“The Skinny”
By Eric Hornick
Game 79
Isles 5, Toronto 3
Pete DeBoer’s Islander debut was a success as the Isles outshot Toronto 44-16 and snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-3 win over the Maple Leafs, before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.
Brayden Schenn and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored in the first five minutes as the Isles outshot the Leafs, 24-3, in the first period. However, the game was tied midway through the second period when Matthew Schaefer potted his 23rd goal, matching Brian Leetch’s record for goals in a season by a rookie defenseman. Emil Heineman got the eventual game-winner late in the second period and Cal Ritchie scored on a 5-on-3 in the third period.
The Isles move back into fourth place in the Metro Division, trailing Philadelphia by just one point; they remain three points behind Ottawa in the Wild Card race, with the Sens heading to Long Island on Saturday afternoon.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Brayden Schenn (18) Calum Ritchie (17), Bo Horvat (26) 02:08 TOR 0,NYI 1
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (17) Max Shabanov (13), Adam Pelech (12) 04:55 TOR 0,NYI 2
Steven Lorentz (7) 05:11 TOR 1,NYI 2
2nd Period
Easton Cowan (11) John Tavares (39), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (31) 01:57 TOR 2,NYI 2 PPG
Matthew Schaefer (23) Tony DeAngelo (29), Ondrej Palat (10) 09:39 TOR 2,NYI 3
Emil Heineman (22) Mathew Barzal (52), Tony DeAngelo (30) 16:44 TOR 2,NYI 4 PPG
3rd Period
Calum Ritchie (13) 10:20 TOR 2,NYI 5 PPG
Morgan Rielly (11) Matias Maccelli (25), Luke Haymes (1) 14:04 TOR 3,NYI 5
The Skinny
The Isles are 4-7-0 in their last eleven games and 7-11-0 in their last seventeen games… The Isles scored twice on the power play, including a 5-on-3… Toronto scored on their only power play; the Isles have still killed 28 of 34 since the trade deadline… Cal Ritchie now has points in seven of the last eight games and six goals in his last 15 games … Mathew Barzal extended his assist streak to five games… Max Shabanov earned a point for the second straight game.…After having been outshot 48-19 in the first period of their last four games, the Isles had a 24-3 shot advantage in the first period… Tony DeAngelo had two assists as he returned to the lineup after missing six games (and most of a seventh)…Toronto’s Luke Haymes earned a late assist in his NHL debut…Brayden Schenn scored his sixth goal in sixteen games as an Islander…Jean-Gabriel Pageau now has seventeen goals, one shy of his high as an Islander (18 in 2021-22)…Matthew Schaefer’s goal was his 23rd, passing Mathew Barzal’s rookie total; the last Isles rookie with more goals in a season was Anders Lee (25 in 2014-15)..Schaefer and Ritchie are the first Isles teammates to score at least 13 goals in the same rookie season since Todd Bertuzzi (18) and Niklas Andersson (14) in 1995-96; the last time two Isle rookies had at least 13 goals and 30 points in the same season was Patrick Flatley (20-31-51) and Pat LaFontaine (19-35-54) in 1984-85….If Ritchie (5 PPG) can get another power play goal this season, he and Schaefer would be the first rookie duo to each have six power play goals in a season…The Isles scored an unassisted power play goal for the second time this season; Ritchie has them both…The Isles matched a season high with 24 shots in the first period (also vs Florida – 2nd period- March 28th)…It is the first time in club history the Isles have outshot an opponent by at least 24 shots (44-16) after being outshot by at least 24 shots in the previous game (16-40); the 52-shot improvement in the differential (from -24 to +28) matches the club record, set in 2008.
The Playoff Chase
The Isles closed within one point of third in the Metro; the Penguins clinched both a playoff spot and second place tonight.
The Standings
1. xy(1st Metro) Carolina 108 points (37 RW) in 79 games
2. x (1st Atlantic) Buffalo 106 (41 RW, 44 ROW) in 80
3. x (2nd Atlantic) Montreal 104 (33 RW) in 79
4. x (3rd Atlantic) Tampa Bay 102 (39 RW, 44 ROW) in 79
5. x (2nd Metro) Pittsburgh 98 (34 RW) in 79
6. (1st WC) Boston 96 (31 RW) in 79
7. (2nd WC) Ottawa 94 (36 RW) in 79
8. (3rd Metro) Philadelphia 92 (25 RW) in 79
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9. (3rd WC) Detroit 91 (30 RW, 39 ROW) in 79
10. (4th WC/4th Metro) ISLES 91 (29 RW, 39 ROW) in 79
11. (5th WC) Columbus 90 (27 RW, 32 ROW) in 79
12. (6th WC) Washington 89 (34 RW) in 79
Maximum Points and RW for Teams That Isles Are Competing With for Playoff Spots:
Boston 102/34
Ottawa 100/39
Philadelphia 98/28
Detroit 97/33
ISLES 97/32
Columbus 96/30
Washington 95/37
Thursday's Results
TOR 3 @NYI 5
CBJ 0 @BUF5
TB 1 @MTL 2
CAR 7 @CHI 2
PIT 5 @NJ 2
FLA 1 @OTT 5
PHI 3 @DET 6
Remaining Games
Fri 4/10: No Games in Chase
Sat 4/11: OTT@NYI, TB@BOS, CBJ@MTL, CAR@UTA, WAS@PIT, PHI@WPG, NJ@DET
Sun 4/12 MTL@NYI, PIT@WAS, BOS@CBJ, OTT@NJD
Mon 4/13 DET@TB, BUF@CHI, CAR@PHI
Tue 4/14 CAR@NYI, MTL@PHI, PIT@STL,NJ@BOS, WSH@CBJ
Wed 4/15 NYR@TB, DAL@BUF, TOR@OTT, DET@FLA
A History Lesson
Only nine times in NHL history has a team made the playoffs after being at least three points out of a spot with four games to play. The Isles have done this twice, in 1989-90 and in 2006-07.
Milestone Men
• Matthew Schaefer scored his 23rd goal, tying Brian Leetch’s NHL record for goals in a season by a rookie defenseman.
• Matthew Schaefer now has a club rookie defenseman record 59 points; it is also an NHL record for an 18-year-old defenseman. Lane Hutson (66) is the only active defenseman who had more points as a rookie.
• Schaefer now has 209 shots on goal, tying Denis Potvin’s club record for a rookie defenseman; he is the first rookie defenseman with at least 200 shots since Dion Phaneuf in 2005-06. Adrian Aucoin (213 in 2003-04) was the last Islander defenseman with more shots on goal.
• Adam Pelech played his 639th game, passing Derek King for 16th place among Islander skaters.
• Anders Lee remains two goals behind Denis Potvin for 3rd place in club history.
• Bo Horvat has 299 NHL goals; among 2013 draft picks only Nathan MacKinnon (417) and Jake Guentzel (304) have more. To date, 244 NHL players have scored 300 goals.
• Horvat has 98 goals as an Islander; only 34 players have reached 100 in club history.
The Coaching Change
The Isles improve to 6-1-0 in the first game after a mid-season coaching change since Bill Stewart replaced Mike Milbury in 1999. The Isles are 9-9-2 in the first game for their new coach and are 10-11-2 in first games when you include multiple stints for Al Arbour, Lorne Henning, and Milbury.
Pete DeBoer is the first Islander coach to debut against the Leafs since Earl Ingarfield, Sr. became the second coach in Islander history, débuting January 31, 1973.
The New Coach
Pete De Boer is coaching in the NHL for the 18th consecutive season. DeBoer improved to 663-447-152 in 1262 regular season game; he is 97-82 in the playoffs. DeBoer has won a playoff series in each of his last seven trips to the Stanley Cup playoffs and has made the Western Conference Final six times in the last eight seasons.
DeBoer tied Jacques Lemaire for 21st place in games coached on Thursday and is 18th in career wins (two behind Todd McLellan).
DeBoer is 7th in playoff games coached, three behind Darryl Sutter and four behind Pat Quinn. Joel Quenneville (225) is the only active coach with more games. His 97 wins are fifth all-time, and three behind Dick Irvin.
How Swede It Is
Emil Heineman (22) and Simon Holmstrom (19) have combined for 41 goals this season. The Isles are the only team with two Swedes with at least 19 goals.
Longest Sellout Streaks in UBS History (one season)
• 21 (2025-26 CURRENT)
• 19 (2021-22; the first 19 games played at UBS Arena)
• 12 (2022-23; the final 12 games of that season)
The Isles have sold out 23 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 27-18-1 (with a .914 save percentage, and a 2.49 goals-against average) and an NHL-leading seven shutouts since then.
Sorokin is 15-5-0 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.
Sorokin leads the NHL with 18 road wins (18-11-1) but is 11-11-1 at home.
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.
Big Save Dave
David Rittich is 14-10-3 on the season. He is 3-2-0 with one ‘no decision’ in his last six starts.
Rittich is 11-3-1 at home this season.
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 4-5-0 overall, 4-3-0 at home and 0-2-0 on the road:
• March 22 vs CBJ 1-0 W
• March 24 vs CHI 3-4 L
• March 26 vs DAL 2-1 W
• March 28 vs FLA 5-2 W
• March 30 vs PIT 3-8 L
• March 31 @ BUF 3-4 L
• April 3 vs PHI 1-4 L
• April 4 @ CAR 3-4 L
• April 9 vs TOR 5-3 W
• April 11 vs OTT
• April 12 vs MTL
• April 14 vs CAR
Most Goals by an 18-Year-Old Defenseman
1. Matthew Schaefer 23 (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. Matthew Schaefer (23-36-59 in 79 GP)
2. Phil Housley (BUF) (17-40-57 in 66 GP) 1982-83
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 12 2025-26
Most Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 32
2. Pat LaFontaine 26
3. John Tavares and Tim Connolly 24
5. Brent Sutter and Matthew Schaefer 23
Schaefer has the most goals by any Islander teenage defenseman.
Most Assists by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 63
2. Tim Connolly 51
3. Pat LaFontaine and Matthew Schaefer 36
Schaefer has the most assists by any Islander teenage defenseman, and only Trottier has more assists in a single season by an Islander teenager.
Most Points by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 95
2. Tim Connolly 75
3. Pat LaFontaine 62
4. Matthew Schaefer 59
Schaefer has the most points by any Islander teenage defenseman, and only Trottier has more points in a single season by an Islander teenager.
Most Game-Winning Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 5
2. Matthew Schaefer 4
Most Shots on Goal by an Islander Teenager
1. Tim Connolly 285
2. Matthew Schaefer 209
Schaefer has the most shots on goal in a single season by any Islander teenager.
Schaefer will still be a Teenager for the next 87 Isles games.
Most Games, Goals, Assists and Points as an 18-Year-Old (Isles history)
Matthew Schafer holds the club record for goals (23), assists (36), and points (59). Tim Connolly played 81 games as a rookie – the only 18-year-old to play more games than Schaefer.
Most Goals and Points by an Islander Rookie Defenseman
1. Matthew Schaefer 23 goals and 59 points (2025-26)
Most Goals by an NHL Rookie Defenseman, Season (NHL History)
1. Brian Leetch -NYR 23 (1988-89) and Matthew Schaefer 23 (2025-26)
Leetch did have two goals after joining the Rangers following the 1988 Olympics, so he has 25 goals as a rookie.
Schaefer and Penalties
Matthew Schaefer has drawn 38 penalties this season, more than any other NHL defenseman, and 2nd in the NHL (behind Connor McDavid). He is a net +20 (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.
Best Penalty Differential by an NHL Defensemen (Season, Since 2009-10)
1. Matthew Schaefer +20 2025-26
2. Cale Makar COL +19 2024-25
3. Cale Makar COL +17 in 2023-24
Most Penalties Drawn by an NHL Rookie Defenseman (Season, Since 2009-10)
1. PK Subban MTL 40 (2010-11)
2. Matthew Schaefer 38 (2025-26)
This is only the sixth time since 2009-10 (including PK Subban twice) that any defenseman has drawn at least 38 penalties. Schaefer’s +20 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 38
Most Penalties Drawn by an Islander Rookie (Season, Since 2009-10)
1. Mathew Barzal 2017-18 40
2. Matthew Schaefer 2025-26 38
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 31:59 3/24/2026 vs CHI
2. Matthew Schaefer 29:40 3/31/2026 at BUF
3. Matthew Schaefer 29:24 3/13/2026 vs LA
4. Matthew Schaefer 29:01 3/7/2026 at SJ (OT)
5. Matthew Schaefer 28:53 11/28/2025 vs PHI (SO)
Matthew Schaefer 28:53 1/8/2026 at NAS (SO)
The last Islander to play more than 31:59 was Mark Streit, who played 32:27 on March 27, 2010, vs. CBJ. Since ice-time became official, no Islander has played more than 31:59 in a game that ended in regulation.
Most Ice Time by an 18-Year-Old, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 31:59 3/24/2026 vs CHI
2. Matthew Schaefer 29:40 3/31/2026 at BUF
3. Matthew Schaefer 29:24 3/13/2026 vs LA
4. Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) 29:15 12/4/2018 vs TOR (OT)
5. Drew Doughty (LA) 29:04 11/22/2008 vs COL (SO)
6. Matthew Schaefer 29:01 3/7/2026 vs SJ (OT)
Most Ice Time by a Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 31:59 3/24/2026 vs CHI
2. Jay Bouwmeester 30:57 1/30/2003 for FLA vs. DET (OT)
There are five recorded instances of a teenager playing 30 minutes in a game. Schaefer is the first teenager with four games of at least 29 minutes.
Schaefer has played at least 20:00 in 67 straight games; it is the longest streak in NHL history by a teenager in a single season since ice-time became official and the longest by an Islander since Mark Streit set the record (since 1997-98) by doing so in 141 consecutive games from 2009-2011.
Most Shots by an Isles Rookie
1. Mike Bossy 235 1977-78
2. David Volek 229 1988-89
3. Michael Grabner 228 2010-11
4. Denis Potvin 209 1973-74 and Matthew Schaefer 209 2025-26
Schaefer is the first NHL rookie defenseman to hit 200 shots since Dion Phaneuf in 2005-06 (242).
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have nineteen come-from behind wins this season, including eight when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win fifteen times this season, including five times in the third period.
The Isles have seven multi-goal comeback wins (one in the third period); opponents have four (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 thirteen goals with the 6th attacker (most in NHL) and allowed 13 empty net goals.
Opponents have scored eight goals with 6th attacker and allowed seven empty-netters to the Isles.
Most Extra Attacker Goals, Isles (since 2009-10)
1. 2025-26 13
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 38 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 16 times
• Allowed the next goal: 15 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 7 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2025-26 43-31-5 for 91 points in 79 games
• 2024-25 34-33-12 for 80 points in 79 games; they finished last season with 82 points.
Offense from Defense
• Today: 1-3-4
• Season: 40-124-164
• 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: 2-2-4
• Season: 42-69-111
• Last Season (Final) 19-30-49
• The assists and points are the most since 2017-18 (38-101-139); the last time Islander rookies combined for more goals was in 2010-11 (48, including 34 from Michael Grabner).
The 42 rookie goals are one ahead of Montreal for the NHL lead, while the 111 points are 2nd to Chicago’s 112. Islander rookies have scored 18.5% of the team’s goals, which is the highest percentage in the NHL.
Home and Road
The Isles are 43-31-5 overall; they are 22-14-2 at home and 21-17-3 on the road.
Toronto is 32-33-14 overall; they are 18-13-8 at home and 14-20-6 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 26-17-4 against the East (14-9-2 vs. Metropolitan and 12-8-2 vs. Atlantic) and 17-14-1 against the West (7-8-1 vs. Central and 10-6-0 vs. Pacific).
First Things First
The Isles are 29-12-3 when scoring first and 14-19-2 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 24-12-8=44
Toronto 3-6-7=16
The Isles are 15-17-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 2-2-1 when the shots are even and 26-12-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 13 saves; he is 29-22-2 this season and 8-5-0 vs. Toronto.
Artur Akhtyamov made 39 saves in his first NHL start; he is 0-1-0 this season and 0-1-0 vs. the Isles
Special Teams
The Isles were 2-5 (7:49); Toronto was 1-1 (1:07).
The Isles are 21-9-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 22-22-3 when they do not. The Isles are 13-14-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 30-17-1 when they do not.
The Isles are 20-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 5-12-2 when they are outscored, and 18-18-3 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 a Magic Number
The Isles 33-9-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 10-22-2 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 27-10-5 in games decided by a single goal including 12-10 in regulation; the 27 one-goal wins are a new club record. 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.
The Isles are the first team since the 2021-22 Stars to win at least 27 one-goal games; that team won 28. Only two teams have won more than 30 one-goal games (Anaheim 33 2014-15; New Jersey 32 2006-07)
Back-to-Backs
T9he Isles are 5-10-0 on the front end and 9-5-1 on the back end this season. The final back-to-back will be on April 11th-12th when the Isles host Ottawa and Montreal.
The Isles are 9-6-0 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 (24:50); Toronto: Jake McCabe (25:06)
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards (21:36).
Face-offs
Isles 36, Toronto 31 (54%)
Bo Horvat won 19 of 29 for the Isles; John Tavares won 11 of 19 for Toronto.
Hit Count
Isles 24 (Marc Gatcomb -6)
Toronto 21 (Michael Pezzetta -6)
Fights
None. Season total: 10 (Mayfield -3, Lee-3, MacLean-2, DeAngelo, Schenn)
Blocked Shots
Isles 11 (Three with 2)
Toronto 13 (Morgan Rielly -3)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 79, Toronto 58
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 63, Toronto 49
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Matthew Schaefer +12
Toronto: Two with +9
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 17, Toronto 7
5-on-5: Isles 12, Toronto 7
Scratches
(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), Isaiah George, Anthony Duclair, Kyle MacLean, Adam Boqvist
Games Lost to injury: 383. (Last season’s total: 304)
The Ironmen
Brayden Schenn played his 323rd consecutive game (the first 307 for the Blues) while Anders Lee (161) has played in every game since the start of the 2024-25 season. Adam Pelech, Matthew Schaefer, and Emil Heineman have also played in every Islander game this season.
National TV Games
This was the final national telecast/streaming game for the Isles this season. The Isles were 7-3-1 in games that air on one of the NHL’s US national broadcast partners.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 3-6-2 in matinee games this season; the final matinee is April 11th vs Ottawa 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 18-23-14 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 (7): DET 10/23, CBJ 11/2, NJ 1/6, NYR 1/28, MTL 2/26, CBJ 2/28, FLA 3/28
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 (4): WPG 10/13, CAR 10/30, COL 12/4, TOR 4/9
Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
For (1): STL 3/10
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 975 *** 5. Anders Lee 920…
15. Brent Sutter 694 *** 16. Adam Pelech 639 *** 17. Derek King 638 *** 18. Ryan Pulock 634 *** 19. Billy Harris 623 *** 20. Stefan Persson 622 *** 21. Scott Mayfield 612 *** 22. Mathew Barzal 608
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
4. Anders Lee 308 …
17. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 18. Mathew Barzal 153…
22. Jason Blake 127 *** 23. Casey Cizikas 123…
33. Anthony Beavillier 102 *** 34. Anders Kallur 101 *** 35. Bo Horvat 98
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***
4. Josh Bailey 396 *** 5. Mathew Barzal 380…
18. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 19. Anders Lee 241…
23. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 24. Ryan Pulock 184…
32. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 33. Casey Cizikas 156 *** 34. David Volek 154 *** 35. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 36. Adam Pelech 147
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
9. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 10. Anders Lee 549 *** 11. John Tonelli 544 *** 12. Bob Bourne 542 ***
13. Mathew Barzal 533…
27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 279 …
32. Nick Leddy 243 *** 33. Ryan Pulock 240
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +83 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +66 *** 22. Jude Drouin +58
Defense 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 184 …
9. Jeff Norton 166 *** 10. Adam Pelech 147…
14 Roman Hamrlik 110 *** 15. Scott Mayfield 109
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333 ***
4. Nick Leddy 243 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 240…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 177…
14. Dave Lewis 141 *** 15. Scott Mayfield 139
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 306…
8. Jaroslav Halak 177*** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 154 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Ilya Sorokin 29 *** 2. Glenn Resch 25 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
Pierrick Dube had the overtime winner as Bridgeport improved to 8-3-0-0 in their last eleven games and 31-28-3-5 on the season with a 5-4 OT win over Wilkes Barre-Scranton. Victor Eklund scored his first goal in North America and is 1-7-8 in five games with Bridgeport. Henrik Tikkanen won his seventh straight game and improved to 9-1-0 in his last ten games, allowing only one goal in his only loss. The Islanders remain in 4th place in the Atlantic; they are now eight points clear of 7th place Lehigh Valley, who are out of the playoffs.
Bridgeport will play in Lehigh Valley on Saturday and then return home to host Hartford on Sunday in the final regular season game ever to be played in Bridgeport.
Leaders: Goals: Adam Beckman 27; Assists: Marshall Warren 24 (Matt Luff has 32, 25 prior to being acquired); Points: Beckman 47.(Luff has 50, 39 prior to being acquired)
Goalies: Henrik Tikkanen 17-7-1, 2.47, .903; Marcus Hogberg 11-13-6, 2.98, .887
Season Series Stats
The Isles sweep the season series, 3 games to 0 (and 6 points to 1).
The Isles are 9-3-0 in the last four seasons against Toronto, including three overtime victories.
UP NEXT
SATURDAY, APRIL 11th —OTTAWA AT ISLES 1:00PM
[MSGSN (pre-game at 12:30); WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles begin their final back-to-back of the season and look to move back into a playoff berth as they welcome the Ottawa Senators to UBS Arena.
It is the third meeting of the season, with each team earning a one-goal win in Kanata on a late goal.
The Isles are 15-4-2 against the Sens in their last 21 meetings; the Isles are 3-1-2 in their six meetings at UBS Arena.
A win would temporarily move the Isles ahead of Philadelphia, since the Flyers do not play until Saturday night. However, if the Senators win in any fashion, the Isles will be eliminated from catching them in the Wild Card race (though they could still pass the Flyers in the Metro).
The Isles also still have a slim chance to catch Boston for a Wild Card spot. They trail the Bruins by five points and two regulation wins with three games left. Any Bruins win or an Islanders regulation loss would end that possibility.
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
