The Skinny: Ottawa 2, Isles 0

"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 43

Ottawa 2, Isles 0

Leevi Merilainen made 24 saves for his second career shutout and Adam Gaudette's second period goal was the only one to beat Marcus Hogberg as the Ottawa Senators snapped the Isles' three-game winning streak with a 2-0 victory before a crowd of 15,101 at UBS Arena. 

Gaudette thought he had scored his first goal in sixteen games early in the first period, but his goal was reversed on video review; Artem Zub hit the empty net for the final margin.

The Isles are three games under NHL-.500 at home (7-10-2) this late in the season for the first time since 2013-14. Game two of the seven-game homestand is Thursday against Philadelphia.

The Scoring:  

1st Period

No Goals 

2nd Period

Adam Gaudette (14) Tyler Kleven (2), Shane Pinto (6) 08:42 OTT 1,NYI 0

3rd Period

Artem Zub (1)EN Josh Norris (10), Drake Batherson (25) 18:36 OTT 2,NYI 0

The Skinny

The Isles allowed the opening goal for the 15th time in the last 18 games…The Isles have outscored the opposition 70-69 thru two periods but have been outscored 61-42 in the third period and overtime…The Isles have scored 82 goals and allowed 76 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 54-30 in all other situations… The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 24 of the last 31 games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 41-35 in the second period this season; they were outscored 107-83 in the second period a season ago… The Isles killed the only Ottawa penalty, improving to a perfect 5-for-5 in the last four games; it is the first time since November 30-December 7, 2023, that they have been perfect in four straight games on the PK… The Isles did not score on their only power play opportunity, dropping them to 0-25 over the last fourteen games; it is the longest streak without a power play goal in club history and the longest streak in the NHL since Buffalo had a 15-game streak in 2021. … Over the last fourteen games, the Isles have been outscored 9-0 on the power play… Matthew Barzal saw his five-game assist streak (one shy of his career high) come to an end…Jake Sanderson played a career-high 31:46….The Sens now have seven shutouts, with three goalies recording at least two.

The Injury

Thomas Chabot was hit in the face with an Adam Pelech shot in the first period and left the game; he did not return.

Most Consecutive Games Without a Power Play Goal (Isles History, one season)

14 -  12/10/24-CURRENT

12 -  11/10-12/9/2010

12 -  11/26-12/20/1972

The 0-25 stretch leaves the Isles power play at 11-105 (10.5%) on the season.

Most Consecutive Games Without a Power Play Goal (NHL History, one season, expansion era)

16 – CLE:  2/4/78-3/11/78

15 – BUF: 2/27/21-3/25/21

14 -  NYI: 12/10/24-CURRENT

14 – OTT  3/3/16-3/31/16

14 – TOR 12/2/97-12/31/97

Look at Me, I'm Anders Lee

Lee is 6-2-8 in eight games since Christmas. At 19-16-35, Lee is on pace to set career highs in assists (23 - twice) and points (62 in 2017-18). Lee is the last Islander to score 40 goals (2017-18) and only Brock Nelson (3x), Bo Horvat (2023-24) and Kyle Palmieri (2023-24) have reached 30 goals in the interim. 

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles were shut out for the 6th time this season; it is the first time they have been blanked six times by the end of January since 2011-12 (eight times) and the first time Ottawa has done it to them in New York since February 20, 2012.

• The Isles are playing seven consecutive home games for the first time since 2021-22 (twice) but that reflected games rescheduled due to COVID. The Isles all played seven straight at home in 2013 (lockout season), but this is the first time since February-March 2007 that seven straight were scheduled at home in an original schedule.

• Neither team has scored on the power play in the last four Islander games; it is only the 21st time in club history that has happened and the first time since April 2-10, 2023 (also four games). The club record is 7, set in March 2019.

Quite the Numbers

Marcus Hogberg has now played 211 minutes for the Isles, allowing five goals on 106 shots for a 1.42 GAA and a .953 save percentage. Both the GAA and save percentage are the best in Islander history for any goalie who played multiple games. He is the 52nd goalie to win a game for the Isles (and is one of nine to win exactly one).

Weekend Warriors

The Islanders have won six straight Saturday games (four at home and two on the road). The Isles are 10-12-3 in their last 25 games (6-0-0 on Saturday; 4-12-3 on other days). Eight of their last ten wins have come on Saturday or Sunday.

Milestone Men

• Brock Nelson has 287 goals, matching Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter for 5th place in club history as well as the most of any player without four Stanley Cups.

• Mathew Barzal has 323  assists, tying Brent Sutter for 9th place in club history.

• Anders Lee has 488 points, tying Patrick Flatley for 14th place in club history.

• Noah Dobson's next assist will be his 168th assist, passing Jean Potvin for 6th place on the club's assist list.

• Anthony Duclair's next goal will be his 150th career goal.

Third Periods

Goals:  Isles 40, Opponents 55

Tying Goals: Isles 5, Opponents 11 (in 10 games)

Go Ahead Goals: Isles 7 (in 6 games), Opponents 9

Empty Net Goals: Isles 9, Opponents 13

The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 29 of their 43 games. In the 14 games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (2-11-1), they have been within one goal at some point in all but four of them (10/12 @ DAL, 12/5 vs SEA, 12/17 @ CAR, 12/23 vs BUF, 12/31 @TOR) 

Did Somebody Say Comeback?

The Isles have eight come-from behind wins this season, including two when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win eight times this season, including seven times in the third period.

Overtime

Ten of the first 26 Islanders games went to overtime; 16 of the last 17 have been decided in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 2-4 in overtime and 1-0 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 0-2 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts. 

Sorokin has 34 OT/SO losses, extending his club record (Rick DiPietro had 28). 

Empty Netters 

The Isles have scored 9 empty-net goals and allowed 13.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 29 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 11 times

• Allowed the next goal: 15 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 3 times 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2024-25  17-19-7 for 41 points in 43 games

• 2023-24  19-14-10 for 48 points in 43 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-0-0

• Season: 13-61-74

• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170

Islander defensemen have earned 33.5% of the team's assists, which is tied-7th in the NHL, and 25.2% of the team's points, which is 10th.

Varly, Varly

Semyon Varlamov has 41 career shutouts and 289 career wins. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is seventh in wins and fourth in shutouts.

All-time Goalie Wins

47. Mike Liut 293

48. Ed Giacomin 290

49. Semyon Varlamov 289

Oh Canada

The Isles are playing 17 games against Canadian-based teams this season; they are 5-3-3 so far (1-1-0 at home and 4-1-3 on the road). After opening with a home shootout win over Montreal, the Isles played eight straight road games in November/December going 4-1-3. They went 0-1-0 in January; five of the six remaining games will be at home. 

Going back to last season the Isles are 8-3-3 in the last 14 games against Canadian teams; the next Canadian opponent will be Winnipeg on February 7th in the Isles' final game in Canada this season. 

Home and Road

The Isles are 17-19-7 overall; they are 7-10-2 at home and 10-9-5 on the road.

Ottawa is 22-18-3 overall; they are 11-7-1 at home and 11-11-2 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 11-13-3 against the East (4-4-2 vs. Metropolitan and 7-9-1 vs. Atlantic) and 6-6-4 against the West (4-2-2 vs. Central and 2-4-2 vs. Pacific).

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 1,461

3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack

Lou Lamoriello (1,461) and Patrick Roy (167) have combined for 1,628 career wins as general manager and coach. That is the highest in the NHL among active combinations by a wide margin.

First Things First

The Isles are 8-3-4 when scoring first and are 9-16-3 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles   7-9-8=24

Ottawa  5-7-15=27

The Isles are 9-11-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 8-7-4 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Marcus Hogberg made 25 saves; he is 1-2-0 this season and 0-1-0 vs. Ottawa. 

Leevi Merilainen made 24 saves; he is 5-2-0 this season and 1-0-0 vs the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-1 (2:00); Ottawa was 0-1 (2:00).

The Isles are 8-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 9-18-6 when they do not. The Isles are 9-10-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-9-1 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 16-3-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-16-3 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 8-5-7 in games decided by a single goal including 4-5 in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-7 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     

The Isles are 3-1-1 on the front end and 2-3-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be January 24th-25th when they host division foes Philadelphia and Carolina.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (27:12); Ottawa: Jake Sanderson (career-high 31:46)

Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (23:16).

Face-offs

Isles 36, Ottawa 25 (59%)

Bo Horvat won 12 of 18 for the Isles; Josh Norris won 10 of 19 for Ottawa. 

Hit Count

Isles 22 (Matt Martin-5)

Ottawa 26 (Brady Tkachuk -5)

Fights 

Matt Martin fought Zack MacEwen in the first period. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin-2)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 15 (Adam Pelech and Mathew Barzal -3)

Ottawa 24 (Artem Zub-7)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 61, Ottawa 55

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 58, Ottawa 49

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Pierre Engvall +12

Ottawa: Zack MacEwen +8

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 5, Ottawa 17

5-on-5: Isles 5, Ottawa 15

Scratches

(Mike Reilly-IR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Hudson Fasching-INJ), (Simon Holmstrom – IR), (Alex Romanov-INJ), (Jean-Gabriel Pageau -Sick)

Games Lost to injury: 148. (Last season's total: 181)

The Ironmen

Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 209 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (159) has also played every game since the start of last season.

Most Overtime Goals, Career (Islanders)

1. John Tavares 11 

2. Brock Nelson 8 

3. Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey 6

5. Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Thomas Hickey, and Anthony Beauvillier 5

Most Overtime Assists, Career (Islanders)

1. Mathew Barzal 16

2. John Tavares 12

Most Overtime Points, Career (Islanders)

1. John Tavares 23

2. Mathew Barzal 21

3. Brock Nelson 18

Barzal has a point on 21 of the 41 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.

National TV Games 

The Isles are 0-3-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with seven games remaining. The next national games will stream on January 28th on ESPN+/Hulu, as the Isles host the Avs and January 30th on ESPN+/Hulu as the Isles visit the Flyers. The remaining five national telecasts are all scheduled in April.

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 0-4-1 in matinee games this season, with six games remaining. The next matinee will be on March 1st vs Nashville. 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 13-16-11 in matinees.

Challenges

Isles: 4 successful, 3 failures  (No offsides -PIT 11/5, No goalie interference – SEA 11/16, Goalie Interference 11/29, goalie interference – TOR 12/31, no goalie interference – BOS 1/5, offsides-VEG 1/9, goalie interference – OTT 1/14)

Opponents: 5 successful, 2 failures (No Goalie Interference -UTA 10/10, Offside-VAN 11/14, Goalie Interference-STL 11/23, Offside -BUF 11/30, No Goalie Interference-CHI 12/15, Goalie Interference – PIT 12/28. Offside 12/31)

Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)

For (1): CHI 12/12

Vs (1): CHI 12/15

Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)

Isles responses (3): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7, BOS 1/5

Opponent responses (6): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31, BOS 1/5

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins 

For (1): Vs. PIT 11/5 (Trailed 3-1, won 4-3 (SO))

Vs (2):  Vs. NJ 11/9 (Led 3-1, Lost 4-3 (OT)), WSH 11/29 Led 4-2, Lost 5-4 (SO))

Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):

For (3): Maxim Tsyplakov 10/10 vs. UTA (17:53, GAG but lost in OT); Anders Lee 11/12 @ EDM (17:20-GTG; EDM won in OT); Mathew Barzal 1/11 vs UTA (18:35-GAG)

Vs (7): Josh Doan 10/10 vs. UTA (18:06- GTG; UTA won in OT); Cole Caufield 10/19 vs MTL (17:50-GTG; NYI won in SO); Jesper Bratt 10/25 at NJD (18:31-GTG; NYI won in OT); Stefan Noesen 11/9 vs NJ (19:10-GTG; NJD won in OT); Lucas Raymond 11/21 at DET (19:09-GAG); 12/15 Connor Bedard at CHI (19:06-GAG); Bobby McMann 1/2 vs. TOR (17:01- GAG)

OT Winners

For (2): Bo Horvat 10/25 at NJD (1:09), Bo Horvat 1/5 @ BOS (3:10)

Vs (6): Dylan Guenther 10/10 vs. UTA (2:18); Jake Neighbours 10/17 @ STL (2:04); Jack Hughes 11/9 vs NJD (2:35); Leon Draisaitl 11/12 @ EDM (1:52); Jakub Chychrun 11/29 @ WAS (1:20); Nick Suzuki 12/3 @ MTL (2:39)

Shootout Winners

For (2): Noah Dobson 10/19 vs MTL, Bo Horvat 11/5 vs PIT

Vs (1): Andrei Kuzmenko 11/19 @ CGY 

 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 ***  3. Josh Bailey 1,057 ***

4. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 5. Brock Nelson 883 *** 6. Clark Gillies 872 *** 7. Casey Cizikas 858 *** 8. Matt Martin 847 *** 9. Bob Bourne 814 *** 10. Anders Lee 802 …

28. Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 29. Kyle Okposo and Ryan Pulock 529 *** 31. Adam Pelech  523 *** 32. Mathew Barzal 522 *** 33. Nick Leddy 518 ***  34. Dave Lewis 514 *** 35. Scott Mayfield 510

Goals    

1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 ***  3. Denis Potvin 310 ***

4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Pat LaFontaine, Brent Sutter, and Brock Nelson 287  *** 8. Anders Lee 279 …

20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 132…

29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 111

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …

8. Patrick Flatley 328 *** 9. Brent Sutter and Mathew Barzal 323…

14. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 15. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 16. Brock Nelson 268…

19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 209…

26. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 28. Jean Potvin and Noah Dobson 167 *** 30. Jeff Norton 166 *** 31. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 32. Ryan Pulock 157… 

35. Travis Green 145 *** 36. Mark Streit and Casey Cizikas 139

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

7. Josh Bailey 580 *** 8. Pat LaFontaine 566 ***  9. Brock Nelson 555 …

13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley and Anders Lee 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 455…

28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258 ***  30. Casey Cizikas 250

+/-

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. Ryan Pulock +58 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 23. Patrick Flatley +57 ***  24. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 25. Gord Lane +48

Defense Goals

1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57 ***

4. Stefan Persson 52 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 50 *** 6. Jean Potvin 46 *** 7. Nick Leddy and Noah Dobson 45…

14. Vladimir Malakhov and Scott Mayfield 27 *** 16. Adam Pelech and four others 26  

Defense Assists

1. Denis Potvin 742***  2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…

5. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 6. Jean Potvin and Noah Dobson 167 *** 8. Jeff Norton 166 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 156 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 121… 

17. Bryan Berard 100 *** 18. Vladimir Malakhov 98 *** 19. Johnny Boychuk and Scott Mayfield 96

Defense Points

1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…

6. Jean Potvin 213 *** 7. Noah Dobson 212 *** 8. Ryan Pulock 206…

10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Roman Hamrlik 153 *** 12. Adam Pelech 147…

18. Gerry Hart 128 *** 19. Vladimir Malakhov 125 *** 20. Scott Mayfield 123

Goalie Games

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 ***

4. Kelly Hrudey 241 *** 5. Ilya Sorokin 222 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 193 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177***  9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173

Wins

1. Billy Smith 304  *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130 ***

4. Ilya Sorokin 108 …

7. Jaroslav Halak 88 ***  8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 20 *** 

4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm   

Chris Terry scored two goals and added an assist as Bridgeport improved to 8-22-2-2 with a 5-0 win over Lehigh Valley on Sunday; it was the Baby Isles' second home win of the season. Henrik Tikkanen made 21 saves for his first professional shutout.

Brian Pinho, the team's All-Star selection, leads the team with 17 goals. Chris Terry's 22 assists and 29 points pace the Baby Isles in those categories.

The homestand continues on Wednesday against Springfield.

Season Series Stats

The Isles won the season series, 2 games to 1 (and 4 points to 2). 

The road team won all three games this season, each by two goals.

The Isles are 8-2-2 in their last 12 games vs. Ottawa; the loss ended a 6-0-2 stretch in their last eight home games against the Sens, dating back to a 6-5 loss in Brooklyn on December 1, 2017.

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, JANUARY 16th –PHILADELPHIA AT ISLES 7:30pm

[MSGSN (pre-game at  7:00), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]

The Isles and Flyers met only once in all of calendar year 2024 but they will meet three times this month, beginning on Thursday at UBS Arena.

The Isles are 13-2-1 in their last 16 games vs. Philadelphia (including 6-1 in OT/SO) and are 8-0-1 in their last nine home games against the Flyers, dating back to a 4-3 loss at the Coliseum on March 18, 2021. The one OT/SO loss at home was last November 25, when Ilya Sorokin made 40 saves but lost in a shootout.

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

The Skinny: Isles 2, Utah 1

"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 42

Isles 2, Utah 1

Matthew Barzal scored the latest go-ahead goal for the Islanders in 2 ½ seasons and it held up for the winner as Marcus Hogberg made 21 saves for his first NHL win since April 2021 and the Isles defeated Utah HC 2-1 before a sellout crowd of 11,131 at Delta Center. 

Brock Nelson scored for the second straight game to knot the game 1-1 in the third period after Nick Schmaltz had given Utah a 1-0 advantage with a goal just 1:13 into the middle period. 

The Isles have won three straight games for the first time this season as they complete a sweep of a road trip of at least three games for the first time in over six years. The Isles head home for a seven-game homestand beginning on Tuesday against Ottawa.

The Scoring:  

1st Period

No Goals 

2nd Period

Nick Schmaltz (8) Michael Kesselring (12), Logan Cooley (25) 01:13 NYI 0,UTA 1

3rd Period

Brock Nelson (12) Anders Lee (15), Mathew Barzal (9) 03:36 NYI 1,UTA 1

Mathew Barzal (4) Anders Lee (16), Brock Nelson (13) 18:35 NYI 2,UTA 1

The Skinny

The Isles allowed the opening goal for the 14th time in the last 17 games…The Isles have outscored the opposition 60-58 thru two periods but have been outscored 60-42 in the third period and overtime…The Isles have scored 82 goals and allowed 75 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 53-30 in all other situations… The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 24 of the last 30 games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 41-34 in the second period this season; they were outscored 107-83 in the second period a season ago… Ilya Sorokin, who had started 16 of the prior 17 games, going 8-7-1, missed the game due to illness… Jakub Skarek dressed for an NHL game for the first time. … The Isles killed both Utah penalties but did not score on their only power play opportunity, dropping them to 0-24 over the last thirteen games; it is the longest streak without a power play goal in club history and matches the longest streak in the NHL this season (Pittsburgh had a similar streak) … Over the last thirteen games, the Isles have been outscored 9-0 on the power play… Matthew Barzal has a five-game assist streak (one shy of his career high) and six assists in the last seven games… The Isles have won three straight road games for the first time since a four-game stretch last February 23rd- March 10th…Logan Cooley earned his 36th point, trailing only Connor Bedard (38) among players 21 or younger.

Most Consecutive Games Without a Power Play Goal (Isles History, one season)

13 -  12/10/24-CURRENT

12 -  11/10-12/9/2010

12 -  11/26-12/20/1972

The 0-24 stretch leaves the Isles power play at 11-104 (10.6%) on the season.

Look at Me, I'm Anders Lee

Anders Lee extended his club lead in points with two assists.  Lee is 6-2-8 in seven games since Christmas. At 19-16-35, Lee is on pace to set career highs in assists (23 - twice) and points (62 in 2017-18). Lee is the last Islander to score 40 goals (2017-18) and only Brock Nelson (3x), Bo Horvat (2023-24) and Kyle Palmieri (2023-24) have reached 30 goals in the interim. 

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles last swept a road trip of at least three games October 27-28-30, 2018, when they defeated Philadelphia, Carolina, and Pittsburgh.

• The Isles have won six straight Saturday games for the first time since eight straight wins over a two-season span in 2019; they last won six straight in a single season November 24, 2018-January 5, 2019, so it matches their longest single season Saturday streak since winning seven straight to start the 2017-18 season.

• It was the first time since Semyon Varlamov became an Islander in 2019 that neither Varlamov nor Ilya Sorokin dressed for a game.

• It was the first time since April 3, 2022, when Cory Schneider earned his only Islander win (in New Jersey) that a goalie other than Varlamov or Sorokin won a game.

• It was the first time since 2020-21 that a third Islander goaltender started multiple games (Christopher Gibson).

A Late Winner

Mathew Barzal's goal at 18:35 was the latest Islander go-ahead goal since Kyle Palmieri scored at 19:45 in Carolina on April 8, 2022.  In the last 25 seasons, the Isles have only three later go-ahead goals on the road:  John Tavares (18:36 - 1/12/2014 at Dallas), Jordan Eberle (18:47- 3/28/2019 at Winnipeg) and Palmieri.

Quite the Numbers

Marcus Hogberg has now played 153 minutes for the Isles, allowing four goals on 80 shots for a 1.57 GAA and a .950 save percentage. Both the GAA and save percentage are the best in Islander history for any goalie who played multiple games.  He is the 52nd goalie to win a game for the Isles (and is one of nine to win exactly one).

Weekend Warriors

The Islanders have won six straight Saturday games (four at home and two on the road). The Isles are 10-11-3 in their last 24 games (6-0-0 on Saturday; 4-11-3 on other days). Eight of their last ten wins have come on Saturday or Sunday.

Milestone Men

• Brock Nelson recorded his 287th goal, matching Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter for 5th place in club history as well as the most of any player without four Stanley Cups.

• Mathew Barzal recorded his 323rd  assist, tying Brent Sutter for 9th place in club history.

• Anders Lee recorded his 488th point, tying Patrick Flatley for 14th place in club history.

• Noah Dobson's next assist will be his 168th assist, passing Jean Potvin for 6th place on the club's assist list.

• Anthony Duclair's next goal will be his 150th career goal.

Third Periods

Goals:  Isles 40, Opponents 54

Tying Goals: Isles 5, Opponents 11 (in 10 games)

Go Ahead Goals: Isles 7 (in 6 games), Opponents 9

Empty Net Goals: Isles 9, Opponents 12

The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 29 of their 42 games. In the thirteen games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (2-10-1), they have been within one goal at some point in all but four of them (10/12 @ DAL, 12/5 vs SEA, 12/17 @ CAR, 12/23 vs BUF, 12/31 @TOR) 

Did Somebody Say Comeback?

The Isles have eight come-from behind wins this season, including two when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win eight times this season, including seven times in the third period.

Overtime

Ten of the first 26 Islanders games went to overtime; 14 of the last 15 have been decided in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 2-4 in overtime and 1-0 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 0-2 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts. 

Sorokin has 34 OT/SO losses, extending his club record (Rick DiPietro had 28). 

Empty Netters 

The Isles have scored 9 empty-net goals and allowed 12.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 29 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 11 times

• Allowed the next goal: 15 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 3 times 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2024-25  17-18-7 for 41 points in 42 games

• 2023-24  19-13-10 for 48 points in 42 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-1-1

• Season: 13-62-75

• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170

Islander defensemen have earned 34.1% of the team's assists, which is 5th in the NHL, and 25.5% of the team's points, which is 9th.

Varly, Varly

Semyon Varlamov has 41 career shutouts and 289 career wins. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is seventh in wins and fourth in shutouts.

All-time Goalie Wins

47. Mike Liut 293

48. Ed Giacomin 290

49. Semyon Varlamov 289

Oh Canada

The Isles are playing 17 games against Canadian-based teams this season; they are 5-2-3 so far (1-0-0 at home and 4-1-3 on the road). After opening with a home shootout win over Montreal, the Isles played eight straight road games in November/December going (4-1-3). Six of the seven remaining games will be at home. 

Going back to last season the Isles are 8-2-3 in the last thirteen games against Canadian teams; the next Canadian opponents will be Ottawa at UBS Arena on January 14th.

Home and Road

The Isles are 17-18-7 overall; they are 7-9-2 at home and 10-9-5 on the road.

Utah is 18-17-7 overall; they are 6-9-4 at home and 12-8-3 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 11-12-3 against the East (4-4-2 vs. Metropolitan and 7-8-1 vs. Atlantic) and 6-6-4 against the West (4-2-2 vs. Central and 2-4-2 vs. Pacific).

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 1,461

3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack

Lou Lamoriello (1,461) and Patrick Roy (167) have combined for 1,628 career wins as general manager and coach. That is the highest in the NHL among active combinations by a wide margin.

First Things First

The Isles are 8-3-4 when scoring first and are 9-15-3 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles  14-5-13=32

Utah  5-10-7=22

The Isles are 9-11-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 8-6-4 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Marcus Hogberg made 21 saves; he is 1-1-0 this season and 1-0-0 vs. Utah. 

Connor Ingram made 30 saves; he is 6-5-3 this season and 1-2-0 vs the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-3 (6:00); Utah was 0-2 (4:00).

The Isles are 8-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 9-17-6 when they do not. The Isles are 9-10-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-8-1 when they do not.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 16-3-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-15-3 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 8-5-7 in games decided by a single goal including 4-5 in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     

The Isles are 3-1-1 on the front end and 2-3-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be January 24th-25th when they host division foes Philadelphia and Carolina.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (27:18); Utah: Mikhail Sergachev (26:41)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards (22:10).

Face-offs

Isles 29, Utah 30 (49%)

Bo Horvat won 14 of 24 for the Isles; Nick Schmaltz won 7 of 11 for Utah. 

Hit Count

Isles 25 (Adam Pelech -7)

Utah 23 (Lawson Crouse -6)

Fights 

None. Season total: 3 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 23 (Adam Pelech -4)

Utah 22 (Ian Cole -5)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 64, Utah 58

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 45, Utah 44

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Anders Lee +19

Utah: Two with +11

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 14, Utah 7

5-on-5: Isles 9, Utah 7

Scratches

(Mike Reilly-IR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Hudson Fasching-INJ), Simon Holmstrom – IR), (Alex Romanov-INJ), (Ilya Sorokin-INJ)

Games Lost to injury: 142. (Last season's total: 181)

The Ironmen

Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 208 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (158) has also played every game since the start of last season.

Most Overtime Goals, Career (Islanders)

1. John Tavares 11 

2. Brock Nelson 8 

3. Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey 6

5. Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Thomas Hickey, and Anthony Beauvillier 5

Most Overtime Assists, Career (Islanders)

1. Mathew Barzal 16

2. John Tavares 12

Most Overtime Points, Career (Islanders)

1. John Tavares 23

2. Mathew Barzal 21

3. Brock Nelson 18

Barzal has a point on 21 of the 41 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.

National TV Games 

The Isles are 0-3-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with seven games remaining. The next national games will stream on January 28th on ESPN+/Hulu, as the Isles host the Avs and January 30th on ESPN+/Hulu as the Isles visit the Flyers. The remaining five national telecasts are all scheduled in April.

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 0-4-1 in matinee games this season, with six games remaining. The next matinee will be on March 1st vs Nashville. 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 13-16-11 in matinees.

Challenges

Isles: 3 successful, 3 failures  (No offsides -PIT 11/5, No goalie interference – SEA 11/16, Goalie Interference 11/29, goalie interference – TOR 12/31, no goalie interference – BOS 1/5, offsides-VEG 1/9)

Opponents: 5 successful, 2 failures (No Goalie Interference -UTA 10/10, Offside-VAN 11/14, Goalie Interference-STL 11/23, Offside -BUF 11/30, No Goalie Interference-CHI 12/15, Goalie Interference – PIT 12/28. Offside 12/31)

Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)

For (1): CHI 12/12

Vs (1): CHI 12/15

Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)

Isles responses (3): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7, BOS 1/5

Opponent responses (6): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31, BOS 1/5

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins 

For (1): Vs. PIT 11/5 (Trailed 3-1, won 4-3 (SO))

Vs (2):  Vs. NJ 11/9 (Led 3-1, Lost 4-3 (OT)), WSH 11/29 Led 4-2, Lost 5-4 (SO))

Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):

For (3): Maxim Tsyplakov 10/10 vs. UTA (17:53, GAG but lost in OT); Anders Lee 11/12 @ EDM (17:20-GTG; EDM won in OT); Mathew Barzal 1/11 vs UTA (18:35-GAG)

Vs (7): Josh Doan 10/10 vs. UTA (18:06- GTG; UTA won in OT); Cole Caufield 10/19 vs MTL (17:50-GTG; NYI won in SO); Jesper Bratt 10/25 at NJD (18:31-GTG; NYI won in OT); Stefan Noesen 11/9 vs NJ (19:10-GTG; NJD won in OT); Lucas Raymond 11/21 at DET (19:09-GAG); 12/15 Connor Bedard at CHI (19:06-GAG); Bobby McMann 1/2 vs. TOR (17:01- GAG)

OT Winners

For (2): Bo Horvat 10/25 at NJD (1:09), Bo Horvat 1/5 @ BOS (3:10)

Vs (6): Dylan Guenther 10/10 vs. UTA (2:18); Jake Neighbours 10/17 @ STL (2:04); Jack Hughes 11/9 vs NJD (2:35); Leon Draisaitl 11/12 @ EDM (1:52); Jakub Chychrun 11/29 @ WAS (1:20); Nick Suzuki 12/3 @ MTL (2:39)

Shootout Winners

For (2): Noah Dobson 10/19 vs MTL, Bo Horvat 11/5 vs PIT

Vs (1): Andrei Kuzmenko 11/19 @ CGY 

 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 ***  3. Josh Bailey 1,057 ***

4. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 5. Brock Nelson 882 *** 6. Clark Gillies 872 *** 7. Casey Cizikas 857 *** 8. Matt Martin 846 *** 9. Bob Bourne 814 *** 10. Anders Lee 801 …

28. Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 29. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 30. Ryan Pulock 528 *** 31. Adam Pelech  522 *** 32. Mathew Barzal 521 *** 33. Nick Leddy 518 ***  34. Dave Lewis 514 *** 35. Rich Pilon, Mick Vukota and Scott Mayfield 509

Goals    

1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 ***  3. Denis Potvin 310 ***

4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Pat LaFontaine, Brent Sutter and Brock Nelson 287  *** 8. Anders Lee 279 …

20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 132…

29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 111

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …

8. Patrick Flatley 328 *** 9. Brent Sutter and Mathew Barzal 323…

14. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 15. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 16. Brock Nelson 268…

19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 209…

26. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 28. Jean Potvin and Noah Dobson 167 *** 30. Jeff Norton 166 *** 31. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 32. Ryan Pulock 157… 

35. Travis Green 145 *** 36. Mark Streit and Casey Cizikas 139

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

7. Josh Bailey 580 *** 8. Pat LaFontaine 566 ***  9. Brock Nelson 555 …

13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley and Anders Lee 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 455…

28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258 ***  30. Casey Cizikas 250

+/-

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. Ryan Pulock +58 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 23. Patrick Flatley +57 ***  24. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 25. Gord Lane +48

Defense Goals

1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57 ***

4. Stefan Persson 52 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 50 *** 6. Jean Potvin 46 *** 7. Nick Leddy and Noah Dobson 45…

14. Vladimir Malakhov and Scott Mayfield 27 *** 16. Adam Pelech and four others 26  

Defense Assists

1. Denis Potvin 742***  2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…

5. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 6. Jean Potvin and Noah Dobson 167 *** 8. Jeff Norton 166 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 157 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 121… 

17. Bryan Berard 100 *** 18. Vladimir Malakhov 98 *** 19. Johnny Boychuk and Scott Mayfield 96

Defense Points

1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…

6. Jean Potvin 213 *** 7. Noah Dobson 212 *** 8. Ryan Pulock 207…

10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Roman Hamrlik 153 *** 12. Adam Pelech 147…

18. Gerry Hart 128 *** 19. Vladimir Malakhov 125 *** 20. Scott Mayfield 123

Goalie Games

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 ***

4. Kelly Hrudey 241 *** 5. Ilya Sorokin 222 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 193 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177***  9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173

Wins

1. Billy Smith 304  *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130 ***

4. Ilya Sorokin 108 …

7. Jaroslav Halak 88 ***  8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 20 *** 

4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm   

Bridgeport is 7-22-2-2 following a 4-1 loss to Providence on Friday.

Brian Pinho, the team's All-Star selection, leads the team with 16 goals. Chris Terry's 21 assists pace the Baby Isles in that category and his goal Friday also gave him the team point lead with 26.

The Islanders open a four-game homestand Sunday at 5pm against Lehigh Valley.

Season Series Stats

The teams split the season series 1 game to 1 (the Isles earned 3 points to Utah's 2). 

Both games were won by the road team; the Isles scored a go-ahead goal in the final three minutes of both games, but this one held up.

UP NEXT

TUESDAY, JANUARY 14th –OTTAWA AT ISLES 7:30pm

[MSGSN (pre-game at  7:00), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]

The Isles look to keep the momentum going as they return home for a seven-game homestand beginning on Tuesday against Ottawa. 

The Isles already own a pair of 4-2 wins in Ottawa this season and will look to sweep the season series with a win on home ice.

The Isles are 8-1-2 in their last 11 games vs. Ottawa and are 6-0-2 in their last eight home games against the Sens, dating back to a 6-5 loss in Brooklyn on December 1, 2017.

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

The Skinny: Isles 4, Vegas 0

"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 41

Isles 4, Vegas 0

Anders Lee scored a first period goal in his 800th NHL game, and Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves for his 20th career shutout as the Islanders blanked the Vegas Golden Knights 4-0  before a sellout crowd of 17,713 at T-Mobile Arena. 

Brock Nelson scored for the first time in eighteen games and Bo Horvat scored for the third time in two games to build a 3-0 lead before Casey Cizikas' 250th point sealed matters with an empty-net goal.

The Isles have won consecutive games for the first time since December 7-8 and will look to sweep a road trip of at least three games for the first time in over six years on Saturday in Utah. 

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Anders Lee (19) Brock Nelson (12) 17:04 NYI 1,VGK 0

2nd Period

Brock Nelson (11) Mathew Barzal (8), Alexander Romanov (8) 5:30 NYI 2,VGK 0

Bo Horvat (13) Kyle Palmieri (15), Alexander Romanov (9) 10:41 NYI 3,VGK 0

3rd Period

Casey Cizikas (4)EN Jean-Gabriel Pageau (12), Noah Dobson (16) 17:26 NYI 4,VGK 0 

The Skinny

The Isles scored the opening goal for only the 3rd time in the last 16 games…The Isles have outscored the opposition 60-57 thru two periods but have been outscored 60-40 in the third period and overtime…The Isles have scored 80 goals and allowed 74 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 53-30 in all other situations… The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 23 of the last 29 games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 41-33 in the second period this season; they were outscored 107-83 in the second period a season ago… Ilya Sorokin has started 16 of the last 17 games, going 8-7-1 …Brock Nelson had gone 17 games without a goal, one shy of his career-longest streak (done twice)..The Isles killed their only penalty (with help from video review) but did not score on their only power play opportunity, dropping them to 0-21 over the last twelve games. … Over the last twelve games, the Isles have been outscored 9-0 on the power play… Matthew Barzal has a four-game assist streak and five assists in the last six games…Bo Horvat has three goals in the last two games; he is the fifth player with at least eleven career goals against Vegas…Anders Lee is the first Islander to score a goal in his 800th NHL game…It was Lee's 42nd game-winning goal, tying John Tavares for 5th in club history…Alex Romanov and Noah Dobson combined for three assists while each went +3 in their first games since turning 25 a day apart earlier this week…Vegas has been shutout in three of their ten regulation losses…Despite being outscored 1-0 by the Isles, Vegas is a league-best +29 in the third period…The Isles won consecutive games for the third time this season, and consecutive road games for the first time this season.

Il-ya Sor-o-kin

Ilya Sorokin recorded his 20th career shutout. Since he debuted in January 2021, only Connor Hellebuyck (22) has more shutouts – and he has started 50 more games. It was Sorokin's 2nd  shutout at T-Mobile Arena and his 2nd shutout of the season; he is the sixth goal to have multiple shutouts in each of the last five seasons.

Shoot the Puck, Ryan, Shoot the Puck (Kids ask your parents)

Ryan Pulock had a shot in the first period registered at over 100 mph. He now has four of them this season, matching the total of every other defensemen in the NHL, combined!

Most Consecutive Games Without a Power Play Goal (Isles History, one season)

12 -  11/10-12/9/2010

12 -  11/26-12/20/1972

12 -  12/10/24-CURRENT

The 0-21 stretch leaves the Isles power play at 11-101 (10.9%) on the season.

Look at Me, I'm Anders Lee

Playing his 800th game, Anders Lee extended his club lead in goals with goal 19.  Lee is 6-0-6 in six games since Christmas. At 19-14-33, Lee is on pace to set career highs in assists (23 - twice) and points (62 in 2017-18). Lee is the last Islander to score 40 goals (2017-18) and only Brock Nelson (3x), Bo Horvat (2023-24) and Kyle Palmieri (2023-24) have reached 30 goals in the interim. 

First Times in a Long Time

Four Islanders with 800 games of team experience appeared in the same game for the first time since April 6, 1986 (Potvin-Gillies-Trottier-Bourne). No NHL team has had that happen since Chicago (Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews) did so on November 29, 2019.

Weekend Warriors

The Islanders have won five straight Saturday games (four at home, and one in Toronto). The Isles are 9-11-3 in their last 23 games (5-0-0 on Saturday; 4-11-3 on other days). Seven of their last nine wins have come on Saturday or Sunday.

Milestone Men

• Anders Lee played his 800th game.

• Casey Cizikas recorded his 250th career point.

• Noah Dobson's record his 167th assist, passing Jeff Norton and  tying Jean Potvin for 6th place on the club's assist list.

• Mathew Barzal's next assist will be his 323rd, tying Brent Sutter for 9th place in club history.

• Anthony Duclair's next goal will be his 150th career goal.

Top 5 Goal Scorers 

Brock Nelson needs just two more goals to become the fifth-highest goal scorer in club history:

• 5. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 

• 7. Brock Nelson 286 

Third Periods

Goals:  Isles 38, Opponents 54

Tying Goals: Isles 4, Opponents 11 (in 10 games)

Go Ahead Goals: Isles 6 (in 5 games), Opponents 9

Empty Net Goals: Isles 9, Opponents 12

The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 29 of their 41 games. In the twelve games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (1-10-1), they have been within one goal at some point in all but four of them (10/12 @ DAL, 12/5 vs SEA, 12/17 @ CAR, 12/23 vs BUF, 12/31 @TOR) 

Did Somebody Say Comeback?

The Isles have seven come-from behind wins this season, including one when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win eight times this season, including an NHL-high seven times in the third period.

Overtime

Ten of the first 26 Islanders games went to overtime; 14 of the last 15 have been decided in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 2-4 in overtime and 1-0 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 0-2 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts. 

Sorokin has 34 OT/SO losses, extending his club record (Rick DiPietro had 28). 

Empty Netters 

The Isles have scored 9 empty-net goals and allowed 12.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 29 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 11 times

• Allowed the next goal: 15 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 3 times 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2024-25  16-18-7 for 39 points in 41 games

• 2023-24  19-12-10 for 48 points in 41 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-3-3

• Season: 13-61-74

• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170

Islander defensemen have earned 34.3% of the team's assists, which is tied-5th in the NHL, and 25.7% of the team's points, which is 7th.

Varly, Varly

Semyon Varlamov has 41 career shutouts and 289 career wins. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is seventh in wins and fourth in shutouts.

All-time Goalie Wins

47. Mike Liut 293

48. Ed Giacomin 290

49. Semyon Varlamov 289

Oh Canada

The Isles are playing 17 games against Canadian-based teams this season; they are 5-2-3 so far (1-0-0 at home and 4-1-3 on the road). After opening with a home shootout win over Montreal, the Isles played eight straight road games in November/December going (4-1-3). Six of the seven remaining games will be at home. 

Going back to last season the Isles are 8-2-3 in the last thirteen games against Canadian teams; the next Canadian opponents will be Ottawa at UBS Arena on January 14th.

Home and Road

The Isles are 16-18-7 overall; they are 7-9-2 at home and 9-9-5 on the road.

Vegas is 28-10-3 overall; they are 17-5-0 at home and 11-5-3 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 11-12-3 against the East (4-4-2 vs. Metropolitan and 7-8-1 vs. Atlantic) and 5-6-4 against the West (3-2-2 vs. Central and 2-4-2 vs. Pacific).

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 1,460

3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack

Lou Lamoriello (1,460) and Patrick Roy (166) have combined for 1,626 career wins as general manager and coach. That is the highest in the NHL among active combinations by a wide margin.

First Things First

The Isles are 8-3-4 when scoring first and are 8-15-3 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles     6-6-9=21

Vegas  8-11-11=30

The Isles are 8-11-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 8-6-4 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves; he is 13-13-4 this season and 2-2-1 vs. Vegas. 

Adin Hill made 17 saves; he is 17-7-2 this season and 2-1-0 vs the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-1 (2:00); Vegas was 0-1 (2:00),

The Isles are 8-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-17-6 when they do not. The Isles are 9-10-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 7-8-1 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 16-3-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-15-3 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 7-5-7 in games decided by a single goal including 3-5 in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     

The Isles are 3-1-1 on the front end and 2-3-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be January 24th-25th when they host division foes Philadelphia and Carolina.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (24:37); Vegas: Alex Pietrangelo (23:23)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards (20:21).

Face-offs

Isles 27, Vegas 17 (61%)

Bo Horvat won 11 of 14 for the Isles; Brett Howden won 5 of 9 for Vegas. 

Hit Count

Isles 19 (Casey Cizikas -4)

Vegas 12 (Keegan Kolesar -3)

Fights 

None. Season total: 3 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 21 (Three with 3)

Vegas 8 (Zach Whitecloud-2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 47, Vegas 72

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 41, Vegas 63

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: No Isle was a +

Vegas: Victor Olofsson +15

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 6, Vegas 8

5-on-5: Isles 6, Vegas 5

Scratches

(Mike Reilly-IR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Hudson Fasching-INJ), (Isaish George -INJ), (Simon Holmstrom – IR), Grant Hutton

Games Lost to injury: 136. (Last season's total: 181)

The Ironmen

Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 207 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (157) has also played every game since the start of last season.

Most Overtime Goals, Career (Islanders)

1. John Tavares 11 

2. Brock Nelson 8 

3. Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey 6

5. Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Thomas Hickey, and Anthony Beauvillier 5

Most Overtime Assists, Career (Islanders)

1. Mathew Barzal 16

2. John Tavares 12

Most Overtime Points, Career (Islanders)

1. John Tavares 23

2. Mathew Barzal 21

3. Brock Nelson 18

Barzal has a point on 21 of the 41 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.

National TV Games 

The Isles are 0-3-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with seven games remaining. The next national games will stream on January 28th on ESPN+/Hulu, as the Isles host the Avs and January 30th on ESPN+/Hulu as the Isles visit the Flyers. The remaining five national telecasts are all scheduled in April.

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 0-4-1 in matinee games this season, with six games remaining. The next matinee will be on March 1st vs Nashville. 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 13-16-11 in matinees.

Challenges

Isles: 3 successful, 3 failures  (No offsides -PIT 11/5, No goalie interference – SEA 11/16, Goalie Interference 11/29, goalie interference – TOR 12/31, no goalie interference – BOS 1/5, offsides-VEG 1/9)

Opponents: 5 successful, 2 failures (No Goalie Interference -UTA 10/10, Offside-VAN 11/14, Goalie Interference-STL 11/23, Offside -BUF 11/30, No Goalie Interference-CHI 12/15, Goalie Interference – PIT 12/28. Offside 12/31)

Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)

For (1): CHI 12/12

Vs (1): CHI 12/15

Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)

Isles responses (3): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7, BOS 1/5

Opponent responses (6): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31, BOS 1/5

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins 

For (1): Vs. PIT 11/5 (Trailed 3-1, won 4-3 (SO))

Vs (2):  Vs. NJ 11/9 (Led 3-1, Lost 4-3 (OT)), WSH 11/29 Led 4-2, Lost 5-4 (SO))

Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):

For (2): Maxim Tsyplakov 10/10 vs. UTA (17:53, GAG but lost in OT); Anders Lee 11/12 @ EDM (17:20-GTG; EDM won in OT)

Vs (7): Josh Doan 10/10 vs. UTA (18:06- GTG; UTA won in OT); Cole Caufield 10/19 vs MTL (17:50-GTG; NYI won in SO); Jesper Bratt 10/25 at NJD (18:31-GTG; NYI won in OT); Stefan Noesen 11/9 vs NJ (19:10-GTG; NJD won in OT); Lucas Raymond 11/21 at DET (19:09-GAG); 12/15 Connor Bedard at CHI (19:06-GAG); Bobby McMann 1/2 vs. TOR (17:01- GAG)

OT Winners

For (2): Bo Horvat 10/25 at NJD (1:09), Bo Horvat 1/5 @ BOS (3:10)

Vs (6): Dylan Guenther 10/10 vs. UTA (2:18); Jake Neighbours 10/17 @ STL (2:04); Jack Hughes 11/9 vs NJD (2:35); Leon Draisaitl 11/12 @ EDM (1:52); Jakub Chychrun 11/29 @ WAS (1:20); Nick Suzuki 12/3 @ MTL (2:39)

Shootout Winners

For (2): Noah Dobson 10/19 vs MTL, Bo Horvat 11/5 vs PIT

Vs (1): Andrei Kuzmenko 11/19 @ CGY 

 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 ***  3. Josh Bailey 1,057 ***

4. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 5. Brock Nelson 881 *** 6. Clark Gillies 872 *** 7. Casey Cizikas 856 *** 8. Matt Martin 845 *** 9. Bob Bourne 814 *** 10. Anders Lee 800 …

28. Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 29. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 30. Ryan Pulock 527 *** 31. Adam Pelech  521 *** 32. Mathew Barzal 520 *** 33. Nick Leddy 518 ***  34. Dave Lewis 514 *** 35. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 ***  37. Scott Mayfield 508

Goals    

1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 ***  3. Denis Potvin 310 …

5. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 *** 7. Brock Nelson 286  *** 8. Anders Lee 279 …

20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 131…

29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 111

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …

8. Patrick Flatley 328 *** 9. Brent Sutter 323 *** 10. Mathew Barzal 322…

14. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 15. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 16. Brock Nelson 268…

19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 207…

26. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 28. Jean Potvin and Noah Dobson 167 *** 30. Jeff Norton 166 *** 31. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 32. Ryan Pulock 156… 

35. Travis Green 145 *** 36. Mark Streit and Casey Cizikas 139

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

7. Josh Bailey 580 *** 8. Pat LaFontaine 566 ***  9. Brock Nelson 554 …

13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Anders Lee 486 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 453…

28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258 ***  30. Casey Cizikas 250

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467  ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…

15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 17. Garry Howatt +75 ***  18. Adam Pelech +74 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +58 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 23. Patrick Flatley +57 ***  24. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 25. Gord Lane +48

Defense Goals

1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57 ***

4. Stefan Persson 52 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 50 *** 6. Jean Potvin 46 *** 7. Nick Leddy and Noah Dobson 45…

14. Vladimir Malakhov and Scott Mayfield 27 *** 16. Adam Pelech and four others 26  

Defense Assists

1. Denis Potvin 742***  2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…

5. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 6. Jean Potvin and Noah Dobson 167 *** 8. Jeff Norton 166 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 156 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 121… 

17. Bryan Berard 100 *** 18. Vladimir Malakhov 98 *** 19. Johnny Boychuk and Scott Mayfield 96

Defense Points

1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…

6. Jean Potvin 213 *** 7. Noah Dobson 212 *** 8. Ryan Pulock 206…

10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Roman Hamrlik 153 *** 12. Adam Pelech 147…

18. Gerry Hart 128 *** 19. Vladimir Malakhov 125 *** 20. Scott Mayfield 123

Goalie Games

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 ***

4. Kelly Hrudey 241 *** 5. Ilya Sorokin 222 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 193 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177***  9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173

Wins

1. Billy Smith 304  *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130 ***

4. Ilya Sorokin 108 …

7. Jaroslav Halak 88 ***  8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 20 *** 

4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm   

Bridgeport is 7-21-2-2 as they head to Providence on Friday.

Brian Pinho, the team's All-Star selection, leads the team with 16 goals. Chris Terry's 21 assists pace the Baby Isles in that category and is tied with Pinho for the team point lead with 25.

The Islanders open a four-game homestand Sunday.

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The teams will meet at UBS Arena on February 4th to wrap up the season series. 

The Isles have now recorded two shutouts in their seven trips to Vegas (both by Sorokin). They are 4-3-0 in Vegas all-time, allowing only three total goals in their four wins.

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, JANUARY 11th –ISLES AT UTAH 9:00pm

[MSGSN2 (pre-game at 8:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]

The Isles look to sweep the road trip as they make their first-ever trip to Salt Lake City to face Utah HC.

Utah rallied for a 5-4 overtime win in the Isles' home opener back in October in the only meeting between the teams.

The Isles have not swept a road trip of at least three games since October 27-28-30, 2018, when they defeated Philadelphia, Carolina, and Pittsburgh.

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

The Skinny: Isles 5, Boston 4 (OT)

"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 40

Isles 5, Boston 4 (OT)

Bo Horvat and Anders Lee each scored twice, and it was Horvat's second goal 3:10 into overtime that gave the Isles a 5-4 win over the Bruins before a sellout crowd of 17,850 at TD Garden. 

David Pastrnak scored twice in the third period as Boston rallied from a 4-2 deficit to force overtime.

The Isles improve to 3-6-0 in their last nine games as they move within four points of the final playoff spot. The Isles are off until Thursday when they visit the Golden Knights in Vegas. 

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Bo Horvat (11) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (11), Ryan Pulock (12) 03:22 NYI 1,BOS 1 SHG

Ryan Pulock (2) Mathew Barzal (7), Adam Pelech (7) 05:33 NYI 2,BOS 1

2nd Period

Anders Lee (17) Alexander Romanov (7) 04:11 NYI 3,BOS 1

Justin Brazeau (10) Andrew Peeke (7) 10:18 NYI 3,BOS 2

3rd Period

Anders Lee (18) Ryan Pulock (13) 03:41 NYI 4,BOS 2

David Pastrnak (16) Morgan Geekie (9) 04:35 NYI 4,BOS 3

David Pastrnak (17) Pavel Zacha (12), Nikita Zadorov (8) 12:44 NYI 4,BOS 4

OT

Bo Horvat (12) 03:10 NYI 5,BOS 4 

The Skinny

The Isles allowed the opening goal for the 13th time in 15 games… The Isles have been outscored 60-39 in the third period and overtime…The Isles have scored 77 goals and allowed 74 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 53-29 in all other situations… The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 22 of the last 28 games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 39-33 in the second period this season; they were outscored 107-83 in the second period a season ago… Ilya Sorokin has started 15 of the last 16 games, going 7-7-1 …The Isles killed the game's only penalty, and scored shorthanded to boot – it is the first time in the last nine games they were shorthanded that they did not allow a power play goal; the Isles remain 0-20 on the power play in the last eleven games…It was the third time this season that the Isles did have a power play (2-0-1)…Over the last eleven games, the Isles have been outscored 9-0 on the power play… Matthew Barzal has four assists in the last five games…Adam Pelech (26-121-147) passed Travis Hamonic's Islander totals in assists and points…Bo Horvat joins Leon Draisaitl as the only two NHL players with five OT goals since the start of last season…Horvat is the first Islander to score the goal for consecutive overtime wins in the same season since Anthony Beauvillier did so in March 2021…David Pastrnak had two goals for the second straight night for Boston

The Injury

Hudson Fasching was injured on a hit by Mark Kastelic in the third period; after taking one more shift Fasching left the game and did not return.

The 50 Goal Club

Ryan Pulock is the 5th defenseman in club history to score 50 career goals:

1. Denis Potvin 310  

2. Tomas Jonsson 84  

3. Kenny Jonsson 57 

4. Stefan Persson 52  

5. Ryan Pulock 50

Most Consecutive Games Without a Power Play Goal (Isles History, one season)

12 -  11/10-12/9/2010

12 -  11/26-12/20/1972

11 -  2/23-3/16/2019

11 -  12/10/24-CURRENT

The 0-20 stretch leaves the Isles power play at 11-100 (11.0%) on the season.

Bo, Beau, Barzal

This was only the 3rd Islander win in their last thirteen games in Boston; all three went beyond regulation, on goals by Bo Horvat (OT-Tonight), Anthony Beauvillier (OT-3/25/2021) and Mathew Barzal  (SOW- 12/19/2019).

Look at Me, I'm Anders Lee

Anders Lee extended his club lead in goals with goals 17 and 18.  Lee is 5-0-5 in five games since Christmas.  At 18-14-32, Lee is on pace to set career highs in assists (23 - twice) and points (62 in 2017-18). Lee is the last Islander to score 40 goals (2017-18) and only Brock Nelson (3x), Bo Horvat (2023-24) and Kyle Palmieri (2023-24) have reached 30 goals in the interim.

First Times in a Long Time

• Bo Horvat is the first NHL player with a shorthanded goal and an overtime goal in the same game since March 8, 2023 (JT Miller (VAN vs ANA)

• Horvat is the first Islander to accomplish that since John Tavares (January 15, 2018 at Montreal).

• The Isles finished with 37 shots on goal; it is the first time since November 1st in Buffalo (28 games) that they had at least 35 shots on goal, ending the 5th-longest such streak in club history. That win in Buffalo was also their last road win on US soil before tonight; all four road wins in the interim had been in Canada.

Shorthanded Goal and Overtime Goal in Same Game (Islander history)

• Bo Horvat 2025-01-05 at BOS

• John Tavares 2018-01-15 at MTL

• Chris Campoli 2008-11-03 vs CBJ

• Michael Peca 2002-02-12 at PHI (*)

• Brent Sutter 1990-11-15 at CGY

(*) Peca is the only player in Islander regular season history to score an overtime goal while shorthanded; Brent Sutter also did so in the 1988 playoffs.

Weekend Warriors

The Islanders have won five straight Saturday games (four at home, and one in Toronto). The Isles are 8-11-3 in their last 22 games (5-0-0 on Saturday; 3-11-3 on other days). Seven of their last eight wins have come on Saturday or Sunday.

Milestone Men

• Ilya Sorokin recorded his 108th win, passing Kelly Hrudey for 4th place in club history.

• Anders Lee played his 799th game.

• Adam Pelech passed Travis Hamonic in both assists (121) and points (147).

• Noah Dobson's next assist will be his 167th assist, passing Jeff Norton for 7th place among Isles defensemen, and one tying behind Jean Potvin for 6th.

• Anthony Duclair's next goal will be his 150th career goal.

• Casey Cizikas' next point will be his 250th career point.

Top 5 Goal Scorers 

Brock Nelson needs just three more goals to become the fifth-highest goal scorer in club history:

• 5. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 

• 7. Brock Nelson 285 

Nelson has gone 17 games without a goal, one shy of his career-longest streak (done twice)

Third Periods

Goals:  Isles 37, Opponents 54

Tying Goals: Isles 4, Opponents 11 (in 10 games)

Go Ahead Goals: Isles 6 (in 5 games), Opponents 9

Empty Net Goals: Isles 8, Opponents 12

The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 28 of their 40 games. In the twelve games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (1-10-1), they have been within one goal at some point in all but four of them (10/12 @ DAL, 12/5 vs SEA, 12/17 @ CAR, 12/23 vs BUF, 12/31 @TOR) 

Did Somebody Say Comeback?

The Isles have seven come-from behind wins this season, including one when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win eight times this season, including an NHL-high seven times in the third period.

Overtime

Ten of the first 26 Islanders games went to overtime; this was the first of the last 14 not to have been decided in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 2-4 in overtime and 1-0 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 0-2 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts. 

Sorokin has 34 OT/SO losses, extending his club record (Rick DiPietro had 28). 

Empty Netters 

The Isles have scored 8 empty-net goals and allowed 12.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 28 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 10 times

• Allowed the next goal: 15 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 3 times 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2024-25  15-18-7 for 37 points in 40 games

• 2023-24  18-12-10 for 46 points in 40 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   1-4-5

• Season: 13-58-71

• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170

Islander defensemen have earned 33.9% of the team's assists, which is tied-5th in the NHL, and 25.6% of the team's points, which is tied-6th.

Varly, Varly

Semyon Varlamov has 41 career shutouts and 289 career wins. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is seventh in wins and fourth in shutouts.

All-time Goalie Wins

47. Mike Liut 293

48. Ed Giacomin 290

49. Semyon Varlamov 289

Oh Canada

The Isles are playing 17 games against Canadian-based teams this season; they are 5-2-3 so far (1-0-0 at home and 4-1-3 on the road). After opening with a home shootout win over Montreal, the Isles played eight straight road games in November/December going (4-1-3). Six of the seven remaining games will be at home. 

Going back to last season the Isles are 8-2-3 in the last thirteen games against Canadian teams; the next Canadian opponents will be Ottawa at UBS Arena on January 14th.

Home and Road

The Isles are 15-18-7 overall; they are 7-9-2 at home and 8-9-5 on the road.

Boston is 20-17-5 overall; they are 12-6-3 at home and 8-11-2 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 11-12-3 against the East (4-4-2 vs. Metropolitan and 7-8-1 vs. Atlantic) and 4-6-4 against the West (3-2-2 vs. Central and 1-4-2 vs. Pacific).

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 1,459

3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack

Lou Lamoriello (1,459) and Patrick Roy (165) have combined for 1,624 career wins as general manager and coach. That is the highest in the NHL among active combinations by a wide margin.

First Things First

The Isles are 7-3-4 when scoring first and are 8-15-3 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles      12-17-7-1=37

Boston  9-9-8-4=30

The Isles are 8-11-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 7-6-4 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves; he is 12-13-4 this season and 3-3-2 vs. Boston. 

Joonas Korpisalo made 32 saves; he is 7-4-2 this season and 6-5-4 vs the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles did not have a power play; Boston was 0-1 (2:00) and allowed a shorthanded goal on the power play. 

The Isles are 8-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 7-17-6 when they do not. The Isles are 9-10-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-8-1 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 15-3-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-15-3 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 7-5-7 in games decided by a single goal including 3-5 in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     

The Isles are 3-1-1 on the front end and 2-3-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be January 24th-25th when they host division foes Philadelphia and Carolina.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Alex Romanov (25:21); Boston: Charlie McAvoy (24:15)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards (20:58).

Face-offs

Isles 28, Boston 28 (50%)

Bo Horvat won 13 of 19 for the Isles; Trent Frederic won 5 of 8 for Boston. 

Hit Count

Isles 14 (Four with 2)

Boston 31 (Morgan Geekie -5)

Fights 

None. Season total: 3 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 19 (Alex Romanov -6)

Boston 16 (Charlie McAvoy -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 84, Boston 55

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 82, Boston 49

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Noah Dobson +23

Boston: David Pastrnak +11

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 11, Boston 8

5-on-5: Isles 11, Boston 7

Scratches

(Mike Reilly-IR), (Semyon Varlamov-LTIR), Matt Martin, (Isaish George -INJ), (Simon Holmstrom – INJ)

Games Lost to injury: 131. (Last season's total: 181)

The Ironmen

Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 206 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (156) has also played every game since the start of last season.

Most Overtime Goals, Career (Islanders)

1. John Tavares 11 

2. Brock Nelson 8 

3. Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey 6

5. Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Thomas Hickey, and Anthony Beauvillier 5

Most Overtime Assists, Career (Islanders)

1. Mathew Barzal 16

2. John Tavares 12

Most Overtime Points, Career (Islanders)

1. John Tavares 23

2. Mathew Barzal 21

3. Brock Nelson 18

Barzal has a point on 21 of the 41 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.

National TV Games 

The Isles are 0-3-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with seven games remaining. The next national games will stream on January 28th on ESPN+/Hulu, as the Isles host the Avs and January 30th on ESPN+/Hulu as the Isles visit the Flyers. The remaining five national telecasts are all scheduled in April.

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 0-4-1 in matinee games this season, with six games remaining. The next matinee will be on March 1st vs Nashville. 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 13-16-11 in matinees.

Challenges

Isles: 2 successful, 3 failures  (No offsides -PIT 11/5, No goalie interference – SEA 11/16, Goalie Interference 11/29, goalie interference – TOR 12/31, no goalie interference – BOS 1/5)

Opponents: 5 successful, 2 failures (No Goalie Interference -UTA 10/10, Offside-VAN 11/14, Goalie Interference-STL 11/23, Offside -BUF 11/30, No Goalie Interference-CHI 12/15, Goalie Interference – PIT 12/28. Offside 12/31)

Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)

For (1): CHI 12/12

Vs (1): CHI 12/15

Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)

Isles responses (3): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7, BOS 1/5

Opponent responses (6): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31, BOS 1/5

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins 

For (1): Vs. PIT 11/5 (Trailed 3-1, won 4-3 (SO))

Vs (2):  Vs. NJ 11/9 (Led 3-1, Lost 4-3 (OT)), WSH 11/29 Led 4-2, Lost 5-4 (SO))

Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):

For (2): Maxim Tsyplakov 10/10 vs. UTA (17:53, GAG but lost in OT); Anders Lee 11/12 @ EDM (17:20-GTG; EDM won in OT)

Vs (7): Josh Doan 10/10 vs. UTA (18:06- GTG; UTA won in OT); Cole Caufield 10/19 vs MTL (17:50-GTG; NYI won in SO); Jesper Bratt 10/25 at NJD (18:31-GTG; NYI won in OT); Stefan Noesen 11/9 vs NJ (19:10-GTG; NJD won in OT); Lucas Raymond 11/21 at DET (19:09-GAG); 12/15 Connor Bedard at CHI (19:06-GAG); Bobby McMann 1/2 vs. TOR (17:01- GAG)

OT Winners

For (2): Bo Horvat 10/25 at NJD (1:09), Bo Horvat 1/5 @ BOS (3:10)

Vs (6): Dylan Guenther 10/10 vs. UTA (2:18); Jake Neighbours 10/17 @ STL (2:04); Jack Hughes 11/9 vs NJD (2:35); Leon Draisaitl 11/12 @ EDM (1:52); Jakub Chychrun 11/29 @ WAS (1:20); Nick Suzuki 12/3 @ MTL (2:39)

Shootout Winners

For (2): Noah Dobson 10/19 vs MTL, Bo Horvat 11/5 vs PIT

Vs (1): Andrei Kuzmenko 11/19 @ CGY 

 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123  2. Denis Potvin 1,060  3. Josh Bailey 1,057 

4. Bob Nystrom 900  5. Brock Nelson 880  6. Clark Gillies 872  7. Casey Cizikas 855  8. Matt Martin 844  9. Bob Bourne 814  10. Anders Lee 799 …

28. Pat LaFontaine 530  29. Kyle Okposo 529  30. Ryan Pulock 526 31. Adam Pelech  520  32. Mathew Barzal 519  33. Nick Leddy 518  34. Dave Lewis 514  35. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509  37. Scott Mayfield 507

Goals    

1. Mike Bossy 573  2. Bryan Trottier 500  3. Denis Potvin 310 …

5. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287  7. Brock Nelson 285  8. Anders Lee 278 …

20. Kyle Okposo 139  21. Mathew Barzal 131…

29. Ray Ferraro 116  30. Casey Cizikas 110

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853  2. Denis Potvin 742  3. Mike Bossy 553 …

8. Patrick Flatley 328  9. Brent Sutter 323  10. Mathew Barzal 321…

14. Pat LaFontaine 279  15. Bobby Nystrom 278  16. Brock Nelson 267…

19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230  21. Anders Lee 207…

26. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171  28. Jean Potvin 167  29. Jeff Norton and Noah Dobson 166  31. Ziggy Palffy 163  32. Ryan Pulock 156… 

35. Travis Green 145  36. Steve Thomas 140  37. Mark Streit and Casey Cizikas 139

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353  2. Mike Bossy 1,126  3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

7. Josh Bailey 580  8. Pat LaFontaine 566  9. Brock Nelson 552 …

13. Derek King 499  14. Patrick Flatley 488  15. Anders Lee 485  16. Mathew Barzal 452…

28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258  30. David Volek and Casey Cizikas 249

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467  2. Denis Potvin +456  3. Mike Bossy +380…

15. Bob Lorimer +105   16. Tomas Jonsson +76 17. Garry Howatt +75   18. Adam Pelech +74  19. Pat Price +70  20. JP Parise +67  21. Ryan Pulock +58  21. Jude Drouin +58  23. Patrick Flatley +57   24. Greg Gilbert +54  25. Gord Lane +48

Defense Goals

1. Denis Potvin 310  2. Tomas Jonsson 84  3. Kenny Jonsson 57 

4. Stefan Persson 52  5. Ryan Pulock 50  6. Jean Potvin 46  7. Nick Leddy and Noah Dobson 45…

14. Vladimir Malakhov and Scott Mayfield 27  16. Adam Pelech and four others 26  

Defense Assists

1. Denis Potvin 742  2. Stefan Persson 317  3. Tomas Jonsson 249…

5. Kenny Jonsson 175  6. Jean Potvin 167  7. Jeff Norton and Noah Dobson 166  9. Ryan Pulock 156…

10. Mark Streit 139  11. Adam Pelech 121… 

17. Bryan Berard 100  18. Vladimir Malakhov 98  19. Johnny Boychuk and Scott Mayfield 96

Defense Points

1. Denis Potvin 1,052  2. Stefan Persson 369  3. Tomas Jonsson 333…

6. Jean Potvin 213  7. Noah Dobson 211  8. Ryan Pulock 206…

10. Mark Streit 179  11. Roman Hamrlik 153  12. Adam Pelech 147…

18. Gerry Hart 128  19. Vladimir Malakhov 125  20. Scott Mayfield 123

Goalie Games

1. Billy Smith 674  2. Rick DiPietro 318  3. Glenn Resch 282 …

4. Kelly Hrudey 241  5. Ilya Sorokin 221  6. Thomas Greiss 193  7. Tommy Salo 187  8. Jaroslav Halak 177  9. Glenn Healy 176  10. Semyon Varlamov 173

Wins

1. Billy Smith 304  2. Glenn Resch 157  3. Rick DiPietro 130 

4. Ilya Sorokin 107 …

7. Jaroslav Halak 88  8. Roland Melanson 77  9. Semyon Varlamov 76

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25  2. Billy Smith 22  3. Ilya Sorokin 19  

4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm   

Bridgeport is 7-21-2-2 after dropping home games to Rochester (6-3) Saturday and Hartford (5-1) Sunday. 

Brian Pinho leads the team with 16 goals. Chris Terry's 21 assists pace the Baby Isles in that category and is tied with Pinho for the team point lead with 25.

The Islanders head to Providence on Sunday before opening a four-game homestand next Sunday.

Season Series Stats

The season series is tied 1 game to 1 (Boston leads in points, 3 points to 2). The final meeting will be in Boston on February 27th.

This was the Isles' first regular season win in Boston since March 25, 2021 (1-5-2) ; they are now 2-5-2 in their last nine games overall against the Bruins.

The Bruins have points in 13 straight regular season home games against the Isles (10-0-3), dating back to a 4-0 Isles win on January 16, 2017, in Jack Capuano's final game as Islander coach.

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, JANUARY 9th –ISLES AT VEGAS 10:00pm

[MSGSN2 (pre-game at 9:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]

The road trip continues as the Isles face the Golden Knights in Vegas in  the first meeting of the teams this Sunday.

Vegas swept both games last season to balance the all-time team series – each team has won six games, including one in OT/SO.

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

The Skinny: Toronto 2, Isles 1

"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 39

Toronto 3, Isles 1

The Isles special teams began 2025 the same way 2024 ended. Bobby McMann's second goal of the game was a power play game-winning goal with 2:59 to play as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Islanders 2-1 before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena. 

Scott Mayfield scored the only goal for the Isles, who are 2-6-0 in their last eight games.

The Isles fall four games below .NHL-.500 for the first time since December 19, 2022 (8-12-6); they head to Boston to begin a three-game road trip on Sunday.

The Scoring:  

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

Bobby McMann (11) Nicholas Robertson (4) 10:43 TOR 1,NYI 0

Scott Mayfield (2) Mathew Barzal (6), Adam Pelech (6) 18:15 TOR 1,NYI 1

3rd Period

Bobby McMann (12) Oliver Ekman-Larsson (13), Max Domi (11) 17:01 TOR 2,NYI 1 PPG

The Skinny

The Isles allowed the opening goal for the 12th time in fourteen games… The Isles have been outscored 58-37 in the third period and overtime…The Isles have scored 74 goals and allowed 70 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 53-27 in all other situations… The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 21 of the last 27 games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 38-32 in the second period this season; they were outscored 107-83 in the second period a season ago… Ilya Sorokin has started 14 of the last 15 games, going 6-7-1 …The Isles allowed a power play goal for the eighth straight game in which they were shorthanded; they are 0-20 on the power play in the last ten games…Over the last ten games, the Isles have been outscored 9-0 on the power play…Toronto improves to 16-2-1 when scoring first…The Isles ended both Mitch Marner's 9-game point streak and John Tavares' 8-game point streak; the duo had only one point each in the back-to-back and it came on the empty net goal Saturday…Matthew Barzal has three assists in the last four games…Adam Pelech's career totals (26-120-146) are now identical to Travis Hamonic's totals as an Islander.

The Injury

Isaiah George left the game and entered concussion protocol following a check from Max Domi in the second period; he did not return.

Most Consecutive Games Without a Power Play Goal (Isles History, one season)

12 -  11/10-12/9/2010

12 -  11/26-12/20/1972

11 -  2/23-3/16/2019

10 -  1/12-1/28/2023

10 -  12/10/24-CURRENT

The 0-20 stretch leaves the Isles power play at 11-100 (11.0%) on the season.

First Time in a Long Time

The Isles have not won consecutive home games this season; it is the first time since the shortened 2013 season that they have played 18 home games without consecutive home wins. The Isles are 0-6-1 in the home game following a home win this season; they have alternated regulation losses and regulation wins in their last nine home games.

Weekend Warriors

The Islanders have won five straight Saturday games (four at home, and one in Toronto). The Isles are 7-11-3 in their last 21 games (5-0-0 on Saturday; 2-11-3 on other days). Six of their last seven wins have come on Saturday or Sunday.

Milestone Men

• Adam Pelech tied Travis Hamonic is both assists (120) and points (146).

• Noah Dobson's next assist will be his 167th assist, passing Jeff Norton for 7th place among Isles defensemen, and one tying behind Jean Potvin for 6th.

• Anthony Duclair's next goal will be his 150th career goal.

• Casey Cizikas' next point will be his 250th career point.

• Ilya Sorokin's next win will be his 107th, passing Kelly Hrudey for 4th place in club history.

Top 5 Goal Scorers 

Brock Nelson needs just three more goals to become the fifth-highest goal scorer in club history:

• 5. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 

• 7. Brock Nelson 285 

Third Periods

Goals:  Isles 36, Opponents 52

Tying Goals: Isles 4, Opponents 10 (in 9 games)

Go Ahead Goals: Isles 6 (in 5 games), Opponents 9

Empty Net Goals: Isles 8, Opponents 12

The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 27 of their 39 games. In the twelve games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (1-10-1), they have been within one goal at some point in all but four of them (10/12 @ DAL, 12/5 vs SEA, 12/17 @ CAR, 12/23 vs BUF, 12/31 @TOR) 

Did Somebody Say Comeback?

The Isles have six come-from behind wins this season, including one when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win eight times this season, including an NHL-high seven times in the third period.

Overtime

Ten of the first 26 Islanders games went to overtime; the last 13 have been decided in regulation. They are 1-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 1-4 in overtime and 1-0 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 0-2 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts. 

Sorokin has 34 OT/SO losses, extending his club record (Rick DiPietro had 28). 

Empty Netters 

The Isles have scored 8 empty-net goals and allowed 12.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 26 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 10 times

• Allowed the next goal: 13 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 3 times 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2024-25  14-18-7 for 35 points in 39 games

• 2023-24  18-11-10 for 46 points in 39 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   1-1-2

• Season: 12-54-66

• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170

Islander defensemen have earned 32.7% of the team's assists, which is tied-7th in the NHL. 

Varly, Varly

Semyon Varlamov has 41 career shutouts and 289 career wins. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is seventh in wins and fourth in shutouts.

All-time Goalie Wins

47. Mike Liut 293

48. Ed Giacomin 290

49. Semyon Varlamov 289

Oh Canada

The Isles are playing 17 games against Canadian-based teams this season; they are 5-2-3 so far (1-0-0 at home and 4-1-3 on the road). After opening with a home shootout win over Montreal, the Isles played eight straight road games in November/December going (4-1-3). Six of the seven remaining games will be at home. 

Going back to last season the Isles are 8-2-3 in the last thirteen games against Canadian teams; the next Canadian opponents will be Ottawa at UBS Arena on January 14th.

Home and Road

The Isles are 14-18-7 overall; they are 7-9-2 at home and 7-9-5 on the road.

Toronto is 23-14-2 overall; they are 15-7-0 at home and 9-6-2 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 10-12-3 against the East (4-4-2 vs. Metropolitan and 6-8-1 vs. Atlantic) and 4-6-4 against the West (3-2-2 vs. Central and 1-4-2 vs. Pacific).

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 1,458

3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack

Lou Lamoriello (1,458) and Patrick Roy (164) have combined for 1,622 career wins as general manager and coach. That is the highest in the NHL among active combinations by a wide margin.

First Things First

The Isles are 7-3-4 when scoring first and are 7-15-3 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles      8-11-14=33

Toronto 11-11-9=31

The Isles are 7-11-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 7-6-4 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves; he is 11-13-4 this season and 6-5-0 vs. Toronto. 

Joseph Woll made 32 saves; he is 12-6-0 this season and 3-1-0 vs the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-3 (5:41) on the power play, including a :19 5-on-3; Toronto was 1-2 (3:42) on the power play. 

The Isles are 8-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 6-17-6 when they do not. The Isles are 9-10-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-8-1 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 14-3-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-15-3 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 6-5-7 in games decided by a single goal including 3-5 in regulation. They are 1-6 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     

The Isles are 3-1-1 on the front end and 2-3-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be January 24th-25th when they host division foes Philadelphia and Carolina.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (25:22); Toronto: Mitch Marner (23:43)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards (22:03).

Face-offs

Isles 23, Toronto 30 (43%)

Bo Horvat won 8 of 15 for the Isles; David Kampf won 12 of 18 for Toronto. 

Hit Count

Isles 19 (Jean-Gabriel Pageau -6)

Toronto 26 (Connor Dewar -7)

Fights 

None. Season total: 3 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 14 (Four with 2)

Toronto 16 (Philippe Myers -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 71, Toronto 63

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 52, Toronto 55

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Anders Lee +14

Toronto: Jake McCabe +6

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 10, Toronto 12

5-on-5: Isles 8, Toronto 9

Scratches

(Mike Reilly-IR), (Semyon Varlamov-LTIR), Matt Martin, Dennis Cholowski, (Simon Holmstrom – INJ)

Games Lost to injury: 127. (Last season's total: 181)

The Ironmen

Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 205 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (155) has also played every game since the start of last season.

Most Overtime Goals, Season (Islanders)

1. John Tavares 4 (2014-15)

2. Bo Horvat 3 (2023-24)

    Brock Nelson 3 (2019-20)

    John Tavares 3 (2010-11)

Most Overtime Assists, Career (Islanders)

1. Mathew Barzal 16

2. John Tavares 12

Most Overtime Points, Career (Islanders)

1. John Tavares 23

2. Mathew Barzal 21

3. Brock Nelson 18

Barzal has a point on 21 of the 40 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.

National TV Games 

The Isles are 0-3-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with seven games remaining. The next national games will stream on January 28th on ESPN+/Hulu, as the Isles host the Avs and January 30th on ESPN+/Hulu as the Isles visit the Flyers. The remaining five national telecasts are all scheduled in April.

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 0-4-1 in matinee games this season, with six games remaining. The next matinee will be on March 1st vs Nashville. 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 13-16-11 in matinees.

Challenges

Isles: 2 successful, 2 failures  (No offsides -PIT 11/5, No goalie interference – SEA 11/16, Goalie Interference 11/29, goalie interference – TOR 12/31)

Opponents: 5 successful, 2 failures (No Goalie Interference -UTA 10/10, Offside-VAN 11/14, Goalie Interference-STL 11/23, Offside -BUF 11/30, No Goalie Interference-CHI 12/15, Goalie Interference – PIT 12/28. Offside 12/31)

Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)

For (1): CHI 12/12

Vs (1): CHI 12/15

Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)

Isles responses (2): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7

Opponent responses (5): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins 

For (1): Vs. PIT 11/5 (Trailed 3-1, won 4-3 (SO))

Vs (2):  Vs. NJ 11/9 (Led 3-1, Lost 4-3 (OT), Led 4-2, Lost 5-4 (SO))

Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):

For (2): Maxim Tsyplakov 10/10 vs. UTA (17:53, GAG but lost in OT); Anders Lee 11/12 @ EDM (17:20-GTG; EDM won in OT)

Vs (7): Josh Doan 10/10 vs. UTA (18:06- GTG; UTA won in OT); Cole Caufield 10/19 vs MTL (17:50-GTG; NYI won in SO); Jesper Bratt 10/25 at NJD (18:31-GTG; NYI won in OT); Stefan Noesen 11/9 vs NJ (19:10-GTG; NJD won in OT); Lucas Raymond 11/21 at DET (19:09-GAG); 12/15 Connor Bedard at CHI (19:06-GAG); Bobby McMann 1/2 vs. TOR (17:01- GAG)

OT Winners

For (1): Bo Horvat 10/25 at NJD (1:09)

Vs (6): Dylan Guenther 10/10 vs. UTA (2:18); Jake Neighbours 10/17 @ STL (2:04); Jack Hughes 11/9 vs NJD (2:35); Leon Draisaitl 11/12 @ EDM (1:52); Jakub Chychrun 11/29 @ WAS (1:20); Nick Suzuki 12/3 @ MTL (2:39)

Shootout Winners

For (2): Noah Dobson 10/19 vs MTL, Bo Horvat 11/5 vs PIT

Vs (1): Andrei Kuzmenko 11/19 @ CGY 

 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057 ***

4. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 5. Brock Nelson 879 *** 6. Clark Gillies 872 *** 7. Casey Cizikas 854 *** 8. Matt Martin 843 *** 9. Bob Bourne 814 *** 10. Anders Lee 798 …

28. Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 29. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 30. Ryan Pulock 525 ***31. Adam Pelech  519 *** 32. Nick Leddy and Mathew Barzal 518 *** 34. Dave Lewis 514 *** 35. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 37. Scott Mayfield 507

Goals    

1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …

5. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 *** 7. Brock Nelson 285 *** 8. Anders Lee 276 …

20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 131…

29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 110

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …

8. Patrick Flatley 328 *** 9. Brent Sutter 323 *** 10. Mathew Barzal 320…

14. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 15. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 16. Brock Nelson 267…

19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 207…

28. Jean Potvin 167 *** 29. Jeff Norton and Noah Dobson 166 *** 30. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 32. David Volek and Ryan Pulock 154 *** 34. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 35. Travis Green 145 *** 36. Steve Thomas 140 *** 37. Mark Streit and Casey Cizikas 139

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

7. Josh Bailey 580 *** 8. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 9. Brock Nelson 552 …

13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Anders Lee 483 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 451…

28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258 *** 30. David Volek and Casey Cizikas 249

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…

15. Bob Lorimer +105  *** 16. Tomas Jonsson +76 ***17. Garry Howatt +75  *** 18. Adam Pelech +72 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 24. Ryan Pulock +56 *** 24. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 25. Gord Lane +48

Defense Goals

1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57…

4. Stefan Persson 52 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 49 *** 6. Jean Potvin 46 *** 7. Nick Leddy and Noah Dobson 45…

14. Vladimir Malakhov and Scott Mayfield 27 *** 16. Adam Pelech and four others 26  

Defense Assists

1. Denis Potvin 742 *** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…

6. Jean Potvin 167 *** 7. Jeff Norton and Noah Dobson 166 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 154…

11. Travis Hamonic and Adam Pelech 120… 

18. Vladimir Malakhov 98 *** 19. Johnny Boychuk and Scott Mayfield 96

Defense Points

1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…

6. Jean Potvin 213 *** 7. Noah Dobson 211 *** 8. Ryan Pulock 203…

11. Roman Hamrlik 153 *** 12. Travis Hamonic and Adam Pelech 146…

19. Vladimir Malakhov 125 *** 20. Scott Mayfield 123

Goalie Games

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 …

4. Kelly Hrudey 241 *** 5. Ilya Sorokin 220 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 193 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177 *** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173

Wins

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130 ***

4. Kelly Hrudey and Ilya Sorokin 106 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 101 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 19 *** 

4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm   

Bridgeport is 7-19-2-2 record, heading into their first game of 2025 on Saturday against Rochester.

Brian Pinho leads the team with 15 goals and 24 points. Chris Terry's 19 assists pace the Baby Isles in that category.

Six of their first seven games in January are at home.

Season Series Stats

Toronto wins the season series 2 games to 1 (and 4 points to 2). 

Despite being swept in the home-and-home, the Isles are 5-2-0 in the last seven meetings with Toronto.

The Isles are 9-8-0 against the Leafs in the seventeen games since John Tavares switched teams; Tavares has seven goals and six assists in those games against the Isles.

UP NEXT

SUNDAY, JANUARY 5th –ISLES AT BOSTON 6:00pm

[MSGSN (pre-game at 5:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]

The Islanders begin a three-game road trip on Sunday with the second meeting of the season with the Boston Bruins. 

The Bruins won 6-3 at UBS Arena on Thanksgiving Eve; Brock Nelson scored twice in defeat but has not scored since. 

The Isles are winless in their last seven regular season games in Boston (0-5-2) and are 1-5-2 in their last eight games overall against the Bruins.

 

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