“The Skinny”
By Eric Hornick
Game 1
Toronto 2, Isles 1
Easton Cowan had a goal and an assist in a 4:41 span of the first period, and that proved to be enough as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Islanders 2-1 before a crowd of 18,801 at Scotiabank Arena.
Colton Sissons scored his first goal for the Leafs while Emil Heineman scored shorthanded with under six minutes to play for the only Islander tally.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Colton Sissons (1) Nick Paul (1), Easton Cowan (2) 07:14 NYI 0,TOR 1
Easton Cowan (1) Jack Roslovic (1), Morgan Rielly (2) 11:55 NYI 0,TOR 2 PPG
2nd Period
No Goals
3rd Period
Emil Heineman (1) Bo Horvat (1) 14:09 NYI 1,TOR 2 SHG
The Skinny
Matthew Schaefer played 27:45 – most by an Islander in an opener since Adrian Aucoin played 30:02 (10-10-2002 at Buffalo); he is the first teenager to play that much in an NHL season opener since ice-time became official in 1997-98…Emil Heineman’s shorty was the first of his career, and the 50th point of his career (33-17-50)…The Isles had two teenagers in their opening night lineup for the first time since 2000 (Taylor Pyatt and Tim Connolly)…Ilya Sorokin is 1-4-0 in season openers....The three combined goals were the fewest in an Islander season opener since 2019 (L 2-1 at Barclays to Washington)..The Isles scored a shorty for the second time in the last three openers (Utah 2024)...Bo Horvat served as Islander captain for the first time.
Milestone Men
• Bo Horvat has 99 goals as an Islander; only 34 players have reached 100 in club history.
• Casey Cizikas became the first Islander skater to appear in a game in 16 different seasons; Billy Smith did so in 17 seasons.
For Openers
The Isles are 3-7-1 on Opening Night over the last eleven years, and they are only 6-14-4 in their last 24 Openers. Overall, the Isles are 14-28-12 on Opening Night (11-22-8 on the road and 3-6-4 at home). Only four teams (all Original Six teams) have opened their season on the road more often than the Isles.
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 the most goals by any Islander teenage defenseman.
Most Assists by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 63
2. Tim Connolly 51
3. Pat LaFontaine and Matthew Schaefer 36
Schaefer has the most assists by any Islander teenage defenseman, and only Trottier has more assists in a single season by an Islander teenager.
Most Points by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 95
2. Tim Connolly 75
3. Pat LaFontaine 62
4. Matthew Schaefer 59
Schaefer has the most points by any Islander teenage defenseman, and only Trottier has more points in a single season by an Islander teenager.
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 224
Schaefer will still be a Teenager for the next 83 Isles games.
Most Ice Time by an Islander Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 31:59 3/24/2026 vs CHI
2. Matthew Schaefer 29:40 3/31/2026 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 an 18-Year-Old, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 31:59 3/24/2026 vs CHI
2. Matthew Schaefer 29:40 3/31/2026 at BUF
3. Matthew Schaefer 29:24 3/13/2026 vs LA
4. Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) 29:15 12/4/2018 vs TOR (OT)
5. Drew Doughty (LA) 29:04 11/22/2008 vs COL (SO)
6. Matthew Schaefer 29:01 3/7/2026 vs SJ (OT)
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 71 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 scored no goals with the 6th attacker and allowed no empty net goals.
Opponents have scored no goals with 6th attacker and allowed no empty-netters to the Isles.
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2026-27: 0-1-0 for 0 points in 1 game
• 2025-26: 0-1-0 for 0 points in 1 game
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-0-0
• Season: 0-0-0
• 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 0-1-0 overall; they are 0-0-0 at home and 0-1-0 on the road.
Toronto is 1-1-0 overall; they are 1-1-0 at home and 0-0-0 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 0-1-0 against the East (0-0-0 vs. Metropolitan and 0-1-0 vs. Atlantic) and 0-0-0 against the West (0-0-0 vs. Central and 0-0-0 vs. Pacific).
First Things First
The Isles are 0-0-0 when scoring first and 0-1-0 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 11-8-8=27
Toronto 10-12-4=26
The Isles are 0-1-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 0-0-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves; he is 0-1-0 this season and 8-6-0 vs. Toronto.
Anthony Stolarz made 25 saves; he is 1-0-0 this season and 2-3-0 vs. the Isles
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-4 (8:00); Toronto was 1-4 (7:54).
The Isles are 0-0-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 0-1-0 when they do not. The Isles are 0-1-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 0-0-0 when they do not.
The Isles are 0-0-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 0-0-0 when they are outscored, and 0-1-0 when special team goals are equal.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles 0-0-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-1-0 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 0-1-0 in games decided by a single goal including 0-11 in regulation. They are 0-0 in games decided in overtime and are 0-0 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-0 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 (27:45); Toronto: Chris Tanev (20:39)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (22:31).
Face-offs
Isles 20, Toronto 30 (40%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 7 of 13 for the Isles; Auston Matthews won 8 of 13 for Toronto.
Hit Count
Isles 24 (Three with 3)
Toronto 19 (Kirill Marchenko -4)
Fights
None. Season total: 0
Blocked Shots
Isles 11 (Two with 2)
Toronto 21 (Jake McCabe -5)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 67, Toronto 48
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 46, Toronto 33
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Matthew Schaefer +19
Toronto: Nick Paul +6
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 14, Toronto 10
5-on-5: Isles 9, Toronto 8
Scratches
Mathew Barzal (INJ), Scott Mayfield, Matt Kessel, Kyle MacLean
Games Lost to injury: 1. (Last season’s total: 399)
The Ironmen
Brayden Schenn played his 327th consecutive game (the first 307 for the Blues). Adam Pelech, Matthew Schaefer, and Emil Heineman have played in every Islander game since the start of last season.
National TV Games
The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that air on one of the NHL’s US national broadcast partners.
Matinee Isles
The Isles went 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.
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 (0):
Vs (0):
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of 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 (0):
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 979…
15. Brent Sutter 694 *** 16. Adam Pelech 643 *** 17. Derek King 638 *** 18. Ryan Pulock 637*** 19. Billy Harris 623 *** 20. Stefan Persson 622 *** 21. Scott Mayfield 615 *** 22. Mathew Barzal 611
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
4. Anders Lee 308 …
17. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 18. Mathew Barzal 153…
22. Jason Blake 127 *** 23. Casey Cizikas 124…
33. Anthony Beavillier 102 *** 34. Anders Kallur 101 *** 35. Trent Hunter and Bo Horvat 99
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***
4. Josh Bailey 396 *** 5. Mathew Barzal 381…
18. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 19. Anders Lee 241…
23. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 24. Ryan Pulock 185…
32. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 33. Casey Cizikas 156 *** 34. David Volek 154 *** 35. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 36. Adam Pelech 147
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 280 …
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 +66 *** 22. Jude Drouin +58
Defense Games
1. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 2 Adam Pelech 642 *** 3. Ryan Pulock 636 ***
4. Stefan Persson 622 *** 5. Scott Mayfield 615
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 147…
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…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 177…
14. Dave Lewis 141 *** 15. Scott Mayfield 140
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 309…
8. Jaroslav Halak 177*** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 154 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Ilya Sorokin 29 *** 2. Glenn Resch 25 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
The Hamilton Hammers begin their season on Friday night in Belleville and then visit Toronto at 4pm on Saturday.
Season Series Stats
Toronto leads the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The teams will play next on October 17th in Toronto.
The Isles are 8-3-0 in their last 11 games against Toronto.
UP NEXT
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3rd —NEW JERSEY AT ISLANDERS 7:30pm
[MSGSN (pre-game at 7:00], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles return home to face the Devils in the home opener. Last season the Isles swept the series, winning all four games by a combined score of 17-4. The Isles are 7-0-1 in the last eight games against New Jersey.
The Isles are 1-3-1 in five prior home openers at UBS Arena.
It will be the 4,200th game in Islander history.
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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