"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 52
Isles 4, Philadelphia 0
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored twice, and Ilya Sorokin made 21 saves for his league-leading 6th shutout as the Islanders got back on the winning track with a 4-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, before a crowd of 17,942 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The Isles are 15-9-2 in their last 26 games and increased their lead over the Flyers and Capitals to four points.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (9) Casey Cizikas (8), Adam Pelech (5) 14:29 NYI 1,PHI 0 SHG
2nd Period
Mathew Barzal (12) Isaiah George (1), Anthony Duclair (12) 05:41 NYI 2,PHI 0
Tony DeAngelo (4) Mathew Barzal (31), Anthony Duclair (13) 12:50 NYI 3,PHI 0 PPG
3rd Period
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (10) Maxim Tsyplakov (1), Anders Lee (18) 13:38 NYI 4,PHI 0
The Skinny
The Isles went 1-3 on the power play, scored a shorthanded goal and killed all three Philadelphia power plays; the Isles are 4-23 on the power play in the last eleven games and have killed 42-49 over the last eighteen games, including 15-16 over the last six…Ilya Sorokin is the fifth goalie to shut out the Flyers five times; the other four are either in the Hockey Hall of Fame or will be (Martin Brodeur-12, Andrei Vasilevskiy-6, Rogie Vachon and Jacques Plante -5)…Sorokin has now blanked the Flyers in four straight seasons...Sorokin needed only 21 saves for his 6th shutout of the season; he averaged 34.6 saves in his first five shutouts this season…Tony DeAngelo matched a career high with seven shots on goal….The Isles are now tied for the NHL lead with seven shorthanded goals, six of which were scored on the road…JG Pageau extended his lead for 2nd place among active players with his 24th shorty; Brad Marchand has 36….Pageau also cracked the Top 10 among Islanders with 11 career shorties, joining Michael Grabner, Claude Lapointe and Cal Clutterbuck in a tie for 10th…The win snapped a two-game losing streak; the Isles have not lost three straight in regulation since opening the season 0-3-0…Max Tsyplakov earned his first assist of the season; his only previous point this season, a goal, was scored in Philadelphia on October 25th…Isaiah George is the 10th Islander defenseman to record a point this season…There have been 17 shutouts in the NHL this month; Sorokin has three and fourteen others have one.…Since trailing the Flyers 3-0 on November 28th, the Isles have outscored Philadelphia 7-0 in the last 103:05.
The Standings
The Isles remain in 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division, two points behind Pittsburgh and having played one more game; they are four points ahead of Philadelphia and Washington.
Milestone Men
• Mathew Barzal recorded his 359th assist and tied Clark Gillies for 5th place in club history.
• Barzal passed Mariusz Czerkawski for 19th in club history with 146 goals; he is one goal behind Pierre Turgeon for 18th.
• Adam Pelech passed Mark Streit for 10th on the club's defenseman assist list with 140 assists.
• Matthew Schaefer remains tied with Tim Connolly for points by an 18-year-old (34).
• Ryan Pulock remains tied with Noah Dobson for 5th on the club's defenseman assist list with 180 assists.
Return to Form
Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 15-8-1 (NHL-best .929 save percentage, and a 2.05 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 (28/284) 9.86%
Big Save Dave
David Rittich is 11-6-3 on the season. In his last sixteen games (8-5-3), he has stopped 364 of 401 shots for a 2.30 GAA and a .908 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
It is the third time the Isles have had at least eight shutouts in the first 52 games (10 in 2020-2021 and 8 in 1975-76).
Schaefer and Penalties
Matthew Schaefer has drawn 27 penalties this season, more than any other NHL defenseman, and tied for third in the NHL. He is a net +14 (having taken only 13 penalties).
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 27
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 27
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 40 straight games; it is the longest streak in NHL history by an 18-year-old and tied for the second-longest by a teenager (Tyler Myers -47, Justin Fault -40) 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 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 (13-21-34 in 49 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 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 21
Only seven Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have recorded at least 19 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 34
Only seven Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have recorded at least 32 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 114 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 52 (13-21-34)
Most Goals by an Islander Rookie Defenseman
1. Denis Potvin 17 (1973-74)
2. Vladimir Malakhov 14 (1992-93)
3. Matthew Schaefer 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 Schaefer 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 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 24 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 10 times
• Allowed the next goal: 10 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 4 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2025-26 28-19-5 for 61 points in 52 games
• 2024-25 24-21-7 for 55 points in 52 games; they reached 61 points in their 59th game.
Offense from Defense
• Today: 1-2-3
• Season: 24-75-99
• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161
Rookie Scoring
• Today: 0-0-0
• Season: 25-43-68
• 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 68 points are 3rd. Islander rookies have scored 17.1% of the team's goals, which is the highest percentage in the NHL.
Home and Road
The Isles are 28-19-5 overall; they are 14-9-2 at home and 14-10-3 on the road.
Philadelphia is 24-18-9 overall; they are 12-9-5 at home and 12-9-4 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 15-10-4 against the East (8-5-2 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 20-5-3 when scoring first and 8-14-2 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 7-7-9=23
Philadelphia 7-8-6=21
The Isles are 8-13-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-1 when the shots are even and 19-5-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 21 saves; he is 17-12-2 this season and 12-3-3 (with five shutouts) vs. Philadelphia.
Samuel Ersson made 19 saves; he is 8-9-5 this season and 5-1-0 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 1-3 (5:41); Philadelphia was 0-3 (6:00).
The Isles are 15-5-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 13-14-3 when they do not. The Isles are 8-9-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 20-10-1 when they do not.
The Isles are 14-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 3-8-2 when they are outscored, and 11-10-3 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 a Magic Number
The Isles are 22-2-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 6-17-2 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 17-4-5 in games decided by a single goal including 8-4 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: Adam Pelech (24:09); Philadelphia: Travis Sanheim (22:39)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (19:17).
Face-offs
Isles 33, Philadelphia 24 (58%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 10 of 13 for the Isles; no Flyer who took multiple draws won more than he lost.
Hit Count
Isles 15 (Kyle MacLean and March Gatcomb -3)
Philadelphia 21 (Owen Tippett -5)
Fights
None. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, MacLean, Lee, DeAngelo)
Blocked Shots
Isles 11 (Tony DeAngelo -3)
Philadelphia 10 (Cam York -3)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 39, Philadelphia 43
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 29, Philadelphia 30
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Tony DeAngelo +10
Philadelphia: Three with +4
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 8, Philadelphia 8
5-on-5: Isles 4, Philadelphia 5
Scratches
(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), (Ryan Pulock -INJ), (Simon Holmstrom – sick), (Cal Ritchie -INJ)
Games Lost to injury: 254. (Last season's total: 304)
The Ironmen
Casey Cizikas is the Islanders' ironman, having played 160 consecutive games. Anders Lee (134) is the only other Isle to have also played every game since the start of last season.
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
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 949 *** 5. Brock Nelson 901 *** 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 7. Anders Lee 893…
17. Billy Harris 623 *** 18. Stefan Persson 622 *** 19. Adam Pelech 612 *** 20. Ryan Pulock 610 *** 21. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 22. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 23. Garry Howatt 596 *** 24. John Tonelli 594 *** 25. Scott Mayfield 585 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 581
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 147 ***19. Mathew Barzal 146…
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 505…
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 +84 *** 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 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 140…
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 235…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 168…
14. Dave Lewis 141 *** 15. Tom Kurvers 134 *** 16. Scott Mayfield 132
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 283…
8. Jaroslav Halak 177*** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 142 …
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 earned a key point on Sunday, pushing first place Providence to a shootout before falling 4-3; the Islanders are 17-18-2-2 on the season and hold a one-point lead for the final playoff spot.
Bridgeport is off until Friday when they visit Harford.
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
Philadelphia leads the season series, 2 games to 1 (each team has earned four points). The final meeting of the season will be at UBS Arena on April 3rd.
Over the past eight seasons, the Isles are 10-2-4 in Philadelphia, including 1-0-1 this season.
UP NEXT
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28th —RANGERS AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 6:30); WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles open a home-and-home back-to-back with the Rangers at UBS Arena on Wednesday. It will be the 300th all-time meeting between the clubs and the first time they have met on consecutive nights since December 2-3, 2010.
After being swept by the Blueshirts last season, the Isles have blanked the Rangers twice this season, 5-0 at MSG and 2-0 UBS Arena, with Ilya Sorokin and David Rittich each earning a shutout.
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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