“The Skinny”
By Eric Hornick
Game 15
Carolina 5, Isles 3
William Carrier scored the game-winning goal with 5:08 to play as the Stanly Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes overcame Islander comebacks from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to earn a 5-3 win, before a crowd of 14,234 at UBS Arena.
The Islanders trailed by a pair of goals 3:20 into play but scored three times in the middle session to equal the score as both Victor Eklund and Brayden Schenn had a goal and an assist.
The Isles conclude this three-game homestand on Saturday at 7pm, against the New Jersey Devils.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Logan Stankoven (11) Jackson Blake (14), K'Andre Miller (4) 00:57 CAR 1, NYI 0
Jesperi Kotkaniemi (5) Jordan Martinook (6), Jalen Chatfield (4) 03:20 CAR 2, NYI 0
2nd Period
Mitchell Chaffee (1) Matthew Schaefer (11), Casey Cizikas (2) 03:40 CAR 2,NYI 1
Brayden Schenn (5) Victor Eklund (3), Matthew Kessel (2) 05:44 CAR 2,NYI 2
Andrei Svechnikov (7)Sebastian Aho (13), William Carrier (9) 06:44 CAR 3, NYI 2
Victor Eklund (4) Brayden Schenn (6), Emil Heineman (5) 17:13 CAR 3,NYI 3
3rd Period
William Carrier (1) Andrei Svechnikov (9), Sebastian Aho (14) 14:52 CAR 4,NYI 3
Jalen Chatfield (2)EN 19:09 CAR 5, NYI 3
The Skinny
The Isles went 0-4 on the power play and killed both Carolina power plays; The Isles’ PK is 27-30 in the last nine games, but the power play is 1-18 over the last five games and 3-32 over the last ten games… The Isles allowed an opening minute goal for the second time in three games… Mitchell Chaffee’s goal was his first as an Islander and first in the NHL since March 4, 2025…Brayden Schenn is the first Islander since Marc Gatcomb (March 1, 2025, vs. Florida) to score on a wrap-around…Semyon Varlamov faced 38 shots, which is eleven more than any previous appearance this season…Long Island-born Brandon Bussi is now 4-0-0 against the Isles….Jackson Blake extended career-best point streak to eight games… The Isles fell to 2-3-1 when tied after two periods; they were 16-5-3 last season in that situation…The Isles are now +5 in the second period (19-14) but have been outscored 13-2 in the first period and 15-10 in the third period.
Milestone Men (non-Schaefer)
• Varlamov played his 178th game for the Isles, passing Jaroslav Halak for 8th in club history.
• Ilya Sorokin did not play; he remains tied with Rick DiPietro for 2nd place in club history (318 games).
• Scott Mayfield played his 621st game, one behind Stefan Persson for 5th place among Islander defensemen.
• Semyon Varlamov still has 290 NHL wins, tied with Ed Giacomin for 48th all-time. 42 goalies have won at least 300 games.
• Varlamov still has 77 wins for the Isles, which is tied with Roland Melanson for 8th in club history.
The Schaefer’s
• Matthew Schaefer now has 74 points, two behind Rick Hampton for 4th place on the teenage defenseman point list. He is 58 points behind Phil Housley’s teenage record.
• Schaefer is the third teenager to average at least 1.0 points per game through fifteen games in a season, joining Housley and Larry Murphy.
• Schaefer is now one point behind Tim Connolly for 2nd place among Isles teenagers; he is nine shots on goal behind Connolly’s teenage record of 285 shots on goal.
• Schaefer is tied for 16th with Vladimir Malakhov for career goals by an Islander defenseman.
• Schaefer has played over 26 minutes 51 times in his first 97 career games; since ice-time became official, no other player has done that more than 45 times (Brock Faber) in his first 100 games.
Most Goals by an NHL Teenage Defenseman:
1. Phil Housley 46
2. Matthew Schaefer 27
Most Points by an NHL Teenage Defenseman:
1. Phil Housley 132
2. Rasmus Dahlin 84
3. Ray Bourque 79
4. Rick Hampton 76
5. Matthew Schaefer 24
Most Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 32
2. Matthew Schaefer 27
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 47
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 74
Schaefer has the most points by any Islander teenage defenseman.
Most Game-Winning Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier and Matthew Schaefer 5
Most Shots on Goal by an Islander Teenager
1. Tim Connolly 285
2. Matthew Schaefer 276
Schaefer will play this entire season as a teenager.
Most Ice Time by an Islander Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 32:16 10/27/2026 at NSH (SO)
2. Matthew Schaefer 31:59 3/24/2026 vs CHI
3. Matthew Schaefer 30:01 11/5/2026 vs CAR
Matthew Schaefer 30:01 10/29/2026 at MIN (OT)
The last Islander to play more than 32:16 was Mark Streit, who played 32:27 on March 27, 2010, vs. CBJ. Since ice-time became official, no Islander has played more than the 31:59 Schaefer played on 3/24/2026 in a game that ended in regulation.
Most Ice Time by a Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 32:16 10/27/2026 at NSH (SO)
2. Matthew Schaefer 31:59 3/24/2026 vs CHI
3. Jay Bouwmeester 30:57 1/30/2003 for FLA vs. DET (OT)
There are eight recorded instances of a teenager playing 30 minutes in a game, including Schaefer four times and Seth Jones twice.
Schaefer has played at least 20:00 in 85 straight games; it is the longest streak in NHL history by a player 20 or younger 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 one come-from behind win 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 1-1 in games decided by an overtime goal; they are 1-1 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 five 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: 7-6-2 for 16 points in 15 games
• 2025-26: 7-6-2 for 16 points in 15 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-2-2
• Season: 6-25-31
• 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 7-6-2 overall; they are 4-3-1 at home and 3-3-1 on the road.
Carolina is 13-3-2 overall; they are 5-1-1 at home and 8-2-1 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 2-4-1 against the East (1-2-0 vs. Metropolitan and 1-2-1 vs. Atlantic) and 5-2-1 against the West (3-1-0 vs. Central and 2-1-1 vs. Pacific).
Coach DeBoer
Pete DeBoer is 670-456-154 as an NHL coach, and 8-9-2 with the Isles.
Career Wins
15. Todd McLellan 672
15. Mike Keenan 672
17. Pete DeBoer 670
First Things First
The Isles are 6-0-1 when scoring first and 1-6-1 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 11-8-8=27
Carolina 8-17-14=39
The Isles are 4-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 3-5-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves; he is 1-2-2 this season and 6-5-4 vs. Carolina.
Brandon Bussi made 24 saves; he is 3-2-2 this season and 4-0-0 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-4 (6:26); Carolina was 0-2 (2:26).
The Isles are 4-2-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-4-1 when they do not. The Isles are 2-5-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-1-2 when they do not.
The Isles are 3-0-1 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 2-2-0 when they are outscored, and 2-4-1 when special team goals are equal.
Three is (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles 7-3-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-3-2 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 4-1-2 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 1-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-3 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 (30:01); Carolina: Jaccob Slavin (25:52)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (20:56).
Shots on Goal
Isles 18 (Four with 3)
Carolina 24 (Andrei Svechnikov – 7)
Shot Attempts
Isles 40 (Kyle Palmieri– 7)
Carolina 49 (Andrei Svechnikov – 9)
Face-offs
Isles 40, Carolina 21 (66%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 15 of 17 for the Isles; no Hurricane won more than he lost.
Hit Count
Isles 26 (Jean-Gabriel Pageau -4)
Carolina 16 (William Carrier -4)
Blocked Shots
Isles 12 (Logan Stanley -4)
Carolina 22 (Jaccob Slavin -4)
Fights
None. Season total: 5 (Stanley-2, Schenn, Pelech, Chaffee)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 63, Carolina 64
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 49, Carolina 56
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Anthony Duclair +11
Carolina: Andrei Svechnikov +12
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 20, Carolina 18
5-on-5: Isles 16, Carolina 17
Scratches
Mathew Barzal (NonRoster IR), Alex Romanov (IR), Cal Ritchie (INJ), Matias Maccelli (INJ), Ryan Pulock (INJ), Ben Hutton
Games Lost to injury: 43. (Last season’s total: 399)
The Ironmen
Brayden Schenn played his 341st 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
Including tonight, the Isles are 0-2-1 in games that air on one of the NHL’s US national broadcast partners. The next nationally televised game will be on November 12th in Los Angeles.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-1-0 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 18-25-14 in matinees.
The first matinee will be on Monday, December 7th, when the Isles host the Avs at 1:00pm.
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 (1): Matthew Schaefer (MIN) 10/29
Vs (1): Brandt Clarke (LA) 10/22
Shootout Winners
For (1): Kyle Palmieri (NAS) 10/27
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 993…
15. Brent Sutter 694 *** 16. Adam Pelech 657 *** 17. Ryan Pulock 649 *** 18. Derek King 638 *** 19. Billy Harris 623 *** 20. Stefan Persson 622 *** 21. Scott Mayfield 621 *** 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…
30. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 31. Bo Horvat 106
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 158 *** 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 283 …
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 +79 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. Ryan Pulock +68 *** 21. JP Parise +67 *** 22. Jude Drouin +58
Defense Games
1. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 2. Adam Pelech 656 *** 3. Ryan Pulock 649***
4. Stefan Persson 622 *** 5. Scott Mayfield 621
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 and Adam Pelech 31 *** 15. Scott Mayfield 30 *** 16. Vladimir Malakhov and Matthew Schaefer 27
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. Adam Pelech 180…
14. Dave Lewis 141 *** 15. Scott Mayfield 140
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro and Ilya Sorokin 318…
6. Thomas Greiss 193 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Semyon Varlamov 178
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Ilya Sorokin 160 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson and Semyon Varlamov 77
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 fell to 3-8-0-2 this season with a 5-1 loss to Toronto on Wednesday. Hamilton will host Providence on Friday and Lehigh Valley on Saturday.
Team leaders:
Goals: Mitchell Chaffee and Matthew Highmore (4); Assists: Liam Foudy (8); Points: Foudy (11)
Goalies: Josh Kotai (2-4-1, 2.91, .904), Vitek Vanecek (1-4-1,4.14, .861)
Season Series Stats
Carolina leads the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The teams will next meet on December 11th in Raleigh.
The Hurricanes have won the last five meetings, all in regulation, dating back to the start of last season. The Isles are 2-7-2 in their last eleven home games with Carolina, including 2-6-1 at UBS Arena.
UP NEXT
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7th -- NEW JERSEY AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm
[MSGSN (pre-game at 6:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles welcome Jack Hughes, Connor Hellebuyck, and the New Jersey Devils on Saturday in the final game of their three-game homestand.
The Isles defeated New Jersey 6-0 in their home and opener and have won six straight against the Devils; the Isles are 8-0-1 in their last nine games against New Jersey.
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
