Isles are 7-5-3 in the last fifteen meetings with the Caps, but only 3-5-1 in nine games played all-time 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

The Skinny: Boston 3, Isles 1

"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 24

Boston 3, Isles 1

Jeremy Swayman made a career-high 44 saves, and Alex Steeves scored twice, the latter shorthanded, as the Boston Bruins defeated the Islanders 3-1 before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Matthew Barzal had given the Isles an early 1-0 lead but that was all they could get against Swayman, who earned his second win this month at UBS Arena. Tanner Jeannot's first goal in 20 games proved to be the game winner.

The Isles fall to 9-4-1 in their last fourteen games and 1-2-0 on this homestand; they will host Philadelphia on Black Friday at 4:00 in the middle game of this seven-game homestand.

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Mathew Barzal (7) Tony DeAngelo (8), Matthew Schaefer (9) 04:41 BOS 0,NYI 1

Alex Steeves (2) Sean Kuraly (4), Michael Eyssimont (7) 06:23 BOS 1,NYI 1

2nd Period

Tanner Jeannot (3) Fraser Minten (4) 00:43 BOS 2,NYI 1

3rd Period

Alex Steeves (3) Fraser Minten (5) 10:21 BOS 3,NYI 1 SHG 

The Skinny

The Isles are 13-6-2 since they opened 0-3-0…The Isles killed the only Boston power play; they have not allowed a power play goal in six games (10-10) and have killed 20 of the last 21, 24 of 27, and 38 of the last 41 … The Isles' power play is 0-23 over the last seven games and 5-57 over the last 18 games …Ilya Sorokin faced only 14 shots in the game; it was the fewest allowed by the Isles win since allowing only 11 to Detroit on October 22, 2024…Matthew Schaefer earned his ninth assist, second among Islander teenage defenseman (Bryan Berard -32) as he breaks a tie with Gerald Diduck…The Isles are 0-4-2 in the last six games (including one at Met Life) that they have had at least 40 shots on goal…There has not been a power play goal scored by either team in the last six games; the club record is seven, set in March 2019…It was the second-fewest shots on goal in a winning effort in Bruins history…Matthew Schaefer drew two penalties, giving him a league-leading 15; he has taken only four himself, so he is a net of +11 penalties, which is the best in the NHL (four others started the night at +8).

First Times in a Long Time

The Isles have allowed only 33 shots in the last two games; it is the fourth-lowest two-game stretch in club history and lowest since October 12-15, 2002, when they allowed only 27 to Washington and Nashville. 

The 55 shots that the Isles have allowed in the last three games are the fewest since January 2019. 

 

Lots of Shots

The Isles out-shot the Bruins 45-14 and have a 110-55 advantage over the last three games; however, they have scored only twice in those games.

The 23 shots matched the most for the Isles in any period at UBS Arena; the record was set in the third period of another Thanksgiving Eve game (3-0 win on 11-23-2022 vs Edmonton). This was the first time that they had 23 shots in any period anywhere in the interim.

Milestone Men

• Anders Lee remains two goals behind Brock Nelson for fifth place in Isles history.

• Patrick Roy remains at 198 wins as an NHL coach (68 with the Isles).

Return to Form

Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 5-3-1 (.929 and 1.89) since October 31st with two shutouts. 

Big Save Dave

David Rittich is 6-2-0 on the season. In his last three games (all one-goal wins), he has stopped 68 of 72 shots for a 1.29 GAA and a .945 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 27:40 10/25/2025 at PHI (SO)

2. Matthew Schaefer 27:30 11/22/2025 vs. STL

3. Matthew Schaefer 27:23 11/23/2025 vs. SEA (SO)

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

5. John Tavares 26:46 4/11/2010 vs. PIT (SO)

6. Matthew Schaefer 26:35 10/13/2025 vs. WPG

7. 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.

Since ice-time became official, Drew Doughty is the only other 18-year-old to play at least 27 minutes three times while Victor Hedman (seven times) is the only 18-year-old to pay 26 minutes more often than Schaefer.

Most Goals by an Islander Teenage Defenseman

1. Bryan Berard 7

    Matthew Schaefer 7

Most Assists by an Islander Teenage Defenseman

1. Bryan Berard 32

2. Matthew Schaefer 9

The Isles will play 142 more games before Schaefer is no longer a Teenager

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 24 (7-9-16)

Home for the Holidays

The Isles are 1-2-0 in their seven-game homestand that also starts a stretch where they will play 13 of 17 games at UBS Arena through December 27th.

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 1-2 in shootouts. 

Empty Netters 

The Isles have scored 3 empty-net goals and allowed 3.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 10 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 3 times

• Allowed the next goal: 5 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 2 times

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2025-26  13-9-2 for 28 points in 24 games

• 2024-25  8-10-6 for 22 points in 24 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-2-2

• Season: 8-35-43

• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161

Rookie Scoring

• Today:   0-1-1

• Season: 12-15-27

• Last Season (Final) 19-30-49

Home and Road

The Isles are 13-9-2 overall; they are 5-5-1 at home and 8-4-1 on the road.

Boston is 13-10-0 overall; they are 8-4-0 at home and 6-7-0 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 7-5-2 against the East (4-3-1 vs. Metropolitan and 3-2-1 vs. Atlantic) and 6-4-0 against the West (2-4-0 vs. Central and 4-0-0 vs. Pacific).

First Things First

The Isles are 9-3-2 when scoring first and 4-6-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles      11-11-23=45  

Boston  4-7-3=14

The Isles are 2-8-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-1 when the shots are even and 10-1-0 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 11 saves; he is 7-7-2 this season and 4-5-3 vs. Boston.

Jeremy Swayman made a career-high 44 saves; he is 10-6-0 this season and 3-1-0 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-4 (8:00) and allowed a shorthanded goal; Boston was 0-1 (2:00).

The Isles are 6-2-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 7-7-2 when they do not. The Isles are 5-3-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-6-0 when they do not.

The Isles are 7-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 3-4-1 when they are outscored, and 3-4-1 when special team goals are equal.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 12-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-7-0 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 8-2-2 in games decided by a single goal including 4-2 in regulation. They are 3-0 in games  decided in overtime and are 1-2 in shootouts. The Isles are 2-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     

The Isles are 1-3-0 on the front end and 4-0-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be on December 6-7 when they visit Tampa Bay and Florida. 

The Isles are 4-2-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 2-0-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Matthew Schaefer (25:18); Boston: Nikita Zadorov (27:38)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards (24:51).

Face-offs

Isles 25, Boston 25 (50%)

Bo Horvat won 12 of 23 for the Isles; Mark Kastelic won 7 of 10 for Boston. 

Hit Count

Isles 17 (Emil Heineman -6)

Boston 24 (Two with 4)

Fights 

None. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, MacLean, Lee, De Angelo)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 17 (Adam Boqvist -4)

Boston 12 (Sean Kuraly)-3

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 81, Boston 42

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 48, Boston 35

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Matthew Schaefer +15

Boston: Jonathan Aspirot +6

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 10, Boston 8

5-on-5: Isles 7, Boston 7

Scratches

(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Ethan Bear-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), (Jean-Gabriel Pageau-INJ), Kyle MacLean, Travis Mitchell

Games Lost to injury: 95. (Last season's total: 304)

The Ironmen

Kyle Palmieri is the Islanders' ironman, having played 222 consecutive games. Casey Cizikas (132) and Anders Lee (106) 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 1-2-1 in matinee games this season; the next matinee will be at 4pm on Friday against Philadelphia. 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 16-19-13 in matinees.

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure  (No goalie interference – VEG 11/14)

Opponents: 0 successful, 3 failure (No hand pass – WAS 10/11), (No interference – DET 10/23), (No offside – WAS 10/31)

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 (2): BOS 10/28, COL 11/16

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 (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 (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 (2):  PHI 10/25, BOS 11/4

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 921 *** 5. Brock Nelson 901 *** 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 7. Clark Gillies 872 *** 8. Anders Lee 865 …

20. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 21. Garry Howatt 596 *** 22. John Tonelli 594 *** 23. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 584 *** 25. Scott Mayfield 557 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 553

Goals    

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

4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Brock Nelson 295 *** 6. Anders Lee 293 …

19. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 20. Mathew Barzal 141…

26. Three with 118 *** 29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 115

Assists

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

5. Clark Gillies 359  *** 6. John Tavares 349 *** 7. Mathew Barzal 339…

18. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 226…

26. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 27. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 29. Ryan Pulock 170… 

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 519… 

15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 480…

27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 267

+/-

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

15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +87 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76  *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 ***  19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +64 *** 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 ***

5. Noah Dobson 180 *** 6. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 7. Ryan Pulock 1709 … 

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 223…

10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 163…

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 269 … 

8. Jaroslav Halak 177***  9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173

Wins

1. Billy Smith 304  *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 132 …

7. Jaroslav Halak 88 ***  8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76

Shutouts 

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Ilya Sorokin 24 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***

4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm   

Bridgeport is 6-9-1-1 on the season heading into a home-and-home series with Springfield that begins Friday afternoon in Bridgeport.

Leaders:  Goals: Joey Larson- 8;  Assists: Matthew Maggio-11; Points:  Maggio-13

Goalies:  Marcus Hogberg 4-5-2, 2.92, .893;  Parker Gahagen  2-4-0, 3.55, .868

Season Series Stats

Boston wins the season series, 3 games to 0 (and 6 points to 1). 

After the Isles led the first game 2-0, they were outscored 11-4 by Boston the rest of the season series.

The Isles are 3-7-3 in the last thirteen meetings with the Bruins and are 3-3-2 in eight all-time meetings with the Bs at UBS Arena.

UP NEXT

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28th   —PHILADELPHIA AT ISLANDERS 4:00PM

[MSGSN (pre-game at 3:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]

The rest of the Thanksgiving Weekend features divisional opponents, starting with a matchup with the Flyers at 4pm on Friday. It is the fourth time the teams have met on Black Friday; the previous three were all in Philadelphia, most recently in 2017.

It is the second meeting between the teams; the Flyers rallied for a shootout victory in Philadelphia last month. 

The Isles have dominated the series with Philadelphia on home ice in recent years, going 9-1-1 in the last eleven meetings and 6-1-1 all-time 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

The Skinny: Isles 1, Seattle 0 (SO)

"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 23

Isles 1, Seattle 0 (SO)

David Rittich made 19 saves for his eighth career shutout and then stopped three of four Kraken in the shootout as the Isles earned a 1-0 win over Seattle before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Joey Daccord made 34 saves for Seattle but shootout tallies by Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri gave the Isles the extra point as they moved into second place in both the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference.

The Isles improve to 9-3-1 in their last thirteen games; they will host Boston at 7:00 on Wednesday in the traditional Thanksgiving Eve game.

The Scoring:  

1st Period

No Scoring

2nd Period

No Scoring

3rd Period

No Scoring

OT

No Scoring

The Shootout

• Frederick Gaudreau (G) / Mathew Barzal (NG)

• Jordan Eberle (NG) / Simon Holmstrom (NG)

• Eeli Tolvanen (NG) / Bo Horvat (G)

• Chandler Stephenson (NG) / Kyle Palmieri (G/GDG)

The Isles are 1-2 in the shootout while Seattle is 0-3… David Rittich improves to 11-8 in shootouts while Joey Daccord falls to 1-7 in his career…The win snaps a five-game shootout losing streak for the Isles; it is their third win in the last twelve and only fourth at UBS Arena in 14 games…. The Isles are 93-91 all-time in shootouts; only Buffalo (94) has more wins… Seattle is 8-15 in shootouts…Kyle Palmieri is now 10/44 in his career, with six game-deciding goals.

The Skinny

The Isles are 13-5-2 since they opened 0-3-0…The Isles killed the only Seattle power play; they have killed 19 of the last 20, 23 of 26, and 37 of the last 40 … The Isles' power play is 0-19 over the last six games …Matthew Schaefer played 27:23; it was the 3rd time he has played over 27 minutes…The Isles were shut-out for the first time this season….The Isles had lost four straight games decided 1-0 beyond 60 minutes, dating back to an overtime win in Philadelphia on April 18, 2021…David Rittich faced only 19 shots in the game; it was the fewest allowed by the Isles in a shutout win since October 17, 2023 (14 by Arizona), and the fewest ever in an Isles shutout win that went beyond 60 minutes…The Isles have earned two shutouts in a three-game span for the first time since Semyon Varlamov blanked Columbus and Washington (10/28/23-11/2/23)…The Isles have earned two shutouts by different goaltenders in a three-game span (or fewer) for the first time since January 18-20, 2019, when Thomas Greiss and Robin Lehner blanked Washington and Anaheim in consecutive games….The Isles are now tied-2nd in the NHL with their three shutouts (Minnesota has 5)…The Isles and Wild are the only teams to have multiple goalies earn at least six wins, with both teams reaching that mark today…The Wild (9) are the only team with more wins in November than the Isles (8).

First Times in a Long Time

The Isles have allowed only four goals in a four-game span (not including shootouts) for the first time since February 26- March 7, 2023:

• 26-Feb-23 @ Winnipeg 4 0 W

• 28-Feb-23 @ Minnesota 1 2 Lso

• 4-Mar-23   Vs Detroit 4 1 W

• 7-Mar-23   Vs Buffalo 3 2 W

The Isles have 28 points, trailing only Carolina in the Eastern Conference standings. It is the closest that they have been to the top of the conference standings since November 21-22, 2019, when they were 16-3-1, and tied with the Bruins for 2nd place in the conference (33 points, behind Washington's 36).

First Time in, Well, His Lifetime

Matthew Schaefer is the youngest player to play at least 27 minutes on consecutive days. The only other teenager to do so (since ice-time was official) was Jay Bouwmeester for Florida on February 26-27, 2003. Bouwmeester was nearly 19 ½ at the time of the games, which were played 4 ½ years before Schaefer was born.

Whole Lot of 0-0

This was the 21st game in Islander history that was scoreless through 60 minutes. Six of them ended in a scoreless tie, including three where overtime was not played. Isles are now 7-8 in games that are scoreless through 60 minutes and decided in either overtime or a shootout. Eight were decided by an overtime goal (4-4) while seven have gone to a shootout (3-4).

The Isles are now 3-4 all-time in scoreless games that were decided by a shootout:

• 7-Feb-12 @ Philadelphia Wso

• 24-Nov-14 Vs Philadelphia Wso

• 1-Feb-19 Vs Tampa Bay Lso

• 22-Apr-21 Vs Washington Lso

• 19-Dec-22 @ Colorado    Lso

• 25-Nov-23 Vs Philadelphia  Lso

• 23-Nov-25 Vs Seattle  Wso

Shoot the Puck, Ryan, Shoot the Puck

Ryan Pulock registered 103.01mph on a first period slapshot. It was the second-fastest shot in the NHL this season (per EDGE data – Morgan Geekie 103.03) and the fastest ever recorded by an Islander (since the system was installed in 2021-22).

Milestone Men

• Anders Lee remains two goals behind Brock Nelson for fifth place in Isles history.

• Patrick Roy earned his 198th win as an NHL coach (68 with the Isles).

Return to Form

Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 5-2-1 (.938 and 1.74) since October 31st with two shutouts. 

Big Save Dave

David Rittich is 6-2-0 on the season. In his last three games (all one-goal wins), he has stopped 68 of 72 shots for a 1.29 GAA and a .945 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 27:40 10/25/2025 at PHI (SO)

2. Matthew Schaefer 27:30 11/22/2025 vs. STL

3. Matthew Schaefer 27:23 11/23/2025 vs. SEA (SO)

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

5. John Tavares 26:46 4/11/2010 vs. PIT (SO)

6. Matthew Schaefer 26:35 10/13/2025 vs. WPG

7. 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.

Since ice-time became official, Drew Doughty is the only other 18-year-old to play at least 27 minutes three times while Victor Hedman (seven times) is the only 18-year-old to pay 26 minutes more often than Schaefer.

Most Goals by an Islander Teenage Defenseman

1. Bryan Berard 7

    Matthew Schaefer 7

Most Assists by an Islander Teenage Defenseman

1. Bryan Berard 32

2. Gerald Diduck 8

    Matthew Schaefer 8

The Isles will play 143 more games before Schaefer is no longer a Teenager

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 23 (7-8-15)

Home for the Holidays

The Isles are 1-1-0 in their seven-game homestand that also starts a stretch where they will play 13 of 17 games at UBS Arena through December 27th.

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 five 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 1-2 in shootouts. 

Empty Netters 

The Isles have scored 3 empty-net goals and allowed 3.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 10 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 3 times

• Allowed the next goal: 5 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 2 times

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2025-26  13-8-2 for 28 points in 23 games

• 2024-25  8-10-5 for 21 points in 23 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-0-0

• Season: 8-33-41

• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161

Rookie Scoring

• Today:   0-0-0

• Season: 12-14-26

• Last Season (Final) 19-30-49

Home and Road

The Isles are 13-8-2 overall; they are 5-4-1 at home and 8-4-1 on the road.

Seattle is 11-5-6 overall; they are 6-1-3 at home and 5-4-3 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 7-4-2 against the East (4-3-1 vs. Metropolitan and 3-1-1 vs. Atlantic) and 6-4-0 against the West (2-4-0 vs. Central and 4-0-0 vs. Pacific).

First Things First

The Isles are 9-2-2 when scoring first and 4-6-0 when allowing the opening goal. (The team that wins the shootout that decides a 0-0 game is credited with scoreless first.)

The Shots

Isles      11-9-11-3=34  

Seattle  4-6-8-1=19

The Isles are 2-7-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-1 when the shots are even and 10-1-0 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

David Rittich made 19 saves; he is 6-2-0 this season and 5-1-0 vs. Seattle.

Joey Daccord made 34 saves; he is 7-3-4 this season and 2-0-1 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-2 (2:19); Seattle was 0-1 (2:00).

The Isles are 6-2-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 7-6-2 when they do not. The Isles are 5-3-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-5-0 when they do not.

The Isles are 7-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 3-3-1 when they are outscored, and 3-4-1 when special team goals are equal.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 12-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-6-0 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 8-2-2 in games decided by a single goal including 4-2 in regulation. They are 3-0 in games  decided in overtime and are 1-2 in shootouts. The Isles are 2-1 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 1-3-0 on the front end and 4-0-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be on December 6-7 when they visit Tamp Bay and Florida. 

The Isles are 4-2-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 2-0-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Matthew Schaefer (27:23); Seattle: Brandon Montour (24:37)

Face-offs

Isles 28, Seattle 23 (55%)

Bo Horvat won 13 of 17 for the Isles; Chandler Stevenson won 12 of 23 for Seattle. 

Hit Count

Isles 18 (Emil Heineman -7)

Seattle 14 (Four with 2)

Fights 

None. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, MacLean, Lee, De Angelo)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 15 (Adam Pelech -4)

Seattle 23 (Brandon Montour-4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 81, Seattle 51

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 69, Seattle 46

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Matthew Schaefer +24

Seattle: Two with +3

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 10, Seattle 7

5-on-5: Isles 8, Seattle 7

Scratches

(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Ethan Bear-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), (Jean-Gabriel Pageau-INJ), Kyle MacLean,  Matthew Warren .

Games Lost to injury: 90. (Last season's total: 304)

The Ironmen

Kyle Palmieri is the Islanders' ironman, having played 221 consecutive games. Casey Cizikas (131) and Anders Lee (105) 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 1-2-1 in matinee games this season; the next matinee will be at 4pm on Friday against Philadelphia. 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 16-19-13 in matinees.

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure  (No goalie interference – VEG 11/14)

Opponents: 0 successful, 3 failure (No hand pass – WAS 10/11), (No interference – DET 10/23), (No offside – WAS 10/31)

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 (2): BOS 10/28, COL 11/16

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 (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 (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 (2):  PHI 10/25, BOS 11/4

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 920 *** 5. Brock Nelson 901 *** 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 7. Clark Gillies 872 *** 8. Anders Lee 864 …

20. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 21. Garry Howatt 596 *** 22. John Tonelli 594 *** 23. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 583 *** 25. Scott Mayfield 556 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 552

Goals    

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

4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Brock Nelson 295 *** 6. Anders Lee 293 …

19. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 20. Mathew Barzal 140…

26. Three with 118 *** 29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 115

Assists

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

5. Clark Gillies 359  *** 6. John Tavares 349 *** 7. Mathew Barzal 339…

18. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 226…

26. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 27. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 29. Ryan Pulock 170… 

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 519… 

15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 479…

27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 267

+/-

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 +64 *** 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 ***

5. Noah Dobson 180 *** 6. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 7. Ryan Pulock 1709 … 

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 223…

10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 163…

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 268 … 

8. Jaroslav Halak 177***  9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173

Wins

1. Billy Smith 304  *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 132 …

7. Jaroslav Halak 88 ***  8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76

Shutouts 

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Ilya Sorokin 24 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***

4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm   

Bridgeport fell to 6-9-1-1 on the season with a 5-3 loss in Syracuse on Saturday. Alex Jefferies and Chris Terry each had two assists in defeat.

The Baby Isles are off until Friday, when they will host Springfield in the front-end of a home-and-home series.

Leaders:  Goals: Joey Larson- 8;  Assists: Matthew Maggio-11; Points:  Maggio-13

Goalies:  Marcus Hogberg 4-5-2, 2.92, .893;  Parker Gahagen  2-4-0, 3.55, .868

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 1). The teams will meet again on January 21st in Seattle to complete the season series.

The win snapped a four-game Islander losing streak (0-2-2) against the Kraken. Seattle is 4-0-1 in the last five games against the Isles.

UP NEXT

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26th   —BOSTON AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM

[MSGSN (pre-game at 6:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]

For the first time in two weeks, and the only time in a 17-game span, the Isles have two days off before they welcome the Bruins to UBS Arena to complete the season series on Thanksgiving Eve.

Boston has won the first two meetings, rallying from a 2-0 deficit for a 5-2 victory in Boston, and erasing three one-goal Islander leads for a 4-3 shootout win at UBS Arena. 

The Isles are 3-6-3 in the last twelve meetings with the Bruins and are 3-2-2 in seven all-time meetings with the Bs 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

The Skinny: St. Louis 2, Isles 1

"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 22

St. Louis 2, Isles 1

Brayden Schenn gave the St. Louis Blues a 1-0 lead on the first shot of the game and the Isles could never catch them, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Blues before a sellout crowd of 17,515 on Hockey Fights Cancer Day at UBS Arena.

Pius Suter's second period goal turned out to be the winning goal; Anders Lee got the Isles back in the game with a 6th-attacker goal (the Isles' 4th this season) with 3:20 to play but an apparent tying goal was waved off for goalie interference with just over two minutes to play. The Isles ended the game on the power play but could not find the tying tally. 

The Isles are still 8-3-1 in their last twelve games; they will host Seattle at 5:00 on Sunday to conclude a stretch of seven games in eleven days. 

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Brayden Schenn (3) Pavel Buchnevich (6), Dalibor Dvorsky (1) 00:42 STL 1,NYI 0

2nd Period

Pius Suter (6) Dylan Holloway (5), Jordan Kyrou (7) 17:51 STL 2,NYI 0

3rd Period

Anders Lee (4) Kyle Palmieri (11), Mathew Barzal (11) 16:40 STL 2,NYI 1

The Skinny

The Isles are 12-5-2 since they opened 0-3-0…The Isles killed the only St. Louis power play; they have killed 18 of the last 19, 23 of 25, and 36 of the last 39 … The Isles' power play is 0-17 over the last five games … Emil Heineman's point streak ended at five games (3-2-5)… The Blues stopped a four-game winless streak as they improved to 3-1-4 in their last eight games…Jordan Binnington started his 340th game for St. Louis, breaking Mike Liut's club record…Kyle Palmieri and Mathew Barzal each earned their 11th assist, tying Bo Horvat and Jonathan Drouin for the club lead…Matthew Schaefer played 27:30; it was the 2nd-highest total of his career, and the 2nd-highest played by any 18-year-old in a game that ended in regulation (Drew Doughty 28:27 for LA vs ANA 11/16/2008)...The Isles were held to one goal for only the second time this season.

Milestone Men

• Mathew Barzal passed John Tonelli for 7th in club history with his 339th assist.

• Anders Lee moved within two goals of tying Brock Nelson for fifth place in Isles history.

Return to Form

Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 5-2-1 (.938 and 1.74) since October 31st with two shutouts. 

Big Save Dave

David Rittich is 5-2-0 on the season. 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 27:40 10/25/2025 at PHI (SO)

2. Matthew Schaefer 27:30 11/22/2025 vs. STL

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

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

5. Matthew Schaefer 26:35 10/13/2025 vs. WPG

6. 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.

Since ice-time became official, Drew Doughty is the only 18-year-old to play at 27 minutes three times while Victor Hedman (seven times) is the only 18-year-old to pay 26 minutes more often than Schaefer.

Most Goals by an Islander Teenage Defenseman

1. Bryan Berard 7

    Matthew Schaefer 7

Most Assists by an Islander Teenage Defenseman

1. Bryan Berard 32

2. Gerald Diduck 8

    Matthew Schaefer 8

The Isles will play 144 more games before Schaefer is no longer a Teenager

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 22 (7-8-15)

Home for the Holidays

The Isles are 0-1-0 in their seven-game homestand that also starts a stretch where they will play 13 of 17 games at UBS Arena through December 27th.

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 five 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 0-2 in shootouts. 

Empty Netters 

The Isles have scored 3 empty-net goals and allowed 3.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 10 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 3 times

• Allowed the next goal: 5 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 2 times

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2025-26  12-8-2 for 26 points in 22 games

• 2024-25  8-9-5 for 21 points in 22 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-0-0

• Season: 8-33-41

• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161

Rookie Scoring

• Today:   0-0-0

• Season: 12-14-26

• Last Season (Final) 19-30-49

Home and Road

The Isles are 12-8-2 overall; they are 4-4-1 at home and 8-4-1 on the road.

St. Louis is 7-9-6 overall; they are 3-5-4 at home and 4-4-2 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 7-4-2 against the East (4-3-1 vs. Metropolitan and 3-1-1 vs. Atlantic) and 5-4-0 against the West (2-4-0 vs. Central and 3-0-0 vs. Pacific).

First Things First

The Isles are 8-2-2 when scoring first and 4-6-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles        6-11-12=29  

St. Louis  6-11-5=22

The Isles are 1-7-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-1 when the shots are even and 10-1-0 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves; he is 7-6-2 this season and 4-2-1 vs. St. Louis.

Jordan Binnington made 28 saves; he is 5-5-4 this season and 4-3-2 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-3 (3:33); St. Louis was 0-1 (1:27).

The Isles are 6-2-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 6-6-2 when they do not. The Isles are 5-3-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 7-5-0 when they do not.

The Isles are 7-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 3-3-1 when they are outscored, and 2-4-1 when special team goals are equal.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 12-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-6-0 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 7-2-2 in games decided by a single goal including 4-2 in regulation. They are 3-0 in games decided in overtime and are 0-2 in shootouts. The Isles are 2-1 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 1-3-0 on the front end and 3-0-0 on the back end this season. This back-to-back concludes on Sunday vs. Seattle. The next back-to-back will be on December 6-7 when they visit Tamp Bay and Florida. 

The Isles are 3-2-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 1-0-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Matthew Schaefer (27:30); St. Louis: Philip Broberg (27:58)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards (21:30).

Face-offs

Isles 21, St. Louis 19 (53%)

Bo Horvat won 10 of 15 for the Isles; Dalibor Dvorsky won 6 of 12 for St. Louis. 

Hit Count

Isles 20 (Casey Cizikas -6)

St. Louis 22 (Dylan Holloway -6)

Fights 

None. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, MacLean, Lee, De Angelo)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 12 (Three with 2)

St. Louis 14 (Two with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 52, St. Louis 59

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 47, St. Louis 48

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Adam Pelech +14

St. Louis: Jordan Kyrou +16

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 13, St. Louis 9

5-on-5: Isles 10, St. Louis 9

Scratches

(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Ethan Bear-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), Kyle MacLean,  Matthew Warren, Maxim Tsyplakov.

Games Lost to injury: 85. (Last season's total: 304)

The Ironmen

Kyle Palmieri is the Islanders' ironman, having played 220 consecutive games. Casey Cizikas (130) and Anders Lee (104) 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

Including today, the Isles are 1-2-1 in matinee games this season; the next matinee will be at 4pm on Friday against Philadelphia. 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 16-19-13 in matinees.

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure  (No goalie interference – VEG 11/14)

Opponents: 0 successful, 3 failure (No hand pass – WAS 10/11), (No interference – DET 10/23), (No offside – WAS 10/31)

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 (2): BOS 10/28, COL 11/16

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 (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 (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 (0): 

Vs (2):  PHI 10/25, BOS 11/4

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 919 *** 5. Brock Nelson 901 *** 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 7. Clark Gillies 872 *** 8. Anders Lee 863 …

20. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 21. Garry Howatt 596 *** 22. John Tonelli 594 *** 23. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 582 *** 25. Scott Mayfield 555 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 551

Goals    

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

4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Brock Nelson 295 *** 6. Anders Lee 293 …

19. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 20. Mathew Barzal 140…

26. Three with 118 *** 29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 115

Assists

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

5. Clark Gillies 359  *** 6. John Tavares 349 *** 7. Mathew Barzal 339…

18. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 226…

26. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 27. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 29. Ryan Pulock 170… 

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 519… 

15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 479…

27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 267

+/-

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 +64 *** 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 ***

5. Noah Dobson 180 *** 6. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 7. Ryan Pulock 1709 … 

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 223…

10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 163…

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 268 … 

8. Jaroslav Halak 177***  9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173

Wins

1. Billy Smith 304  *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 132 …

7. Jaroslav Halak 88 ***  8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76

Shutouts 

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Ilya Sorokin 24 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***

4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm   

Bridgeport improved to 6-8-1-1 on the season with a 5-4 win in Rochester on Friday; they played in Syracuse on Saturday.

Leaders:  Goals: Joey Larson- 8 (AHL rookie lead);  Assists: Matthew Maggio-11; Points:  Maggio-13

Goalies:  Marcus Hogberg 4-5-2, 2.92, .893;  Parker Gahagen  2-3-0, 3.45, .875

Season Series Stats

St. Louis leads the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 point to 0). The teams will meet again on March 10th in St. Louis to complete the season series.

This was only the second regulation loss in the last ten home games against the Blues (7-2-1).

UP NEXT

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd   —SEATTLE AT ISLANDERS 5:00PM

[MSGSN (pre-game at 4:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]

The homestand continues on Sunday as the Isles host the Kraken (who played on Saturday night in Pittsburgh.

The Kraken have swept the season series each of the last two seasons, winning both games in regulation last season after sweeping a pair of shootouts the previous season.

Overall, the Isles are 2-4-2 all-time against the Kraken, who are now coached by former Islander coach Lane Lambert. 

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