The Skinny: Isles 3, Utah 2 (OT)

"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 18

Isles 3, Utah 2 (OT)

Matthew Schaefer did it again. He converted a pass from Mathew Barzal for the overtime winner as the Isles defeated the Utah Mammoth 3-2, before a sellout crowd of 12,748 at Delta Center.

Emil Heineman opened the scoring for the second straight night, but JJ Peterka and Dylan Guenther (the latter on a 5-on-3) gave the Mammoth a lead that lasted from late in the first period to past the midpoint of the third period; Jonathan Drouin was credited with the tying tally. David Rittich made 27 saves to improve to 4-2-0 this season.

The Isles have won five straight road games and are 6-1-1 in their last eight games, as they have won the first four games of a seven-game road trip to move within three points of the first place Devils. The team heads to Colorado for their third game in four nights on Sunday. 

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Emil Heineman (8) Tony DeAngelo (6), Alexander Romanov (1) 07:13 NYI 1,UTA 0

JJ Peterka (6) Lawson Crouse (3), John Marino (8) 13:02 NYI 1,UTA 1

Dylan Guenther (7) Mikhail Sergachev (11), Clayton Keller (11) 18:35 NYI 1,UTA 2 PPG

2nd Period

No Goals 

3rd Period

Jonathan Drouin (3) 13:44 NYI 2,UTA 2

OT

Matthew Schaefer (7) Mathew Barzal (10), Bo Horvat (11) 02:06 NYI 3,UTA 2

The Skinny

The Isles are 10-3-2 since they opened 0-3-0; the 22 points since October 16th match the Colorado Avalanche for the most in the NHL in that span…Bo Horvat extended his point streak to eight games (6-5-11);only three NHL players have longer active streaks....The Isles killed five of six Utah power plays; they have killed 28 of the last 31… The Isles went 0-4 on the power play, ending a three-game power play goal streak…Matthew Schaefer now has 15 points, passing David Chyzowski for second among 18-year-olds in club history, trailing only Tim Connolly (34); he now leads all NHL defensemen, and all NHL rookies in goals and all rookies in points … Mathew Barzal extended his point streak to six games (2-4-6) with his assist on the winning goal while Jonathan Drouin extended his point streak to four games with the tying goal…Utah has outscored their opponents 19-11 in the first period; the +8 differential is the best in the NHL…This was the fourth and final game played in the NHL on Friday; all ended in OT/SO, marking the first time a day with at least four games scheduled required overtime in all of them.

Road Warriors

The Isles have won four straight games, all played on the road, for the first time since April 2017. Including their win in Washington on Halloween, the Isles have won five straight road games for the second straight season, but only the twelfth distinct time in franchise history. The club record is eight, set in February-March 1981 on the road to the second Stanley Cup.

The five straight wins matches the Rangers and Kings for the longest road win streak in the NHL this season; both of those streaks are also still active.

Overtime Is Our Time

The Isles have won three straight games, all on overtime goals, for the first time in their history (NHL does not mix regular season and playoff stats – the Isles did win Games 2,3,4 in 1993 playoffs vs. Washington in OT). They have also won three consecutive road games, all decided in overtime, for the first time.

It is the first time since January 7, 2020 (Thomas Greiss won in New Jersey) that an Islander goalie other the Ilya Sorokin or Semyon Varlamov has won a game in either overtime or a shootout.

It is also the first time since December 30-31, 2002 (and second time in club history), that the Isles have scored an overtime goal on consecutive days. (Roman Hamrlik vs. Florida; Jason Blake at Buffalo)

Milestone Men

• Mathew Barzal tied John Tonelli for 7th in club history with his 338th assist.

• Barzal remains tied with Kyle Okposo for 20th in club history with his 139 goals.

Schaefer is The One

• Matthew Schaefer is the youngest player in NHL history to score an overtime goal.

• Schaefer is the first 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history to score an overtime goal.

• Schaefer improved to 7-8-15 in his first eighteen NHL games; he is the first 18-year-old defenseman to score seven goals in his first eighteen (Bobby Orr is the only other 18-year-old defenseman with at least six).

• Schaefer is the youngest defenseman in NHL history to score in consecutive games.

• Schaefer also tied Ray Bourque for 2nd-highest point total among 18-year-old defensemen before his 20th game, training only Phil Housley (2-14-16).

Return to Form

Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 4-0-1 (.939 and 1.75) since October 30th .

Most Ice Time by an Islander Teenager, Gam

1. Matthew Schaefer 27:40 10/25/2025 at PHI (SO)

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

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

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

5. Matthew Schaefer 26:04 10/11/2025 vs. WAS

A 20-year-old Islander has played more than 27:40 seven times (Bryan Berard – four times; Travis Hamonic -3 times). The youngest of these was Hamonic (at MTL) on February 10, 2011, when he was 20 years, 178 days old; Schaefer will not hit that age until March 1, 2028.

Most Assists by an Islander Teenage Defenseman

1. Bryan Berard 32

2. Gerald Diduck 8

    Matthew Schaefer 8

The Isles will play 148 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 18 (7-8-15)

Lots of Travel

The Isles are in a stretch where they are playing 11 of 14 games on the road. They are 6-3-2 in this stretch (1-1-1 home, 5-2-1 road).

Did Somebody Say Comeback?

The Isles have eight come-from behind wins this season, including four when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win four 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 2.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 8 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 2 times

• Allowed the next goal: 4 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 2 times

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2025-26  10-6-2 for 22 points in 18 games

• 2024-25  7-7-4 for 18 points in 18 games

It matches the Isles' best point total through eighteen games since 2019-20 (14-3-1).

Offense from Defense

• Today:   1-2-3

• Season: 8-29-37

• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161

Home and Road

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

Utah is 10-7-1 overall; they are 5-1-1 at home and 5-6-0 on the road.

East and West

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

First Things First

The Isles are 6-1-2 when scoring first and 4-5-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles     6-7-5-3=21

Utah  13-10-6-0=29

The Isles are 1-5-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-1 when the shots are even and 8-1-0 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

David Rittich made 27 saves; he is 4-2-0 this season and 1-0-0 vs. Utah.

Karel Vejmelka made 18 saves; he is 8-4-1 this season and 2-2-1 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-4 (6:18); Utah was 1-6 (8:25), with the goal coming after 39 seconds of 5-on-3.

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

The Isles are 6-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 3-3-1 when they are outscored, and 1-2-1 when special team goals are equal.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 10-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-5-0 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 6-1-2 in games decided by a single goal including 3-1 in regulation. They are 3-0 in games decided in overtime and are 0-2 in shootouts. The Isles are 2-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     

Including tonight, the Isles are 1-2-0 on the front end and 3-0-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be on November 22-23 when they host St. Louis and Seattle. 

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 (25:49); Utah: Mikhail Sergachev (25:33)

Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (20:53).

Face-offs

Isles 31, Utah 26 (54%)

Bo Horvat won 13 of 21 for the Isles; Kevin Stenlund won 11 of 18 for Utah. 

Hit Count

Isles 18 (Emil Heineman and Adam Pelech -3)

Utah 13 (Jack McBain -3)

Fights 

None. Season total: 2 (Mayfield, McLean) 

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 11 (Adam Pelech and Anthony Duclair-2)

Utah 20 (Mikhail Sergachev-7)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 59, Utah 39

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 39, Utah 45

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Adam Pelech +6

Utah: Shea Theodore +13

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 13, Utah 10

5-on-5: Isles 8, Utah 8

Scratches

(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Ethan Bear-IR), (Max Shabonov-INJ), Scott Mayfield – non-roster, Kyle MacLean, Travis Mitchell.

Games Lost to injury: 71. (Last season's total: 304)

The Ironmen

Kyle Palmieri is the Islanders' ironman, having played 216 consecutive games. Casey Cizikas (126) and Anders Lee (109) are the only other Isles to have also played every game since the start of last season.

National TV Games 

The Isles are 1-1-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners. Their next appearance will be on TNT on December 9th vs Vegas.

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 1-1-1 in matinee games this season; the next matinee will be at 3:30pm on November 22nd against St. Louis. The NHL considers games that start before 5:00 local time to be afternoon contests. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Isles are 16-18-13 in matinees.

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 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: 0 favorable, 0 unfavorable

Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)

For (2): DET 10/23, CBJ 11/2

Vs (1): BOS 10/28

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 (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 915 *** 5. Brock Nelson 901 *** 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 7. Clark Gillies 872 *** 8. Anders Lee 859 …

20. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 21. Garry Howatt 596 *** 22. John Tonelli 594 *** 23. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 578 *** 25. Scott Mayfield 553 *** 26. Ken Morrow 550 *** 27. Duane Sutter and Mathew Barzal 547

Goals    

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

4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Brock Nelson 295 *** 6. Anders Lee 292 …

19. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 20. Kyle Okposo and Mathew Barzal 139…

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 …

6. John Tavares 349 *** 7. John Tonelli and Mathew Barzal 338…

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 168… 

32. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 33. David Volek 154 *** 34. Mariusz Czerkawski and Casey Cizikas 150

Points

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

12. Bob Bourne 542 *** 13. Anders Lee 518… 

15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 477…

27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 265

+/-

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

15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +89 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76  *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 ***  19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +61 *** 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 168 … 

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 221…

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 265 … 

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

Wins

1. Billy Smith 304  *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 131 …

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

Shutouts 

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Ilya Sorokin 23 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***

4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm   

Bridgeport built 2-0 and 3-2 leads but fell to 5-7-1-1 with a 5-3 loss to Wilkes-Barre Scranton on Wednesday; Adam Beckman scored his 5th goal of the season in defeat.

The Baby Isles are back home Saturday as they host Rochester.

Leaders:  Goals: Joey Larson- 7 (tied for AHL rookie lead);  Assists: Matthew Maggio-10; Points: Cole McWard and Maggio-11

Goalies:  Marcus Hogberg 3-4-2 2.68, .900;  Parker Gahagen  2-3-0 3.45, .875

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 1). The teams will meet again on New Year's Day at UBS Arena to complete the season series.

The Isles have won two of the three all-time meetings, with all three decided by a single goal.

UP NEXT

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16th  —ISLANDERS AT COLORADO 9:00pm

[MSGSN (pre-game at 8:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]

The Isles will put their four-game winning streak and five-game road winning streak on the line when they head to Denver for their reunion with Brock Nelson on Sunday at Ball Arena.

The Avs have been one of the best teams in the NHL this season (12-1-5), have points in all eight home games (6-0-2), and have won five straight. Nathan MacKinnon has 1,048 points, which is tied with Peter Stastny for second place on the franchise scoring list.

The Isles swept the season series last year by a combined 11-4 count. The Isles have earned points in their last three trips to Denver (1-0-2) and are 3-1-2 over the last three seasons against the Avs.

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