"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
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