The Skinny: Pittsburgh 3, Isles 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 36

Pittsburgh 3, Isles 1

Lars Eller started things with a goal 2:18 into play and then ended it with an empty-netter as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Isles 3-1 before a sellout crowd of 18,216 at PPG Paints Arena. The loss drops the Isles to 12-4-6 in their last 22 games with two of the four regulation losses against Pittsburgh.

Samuel Bolduc had the only Isles goal – his first of the season and third of his career.

The Isles are 17-10-9 on the season; they remain in the top Wild Card spot. The Isles will open 2024, and continue this four-game road trip, on Tuesday in Colorado.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Lars Eller (5) Jansen Harkins (2), Valtteri Puustinen (6) 02:18 NYI 0,PIT 1 

2nd Period

Noel Acciari (3) Drew O'Connor (7) 02:20 NYI 0,PIT 2

3rd Period

Samuel Bolduc (1) 13:51 NYI 1, PIT 2

Lars Eller (6) EN 19:17 NYI 1, PIT 3

The Skinny    

None of the last three games have been one-goal games. It was the first time since November 7- November 13 (0-4-0) that the Isles played consecutive games decided by more than one goal… Noah Dobson played 27:19; it was the 18th straight game Dobson played at least 25 minutes, extending his own club record (no Islander has averaged 25 minutes per game since 2013-14)…Dobson is now averaging 25:48, which is 2nd in the NHL to Los Angeles' Drew Doughty (26:00) ... The Isles' defense has 31 points in the last thirteen games.… The Isles have outscored their opponents 30-20 in the first period but have been outscored 45-41 in the second period and 51-38 in the third period and overtime this season … The Isles are one point ahead of last season's pace (17-10-9 vs. 20-14-2)… The Isles trailed after one period for only the fifth time in their first 36 games …. The Isles are 0-13 on the power play in the last five games but have killed 19 of their last 22, including 9-9 in the last three games … Ilya Sorokin went 6-2-2 in December as the Isles finished 8-3-3.…Mathew Barzal remains at 398 career points… Scott Mayfield returned to the Isles lineup for the first time since December 14th , replacing Robert Bortuzzo…The Isles were shut-out in consecutive games by the Penguins in January/February 2011; the famed "brawl game" came nine days after the second one…Bo Horvat was assessed a misconduct penalty with 35 seconds to play; it was the first misconduct penalty of his 686 game career…The Isles held Kris Letang without a point, but Letang went +2 to make him +8 vs. the Isles this season.

The Injury

Sidney Crosby left the game six minutes into the second period after being cut on the follow-though of Mathew Barzal's stick. He returned later in the period.

 

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 28 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 6 times

• Allowed the next goal: 20 times

• Game ended with 2-goal different: twice 

2023 in Review

2023 Isles  38-27-16 92 points (232 goals for, 235 goals against). 

Only two Isles played every game (Lee-Nelson)

Calendar Year leaders:

Goals

1. Brock Nelson 37

2. Anders Lee 25

3. Bo Horvat 21

Assists

1.  Noah Dobson 51

2. Mathew Barzal 34

3. Nelson 31

Points

1. Nelson 68

2. Dobson 59

3. Barzal 50

+/-

1. Dobson +13

2. Alex Romanov +10

3.   Adam Pelech +9 

Penalty Minutes

1. Scott Mayfield 60

2. Cal Clutterbuck 38

3.   Lee 35

Power Play Goals

1. Nelson 7

2. Horvat/Lee/Kyle Palmieri 6

Shorthanded Goals

1. Simon Holmstrom 5

2. Jean-Gabriel Pageau 2

Game Winning Goals

1. Lee/Barzal 5

2. Nelson/Palmieri 4

3. Horvat 3

Overtime Goals

1. Barzal 2

2. Three with 1

Ice-Time

1. Dobson 22:44

2. Ryan Pulock 22:03

3. Adam Pelech 21:27

Face-off Win Percentage

1. Pageau 57.0%

2. Horvat 53.3%

3. Casey Cizikas 52.3%

Goalie Records:  

Sorokin      29-16-13 .918  2.69 (5 shutouts)

Varlamov    9-10-3    .913  2.75 (3 shutouts)

It's Just Another New Year's Eve

This was just the Isles' second loss in their last 15 games on New Year's Eve (12-2-1), with the other loss coming in Colorado six years ago. 

This was the second December 31st meeting between the teams, with the Isles winning 6-1 in 2003 at Mellon Arena for their most one-sided New Year's Eve win. Jason Blake had two goals and two assists while Garth Snow picked up the win and added an assist.

Metropolitan Holiday 

The Isles ended 2023 by playing five straight games against division foes. They went 2-2-1 in this stretch:

• 12/20 @ Washington (3-2 OTL)

• 12/23 @ Carolina (5-4 W)

• 12/27 vs. Pittsburgh (7-0 L)

• 12/29 vs. Washington (5-1 W)

• 12/31 @ Pittsburgh (3-1 L)

The Isles will now open 2024 with 17 straight inter-division games; they will play only two division foes in their next 30 games (February 18 vs NYR at MetLife, February 20 at Pittsburgh).

Road Warriors

The Isles are beginning a stretch where they are playing eight out of ten games on the road:

• 12/31 @ Pittsburgh (3-1 L)

• 1 /2 @ Colorado

• 1 /4 @ Arizona

• 1 /6 @ Vegas

• 1/ 9 Vs. Vancouver

• 1/11 Vs. Toronto

• 1/13 @ Nashville

• 1/15 @ Minnesota

• 1/16 @ Winnipeg

• 1/19 @ Chicago

Fewest Regulation Losses Thru 36 Games (Post-Cup era)

• 10 (2019-20; 23-10-3)

• 10 (2021-22; 22-10-4)

• 10 (2023-24; 17-10-9) 

• 11 (2001-02; 18-11-5-2)

• 11 (2014-15; 24-11-1)

• 11 (2015-16; 19-11-5)

The last time the Isles had fewer regulation losses through 36 games was in 1980-81, when the Champs were 23-7-6 through 36 games.

Overtime Is Our Time

The Isles have played 13 overtime games. They are 3-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-3 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 2-5 in overtime and 1-2 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 1-1 in overtime and 0-1 in shootouts. 

The NHL record for overtime games is 30, played by Boston in 2003-04. The Isles are on pace to play 29 overtime games.

The Isles have won 14 of the last 37 games decided by an overtime goal (since January 11, 2020).

Most OT/SO Losses Thru 36 Games

• 9 (2023-24)

• 7 (2009-10 and 2013-14)

The Isles played 11 ties through 35 games in 1973-74 and 9 ties through 35 games in 1974-75. In 1985-86, the Isles played 9 ties and also lost once in overtime.

Killing Their Own PP

The Isles have taken a penalty to interrupt their power play twelve times this season.

Power Play Up; Penalty Killing Down

The Isles have scored 23 power play goals; they scored 35 all last season.

The Isles have allowed 29 power play goals; they allowed 39 all last season. Only 11 of those 39 were at home; the Isles have already allowed 14 home power play goals this season.

Heavy Hitters

Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin are 1-2 all-time in hits:

1. Cal Clutterbuck 3,849

2. Matt Martin 3,738

Martin (7) and Clutterbuck (3) have combined for the 10-biggest hits seasons in Isles history in the Real-Time era, which began in 2005-06. 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2023-24  17-10-9 for 43 points in 36 games

• 2022-23  20-14-2 for 42 points in 36 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   1-0-1

• Season: 14-57-71

• Last Season (Final) 41-132-173

The Islander defense scored 41 goals last season, which was the most since they scored 42 in 2003-04. The 173 points were their most since 1993-94, when they had 174 points in an 84-game season.

Lots of Work for Sorokin

Most shots against:

• Ilya Sorokin 854  

• Jusse Saros 821

• Alexandar Georgiev 817

No goalie has ever played the full season for the Islanders and led the NHL in this category; Kelly Hrudey led the NHL in 1988-89; he was traded at the deadline to Los Angeles.

Varly, Varly

Semyon Varlamov has 40 career shutouts and 278 career wins. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is 6th in wins and tied-third in shutouts.

All-time Goalie Wins

50. Brian Elliott 279

51. Semyon Varlamov 278

52. Marty Turco 275

It's an SH SH (Simon Holmstrom Shorthanded) Goal

Only seven players in Isles history have scored more shorthanded goals in a season than Simon Holmstrom, who now has five:

1 Bob Bourne       1980-81    7

  Frans Nielsen      2010-11   7

3 Shawn Bates       2002-03   6

Michael Grabner  2010-11   6

Lorne Henning    1976-77    6

Anders Kallur      1980-81    6

Michael Peca      2001-02    6

It's a JG SH Assist

Jean-Gabriel Pageau is the first Isle in 42 years with at least five shorthanded assists in a season:

1 Lorne Henning  1976-77 8

2. Bryan Trottier  1980-81 5

    Denis Potvin    1980-81 5

    Bryan Trottier  1981-82 5

    Billy Carroll      1981-82 5

    J-G Pageau       2023-24 5

Home and Road

The Isles are 17-9-9 overall; they are 10-4-6 at home and 7-6-3 on the road.

Pittsburgh is 18-13-4 overall; they are 10-6-1 at home and 8-7-3 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 12-7-6 against the East (7-4-4 vs. Metropolitan and 5-3-2 vs. Atlantic) and 5-3-3 against the West (1-2-0 vs. Central and 4-1-3 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 102 games at UBS Arena and recorded 70 sellouts of 17,255. 

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 1,423

3. Glen Sather 1,319

First Things First

The Isles are 11-2-7 when scoring first and are 6-8-1 when allowing the opening goal. They are 0-0-1 when the game heads to a shootout following a scoreless tie.

The Shots (revised)

Isles         14-12-12=38

Pittsburgh 11-12-15=38

The Isles are 5-2-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 11-7-6 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 35 saves; he is 11-6-7 on the season and 6-5-0 vs. Pittsburgh. 

Alex Nedeljkovic made 36 saves; he is 6-2-2 on the season and 3-0-0 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play (4:00); Pittsburgh was 0-4 on the power play (5:42, including a :53 5-on-3.)

The Isles are 9-4-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-6-4 when they do not. The Isles are 6-5-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 11-5-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 15-3-7 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-7-2 when they do not. Under Lane Lambert the Isles are 50-9-11 when scoring at least three goals.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 11-1-9 in games decided by a single goal including 7-1 in regulation. They are 3-6 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 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 2-0-3 in the front end and 0-2-3 in the back end this season. The next set of back-to-backs will be on January 15th in Minnesota and January 16th in Winnipeg; the following back-to-back set will be on March 10th in Anaheim and March 11th in Los Angeles. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (27:19);  Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (24:40)

Bo Horvat led Islander forwards with 19:58 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-0-2), Noah Dobson (13-8-6), Alex Romanov (2-2-0), Adam Pelech (0-0-1).

Face-offs

Isles 25, Pittsburgh 40 (38%)

Mathew Barzal won 2 of 3 for the Isles; Jeff Carter won 8 of 10 for Pittsburgh.

Hit Count

Isles 25 (Two with 4)

Pittsburgh 9 (Chad Druhwedel -3)

Fights 

Matt Martin fought John Ludvig off the opening face-off. Season total: 5 (Martin 2, Pelech 1, Lee 1, Mayfield 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 24 (Alex Romanov -4)

Pittsburgh 19 (Ryan Graves -5)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 68, Pittsburgh 86

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 57, Pittsburgh 69

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Mathew Barzal and Mike Reilly +11

Pittsburgh: Drew O'Connor +18

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 18, Pittsburgh 14

5-on-5: Isles 15, Pittsburgh 10

Scratches

Adam Pelech (LTIR), (Ryan Pulock-LTIR), Pierre Engvall, Oliver Wahlstrom, Robert Bortuzzo

Games Lost to injury: 70

The Ironmen

Anders Lee is the Islanders' ironman, having played 148 consecutive games. Brock Nelson (120) is the only other Islander to have played at least 100 consecutive games:

Challenges

Isles: 2 successful, 1 failures – WSH goalie interference (11/2), OTT offside (11/24), LA no goalie interference (12/9)

Opponents: 1 successful, 2 failures – BUF no offside  (10/21), CAR no high-stick (11/30); ANA goalie interference (12/13)

Quickies

The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute four times this season (twice at home – CBJ 12/7 x2, WSH 12/29, and once on road-11/24 @OTT) and allowed two in the same span five times (COL 10/25 x2, MIN 11/8, @MTL 12/16, PIT 12/27)

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins

The Isles have come from at least two goals behind after two periods to win one time this season and have allowed the opposition to do so four times.

For (1): LA 12/9 (trailed 0-2, won 3-2 in OT)

Vs (4): DET 10/30 (trailed 0-2, won 4-3 in OT); CAR 11/4 (trailed 1-3, won 4-3 in OT) ; @ NJ 11/28 (trailed 2-4, won 5-4 in regulation); SJ 12/5 (trailed 1-4; won 5-3 in OT)

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored two goals and have allowed four goals in the final three minutes of the third period to tie or go-ahead:

For (2: Bo Horvat 10/20 vs NJ 18:49 (Isles lost in OT); Simon Holmstrom 12/13 vs ANA 18:27 (GWG)

Vs (4): Curtis Lazar 11/28 @ NJ 19:37 (GWG); Sebastian Aho 11/30 @ CAR 19:57 (Isles won in OT); Tomas Hertl vs SJ 18:30 (SJ won in OT); Morgan Rielly 12/11 vs TOR 19:53 (Isles won in OT)

OT Winners

For (3):   Mathew Barzal (vs CAR) 11/30, Jean Gabriel Pageau (vs LA) 12/9, Bo Horvat (vs TOR) 12/11

Vs (6):   Jack Hughes (NJ) 10/20, Lucas Raymond (DET) 10/30, Sebastian Aho (CAR) 11/4, Quinn Hughes (VAN) 11/15; William Eklund (SJ) 12/5; Dylan Strome (WAS) 12/20

Shootout Winners

For (1):  Oliver Wahlstrom (Vs CGY) 11/18

Vs (3):  Kailer Yamamoto (SEA) 11/16, Tyson Foerster (PHI) 11/25, David Pastrnak (BOS) 12/15

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057…

6. Bob Bourne 814 *** 7. Brock Nelson 794 *** 8. Matt Martin 782 *** 9. Casey Cizikas 780 *** 10. Mike Bossy 752 *** 11. Anders Lee 714 *** Patrick Flatley 712 *** 13. Brent Sutter 694 *** 14. Cal Clutterbuck 672

Goals    

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

7. John Tavares 272 *** 8. Brock Nelson 257 *** 9. Anders Lee 250 …

23. Alexei Yashin and Frans Nielsen 119 *** 25. Steve Thomas, Matt Moulson and Mark Parrish 118 *** 28. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 29. Mathew Barzal 115 *** 30.Benoit Hogue and Ed Westfall 105 *** 32. Anthony Beauvillier and Casey Cizikas 102

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …

11. Bob Bourne 304 *** 12. Derek King 288 *** 13. Mathew Barzal 283…

16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson 249  *** 18. Brock Nelson 235…

22. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 23. Ed Westfall and Anders Lee 181…

34. Steve Thomas 140 *** 35. Mark Streit 139 *** 36. Greg Gilbert 136 *** 37. Ryan Pulock 133

Points

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

11. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 12. Derek King 499 *** 13. Brock Nelson 492 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Billy Harris 443 ***  16. Anders Lee 431 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 398…

32. Ray Ferraro 238 *** 33. Travis Green 237 *** 34. Kenny Jonsson and Casey Cizikas 232

+/-

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

15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +83 ***  17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54  

Defense Goals

1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57…

5. Jean Potvin 46 *** 6. Nick Leddy and Ryan Pulock 45 *** 8. Roman Hamrlik 43 *** 9. Mark Streit 40 *** 10. Noah Dobson 36

Defense Assists

1. Denis Potvin 742 *** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…

7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Mark Streit 139 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 133 *** 10. Travis Hamonic and Noah Dobson 120 *** 12. Dave Lewis 117 ***  13. Roman Hamrlik 110 *** 14. Tom Kurvers and Gerry Hart 109 *** 16. Adam Pelech 102… 

20. Dave Langevin and Thomas Hickey 95 *** 22. Scott Mayfield 90

Defense Points

1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…

7. Jeff Norton 188 *** 8. Mark Streit 179 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 178… 10. Noah Dobson 156… 

15. Johnny Boychuk and Bryan Berard 131 *** 17. Gerry Hart 128 *** 18. Adam Pelech 127…

20. Thomas Hickey 117 *** 21. Scott Mayfield 115

Goalie Games

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 …

8. Glenn Healy 176 *** 9. Ilya Sorokin 160 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 148

Wins

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

6. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 7. Ilya Sorokin 81 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Glenn Healy 66 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 65

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 18 *** 

4. Rick DiPietro 16 *** 5. Semyon Varlamov 15

On the Farm  

Bridgeport heads into 2024 with a record of 9-18-2-0 after a 3-2 loss in Hartford on Saturday. Ruslan Iskhakov leads the team with 10 goals and 24 points; he shares the assist with lead (14) with Dennis Cholowski.

The Baby Isles begin a five-game homestand on Thursday as they host Hartford.

Season Series Stats

Pittsburgh leads the season series 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 0). The teams will meet again on February 20th in Pittsburgh before concluding the regular season by hosting Pittsburgh on April 17th.

The Penguins have outscored the Isles 10-1 this season. 

This is the first time that the Isles are playing on New Year's Eve in four years. The Isles are 8-1-0 in their last nine New Year's Eve games and are 12-1-1 since 2002 on December 31st, despite playing twelve of the fourteen games on the road.

UP NEXT

TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2024 —ISLANDERS  AT COLORADO – 6:00pm ET

[MSGSN (pre-game at 5:30),  WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].

The Isles open 2024 and play the second game of their four-game road trip on Tuesday against the Avs in Denver. 

It is the second meeting of the season between the teams; Colorado scored twice in a 13 second span in the final minute of the second period and add two empty nets in the final minute of the third period for a 7-4 win at UBS Arena on October 24th.

The Isles are 1-4-1 in their last six games with the Avs, and have not won in Denver since December 18, 2018, when Thomas Greiss was in nets for a 4-1 win.

The late-night hockey continues on Thursday at 9pm in Tempe, Arizona, and Saturday at 10pm in Vegas.

AND FINALLY…

Happy and Healthy New Year to Islander fans everywhere! Thank you so much for your support and for reading The Skinny after any or all of the last 963 Islander games.

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

The Skinny: Isles 5, Washington 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 35

Isles 5, Washington 1

Julien Gauthier scored twice in 18 seconds and Jean-Gabriel Pageau assisted on both goals and scored two of his own as the Isles rebounded from their loss on Wednesday with a 5-1 victory over the Washington Capitals before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena. The Isles are 12-3-6 in their last 21 games.

After a scoreless first, Pageau and Noah Dobson scored 1:10 apart in the second period. Gauthier's two goals and Pageau's second of the night came within a 4:16 span in the third. Ilya Sorokin nearly had his third clean sheet of the season, but Nicolas Aube-Kubel's shot took a bad bounce with 18 seconds to play to spoil the shutout. 

The Isles are 17-9-9 on the season and moved into a tie for 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division with Philadelphia and also climb within six points of the first place Rangers. The Isles will end 2023, and begin a four-game road trip, with a New Year's Eve game in Pittsburgh. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (3) Alexander Romanov (6), Julien Gauthier (4) 04:51 WSH 0,NYI 1

Noah Dobson (6) Mathew Barzal (26), Bo Horvat (20) 06:01 WSH 0,NYI 2

3rd Period

Julien Gauthier (3) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (12), Bo Horvat (21) 10:10 WSH 0,NYI 3

Julien Gauthier (4) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (13), Samuel Bolduc (2) 10:28 WSH 0,NYI 4

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (4) Simon Holmstrom (4) 14:26 WSH 0,NYI 5

Nicolas Aube-Kubel (3) Rasmus Sandin (8), Nick Jensen (6) 19:42 WSH 1,NYI 5

The Skinny    

It was the first time since November 7- November 13 (0-4-0) that the Isles played consecutive games decided by more than one goal… Noah Dobson played 25:16 and was +3 as he scored for the first time in 19 games; it was his 36th career goal, breaking a tie with Johnny Boychuk for 10th place in club history... It was the 17th straight game Dobson played at least 25 minutes, extending his own club record (no Islander has averaged 25 minutes per game since 2013-14)…Dobson is now averaging 25:45, which is 2nd in the NHL to Los Angeles' Drew Doughty (25:52) ... The Isles' defense has 30 points in the last twelve games.… The Isles have outscored their opponents 30-19 in the first period but have been outscored 44-41 in the second period and 50-37 in the third period and overtime this season … The Isles remain three points ahead of last season's pace (17-9-9 vs. 19-14-2)… The Isles have trailed after one period only four times in their first 35 games …. It was the third time the Isles won by at least three goals this season (twice against the Caps)…  The Isles are 0-11 on the power play in the last four games but have killed 15 of their last 18…Anders Lee played his 713th game as an Isle, passing Patrick Flatley for 11th place in club history… Ilya Sorokin is 6-1-2 in December…Mathew Barzal had an assist to give him 398 career points…The Isles are 7-1-3 in their last 11 home games…Julien Gauthier had his first two-goal game and his first three-point game….JG Pageau had his third career four point game (regular season play); Mathew Barzal (twice) is the only other Isle with a four point game this season…Matt Martin returned to the Isles lineup for the first time since November 15th, replacing Casey Cizikas (ill)…The Caps have scored just seven goals in their 11 regulation losses…Alex Ovechkin has scored on 170 different NHL goalies, but has been blanked in three games against Ilya Sorokin; Ovechkin has just six goals this season and remains 66 behind Wayne Gretzky…Ken Appleby, who last appeared in an NHL game in January 2018, served as the back-up goalie to Sorokin…Sorokin, who has eighteen career shutouts, allowed a shutout-breaking goal in the final minutes for the fourth time in his career; he also did this last December 29th (vs. Columbus)...It was only the 8th Isles game this season decided by at least three games (3-5), and three of them have been against Washington.

The Injuries 

Charlie Lindgren and Martin Fehervary both left the games with upper body injuries at the 6:46 mark; neither returned and both will be out for "the foreseeable future" according to Capitals coach Spencer Carberry.

The EBUG

With Lindgren injured, Thomas Sullivan, a 25-year-old native of Floral Park dressed as the back-up goalie. Sullivan played college club hockey for Stony Brook University.

First Times in a Long Time

• Julien Gauthier is the first Islander since Alexei Yashin (0:12 on March 25, 2003, in Chicago) to score two goals in 18 seconds or less. It is the 8th fastest two goals ever by one Islander and the 85th time the team has done so (one player or multiple players).

• Noah Dobson is the first Islander to go -4 or worse in one game (Wednesday) and +3 or better in the next (Friday) since Adrian Aucoin went -5 on February 19, 2004 at the Rangers and then went +3 two nights later against Buffalo at the Coliseum.

Building on a Lead

Noah Dobson's goal gave the Islanders a two-goal lead for the 28th time this season  However, it was only the sixth time that they scored the next goal, to make it a three-goal advantage. They have allowed the next goal twenty times; two games ended with a two-goal advantage.

Metropolitan Holiday 

The Isles are ending 2023 by playing five straight games against division foes. They are 2-1-1 in this stretch:

• 12/20 @ Washington (3-2 OTL)

• 12/23 @ Carolina (5-4 W)

• 12/27 vs. Pittsburgh (7-0 L)

• 12/29 vs. Washington (5-1 W)

• 12/31 @ Pittsburgh

Following this stretch, the Isles will play 17 straight inter-division games and will play only two division foes in their next 30 games.

Fewest Regulation Losses Thru 35 Games (Post-Cup era)

• 9 (2019-20; 23-9-3)

• 9 (2021-22; 22-9-4)

• 9 (2023-24; 17-9-9) 

• 10 (2001-02; 18-10-5-2)

• 11 (2014-15; 23-11-1)

• 11 (2015-16; 19-11-5)

Overtime Is Our Time

The Isles have played 13 overtime games. They are 3-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-3 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 2-5 in overtime and 1-2 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 1-1 in overtime and 0-1 in shootouts. 

The NHL record for overtime games is 30, played by Boston in 2003-04. The Isles are on pace to play 30 overtime games.

The Isles have won 14 of the last 37 games decided by an overtime goal (since January 11, 2020).

Most OT/SO Losses Thru 35 Games

• 9 (2023-24)

• 7 (2009-10 and 2013-14)

The Isles played 11 ties through 35 games in 1973-74 and 9 ties through 35 games in 1974-75. In 1985-86, the Isles played 9 ties and also lost once in overtime.

Killing Their Own PP

The Isles have taken a penalty to interrupt their power play twelve times this season.

Power Play Up; Penalty Killing Down

The Isles have scored 23 power play goals; they scored 35 all last season.

The Isles have allowed 29 power play goals; they allowed 39 all last season. Only 11 of those 39 were at home; the Isles have already allowed 14 home power play goals this season.

Heavy Hitters

Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin are 1-2 all-time in hits:

1. Cal Clutterbuck 3,846

2. Matt Martin 3,737

Martin (7) and Clutterbuck (3) have combined for the 10-biggest hits seasons in Isles history in the Real-Time era, which began in 2005-06. 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2023-24  17-9-9 for 43 points in 35 games

• 2022-23  19-14-2 for 40 points in 35 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   1-2-3

• Season: 13-57-70

• Last Season (Final) 41-132-173

The Islander defense scored 41 goals last season, which was the most since they scored 42 in 2003-04. The 173 points were their most since 1993-94, when they had 174 points in an 84-game season.

Lots of Work for Sorokin

Ilya Sorokin has faced 817 shots in his 23 games (an average of 35.5 per game, which is just four behind Juuse Soros for the NHL lead. No goalie has ever played the full season for the Islanders and led the NHL in this category; Kelly Hrudey led the NHL in 1988-89; he was traded at the deadline to Los Angeles.

Varly, Varly

Semyon Varlamov has 40 career shutouts and 278 career wins. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is 6th in wins and tied-third in shutouts.

All-time Goalie Wins

50. Brian Elliott 279

51. Semyon Varlamov 278

52. Marty Turco 275

It's an SH SH (Simon Holmstrom Shorthanded) Goal

Only seven players in Isles history have scored more shorthanded goals in a season than Simon Holmstrom, who now has five:

1 Bob Bourne       1980-81    7

   Frans Nielsen      2010-11   7

3 Shawn Bates       2002-03   6

   Michael Grabner  2010-11   6

   Lorne Henning    1976-77    6

   Anders Kallur      1980-81    6

   Michael Peca      2001-02    6

It's a JG SH Assist

Jean-Gabriel Pageau is the first Isle in 42 years with at least five shorthanded assists in a season:

1 Lorne Henning  1976-77 8

2. Bryan Trottier  1980-81 5

    Denis Potvin    1980-81 5

    Bryan Trottier  1981-82 5

    Billy Carroll      1981-82 5

    J-G Pageau       2023-24 5

Home and Road

The Isles are 17-9-9 overall; they are 10-4-6 at home and 7-5-3 on the road.

Washington is 17-11-5 overall; they are 9-4-3 at home and 8-7-2 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 12-6-6 against the East (6-3-4 vs. Metropolitan and 5-3-2 vs. Atlantic) and 5-3-3 against the West (1-2-0 vs. Central and 4-1-3 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 102 games at UBS Arena and recorded 70 sellouts of 17,255. 

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 1,423

3. Glen Sather 1,319

First Things First

The Isles are 11-2-7 when scoring first and are 6-7-1 when allowing the opening goal. They are 0-0-1 when the game heads to a shootout following a scoreless tie.

The Shots

Isles       10-12-10=32

Washington 8-9-10=27

The Isles are 5-2-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 11-7-6 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves; he is 11-5-7 on the season and 3-3-1 vs. Washington. 

Charlie Lindgren played just 6:46, making three saves, before Darcy Kuemper replaced him. Kuemper made 29 saves; he is 8-8-2 on the season and 6-6-2 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play (4:00); Washington was 0-2 on the power play (2:13).

The Isles are 9-4-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-5-4 when they do not. The Isles are 6-5-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 11-4-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 15-3-7 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-6-2 when they do not. Under Lane Lambert the Isles are 50-9-11 when scoring at least three goals.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 11-1-9 in games decided by a single goal including 7-1 in regulation. They are 3-6 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 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 2-0-3 in the front end and 0-2-3 in the back end this season. The next set of back-to-backs will be on January 15th in Minnesota and January 16th in Winnipeg; the following back-to-back set will be on March 10th in Anaheim and March 11th in Los Angeles. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (25:16);  Washington: John Carlson (28:06)

Mathew Barzal led Islander forwards with 19:45 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-0-2), Noah Dobson (13-7-6), Alex Romanov (2-2-0), Adam Pelech (0-0-1).

Face-offs

Isles 27, Washington 19 (59%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 11 of 14 for the Isles; Nic Dowd won 7 of 12 for Washington.

Hit Count

Isles 20 (Four with 3)

Washington 13 (Three with 3)

Fights 

None. Season total: 4 (Martin 1, Pelech 1, Lee 1, Mayfield 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 8 (Alex Romanov -2)

Washington 16 (John Carlson -5)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 71, Washington 51

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 62, Washington 46

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Bo Horvat +18

Washington: Joel Edmundson +7

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 15, Washington 12

5-on-5: Isles 14, Washington 11

Scratches

Adam Pelech (LTIR), (Scott Mayfield -IR), (Ryan Pulock-IR), Semyon Varlamov (INJ), Oliver Wahlstrom, Casey Cizikas (ILL)

Games Lost to injury: 69

The Ironmen

Anders Lee is the Islanders' ironman, having played 147 consecutive games. Brock Nelson (119) is the only other Islander to have played at least 100 consecutive games:

Challenges

Isles: 2 successful, 1 failures – WSH goalie interference (11/2), OTT offside (11/24), LA no goalie interference (12/9)

Opponents: 1 successful, 2 failures – BUF no offside  (10/21), CAR no high-stick (11/30); ANA goalie interference (12/13)

Quickies

The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute four times this season (twice at home – CBJ 12/7 x2, WSH 12/29, and once on road-11/24 @OTT) and allowed two in the same span five times (COL 10/25 x2, MIN 11/8, @MTL 12/16, PIT 12/27)

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins

The Isles have come from at least two goals behind after two periods to win one time this season and have allowed the opposition to do so four times.

For (1): LA 12/9 (trailed 0-2, won 3-2 in OT)

Vs (4): DET 10/30 (trailed 0-2, won 4-3 in OT); CAR 11/4 (trailed 1-3, won 4-3 in OT) ; @ NJ 11/28 (trailed 2-4, won 5-4 in regulation); SJ 12/5 (trailed 1-4; won 5-3 in OT)

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored two goals and have allowed four goals in the final three minutes of the third period to tie or go-ahead:

For (2: Bo Horvat 10/20 vs NJ 18:49 (Isles lost in OT); Simon Holmstrom 12/13 vs ANA 18:27 (GWG)

Vs (4): Curtis Lazar 11/28 @ NJ 19:37 (GWG); Sebastian Aho 11/30 @ CAR 19:57 (Isles won in OT); Tomas Hertl vs SJ 18:30 (SJ won in OT); Morgan Rielly 12/11 vs TOR 19:53 (Isles won in OT)

OT Winners

For (3):   Mathew Barzal (vs CAR) 11/30, Jean Gabriel Pageau (vs LA) 12/9, Bo Horvat (vs TOR) 12/11

Vs (6):   Jack Hughes (NJ) 10/20, Lucas Raymond (DET) 10/30, Sebastian Aho (CAR) 11/4, Quinn Hughes (VAN) 11/15; William Eklund (SJ) 12/5; Dylan Strome (WAS) 12/20

Shootout Winners

For (1):  Oliver Wahlstrom (Vs CGY) 11/18

Vs (3):  Kailer Yamamoto (SEA) 11/16, Tyson Foerster (PHI) 11/25, David Pastrnak (BOS) 12/15

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057…

6. Bob Bourne 814 *** 7. Brock Nelson 793 *** 8. Matt Martin 781 *** 9. Casey Cizikas 779… 10. Mike Bossy 752 *** 11. Anders Lee 713 *** Patrick Flatley 712 *** 13. Brent Sutter 694 *** 14. Cal Clutterbuck 671

Goals    

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

7. John Tavares 272 *** 8. Brock Nelson 257 *** 9. Anders Lee 250 …

23. Alexei Yashin and Frans Nielsen 119 *** 25. Steve Thomas, Matt Moulson and Mark Parrish 118 *** 28. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 29. Mathew Barzal 115 *** 30.Benoit Hogue and Ed Westfall 105 *** 32. Anthony Beauvillier and Casey Cizikas 102

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …

11. Bob Bourne 304 *** 12. Derek King 288 *** 13. Mathew Barzal 282…

16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson 249  *** 18. Brock Nelson 235…

22. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 23. Ed Westfall and Anders Lee 181…

34. Steve Thomas 140 *** 35. Mark Streit 139 *** 36. Greg Gilbert 136 *** 37. Ryan Pulock 133

Points

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

11. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 12. Derek King 499 *** 13. Brock Nelson 492 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Billy Harris 443 ***  16. Anders Lee 431 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 398…

32. Ray Ferraro 238 *** 33. Travis Green 237 *** 34. Kenny Jonsson and Casey Cizikas 232

+/-

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

15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +83 ***  17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54  

Defense Goals

1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57…

5. Jean Potvin 46 *** 6. Nick Leddy and Ryan Pulock 45 *** 8. Roman Hamrlik 43 *** 9. Mark Streit 40 *** 10. Noah Dobson 36

Defense Assists

1. Denis Potvin 742 *** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…

7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Mark Streit 139 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 133 *** 10. Travis Hamonic and Noah Dobson 120 *** 12. Dave Lewis 117 ***  13. Roman Hamrlik 110 *** 14. Tom Kurvers and Gerry Hart 109 *** 16. Adam Pelech 102… 

20. Dave Langevin and Thomas Hickey 95 *** 22. Scott Mayfield 90

Defense Points

1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…

7. Jeff Norton 188 *** 8. Mark Streit 179 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 178… 10. Noah Dobson 156… 

15. Johnny Boychuk and Bryan Berard 131 *** 17. Gerry Hart 128 *** 18. Adam Pelech 127…

20. Thomas Hickey 117 *** 21. Scott Mayfield 115

Goalie Games

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 …

8. Glenn Healy 176 *** 9. Ilya Sorokin 159 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 148

Wins

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

6. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 7. Ilya Sorokin 81 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Glenn Healy 66 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 65

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 18 *** 

4. Rick DiPietro 16 *** 5. Semyon Varlamov 15

On the Farm  

Bridgeport improved to 8-17-2-0 with a 6-5 overtime win in Springfield on Friday; they are 3-1-1-0 in their last five games. Ruslan Iskhakov had the overtime winner, making Henrik Tikkanen the winner in his AHL debut. The Baby Isles will close out 2023 on Saturday in Hartford.

Season Series Stats

The Isles won the season series 5 points to 4 (each team won twice). 

If was only the second win for the Isles in their last eight home games with the Caps (2-4-2).

UP NEXT

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31st —ISLANDERS  AT PITTSBURGH – 6:00pm ET

[MSGSN (pre-game at 5:30),  WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].

The Isles wrap up the 2023 calendar year and begin a four-game road trip as they face the Penguins in Pittsburgh. 

The game comes just four days after Pittsburgh defeated the Isles 7-0 at UBS Arena to end an Islander four game winning streak over the Pens. 

This is the first time that the Isles are playing on New Year's Eve in four years. The Isles are 8-1-0 in their last nine New Year's Eve games and are 12-1-1 since 2002 on December 31st, despite playing twelve of the fourteen games on the road.

It will be the first time the Isles play on Sunday this season.

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

The Skinny: Pittsburgh 7, Isles 0

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 34

Pittsburgh 7, Isles 0

It was an historical night for Kris Letang as he recorded six assists (five in the second period) and went +6 as the Pittsburgh Penguins handed the Isles their first regulation shutout loss of the season by a 7-0 score before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena. It was only the third regulation loss for the Isles in their last 20 games (11-3-6).

After a scoreless first, Pittsburgh scored six against the Isles in the middle period, including a pair from Jake Guentzel in a 12 second span. Valtteri Puustinen completed the scoring with his first NHL goal midway through the third period as Pittsburgh scored seven times in a 23:04 span.

The Isles are 16-9-9 on the season and remain in 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division, now eight points behind the first place Rangers. The Isles will host Washington on Friday before ending 2023 with a New Years Eve game in Pittsburgh. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

Rickard Rakell (2) Jake Guentzel (22), Marcus Pettersson (11) 06:44 PIT 1,NYI 0

Jake Guentzel (15) Kris Letang (15), Marcus Pettersson (12) 10:15 PIT 2,NYI 0

Jake Guentzel (16) Rickard Rakell (6), Kris Letang (16) 10:27 PIT 3,NYI 0

Evgeni Malkin (12) Reilly Smith (11), Kris Letang (17) 12:48 PIT 4,NYI 0

Evgeni Malkin (13) Kris Letang (18), Marcus Pettersson (13) 16:06 PIT 5,NYI 0

Radim Zohorna (4) Valtteri Puustinen (5), Kris Letang (19) 17:13 PIT 6,NYI 0

3rd Period

Valtteri Puustinen (1) Kris Letang (20), Marcus Pettersson (14) 09:48 PIT 7,NYI 0

The Skinny    

Sixteen of the last 20 games have been decided by one goal… Noah Dobson played 26:03 but went -4. It was the 16th straight game he has played at least 25 minutes, breaking Adrian Aucoin's club record from February 10-March 9, 2004 (no Islander has averaged 25 minutes per game since 2013-14)… The Isles' defense has 27 points in the last eleven games.… The Isles have outscored their opponents 30-19 in the first period  but have been outscored 44-39 in the second period and 49-34 in the third period and overtime this season … The Isles remain three points ahead of last season's pace (16-9-9 vs. 18-14-2)… The Isles have trailed after one period only four times in their first 34 games …. It was the first time the Isles lost by more than three goals this season…  The Isles have scored 23 PP goals this season; they had only 23 at the All-Star Break (52 games) last season…Cal Clutterbuck played his 670th game as an Isle, passing John Tavares for 14th place in club history… Ilya Sorokin lost for the first time in regulation in December (5-1-2)…Mathew Barzal remains three points shy of 400… Tristan Jarry recorded his NHL-leading fourth shutout….It was the first time this season that both Islander goalies played in the same game; Sorokin was pulled for the first time since April 1, 2013 in Tampa Bay…It was the Isles' first home loss in regulation time in ten games (6-0-3)…. Valtteri Puustinen is the first player to score his first NHL goal against the Isles since Marcus Bjork did do for Columbus on November 12, 2022, also against Sorokin…Jake Guentzel is the 113th player to score twice in 12 seconds or less; it is the third-fastest by one player against the Isles (Nathan Gerbe/BUF 1/21/2011 – 5 seconds; Taylor Hall/EDM 10/17/2013 – 8 seconds)…Evgeni Malkin scored twice to give him 484 career goals, passing Sergei Federov for 2nd place among Russian-born players.

First Time in a Long Time

• The Isles allowed six goals in a period for the first time since March 21, 2000, also at home against Pittsburgh. It was only the tenth time in club history that they allowed at least six goals in a period.

• The seven-goal margin matches the worst in a home game – done four times previously, most recently in the only other 7-0 home shutout (February 18, 2013, vs Philadelphia). It was the first seven-goal loss in any locale since February 25, 2017, in Columbus, and only the 17th time in the Isles' nearly-4,000 game history that this has happened.

• Kris Letang (who tied the NHL record with five assists in a period, set by Dale Hawerchuk in 1984) is the first opponent with six assists against the Isles since Guy Chouinard did so for Calgary on February 25, 1981.

• Letang is the first opponent with six points against the Isles since Sidney Crosby (January 19, 2010).

• Letang tied the record for best +/- against the Isles (+6), set by defensemen Harry Howell and Barry Long for Los Angeles on November 4, 1972, and equaled by Olli Jokinen on March 17, 2007, for Florida. Letang is the first to do so in an Islander home game.

• Letang had three assists in a 2:33 span-only the 50th time in NHL history that has happened. It is the 2nd-fastest ever against the Isles (Chouinard – 1:35).

Letang and the Record Book

Letang is the first defensemen in NHL history with five assists in NHL history and ties the NHL record (six others) for assists in a game by a defenseman. Bobby Orr is the only other d-man to do so on the road.

Metropolitan Holiday 

The Isles are ending 2023 by playing five straight games against division foes. They are 1-1-1 in this stretch:

• 12/20 @ Washington (3-2 OTL)

• 12/23 @ Carolina (5-4 W)

• 12/27 vs. Pittsburgh (7-0 L)

• 12/29 vs. Washington

• 12/31 @ Pittsburgh

Following this stretch, the Isles will play 17 straight inter-division games and will play only two division foes in their next 30 games.

Fewest Regulation Losses Thru 34 Games (Post-Cup era)

• 8 (2019-20; 23-8-3)

• 8 (2021; 2288-4)

• 9 (2023-24; 16-9-9) 

• 9 (2001-02; 17-9-5-2)

• 11 (2014-15; 23-11-0)

• 11 (2015-16; 18-11-5)

Overtime Is Our Time

The Isles have played 13 overtime games. They are 3-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-3 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 2-5 in overtime and 1-2 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 1-1 in overtime and 0-1 in shootouts. 

The NHL record for overtime games is 30, played by Boston in 2003-04. The Isles are on pace to play 32 overtime games.

The Isles have won 14 of the last 37 games decided by an overtime goal (since January 11, 2020).

Most OT/SO Losses Thru 34 Games

• 9 (2023-24)

• 7 (2009-10)

The Isles played 11 ties through 33 games in 1973-74 and 9 ties through 33 games in 1973-74. In 1985-86, the Isles played 9 ties and also lost once in overtime.

Killing Their Own PP

The Isles have taken a penalty to interrupt their power play eleven times this season.

Power Play Up; Penalty Killing Down

The Isles have scored 23 power play goals; they scored 35 all last season.

The Isles have allowed 29 power play goals; they allowed 39 all last season. Only 11 of those 39 were at home; the Isles have already allowed 14 home power play goals this season.

Heavy Hitters

Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin are 1-2 all-time in hits:

1. Cal Clutterbuck 3,843

2. Matt Martin 3,734

Martin (7) and Clutterbuck (3) have combined for the 10-biggest hits seasons in Isles history in the Real-Time era, which began in 2005-06. 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2023-24  16-9-9 for 41 points in 34 games

• 2022-23  18-14-2 for 38 points in 34 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-0-0

• Season: 12-54-66

• Last Season (Final) 41-132-173

The Islander defense scored 41 goals last season, which was the most since they scored 42 in 2003-04. The 173 points were their most since 1993-94, when they had 174 points in an 84-game season.

Lots of Work for Sorokin

Ilya Sorokin has faced 790 shots in his 22 games (an average of 36.0 per game, which remains near the top of the league. No goalie has ever played the full season for the Islanders and led the NHL in this category; Kelly Hrudey led the NHL in 1988-89; he was traded at the deadline to Los Angeles.

Varly, Varly

Semyon Varlamov has 40 career shutouts and 278 career wins. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is 6th in wins and tied-third in shutouts.

All-time Goalie Wins

50. Brian Elliott 279

51. Semyon Varlamov 278

52. Marty Turco 275

It's an SH SH (Simon Holmstrom Shorthanded) Goal

Only seven players in Isles history have scored more shorthanded goals in a season than Simon Holmstrom, who now has five:

1 Bob Bourne       1980-81    7

  Frans Nielsen      2010-11   7

3 Shawn Bates       2002-03   6

Michael Grabner  2010-11   6

Lorne Henning    1976-77    6

Anders Kallur      1980-81    6

Michael Peca      2001-02    6

It's a JG SH Assist

Jean-Gabriel Pageau is the first Isle in 42 years with at least five shorthanded assists in a season:

1 Lorne Henning  1976-77 8

2. Bryan Trottier  1980-81 5

    Denis Potvin    1980-81 5

    Bryan Trottier  1981-82 5

    Billy Carroll      1981-82 5

    J-G Pageau       2023-24 5

Home and Road

The Isles are 16-9-9 overall; they are 9-4-6 at home and 7-5-3 on the road.

Pittsburgh is 16-13-4 overall; they are 8-6-1 at home and 8-7-3 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 11-6-6 against the East (6-3-4 vs. Metropolitan and 5-3-2 vs. Atlantic) and 5-3-3 against the West (1-2-0 vs. Central and 4-1-3 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 101 games at UBS Arena and recorded 69 sellouts of 17,255. 

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 1,422

3. Glen Sather 1,319

First Things First

The Isles are 10-2-7 when scoring first and are 6-7-1 when allowing the opening goal. They are 0-0-1 when the game heads to a shootout following a scoreless tie.

The Shots

Isles       4-7-11=22

Pittsburgh 5-20-7-32

The Isles are 4-2-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 11-7-6 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves over two periods; he is 10-5-7 on the season and 6-4--0 vs. Pittsburgh. Semyon Varlamov stopped six of seven shots in the third period.

Tristan Jarry made 22 saves; he is 10-11-2 on the season and 10-4-1 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play (4:00); Pittsburgh was 0-3 on the power play (6:00).

The Isles are 9-4-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 7-5-4 when they do not. The Isles are 6-5-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 10-4-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 14-3-7 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-6-2 when they do not. Under Lane Lambert the Isles are 49-9-11 when scoring at least three goals.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 11-1-9 in games decided by a single goal including 7-1 in regulation. They are 3-6 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 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 2-0-3 in the front end and 0-2-3 in the back end this season. The next set of back-to-backs will be on January 15th in Minnesota and January 16th in Winnipeg; the following back-to-back set will be on March 10th in Anaheim and March 11th in Los Angeles. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (26:03);  Pittsburgh: Marcus Pettersson (22:47)

Mathew Barzal led Islander forwards with 19:44 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-0-2), Noah Dobson (12-7-6), Alex Romanov (2-2-0), Adam Pelech (0-0-1).

Face-offs

Isles 28, Pittsburgh 34 (41%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 11 of 18 for the Isles; Sidney Crosby won 15 of 24 for Pittsburgh.

Hit Count

Isles 19 (Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas -4)

Pittsburgh 10 (Ten with 1)

Fights 

None. Season total: 4 (Martin 1, Pelech 1, Lee 1, Mayfield 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 18 (Alex Romanov -4)

Pittsburgh 13 (Noel Acciari -3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 47, Pittsburgh 68

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 43, Pittsburgh 58

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Mathew Barzal +10

Pittsburgh: Kris Letang +11

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 9, Pittsburgh 22

5-on-5: Isles 9, Pittsburgh 18

Scratches

Matt Martin, Adam Pelech (upper body – LTIR), (Scott Mayfield -IR), (Ryan Pulock-IR), Julien Gauthier, Grant Hutton

Games Lost to injury: 65

The Ironmen

Anders Lee is the Islanders' ironman, having played 146 consecutive games. Brock Nelson (118) is the only other Islander to have played at least 100 consecutive games:

Challenges

Isles:2 successful, 1 failures – WSH goalie interference (11/2), OTT offside (11/24), LA no goalie interference (12/9)

Opponents: 1 successful, 2 failures – BUF no offside  (10/21), CAR no high-stick (11/30); ANA goalie interference (12/13)

Quickies

The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute three times this season (twice at home – CBJ 12/7 x2 and once on road-11/24 @OTT) and allowed two in the same span five times (COL 10/25 x2, MIN 11/8, @MTL 12/16, PIT 12/27)

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins

The Isles have come from at least two goals behind after two periods to win one time this season and have allowed the opposition to do so four times.

For (1): LA 12/9 (trailed 0-2, won 3-2 in OT)

Vs (4): DET 10/30 (trailed 0-2, won 4-3 in OT); CAR 11/4 (trailed 1-3, won 4-3 in OT) ; @ NJ 11/28 (trailed 2-4, won 5-4 in regulation); SJ 12/5 (trailed 1-4; won 5-3 in OT)

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored two goals and have allowed four goals in the final three minutes of the third period to tie or go-ahead:

For (2: Bo Horvat 10/20 vs NJ 18:49 (Isles lost in OT); Simon Holmstrom 12/13 vs ANA 18:27 (GWG)

Vs (4): Curtis Lazar 11/28 @ NJ 19:37 (GWG); Sebastian Aho 11/30 @ CAR 19:57 (Isles won in OT); Tomas Hertl vs SJ 18:30 (SJ won in OT); Morgan Rielly 12/11 vs TOR 19:53 (Isles won in OT)

OT Winners

For (3):   Mathew Barzal (vs CAR) 11/30, Jean Gabriel Pageau (vs LA) 12/9, Bo Horvat (vs TOR) 12/11

Vs (6):   Jack Hughes (NJ) 10/20, Lucas Raymond (DET) 10/30, Sebastian Aho (CAR) 11/4, Quinn Hughes (VAN) 11/15; William Eklund (SJ) 12/5; Dylan Strome (WAS) 12/20

Shootout Winners

For (1):  Oliver Wahlstrom (Vs CGY) 11/18

Vs (3):  Kailer Yamamoto (SEA) 11/16, Tyson Foerster (PHI) 11/25, David Pastrnak (BOS) 12/15

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057…

6. Bob Bourne 814 *** 7. Brock Nelson 792 *** 8. Matt Martin 780 *** 9. Casey Cizikas 779…

11. Patrick Flatley and Anders Lee 712 *** 13. Brent Sutter 694 *** 14. Cal Clutterbuck 670

Goals    

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

7. John Tavares 272 *** 8. Brock Nelson 257 *** 9. Anders Lee 250 …

23. Alexei Yashin and Frans Nielsen 119 *** 25. Steve Thomas, Matt Moulson and Mark Parrish 118 *** 28. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 29. Mathew Barzal 115 *** 30.Benoit Hogue and Ed Westfall 105 *** 32. Anthony Beauvillier and Casey Cizikas 102

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …

11. Bob Bourne 304 *** 12. Derek King 288 *** 13. Mathew Barzal 281…

16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson 249  *** 18. Brock Nelson 235…

22. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 23. Ed Westfall and Anders Lee 181…

34. Steve Thomas 140 *** 35. Mark Streit 139 *** 36. Greg Gilbert 136 *** 37. Ryan Pulock 133

Points

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

11. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 12. Derek King 499 *** 13. Brock Nelson 492 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Billy Harris 443 ***  16. Anders Lee 431 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 397…

32. Ray Ferraro 238 *** 33. Travis Green 237 *** 34. Kenny Jonsson and Casey Cizikas 232

+/-

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

15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +83 ***  17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54  

Defense Goals

1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57…

5. Jean Potvin 46 *** 6. Nick Leddy and Ryan Pulock 45 *** 8. Roman Hamrlik 43 *** 9. Mark Streit 40 *** 10. Johnny Boychuk and Noah Dobson 35

Defense Assists

1. Denis Potvin 742 *** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…

7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Mark Streit 139 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 133 *** 10. Travis Hamonic and Noah Dobson 120 *** 12. Dave Lewis 117 ***  13. Roman Hamrlik 110 *** 14. Tom Kurvers and Gerry Hart 109 *** 16. Adam Pelech 102… 

20. Dave Langevin and Thomas Hickey 95 *** 22. Scott Mayfield 90

Defense Points

1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…

7. Jeff Norton 188 *** 8. Mark Streit 179 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 178… 10. Noah Dobson 155… 

15. Johnny Boychuk and Bryan Berard 131 *** 17. Gerry Hart 128 *** 18. Adam Pelech 127…

20. Thomas Hickey 117 *** 21. Scott Mayfield 115

Goalie Games

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 …

8. Glenn Healy 176 *** 9. Ilya Sorokin 158 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 147

Wins

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

6. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 7. Ilya Sorokin 80 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Glenn Healy 66 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 65

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 18 *** 

4. Rick DiPietro 16 *** 5. Semyon Varlamov 15

On the Farm  

Bridgeport fell to 8-17-2-0 with a 5-4 loss to Providence on Wednesday. The loss ended a season-high three game point streak (2-0-1-0). The Baby Isles will close out 2023 with games in Springfield on Friday and Hartford on Saturday.

Season Series Stats

Pittsburgh leads the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The teams will next meet on New Year's Eve in Pittsburgh.

The lost ended an Islander four game win streak against the Penguins and was only their second in their last fifteen games against Pittsburgh (9-2-4). 

UP NEXT

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29th  —WASHINGTON AT ISLANDERS - 7:30pm ET

[MSGSN (pre-game at 7:00),  WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].

The Isles wrap up their 2023 home schedule as they host the Washington Capitals in the final meeting of the teams this season. 

The Isles are 1-1-1 this season against the Caps, including a 4-1 loss at UBS Arena that was their last home loss before tonight. 

The Isles are 1-4-2 in their last seven home games against Washington.

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

The Skinny: Isles 5, Carolina 4

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 33

Isles 5, Carolina 4

Anders Lee completed a three-point game with his 250th career goal as the Islanders defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 before a sellout crowd of 18,921 at PNC Arena. The Isles head into the Christmas break with points in 17 of their last 19 games (11-2-6).

The Isles jumped on top with a three goal first period and never trailed as they improve to 8-1-3 in their last twelve games.  Each Sebastian Aho scored in the game, but it was the Isles' Aho who went a career-best +4.

The Isles are 16-8-9 on the season and will spend the Christmas break in 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division, six points behind the first place Rangers. The Isles have three games remaining in 2023, all against Metro opponents, beginning on Wednesday against Pittsburgh at UBS Arena. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Sebastian Aho (1) Kyle Palmieri (11), Brock Nelson (14) 11:19 NYI 1,CAR 0

Teuvo Teravainen (13) Seth Jarvis (13), Dmitry Orlov (12) 12:22 NYI 1,CAR 1

Brock Nelson (16) Mike Reilly (5), Kyle Palmieri (12) 14:43 NYI 2,CAR 1

Bo Horvat (14) Mathew Barzal (24), Anders Lee (4) 18:25 NYI 3,CAR 1

2nd Period

Sebastian Aho (13) Michael Bunting (16), Andrei Svechnikov (11) 00:59 NYI 3,CAR 2 PPG

Mike Reilly (2) Mathew Barzal (25), Anders Lee (5) 14:12 NYI 4,CAR 2

3rd Period

Jaccob Slavin (4) Martin Necas (15), Andrei Svechnikov (12) 01:56 NYI 4,CAR 3

Anders Lee (10) Noah Dobson (29), Bo Horvat (19) 03:44 NYI 5,CAR 3

Stefan Noesen (10) Martin Necas (16), Brady Skjei (15)  09:17 NYI 5,CAR 4 PPG

The Skinny

Sixteen of the last 19 games have been decided by one goal; it is the first time in club history that 21 of the first 33 games were decided by one goal (or ended in a tie)… Bo Horvat is 9-10-19 in the last 13 games, Brock Nelson is 5-5-10 in the last seven games and Mathew Barzal is 3-9-12 in the last 9 games…Noah Dobson had an assist and played 28:08. It was the 15th straight game he has played at least 25 minutes, tying Adrian Aucoin's club record from February 10-March 9, 2004 (no Islander has averaged 25 minutes per game since 2013-14)…Anders Lee has five goals in the last eight games to become the 9th player in club history with 250 career goals; Lee was also credited with his 40th game-winning goal (tying Brock Nelson for 6th place in club history)…The Isles' defense went 2-2-4 and now have 27 points in the last ten games.… The Isles have outscored their opponents 30-19 in the first period and 39-38 in the second period but have been outscored 48-34 in the third period and overtime this season … The Isles are now three points ahead of last season's pace (16-8-9 vs. 18-13-2)… The Isles have scored at least three goals twelve times in the last thirteen games… The Isles have trailed after one period only four times in their first 33 games …. The Isles have not lost by more than three goals this season…  The Isles have scored 23 PP goals this season; they had only 23 at the All-Star Break (52 games) last season…Cal Clutterbuck played his 669th game as an Isle, matching John Tavares for 14th place in club history…Sebastian Aho is the 4th Islander to go +4 this season, joining Noah Dobson, Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal… Ilya Sorokin is 5-0-2 in December…The Canes' Sebastian Aho now has 499 career points; Mathew Barzal now has 397 points…The Isles are 13-1-4 when leading after two periods (4-1-1 when holding a multiple goal lead)….The Hurricanes have sold out PNC Arena for every game this season…Brent Burns played his 795th consecutive game; it is the longest active streak in the NHL and second-longest all-time for an NHL defenseman (Keith Yandle-989).

First Time in a Long Time

Brock Nelson's goal and assist gave the Isles four players with at least 30 points over the first 33 games.  It is the first time since the 1986-87 season that this has happened; they had six players that season (Mike Bossy, Brent Sutter, LaFontaine, Patrick Flatley, Denis Potvin, and Bryan Trottier).

The Isles scored three goals in the first period for the first time in 125 games (4/12/2022 vs. Pittsburgh); it ended a streak of five games where they had not scored a first period goal.

The Isles' Sebastian Aho scored for the first time in 40 games (2/22 vs. Winnipeg)

 

It's a Festivus Miracle (not really)

The Isles have earned more points on December 23rd than any other day on the calendar (20-13 with 2 ties for 42 points). This is largely driven by the fact that the Isles have played 35 times on this date.  The Isles game on Friday will be their 30th game on December 29th, and that is second on the list of most-common dates in Isles history.

Woah, Noah!

Noah Dobson is 5-29-34 on the season, just one point behind Mathew Barzal for the club lead in points. Dobson has eighteen assists in the last thirteen games; he is the first Islander to do that since Tom Kurvers did so in 1992. 

Dobson, who earlier in the week became the first Islander defenseman to ever be named one of the NHL's Three Stars of the Week, now has 29 assists through 33 games; only Denis Potvin (30 in 1983-84) has had more assists by an Isles defenseman through 33 games. (The Award did not exist in Potvin's era.)

Dobson now has 51 assists in 2023. Among Isles defensemen, only Denis Potvin (10x with a high 68 in 1978) and Stefan Persson (61 in 1978) have had more in a calendar year.

Metropolitan Holiday 

The Isles are ending 2023 by playing five straight games against division foes.  They are 1-0-1 in this stretch:

• 12/20 @ Washington (3-2 OTL)

• 12/23 @ Carolina (5-4 W)

• 12/27 vs. Pittsburgh

• 12/29 vs. Washington

• 12/31 @ Pittsburgh

Following this stretch, the Isles will play 17 straight inter-division games and will play only two division foes in their next 30 games.

Fewest Regulation Losses Thru 33 Games (Post-Cup era)

• 8 (2019-20; 23-8-2)

• 8 (2021; 21-8-4)

• 8 (2023-24; 16-8-9) 

• 9 (2001-02; 17-9-5-2)

• 10 (2014-15; 23-10-0)

• 10 (2015-16; 18-10-5)

Overtime Is Our Time

The Isles have played 13 overtime games. They are 3-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-3 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 2-5 in overtime and 1-2 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 1-1 in overtime and 0-1 in shootouts. 

The NHL record for overtime games is 30, played by Boston in 2003-04.  The Isles are on pace to play 32 overtime games.

The Isles have won 14 of the last 37 games decided by an overtime goal (since January 11, 2020).

Most OT/SO Losses Thru 33 Games

• 9 (2023-24)

• 7 (2009-10)

The Isles played 10 ties through 33 games in 1973-74 and 9 ties through 33 games in 1973-74.  In 1985-86, the Isles played 9 ties and also lost once in overtime.

Killing Their Own PP

The Isles have taken a penalty to interrupt their power play eleven times this season.

Power Play Up; Penalty Killing Down

The Isles have scored 23 power play goals; they scored 35 all last season.

The Isles have allowed 29 power play goals; they allowed 39 all last season. Only 11 of those 39 were at home; the Isles have already allowed 14 home power play goals this season.

Heavy Hitters

Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin are 1-2 all-time in hits:

1. Cal Clutterbuck 3,839

2. Matt Martin 3,734

Martin (7) and Clutterbuck (3) have combined for the 10-biggest hits seasons in Isles history in the Real-Time era, which began in 2005-06. 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2023-24  16-8-9 for 41 points in 33 games

• 2022-23  18-13-2 for 38 points in 33 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   2-2-4

• Season: 12-54-66

• Last Season (Final) 41-132-173

The Islander defense scored 41 goals last season, which was the most since they scored 42 in 2003-04. The 173 points were their most since 1993-94, when they had 174 points in an 84-game season.

Best of the Best

Ilya Sorokin has 18 shutouts in 151 career starts. He has recorded a shutout in 11.9% of his starts, which is the second-highest in NHL history (since 1943-44) among goalies with at least 100 starts:

• Roman Cechmanek 12.2%

• Ilya Sorokin 11.9%

• Ken Dryden 11.8%

• Dominik Hasek 11.3%

Lots of Work for Sorokin

Ilya Sorokin has faced 765 shots in his 21 games (an average of 36.4 per game). To put that number in perspective, Los Angeles goalies had faced only 766 shots in 29 games entering play on Saturday. Only Jusse Soros (779) has faced more shots this season. No goalie has ever played the full season for the Islanders and led the NHL in this category; Kelly Hrudey did so in 1988-89, the season he was traded at the deadline to Los Angeles.

Varly, Varly

Semyon Varlamov has 40 career shutouts and 278 career wins. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is 6th in wins and tied-third in shutouts.

All-time Goalie Wins

50. Brian Elliott 279

51. Semyon Varlamov 278

52. Marty Turco 275

It's an SH SH (Simon Holmstrom Shorthanded) Goal

Only seven players in Isles history have scored more shorthanded goals in a season than Simon Holmstrom, who now has five:

1 Bob Bourne       1980-81    7

  Frans Nielsen      2010-11   7

3 Shawn Bates       2002-03   6

Michael Grabner  2010-11   6

Lorne Henning    1976-77    6

Anders Kallur      1980-81    6

Michael Peca      2001-02    6

It's a JG SH Assist

Jean-Gabriel Pageau is the first Isle in 42 years with at least five shorthanded assists in a season:

1 Lorne Henning  1976-77 8

2. Bryan Trottier  1980-81 5

    Denis Potvin    1980-81 5

    Bryan Trottier  1981-82 5

    Billy Carroll      1981-82 5

    J-G Pageau       2023-24 5

Home and Road

The Isles are 16-8-9 overall; they are 9-3-6 at home and 7-5-3 on the road.

Carolina is 17-12-4 overall; they are 9-3-3 at home and 8-10-1 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 11-5-6 against the East (6-2-4 vs. Metropolitan and 5-3-2 vs. Atlantic) and 5-3-3 against the West (1-2-0 vs. Central and 4-1-3 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 100 games at UBS Arena and recorded 68 sellouts of 17,255. 

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 1,422

3. Glen Sather 1,319

First Things First

The Isles are 10-2-7 when scoring first and are 6-6-1 when allowing the opening goal. They are 0-0-1 when the game heads to a shootout following a scoreless tie.

The Shots

Isles       12-6-10=28

Carolina 15-10-15=40

The Isles are 4-2-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 11-6-6 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 36 saves; he is 10-4-7 on the season and 3-4-1 vs. Carolina. 

Pyotr Kochetkov made 23 saves; he is 7-7-3 on the season and 2-1-1 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play (4:04); Carolina was  2-4 on the power play (3:42).

The Isles are 9-4-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 7-4-4 when they do not. The Isles are 6-5-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 10-3-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 14-3-7 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-5-2 when they do not. Under Lane Lambert the Isles are 49-9-11 when scoring at least three goals.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 11-1-9 in games decided by a single goal including 7-1 in regulation. They are 3-6 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 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 2-0-3 in the front end and 0-2-3 in the back end this season. The next set of back-to-backs will be on January 15th in Minnesota and January 16th in Winnipeg; the following back-to-back set will be on March 10th in Anaheim and March 11th in Los Angeles. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (28:08);  Carolina: Brent Burns (22:08)

Mathew Barzal led Islander forwards with 19:47 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-0-2), Noah Dobson (12-6-6), Alex Romanov (2-2-0), Adam Pelech (0-0-1).

Face-offs

Isles 35, Carolina 33 (51%)

Casey Cizikas won 10 of 17 for the Isles; Jordan Staal won 11 of 19 for Carolina.

Hit Count

Isles 12 (Three with 2)

Carolina 16 (Two with 5)

Fights 

None. Season total: 4 (Martin 1, Pelech 1, Lee 1, Mayfield 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 23 (Alex Romanov -4)

Carolina 8 (Eight with 1)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 44, Carolina 84

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 37, Carolina 68

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Pierre Engvall +3

Carolina: Dimitry Orlov +21

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 7, Carolina 16

5-on-5: Isles 7, Carolina 14

Scratches

Matt Martin (IR), Adam Pelech (upper body – LTIR), (Scott Mayfield -IR), (Ryan Pulock-IR), Oliver Wahlstrom, Grant Hutton

Games Lost to injury: 62

The Ironmen

Anders Lee is the Islanders' ironman, having played 145 consecutive games. Brock Nelson (117) is the only other Islander to have played at least 100 consecutive games:

Challenges

Isles:2 successful, 1 failures – WSH goalie interference (11/2), OTT offside (11/24), LA no goalie interference (12/9)

Opponents: 1 successful, 2 failures – BUF no offside  (10/21), CAR no high-stick (11/30); ANA goalie interference (12/13)

Quickies

The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute three times this season (twice at home – CBJ 12/7 x2 and once on road-11/24 @OTT) and allowed two in the same span four times (COL 10/25 x2, MIN 11/8, @MTL 12/16)

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins

The Isles have come from at least two goals behind after two periods to win one time this season and have allowed the opposition to do so four times.

For (1): LA 12/9 (trailed 0-2, won 3-2 in OT)

Vs (4): DET 10/30 (trailed 0-2, won 4-3 in OT); CAR 11/4 (trailed 1-3, won 4-3 in OT) ; @ NJ 11/28 (trailed 2-4, won 5-4 in regulation); SJ 12/5 (trailed 1-4; won 5-3 in OT)

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored two goals and have allowed four goals in the final three minutes of the third period to tie or go-ahead:

For (2: Bo Horvat 10/20 vs NJ 18:49 (Isles lost in OT); Simon Holmstrom 12/13 vs ANA 18:27 (GWG)

Vs (4): Curtis Lazar 11/28 @ NJ 19:37 (GWG); Sebastian Aho 11/30 @ CAR 19:57 (Isles won in OT); Tomas Hertl vs SJ 18:30 (SJ won in OT); Morgan Rielly 12/11 vs TOR 19:53 (Isles won in OT)

OT Winners

For (3):   Mathew Barzal (vs CAR) 11/30, Jean Gabriel Pageau (vs LA) 12/9, Bo Horvat (vs TOR) 12/11

Vs (6):   Jack Hughes (NJ) 10/20, Lucas Raymond (DET) 10/30, Sebastian Aho (CAR) 11/4, Quinn Hughes (VAN) 11/15; William Eklund (SJ) 12/5; Dylan Strome (WAS) 12/20

Shootout Winners

For (1):  Oliver Wahlstrom (Vs CGY) 11/18

Vs (3):  Kailer Yamamoto (SEA) 11/16, Tyson Foerster (PHI) 11/25, David Pastrnak (BOS) 12/15

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057…

6. Bob Bourne 814 *** 7. Brock Nelson 791 *** 8. Matt Martin 780 *** 9. Casey Cizikas 778…

11. Patrick Flatley 712 *** 12. Anders Lee 711 *** 13. Brent Sutter 694 *** 14. John Tavares and Cal Clutterbuck 669

Goals    

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

7. John Tavares 272 *** 8. Brock Nelson 257 *** 9. Anders Lee 250 …

23. Alexei Yashin and Frans Nielsen 119 *** 25. Steve Thomas, Matt Moulson and Mark Parrish 118 *** 28. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 29. Mathew Barzal 115 *** 30.Benoit Hogue and Ed Westfall 105 *** 32. Anthony Beauvillier and Casey Cizikas 102

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …

11. Bob Bourne 304 *** 12. Derek King 288 *** 13. Mathew Barzal 281…

16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson 249  *** 18. Brock Nelson 235…

22. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 23. Ed Westfall and Anders Lee 181…

34. Steve Thomas 140 *** 35. Mark Streit 139 *** 36. Greg Gilbert 136 *** 37. Ryan Pulock 133

Points

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

11. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 12. Derek King 499 *** 13. Brock Nelson 492 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Billy Harris 443 ***  16. Anders Lee 431 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 397…

32. Ray Ferraro 238 *** 33. Travis Green 237 *** 34. Kenny Jonsson and Casey Cizikas 232

+/-

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

15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +83 ***  17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54  

Defense Goals

1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57…

5. Jean Potvin 46 *** 6. Nick Leddy and Ryan Pulock 45 *** 8. Roman Hamrlik 43 *** 9. Mark Streit 40 *** 10. Johnny Boychuk and Noah Dobson 35

Defense Assists

1. Denis Potvin 742 *** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…

7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Mark Streit 139 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 133 *** 10. Travis Hamonic and Noah Dobson 120 *** 12. Dave Lewis 117 ***  13. Roman Hamrlik 110 *** 14. Tom Kurvers and Gerry Hart 109 *** 16. Adam Pelech 102… 

20. Dave Langevin and Thomas Hickey 95 *** 22. Scott Mayfield 90

Defense Points

1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…

7. Jeff Norton 188 *** 8. Mark Streit 179 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 178… 10. Noah Dobson 155… 

15. Johnny Boychuk and Bryan Berard 131 *** 17. Gerry Hart 128 *** 18. Adam Pelech 127…

20. Thomas Hickey 117 *** 21. Scott Mayfield 115

Goalie Games

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 …

8. Glenn Healy 176 *** 9. Ilya Sorokin 157 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 147

Wins

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

6. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 7. Ilya Sorokin 80 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Glenn Healy 66 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 65

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 18 *** 

4. Rick DiPietro 16 *** 5. Semyon Varlamov 15

On the Farm  

Bridgeport earned three points in games Friday and Saturday to reach the Christmas break with an 8-16-2-0 record. The Baby Isles beat Hartford 5-4 on Friday before dropping a 4-3 decision in overtime to Springfield on Saturday

The Baby Isles now have points in a season-high three games (2-0-1-0). They are back in action on Wednesday, as they host Providence.

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 2 game to 1 (and 5 points to 3). The teams will meet on March 19th at UBS Arena to conclude their season series.

The Isles sweep the season series in Raleigh (2-0-0) after going winless in their prior four regular season games against the Canes.  The Isles are 4-1-0 in their last five games in Raleigh and are 7-3-1 in their last 11 trips there. 

UP NEXT

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27th  —PITTSBURGH AT ISLANDERS - 7:30pm ET

[MSGSN (pre-game at 7:00),  WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].

The Isles have three games remaining in 2023 and two of them are against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Wednesday's meeting at UBS Arena is the first matchup of the teams this season; the Isles swept the season series last year, winning the four games (one in overtime) by a combined 18-10 score. 

The Isles have won four straight home games from the Penguins and are 9-1-4 in their last 14 home games (contested in three different buildings) against Pittsburgh; the only Penguin victory (1-0 on November 26, 2021) came in the fourth game played at UBS Arena, with the Isles missing nine regulars due to COVID and injuries.

AND FINALLY…

The Skinny hopes that your stockings are "plump"! Merry Christmas!  Happy Holidays!

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

The Skinny: Washington 3, Isles 2 (OT)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 32

Washington 3, Isles 2 (OT)

Dylan Strome scored his 2nd career overtime goal on a powerplay 1:41 into the extra session as the Washington Capitals defeated the Isles 3-2 before a sellout crowd of 18,573 at Capital One Arena.

Hudson Fasching and Anders Lee scored unassisted goals to twice erase one-goal deficits but did not get the chance to do so in overtime as they suffered their ninth overtime/shootout loss of the season. With the point, the Isles are now 7-1-3 in their last eleven games.

The Isles have points in sixteen of their last eighteen games (10-2-6); fifteen of those games have been one-goal games. 

The Isles are 15-8-9 on the season and tie Philadelphia for 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division, six points behind the first place Rangers. The Isles head to Carolina on Saturday for their final game before the Christmas break.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Hendrix Lapierre (2) Aliaksei Protas (11) 09:56 NYI 0,WSH 1

2nd Period

Hudson Fasching (2) 01:03 NYI 1,WSH 1

Joel Edmundson (1) Anthony Mantha (5), Hendrix Lapierre (3) 13:12 NYI 1,WSH 2

3rd Period

Anders Lee (9) 12:02 NYI 2,WSH 2

OT

Dylan Strome (13) Alex Ovechkin (13), John Carlson (15) 01:41 NYI 2,WSH 3 PPG

The Skinny    

Bo Horvat's career-best point streak ended at eleven games (8-9-17) while Brock Nelson's point streak ended at five games (4-4-8)…Noah Dobson was +2 and played 28:19; it is the 14th straight game he has played at least 25 minutes (no Islander has averaged 25 minutes per game since 2013-14)…Anders Lee has four goals in the last seven games and now has 249 career goals…The Isles' defense was held pointless but now has 23 points in the last nine games.… The Isles have outscored their opponents 27-18 in the first period and 38-37 in the second period but have been outscored 46-33 in the third period and overtime this season … The Isles are now two points ahead of last season's pace (15-8-9 vs. 18-13-1)… The Isles failed to score at least three goals for the first time in twelve games (1-0 SO loss to Philadelphia).…It was only the 4th time in 32 games that the Isles trailed after one period and the first time that they have trailed after one period in consecutive games for the first time since early March…. The Isles have not lost by more than three goals this season…  The Isles scored their eighth shorthanded goal, matching St. Louis, and Calgary for the NHL lead (8) … The Isles have scored 23 PP goals this season; they had only 23 at the All-Star Break (52 games) last season…The Isles extended Alex Ovechkin's career-long goal drought to 14 games but Ovechkin did assist on the overtime power play goa for his 39th career overtime point (ties Evgeni Malkin for 2nd place all-time behind Sidney Crosby's 43)…Ivan Miroshnichenko made his NHL debut less than two years after being diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma…The Caps are 8-0-2 when scoring first and 8-0-0 when leading after the first period.

First Time in a Long Time

Dobson played at least 25 minutes for the fourteenth straight game. It is the longest streak of its kind since Adrian Aucoin did so in fifteen straight games from February 10-March 9, 2004.

 

Woah, Noah!

Noah Dobson is 5-28-33 on the season, remaining tied with Mathew Barzal for the club lead in points. Dobson has seventeen assists in the last twelve games; he is the first Islander to do that since Tom Kurvers did so in 1992. 

Dobson is also +14 in this stretch – he is the only Isles defenseman with 17 assists and a +14 rating in a 12-game stretch in franchise history. Five forwards have done so: Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Clark Gillies, John Tonelli, and Brent Sutter.

Dobson, who earlier in the week became the first Islander defenseman to ever be named one of the NHL's Three Stars of the Week, now has 28 assists through 32 games; only Denis Potvin (29 in 1983-84) has had more assists by an Isles defenseman through 32 games. (The Award did not exist in Potvin's era.)

Dobson also has 50 assists this calendar year, tying Jeff Norton (1989). Among Isles defensemen, only Denis Potvin (10x with a high 68 in 1978) and Stefan Persson (61 in 1978) have had more in a calendar year.

Fewest Regulation Losses Thru 32 Games (Post-Cup era)

• 8 (2019-20; 22-8-2)

• 8 (2021; 20-8-4)

• 8 (2023-24; 15-8-9) 

• 9 (2001-02; 16-9-5-2)

• 9 (2015-16; 18-9-5)

Overtime Is (Not) Our Time

The Isles are 3-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-3 in shootouts. In games decided in overtime, Ilya Sorokin is 2-5, while Semyon Varlamov is 1-1;  Sorokin is 1-2 in shootouts while Varlamov is 0-1.

The Isles have won 14 of the last 37 games decided by an overtime goal (since January 11, 2020).

Most OT/SO Losses Thru 32 Games

• 9 (2023-24)

• 7 (2009-10)

The Isles played 10 ties through 32 games in 1973-74 and 9 ties through 32 games in 1985-86.

Killing Their Own PP

The Isles have taken a penalty to interrupt their power play eleven times this season.

Power Play Up; Penalty Killing Down

The Isles have scored 23 power play goals; they scored 35 all last season.

The Isles have allowed 27 power play goals; they allowed 39 all last season. Only 11 of those 39 were at home; the Isles have already allowed 14 home power play goals this season.

Heavy Hitters

Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin are 1-2 all-time in hits:

1. Cal Clutterbuck 3,837

2. Matt Martin 3,734

Martin (7) and Clutterbuck (3) have combined for the 10-biggest hits seasons in Isles history in the Real-Time era, which began in 2005-06. 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2023-24  15-8-9 for 39 points in 32 games

• 2022-23  18-13-1 for 37 points in 32 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-0-0

• Season: 10-52-62

• Last Season (Final) 41-132-173

The Islander defense scored 41 goals last season, which was the most since they scored 42 in 2003-04. The 173 points were their most since 1993-94, when they had 174 points in an 84-game season.

Best of the Best

Ilya Sorokin has 18 shutouts in 150 career starts. He has recorded a shutout in 12.0% of his starts, which is the second-highest in NHL history (since 1943-44) among goalies with at least 100 starts:

• Roman Cechmanek 12.2%

• Ilya Sorokin 12.0%

• Ken Dryden 11.8%

• Dominik Hasek 11.3%

Lots of Work for Sorokin

Ilya Sorokin has faced 725 shots in his 20 games (an average of 36.3 per game). Only Jordan Binnington has faced more shots (739). No goalie has ever played the full season for the Islanders and led the NHL in this category; Kelly Hrudey did so in the season he was traded at the deadline to Los Angeles (1988-89).

Varly, Varly

Semyon Varlamov has 40 career shutouts and 278 career wins. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is 6th in wins and tied-third in shutouts.

All-time Goalie Wins

50. Brian Elliott 279

51. Semyon Varlamov 278

52. Marty Turco 275

It's an SH SH (Simon Holmstrom Shorthanded) Goal

Only seven players in Isles history have scored more shorthanded goals in a season than Simon Holmstrom, who now has five:

1 Bob Bourne       1980-81    7

  Frans Nielsen      2010-11   7

3 Shawn Bates       2002-03   6

Michael Grabner  2010-11   6

Lorne Henning    1976-77    6

Anders Kallur      1980-81    6

Michael Peca      2001-02    6

It's a JG SH Assist

Jean-Gabriel Pageau is the first Isle in 42 years with at least five shorthanded assists in a season:

1 Lorne Henning  1976-77 8

2. Bryan Trottier  1980-81 5

    Denis Potvin    1980-81 5

    Bryan Trottier  1981-82 5

    Billy Carroll      1981-82 5

    J-G Pageau       2023-24 5

Home and Road

The Isles are 15-8-9 overall; they are 9-3-6 at home and 6-5-3 on the road.

Washington is 16-9-4 overall; they are 9-4-2 at home and 7-5-2 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 10-5-6 against the East (5-2-4 vs. Metropolitan and 5-3-2 vs. Atlantic) and 5-3-3 against the West (1-2-0 vs. Central and 4-1-3 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 100 games at UBS Arena and recorded 68 sellouts of 17,255. 

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 1,421

3. Glen Sather 1,319

First Things First

The Isles are 9-2-7 when scoring first and are 6-6-1 when allowing the opening goal. They are 0-0-1 when the game heads to a shootout following a scoreless tie.

The Shots

Isles           7-9-16-0=32

Washington 14-12-8-2=36

The Isles are 4-2-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 10-6-6 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 33 saves; he is 6-4-2 on the season and 8-12-4 vs. Washington. 

Darcy Kuemper made 30 saves; he is 8-6-2 on the season and 6-5-2 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play (6:00); Washington was 1-3 on the power play (4:58).

The Isles are 9-4-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 6-4-4 when they do not. The Isles are 5-5-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 10-3-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 13-3-7 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-5-2 when they do not. Under Lane Lambert the Isles are 48-9-11 when scoring at least three goals.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 10-1-9 in games decided by a single goal including 6-1 in regulation. They are 3-6 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 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     

Including tonight, the Isles are 2-0-3 in the front end and 0-2-3 in the back end this season. The next set of back-to-backs will be on January 15th in Minnesota and January 16th in Winnipeg; that is the only back-to-back set in either January or February.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (28:19);  Washington: John Carlson (24:11)

Mathew Barzal led Islander forwards with 21:53 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-0-2), Noah Dobson (11-6-6), Alex Romanov (2-2-0), Adam Pelech (0-0-1).

Face-offs

Isles 21, Washington 21 (50%)

Casey Cizikas won 5 of 8 for the Isles; Nic Dowd won 10 of 17 for Washington.

Hit Count

Isles 18 (Cal Clutterbuck -4)

Washington 16 (Two with 3)

Fights 

None. Season total: 4 (Martin 1, Pelech 1, Lee 1, Mayfield 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 19 (Alex Romanov -4)

Washington 17 (Martin Fehevary-4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 61, Washington 68

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 51, Washington 48

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Robert Bortuzzo +9

Washington: Anthony Mantha +5

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 15, Washington 12

5-on-5: Isles 13, Washington 10

Scratches

Matt Martin (INJ), Adam Pelech (upper body – LTIR), (Scott Mayfield -IR), (Ryan Pulock-IR), (Julien Gauthier-INJ), Grant Hutton

Games Lost to injury: 58

The Ironmen

Anders Lee is the Islanders' ironman, having played 144 consecutive games. Brock Nelson (116) is the only other Islander to have played at least 100 consecutive games:

Challenges

Isles:2 successful, 1 failures – WSH goalie interference (11/2), OTT offside (11/24), LA no goalie interference (12/9)

Opponents: 1 successful, 2 failures – BUF no offside  (10/21), CAR no high-stick (11/30); ANA goalie interference (12/13)

Quickies

The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute three times this season (twice at home – CBJ 12/7 x2 and once on road-11/24 @OTT) and allowed two in the same span four times (COL 10/25 x2, MIN 11/8, @MTL 12/16)

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins

The Isles have come from at least two goals behind after two periods to win one time this season and have allowed the opposition to do so four times.

For (1): LA 12/9 (trailed 0-2, won 3-2 in OT)

Vs (4): DET 10/30 (trailed 0-2, won 4-3 in OT); CAR 11/4 (trailed 1-3, won 4-3 in OT) ; @ NJ 11/28 (trailed 2-4, won 5-4 in regulation); SJ 12/5 (trailed 1-4; won 5-3 in OT)

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored two goals and have allowed four goals in the final three minutes of the third period to tie or go-ahead:

For (2: Bo Horvat 10/20 vs NJ 18:49 (Isles lost in OT); Simon Holmstrom 12/13 vs ANA 18:27 (GWG)

Vs (4): Curtis Lazar 11/28 @ NJ 19:37 (GWG); Sebastian Aho 11/30 @ CAR 19:57 (Isles won in OT); Tomas Hertl vs SJ 18:30 (SJ won in OT); Morgan Rielly 12/11 vs TOR 19:53 (Isles won in OT)

OT Winners

For (3):   Mathew Barzal (vs CAR) 11/30, Jean Gabriel Pageau (vs LA) 12/9, Bo Horvat (vs TOR) 12/11

Vs (6):   Jack Hughes (NJ) 10/20, Lucas Raymond (DET) 10/30, Sebastian Aho (CAR) 11/4, Quinn Hughes (VAN) 11/15; William Eklund (SJ) 12/5; Dylan Strome (WAS) 12/20

Shootout Winners

For (1):  Oliver Wahlstrom (Vs CGY) 11/18

Vs (3):  Kailer Yamamoto (SEA) 11/16, Tyson Foerster (PHI) 11/25, David Pastrnak (BOS) 12/15

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057…

6. Bob Bourne 814 *** 7. Brock Nelson 790 *** 8. Matt Martin 780 *** 9. Casey Cizikas 777…

11. Patrick Flatley 712 *** 12. Anders Lee 710 *** 13. Brent Sutter 694 *** 14. John Tavares 669 *** 15. Cal Clutterbuck 668

Goals    

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

7. John Tavares 272 *** 8. Brock Nelson 256 *** 9. Anders Lee 249 …

23. Alexei Yashin and Frans Nielsen 119 *** 25. Steve Thomas, Matt Moulson and Mark Parrish 118 *** 28. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 29. Mathew Barzal 115 *** 30.Benoit Hogue and Ed Westfall 105 *** 32. Anthony Beauvillier and Casey Cizikas 102

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …

11. Bob Bourne 304 *** 12. Derek King 288 *** 13. Mathew Barzal 280…

16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson 249  *** 18. Brock Nelson 234…

22. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 23. Ed Westfall 181 *** 24. Anders Lee 179…

34. Steve Thomas 140 *** 35. Mark Streit 139 *** 36. Greg Gilbert 136 *** 37. Ryan Pulock 133

Points

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

11. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 12. Derek King 499 *** 13. Brock Nelson 490 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Billy Harris 443 ***  16. Anders Lee 428 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 395…

32. Ray Ferraro 238 *** 33. Travis Green 237 *** 34. Kenny Jonsson and Casey Cizikas 232

+/-

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

15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +83 ***  17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54  

Defense Goals

1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57…

5. Jean Potvin 46 *** 6. Nick Leddy and Ryan Pulock 45 *** 8. Roman Hamrlik 43 *** 9. Mark Streit 40 *** 10. Johnny Boychuk and Noah Dobson 35

Defense Assists

1. Denis Potvin 742 *** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…

7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Mark Streit 139 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 133 *** 10. Travis Hamonic 120 *** 11. Noah Dobson 119 *** 12. Dave Lewis 117 ***  13. Roman Hamrlik 110 *** 14. Tom Kurvers and Gerry Hart 109 *** 16. Adam Pelech 102… 

20. Dave Langevin and Thomas Hickey 95 *** 22. Scott Mayfield 90

Defense Points

1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…

7. Jeff Norton 188 *** 8. Mark Streit 179 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 178… 10. Noah Dobson 154… 

15. Johnny Boychuk and Bryan Berard 131 *** 17. Gerry Hart 128 *** 18. Adam Pelech 127…

20. Thomas Hickey 117 *** 21. Scott Mayfield 115

Goalie Games

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 …

8. Glenn Healy 176 *** 9. Ilya Sorokin 156 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 147

Wins

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

6. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 7. Ilya Sorokin 79 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Glenn Healy 66 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 65

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 18 *** 

4. Rick DiPietro 16 *** 5. Semyon Varlamov 15

On the Farm  

Bridgeport is 7-16-1-0 on the season. The Baby Isles visit Hartford on Friday and Springfield Saturday in their final games before the Christmas break.

Season Series Stats

Washington leads the season series 2 game to 1 (and 4 points to 2). The teams will meet next Friday, December 29th at UBS Arena to conclude their season series.

The Isles are 3-1-2 in their last six trips to DC and 4-3-3 in their last ten games with Washington overall.

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23rd   —ISLANDERS AT CAROLINA– 7:00pm ET

[MSGSN2,  WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].

The Isles conclude the two-game road trip that will take them to the Christmas break as they head to Raleigh to face the Carolina Hurricanes.

It is the third of four meetings between the teams, with each team holding a road OT victory. Carolina rallied from a 3-0 deficit on November 4th at UBS for a 4-3 win in the game that started an Islander seven game winless streak; Mathew Barzal's overtime goal overcame a Canes tying goal from Sebastian Aho with 2.5 seconds to play in Raleigh on November 30th. 

That win in Raleigh ended a four-game regular season losing streak against the Canes (0-3-1).

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

Dobson, who earlier in the week became the first Islander defenseman to ever be named one of the NHL's Three Stars of the Week, now has 28 assists through 32 games; only Denis Potvin (29 in 1983-84) has had more assists by an Isles defenseman through 32 games. (The Award did not exist in Potvin's era.)