“The Skinny”
By Eric Hornick
Game 9
Isles 3, Anaheim 2
The Islanders scored three goals in a 5:05 span of the first period as they defeated the Anaheim Ducks, 3-2, before a crowd of 13,273 at UBS Arena. Ondrej Palat, Victor Ekland and Simon Holmstrom, the latter on a power play, scored for the Isles. Frank Vatrano scored 50 seconds after Eklund, but the Ducks did not score again until Alex Killorn scored with an extra attacker for the final margin of victory.
Matthew Schaefer earned an assist for the fifth straight home game, becoming the youngest player in NHL history to open a season with a helper in five straight.
The Isles host Los Angeles on Thursday.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Ondrej Palat (2) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (4), Anthony Duclair (1) 13:39 NYI 1, ANA 0
Victor Eklund (2) Emil Heineman (1), Matthew Kessel (2) 16:28 NYI 2, ANA 0
Frank Vatrano (2) A.J. Greer (2), Leo Carlsson (8) 17:18 NYI 2, ANA 1
Simon Holmstrom (4) Matthew Schaefer (8), Bo Horvat (5) 18:44 PP NYI 3, ANA 1
2nd Period
No Scoring
3rd Period
Alex Killorn (2) Leo Carlsson (9), Jackson LaCombe (6) 17:20 NYI 3, ANA 2
The Skinny
The Isles went 1-4 on the power play, and killed both Duck power plays… The Isles have scored seven first period goals over the last four games after only scoring one first period goal in the first five games… The Isles, have won consecutive games for the first time this season, and now have a four-game point streak (3-0-1)…Both Islander goaltenders continue to have goals against averages under 2.00 (Sorokin 1.72 and Varlamov 1.93)… Simon Holmstrom has three goals in the last two games…The Isles are 4-1-0 in their first five home games; it is their best record through five games at UBS Arena and their most points since opening 4-0-1 at the Coliseum in 2021…Ondrej Palat had only one goal after joining the Isles last January… Nine Islanders earned points on the three goals in the first period; the Isles are 18-1-1 in their last 20 games scoring at least three goals in the first period…Matthew Schaefer leads the team with eight assists; only the Rangers’ Adam Fox has more points (0-10-10) without scoring a goal…The Isles have allowed six goals in the final three minutes of regulation (one game-winner, three empty-netters and two 6th-attacker goals); they have allowed only one other goal in the third period and only thirteen goals in the first 57 minutes of games…Frank Vatrano played in his 300th Duck game and 701st NHL game….Alex Killorn’s goal was his seventh against the Isles.
First Time in a Long Time
Matthew Schaefer is the first Islander defenseman with an assist in the first five home games since Kenny Jonsson (7) and Bryan Berard (6) both did so in 1997-78.
Milestone Men
• Semyon Varlamov has played 175 games for the Isles, one fewer than Glenn Healy and two fewer than 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.
• Pete DeBoer passed Claude Julien and tied Todd McLellan with his 668th NHL win (pending Detroit’s late game Tuesday).
• Matthew Schaefer now needs one point to tie Doug Bodger for 7th place on the teenage point list. He is 65 points behind Phil Housley’s teenage record.
Fewest Goals Allowed by Isles in First Nine Games (excluding shootout)
• 17 in 1974-75
• 18 in 1975-76
• 19 in 1977-78, 2001-02 ,2021-22 and 2026-27
Most Goals by an NHL Teenage Defenseman:
1. Phil Housley 46
2. Bobby Orr 24
3. Matthew Schaefer and Ray Bourque 23
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 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 67
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 254
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
5. 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 five games of at least 29 minutes.
Schaefer has played at least 20:00 in 79 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 0-0 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: 5-3-1 for 11 points in 9 games
• 2025-26: 4-4-1 for 9 points in 9 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-2-2
• Season: 1-17-18
• 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 5-3-1 overall; they are 4-1-0 at home and 1-2-1 on the road.
Anaheim is 4-5-0 overall; they are 1-3-0 at home and 3-2-0 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 3-0-0 against the West (1-0-0 vs. Central and 2-0-0 vs. Pacific).
Coach DeBoer
Pete DeBoer is 668-453-153 as an NHL coach, and 6-6-1 with the Isles. The 668 wins passes Claude Julien, and ties Detroit’s Todd McLellan for 16th all-time. Next up is Mike Keenan (672- 15th). (Detroit played a late game on Tuesday)
First Things First
The Isles are 5-0-1 when scoring first and 0-3-0 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 13-7-5=25
Anaheim 6-7-4=17
The Isles are 2-1-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 3-2-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 15 saves; he is 5-2-0 this season and 5-1-0 vs. Anaheim.
Lukas Dostal made 22 saves; he is 3-4-0 this season and 2-2-0 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 1-4 (4:55); Anaheim was 0-2 (2:10).
The Isles are 3-2-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 2-1-1 when they do not. The Isles are 1-3-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 4-0-1 when they do not.
The Isles are 2-0-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 1-0-0 when they are outscored, and 2-3-1 when special team goals are equal.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles 5-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-2-1 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 2-1-1 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 0-0 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 (26:20); Anaheim: Jackson LaCombe (27:55)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (21:35).
Shots on Goal
Isles 25 (Victor Eklund – 4)
Anaheim 17 (Beckett Sennecke – 3)
Shot Attempts
Isles 77 (Bo Horvat – 9)
Anaheim 49 (Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke and Tristan Luneau – 7)
Face-offs
Isles 31, Anaheim 21 (60%)
Bo Horvat won 11 of 17 for the Isles; Mikael Granlund won 11 of 21 for Anaheim.
Hit Count
Isles 19 (Kyle MacLean – 5)
Anaheim 22 (Tim Washe – 5)
Blocked Shots
Isles 14 (Adam Pelech – 5)
Anaheim 24 (Tyson Hinds – 4)
Fights
Mitchell Chaffee (in his Islander debut) fought AJ Greer in the second period. Season total: 4 (Schenn, Pelech, Stanley, Chaffee)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 76, Anaheim 49
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 61, Anaheim 45
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Matthew Kessel +14
Anaheim: Tristan Luneau +16
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 23, Anaheim 10
5-on-5: Isles 19, Anaheim 10 (including five for Victor Eklund)
Scratches
Mathew Barzal (NonRoster IR), Alex Romanov (IR), Cal Ritchie (INJ), Matias Maccelli (INJ), Scott Mayfield
Games Lost to injury: 17. (Last season’s total: 399)
The Ironmen
Brayden Schenn played his 335th consecutive game (the first 307 for the Blues). 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 0-1-0 in games that air on one of the NHL’s US national broadcast partners. The next nationally televised game will be on October 22nd against the Kings.
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 (1): ANA 10/20
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 (0):
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 987…
15. Brent Sutter 694 *** 16. Adam Pelech 651 *** 17. Ryan Pulock 645 *** 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 185…
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 241
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +85 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +67 *** 22. Jude Drouin +58
Defense Games
1. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 2. Adam Pelech 651 *** 3. Ryan Pulock 645 ***
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 185 …
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 241…
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 315…
8. Jaroslav Halak 177*** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 175
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 1-4-0-1 this season following a 4-3 loss to Syracuse on Sunday. Hamilton erased a 3-goal deficit before allowing the deciding goal. The Hammers head to Toronto for a game on Wednesday.
Team leaders:
Goals: Mitchell Chaffee (4); Assists: Liam Foudy (4); Points: Foudy (7)
Goalies: Vitek Vanecek (1-1-1), Josh Kotai (0-3-0)
Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The teams will conclude the season series on November 14th in Anaheim.
The Isles are 5-1-0 at UBS Arena against the Ducks and are 8-3-0 over the last six seasons against Anaheim.
UP NEXT
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22nd –LOS ANGELES AT ISLANDERS 7:30pm
[ESPN+/Hulu, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles will look to extend their winning streak to three and their point streak to five, when they welcome Peter Laviolette and the Kings to UBS Arena for a nationally-streamed game.
It is the first of two meetings with the Kings this season.
The Isles are 1-4-0 at UBS Arena against the Kings and are 1-9-0 over the last five seasons against Los Angeles. The only Islander win in that stretch was a come-from-behind OT win on December 9, 2023; Jean-Gabriel Pageau had the OT winner.
Bob Wischusen and AJ Mleczko will have the call of the game.
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
