"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 40
Isles 3, Chicago 2 (SO)
Bo Horvat scored a power play goal and then scored the only goal of the shootout as the Islanders earned a split of their two-game road trip with a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks before a crowd of 19,603 at Chicago Stadium.
Cal Ritchie had the other goal for the Isles, who led 2-0 before the Hawks scored twice in the final 4:29 of the second period.
The Isles are 9-4-1 in December and 18-9-3 in their last 30 games; they will open 2026 with a New Year's Day matinee (3:00) at UBS Arena against Utah.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Calum Ritchie (5) Simon Holmstrom (10), Max Shabanov (8) 02:56 NYI 1,CHI 0
Bo Horvat (21) Mathew Barzal (20), Matthew Schaefer (16) 12:08 NYI 2,CHI 0 PPG
2nd Period
Teuvo Teravainen (7) Oliver Moore (7), Artyom Levshunov (17) 15:31 NYI 2,CHI 1
Nick Lardis (2) Oliver Moore (8), Ryan Greene (10) 19:57 NYI 2,CHI 2
3rd Period
No Goals
OT
No Goals
The Shootout
Nick Lardis (NG)/ Mathew Barzal (NG)
Teuvo Teravainen (NG)/ Bo Horvat (G/GDG)
Ryan Donato (NG)
The Isles are 4-4 in the shootout while Chicago is 1-3… David Rittich improves to 12-10 in shootouts while Spencer Knight falls to 3-8 … It was the 96th all-time shootout win for the Isles (96-93), tying Buffalo (96-83) for the most in NHL history… Only Florida (192) has contested more shootouts than the Isles (189) …Bo Horvat is now 14-44 in the shootout with seven game-deciding goals…The eight Islander shootouts this season match Philadelphia for the league lead; the Isles last had eight shootouts in 2021-22 (6-2), they haven't had more than eight since 2018-19, when they went 5-5 in ten shootouts…This was the Isles' first shootout win over Chicago in five all-time shootouts; Utah (0-0), Dallas (0-2), and Colorado (0-1) are the three opponents that the Isles have never beaten in a shootout.
The Skinny
The Isles are 22-11-4 since they opened 0-3-0; the 48 points since October 16th are the most of any team in the Eastern Conference…The Isles went 1-3 on the power play and 1-2 on the penalty kill; the Isles are 10-47 on the power play in the last sixteen games and have killed 13-16 over the last six games…The Isles improve to an NHL-best 9-1-2 when tied after two periods while Chicago is 5-4-5… The Isles have been held to two goals or fewer in eight straight games, going 4-3-1 in that stretch… Bo Horvat scored for the second straight game and now has scored five times in the last five games he has played; he is now at 290 career goals… Chicago had allowed only six first period goals in first 17 games before allowing 6 to Pittsburgh and the Isles in the last two games…Three rookies earned points for the Isles; rookies are 19-30-49 this season, which match last season's totals in all categories…Matthew Schaefer tied Artyom Levshunov for the rookie assist lead in the first period; Levshunov regained the lead in the 2nd period…The Isles are eight games over NHL-.500 for the third time this season…It is the first time since 2019-20, and only the fifth time in the Post-Cup era, that the Isles have registered ten road wins before the end of December.
The Standings
The Isles remain in 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division, now three points behind Carolina and still one point ahead of Philadelphia.
Milestone Men
• Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock each played their 600th game; they are the 3rd and 4th defenseman in club history to do so.
• Matthew Schaefer (18 years, 116 days) is the youngest defenseman in NHL history to record 25 points.
• Matthew Barzal now has 348 assists, one behind John Tavares for 6th place.
• Anders Lee still needs one goal to become the fifth Islander with 300 goals.
• Ryan Pulock remains at 231 points, one point behind Kenny Jonsson for 5th on the club's defenseman point list.
First Times in a Long Time
• Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock are the first Islander teammates to play in their 600th NHL game in the same game since Steve Thomas and Patrick Flatley did so on March 4, 1994, against the Rangers.
• The Isles have been held to two goals or fewer in eight consecutive games; it is the first time that has happened since an eight-game streak (3-4-1) in January-February 2023.
An NHL First
Pelech and Pulock are the first teammates to play in their 600th NHL game in the same game and play only for that team though 600 games.
2025 Leaders
Goals:
Horvat 39
Lee 23
Holmstrom 19
Palmieri 18
Assists:
Barzal 29
Pageau 27
DeAngelo 27
Lee 26
Points
Horvat 63
Lee 49
Barzal 42
Palmieri/Holmstrom 40
+/-
Barzal +21
Pelech +16
Pulock +9
Schaefer +8
Penalty Minutes
Mayfield 59
Cizikas 53
Pelech 46
Lee 44
Power Play Goals
Horvat 8
Lee/Schaefer 5
Palmieri 4
Shorthanded Goals
Horvat 3
Pageau/Holmstrom 2
4 with 1
Overtime Goals
Horvat 2
5 with 1
Game-Winning Goals
Horvat 8
Lee 5
Nelson/2olmstrom 4
Shots
Horvat 259
Lee 220
Palmieri 161
DeAngelo 143
Average ice time
Schaefer 23:52
Dobson 22:27
Romanov 21:47
Pelech 21:04
Faceoff Win Percentage
Pageau 59.3
Horvat 57.8
Drouin 52.5
Cizikas 52.1
Hits
Gatcomb 221
Cizikas 208
Heineman 140
MacLean 115
Blocks
Pulock 147
Romanov 149
Pelech 131
Mayfield 90
Goalies
Sorokin 31-22-4 .913 2.54
Rittich 10-2 -4 .918 2.27
All others 2-6-3 .862 3.64
Team - rankings thru games of 12/30
43-32-9 95 points (t-14th in NHL)
232 GF, 242 GA
14.8% PP (31st), 10 SHG Allowed (t-2nd most)
80.9% PK (t-5th), 11 SHG Scored (t-2nd most)
53.0% FOW (4th)
Record After 2 Periods
26-2-3 Leading after 2 (both regulation losses this month)
11-2-4 Tied after 2
6-28-2 Trailing after 2
December to Remember
The Isles went 9-4-1 this month, including five wins over teams that have won the Stanley Cup in the 2020s. The Isles finish with 19 points in December and 95 points in calendar year 2025; they had 11 points last December and finished calendar year 2024 with 86 points.
The Isles went 7-1-0 at UBS Arena in December; the 14 points match the most in a home December in club history (also 1978, 2003, 2023); they ended December with 19 points, which matched the most since December 2003 (21).
Return to Form
Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 10-6-1 (.927 and 2.06) since October 31st with three shutouts. Only Jesper Wallstedt (4) has more shutouts in that span or this season; no goalie has more than eleven wins in that span.
Sorokin has won each of his first nine games facing at least 30 shots; that breaks a tie with Chico Resch's 1980-81 streak for the second-longest in club history, and the longest to start a season. Mark Fitzpatrick won ten straight when facing 30 shots in the 1989-90 season.
Big Save Dave
David Rittich is 10-4-2 on the season. In his last ten games (6-2-2), he has stopped 280 of 300 shots for a 1.95 GAA and a .933 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 28:12 12/9/2025 vs VEG
3. Matthew Schaefer 27:40 10/25/2025 at PHI (SO)
4. Matthew Schaefer 27:30 11/22/2025 vs. STL
5. Matthew Schaefer 27:23 11/23/2025 vs. SEA (SO)
6. Matthew Schaefer 27:03 12/27/2025 vs. NYR
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 has played at least 27 minutes six times and at least 26 minutes eleven times. He is the first 18-year-old to do either of these things since ice time became official.
Most Goals by an 18-Year-Old Defenseman
1. Phil Housley (BUF) 17 (1982-83)
2. Bobby Orr (BOS) 13 (1966-67)
3. Matthew Schaefer 9 (2025-26), Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) 9 (2018-19), Zach Bogosian (ATL) 9 (2008-09)
Most Power Play Goals by an 18-Year-Old Defenseman
1. Phil Housley (BUF) 10 (1982-83)
2. Matthew Schaefer 5 (2025-26) and Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) 5 (2018-19)
Most Goals by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Matthew Schaefer 9
2. Bryan Berard 7
Only nine Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have scored at least nine goals, led by Bryan Trottier's 32 and Pat LaFontaine' 26. Schaefer is tied with Anthony Beauvillier with those 9 goals.
Most Assists by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Bryan Berard 32
2. Matthew Schaefer 16
Only eight Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have recorded at least 16 assists, led by Bryan Trottier's 63 and Tim Connolly's 51. Josh Bailey (18) is the one now above Schaefer.
Most Points by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Bryan Berard 39
2. Matthew Schaefer 25
Only nine Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have recorded at least 25 points, led by Bryan Trottier's 95 and Tim Connolly's 75. Schaefer is tied with Josh Bailey with those 25 points.
Schaefer will still be a Teenager for the next 126 Isles games.
Most Games Played as an 18-Year-Old (Isles history)
1. Tim Connolly 81 (14-20-34)
2. Mathew Schaefer 40 (9-16-25)
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have ten come-from behind wins this season, including four when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win eight times this season, including four times in the third period.
Overtime Is Our Time
The Isles are 3-0 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 4-4 in shootouts.
The Sixth Attacker
The Isles have scored six goals with the 6th attacker (most in NHL) and allowed eight empty net goals.
Opponents have scored five goals with 6th attacker and allowed six empty-netters to the Isles.
Most Extra Attacker Goals, Isles (since 2009-10)
1. 2017-18 9
2. 2019-20 and 2023-24 7
4. Five years, including 2025-26 6
Most Career Empty Net Goals
1. Bryan Trottier 27
2. John Tavares 20
3. Mike Bossy 15
4. Brock Nelson 13
5. Jason Blake and Casey Cizikas 11
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 21 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 8 times
• Allowed the next goal: 9 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 4 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2025-26 22-14-4 for 48 points in 40 games
• 2024-25 15-18-7 for 37 points in 40 games; they reached 48/49 points in their 48th game.
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-1-1
• Season: 15-55-70
• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161
Rookie Scoring
• Today: 1-2-3
• Season: 19-30-49
• Last Season (Final) 19-30-49
The 19 rookie goals are 2nd in the NHL while the 49 points are 3rd.
Home and Road
The Isles are 22-14-4 overall; they are 12-7-2 at home and 10-7-2 on the road.
Chicago is 14-18-7 overall; they are 7-8-4 at home and 7-10-3 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 12-9-4 against the East (6-5-2 vs. Metropolitan and 6-4-2 vs. Atlantic) and 10-5-0 against the West (4-4-0 vs. Central and 6-1-0 vs. Pacific).
First Things First
The Isles are 16-4-2 when scoring first and 6-10-2 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 10-4-6-1=21
Chicago 7-7-3-2=19
The Isles are 5-9-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-1 when the shots are even and 16-5-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
David Rittich made 17 saves; he is 10-4-2 this season and 4-1-0 vs. Chicago.
Spencer Knight made 19 saves; he is 10-11-6 this season and 3-0-1 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 1-3 (4:36); Chicago was 1-2 (3:08)
The Isles are 12-3-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 10-11-2 when they do not. The Isles are 7-6-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-8-0 when they do not.
The Isles are 11-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 3-6-1 when they are outscored, and 8-7-3 when special team goals are equal. (Their only loss when outscoring the opposition on special teams was in the home opener against Washington.)
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 17-1-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 5-13-1 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 13-3-4 in games decided by a single goal including 6-3 in regulation. They are 3-0 in games decided in overtime and are 4-4 in shootouts. The Isles are 4-3 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 3-4-0 on the front end and 4-2-1 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be January 28-29 when they face the Rangers in a home-and-home series.
The Isles are 4-3-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 2-1-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Matthew Schaefer (26:54); Chicago: Artyom Levshunov (22:43)
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards (23:17).
Face-offs
Isles 27, Chicago 23 (54%)
Bo Horvat won 12 of 21 for the Isles; Oliver Moore won 8 of 11 for Chicago.
Hit Count
Isles 28 (Emil Heineman and Marc Gatcomb -6)
Chicago 23 (Colton Dach -7)
Fights
None. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, MacLean, Lee, DeAngelo)
Blocked Shots
Isles 9 (Adam Pelech -4)
Chicago 16 (Alex Vlasic -3)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 51, Chicago 54
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 45, Chicago 45
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Anders Lee +7
Chicago: Nick Lardis +9
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 12, Chicago 7
5-on-5: Isles 8, Chicago 5
Scratches
(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), (Ilya Sorokin -IR), Adam Boqvist, Max Tsyplakov, Kyle MacLean
Games Lost to injury: 192. (Last season's total: 304)
The Ironmen
Casey Cizikas is the Islanders' ironman, having played 148 consecutive games. Anders Lee (122) is the only other Isle to have also played every game since the start of last season.
National TV Games
The Isles are 2-1-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners. Their next appearance will be on ESPN+ on January 6th vs New Jersey.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 2-3-2 in matinee games this season; the next matinee will be at 3:00pm on New Year's Day against Utah. 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 17-20-14 in matinees.
Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure (No goalie interference – VEG 11/14)
Opponents: 0 successful, 4 failure (No hand pass – WAS 10/11), (No interference – DET 10/23), (No offside – WAS 10/31), (No interference – COL 12/4)
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 (3): WPG 10/13, CAR 10/30, COL 12/4
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 (7): 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 GTG (17:23 11/13 VEG)- Isles won in OT; Emil Heineman GTG (19:31 12/20 BUF)- Isles lost in OT; Adam Pelech GWG (18:45 12/23 NJD)
Vs (3): Simon Nemec GTG (19:55 11/10 NJ) but NYI won in OT, Pavel Dorfeyev (19:46, 12/9 VEG) but NYI won in SO; Alex DeBrincat GWG (17:43 12/16 DET)
OT Winners
For (3): Mathew Barzal 11/10 @ NJ, JG Pageau 11/13 @ VEG, Matthew Schaefer 11/14 @ UTA
Vs (0):
Shootout Winners
For (3): SEA 11/23, VEG 12/9, TBL 12/13, CHI 12/30
Vs (4): PHI 10/25, BOS 11/4, PHL 11/28, BUF 12/20
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 937 *** 5. Brock Nelson 901 *** 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 7. Anders Lee 881 …
19. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 20. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 600 *** 22. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 23. Garry Howatt 596 *** 24. John Tonelli 594 *** 25. Scott Mayfield 573 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 569
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Anders Lee 299 …
18. Pierre Tugeon 147 ***19. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 20. Mathew Barzal 144…
24. Alexei Yashin and Frans Nielsen 119 *** 26. Steve Thomas/Matt Moulson/Mark Parrish 118 *** 29. Casey Cizikas 117
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
5. Clark Gillies 359 *** 6. John Tavares 349 *** 7. Mathew Barzal 348…
18. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 19. Anders Lee 233…
24. Ed Westfall 181 *** 25 Noah Dobson 180 *** 26. Ryan Pulock 177…
32. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 33. David Volek 154 *** 34. Casey Cizikas 153
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
10. John Tonelli 544 *** 11. Bob Bourne 542 *** 12. Anders Lee 532 *** 13. Bob Nystrom 513 ***
14. Derek King 499 *** 15. Mathew Barzal 492
27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 270
+/-
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 +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 54…
13. Bryan Berard 31 *** 14. Scott Mayfield 29 *** 15. Adam Pelech 28
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742*** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249 ***
4. Nick Leddy 198 *** 5. Noah Dobson 180 *** 6. Ryan Pulock 177 …
9. Jeff Norton 166 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 138…
15. Tom Kurvers and Gerry Hart 108 *** 17. Scott Mayfield 101
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333 ***
4. Nick Leddy 243 *** 5. Kenny Jonsson 232 *** 6. Ryan Pulock 231…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 166…
15. Tom Kurvers 134 *** 16. Johnny Boychuk and Bryan Berard 131 *** 18. Scott Mayfield 130
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 ***
4. Ilya Sorokin 277 …
8. Jaroslav Halak 177*** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 137 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Ilya Sorokin and Glenn Resch 25 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
Bridgeport will close out 2025 with a 3:30 game on New Years Eve afternoon in Hartford. The Baby Isles are 11-14-2-1 on the season.
Leaders: Goals: Joey Larson- 11 (one of six AHL rookies with at least 11); Assists: Matthew Maggio-15; Points: Maggio 20.
Goalies: Marcus Hogberg 5-7-2, 3.08, .881; Henrik Tikkanen 4-2-1, 2.93, .879
Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series is tied, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 1). The teams will play again on March 24th at UBS Arena to close out the season series.
The Isles are 6-1-2 in the last nine games with the Hawks.
UP NEXT
THURSDAY, JANUARY 1st — UTAH AT ISLANDERS 3:00PM
[MSGSN (pre-game at 2:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
Happy New Year! The Isles look to complete a sweep of the season series as they welcome the Utah Mammoth to UBS Arena.
The Isles earned a 3-2 overtime win in Salt Lake City on November 14th as Matthew Schaefer became the youngest OT goal scorer in NHL history.
The Isles are 2-0-1 against Utah, including an OT loss at UBS Arena in last season's Islander opener.
AND FINALLY…
I cannot take credit for this, but I like it. May your best day in 2025 be worse than your worst day in 2026! Happy New Year!
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
