"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 46
Isles 3, Dallas 2 (OT)
Patrick Roy's return to the NHL is a victorious one. Bo Horvat scored 41 seconds into overtime to give the Isles a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.
Alexander Romanov and Hudson Fasching had the other Islander goals, with Noah Dobson earning assists on both goals. Jason Robertson and Nils Lundqvist scored in a 3:33 span of the second period for Dallas.
The Isles improve to 2-5-1 in their last eight games and 20-15-11 overall as they move back into 4th place in the Metro and two points behind Tampa Bay for the final playoff berth. The Isles welcome the Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights to UBS Arena on Tuesday.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Alexander Romanov (5) Mathew Barzal (35), Noah Dobson (40) 02:52 DAL 0,NYI 1
2nd Period
Jason Robertson (16) Joe Pavelski (22), Radek Faksa (7) 11:35 DAL 1,NYI 1
Nils Lundkvist (2) Sam Steel (9), Joe Pavelski (23) 15:08 DAL 2,NYI 1
3rd Period
Hudson Fasching (3) Noah Dobson (41), Brock Nelson (17) 05:23 DAL 2,NYI 2
OT
Bo Horvat (19) Mathew Barzal (36) 00:41 DAL 2,NYI 3
The Skinny
The Isles are 3-6-2 in their last eleven games and are 4-7-2 since the Christmas break… Brock Nelson assisted on the tying goal for his 499th point (tying Derek King and one away from 500) … Nelson is one of only 20 NHL players with at least 93 goals over the last 2 ½ seasons…Noah Dobson had two assists for the second straight game to give him 41 (seventh in the NHL and third among defensemen).. The Isles' defense has 50 points in the last 22 games and have 27 points in the last thirteen games (8-19-27)…The Isles have outscored their opponents 39-27 in the first period but have been outscored 62-46 in the second period and 64-50 in the third period and overtime this season…The Isles have been outscored 24-7 in the second period since the Christmas break …The Isles improved to 2-11-2 when trailing after two periods (the other victory was against Los Angeles on December 9th) …. Ilya Sorokin appeared in a career-high fourteenth straight game…The Isles were held without a power play for the first time since last February 28th in Minnesota…This was the 2,000th regular season home game in Islander history (including one each in Oklahoma City, Minneapolis and Yankee Stadium)…Bo Horvat now has seven overtime goals, including two with the Isles; he has a point in three straight games (2-1-3)…Jason Robertson is the 8th player in NorthStars/Stars history to score 120 goals before his 25th birthday (July 22nd)...Hudson Fasching's goal was his first in 11 games…The Isles went 11-19 in games beyond 60 minutes under Lane Lambert…While the Isles have allowed eight OT goals this season they are now tied for the NHL lead in OT goals for, scoring five of them themselves….The Isles are 5-4 in their last nine games decided by an overtime goal; each of their last four wins and two of their last three losses have come on a goal in the first minute of overtime.
First Time in a Long Time
• Noah Dobson is the first Islander since Pierre Turgeon in 1992-93 to have at least 41 assists in 46 games. Dobson joins Denis Potvin as the only Islander defenseman with 41 assists in the first 46 games.
The New Coach
Patrick Roy is the first man to take over the Islanders mid-season since Doug Weight replaced Jack Capuano on January 19, 2017. Coincidentally, both games were home victories over Dallas.
The Isles are 5-1-0 in the first game after a mid-season coaching change, dating back to Bill Stewart replacing Mike Milbury exactly 25 years ago (January 21, 1999). The Isles are 8-9-2 in the first game for their new coach and are 9-11-2 in first games when you include multiple stints for Al Arbour, Lorne Henning, and Milbury. Bo Horvat's overtime goal (at :41) made Roy a winner in his first game, much like Josh Bailey (:43) had done in Barry Trotz' first game behind the Isles bench.
January 21st
The Isles have won 11 of their last 12 games on January 21st, losing only last season, improving their record on this date to 18-6-3. The 39 points earned on this date are third in club history behind December 23rd (42) and December 17th (40).
The 20-Goal Club
Brock Nelson is the 7th player in club history to have at least eight seasons of at least 20 goals:
• Bryan Trottier 13
• Brent Sutter/Mike Bossy 10
• John Tavares/Denis Potvin 9
• Clark Gillies/Brock Nelson 8
Anders Lee needs seven more goals this season for his 8th season with at least 20 goals.
Inter-Division Games
The Isles are starting the new year with 17 straight inter-division games; they will play only two division foes in their first 30 games (February 18 vs NYR at MetLife, February 20 at Pittsburgh) of 2024.
Overtime Is Our Time
The Isles have played 17 overtime games. They are 5-8 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-3 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 4-7 in overtime and 1-2 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 1-1 in overtime and 0-1 in shootouts.
The NHL record for overtime games is 30, played by Boston in 2003-04. The Isles are on pace to play 30 overtime games.
The Isles have won 16 of the last 41 games decided by an overtime goal (since January 11, 2020).
Most OT/SO Losses Thru 45 Games (Since 1998-99)
• 11 (2023-24)
• 9 (2016-17)
• 8 (2009-10)
Killing Their Own PP
The Isles have taken a penalty to interrupt their power play fourteen times this season.
Power Play Up; Penalty Killing Down
The Isles have scored 28 power play goals; they scored 35 all last season.
The Isles have allowed 37 power play goals; they allowed 39 all last season. Only 11 of those 39 were at home; the Isles have already allowed 14 home power play goals this season.
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 31 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 7 times
• Allowed the next goal: 22 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: twice
Heavy Hitters
Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin are 1-2 all-time in hits:
1. Cal Clutterbuck 3,888
2. Matt Martin 3,770
Martin (7) and Clutterbuck (3) have combined for the 10-biggest hits seasons in Isles history in the Real-Time era, which began in 2005-06.
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2023-24 20-15-11 for 51 points in 46 games
• 2022-23 23-19-4 for 50 points in 46 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 1-2-3
• Season: 18-72-90
• Last Season (Final) 41-132-173
The Islander defense scored 41 goals last season, which was the most since they scored 42 in 2003-04. The 173 points were their most since 1993-94, when they had 174 points in an 84-game season.
Lots of Work for Sorokin
Most shots against:
• Ilya Sorokin 1,175
• Alexandar Georgiev 1,081
• Juuse Saros 1,011
• Thatcher Demko 1,001
No goalie has ever played the full season for the Islanders and led the NHL in this category; Kelly Hrudey led the NHL in 1988-89; he was traded at the deadline to Los Angeles.
Facing 40
Ilya Sorokin has faced at least forty shots nine times this season and 26 times in his career.
Most Games, 40+ Shots in a Season vs Isles Goalie
1. Jaroslav Halak 11 2017-18
2. Gerry Desjardins 10 1972-73
3. Ilya Sorokin 9 2023-24
Joey Mac Donald 9 2008-09
Dwayne Roloson 9 2009-10
No other NHL goalie has faced 40+ shots more than six times this season.
Most games, 40+ Shots (Since 2021-22)
1. John Gibson 32
2. Ilya Sorokin 26
3. Darcy Kuemper 22
4. Sam Montembault 20
Karel Vejmelka 20
Most Games, 40+ Shots (Islander History)
1. Billy Smith 46 (674 games)
2. Kelly Hrudey 27 (241 games)
3. Ilya Sorokin 26 (170 games)
Varly, Varly
Semyon Varlamov has 40 career shutouts and 278 career wins. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is 6th in wins and tied-third in shutouts.
All-time Goalie Wins
50. Brian Elliott 279
51. Semyon Varlamov 278
52. Marty Turco 275
Home and Road
The Isles are 20-15-11 overall; they are 12-5-6 at home and 8-10-5 on the road.
Dallas is 27-13-6 overall; they are 14-8-2 at home and 13-5-4 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 13-7-6 against the East (7-4-4 vs. Metropolitan and 6-3-2 vs. Atlantic) and 7-8-5 against the West (3-5-2 vs. Central and 4-3-3 vs. Pacific).
Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 105 games at UBS Arena and recorded 72 sellouts of 17,255.
Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:
1. David Poile 1,531
2. Lou Lamoriello 1,425
3. Glen Sather 1,319
Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,425) and Patrick Roy (131) have combined for 1,556 wins as general manager and coach. That is the highest in the NHL among active combos by a wide margin.
First Things First
The Isles are 14-3-9 when scoring first and are 6-12-1 when allowing the opening goal. They are 0-0-1 when the game heads to a shootout following a scoreless tie.
The Shots
Isles 13-5-9-1=28
Dallas 16-14-13-0=43
The Isles are 6-3-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 13-11-7 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 41 saves; he is 14-11-9 on the season and 1-0-1 vs. Dallas.
Scott Wedgewood made 25 saves; he is 13-4-4 on the season and 1-2-2 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-0 on the power play (0:00); Dallas was 0-3 on the power play (6:00).
The Isles are 11-5-6 when they score at least one power play goal and 9-10-5 when they do not. The Isles are 7-9-7 when they allow at least one power play goal and 13-6-4 when they do not.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 18-3-9 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-12-2 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 13-1-11 in games decided by a single goal including 7-1 in regulation. They are 5-8 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-5 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 2-1-3 in the front end and 0-3-3 in the back end this season. The next back-to-back set will be on March 10th in Anaheim and March 11th in Los Angeles.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Noah Dobson (26:29); Dallas: Jason Robertson (23:38)
Bo Horvat led Islander forwards with 20:38 of ice-time.
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-0-2), Noah Dobson (16-13-8), Alex Romanov (2-2-0), Adam Pelech (0-0-1).
Face-offs
Isles 23, Dallas 35 (40%)
No Islander won more than he lost; Jamie Benn won 10 of 11 for Dallas.
Hit Count
Isles 28 (Matt Martin and Jean-Gabriel Pageau -4)
Dallas 15 (Three with )
Fights
None. Season total: 5 (Martin 2, Pelech 1, Lee 1, Mayfield 1)
Blocked Shots
Isles 24 (Three with 3)
Dallas 11 (Jani Hakanpaa -4)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 47, Dallas 82
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 43, Dallas 68
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Brock Nelson +18
Dallas: Jaycob Megma +8
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 14, Dallas 14
5-on-5: Isles 12, Dallas 11
Scratches
(Ryan Pulock-LTIR), (Robert Bortuzzo -INJ), (Semyon Varlamov -IR), (Casey Cizikas-IR), (Pierre Engvall-INJ), Mike Reilly, Oliver Wahlstrom
Games Lost to injury: 111
The Ironmen
Anders Lee is the Islanders' ironman, having played 158 consecutive games. Brock Nelson (130) is the only other Islander to have played at least 100 consecutive games.
Challenges
Isles: 2 successful, 2 failures – WSH goalie interference (11/2), OTT offside (11/24), LA no goalie interference (12/9), VGK no goalie interference (1/6)
Opponents: 1 successful, 2 failures – BUF no offside (10/21), CAR no high-stick (11/30); ANA goalie interference (12/13)
Quickies
The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute five times this season (three times at home – CBJ 12/7 x2, WSH 12/29, and twice on road-@OTT 11/24, @ARI 1/4) and allowed two in the same span six times (COL 10/25 x2, MIN 11/8, @MTL 12/16, PIT 12/27, @NAS 1/13)
Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
The Isles have come from at least two goals behind after two periods to win one time this season and have allowed the opposition to do so four times.
For (1): LA 12/9 (trailed 0-2, won 3-2 in OT)
Vs (4): DET 10/30 (trailed 0-2, won 4-3 in OT); CAR 11/4 (trailed 1-3, won 4-3 in OT) ; @ NJ 11/28 (trailed 2-4, won 5-4 in regulation); SJ 12/5 (trailed 1-4; won 5-3 in OT)
Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have scored two goals and have allowed four goals in the final three minutes of the third period to tie or go-ahead:
For (2): Bo Horvat 10/20 vs NJ 18:49 (Isles lost in OT); Simon Holmstrom 12/13 vs ANA 18:27 (GWG)
Vs (5): Curtis Lazar 11/28 @ NJ 19:37 (GWG); Sebastian Aho 11/30 @ CAR 19:57 (Isles won in OT); Tomas Hertl vs SJ 18:30 (SJ won in OT); Morgan Rielly 12/11 vs TOR 19:53 (Isles won in OT); Alexandre Carrier @ NAS 19:52 (GWG)
OT Winners
For (4): Mathew Barzal (vs CAR) 11/30, Jean Gabriel Pageau (vs LA) 12/9, Bo Horvat (vs TOR) 12/11, Mathew Barzal (vs TOR) 1/11, Bo Horvat (vs DAL) 1/21
Vs (8): Jack Hughes (NJ) 10/20, Lucas Raymond (DET) 10/30, Sebastian Aho (CAR) 11/4, Quinn Hughes (VAN) 11/15; William Eklund (SJ) 12/5; Dylan Strome (WAS) 12/20; Nathan MacKinnon (COL) ½; Seth Jones (CHI) 1/19
Shootout Winners
For (1): Oliver Wahlstrom (Vs CGY) 11/18
Vs (3): Kailer Yamamoto (SEA) 11/16, Tyson Foerster (PHI) 11/25, David Pastrnak (BOS) 12/15
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057…
6. Bob Bourne 814 *** 7. Brock Nelson 804 *** 8. Matt Martin 791*** 9. Casey Cizikas 784 *** 10. Mike Bossy 752 *** 11. Anders Lee 724 *** Patrick Flatley 712 *** 13. Brent Sutter 694 *** 14. Cal Clutterbuck 682
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
7. John Tavares 272 *** 8. Brock Nelson 261 *** 9. Anders Lee 253 …
23. Alexei Yashin and Frans Nielsen 119 *** 25. Steve Thomas, Matt Moulson and Mark Parrish 118 *** 28. Mathew Barzal 117 **** 29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30.Benoit Hogue and Ed Westfall 105 *** 32. Anthony Beauvillier and Casey Cizikas 102
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
11. Bob Bourne 304 *** 12. Mathew Barzal 293…
16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 18. Brock Nelson 238…
22. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 23. Anders Lee 182…
34. Steve Thomas 140 *** 35. Mark Streit 139 *** 36. Greg Gilbert 136 *** 37. Ryan Pulock 133 *** 38. Noah Dobson 132
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
11. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 12. Derek King and Brock Nelson 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Billy Harris 443 *** 16. Anders Lee 435 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 410…
32. Ray Ferraro 238 *** 33. Travis Green 237 *** 34. Casey Cizikas 233
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +76 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54
Defense Goals
1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57…
5. Jean Potvin 46 *** 6. Nick Leddy and Ryan Pulock 45 *** 8. Roman Hamrlik 43 *** 9. Mark Streit 40 *** 10. Noah Dobson 36
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742 *** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…
7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Mark Streit 139 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 133 *** 10. Noah Dobson 132…
13. Roman Hamrlik 110 *** 14. Tom Kurvers and Gerry Hart 109 *** 16. Adam Pelech 102…
20. Dave Langevin and Thomas Hickey 95 *** 22. Scott Mayfield 90
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…
7. Jeff Norton 188 *** 8. Mark Streit 179 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 178 *** 10. Noah Dobson 168…
15. Johnny Boychuk and Bryan Berard 131 *** 17. Gerry Hart 128 *** 18. Adam Pelech 127…
20. Thomas Hickey 117 *** 21. Scott Mayfield 115
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 …
8. Glenn Healy 176 *** 9. Ilya Sorokin 170 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 149
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130…
6. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 7. Ilya Sorokin 84** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Glenn Healy 66 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 65
Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 18 ***
4. Rick DiPietro 16 *** 5. Semyon Varlamov 15
On the Farm
Bridgeport is 11-22-5-0 on the season following losses to Hartford (in regulation, on Saturday) and Providence (in overtime, on Sunday).
All-Star Ruslan Iskhakov has points in 12 of the last 14 games and leads the team in goals (13), assists (20) and points (33).
The Baby Islanders play again in Providence on Friday and then host the Bruins on Saturday.
Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 1). The teams will meet again on February 26th in Dallas.
The Isles are 3-0-1 in their last four home games with the Stars, despite being 4-6-1 in their last eleven meetings overall with Dallas.
UP NEXT
TUESDAY, JANUARY 23rd — VEGAS AT ISLANDERS– 7:30pm
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 7:00), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].
The Isles will look to make it two straight under Patrick Roy as they host Vegas on Tuesday night.
It is the second of two meetings between the teams this season; Vegas defeated the Isles 5-2 back on January 6th.
The Isles are 3-1-1 all-time at home against Vegas, and 6-4-1 overall against the Golden Knights.
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 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
