"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 55
Nashville 4, Isles 3
Roman Josi's 200th career tally was the winning goal at 18:46 of the third period as the Nashville Predators rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits for a 4-3 victory over the Isles before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.
Mathew Barzal and Matthew Schaefer had given the Isles a 2-0 lead early in the first period, but the game changed on a mid-period Predator power play and Nashville rallied to snap the Isles' three-game winning streak.
The Isles fall to 17-10-2 in their last 29 games as they head into a stretch of three division games in four days to take them to the Olympic break.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Mathew Barzal (14) Anthony Duclair (14), Tony DeAngelo (20) 01:29 NSH 0,NYI 1
Matthew Schaefer (15) Ryan Pulock (20), Mathew Barzal (32) 05:57 NSH 0,NYI 2
Filip Forsberg (21) Roman Josi (23), Steven Stamkos (14) 09:59 NSH 1,NYI 2 PPG
Matthew Wood (9) Jonathan Marchessault (5), Tyson Jost (5) 12:53 NSH 2,NYI 2
2nd Period
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (12) Anders Lee (19), Simon Holmstrom (15) 07:21 NSH 2,NYI 3
Filip Forsberg (22) Matthew Wood (8) 14:11 NSH 3,NYI 3
3rd Period
Roman Josi (10) Adam Wilsby (9), Erik Haula (18) 18:46 NSH 4,NYI 3
The Skinny
The Isles went 0-2 on the power play and killed one of two Predator power plays; the Isles are 6-29 on the power play in the last eight games and have allowed a power play goal in three straight game, killing only 4-7 in that span… The Isles allowed only 79 shots in their prior four games but allowed 42 tonight; the Preds had 22 shots in the second period – more than the Isles allowed in any of those four games…Ilya Sorokin made a career-high 21 saves in the second period … Sorokin faced at least 40 shots for the 34th time in his career (2nd in club history to Billy Smith – 46 times); John Gibson (39) is the only goalie to face 40 shots more often than Sorokin since Sorokin debuted in the 2020-21 season… Nashville improves to 11-1-1 when leading after two periods (2-0-0 vs. the Isles) while the Isles are 11-2-3 (but 0-1-1 vs. Nashville)…Josi is the 24th defenseman with at least 200 goals and the 5th of those 24 born out of North America…Filip Forsberg now has ten goals in 22 games against the Isles (and four in seven games against Ilya Sorokin)…Steven Stamkos now has 1,229 points, tying Norm Ullman for 45th place all-time… Nashville set season highs for shots in a game (42) and period (22).
First Time in a Long Time
The Isles allowed a UBS-record 22 shots in the second period; it was the first time they had allowed at least 22 shots since January 23, 2023, in Toronto and the first time at home since Tampa Bay also had 22 on January 13, 2019, at Barclays Center.
The Standings
The Isles drop two points behind Pittsburgh for 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division (the Isles have played two more games); they are now four points ahead of Columbus and Washington.
Milestone Men
• Matthew Schaefer broke Tim Connolly's club record for goals by an 18-year-old with his 15th.
• Mathew Barzal passed Clark Gillies for 5th place in club history with 360 assists.
• Barzal also passed Pierre Turgeon for 18th in club history with 148 goals.
• Ryan Pulock passed Noah Dobson for 5th on the club's defenseman assist list with 181 assists.
Schaeferisms
• Matthew Schaefer's goal was his 15th, passing Vladimir Malakhov for 2nd on the club list by a rookie defenseman; it is the most by a rookie defenseman since Shane Gostisbehere scored 17 in 2015-16, and moved him within two goals of Phil Housley's record for an 18-year-old defenseman.
• Schaefer also set an Islander club record for goals by an 18-year-old (15), breaking a tie with Tim Connolly.
• Schaefer records the 18th season of at least fifteen goals by an Islander defenseman; Denis Potvin has twelve of them and is the only Islander defenseman to score at least eighteen goals in a season.
• Schaefer is now one point behind Bobby Orr for 3rd place in NHL history by an 18-year-old defenseman.
• Schaefer is now third among all rookies, and tied for 3rd among all defenseman, with his 15 goals.
Return to Form
Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 16-9-1 (with a tied for NHL-best .929 save percentage, and a 2.08 goals-against average) and an NHL-leading six shutouts since then.
Sorokin lost for the first time this season (13-1-0) 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) 9.9%
5. Ilya Sorokin (28/286) 9.8%
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
The Road Ahead
The Isles will play eight of their next ten games, and 11 of their next 15 games on the road, before ending the season by playing 10 of the final 12 games at home.
Sixteen of their remaining 27 games will be played in eight sets of back-to-backs.
Schaefer and Penalties
Matthew Schaefer has drawn 28 penalties this season, more than any other NHL defenseman, and fourth in the NHL (behind Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini, and Mikko Rantanen). 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)
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 43 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 15 (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 (15-22-37 in 55 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 15
2. Bryan Berard 7
Only six Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have scored at least fifteen 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 37
Only seven Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have recorded at least 37 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 111 Isles games.
Most Games, Goals, Assists and Points as an 18-Year-Old (Isles history)
Matthew Schafer now holds the club record for goals (15) assists (22) and points (37). Tim 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. Matthew Schaefer 15 (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 37 (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. Matthew Schaefer 15 (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 eleven times this season, including four times in the third period.
The Isles have two multi-goal comeback wins (none in the third period); opponents have three (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 29 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 12 times
• Allowed the next goal: 13 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 4 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2025-26 30-20-5 for 65 points in 55 games
• 2024-25 25-23-7 for 57 points in 55 games; they reached 65 points in their 62nd game, which was their first game after trading Brock Nelson.
Offense from Defense
• Today: 1-2-3
• Season: 27-81-108
• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161
Rookie Scoring
• Today: 1-0-1
• Season: 27-45-72
• Last Season (Final) 19-30-49
• This season's totals are the most since 2017-18 (38-101-139)
The 27 rookie goals trail only Montreal (29) for the most in the NHL while the 72 points are 3rd. Islander rookies have scored 17.3% of the team's goals, which is the highest percentage in the NHL.
Home and Road
The Isles are 30-20-5 overall; they are 15-10-2 at home and 15-10-3 on the road.
Nashville is 25-23-6 overall; they are 14-12-2 at home and 11-11-4 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 13-10-1 against the West (5-7-1 vs. Central and 8-3-0 vs. Pacific).
First Things First
The Isles are 22-6-3 when scoring first and 8-14-2 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 10-13-6=29
Nashville 11-22-9=42
The Isles are 9-13-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 2-1-1 when the shots are even and 19-6-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 38 saves; he is 18-13-2 this season and 1-4-1 vs. Nashville.
Juuse Saros Quick made 26 saves; he is 21-17-4 this season and 9-2-0 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-2 (4:00); Nashville was 1-2 (2:06).
The Isles are 16-5-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 14-15-3 when they do not. The Isles are 10-10-4 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, 3-9-2 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 23-3-3 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 18-5-5 in games decided by a single goal including 9-5 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 (23:14); Nashville: Roman Josi (29:04)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (20:07).
Face-offs
Isles 32, Nashville 22 (59%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 12 of 17 and Casey Cizikas won 6 of 7 for the Isles; Erik Haula won 7 of 12 for Nashville.
Hit Count
Isles 23 (Marc Gatcomb -5)
Nashville 25 (Cole Smith -5)
Fights
None. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, MacLean, Lee, DeAngelo)
Blocked Shots
Isles 10 (Adam Pelech-3)
Nashville 5 (Five with 1)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 71, Nashville 44
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 59, Nashville 41
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Ondrej Palat +5
Nashville: Roman Josi +13
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 18, Nashville 24
5-on-5: Isles 12, Nashville 24
Scratches
(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), (Cal Ritchie -INJ), Adam Boqvist, (Jonathan Drouin - ILL)
Games Lost to injury: 271. (Last season's total: 304)
The Ironmen
Anders Lee (137) is the Islanders' ironman. Adam Pelech, Matthew Schaefer, Tony DeAngelo, and Emil Heineman have also played in every game this 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, 3 failures (No goalie interference – VEG 11/14), (No goalie interference – WPG 1/13), (No goalie interference – NSH 1/31)
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 (4): 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); Roman Josi GWG (18:46 1/31 NSH)
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 951 *** 5. Brock Nelson 901 *** 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 7. Anders Lee 896…
17. Billy Harris 623 *** 18. Stefan Persson 622 *** 19. Adam Pelech 615 *** 20. Ryan Pulock 613 *** 21. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 22. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 23. Garry Howatt 596 *** 24. John Tonelli 594 *** 25. Scott Mayfield 588 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 584
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. Mathew Barzal 148…
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. Mathew Barzal 360…
18. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 19. Anders Lee 237…
23. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 24. Ed Westfall 181 *** 25 Ryan Pulock 181…
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 537 ***
13. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 14. Mathew Barzal 508…
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 +88 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. Ryan Pulock +69 *** 21. JP Parise +67 *** 22. 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. Ryan Pulock 181 …
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 236…
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 285…
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 split a pair of games, defeating Hartford 6-3 on Friday and dropping a 5-3 decision to Lehigh Valley. Hunter Drew had a natural hat trick and added an assist on Friday; Ethan Bear had a goal and an assist on Saturday.
The Islanders are 18-19-2-2 on the season and hold a two-point lead over Hartford for the final playoff spot. Bridgeport hosts Springfield on Sunday and Providence on Wednesday.
Leaders: Goals: Adam Beckman 16; Assists: Marshall Warren and Matthew Maggio 18; Points: Beckman 27.
Goalies: Henrik Tikkanen 8-4-1, 2.36, .906; Marcus Hogberg 8-10-3, 2.97, .891
Season Series Stats
Nashville sweeps the season series, 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 1), despite leading for only the final 74 seconds of the 125 minutes played.
The Preds have won the last three meetings (twice in shootouts), but this was the first pointless effort for the Isles in the last five games (2-1-2) against Nashville.
UP NEXT
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2nd —ISLES AT WASHINGTON 7:00PM
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 6:30); WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles begin another three-game stretch against Metro opponents and also begin a back-to-back set as they face the Capitals in Washington in the final meeting of the teams this season.
This has been a road series so far, as the Isles won in DC on Halloween, sandwiching two Caps wins on Long Island.
The Isles have points in four straight at Capital One Arena (2-0-2) and in seven of their last eight trips there (4-1-3).
This is the final time the Isles will face Washington under Alex Ovechkin's current contract. Ovechkin has scored 46 of his NHL-record 919 goals against the Isles, including the 895th goal that broke Wayne Gretzky's record.
The Isles have won four straight games against the Metro, matching their longest intra-divisional win streak since October/November 2022, when they won six straight.
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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