"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 36
Buffalo 3, Isles 2 (SO)
Emil Heineman's tenth shot of the game earned the Isles a point with a last-minute power play goal, but the Buffalo Sabres earned a five round shootout victory, defeating the Isles 3-2 before a sellout crowd of 19,070 at KeyBank Arena.
Rasmus Dahlin scored on an end-to-end rush on a first period power play; Tage Thompson scored for the sixth straight game and Mathew Barzal stretched his point streak to seven games with a late second period goal.
The Isles are 15-8-3 in their last 26 games; they host New Jersey on Tuesday in the final game before the Christmas break.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Rasmus Dahlin (4) Alex Lyon (1) 01:47 NYI 0,BUF 1 PPG
2nd Period
Tage Thompson (18) Josh Doan (14), Peyton Krebs (10) 08:55 NYI 0,BUF 2
Mathew Barzal (10) Anders Lee (14), Simon Holmstrom (8) 19:37 NYI 1,BUF 2
3rd Period
Emil Heineman (12) Mathew Barzal (19), Matthew Schaefer (15) 19:31 NYI 2,BUF 2 PPG
OT
No Goals
The Shootout
Tage Thompson (NG)/ Mathew Barzal (G)
Jack Quinn (G)/ Simon Holmstrom (NG)
Alex Tuch (NG)/ Emil Heineman (NG)
Noah Ostlund (NG)/ Jonathan Drouin (NG)
Josh Norris (G/GDG)/Calum Ritchie (NG)
The Isles are 3-4 in the shootout while Buffalo is 3-0… Alex Lyon improves to 3-0 in shootouts while David Rittich falls to 11-10 … It was the 96th all-time shootout win for Buffalo, breaking a tie with the Isles (95-93) for the most in NHL history… Emil Heineman was stopped on the shootout for the first time in four career attempts…Lyon joins Jesper Wallstedt as the only active goalies to participate in at least three shootouts and win them all…Josh Norris is now 4-10 in the shootout with three game-deciding goals…Mathew Barzal converted his second straight shootout attempt.
The Skinny
The Isles are 19-10-4 since they opened 0-3-0; the 42 points since October 16th are the most of any team in the Eastern Conference…The Isles went 1-3 on the power play and 3-4 on the penalty kill; the Isles are 9-37 on the power play in the last twelve games and have allowed five goals in 13 times short over the last four games… The Isles are 2-11-1 when trailing after two periods; they are 17-2-3 when leading or tied …Mathew Barzal went 1-1-2 as he extended his assist streak to six games (matching a career high) and his point streak to seven games (career high is nine)...The Isles scored for the 6th time with a sixth-attacker, which is the most in the NHL…The Isles had eleven shots on goal in the first 34 minutes and 23 in the remaining 31 minutes; Emil Heineman had a career-high ten shots on goal – most by an Isle since Anders Lee on March 30, 2025 in Carolina…A post-game scoring change credited Heineman with a blocked shot attempt; he otherwise would have been the first Isles to ever have at least ten shot attempts, all on goal…Tage Thompson is the only NHL player with multiple six-game goal streaks this season and only the second player to do that in Sabre history, joining Miroslav Satan…Anders Lee earned his 14th assist as he continues on a career-high pace (25 last season)…Jean-Gabriel Pageau took his first penalty of the season (and first in 48 games)....The Isles climb into 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division; they move within five points behind Carolina as they tie Washington in points.
Milestone Men
• Matthew Barzal recorded his 347th assist, two behind John Tavares for 6th place.
• Anders Lee still needs two goals to become the fifth Islander with 300 goals.
• Ryan Pulock remains tied with Noah Dobson (230) for 6th on the club's defenseman point list; Pulock is two points behind Kenny Jonsson for 5th.
First Time in a Long Time
Emil Heineman's power play goal was the 8th-latest power play game-tying goal in Isles history, and the latest since Mark Streit scored at 19:48 of the third on February 9, 2010, vs. Nashville; Matt Martin earned his second assist in his NHL debut.
December to Remember
The Isles are 6-3-1 in the first ten games this month, including five wins over teams that have won the Stanley Cup in the 2020s. The Isles have thirteen points in December and 89 points in calendar year 2025 (with four games to play); they had 11 points last December and finished calendar year 2024 with 86 points.
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 7-3-2 on the season. In his last seven games (4-1-2), he has stopped 174 of 188 shots for a 1.92 GAA and a .926 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)
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 five times and at least 26 minutes nine 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.
Most Assists by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Bryan Berard 32
2. Matthew Schaefer 15
Only ten Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have recorded at least 15 assists, led by Bryan Trottier's 63 and Tim Connolly's 51. Schaefer tied Dave Chyzowski and Anthony Beauvillier with those 15 assists.
Most Points by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Bryan Berard 39
2. Matthew Schaefer 24
Only ten Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have recorded at least 24 points, led by Bryan Trottier's 95 and Tim Connolly's 75. Schaefer tied Anthony Beauvillier with those 24 points.
Schaefer will still be a Teenager for the next 130 Isles games.
Most Games Played as an 18-Year-Old (Isles history)
1. Tim Connolly 81 (14-20-34)
2. Mathew Schaefer 36 (9-15-24)
Home for the Holidays
The Isles are in a stretch where they play 13 of 17 games at UBS Arena through December 27th. They are 7-6-2 so far in this stretch (6-4-1 at home and 1-2-1 on the road).
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have nine come-from behind wins this season, including four when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win seven times this season, including three times in the third period.
Overtime Is Our Time
The Isles are 3-0 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 3-4 in shootouts.
The Sixth Attacker
The Isles have scored six goals with the 6th attacker (most in NHL) and allowed 7 empty net goals.
Opponents have scored five goals with 6th attacker and allowed five 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 19 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 8 times
• Allowed the next goal: 8 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 3 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2025-26 19-13-4 for 42 points in 36 games
• 2024-25 14-15-7 for 35 points in 36 games; they reached 42/43 points in their 45th game.
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-1-1
• Season: 14-53-67
• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161
Rookie Scoring
• Today: 0-1-1
• Season: 17-28-45
• Last Season (Final) 19-30-49
The 17 rookie goals are tied for the most in the NHL while the 45 points trail only Chicago.
Home and Road
The Isles are 19-13-4 overall; they are 10-7-2 at home and 9-6-2 on the road.
Buffalo is 16-14-4 overall; they are 11-5-2 at home and 5-9-2 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 10-8-4 against the East (4-4-2 vs. Metropolitan and 6-4-2 vs. Atlantic) and 9-5-0 against the West (3-4-0 vs. Central and 6-1-0 vs. Pacific).
First Things First
The Isles are 14-4-2 when scoring first and 5-9-2 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 7-15-7-5=34
Buffalo 12-10-7-3=32
The Isles are 4-9-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-1 when the shots are even and 13-4-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
David Rittich made 30 saves; he is 7-3-2 this season and 4-2-2 vs. Buffalo.
Alex Lyon made 32 saves; he is 8-6-3 this season and 4-1-0 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 1-3 (3:15); Buffalo was 1-4 (6:20).
The Isles are 11-3-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-10-2 when they do not. The Isles are 6-6-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 13-7-0 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 5-6-3 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 16-1-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-12-1 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 11-3-4 in games decided by a single goal including 5-3 in regulation. They are 3-0 in games decided in overtime and are 3-4 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-2 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 2-4-0 on the front end and 4-1-1 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be December 27-28 when they host the Rangers and visit Columbus.
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: Adam Pelech (season-high 26:25); Buffalo: Rasmus Dahlin (25:52)
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards (23:33).
Face-offs
Isles 35, Buffalo 25 (58%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 9 of 13 for the Isles; Tage Thompson won 11 of 19 for Buffalo.
Hit Count
Isles 25 (Adam Pelech and Emil Heineman -4)
Buffalo 18 (Two with 3)
Fights
None. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, MacLean, Lee, DeAngelo)
Blocked Shots
Isles 8 (Casey Cizikas -2)
Buffalo 11 (Michael Kesselring -3)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 65, Buffalo 57
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 53, Buffalo 40
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Scott Mayfield +13
Buffalo: Josh Norris +6
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 15, Buffalo 16
5-on-5: Isles 11, Buffalo 9
Scratches
(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Ethan Bear-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), (Bo Horvat -INJ), Adam Boqvist, Max Shabonov
Games Lost to injury: 168. (Last season's total: 304)
The Ironmen
Casey Cizikas is the Islanders' ironman, having played 144 consecutive games. Anders Lee (118) 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 (6): 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
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
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 933 *** 5. Brock Nelson 901 *** 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 7. Anders Lee 877 …
20. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 21. Garry Howatt 596 *** 22. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 596 *** 24. John Tonelli 594 *** 25. Scott Mayfield 569 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 565
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Anders Lee 298 …
19. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 20. Mathew Barzal 144…
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 347…
18. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 19. Anders Lee 232…
24. Ed Westfall 181 *** 25 Noah Dobson 180 *** 26. Ryan Pulock 176…
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…
12. Bob Bourne 542 *** 13. Anders Lee 530
14. Derek King 499 *** 15. Mathew Barzal 491
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 +62 *** 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 and Vladimir Malakhov 27
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742*** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249 ***
5. Noah Dobson 180 *** 6. Ryan Pulock 176 …
9. Jeff Norton 166 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 138…
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 and Ryan Pulock 230…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 165…
16. Johnny Boychuk and Bryan Berard 131 *** 18. Scott Mayfield 129
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 heads into the holiday break following a 4-1 loss in Hershey on Saturday. Henrik Tikkanen made 24 saves and Joey Larson had Bridgeport's only goal on a late power play.
Bridgeport will host Hartford next Saturday, December 27th before visiting Springfield December 28th. Those are the two teams who are competing with the Islanders right now for the last playoff spot
Leaders: Goals: Joey Larson- 11 (one of six AHL rookies with at least 11); Assists: Matthew Maggio-15; Points: Maggio 19.
Goalies: Marcus Hogberg 5-7-2, 3.08, .881; Henrik Tikkanen 4-2-0, 2.76, .891
Season Series Stats
Buffalo leads the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 1). The teams will play again on January 24th at UBS Arena and March 31st in Buffalo.
The Isles are 1-5-3 in their last nine games in Buffalo.
UP NEXT
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23rd — NEW JERSEY AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[MSGSN (pre-game at 6:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles return home to host New Jersey in the second meeting of the teams this season.
The Isles won the first game on November 10th at Prudential Center on a Mathew Barzal overtime goal.
This has been a road series over the few meetings; the Isles are 3-2-2 against the Devils at UBS Arena but are 0-1-2 in the last three meetings; the Isles have won four straight games and six of seven in Newark.
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
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