"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 47
Isles 1, Edmonton 0
Ilya Sorokin made 35 saves for his NHL-leading 5th shutout, and Anthony Duclair converted the only Islander power play for the only goal of the game as the Isles completed a season sweep of the Edmonton Oilers and earned only their 5th win in Northern Alberta in the last four decades with a 1-0 victory before a crowd of 18,144 at Rogers Place.
The shutout stopped Connor McDavid's point streak at an NHL-leading, and career-long 20 games.
The Isles are 13-6-2 in their last 21 games and 22-11-4 in their last 37 games as they improve to 4-1-1 in their last six games; they are 2-1-1 on this seven-game road trip, which continues on Saturday afternoon in Calgary.
The Scoring:
1st Period
No Goals
2nd Period
No Goals
3rd Period
Anthony Duclair (9) Calum Ritchie (5), Mathew Barzal (27) 13:42 NYI 1,EDM 0 PPG
The Skinny
The Isles are 24-13-5 since they opened 0-3-0 …The Isles went 1-1 on the power play and killed both Oiler power plays; the Isles are 1-8 on the power play in the last six games and have killed 28-35 over the last thirteen games… The Isles are an NHL-best 11-1-3 when tied after two periods …Anthony Duclair has five goals in the last five games, after scoring four times in his first 39 games…The Oilers have been shutout twice this season, both by 1-0 scores; the games sandwiched Connor McDavid's 20-game point streak…It is the second time Ilya Sorokin shut out the Oilers, blanking them on 49 saves on Thanksgiving Eve 2022 at UBS Arena…Sorokin now has four shutouts by a 1-0 score (April 18, 2021, at Philadelphia; October 17, 2023, vs Arizona; April 13, 2025 at New Jersey)…The Isles have now scored 12 go-ahead goals in the third period this season, which is tied for the NHL lead with three other teams…An apparent Edmonton goal early in the third period was reversed on video review; an Oiler challenge also erased a third period delay of game penalty.
The Standings
The Isles remain in 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division, as they climb within three points of Carolina; they now lead both Pittsburgh and Washington by three points.
Milestone Men
• Mathew Barzal's assist was his 500th point, passing Derek King for 14th place in Isles history.
• Ilya Sorokin played his 281st game, just one behind Chico Resch for 3rd place on club's all-time goaltender list.
• Sorokin extended his club record with his 27th career shutout.
• Sorokin is the first goalie in club history with three seasons of at least five shutouts.
• Ryan Pulock remains tied with Noah Dobson for 5th on the club's defenseman assist list with 180 assists.
• Anders Lee still needs one goal to become the fifth Islander with 300 goals.
• Barzal remains tied with Mariusz Czerkawski for 19th in club history with 145 goals.
• Adam Pelech still has 139 assists, tied with Mark Streit for 10th on the club's defenseman assist list.
First Times in a Long Time
• The Isles earn a shutout in Edmonton for the first time since Game 1 of the 1983 Stanley Cup Final; their only other regular season shutout in Edmonton was on March 12, 1981. (Both by Billy Smith)
• The Isles win a road game 1-0 with the only goal coming on the power play for the first time since October 17, 1998, in St. Louis; they also won at UBS that way on October 17, 2023 (vs. Arizona), and in Buffalo on February 4, 1990.
• It is the 28th 1-0 shutout in club history, including three that ended 0-0 and the Isles won in a shootout.
Road Warriors
This is the second seven-game road trip for the Isles this season; they are 2-1-1 so far:
8-Jan-26 @ NASH 1-2 Lso
10-Jan-26 @ MINN 4-3 Wot
13-Jan-26 @ WINN 4-5 L
15-Jan-26 @ EDM 1-0 W
17-Jan-26 @ CGY 3pm
19-Jan-26 @ VAN 10pm
21-Jan-26 @ SEA 9:30pm
(All times Eastern)
Return to Form
Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 13-7-1 (.930 and 2.05) since October 31st with five shutouts.
Sorokin extended his club record by winning his 12th straight game when facing at least thirty shots; he also extended his club record with his 27th career shutout.
Big Save Dave
David Rittich is 11-5-3 on the season. In his last fourteen games (8-3-3), he has stopped 333 of 362 shots for a 2.04 GAA and a .920 save percentage. He had started eight of the last twelve games (4-2-2, 2.12, .917).
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).
Schaefer and Penalties
Matthew Schaefer has drawn 26 penalties this season, more than any other NHL defenseman, and tied for third in the NHL. He is a net +14 (having taken only 12 penalties), which is also tied-3rd in the NHL.
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 26
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 26
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 35 straight games; it is the longest streak in NHL history by an 18-year-old, and the fourth-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. Bobby Orr (BOS) 13 (1966-67) and Matthew Schaefer 13 (2025-26)
(Housley had 19 goals as a rookie, but the final two occurred after his 19th birthday)
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 13
2. Bryan Berard 7
Only seven Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have scored at least ten goals, led by Bryan Trottier's 32 and Pat LaFontaine's 26. David Chyzowski (13) is now tied with Schaefer.
Most Assists by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Bryan Berard 32
2. Matthew Schaefer 17
Only eight Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have recorded at least 17 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 30
Only seven Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have recorded at least 30 points, led by Bryan Trottier's 95 and Tim Connolly's 75. Bryan Berard (39) is the one now above Schaefer.
Schaefer will still be a Teenager for the next 119 Isles games.
Most Games, Goals, Assists and Points as an 18-Year-Old (Isles history)
1. Tim Connolly 81 (14-20-34)
2. Mathew Schaefer 47 (13-17-30)
Most Goals by an Islander Rookie Defenseman
1. Denis Potvin 17 (1973-74)
2. Vladimir Malakhov 14 (1992-93)
3. Matthew Schafer 13 (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) and Torey Krug-BOS 14 (2013-14)
5. Matthew Schafer 13 (2025-26) and Tom Gilbert- EDM (2007-08)
The NHL record is 23, held by Brian Leetch-NYR (1988-89)
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have twelve come-from behind wins this season, including five when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win nine times this season, including four times 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 seven 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, 2023-24 and 2025-26 7
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 22 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 9 times
• Allowed the next goal: 9 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 4 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2025-26 26-16-5 for 57 points in 47 games
• 2024-25 20-20-7 for 47 points in 47 games; they reached 57 points in their 53rd game.
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-0-0
• Season: 21-68-89
• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161
Rookie Scoring
• Today: 0-1-1
• Season: 25-36-61
• Last Season (Final) 19-30-49
• This season's totals are the most since 2017-18 (38-101-139)
The 25 rookie goals trail only Montreal (28) for the most in the NHL while the 61 points are 3rd. Islander rookies have scored 18.5% of the team's goals, which is the most in the NHL.
Home and Road
The Isles are 26-16-5 overall; they are 14-8-2 at home and 12-8-3 on the road.
Edmonton is 23-17-8 overall; they are 11-6-4 at home and 12-11-4 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 14-9-4 against the East (7-5-2 vs. Metropolitan and 7-4-2 vs. Atlantic) and 12-7-1 against the West (5-6-1 vs. Central and 7-1-0 vs. Pacific).
First Things First
The Isles are 19-4-3 when scoring first and 7-12-2 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 12-4-2=18
Edmonton 12-13-10=35
The Isles are 6-11-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-1 when the shots are even and 19-5-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 35 saves; he is 15-11-2 this season and 4-3-2 vs. Edmonton.
Connor Ingram made 17 saves; he is 4-3-1 this season and 1-3-0 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 1-1 (1:42); Edmonton was 0-2 (4:00).
The Isles are 13-4-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 13-12-3 when they do not. The Isles are 8-8-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 18-8-1 when they do not.
The Isles are 12-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 3-8-2 when they are outscored, and 11-7-3 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 (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles are 20-2-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 6-14-2 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 16-4-5 in games decided by a single goal including 7-4 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
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 (26:35); Edmonton: Evan Bouchard (26:03)
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards (20:52).
Face-offs
Isles 22, Edmonton 24 (48%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 9 of 12 for the Isles; Connor McDavid won 6 of 10 for Edmonton.
Hit Count
Isles 15 (Emil Heineman -4)
Edmonton 16 (Four with 2)
Fights
None. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, MacLean, Lee, DeAngelo)
Blocked Shots
Isles 16 (Adam Boqvist -3)
Edmonton 8 (Mattias Ekholm -3)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 43, Edmonton 74
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 36, Edmonton 64
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Casey Cizikas +2
Edmonton: Connor McDavid and Jack Roslovic +15
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 10, Edmonton 19
5-on-5: Isles 9, Edmonton 17
Scratches
(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), (Bo Horvat -INJ), Cole McWard, Max Tsyplakov
Games Lost to injury: 227. (Last season's total: 304)
The Ironmen
Casey Cizikas is the Islanders' ironman, having played 155 consecutive games. Anders Lee (129) is the only other Isle to have also played every game since the start of last season.
National TV Games
The Isles are 3-1-1 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners. Their next appearance will be on TNT on January 21st in Seattle.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 2-4-2 in matinee games this season; the next matinee will be at 3:00pm ET on January 17th in Calgary. 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 17-21-14 in matinees.
Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 2 failures (No goalie interference – VEG 11/14), (No goalie interference – WPG 1/13)
Opponents: 1 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)
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
Vs (5): BOS 10/28, COL 11/16, PHI 11/28, TB 11/30, WPG 1/13
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 (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 944 *** 5. Brock Nelson 901 *** 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 7. Anders Lee 888…
17. Billy Harris 623 *** 18. Stefan Persson 622 *** 19. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 607 *** 21. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 22. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 23. Garry Howatt 596 *** 24. John Tonelli 594 *** 25. Scott Mayfield 580 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 576
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Anders Lee 299 …
17. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 18. Pierre Tugeon 147 ***19. Mariusz Czerkawski and Mathew Barzal 145…
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 359 *** 6. Mathew Barzal 355…
18. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 19. Anders Lee 234…
23. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 24. Ed Westfall 181 *** 25 Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock 180…
32. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 33. Casey Cizikas 155
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 533 ***
13. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 14. Mathew Barzal 500…
27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 275
+/-
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 +66 *** 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…
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. Mark Streit and Adam Pelech 139…
15. Tom Kurvers and Gerry Hart 108 *** 17. Scott Mayfield 103
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333 ***
4. Nick Leddy 243 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 234…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 167…
14. Dave Lewis 141 *** 15. Tom Kurvers 134 *** 16. Scott Mayfield 132
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 ***
4. Ilya Sorokin 281 …
8. Jaroslav Halak 177*** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 140 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Ilya Sorokin 27 *** 2. Glenn Resch 25 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
Bridgeport is 14-17-2-1 on the season heading into Friday's game in Lehigh Valley.
The Islanders are one point behind Springfield for the final playoff spot but do have two games in hand.
Leaders: Goals: Joey Larson- 12 (one of six AHL rookies with at least 12); Assists: Alex Jefferies 17; Points: Jefferies 24.
Goalies: Marcus Hogberg 6-9-2, 3.02, .887; Henrik Tikkanen 6-3-1, 2.56, .903
Season Series Stats
The Isles sweep the season series, 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 0).
This is only the 5th Isles win in Edmonton in 35 games played here since they surrendered the Stanley Cup. This was their first victory Edmonton since March 7, 2017, in their first game at Rogers Place, since they had gone 0-3-3 in their last six visits.
UP NEXT
SATURDAY, JANUARY 17th —ISLANDERS AT CALGARY 3:00PM
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 2:30); WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The fifth game of this seven-game road trip will be in Calgary as the Isles will be the lone US team featured on Hockey Day In Canada.
It is the first meeting of the season between the teams; the Isles are 2-2-2 in the last three seasons against the Flames. Last season the Flames won in a shootout in Alberta and in overtime, on a Nazem Kadri goal, on Long Island.
This is expected to be the Isles' penultimate visit to the Scotiabank Saddledome, as the Flames' new arena is scheduled to open in the fall of 2027.
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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