“The Skinny”
By Eric Hornick
Game 11
Dallas 6, Isles 3
Jason Robertson scored twice and eleven Stars had points as Dallas defeated the Islanders 6-3, before a sell-out crowd of 18,532 at American Airlines Center.
The teams traded goals over the first forty minutes, as the Isles three times offset Stars goals with one of their own; however, the Stars scored all three goals in the third period to earn their fifth straight win and snap the Isles’ five-game point streak (3-0-2).
The Isles continue their three-game road trip, all against Central Division opponents, at 8pm ET on Tuesday in Nashville.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Tyler Seguin (3) Jamie Benn (2), Roope Hintz (4) 11:31 NYI 0,DAL 1
Matthew Schaefer (2) Bo Horvat (6) 13:43 NYI 1,DAL 1
Jason Robertson (4) 14:32 NYI 1,DAL 2
2nd Period
Kyle Palmieri (3) Ryan Pulock (1), Bo Horvat (7) 04:01 NYI 2,DAL 2
Justin Hryckowian (1) Thomas Harley (5), Wyatt Johnston (6) 10:52 PP NYI 2,DAL 3
Brayden Schenn (3) Anthony Duclair (2), Emil Heineman (3) 17:45 NYI 3,DAL 3
3rd Period
Wyatt Johnston (2) Nils Lundkvist (3), Joel Kiviranta (1) 04:10 NYI 3,DAL 4
Jason Robertson (5) Tyler Seguin (3), Roope Hintz (5) 09:45 NYI 3,DAL 5
Mikko Rantanen (6) Lian Bichsel (1) 13:02 NYI 3,DAL 6
The Skinny
The Isles went 0-2 on the power play and killed 2-3 Star power plays; the Isles have six power play goals this season but are only 1-15 on the road…. The Isles’ PK is 13-14 in the last five games… Matthew Schaefer played 11:18 in the second period, and over 26 minutes in the game, despite not playing in the final 7:11; Schaefer was on the ice for Seguin’s goal, but none of the other five Dallas tallies…Dallas scored twice in the first period after scoring only four goals in the first period of their first ten games… The Isles have scored 11 goals in five road games (2.2 per game) and 21 goals in six home games (3.5 per game)…Tyler Seguin’s goal was his 370th, tying him with Tim Kerr for 146th all-time…Matthew Schaefer scored for the second straight game; it is the fifth time in his career he has done that…Logan Stanley is the fourth player in the NHL to reach 30 penalty minutes this season…Both teams scored on a 4-on-4 in the first period…Matthew Schaefer extended his point streak to four games; Brayden Schenn and Emil Heineman have points in three straight… The Isles scored three tying goals in a game three times last season and won them all; the club record is four, which has happened six times, but not since 1981…Ilya Sorokin’s goals against average increased from 1.72 to 2.26.
The Kids Are Alright
Prior to Palmieri’s goal, the last three Islander goals were scored by players 20 or younger and the last five goals by players born in the 2000s.
Milestone Men (non-Schaefer)
• Brayden Schenn scored his 299th NHL goal; his next goal will make him the 249th player in the NHL to reach 300 goals and the 11th to do so while wearing an Islander uniform.
• Ryan Pulock’s assist was his 242nd point (and first of the season); he is one point behind Nick Leddy for 4th place in club history.
• Adam Pelech recorded his 300th NHL penalty minute.
• Semyon Varlamov has played 176 games for the Isles, tying Glenn Healy for 9th place; his next appearance will tie Jaroslav Halak, who sits 8th in club history.
• Bo Horvat has 104 Islander goals, leaving him one behind Benoit Hogue and Ed Westfall for 31st in club history.
The Schaeferisms
• Matthew Schaefer scored his 25th career goal, passing Bobby Orr for 2nd place among teenage defensemen; he also passed Doug Bodger for 7th place on the teenage defenseman point list. He is 63 points behind Phil Housley’s teenage record.
• Schaefer passed John Tavares and Tim Connolly for 3rd on the Isles’ teenager goal list; he is one behind Pat LaFontaine.
Most Goals by an NHL Teenage Defenseman
1. Phil Housley 46
2. Matthew Schaefer 25
Most Points by an NHL Teenage Defenseman
1. Phil Housley 132
2. Rasmus Dahlin 84
3. Ray Bouque 79
4. Rick Hampton 76
5. Bobby Orr 72
6. Scott Stevens 70
7. Matthew Schaefer 69
Most Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 32
2. Pat LaFontaine 26
3. Matthew Schaefer 25
Schaefer has scored the most goals by any Islander teenage defenseman.
Most Assists by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 63
2. Tim Connolly 51
3. Matthew Schaefer 44
Schaefer has the most assists by any Islander teenage defenseman.
Most Points by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 95
2. Tim Connolly 75
3. Matthew Schaefer 69
Schaefer has the most points by any Islander teenage defenseman.
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 264
Schaefer will play this entire season as a teenager.
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 29:29 10/15/2026 at OTT (SO)
4. Matthew Schaefer 29:24 3/13/2026 vs LA
Matthew Schaefer 29:24 10/22/2026 vs LA (OT)
6. Matthew Schaefer 29:01 3/7/2026 at SJ (OT)
The last Islander to play more than 31:59 was Mark Streit, who played 32:27 on March 27, 2010, vs. CBJ. Since ice-time became official, no Islander has played more than 31:59 in a game that ended in regulation.
Most Ice Time by 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 six games of at least 29 minutes.
Schaefer has played at least 20:00 in 81 straight games; it is the longest streak in NHL history by a teenager in a single season since ice-time became official and the longest by an Islander since Mark Streit set the record (since 1997-98) by doing so in 141 consecutive games from 2009-2011.
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have zero come-from behind wins this season, including no times when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win one time this season, including zero times in the third period.
The Isles have zero multi-goal comeback wins (zero in the third period); opponents have zero (none in the third period).
Overtime Is Our Time
The Isles are 0-1 in games decided by an overtime goal; they are 0-1 in shootouts.
Last season the Isles established an NHL record by winning all ten games decided by an overtime goal.
The Sixth Attacker
The Isles have not scored with the sixth attacker and allowed three empty net goals.
Opponents have scored two goals with the sixth attacker and allowed two empty-netters to the Isles.
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2026-27: 5-4-2 for 12 points in 11 games
• 2025-26: 5-5-1 for 11 points in 11 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 1-1-2
• Season: 3-20-23
• Last Season (Final) 40-126-166
The 40 goals are the most for the Islander defense since they had 41 in 2022-23.
Home and Road
The Isles are 5-4-2 overall; they are 4-1-1 at home and 1-3-1 on the road.
Dallas is 7-3-1 overall; they are 4-2-0 at home and 3-1-1 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 2-3-1 against the East (1-1-0 vs. Metropolitan and 1-2-1 vs. Atlantic) and 3-1-1 against the West (1-1-0 vs. Central and 2-0-1 vs. Pacific).
Coach DeBoer
Pete DeBoer is 668-454-154 as an NHL coach, and 6-6-2 with the Isles. The 668 wins is one behind Detroit’s Todd McLellan for 16th all-time. Next up is Mike Keenan (672- 15th).
First Things First
The Isles are 5-0-1 when scoring first and 0-4-1 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 6-9-4=19
Dallas 9-13-16=38
The Isles are 2-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 3-3-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves; he is 5-3-0 this season and 3-2-1 vs. Dallas.
Jake Oettinger made 16 saves; he is 6-2-1 this season and 6-3-0 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-3 (4:27); Dallas was 1-2 (2:12).
The Isles are 3-2-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 2-2-1 when they do not. The Isles are 1-4-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 4-0-2 when they do not.
The Isles are 2-0-1 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 1-1-0 when they are outscored, and 2-3-1 when special team goals are equal.
Three is (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles 5-2-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-2-2 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 2-1-2 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 0-1 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 0-0-0 on the front end and 0-0-0 on the back end this season. The first back-to-back will be on November 27th vs. Winnipeg and November 28th at Philadelphia.
The Isles are 1-1-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 0-0-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Matthew Schaefer (26:16); Dallas: Thomas Harley (24:43)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (19:18).
Shots on Goal
Isles 20 (Kyle Palmieri – 3)
Dallas 38 (Colin Blackwell and Miro Heiskanen – 4)
Shot Attempts
Isles 44 (Matthew Schaefer and Kyle Palmieri – 6)
Dallas 66 (Four with 6)
Face-offs
Isles 22, Dallas 18 (55%)
Bo Horvat won 7 of 12 for the Isles; Arttu Hyry won 6 of 11 for Dallas.
Hit Count
Isles 29 (Brayden Schenn – 5)
Dallas 9 (Colin Blackwell, Joel Kiviranta and Wyatt Johnston – 2)
Blocked Shots
Isles 13 (Bo Horvat, Emil Heineman and Ryan Pulock – 2)
Dallas 13 (Thomas Harley – 4)
Fights
None. Season total: 5 (Stanley-2, Schenn, Pelech, Chaffee)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 44, Dallas 66
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 36, Dallas 60
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: JG Pageau +2
Dallas: Arttu Hyry +15
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 7, Dallas 16
5-on-5: Isles 6, Dallas 14
Scratches
Mathew Barzal (NonRoster IR), Alex Romanov (IR), Cal Ritchie (INJ), Matias Maccelli (INJ), Scott Mayfield
Games Lost to injury: 25. (Last season’s total: 399)
The Ironmen
Brayden Schenn played his 337th consecutive game (the first 307 for the Blues); it is the 8th-longest active streak in the NHL. Adam Pelech, Matthew Schaefer, and Emil Heineman have also played in every Islander game since the start of last season.
National TV Games
The Isles are 0-1-1 in games that air on one of the NHL’s US national broadcast partners. The next nationally televised game will be on November 5th against Carolina.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-0-0 in matinee games. The NHL considers games that start before 5:00 local time to be afternoon contests. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Isles are 18-24-14 in matinees.
The first matinee will be on Halloween, when the Isles host the Oilers at 2:00pm.
Challenges
Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures. OTT (Offside) 10/15.
Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures
Hockey Opps: 0 favorable, 0 unfavorable
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (2): Vs NJD 10/3, vs VAN 10/13
Vs (2): @ NYR 10/6, vs TB 10/10
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of the other team)
Isles responses (0):
Opponent responses (2): ANA 10/20, DAL 10/25
Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
For (0):
Vs (0):
Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):
For (0):
Vs (1): Brandon Hagel (GWG) 18:16 – 10/10 vs. TB
OT Winners
For (0):
Vs (1): Brandt Clarke (LA) 10/22
Shootout Winners
For (0):
Vs (1): Shane Pinto (OTT) 10/15
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 989…
15. Brent Sutter 694 *** 16. Adam Pelech 653 *** 17. Ryan Pulock 647 *** 18. Derek King 638 *** 19. Billy Harris 623 *** 20. Stefan Persson 622 *** 21. Scott Mayfield 617 *** 22. Mathew Barzal 611
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
17. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 18. Mathew Barzal 153…
22. Jason Blake 127 *** 23. Casey Cizikas 125…
31. Benoit Hogue and Ed Westfall 105 *** 33. Bo Horvat 104
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***
4. Josh Bailey 396 *** 5. Mathew Barzal 381…
23. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 24. Ryan Pulock 186…
32. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 33. Casey Cizikas 157 *** 34. David Volek 154 *** 35. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 36. Adam Pelech 149
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 282 …
32. Nick Leddy 243 *** 33. Ryan Pulock 242
+/-
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. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +66 *** 22. Jude Drouin +58
Defense Games
1. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 2. Adam Pelech 653 *** 3. Ryan Pulock 647 ***
4. Stefan Persson 622 *** 5. Scott Mayfield 617
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 186 …
9. Jeff Norton 166 *** 10. Adam Pelech 149…
13. Dave Lewis 117 *** 14. Roman Hamrlik and Scott Mayfield 110
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333 ***
4. Nick Leddy 243 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 242…
9. Jeff Norton 188 *** 10. Mark Streit and Adam Pelech 179…
14. Dave Lewis 141 *** 15. Scott Mayfield 140
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 316…
8. Jaroslav Halak 177*** 9. Glenn Healy and Semyon Varlamov 176
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Ilya Sorokin 159 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Ilya Sorokin 30 *** 2. Glenn Resch 25 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
The Hamilton Hammers are 2-6-0-1 this season after splitting a pair of games this weekend in Laval. Hamilton returns home to host Hartford on Thursday before heading to Syracuse on Friday.
Team leaders:
Goals: Mitchell Chaffee (4); Assists: Liam Foudy (7); Points: Foudy (10)
Goalies: Vitek Vanecek (1-3-1), Josh Kotai (1-3-0)
Season Series Stats
Dallas leads the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The teams will conclude the season series on January 15th at UBS Arena.
The Isles have scored three goals or less in each of the last ten meetings with Dallas and are 4-4-1 in those games.
UP NEXT
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27th -- ISLANDERS AT NASHVILLE 8:00pm
[MSGSN2 (pre-game at 7:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
Pete DeBoer will try to do what Barry Trotz, Lane Lambert, and Patrick Roy could not – lead the Isles to a win in Nashville for the first time since October 28, 2017.
The Isles are 0-4-3 in Music City since then but have forced each of the last two games past 60 minutes to earn a point.
It is the first of two meetings with the Preds this season.
The Isles are 2-9-4 in the last fifteen meetings with Nashville, including the game Ilya Sorokin scored into an empty net on March 1, 2025.
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
