“The Skinny”
By Eric Hornick
Game 6
Isles 3, Vancouver 2
Kyle Palmieri scored his first two goals in nearly eleven months and the latter goal, with 14:22 to play proved to be the game-winner, as the Islanders defeated the Canucks 3-2 , before a crowd of 13,647 at UBS Arena.
Mattias Maccelli capped a 2-goal in 53 second outburst in the first period for his first goal as an Islander. The Canucks scored twice in the middle period, including a Brock Boeser tying goal with 1:05 to play.
It was the Isles’ first win over Vancouver on the East Coast since 2018, and their first win in six tries against the Canucks at UBS (1-5-0).
The Scoring:
1st Period
Kyle Palmieri (1) Matthew Kessel (1), Bo Horvat (3) 14:57 VAN 0,NYI 1
Matias Maccelli (1) Matthew Schaefer (5) 15:50 VAN 0,NYI 2
2nd Period
Max Sasson (2) Arshdeep Bains (2), Jamie Oleksiak (3) 07:52 VAN 1,NYI 2
Brock Boeser (2) Elias Pettersson (7), Filip Hronek (6) 18:55 VAN 2,NYI 2 PPG
3rd Period
Kyle Palmieri (2) Matias Maccelli (4), Matthew Schaefer (6) 05:38 VAN 2,NYI 3
The Skinny
Matthew Kessel made his Islander debut and earned an assist in his 100th NHL game…The Isles went 0-3 with the power play, ending their four-game streak with a power play goal…Mattias Maccelli has three points in the last two games (1-2-3) …The Isles scored twice in the first period after only scoring one first period goal in the first five games… Brock Boeser scored his 80th career power play goal, passing Todd Bertuzzi for fifth place in Canuck history…This was the 23rd consecutive Islander game, going back to last season, to end in regulation…Kyle Palmieri recorded his 31st career multi-goal game…Matthew Schaefer’s two assists gives him the team lead with six…It was the first time since March 1st that the Isles won a game in which they lost the special teams battle…After outscoring the opposition 10-3 in the second period thru five games, Vancouver scored the only two goals of the middle session tonight…This was the 22nd regular season meeting of the Schenn brothers; Brayden has won 15 of them. However, Luke’s Jets beat Brayden’s Blues in a 7-game series in the 2025 playoffs.
Milestone Men
• Ilya Sorokin recorded his 157th win for the Islanders, tying Chico Resch for second place in club history.
• Matthew Schaefer recorded his 64th and 65th career points, which tied and then passed Larry Murphy for 8th place among teenage defensemen. It was his 14th career multi-point game, which tied Bobby Orr for 6th among teenage defensemen.
• Schaefer is also the youngest defenseman (and third-youngest player) in NHL history with an assist in each of the season’s first four home games. Wayne Gretzky and Sam Gagner also did in four straight games, but neither earned an assist in their fifth game. The record for a teenager is ten games, set by Ron Francis.
First Time in a Long Time
Bo Horvat is the first Islander forward since Kyle Okposo in 2009 to start the season with a 6-game point streak (3-3-6).
Most Goals by an NHL Teenage Defenseman:
1. Phil Housley 46
2. Bobby Orr 24
3. Matthew Schaefer and Ray Bourque 23
Most Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 32
2. Pat LaFontaine 26
3. John Tavares and Tim Connolly 24
5. Brent Sutter and Matthew Schaefer 23
Schaefer has scored the most goals by any Islander teenage defenseman.
Most Assists by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 63
2. Tim Connolly 51
3. Matthew Schaefer 42
Schaefer has the most assists by any Islander teenage defenseman.
Most Points by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 95
2. Tim Connolly 75
3. Matthew Schaefer 65
Schaefer has the most points by any Islander teenage defenseman.
Most Game-Winning Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 5
2. Matthew Schaefer 4
Most Shots on Goal by an Islander Teenager
1. Tim Connolly 285
2. Matthew Schaefer 244
Schaefer will play this entire season as a teenager.
Most Ice Time by an Islander Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 31:59 3/24/2026 vs CHI
2. Matthew Schaefer 29:40 3/3121/2026 at BUF
3. Matthew Schaefer 29:24 3/13/2026 vs LA
4. Matthew Schaefer 29:01 3/7/2026 at SJ (OT)
The last Islander to play more than 31:59 was Mark Streit, who played 32:27 on March 27, 2010, vs. CBJ. Since ice-time became official, no Islander has played more than 31:59 in a game that ended in regulation.
Most Ice Time by a Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 31:59 3/24/2026 vs CHI
2. Jay Bouwmeester 30:57 1/30/2003 for FLA vs. DET (OT)
There are five recorded instances of a teenager playing 30 minutes in a game. Schaefer is the first teenager with four games of at least 29 minutes.
Schaefer has played at least 20:00 in 76 straight games; it is the longest streak in NHL history by a teenager in a single season since ice-time became official and the longest by an Islander since Mark Streit set the record (since 1997-98) by doing so in 141 consecutive games from 2009-2011.
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have zero come-from behind wins this season, including eight when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win zero times this season, including zero times in the third period.
The Isles have zero multi-goal comeback wins (zero in the third period); opponents have zero (none in the third period).
Overtime Is Our Time
The Isles are 0-0 in games decided by an overtime goal; they are 0-0 in shootouts.
Last season the Isles established an NHL record by winning all ten games decided by an overtime goal.
The Sixth Attacker
The Isles have not scored with the sixth attacker and allowed three empty net goals.
Opponents have scored one goal with the sixth attacker and allowed one empty-netter to the Isles.
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2026-27: 3-3-0 for 6 points in 6 games
• 2025-26: 3-3-0 for 6 points in 6 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-3-3
• Season: 1-14-15
• Last Season (Final) 40-126-166
The 40 goals are the most for the Islander defense since they had 41 in 2022-23.
Home and Road
The Isles are 3-3-0 overall; they are 3-1-0 at home and 0-2-0 on the road.
Vancouver is 2-6-0 overall; they are 1-2-0 at home and 1-4-0 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 1-3-0 against the East (1-1-0 vs. Metropolitan and 0-2-0 vs. Atlantic) and 2-0-0 against the West (1-0-0 vs. Central and 1-0-0 vs. Pacific).
First Things First
The Isles are 3-0-0 when scoring first and 0-3-0 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 12-7-19=38
Vancouver 7-11-8=26
The Isles are 1-1-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 2-2-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves; he is 3-2-0 this season and 4-4-1 vs. Vancouver.
Leevi Merilainen made 35 saves; he is 1-1-0 this season and 1-1-0 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-3 (5:22); Vancouver was 1-4 (7:27).
The Isles are 2-2-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 1-1-0 when they do not. The Isles are 1-3-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 2-0-0 when they do not.
The Isles are 2-0-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 1-0-0 when they are outscored, and 1-2-0 when special team goals are equal.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles 3-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-2-0 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 1-1-0 in games decided by a single goal including 1-1 in regulation. They are 0-0 in games decided in overtime and are 0-0 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 0-0-0 on the front end and 0-0-0 on the back end this season.
The Isles are 0-1-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 0-0-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Matthew Schaefer (25:23); Vancouver: Tom Willander (25:43)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (19:49).
Face-offs
Isles 30, Vancouver 20 (60.0%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 13 of 17 for the Isles; Brock Boeser won 3 of 4 for Vancouver.
Hit Count
Isles 18 (Emil Heineman, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Ondrej Palat – 3)
Vancouver 33 (Paul Cotter and Luke Schenn – 5)
Blocked Shots
Isles 13 (Jean-Gabriel Pageau – 3)
Vancouver 12 (Tom Willander – 3)
Fights
None. Season total: 3 (Schenn, Pelech, Stanley)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 60, Vancouver 54
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 45, Vancouver 37
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Casey Cizikas and Simon Holmstrom +9
Vancouver: Brock Boeser +5
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 13, Vancouver 11
5-on-5: Isles 11, Vancouver 8
Scratches
Mathew Barzal (NonRoster IR), Alex Romanov (IR), Scott Mayfield, Kyle MacLean
Games Lost to injury: 9. (Last season’s total: 399)
The Ironmen
Brayden Schenn played his 332nd consecutive game (the first 307 for the Blues). Adam Pelech, Matthew Schaefer, and Emil Heineman have also played in every Islander game since the start of last season.
National TV Games
The Isles are 0-1-0 in games that air on one of the NHL’s US national broadcast partners. The next nationally televised game will be on October 22nd against the Kings.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-0-0 in matinee games. 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 18-24-14 in matinees.
The first matinee will be on Halloween, when the Isles host the Oilers at 2:00pm.
Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures
Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures
Hockey Opps: 0 favorable, 0 unfavorable
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (2): Vs NJD 10/3, vs VAN 10/13
Vs (2): @ NYR 10/6, vs TB 10/10
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of the other team)
Isles responses (0):
Opponent responses (0):
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 (0):
Vs (1): Brandon Hagel (GWG) 18:16 – 10/10 vs. TB
OT Winners
For (0):
Vs (0):
Shootout Winners
For (0):
Vs (0):
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 984…
15. Brent Sutter 694 *** 16. Adam Pelech 648 *** 17. Ryan Pulock 642 *** 18. Derek King 638 *** 19. Billy Harris 623 *** 20. Stefan Persson 622 *** 21. Scott Mayfield 617 *** 22. Mathew Barzal 611
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
17. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 18. Mathew Barzal 153…
22. Jason Blake 127 *** 23. Casey Cizikas 125…
31. Benoit Hogue and Ed Westfall 105 *** 33. Bo Horvat 103
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***
4. Josh Bailey 396 *** 5. Mathew Barzal 381…
23. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 24. Ryan Pulock 185…
32. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 33. Casey Cizikas 157 *** 34. David Volek 154 *** 35. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 36. Adam Pelech 149
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
9. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 10. Anders Lee 549 *** 11. John Tonelli 544 *** 12. Bob Bourne 542 *** 13. Mathew Barzal 533…
27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 282 …
32. Nick Leddy 243 *** 33. Ryan Pulock 241
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +83 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +65 *** 22. Jude Drouin +58
Defense Games
1. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 2. Adam Pelech 648 *** 3. Ryan Pulock 642 ***
4. Stefan Persson 622 *** 5. Scott Mayfield 617
Defense Goals
1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57 ***
4. Ryan Pulock 56…
12. Adrian Aucoin 33 *** 13. Bryan Berard 31 *** 14. Scott Mayfield and Adam Pelech 30
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742*** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249 ***
4. Nick Leddy 198 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 185 …
9. Jeff Norton 166 *** 10. Adam Pelech 149…
13. Dave Lewis 117 *** 14. Roman Hamrlik and Scott Mayfield 110
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333 ***
4. Nick Leddy 243 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 241…
9. Jeff Norton 188 *** 10. Mark Streit and Adam Pelech 179…
14. Dave Lewis 141 *** 15. Scott Mayfield 140
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 313…
8. Jaroslav Halak 177*** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 174
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 and Ilya Sorokin 157 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Ilya Sorokin 30 *** 2. Glenn Resch 25 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
The Hamilton Hammers are 0-2-0 in their new home after a 5-2 loss to Toronto on Sunday. Matt Luff had a pair of assists for Hamilton. The Hammers are off until Friday when they host Rochester.
Team leaders:
Goals: Mitchell Chaffee (4); Assists: Liam Foudy (4); Points: Foudy (6)
Goalies: Vitek Vanecek (1-1-0), Josh Kotai (0-2-0)
Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The teams will play next on January 5th in British Columbia.
This was the Isles’ first win at home against the Canucks since a 5-2 win at Barclay’s Center on November 13, 2018. They had gone 0-5-0 at UBS Arena, and 0-5-1 at home overall since then.
UP NEXT
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15th – ISLANDERS AT OTTAWA 7:00pm
[MSGSN (pre-game at 6:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles head to Ontario for a two-game trip beginning on Thursday in Kanata, ONT against the Ottawa Senators.
The Isles are 5-3-1 in the past three seasons against the Sens, including 4-1-0 on the road. However, the Sens’ home win (by a 3-2 score) was in a key game late last season.
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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