"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 54
Isles 2, Rangers 1
Carson Soucy and Matthew Schaefer scored goals 95 seconds apart and Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves as the Isles completed a season sweep of the Rangers with a 2-1 victory before a sellout crowd of 18,006 at Madison Square Garden.
The Isles won all four meetings from the Blueshirts this season, outscoring them 14-3, and never trailing in any game.
The Isles, who won for the third time in four days, are 17-9-2 in their last 28 games as they remain tied with the Penguins in points and lead the Capitals by six points.
The Scoring:
1st Period
No Goals
2nd Period
Carson Soucy (4) Max Shabanov (12), Scott Mayfield (7) 17:18 NYI 1,NYR 0
Matthew Schaefer (14) Bo Horvat (14)18:53 NYI 2,NYR 0
3rd Period
Mika Zibanejad (23) Vladislav Gavrikov (11), J.T. Miller (21) 02:48 NYI 2,NYR 1 PPG
The Skinny
The Isles went 0-3 on the power play and killed two of three Ranger power plays; the Isles are 6-27 on the power play in the last seven games and have killed 45-54 over the last 20 games, including 18-21 over the last eight… The Isles outscored the Rangers 14-3 in the season series, allowing only one even-strength goal; the Rangers never tied a game once the Isles scored the game's first goal… The Isles have allowed only 79 shots in their last four games…Artemi Panarin was held out of the game by the Rangers…Carson Soucy played 14:39 and Ondrej Palat played 14:43 in their second games with the Islanders… Ilya Sorokin goes 2-0-0 this season, allowing just one goal, with both games at Madison Square Garden. …Mika Zibanejad scored his 273rd goal, passing Andy Bathgate for fifth in club history…The Isles improve to 16-2-1 when leading after two periods… The Isles are now a season -high 11 games over NHL-.500; they finished the 2023-24 season 12 games over NHL-.500 (39-27-16) and have not reached that mark since…The Isles reached 30 wins in just 54 games (fewest since they went 30-15-5 to open the 2021 season); it is the first time since 2015-16 and only the 6th time in franchise history that they earned their 30th win before the end of January.
First Times in a Long Time
• It is the first time since October 19-20, 2005, that the Isles defeated the Rangers on consecutive days, and the first time since November 21-22, 1981, that they did so in regulation.
• Matthew Schaefer is the first 18-year-old Islander to score against the Rangers since David Chyzokwski scored on John Vanbiesbrouck in 1989.
• The Isles improve to 137 games over all-time NHL-.500 for the first time since October 20, 1995.
The Standings
The Isles remain tied with Pittsburgh for 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division in points, although they have played two more games; they are six points ahead of Washington.
Milestone Men
• Matthew Schaefer tied Tim Connolly for the club record in goals by an 18-year-old (14).
• Mathew Barzal remained tied with Clark Gillies for 5th place in club history with 359 assists.
• Barzal remains tied with Pierre Turgeon for 18th in club history with 147 goals.
• Ryan Pulock remains tied with Noah Dobson for 5th on the club's defenseman assist list with 180 assists.
Schaeferisms
• Matthew Schaefer's goal was his 14th, tying Vladimir Malakhov for 2nd on the club list by a rookie defenseman, and passing Bobby Orr for 2nd place in NHL history by an 18-year-old defenseman
• Schaefer also tied Rasmus Dahlin for most game-winners (4) by an 18-year-old defenseman and moved within one game-winner of the NHL record for any 18-year-old, shared by Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby , Patrick Laine, and Nathan MacKinnon.
• With four game-winners, Schaefer is now tied for second place on the all-time Isles list for game-winners by a defenseman in a season. Denis Potvin had six in 1977-78 and also finished with four game-winners in six other seasons. Noah Dobson is the only other Isles defenseman with multiple seasons of four game-winning goals.
• Schaefer's goal on Jonathan Quick marked the largest age gap between scorer and goalie in this rivalry. The previous mark was set when Michael DelZotto (19) scored for the Rangers against Dwayne Roloson (40); Quick turned 40 earlier this month.
Return to Form
Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 16-8-1 (NHL-best .930 save percentage, and a 2.01 goals-against average) with an NHL-leading six shutouts since then.
Sorokin is 13-0-0 when facing more than 30 shots; he holds the club record for consecutive wins when facing more than 30 shots.
The Shutout Leader
Sorokin not only leads the NHL in shutouts this season; his 28 career shutouts are the most by an NHL goalie since Sorokin debuted in 2020-21; Connor Hellebuyck has 25 and Igor Shesterkin has 22 in that span.
Sorokin now has three seasons of at least six shutouts; he is the only goalie in club history with more than one such season (Varlamov, Resch, Halak, and Lehner each did it once.) Hellebuyck, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Sergei Bobrovsky are the only other actives with three seasons.
Shutouts in Highest Percentage of Games Played (minimum 25 shutouts)
1. Roman Cechmanek (25/212) 11.8%
2. Ken Dryden (46/397) 11.6%
3. Dominik Hasek (81/735) 11.0%
4. Martin Brodeur (125/1266) 9.87%
5. Ilya Sorokin (28/285) 9.82%
Big Save Dave
David Rittich is 12-7-3 on the season. In his last seventeen games (9-5-3), he has stopped 378 of 417 shots for a 2.29 GAA and a .906 save percentage.
Islander goalies other than Sorokin won only five games last season (tying a franchise record for fewest by the non-winningest goalies on the team).
Most Islander Shutouts in a Season
• 11 2018-19
• 10 2020-21 and 1975-76
• 9 2021-22
• 8 2025-26, 2022-23 and 1997-98
Schaefer and Penalties
Matthew Schaefer has drawn 28 penalties this season, more than any other NHL defenseman, for third in the NHL (behind Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini). He is a net +15 (having taken only 13 penalties), which is tied-2nd behind McDavid (22).
Since penalties drawn was tracked in 2009-10, no Isle defenseman has finished a season higher than +11 (Noah Dobson 2021-22), John Tavares holds the club record for a season at +29 in 2011-12, while Mathew Barzal +26 in 2017-18 is the only other Islander to finish higher than +15. Cale Makar is the only NHL defenseman to finish higher than +16 (Makar was +19 in 2024-25 and +17 in 2023-24).
Most Penalties Drawn by an Islander Defenseman (Season, Since 2009-10)
1. Matthew Schaefer 2025-26 28
2. Matt Carkner 2013-14 23
3. Thomas Hickey 2016-17 22
Most Penalties Drawn by an Islander Rookie (Season, Since 2009-10)
1. Mathew Barzal 2017-18 40
2. Matthew Schaefer 2025-26 28
3. Matt Martin 2010-11 25
[Travis Hamonic (17 in 2010-11) is the only other Islander rookie defenseman to draw more than 10.)
Most Ice Time by an Islander Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 28:53 11/28/2025 vs PHI (SO)
Matthew Schaefer 28:53 1/8/2026 vs NAS (SO)
3. Matthew Schaefer 28:12 12/9/2025 vs VEG
4. Matthew Schaefer 27:41 1/10/2026 vs NAS (OT)
5. Matthew Schaefer 27:40 10/25/2025 at PHI (SO)
6. Matthew Schaefer 27:30 11/22/2025 vs. STL
7. Matthew Schaefer 27:23 11/23/2025 vs. SEA (SO)
8. 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)
Matthew Schaefer 28:53 1/8/2026 vs NAS (SO)
Schaefer has played at least 27 minutes eight times and at least 26 minutes thirteen times. He is the first 18-year-old to do either of these things since ice time became official.
Schaefer has played at least 20:00 in 42 straight games; it is the longest streak in NHL history by an 18-year-old and the second-longest by a teenager (Tyler Myers -47) since ice-time became official.
Most Goals by an 18-Year-Old Defenseman
1. Phil Housley (BUF) 17 (1982-83)
2. Matthew Schaefer 14 (2025-26)
(Housley had 19 goals as a rookie, but the final two occurred after his 19th birthday)
Most Points by an 18-Year-Old Defenseman
1. Phil Housley (BUF) (17-40—57 in 66 GP) 1982-83
2. Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) (9-35—44 in 82 GP) 2018-19
3. Bobby Orr (BOS) (13-25—38 in 56 GP) 1966-67
4. Matthew Schaefer (14-22-36 in 54 GP)
Most Power Play Goals by an 18-Year-Old Defenseman
1. Phil Housley (BUF) 10 (1982-83)
2. Matthew Schaefer 6 (2025-26)
3. Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) 5 (2018-19)
Most Goals by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Matthew Schaefer 14
2. Bryan Berard 7
Only six Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have scored at least fourteen goals, led by Bryan Trottier's 32 and Pat LaFontaine's 26. Brent Sutter (23) is the one now above Schaefer.
Most Assists by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Bryan Berard 32
2. Matthew Schaefer 22
Only seven Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have recorded at least 22 assists, led by Bryan Trottier's 63 and Tim Connolly's 51. Brent Sutter (24) is the one now above Schaefer.
Most Points by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Bryan Berard 39
2. Matthew Schaefer 36
Only seven Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have recorded at least 36 points, led by Bryan Trottier's 95 and Tim Connolly's 75. Bryan Berard (39) is the one now above Schaefer.
Most Game-Winning Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 5
2. Matthew Schaefer 4
Schaefer will still be a Teenager for the next 112 Isles games.
Most Games, Goals, Assists and Points as an 18-Year-Old (Isles history)
Matthew Schafer now holds the club record for assists (22) and points (36). He is tied with Tim Connolly for the goal record (14); Connolly played 81 games as a rookie – the only 18-year-old to play more games than Schaefer.
Most Goals by an Islander Rookie Defenseman
1. Denis Potvin 17 (1973-74)
2. Vladimir Malakhov 14 (1992-93) and Matthew Schaefer 14 (2025-26)
Most Points by an Islander Rookie Defenseman
1. Stefan Persson 56 (1977-78)
2. Denis Potvin 54 (1973-74)
3. Vladimir Malakhov 52 (1992-93)
4. Bryan Berard 48 (1996-97)
5. Matthew Schaefer 36 (2025-26)
Most Goals by an NHL Rookie Defenseman (Last 30 seasons)
1. Dion Phaneuf – CGY 20 (2005-06)
2. Shayne Gostisbehere - PHI 17 (2015-16)
3. PK Subban -MTL 14 (2010-11), Torey Krug-BOS 14 (2013-14) and Matthew Schaefer 14 (2025-26)
The NHL record is 23, held by Brian Leetch-NYR (1988-89)
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have thirteen come-from behind wins this season, including five when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win ten times this season, including four times in the third period.
The Isles have two multi-goal comeback wins (none in the third period); opponents also have two (none in the third period).
Overtime Is Our Time
The Isles are 5-0 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 4-5 in shootouts.
The Sixth Attacker
The Isles have scored eight goals with the 6th attacker (most in NHL) and allowed nine empty net goals.
Opponents have scored six 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. 2025-26 8
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 28 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 12 times
• Allowed the next goal: 12 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 4 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2025-26 30-19-5 for 65 points in 54 games
• 2024-25 25-22-7 for 57 points in 54 games; they reached 65 points in their 62nd game, which was their first game after trading Brock Nelson.
Offense from Defense
• Today: 2-1-3
• Season: 26-79-105
• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161
Rookie Scoring
• Today: 1-1-2
• Season: 26-45-71
• Last Season (Final) 19-30-49
• This season's totals are the most since 2017-18 (38-101-139)
The 26 rookie goals trail only Montreal (28) for the most in the NHL while the 71 points are 3rd. Islander rookies have scored 17.0% of the team's goals, which is the highest percentage in the NHL.
Home and Road
The Isles are 30-19-5 overall; they are 15-9-2 at home and 15-10-3 on the road.
The Rangers are 22-27-6 overall; they are 6-14-4 at home and 16-12-2 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 17-10-4 against the East (10-5-2 vs. Metropolitan and 7-5-2 vs. Atlantic) and 13-9-1 against the West (5-6-1 vs. Central and 8-3-0 vs. Pacific).
First Things First
The Isles are 22-5-3 when scoring first and 8-14-2 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 6-5-10=21
Rangers 6-8-7=21
The Isles are 9-13-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 2-1-1 when the shots are even and 19-5-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves; he is 18-12-2 this season and 5-6-0 vs. the Rangers.
Jonathan Quick made 19 saves; he is 4-12-2 this season and 7-5-2- vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-3 (4:19); the Rangers were 1-3 (5:22).
The Isles are 16-5-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 14-14-3 when they do not. The Isles are 10-9-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 20-10-1 when they do not.
The Isles are 15-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 3-8-2 when they are outscored, and 12-10-3 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 (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles are 23-2-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 7-17-2 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 18-4-5 in games decided by a single goal including 9-4 in regulation. They are 5-0 in games decided in overtime and are 4-5 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
Including tonight, the Isles are 4-4-0 on the front end and 5-2-1 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be February 2-3 when they visit Washington and host Pittsburgh.
The Isles are 5-3-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 3-1-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Matthew Schaefer (23:25); Rangers: Vladislav Gavrikov (26:55)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (19:55).
Face-offs
Isles 21, Rangers 35 (38%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 10 of 13 for the Isles; JT Miller won 12 of 15 for the Rangers.
Hit Count
Isles 16 (Marc Garcomb -5)
Rangers 31 (Will Cuylle -6)
Fights
None. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, MacLean, Lee, DeAngelo)
Blocked Shots
Isles 17 (Adam Pelech-5)
Rangers 10 (Two with 2)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 47, Rangers 49
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 44, Rangers 41
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Three with +7
Rangers: Braden Schneider +9
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 4, Rangers 7
5-on-5: Isles 3, Rangers 7
Scratches
(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), (Cal Ritchie -INJ), Adam Boqvist, (Casey Cizikas- INJ)
Games Lost to injury: 265. (Last season's total: 304)
The Ironmen
Casey Cizikas missed the game, ending his ironman streak at 161 games. Anders Lee (136) is the new Islanders' ironman.
National TV Games
The Isles are 3-2-1 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners. Their next appearance will be on TNT on February 3rd vs Pittsburgh.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 2-6-2 in matinee games this season; the remaining matinees are on March 28th vs Florida and April 11th vs Ottawa, both at 1:00pm. 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 17-23-14 in matinees.
Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 2 failures (No goalie interference – VEG 11/14), (No goalie interference – WPG 1/13)
Opponents: 2 successful, 4 failures (No hand pass – WAS 10/11), (No interference – DET 10/23), (No offside – WAS 10/31), (No interference – COL 12/4), (Puck not shot out – EDM 1/15), (Offside – VAN 1/19)
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 (3): DET 10/23, CBJ 11/2, NJ 1/6, NYR 1/28
Vs (6): BOS 10/28, COL 11/16, PHI 11/28, TB 11/30, WPG 1/13, BUF 1/24
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)
Isles responses (4): OTT 10/18, SJS 10/21, BOS 11/4, CGY 1/17
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 (8): 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); Emil Heineman GTG (17:45 1/3 TOR) – Isles won 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 (5): Mathew Barzal 11/10 @ NJ, JG Pageau 11/13 @ VEG, Matthew Schaefer 11/14 @ UTA and 1/3 Vs TOR, Simon Holmstrom 1/10 @ MIN
Vs (0):
Shootout Winners
For (4): SEA 11/23, VEG 12/9, TBL 12/13, CHI 12/30
Vs (5): PHI 10/25, BOS 11/4, PHL 11/28, BUF 12/20, NAS 1/8
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 950 *** 5. Brock Nelson 901 *** 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 7. Anders Lee 895…
17. Billy Harris 623 *** 18. Stefan Persson 622 *** 19. Adam Pelech 614 *** 20. Ryan Pulock 612 *** 21. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 22. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 23. Garry Howatt 596 *** 24. John Tonelli 594 *** 25. Scott Mayfield 587 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 583
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Anders Lee 300 …
17. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 18. Pierre Tugeon and Mathew Barzal 147…
22. Jason Blake 127 *** 23. Duane Sutter 121 *** 24. Casey Cizikas 120
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***
4. Josh Bailey 396 *** 5. Clark Gillies and Mathew Barzal 359…
18. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 19. Anders Lee 236…
23. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 24. Ed Westfall 181 *** 25 Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock 180…
32. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 33. Casey Cizikas 156
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
9. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 910. John Tonelli 544 *** 11. Bob Bourne 542 *** 12. Anders Lee 536 ***
13. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 14. Mathew Barzal 506…
27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 276
+/-
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 +68 *** 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 55…
12. Adrian Aucoin 33 *** 13. Bryan Berard 31 *** 14. Scott Mayfield and Adam Pelech 29
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742*** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249 ***
4. Nick Leddy 198 *** 5. Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock 180 …
9. Jeff Norton 166 ***10. Adam Pelech 141…
15. Tom Kurvers and Gerry Hart 108 *** 17. Scott Mayfield 104
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333 ***
4. Nick Leddy 243 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 235…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 169…
14. Dave Lewis 141 *** 15. Tom Kurvers 134 *** 16. Scott Mayfield 133
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 284…
8. Jaroslav Halak 177*** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 143 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Ilya Sorokin 28 *** 2. Glenn Resch 25 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
Bridgeport is 17-18-2-2 on the season and holds a one-point lead over Hartford for the final playoff spot; the teams will play on Friday in Hartford.
Leaders: Goals: Adam Beckman 15; Assists: Alex Jefferies 17; Points: Beckman 25.
Goalies: Marcus Hogberg 8-9-3, 2.85, .896; Henrik Tikkanen 7-4-1, 2.39, .906
Season Series Stats
The Isles sweep the season series, 4 games to 0 (and 8 points to 0). It is the third time that the Isles have won every game in the season series (also 2015-16 and 2017-18) but the first time the Rangers did not earn a single standings point.
It was also the first time that the Rangers did not lead at any time in the season series.
UP NEXT
SATURDAY, JANUARY 31st —NASHVILLE AT ISLES 7:00PM
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 6:30); WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles are in a stretch in which they are playing six of seven games against Metro foes; the one exception to that stretch is on Saturday when Nashville makes its only visit this season to UBS Arena.
The Preds defeated the Isles in a shootout three weeks ago in Smashville; this will be the first UBS Arena meeting since Ilya Sorokin became the second goalie in Islander history to be credited with a goal (3/1/2025).
The Isles are 2-0-2 in the last four meetings with the Predators, who have won the last two games in a shootout.
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
