"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 43
Minnesota 5, Isles 0
Marc-Andre Fleury needed to make only 22 saves for 552nd career victory, passing Patrick Roy for second place on the all-time NHL list, as the Minnesota Wild blanked the Isles 5-0 before a sellout crowd of 18,231 at Xcel Energy Center.
Mats Zuccarello scored a power play goal 2:11 into the game to give the Wild the lead and the Isles could never catch them as Fleury earned his 74th career shutout. Joel Eriksson Ek scored both a power play goal and a shorthanded goal for Minnesota.
The Isles are 1-4-0 in their last five games and fall to 19-14-10 overall; they remain one point behind Tamp Bay and Detroit for a Wild Card berth. The Isles head to Winnipeg to conclude the back-to-back set on Tuesday.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Mats Zuccarello (7) Brock Faber (19), Matt Boldy (13) 02:11 NYI 0,MIN 1 PPG
2nd Period
Connor Dewar (7) 02:18 NYI 0,MIN 2
Joel Eriksson Ek (16) Kirill Kaprizov (22), Mats Zuccarello (25) 13:36 NYI 0,MIN 3 PPG
3rd Period
Joel Eriksson Ek (17) Marcus Foligno (10) 16:09 NYI 0,MIN 4 SHG
Marcus Foligno (7) Frederick Gaudreau (7), Jonas Brodin (9) 19:03 NYI 0,MIN 5
The Skinny
The Isles are 2-5-1 in their last eight games and are 3-6-1 since the Christmas break… Brock Nelson remains at 497 points … Mathew Barzal went pointless for the second straight game; it is the first time all season that has happened.,. The Isles' defense has 42 points in the last nineteen games and have 19 points in the last ten games (7-12-19)…The Isles have outscored their opponents 36-26 in the first period but have been outscored 56-46 in the second period and 61-45 in the third period and overtime this season…The Isles have been outscored 18-7 in the second period since the Christmas break …The Isles are 1-10-1 when trailing after two periods …. Ilya Sorokin appeared in a career-high eleventh straight game….Noah Dobson played 21:21 – his lowest ice-time since Opening Night.… The Isles have never shut-out the Wild…Mats Zuccarello played his 800th career game…The Wild earned a 5-0 win two nights after losing 6-0 to Arizona; it was Minnesota's 2nd win in the last ten games.
First Times in a Long Time
• Ken Appleby appeared in an NHL game for the first time since January 25, 2018 (for New Jersey against Nashville)
• It is the first time in 139 games that someone other than Ilya Sorokin or Semyon Varlamov played in a game for the Isles. On April 3, 2022, Cory Schneider made his only Islander appearance, defeating the Devils in New Jersey.
• The Wild shutout the Isles for the first time since March 18, 2014, at the Coliseum (Ilya Bryzgalov)
• The Isles were shutout in Minnesota for the first time since Jon Casey did so for the North Stars on November 5, 1992.
Blanked by Fleury…Again
This is the sixth time Marc-Andre Fleury has shutout the Isles:
• 2009-02-25 PIT 21 saves
• 2011-01-25 PIT 29 saves
• 2011-10-25 PIT 33 saves
• 2011-11-21 PIT 29 saves
• 2020-02-15 VEG 19 saves
• 2024-01-15 MIN 21 saves
All but the 10-25-2011 game has been an Islander road game.
Only Martin Brodeur (10) has more shutouts against the Isles; Jose Theodore also has six.
Beating the Isles
With his win tonight, Fleury is now 3rd in career wins against the Islanders:
1. Martin Brodeur 52
2. Henrik Lundqvist 30
3. Marc-Andre Fleury 29
4. John Vanbiesbrouck 28
Welcome Back App!
Kenneth Appleby became the 55th goalie in Isles history as he made his first appearance in nearly six years. According to the NHL, it is the 7th-longest stretch between appearances by a goalie.
Longest spans between appearances by a goaltender, NHL's expansion era (since 1967-68):
3,540 days – Bob Champoux (March 29, 1964–Dec. 7, 1973)
3,223 days – Gerry McNamara (March 19, 1961 – Jan. 14, 1970)
2,813 days – Mikko Koskinen (Feb. 13, 2011–Oct. 27, 2018)
2,504 days – Roberto Romano (Feb. 25, 1987–Jan. 3, 1994)
2,304 days – Troy Grosenick (Nov. 18, 2014–March 10, 2021)
2,244 days – Ernie Wakely (Oct. 13, 1962–Dec. 4, 1968)
2,181 days – Kenneth Appleby (Jan. 25, 2018–Jan. 15, 2024)
^Regular season or playoffs
(Mikko Koskinen appeared as an Islander on February 13, 2011, in Buffalo and then did not appear in another NHL game for 7 ½ years)
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 31 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 7 times
• Allowed the next goal: 22 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: twice
Road Warriors
The Isles are in a stretch where they are playing eight out of ten games on the road; they are 2-5-1 in this stretch:
• 12/31 @ Pittsburgh (3-1 L)
• 1/2 @ Colorado (5-4 OTL)
• 1/4 @ Arizona (5-1 W)
• 1/6 @ Vegas (5-2 L)
• 1/ 9 Vs. Vancouver (5-2 L)
• 1/11 Vs. Toronto (4-3 OTW)
• 1/13 @ Nashville (3-1 L)
• 1/15 @ Minnesota (5-0 L)
• 1/16 @ Winnipeg
• 1/19 @ Chicago
The Isles are starting the new year with 17 straight inter-division games; they will play only two division foes in their first 30 games (February 18 vs NYR at MetLife, February 20 at Pittsburgh) of 2024.
Fewest Regulation Losses Thru 43 Games (Post-Cup era)
• 12 (2020-21; 27-12-4)
• 12 (2019-20; 27-12-4)
• 13 (2014-15; 29-13-1)
• 14 (2023-24; 19-14-10)
• 14 (2001-02; 21-15-5-2)
• 15 (2015-16; 23-15-5)
• 15 (2018-19; 24-15-4)
Overtime Is Our Time
The Isles have played 15 overtime games. They are 4-7 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-3 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 3-6 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 15 of the last 39 games decided by an overtime goal (since January 11, 2020).
Most OT/SO Losses Thru 43 Games (Since 1998-99)
• 10 (2023-24)
• 8 (2016-17)
• 8 (2009-10)
Killing Their Own PP
The Isles have taken a penalty to interrupt their power play fourteen times this season.
Power Play Up; Penalty Killing Down
The Isles have scored 28 power play goals; they scored 35 all last season.
The Isles have allowed 36 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 3,877
2. Matt Martin 3,762
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 19-14-10 for 48 points in 43 games
• 2022-23 22-18-3 for 47 points in 43 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-0-0
• Season: 17-65-82
• 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 1,065
• Alexandar Georgiev 1,011
• Juuse Saros 953
• Thatcher Demko 934
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
Home and Road
The Isles are 19-14-10 overall; they are 11-5-6 at home and 8-9-4 on the road.
Minnesota is 18-20-5 overall; they are 11-9-3 at home and 7-11-2 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 13-7-6 against the East (7-4-4 vs. Metropolitan and 6-3-2 vs. Atlantic) and 6-7-4 against the West (2-4-1 vs. Central and 4-3-3 vs. Pacific).
Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 104 games at UBS Arena and recorded 71 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 1,425
3. Glen Sather 1,319
First Things First
The Isles are 13-3-8 when scoring first and are 6-11-1 when allowing the opening goal. They are 0-0-1 when the game heads to a shootout following a scoreless tie.
The Shots
Isles 10-3-8=21
Minnesota 12-20-8=40
The Isles are 6-3-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 12-10-7 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves over two periods; he is 13-10-8 on the season and 0-3-1 vs. Minnesota. Ken Appleby allowed two goals on eight shots in the third period.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves; he is 8-9-3 on the season and 29-12-5 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-5 on the power play (8:00); Minnesota was 2-5 on the power play (8:07).
The Isles are 11-5-6 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-9-4 when they do not. The Isles are 7-8-7 when they allow at least one power play goal and 12-6-3 when they do not.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 17-3-8 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-11-2 when they do not. Under Lane Lambert the Isles are 51-9-12 when scoring at least three goals.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 12-1-10 in games decided by a single goal including 7-1 in regulation. They are 4-7 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-4 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 2-1-3 in the front end and 0-2-3 in the back end this season. This back-to-back set concludes Tuesday 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 (21:21); Minnesota: Brock Faber (25:50)
Mathew Barzal led Islander forwards with 19:24 of ice-time.
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-0-2), Noah Dobson (15-12-7), Alex Romanov (2-2-0), Adam Pelech (0-0-1).
Face-offs
Isles 32, Minnesota 29 (52%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 13 of 21 for the Isles; Connor Dewar won 7 of 11 for Minnesota.
Hit Count
Isles 26 (Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau -6)
Minnesota 11 (Two with 3)
Fights
None. Season total: 5 (Martin 2, Pelech 1, Lee 1, Mayfield 1)
Blocked Shots
Isles 12 (Three with 2)
Minnesota 14 (Marcus Foligno - 3)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 47, Minnesota 66
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 33, Minnesota 47
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Two with +3
Minnesota: Ryan Hartman +11
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 8, Minnesota 15
5-on-5: Isles 7, Minnesota 9
Scratches
(Ryan Pulock-LTIR), (Robert Bortuzzo -INJ), (Semyon Varlamov -IR), (Casey Cizikas-INJ), Samuel Bolduc, Oliver Wahlstrom
Games Lost to injury: 96
The Ironmen
Anders Lee is the Islanders' ironman, having played 155 consecutive games. Brock Nelson (127) is the only other Islander to have played at least 100 consecutive games:
Challenges
Isles: 2 successful, 2 failures – WSH goalie interference (11/2), OTT offside (11/24), LA no goalie interference (12/9), VGK no goalie interference (1/6)
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 five times this season (three times at home – CBJ 12/7 x2, WSH 12/29, and twice on road-@OTT 11/24, @ARI 1/4) and allowed two in the same span six times (COL 10/25 x2, MIN 11/8, @MTL 12/16, PIT 12/27, @NAS 1/13)
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 (5): 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); Alexandre Carrier @ NAS 19:52 (GWG)
OT Winners
For (4): Mathew Barzal (vs CAR) 11/30, Jean Gabriel Pageau (vs LA) 12/9, Bo Horvat (vs TOR) 12/11, Mathew Barzal (vs TOR) 1/11
Vs (7): 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; Nathan MacKinnon (COL) 1/2
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 801 *** 8. Matt Martin 788*** 9. Casey Cizikas 784 *** 10. Mike Bossy 752 *** 11. Anders Lee 721 *** Patrick Flatley 712 *** 13. Brent Sutter 694 *** 14. Cal Clutterbuck 679
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
7. John Tavares 272 *** 8. Brock Nelson 260 *** 9. Anders Lee 251 …
23. Alexei Yashin and Frans Nielsen 119 *** 25. Steve Thomas, Matt Moulson and Mark Parrish 118 *** 28. Mathew Barzal 117 **** 29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 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. Mathew Barzal 290…
16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 18. Brock Nelson 237…
22. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 23. Anders Lee 182…
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 497 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Billy Harris 443 *** 16. Anders Lee 433 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 407…
32. Ray Ferraro 238 *** 33. Travis Green 237 *** 34. Casey Cizikas 233
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +80 *** 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. Noah Dobson 128…
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 164…
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 167 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 149
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130…
6. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 7. Ilya Sorokin 83** 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 split a pair of games over the weekend, dropping a 2-0 decision in Providence on Saturday and beating Hershey 2-1 (SO) on Sunday behind 31 saves from Henrik Tikkanen. The Baby Isles are 11-21-4-0 on the season. All-Star Ruslan Iskhakov had the team's only goal of the weekend (and scored in the shootout). Iskhakov has points in 11 of the last 12 games and leads the team in goals (13), assists (18) and points (31).
The Baby Isles are off now until they host Hartford on First Responder's Night on Saturday.
Season Series Stats
Minnesota sweeps the season series 2 game to 0 (and 4 points to 0). They outscored the Isles by a 9-2 score this season.
The Isles are 0-5-1 in the last six meetings against Minnesota; they have scored three goals or fewer in each of their last ten games against the Wild, going 3-6-1 in those ten games.
UP NEXT
TUESDAY, JANUARY 16th — ISLANDERS AT WINNIPEG – 8:00pm
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 7:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].
The Isles look to split the back-to-back as they head to Winnipeg to face the Jets. The Jets are 28-10-4 this season, and their .714 point percentage is the best in the NHL.
However, the Isles have won seven straight games from Winnipeg, holding the Jets to two goals or fewer in each of the last six meetings. The Isles have won four straight in Winnipeg and are 9-1-0 in their last ten trips to Manitoba. Since the Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg, the Isles are 11-1-1 in 13 trips there.
The teams will conclude the season series on March 23rd with a Saturday afternoon matinee.
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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