"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 71
Isles 1, Columbus 0
Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves to tie the Islander club record with his seventh shutout of the season and Bo Horvat scored the only goal as the Isles moved back into a playoff spot with a 1-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.
Horvat's goal, just 1:25 into play, was the earliest ever scored in a 1-0 Islander victory. It also was his 50th point of the season, marking the eighth time in his career he has reached that total.
The Isles are 8-5-0 since the Olympic Break and 27-16-2 in their last 44 games. The Isles move into the second wild card spot, marking the first time the Metro Division has claimed one of the wild card spots since January 11th.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Bo Horvat (29) Anders Lee (22), Adam Boqvist (2) 01:25 CBJ 0,NYI 1
2nd Period
No Goals
3rd Period
No Goals
The Skinny
The Isles are 13-7-0 in their last 20 games… The Isles improve to 19-2-1 when leading after two periods …The Blue Jackets fall to 8-1-4 in their last 13 games (although the have lost twice to the Isles in that spans)...The Jackets are 19-3-4 in their last 26 games…The Isles earned their 40th win in 71 games, which was the earliest than they did since it took 69 games in 2018-19…The Isles stopped Adam Fantilli's six-game point streak as Columbus was shut out for the third time this season…Ilya Sorokin improves to 7-4-0 on the back-end of back-to-backs, including three shutouts…Sorokin now has a .939 save percentage on the back-end; among goalies who have played at least 10 back-ends, only Roman Cechmanek (.955) has a better career save percentage…Marc Gatcomb and Kyle MacLean played in the same game for the first time in eight games…Carson Soucy played 18:55, his highest total since joining the Isles.
The Playoff Chase
1. (1st Metro) Carolina 96 points (32 RW) in 70 games
2. (1st Atlantic) Buffalo 95 (37 RW) in 71
3. (2nd Atlantic) Tampa Bay 91 (34 RW) in 69
4. (3rd Atlantic) Montreal 86 (26 RW) in 69
5. (1st WC) Boston 86 (29 RW,36 ROW) in 70
6. (2nd Metro) Pittsburgh 86 (29 RW,33 ROW) in 70
7. (3rd Metro) Columbus 85 (26 RW) in 70
8. (3rd WC/4th Metro) ISLES 85 (26 RW) in 71
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9. (2nd WC) Detroit 84 (27 RW) in 70
10. (4th WC) Ottawa 81 (30 RW) in 69
11. (5th WC) Philadelphia 80 (21 RW) in 69
12. (6th WC) Washington 79 (30 RW) in 71
Sunday's Results:
CBJ 0 @NYI 1
BUF 5 @ANA 6 (OT)
TB 3 @CGY 4 (OT)
CAR 5 @PIT 1
COL 3 @WAS 2 (OT)
Upcoming Games:
Mon: OTT@NYR
Tue: CHI @NYI, MIN@TB, CAR@MTL,COL@PIT,CBJ@PHI,TOR@BOS, OTT@DET, WAS@STL
Wed: BOS@BUF
Thu: DAL@NYI, SEA@TB, CBJ@MTL, PIT@OTT, CHI@PHI, WAS@UTA
Fri: DET@BUF
Milestone Men
• Bo Horvat scored his 298th NHL goal; among 2013 draft picks only Nathan MacKinnon (412) and Jake Guentzel (299) have more. To date, 243 NHL players have scored 300 goals.
• Mathew Barzal played his 600th game; he is the 23rd skater in club history to appear in 600 games.
• Anders Lee tied John Tonelli for 10th place in club history with 544 points.
• Matthew Schaefer has 51 points; he is the fourth rookie defenseman in club history to do so; the club record is 56 and is held by Stefan Persson; Quinn Hughes (53) and Lane Hutson (66) are the only active defensemen who had more points as a rookie.
• Schaefer has 22 goals, tying Barry Beck (22) for the second-highest total in a season. His next goal will tie Brian Leetch's NHL record.
• Denis Potvin had six seasons with at least 22 goals, and Schaefer has matched that total for 6th place in club history among defensemen.
• A Columbus challenge left Lee tied with Clark Gillies for 4th place in club history with 304 goals.
• Ryan Pulock is one goal behind Kenny Jonsson for third place in club defensemen history and is four points behind Nick Leddy for fourth place among club defensemen
Longest Sellout Streaks in UBS History (one season)
• 19 (2021-22; the first 19 games played at UBS Arena)
• 15 (2025-26 CURRENT)
• 12 (2022-23; the final 12 games of that season)
The Isles have sold out nineteen games this season; they had fifteen home sell-outs a year ago.
Return to Form
Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 24-13-1 (with a .921 save percentage, which is tied for the best in the NHL in that span, and a 2.31 goals-against average) and an NHL-leading seven shutouts since then.
Sorokin is 15-3-0 when facing more than 30 shots; he won his first thirteen while facing over 30 to set the club record for consecutive wins when facing more than 30 shots.
The Shutout Leader
Sorokin not only leads the NHL in shutouts this season; his 29 career shutouts are the most by an NHL goalie since Sorokin debuted in 2020-21; Connor Hellebuyck has 25 and Igor Shesterkin has 22 in that span.
Sorokin has tied the club record with his seven shutouts (Varlamov, Resch); he is the first Islander goalie to do so twice. Sergei Bobrovsky is the only other goalie who has appeared in a game this season to have two seasons with at least seven shutouts.
Shutouts in Highest Percentage of Games Played (minimum 25 shutouts)
1. Roman Cechmanek (25/212) 11.8%
2. Ken Dryden (46/397) 11.6%
3. Dominik Hasek (81/735) 11.0%
4. Martin Brodeur (125/1266) 9.9%
5. Ilya Sorokin (29/297) 9.8%
Big Save Dave
David Rittich is 14-9-3 on the season. He is 3-2-0 in his last five starts.
Islander goalies other than Sorokin won only five games last season (tying a franchise record for fewest by the non-winningest goalies on the team).
Most Islander Shutouts in a Season
• 11 2018-19
• 10 2020-21 and 1975-76
• 9 2021-22 and 2025-26
The Home Stretch
The Isles are ending the regular season by playing 10 of the final 12 games at home. They are 1-0-0 overall, 1-0-0 at home and 0-0-0 on the road:
• March 22 vs CBJ 1-0 W
• March 24 vs CHI
• March 26 vs DAL
• March 28 vs FLA
• March 30 vs PIT
• March 31 @ BUF
• April 3 vs PHI
• April 4 @ CAR
• April 9 vs TOR
• April 11 vs OTT
• April 12 vs MTL
• April 14 vs CAR
Most Goals by an 18-Year-Old Defenseman
1. Matthew Schaefer 22 (2025-26)
2. Phil Housley (BUF) 17 (1982-83)
(Housley had 19 goals as a rookie, but the final two occurred after his 19th birthday)
Most Points by an 18-Year-Old Defenseman
1. Phil Housley (BUF) (17-40-57 in 66 GP) 1982-83
2. Matthew Schaefer (22-29-51 in 71 GP)
Most Power Play Goals by an 18-Year-Old Defenseman
1. Phil Housley (BUF) 10 (1982-83)
2. Matthew Schaefer 8 (2025-26)
Most Multi-Point Games by an 18-Year-Old Defenseman
1. Phil Housley (BUF) 13 1982-83
2. Matthew Schaefer 10 2025-26
Most Goals by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Matthew Schaefer 22
2. Bryan Berard 7
Only six Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have scored at least 22 goals, led by Bryan Trottier's 32 and Pat LaFontaine's 26. Brent Sutter (23) is the one now above Schaefer.
Most Assists by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Bryan Berard 32
2. Matthew Schaefer 29
Only six Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have recorded at least 29 assists, led by Bryan Trottier's 63 and Tim Connolly's 51. John Tavares (30) is the one now above Schaefer.
Most Points by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Matthew Schaefer 51
2. Bryan Berard 39
Only five Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have recorded at least 51 points, led by Bryan Trottier's 95 and Tim Connolly's 75. John Tavares (54) is the one now above Schaefer.
Most Game-Winning Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 5
2. Matthew Schaefer 4
Schaefer will still be a Teenager for the next 95 Isles games.
Most Games, Goals, Assists and Points as an 18-Year-Old (Isles history)
Matthew Schafer holds the club record for goals (22), assists (29), and points (51). Tim Connolly played 81 games as a rookie – the only 18-year-old to play more games than Schaefer.
Most Goals by an Islander Rookie Defenseman
1. Matthew Schaefer 22 (2025-26)
2. Denis Potvin 17 (1973-74)
Most Points by an Islander Rookie Defenseman
1. Stefan Persson 56 (1977-78)
2. Denis Potvin 54 (1973-74)
3. Vladimir Malakhov 52 (1992-93)
4. Matthew Schaefer 51 (2025-26)
Most Goals by an NHL Rookie Defenseman (NHL History)
1. Brian Leetch -NYR 23 (1988-89)
2. Barry Beck -CLR 22 (1977-78) and Matthew Schaefer 22 (2025-26)
Schaefer and Penalties
Matthew Schaefer has drawn 34 penalties this season, more than any other NHL defenseman, and 2nd in the NHL (behind Connor McDavid). He is a net +16 (having taken only 18 penalties).
Since penalties drawn was tracked in 2009-10, no Isle defenseman has finished a season higher than +11 (Noah Dobson 2021-22), John Tavares holds the club record for a season at +29 in 2011-12, while Mathew Barzal +26 in 2017-18 is the only other Islander to finish higher than +15. Cale Makar is the only NHL defenseman to finish higher than +16 (Makar was +19 in 2024-25 and +17 in 2023-24).
Most Penalties Drawn by an NHL Rookie Defenseman (Season, Since 2019-10)
1. PK Subban MTL 40 (2010-11)
2. Matthew Schaefer 34 (2025-26)
This is only the ninth time since 2009-10 (including Dion Phaneuf three times, and PK Subban twice) that a defenseman has drawn at least 34 penalties. Schaefer's +16 differential is by far the highest of that group.
Most Penalties Drawn by an Islander (Season, Since 2009-10)
1. Zenon Konopka 2010-11 47
2. John Tavares 2011-12 42
3. Mathew Barzal 2017-18 40
4. Matthew Schaefer 2025-26 33
Most Penalties Drawn by an Islander Rookie (Season, Since 2009-10)
1. Mathew Barzal 2017-18 40
2. Matthew Schaefer 2025-26 33
3. Matt Martin 2010-11 25
[Travis Hamonic (17 in 2010-11) is the only other Islander rookie defenseman to draw more than 10.)
Most Ice Time by an Islander Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 29:24 3/13/2026 vs LA
2. Matthew Schaefer 29:01 3/7/2026 at SJ (OT)
3. Matthew Schaefer 28:53 11/28/2025 vs PHI (SO)
Matthew Schaefer 28:53 1/8/2026 at NAS (SO)
5. Matthew Schaefer 28:12 12/9/2025 vs VEG
A 20-year-old Islander has played more than 29:24 only once: Bryan Berard -31:30 on February 7, 1998, vs. the Devils, when he was 20 years, 339 days old; Schaefer will not hit that age until August 2028.
Most Ice Time by an 18-Year-Old, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 29:24 3/13/2026 vs LA
2. Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) 29:15 12/4/2018 vs TOR (OT)
3. Drew Doughty (LA) 29:04 11/22/2008 vs COL (SO)
4. Matthew Schaefer 29:01 3/7/2026 vs SJ (OT)
5. Matthew Schaefer 28:53 11/28/2025 vs PHI (SO)
Matthew Schaefer 28:53 1/8/2026 vs NAS (SO)
Schaefer now has the 12th-highest ice-time for a teenager; the record is 30:57 and is held by Jay Bouwmeester; there are only four recorded instances of a teenager playing 30 minutes in a game. Schaefer is only the sixth teenager with multiple games of at least 29 minutes; Seth Jones is the only one to have three such games.
Schaefer has played at least 20:00 in 59 straight games; it is the longest streak in NHL history by a teenager in a single season since ice-time became official and the longest by an Islander since Mark Streit set the record (since 1997-78) by doing so in 141 consecutive games from 2009-2011.
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have eighteen come-from behind wins this season, including eight when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win fourteen times this season, including five times in the third period.
The Isles have six multi-goal comeback wins (one in the third period); opponents have three (none in the third period).
Overtime Is Our Time
The Isles are 10-0 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 4-5 in shootouts.
The 2021 Vegas Golden Knights (9-0 in 56 game season) are the only other team to score at least nine overtime goals with none allowed.
Most Overtime Goals, Isles
1. 2025-26 10
2. 2023-24 9
3. 2019-20 (68 games) 8
Best Overtime Goal Differential
1. 2025-26 10-0 (+10)
2. 2014-15 6-1 (+5)
3. 2018-19 6-2 (+4) and 1999-00 5-1 (+4)
Only one other team in NHL history has a better differential than +9, with the Panthers' 13-2 (+11) in 2021-22 being the record-holder.
The Sixth Attacker
The Isles have scored eleven goals with the 6th attacker (most in NHL) and allowed 12 empty net goals.
Opponents have scored seven goals with 6th attacker and allowed seven empty-netters to the Isles.
Most Extra Attacker Goals, Isles (since 2009-10)
1. 2025-26 11
2. 2017-18 9
Most Career Empty Net Goals
1. Bryan Trottier 27
2. John Tavares 20
3. Mike Bossy 15
4. Brock Nelson 13
5. Jason Blake and Casey Cizikas 11
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 34 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 14 times
• Allowed the next goal: 14 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 6 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2025-26 40-26-5 for 85 points in 71 games
• 2024-25 32-29-10 for 74 points in 71 games; they finished last season with 82 points.
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-1-1
• Season: 39-105-144
• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161
The 39 goals are the most for the Islander defense since they had 41 in 2022-23.
Rookie Scoring
• Today: 1-0-1
• Season: 36-56-92
• Last Season (Final) 19-30-49
• This season's totals are the most since 2017-18 (38-101-139)
The 36 rookie goals are the most in the NHL while the 92 points are 2nd to Chicago's 100. Islander rookies have scored 17.8% of the team's goals, which is the highest percentage in the NHL.
Home and Road
The Isles are 40-26-5 overall; they are 19-11-2 at home and 21-15-3 on the road.
Columbus is 37-22-11 overall; they are 20-8-7 at home and 17-14-4 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 24-13-4 against the East (14-6-2 vs. Metropolitan and 10-7-2 vs. Atlantic) and 16-13-1 against the West (6-7-1 vs. Central and 10-6-0 vs. Pacific).
First Things First
The Isles are 27-9-3 when scoring first and 13-17-2 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 7-9-6=22
Columbus 8-5-13=26
The Isles are 13-15-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 2-2-1 when the shots are even and 25-9-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves; he is 26-17-2 this season and 8-0-3 vs. Columbus.
Jet Greaves made 21 saves; he is 23-13-8 this season and 2-2-1 vs. the Isles
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-3 (6:00); Columbus did not have a power play.
The Isles are 19-7-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 21-19-3 when they do not. The Isles are 12-13-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 28-13-1 when they do not.
The Isles are 18-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 5-10-2 when they are outscored, and 17-15-3 when special team goals are equal. (Their only loss when outscoring the opposition on special teams was in the home opener against Washington.)
Three is (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles 31-5-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 9-21-2 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 26-7-5 in games decided by a single goal including 12-7 in regulation. They are 10-0 in games decided in overtime and are 4-5 in shootouts. The Isles are 5-3 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
Including tonight, the Isles are 5-8-0 on the front end and 9-3-1 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be on March 30th-31st when the Isles host Pittsburgh and visit Buffalo.
The Isles are 8-5-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 5-1-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Matthew Schaefer (26:43); Columbus: Zach Werenski (29:01)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (19:55).
Face-offs
Isles 30, Columbus 20 (60%)
Casey Cizikas won 10 of 12 for the Isles; Adam Fantilli won 9 of 17 for Columbus.
Hit Count
Isles 24 (Jean-Gabriel Pageau -4)
Columbus 24 (Two with 4)
Fights
None. Season total: 8 (Mayfield -2, MacLean-2, Lee-2, DeAngelo, Schenn)
Blocked Shots
Isles 17 (Carson Soucy-5)
Columbus 16 (Two with 3)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 54, Columbus 51
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 43, Columbus 47
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Simon Holmstrom +6
Columbus: Zach Werenski +20
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 6, Columbus 7
5-on-5: Isles 4, Columbus 7
Scratches
(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), (Ryan Pulock-INJ), (Anthony Duclair-INJ), Max Shabanov
Games Lost to injury: 343. (Last season's total: 304)
The Ironmen
Brayden Schenn played his 315th consecutive game (the first 307 for the Blues) while Anders Lee (153) has played in every game since the start of the 2024-25 season. Tony DeAngelo, who played the final 35 games of last season, has played 106 straight. Adam Pelech, Matthew Schaefer, and Emil Heineman have also played in every Islander game this season.
National TV Games
The Isles are 6-3-1 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners. Their final scheduled appearance will be on ESPN+ April 9th vs. Toronto.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 2-6-2 in matinee games this season; the remaining matinees are on March 28th vs Florida and April 11th vs Ottawa, both at 1:00pm. The NHL considers games that start before 5:00 local time to be afternoon contests. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Isles are 17-23-14 in matinees.
Challenges
Isles: 2 successful, 3 failures (No goalie interference – VEG 11/14), (No goalie interference – WPG 1/13), (No goalie interference – NSH 1/31), (Offside – STL 3/11), (Offside – MTL 3/21)
Opponents: 5 successful, 5 failures (No hand pass – WAS 10/11), (No interference – DET 10/23), (No offside – WAS 10/31), (No interference – COL 12/4), (Puck not shot out – EDM 1/15), (Offside – VAN 1/19), (Puck not shot out – NJ 2/5), (Offside -MTL 2/26), (No goalie interference – CBJ 2/28), (Goalie Interference – CBJ 3/23)
Hockey Opps: 1 favorable, 1 unfavorable (No missed stoppage- NJ 11/10), (goalie interference -DAL 11/18)
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (6): DET 10/23, CBJ 11/2, NJ 1/6, NYR 1/28, MTL 2/26, CBJ 2/28
Vs (7): BOS 10/28, COL 11/16, PHI 11/28, WAS 11/30, WPG 1/13, BUF 1/24, WAS 2/2
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)
Isles responses (4): OTT 10/18, SJS 10/21, BOS 11/4, CGY 1/17
Opponent responses (3): WPG 10/13, CAR 10/30, COL 12/4
Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
For (1): STL 3/11
Vs (0):
Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):
For (10): Anders Lee, GWG(18:57) 10/18 OTT, Matthew Schaefer, GTG (18:53) and Simon Holmstrom GWG (19:22) 11/2 CBJ, Kyle Palmieri GAG (17:07 11/10 NJ)- Isles won in OT, Mathew Barzal GTG (17:23 11/13 VEG)- Isles won in OT; Emil Heineman GTG (19:31 12/20 BUF)- Isles lost in OT; Adam Pelech GWG (18:45 12/23 NJD); Emil Heineman GTG (17:45 1/3 TOR) – Isles won in OT; Anders Lee, GTG (18:19) 2/26 MTL – Isles won in OT; Anders Lee GWG (19:28 3/1 FLA)
Vs (6): Simon Nemec GTG (19:55 11/10 NJ) but NYI won in OT, Pavel Dorfeyev (19:46, 12/9 VEG) but NYI won in SO; Alex DeBrincat GWG (17:43 12/16 DET); Roman Josi GWG (18:46 1/31 NSH), Sam Reinhart (18:02, 3/1 FLA) but NYI won in regulation; Matthew Tkachuk GWG (19:47 3/19 OTT)
OT Winners
For (10): Mathew Barzal 11/10 @ NJ, JG Pageau 11/13 @ VEG, Matthew Schaefer 11/14 @ UTA and 1/3 Vs TOR, Simon Holmstrom 1/10 @ MIN, Bo Horvat 2/3 vs PIT, JG Pageau 2/26 @ MTL, Simon Holmstrom 2/28 @ CBJ, Bo Horvat 3/7 @SJ, Mathew Barzal 3/11 @ STL
Vs (0):
Shootout Winners
For (4): SEA 11/23, VEG 12/9, TBL 12/13, CHI 12/30
Vs (5): PHI 10/25, BOS 11/4, PHL 11/28, BUF 12/20, NAS 1/8
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057 ***
4. Casey Cizikas 967 *** 5. Anders Lee 912…
16. Derek King 638 *** 17. Adam Pelech 631 *** 18. Ryan Pulock 627 *** 19. Billy Harris 623 *** 20. Stefan Persson 622 *** 21. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 22. Scott Mayfield 604 *** 23. Mathew Barzal 600
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
4. Clark Gillies and Anders Lee 304 …
17. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 18. Mathew Barzal 152…
22. Jason Blake 127 *** 23. Casey Cizikas 122
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***
4. Josh Bailey 396 *** 5. Mathew Barzal 374…
18. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 19. Anders Lee 240…
23. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 24. Ryan Pulock 183…
32. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 33. Casey Cizikas 156
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
9. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 910. John Tonelli and Anders Lee 544 *** 12. Bob Bourne 542 ***
13. Mathew Barzal 526…
27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 278
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +84 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Ryan Pulock +71 *** 20. Pat Price +70 *** 21. JP Parise +67 *** 22. Jude Drouin +58
Defense Goals
1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57 ***
4. Ryan Pulock 56…
12. Adrian Aucoin 33 *** 13. Bryan Berard 31 *** 14. Scott Mayfield and Adam Pelech 30
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742*** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249 ***
4. Nick Leddy 198 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 183 …
9. Jeff Norton 166 ***10. Adam Pelech 1454…
15. Tom Kurvers and Gerry Hart 108 *** 17. Scott Mayfield 106
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333 ***
4. Nick Leddy 243 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 239…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 174…
14. Dave Lewis 141 *** 15. Scott Mayfield 136
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 297…
8. Jaroslav Halak 177*** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 151 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Ilya Sorokin 29 *** 2. Glenn Resch 25 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
Bridgeport completed a sweep of the home-and-home and improved to 26-27-3-5 on the season with a 6-3 win on Sunday in Hershey. Adam Beckman scored twice and added an assists; Henrik Tikkanen made 22 saves for his second win in 24 hours.
Bridgeport moved into a tie with Lehigh Valley for 5th place and are now two points ahead of Springfield for the final playoff spot. The Islanders will host Charlotte on Wednesday and Laval on Friday.
Leaders: Goals: Adam Beckman 24; Assists: Matthew Warren and Marshall Highmore 21 (Matt Luff has 30, 25 prior to being acquired); Points: Beckman 42.(Luff has 47, 39 prior to being acquired)
Goalies: Marcus Hogberg 11-12-6, 2.87, .892; Henrik Tikkanen 12-7-1, 2.51, .899
Season Series Stats
The Isles win the season series, 3 games to 1 (and 6 points to 3).
The Isles are 8-0-1 in nine games played between the teams at UBS Arena.
UP NEXT
TUESDAY, MARCH 24th — CHICAGO AT ISLES 7:00PM
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 6:30); WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles look to sweep the season series with the Chicago Blackhawks as they face-off at UBS on Tuesday. The Isles closed out 2025 with a 3-2 shootout win at the United Center.
The Isles are 3-0-1 all-time at UBS Arena, and 4-0-1 in their last five games against the Hawks. Since 2021, the Isles are 6-1-2 against Chicago overall.
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources. Follow Eric @ehornick on Twitter & on his blog www.nyiskinny.com
Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick
