"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 46
Isles 3, Columbus 1
Bo Horvat scored twice in a 5:14 span early in the second period, sandwiching a shorthanded goal by Simon Holmstrom, as the Islanders rallied from a 1-0 deficit for a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets before a crowd of 14,551 at UBS Arena.
Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves, yielding only a first period power play goal to Kent Johnson, as the Isles earned their second straight home win for the first time this season while ending Columbus' seven-game point streak (6-0-1).
The Isles improve to 2-2-0 on this homestand and 19-20-7 overall. The fifth game of the seven-game homestand is Friday against Philadelphia.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Kent Johnson (13) Kirill Marchenko (32), Dmitri Voronkov (14) 04:52 CBJ 1,NYI 0 PPG
2nd Period
Bo Horvat (15) Mathew Barzal (11), Adam Pelech (9) 00:43 CBJ 1,NYI 1
Simon Holmstrom (10) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (13) 02:57 CBJ 1,NYI 2 SHG
Bo Horvat (16) Mathew Barzal (12), Noah Dobson (18) 05:47 CBJ 1,NYI 3 PPG
3rd Period
No Goals
The Skinny
The Isles have outscored their opponents 77-74 in the first two periods but have been outscored 63-45 in the third period and overtime…The Isles have scored 88 goals and allowed 80 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 57-34 in all other situations… The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 26 of the last 34 games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 47-39 in the second period this season (including 6-1 in the last two games); they were outscored 107-83 in the second period a season ago… The Isles allowed their first power play goal in seven games, but have killed 13 of 14 in that season… Over the last seventeen games, the Isles have been outscored 10-3 on the power play…The Isles improve to 15-2-2 when leading after two periods…Bo Horvat recorded his 34th multi-goal game and sixth as an Islander…Horvat now has six goals in six career games against Elvis Merzlikins…Simon Holmstrom scored his 6th career shorthanded goal; the first five were scored last season, all by December 19th…Six of Holmstrom's 31 career goals have been shorthanded...Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock are the only Islander defensemen to play every game this season…Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, and Noah Dobson all extended their point streaks to three games…The Isles are 11-2-1 this season when Horvat scores a goal… Islander goalies have allowed one goal or fewer five times in the last six games…Kirill Marchenko earned an assist on the Johnson goal, making him the second Jacket with 50 points; Anders Lee leads the Isles with 36 points... Columbus is tied for the NHL lead with 107 5-on-5 goals but did not score at 5-on-5 for the second straight game.
The Injury
Noah Dobson left the game after a collision with Cole Sillinger in the third period; he did not return.
First Times in a Long Time
• The Isles are playing seven consecutive home games for the first time since 2021-22 (twice) but that reflected games rescheduled due to COVID. The Isles all played seven straight at home in 2013 (lockout season), but this is the first time since February-March 2007 that seven straight were scheduled at home in an original schedule.
• Marc Gatcomb now has 19 hits in his first three NHL games. He is the first Islander rookie with consecutive games of at least seven hits since Matt Martin (3/6-3/8/2011).
Quite the Numbers
Marcus Hogberg has now played 272 minutes for the Isles, allowing six goals on 125 shots for a 1.32 GAA and a .952 save percentage. Both the GAA and save percentage are the best in Islander history for any goalie who played multiple games. He is the 44th goalie to win multiple games for the Isles.
Weekend Warriors
The Islanders have won seven straight Saturday games (five at home and two on the road). The Isles are 12-13-3 in their last 27 games (7-0-0 on Saturday; 5-13-3 on other days). Nine of their last twelve wins have come on Saturday or Sunday.
Milestone Men
• Mathew Barzal had two assists to give him 326, just two assists behind Patrick Flatley for 8th place in club history.
• Anthony Duclair's next goal will be his 150th career goal.
Third Periods
Goals: Isles 43, Opponents 57
Tying Goals: Isles 5, Opponents 11 (in 10 games)
Go Ahead Goals: Isles 7 (in 6 games), Opponents 9
Empty Net Goals: Isles 9, Opponents 14
The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 31 of their 46 games. In the 15 games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (2-12-1), they have been within one goal at some point in all but four of them (10/12 @ DAL, 12/5 vs SEA, 12/17 @ CAR, 12/23 vs BUF, 12/31 @TOR)
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have nine come-from behind wins this season, including two when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win nine times this season, including seven times in the third period.
Overtime
The Isles are 2-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 2-4 in overtime and 1-0 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 0-2 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts.
Sorokin has 34 OT/SO losses, extending his club record (Rick DiPietro had 28).
Empty Netters
The Isles have scored 9 empty-net goals and allowed 14.
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 31 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 12 times
• Allowed the next goal: 15 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 4 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2024-25 19-20-7 for 45 points in 46 games
• 2023-24 20-15-11 for 51 points in 46 games (which was the first game coached by Patrick Roy)
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-2-2
• Season: 15-65-80
• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170
Varly, Varly
Semyon Varlamov has 41 career shutouts and 289 career wins. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is seventh in wins and fourth in shutouts.
All-time Goalie Wins
47. Mike Liut 293
48. Ed Giacomin 290
49. Semyon Varlamov 289
Oh Canada
The Isles are playing 17 games against Canadian-based teams this season; they are 5-3-3 so far (1-1-0 at home and 4-1-3 on the road). After opening with a home shootout win over Montreal, the Isles played eight straight road games in November/December going 4-1-3. They went 0-1-0 in January; five of the six remaining games will be at home.
Going back to last season the Isles are 8-3-3 in the last 14 games against Canadian teams; the next Canadian opponent will be Winnipeg on February 7th in the Isles' final game in Canada this season.
Home and Road
The Isles are 19-20-7 overall; they are 9-11-2 at home and 10-9-5 on the road.
Columbus is 22-18-7 overall; they are 16-5-3 at home and 6-13-4 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 12-14-3 against the East (5-5-2 vs. Metropolitan and 7-9-1 vs. Atlantic) and 7-6-4 against the West (4-2-2 vs. Central and 3-4-2 vs. Pacific).
Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:
1. David Poile 1,531
2. Lou Lamoriello 1,463
3. Glen Sather 1,319
Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,463) and Patrick Roy (169) have combined for 1,632 career wins as general manager and coach. That is the highest in the NHL among active combinations by a wide margin.
First Things First
The Isles are 9-4-4 when scoring first and are 10-16-3 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 6-12-7=25
Columbus 7-9-10=26
The Isles are 10-12-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 9-7-4 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves; he is 14-14-4 this season and 6-0-2 vs. Columbus.
Elvis Merzlikins made 22 saves; he is 16-11-3 this season and 2-4-0 vs the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 1-2 (3:51); Columbus was 1-4 (6:36) but allowed a shorthanded goal.
The Isles are 9-2-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 10-18-6 when they do not. The Isles are 10-10-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 9-10-1 when they do not.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 18-4-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-16-3 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 8-5-7 in games decided by a single goal including 4-5 in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-8 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 3-1-1 on the front end and 2-3-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be January 24th-25th when they host division foes Philadelphia and Carolina.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Ryan Pulock (25:03); Columbus: Zach Werenski (30:38)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (21:42).
Face-offs
Isles 34, Columbus 16 (68%)
Bo Horvat and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each won 11 of 14 for the Isles; Sean Kuraly won 4 of 7 for Columbus.
Hit Count
Isles 40 (Marc Gatcomb -8)
Columbus 27 (Mathieu Olivier -9)
Fights
None. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin-2)
Blocked Shots
Isles 14 (Scott Mayfield -4)
Columbus 25 (Two with 5)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 68, Columbus 52
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 54, Columbus 36
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Adam Pelech and Mathew Barzal +14
Columbus: Two with +4
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 13, Columbus 5
5-on-5: Isles 12, Columbus 2 (matches season low allowed; also 10-22-24 vs Detroit).
Scratches
(Mike Reilly-IR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Hudson Fasching-INJ), Matt Martin, (Max Tsyplakov-SUSP)
Games Lost to injury: 159. (Last season's total: 181)
The Ironmen
Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 212 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (162) has also played every game since the start of last season.
Most Overtime Goals, Career (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 11
2. Brock Nelson 8
3. Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey 6
5. Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Thomas Hickey, and Anthony Beauvillier 5
Most Overtime Assists, Career (Islanders)
1. Mathew Barzal 16
2. John Tavares 12
Most Overtime Points, Career (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 23
2. Mathew Barzal 21
3. Brock Nelson 18
Barzal has a point on 21 of the 41 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.
National TV Games
The Isles are 0-3-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with seven games remaining. The next national games will stream on January 28th on ESPN+/Hulu, as the Isles host the Avs and January 30th on ESPN+/Hulu as the Isles visit the Flyers. The remaining five national telecasts are all scheduled in April.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-4-1 in matinee games this season, with six games remaining. The next matinee will be on March 1st vs Nashville. 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 13-16-11 in matinees.
Challenges
Isles: 4 successful, 3 failures (No offsides -PIT 11/5, No goalie interference – SEA 11/16, Goalie Interference 11/29, goalie interference – TOR 12/31, no goalie interference – BOS 1/5, offsides-VEG 1/9, goalie interference – OTT 1/14)
Opponents: 5 successful, 2 failures (No Goalie Interference -UTA 10/10, Offside-VAN 11/14, Goalie Interference-STL 11/23, Offside -BUF 11/30, No Goalie Interference-CHI 12/15, Goalie Interference – PIT 12/28. Offside 12/31)
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (1): CHI 12/12
Vs (1): CHI 12/15
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)
Isles responses (4): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7, BOS 1/5, SJ 1/18
Opponent responses (6): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31, BOS 1/5
Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
For (1): Vs. PIT 11/5 (Trailed 3-1, won 4-3 (SO))
Vs (2): Vs. NJ 11/9 (Led 3-1, Lost 4-3 (OT)), WSH 11/29 Led 4-2, Lost 5-4 (SO))
Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):
For (3): Maxim Tsyplakov 10/10 vs. UTA (17:53, GAG but lost in OT); Anders Lee 11/12 @ EDM (17:20-GTG; EDM won in OT); Mathew Barzal 1/11 vs UTA (18:35-GAG)
Vs (7): Josh Doan 10/10 vs. UTA (18:06- GTG; UTA won in OT); Cole Caufield 10/19 vs MTL (17:50-GTG; NYI won in SO); Jesper Bratt 10/25 at NJD (18:31-GTG; NYI won in OT); Stefan Noesen 11/9 vs NJ (19:10-GTG; NJD won in OT); Lucas Raymond 11/21 at DET (19:09-GAG); 12/15 Connor Bedard at CHI (19:06-GAG); Bobby McMann 1/2 vs. TOR (17:01- GAG)
OT Winners
For (2): Bo Horvat 10/25 at NJD (1:09), Bo Horvat 1/5 @ BOS (3:10)
Vs (6): Dylan Guenther 10/10 vs. UTA (2:18); Jake Neighbours 10/17 @ STL (2:04); Jack Hughes 11/9 vs NJD (2:35); Leon Draisaitl 11/12 @ EDM (1:52); Jakub Chychrun 11/29 @ WAS (1:20); Nick Suzuki 12/3 @ MTL (2:39)
Shootout Winners
For (2): Noah Dobson 10/19 vs MTL, Bo Horvat 11/5 vs PIT
Vs (1): Andrei Kuzmenko 11/19 @ CGY
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057 ***
4. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 5. Brock Nelson 886 *** 6. Clark Gillies 872 *** 7. Casey Cizikas 861 *** 8. Matt Martin 848 *** 9. Bob Bourne 814 *** 10. Anders Lee 805 …
26. Claude Lapointe 535 *** 27. Tomas Jonsson and Ryan Pulock 532 *** 29. Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 30. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 31. Adam Pelech 526 *** 32. Mathew Barzal 525 *** 33. Nick Leddy 518 *** 34. Dave Lewis 514 *** 35. Scott Mayfield 513
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Brock Nelson 288 *** 6. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 *** 8. Anders Lee 280 …
20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 134…
29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 111
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
8. Patrick Flatley 328 *** 9. Mathew Barzal 326…
14. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 15. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 16. Brock Nelson 270…
19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 209…
25. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 26. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 28. Noah Dobson 169 *** 29. Jean Potvin 167 *** 30. Jeff Norton 166 *** 31. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 32. Ryan Pulock 157…
35. Travis Green 145 *** 36. Mark Streit and Casey Cizikas 139
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
7. Josh Bailey 580 *** 8. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 9. Brock Nelson 558 …
13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Anders Lee 489 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 460…
28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 250
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +78 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +61 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 23. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 24. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 25. Gord Lane +48
Defense Goals
1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57 ***
4. Stefan Persson 52 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 51 *** 6. Jean Potvin and Noah Dobson 46…
14. Vladimir Malakhov and Scott Mayfield 27 *** 16. Adam Pelech and four others 26
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742*** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…
5. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 6. Noah Dobson 169 *** 7. Jean Potvin 167 *** 8. Jeff Norton 166 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 156 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 123…
17. Bryan Berard 100 *** 18. Vladimir Malakhov 98 *** 19. Johnny Boychuk and Scott Mayfield 96
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…
5. Kenny Jonsson 232 *** 6. Noah Dobson 215 *** 7. Jean Potvin 213 *** 8. Ryan Pulock 207…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Roman Hamrlik 153 *** 12. Adam Pelech 149…
18. Gerry Hart 128 *** 19. Vladimir Malakhov 125 *** 20. Scott Mayfield 123
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 ***
4. Kelly Hrudey 241 *** 5. Ilya Sorokin 224 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 193 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177*** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130 ***
4. Ilya Sorokin 109 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 20 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
Bridgeport is 9-25-2-2 following a 4-3 win in Springfield on Monday. Eetu Liukas scored the winning goal midway through the third period as the Islanders rallied from a 3-2 third period deficit. Liam Foudy also scored twice.
Brian Pinho, the team's All-Star selection, leads the team with 17 goals. Chris Terry's 23 assists and 32 points pace the Baby Isles in those categories.
Bridgeport continues their road trip in Utica on Wednesday.
Season Series Stats
The season series is tied, 1 game to 1 (and 2 points to 2). The next meeting will be on March 24th at UBS Arena.
The Isles are 12-2-2 in their last sixteen games overall against Columbus and have won all six UBS Arena meetings.
UP NEXT
FRIDAY, JANUARY 24th –PHILADELPHIA AT ISLES 7:30pm
[MSGSN (pre-game at 7:00), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles will face the Flyers for the second time in this homestand on Friday in the front-end of the only back-to-back home games on the schedule this season.
The Flyers defeated the Isles 5-3 on Thursday for their second straight win at UBS Arena, but their first regulation win on Long Island in their last ten visits.
The Isles will look to get back to NHL-.500 for the first time since they were 12-12-7 after beating Chicago on December 12th. They have had four opportunities to do so but are 0-4-0 in those games.
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
