The Skinny: Isles 3, Edmonton 0

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 21

Isles 3, Edmonton 0

Ilya Sorokin made a career-high 49 saves for his 12th career shutout and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored shorthanded and power play goals in a 2:06 span as the Islanders blanked the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Sebastian Aho also scored to complete a three goal second period; the Oilers, helped by three power plays, threw 23 shots at Sorokin in the third period, but came up empty as Sorokin recorded his second shutout of the season. 

The Isles have won two straight and will spend the Thanksgiving holiday in 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division with a 13-8-0 record.  The Isles will play the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Friday and then host the Flyers on Saturday.

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period  

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (4) Zach Parise (4), Adam Pelech (7) 04:33 EDM 0,NYI 1 SHG

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (5) Mathew Barzal (21), Anders Lee (11) 06:39 EDM 0,NYI 2 PPG

Sebastian Aho (2) Oliver Wahlstrom (6), Casey Cizikas (4) 16:56 EDM 0,NYI 3

3rd Period

No Goals

The Skinny             

The Isles did not reach 13 wins last season until January 18th (13-13-6) ...Mathew Barzal temporarily tied Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL lead in assists with 21; he leads the Isles in points with 23 and is on pace for career highs in assists (82) and points (90)…Barzal now has a six-game point streak …The Isles have outscored their opponents 31-19 in the third period with six of those 31 goals being empty netters … The Isles lead the NHL with 31 third period goals; they have scored 38 goals in the 1st period, 2nd period, and overtime combined… After allowing ten power play goals in the last 12 games, the Isles held Edmonton off the board in five attempts...The Isles scored on the power play for only the third time this season at home (3-27 11.1%); they are 10-34 (29.4%) on the road… Barzal passed Tomas Jonsson for 21st place on the Isles point list (334) …The Isles are 8-1-0 when scoring first…Jean-Gabriel Pageau recorded his 17th career shorthanded goal, tied for 7th among active players; since he entered the NHL only three players have recorded more: Brad Marchand (27), Cam Atkinson (19) and Andrew Cogliano (18)…

Pageau scored shorthanded and on the power play in a 2:06 span, 47 seconds faster than Zach Parise did against Pittsburgh this past April…Edmonton had no shots on goal in the first 12:03 and then had 49 shots on goal in the final 47:57 (which included a 8:43 stretch straddling the 2nd and 3rd periods in which they did not have a shot… Zach Hyman finished with 10 shots on goal – the most by an Islander opponent since Zach Parise did so for Minnesota on October 23, 2016; no Isles opponent had taken at least 10 shots without scoring since Alex Ovechkin did so on January 26, 2010.

First Times in a Really Long Time

The Isles shut the Oilers out for the first time since February 25, 1996, when Tommy Soderstrom stopped 25 shots for a 2-0 Coliseum win.

Most Saves in a Shutouts by an Islander

1. Jaroslav Halak 51  2/15/2018 Vs Rangers (Barclays)

2. Glenn Healy 50     1/16/1990      Vs Vancouver (Nassau Coliseum)

3. Ilya Sorokin 49       11/23/2022    Vs Edmonton (UBS Arena) 

Fastest Shorthanded and Power Play Goal by Same Islander

• 1:44 Patrick Flatley vs. Washington 12/23/1987

• 2:06 Pierre Turgeon vs. Dallas 4/8/1994

• 2:06 Jean-Gabriel Pageau vs. Edmonton 11/23/2022

Simon Says "Debut"

Simon Holmstrom, recalled from Bridgeport earlier in the day to replace an injured Kyle Palmieri, played 11:11 in his NHL debut and went +1.  Holmstrom, the first Islander to be born in the 21st Century, was born on May 24, 2001 – the 21st anniversary of the first Stanley Cup. 

Oliver's Getting Older

For the first time in his NHL career, Oliver Wahlstrom (born 6-13-2000) played a game with a teammate who is younger than he is.  Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov are also born in 2000 (a day apart in January).

Blackjack!

Mathew Barzal has 21 assists in 21 games; Josh Bailey was the last to go 21/21, doing so In 2017-18.  It is the 11th time in club history it has happened (Trottier has five of them).

What a Start!

Ilya Sorokin has 12 shutouts in his first 89 NHL games.  Only two goalies in the expansion era have had more at this stage of their career: Tony Esposito (19), Chico Resch (13).

Defying Expectations

The Expected Goal model maintained by Natural Stat Trick showed that Edmonton's expected goals was 6.33.

It's only the third time since 2007 that the Isles have had an expected goals against of at least 6.3:

• 6.68 xGA April 4, 2008 vs NYR

• 6.52 xGA March 24, 2010 vs NYR

• 6.33 xGA November 23, 2022 vs EDM

Tradition, Tradition!

This was the 22nd  time since 1991 that the Isles have played at home on the night before Thanksgiving.  The Isles have gone 10-7-5 in those 22 games.

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2021-22  13-8-0 for 26 points in 21 games

• 2020-21  6-10-5 for 17 points in 21 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:  1-1-2

• Season: 17-32-49

• Last Season (Final) 32-128-160

The Islander defense have scored an NHL-leading seventeen goals; they didn't score their 17th goal last season until February 27th.   

The New Hit King

Cal Clutterbuck was credited with five hits, extending his own NHL record: 

Most Career Hits (recognized by NHL beginning with 2005-06 season)

1. Cal Clutterbuck 3,640

2. Dustin Brown 3,632

3. Matt Martin 3,477

Home is Where The Sorokin Is

Ilya Sorokin went 13-5-4 at UBS Arena last season and is 5-3-0 this season, despite allowing just 12 goals in the eight games (1.63 GAA, .954 save percentage). The Isles have scored only two goals in his three home losses this year and only ten goals in his eight career regulation losses at UBS.

Sorokin has the best home save percentage in the NHL this season. Among goalies who have played at least fifteen home games over the last two seasons, Sorokin has the highest save percentage (.937) and the second-lowest goals against average (2.01). 

Zach Attack 

Zach Parise has 413 career goals, good for 9th among actives.  Zach is tied with Garry Unger and Islander Assistant Coach John MacLean for 92nd place.  Tony Amonte is 91st with 416 goals.

Most Goals and Points by an Islander Defenseman before 23rd Birthday

• Denis Potvin (72-168-240) 

• Bryan Berard (26-83-109)

• Noah Dobson (23-62-85)

• Tomas Jonsson (22-60-82)

• Paul Boutilier (20-69-89) 

Dobson is now 3rd in goals and 4th in points. The Isles will play 41 games this season before Dobson turns 23 on January 7, 2023.

Home and Road

The Isles are 13-8-0 overall; they are 7-3-0 at home and 6-5-0 on the road.

Edmonton is 10-10-0 overall; they are 5-6-0 at home and 5-4-0 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 6-5-0 against the East and 7-3-0 against the West.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 51 games at UBS Arena and recorded 35 sellouts. The sellout crowds of 17,255 are the largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home. 

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,500

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,376

3. Glen Sather 1,319

First Things First

The Isles are 7-1-0 when scoring first and are 5-7-0 when allowing the opening goal.  

The Shots

Isles        12-11-8=31

Edmonton      9-17-23=49

The Isles are 5-3-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 8-4-0 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 49 saves; he is 9-5-0 on the season and 2-1-0 vs Edmonton.

Jack Campbell made 28 saves; he is 6-5-0 on the season and 1-1-0 vs. the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-2 on the power play (2:28); Edmonton was 0-5 on the power play (9:10). 

The Isles are 6-4-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 7-4-0 when they do not. The Isles are 7-3-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-5-0 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 13-2-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-6-0 when they do not.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 5-2-0 in games decided by a single goal including 2-2 in regulation. They are 3-0 in games decided in overtime and are 0-0 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs

The next set of back-to-backs will be in Columbus on November 25th and against Philadelphia on November 26th.  The Isles are 2-1-0 in the front end and 2-1-0 in the back end. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Adam Pelech (24:09);  Edmonton: Darnell Nurse (26:48)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 19:29 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Alexander Romanov (2-1-0), Noah Dobson (2-5-0), Adam Pelech (3-1-0), Ryan Pulock (2-1-0), Scott Mayfield (1-0-0), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Mathew Barzal (2-0-0)

Face-offs

Isles 37, Edmonton 34 (52%)

Casey Cizikas won 10 of 15 for the Isles; Brad Malone won 6 of 8 for Edmonton. 

Hit Count

Isles 20 (Cal Clutterbuck and Alexander Romanov -5)

Edmonton 17 (Brad Malone -3)

Fights 

None.  Season total: 4 (Johnston, Lee, Martin, Wahlstrom)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 14 (Ryan Pulock and Brock Nelson -3)

Edmonton 9 (Jesse Puljujarvi- 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 44, Edmonton 75  (Including 35-8 in the 3rd period)

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 37, Edmonton 50

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Anthony Beauvillier +2

Edmonton: 3 with +6

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 9, Edmonton 23

5-on-5: Isles 7, Edmonton 13

Scratches

(Kyle Palmieri-upper body), Robin Salo, Ross Johnston

Games Lost: 8

The Ironman

Zach Parise played in his 103rd consecutive Islander game; he has played in every game since joining the team in October 2021.

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures – STL goalie interference 11/3

Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures

League reviews:  1 (Isles goal – Salo vs ANA 10/16 – stood)

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins

The Isles have come from two goals behind after two periods to win three times this season and have not allowed the opposition to do so.

For: Trailed 3-1, Won 5-3 vs. COL 10/29

Trailed 3-1, Won 4-3 (OT) vs CGY 11/7

Trailed 3-1, Won 4-3 at NYR 11/8

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored two goal and allowed no goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime. 

For(2): Brock Nelson vs COL 10/29 (18:39;EN/GW)

Josh Bailey @ TOR 11/21 (17:02; Isles won in OT)

Overtime Winners

For (2): Noah Dobson vs CGY 11/7 (4:02)

Zach Parise vs CBJ 11/12 (0:39) 

Anthony Beauvillier @ TOR 11/21

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,011…

8. Patrick Flatley 712 *** 9. Matt Martin 705 *** 10. Brock Nelson 697 *** 11. Brent Sutter 694 *** 12. Casey Cizikas 683… 

15. Billy Harris 623 *** 16. Stefan Persson 622 *** 17. Anders Lee 616 *** 18. Cal Clutterbuck 606

Goals    

1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …

9. Bobby Nystrom 235 *** 10. Anders Lee 220 *** 11. Brock Nelson 214 *** 12. Derek King 211 *** 13. John Tonelli 206  *** 14 Billy Harris 184 *** 15. Josh Bailey 179

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 381…

15. Billy Harris 259*** 16. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 241 *** 18. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 20. Nick Leddy 198 *** 21. Pierre Turgeon and Brock Nelson 193

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

6.  Brent Sutter 610 *** 7. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 8. Josh Bailey 561  …

14. Billy Harris 443 *** 15. Brock Nelson 407 ***  16. Anders Lee 386…

19. Fran Nielsen 349 *** 20. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 334

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…

16. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 17. Garry Howatt +75 *** 18. Adam Pelech +71 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54   

Wins

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130…

10. Evgeni Nabokov 57 *** 11. Semyon Varlamov 52 *** 12. Mark Fitzpatrick 51 *** 13. Chris Osgood 49 *** 14. Ilya Sorokin 48

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 16 …

4. Tommy Salo 14 *** 5. Ilya Sorokin and Jaroslav Halak 12 *** 7. Semyon Varlamov 11

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 10-3-3-0 after a 6-3 win over Hartford on Wednesday and sit in 2nd place in their division. Otto Koivula scored twice and added an assist  and Arnaud Durandeau had three assists while Cory Schneider made 24 saves as the Baby Isles defeated the Baby Rangers for the third time in as many games this season.

Samuel Bolduc has taken over the team in points (15); William Dufour, Andy Andreoff and Hudson Fasching lead the team in goals (6) while Bolduc's 12 assists lead the squad.  Cory Schneider is 7-1-1 on the season for Bridgeport; only one AHL goalies has more wins.

The Islanders are off until Sunday afternoon, when they host Springfield. 

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The teams will meet again on January 5th  in Edmonton to conclude the season series.

The Isles are now 12-1-2 in their last 15 home games against the Oilers and are 4-2-4 in their last ten games overall.

UP NEXT

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25th —ISLANDERS AT COLUMBUS 8:00pm

[MSGSN2 (pre-game at 7:30pm), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The Isles begin a back-to-back set and a stretch of three divisional games as they visit Columbus for the first time this season.

It's the second meeting of the clubs in the 2022-23 season. Zach Parise scored 39 seconds into overtime to give the Isles a victory on November 12th in a game that Isles never led.  Columbus took three separate one goal leads only to have the Islanders tie the score each time. 

The Isles will be looking for their 5th straight win over the Jackets; this would match their longest winning streak ever against Columbus.

And Finally...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 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