The Skinny: Isles 5, Detroit 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 59

Isles 5, Detroit 3

Mathew Barzal banked in a shot off goaltender Alex Lyon for the winning goal with 6:02 to play and then Pierre Engvall became the first Islander this season to hit the empty-net as the Islanders earned their second straight victory with a 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings before a sellout crowd of 19,514 at Little Caesars Arena.

The Isles never trailed but Detroit erased 2-0 and 3-2 leads before Barzal scored the winner. 

The Isles are 6-5-3 under Patrick Roy and 25-20-14 overall as they once again climb within five points of Philadelphia for third place in the Metro Division. The Isles return home to host Boston on Saturday night.

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Brock Nelson (26) 12:11 NYI 1,DET 0

Casey Cizikas (7) Adam Pelech (8), Noah Dobson (54) 16:18 NYI 2,DET 0

2nd Period

Olli Maatta (3) David Perron (19), Joe Veleno (15) 05:04 NYI 2,DET 1

3rd Period

Patrick Kane (13) Dylan Larkin (28), Jeff Petry (16) 00:10 NYI 2,DET 2

Brock Nelson (27) Mathew Barzal (45), Kyle Palmieri (18) 05:04 NYI 3,DET 2 PPG

Olli Maatta (4) Shayne Gostisbehere (30), Daniel Sprong (23) 10:49 NYI 3,DET 3

Mathew Barzal (18) 13:58 NYI 4,DET 3

Pierre Engvall (7)EN Simon Holmstrom (8), Casey Cizikas (8) 19:24 NYI 5,DET 3

The Skinny     

The Isles are 5-3-2 since the All-Star Break and are 9-12-5 since the Christmas break… Since Christmas, the Isles are 4-4-3 at home and 5-7-2 on the road…The Isles scored the first goal in for the second straight game and only the eleventh time in the last 26 games.… The Isles' defense has 78 points in the last 36 games and have 59 points in the last 28 games (14-45-59)…The Isles have outscored their opponents 49-38 in the first period but have been outscored 79-59 in the second period and 79-66 in the third period and overtime this season…The Isles have been outscored 41-20 in the second period since the Christmas break; they have allowed the most 2nd period goals over that span and have allowed at least two goals in 14 of the 26 games …The Isles are 18-3-9 when they score the opening goal, including 5-0-0 under Patrick Roy …Mathew Barzal is now 18-45-63; his assists and points are his highest totals since his rookie season (22-63-85 in 2017-18)... Barzal now has 32 primary assists while Noah Dobson had 31 primary assists; Dobson leads all NHL defensemen in that category… The Isles went 4-1-0 on the road in February, bookending the month with two-game win streaks on each end; they were 5-3-2 overall this month…Detroit falls to 16-5-2 in 2024… Daniel Sprong had an assist on the tying goal; he has more goals, assists and points than any NHL player who averages less than thirteen minutes per game…The Red Wings have 36 goals from their defense, more than any other Eastern Conference team…Brock Nelson recorded his fifth two-goal game of the season; he now had 35 multi-goal games, passing Ziggy Palffy for 9th in club history…Patrick Kane now has a point in ten straight games…Olli Maatta scored twice; it was his 3rd career two-goal game…There have been four goals scored in the first 10 seconds of a period in the NHL this season; two of those have been against the Islanders (Artemi Panarin in overtime at Met Life).

First Times in a Long Time 

• The Isles won on February 29th for the first time since 1984.

• The Red Wings have existed for 98 years; Patrick Kane's goal was the first they ever scored exactly ten seconds into a period.

• The Isles scored an empty-net goal for the first time in 65 games (Zach Parise 3/27/2023 vs. New Jersey).

Leap Day

The Isles earned their first Leap Day win in 40 years tonight as they improve to 2-3-1 all-time on this date:

• 29-Feb-84 @ Winnipeg     4 3 W

• 29-Feb-92 Vs New Jersey 1 3 L

• 29-Feb-96 @ Detroit          1 5 L

• 29-Feb-04 Vs Pittsburgh    2 3 Lot

• 29-Feb-20 Vs Boston        0 4 L

• 29-Feb-24 @ Detroit         5 3 W

Milestone Men 

• Ilya Sorokin recorded his 88th win, tying Jaroslav Halak for 6th place in club history.

• Cal Clutterbuck played his 695th game, passing Brent Sutter for 13th place in club history.

Woah Noah

Dobson is the first Islander defenseman with at least 61 points since 1984-85 when Denis Potvin had 68, and the first with at least 54 assists since 1983-84, when Denis Potvin also recorded 63.

Dobson is on pace for 75 assists; Denis Potvin holds the club record for assists by a defenseman (70 in 1978-79). Dobson is on pace for 85 points, which would trail only three seasons by Potvin.

Dobson has recorded the 14th 60-point season by an Islander defenseman (Denis Potvin 10, Stefan Persson 2, Jean Potvin 1) and he needs just three assists to record only the fifth 57 assist season by an Islander defensemen (Denis Potvin has the other 4).

The New Coach

The Isles are 6-5-3 under Patrick Roy and have allowed only two goals in four of their six wins. Ilya Sorokin is 6-2-2 under Roy while Semyon Varlamov is 0-3-1.

Inter-Division Games

Tonight was the fourth of eleven consecutive inter-division games; the Isles are 2-2-0 in that stretch. The next divisional opponent will be the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on St. Patrick's Day.

 

Overtime is Our Time

The Isles have played 22 overtime games. They are 7-10 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-4 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 6-7 in overtime and 1-3 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 1-3 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 31 overtime games.

The Isles have won 18 of the last 45 games decided by an overtime goal (since January 11, 2020).

Most Islander OT/SO Losses 

• 14 (2023-24; CURRENT)

• 13 (2010-11)

Most OT/SO Losses in a Season (Isles Goalie)

1. Ilya Sorokin 11 (2023-24; CURRENT)

2. Rick DiPietro 9 (2006-07)

3. Ilya Sorokin 8 (2022-23)

Evgeni Nabokov 8 (2013-14)

Most Career OT/SO Losses (Isles Goalie)

• Ilya Sorokin 29 (CURRENT)

• Rick DiPietro 28 

Empty Netters 

The Isles have scored 1 empty-net goal (11:19) and allowed 14 (10:04)

This was the latest that the Islanders have gone into a season without scoring an empty net goal. They had gone 64 consecutive games dating back to last season without an ENG. The club record of 76 games was set between December 2, 1997, and November 21, 1998. 

Killing Their Own PP

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

Power Play Up; Penalty Killing Down

The Isles have scored 37 power play goals; they scored 35 all last season.

The Isles have allowed 51 power play goals; they allowed 39 all last season. 

Under Patrick Roy, the Isles Power Play is 9-42 (21.4%) and the Penalty Kill is 14-41 (65.9%). The PK has the lowest percentage in the NHL over that span.

 

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 40 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 9 times

• Allowed the next goal: 28 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 3 times 

Heavy Hitters

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

1. Cal Clutterbuck 3,959

2. Matt Martin 3,820

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. 

The 25-Goal Club

Brock Nelson is the 8th player in club history to have at least six seasons of at least 25 goals:

• Bryan Trottier 12

• Mike Bossy 10

• John Tavares/ Clark Gillies 7

• Pat LaFontaine/ Brent Sutter/ Anders Lee/ Brock Nelson 6

Anders Lee needs ten more goals this season for his 7th season with at least 25 goals.

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2023-24  25-20-14 for 64 points in 59 games

• 2022-23  28-24-7 for 63 points in 59 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-2-2

• Season: 24-98-122

• 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 1,440

• Alexandar Georgiev 1,376 

• Juuse Saros 1,373

• Thatcher Demko 1,343 (*)

* late game Thursday

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.

Facing 40

Ilya Sorokin has faced at least forty shots ten times this season and 27 times in his career. 

Most Games, 40+ Shots in a Season vs Isles Goalie

1. Jaroslav Halak 11  2017-18

2. Gerry Desjardins 10 1972-73

Ilya Sorokin 10 2023-24

No other NHL goalie has faced 40+ shots more than six times this season.

Most games, 40+ Shots (Since 2021-22)

1. John Gibson 34

2. Ilya Sorokin 27

3. Darcy Kuemper 23

4. Sam Montembault 21

    Karel Vejmelka 21

Most Games, 40+ Shots (Islander History)

1. Billy Smith 46    (674 games)

2. Kelly Hrudey 27 (241 games)

    Ilya Sorokin 27 (179 games)

Sorokin has made at least 40 saves six times this season and a franchise-record 16 times in his career. 

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 sixth in wins and fourth in shutouts.

All-time Goalie Wins

50. Brian Elliott 279

51. Semyon Varlamov 278

52. Marty Turco 275

Home and Road

The Isles are 25-20-14 overall; they are 13-8-9 at home and 12-12-5 on the road.

Detroit is 33-21-6 overall; they are 18-9-5 at home and 15-12-1 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 17-9-8 against the East (8-4-5 vs. Metropolitan and 9-5-3 vs. Atlantic) and 8-11-6 against the West (4-6-2 vs. Central and 4-5-4 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 111 games at UBS Arena and recorded 77 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 1,430

3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack

Lou Lamoriello (1,430) and Patrick Roy (136) have combined for 1,566 wins as general manager and coach. That is the highest in the NHL among active combos by a wide margin.

First Things First

The Isles are 18-3-9 when scoring first and are 7-17-5 when allowing the opening goal. Under Patrick Roy, the Isles are 5-0-0 when they score first and are 1-5-3 when they do not.

The Shots

Isles      9-7-11=27

Detroit 6-9-11=26

The Isles are 8-7-5 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 16-12-9 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves; he is 19-13-11 on the season and 4-1-2 vs. Detroit.

Alex Lyon made 22 saves; he is 18-9-2 on the season and 0-1-0 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play (4:40); Detroit was 0-2 on the power play (4:00).

The Isles are 13-7-8 when they score at least one power play goal and 12-13-6 when they do not. The Isles are 10-14-9 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-6-5 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 23-4-10 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-16-4 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 16-3-14 in games decided by a single goal including 8-3 in regulation. They are 7-10 in games decided in overtime and are 1-4 in shootouts. The Isles are 1-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     

The Isles are 2-1-3 in the front end and 0-3-3 in the back end this season. The next back-to-back set will be on March 10th in Anaheim and March 11th in Los Angeles. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (24:11); Detroit: Moritz Seider (23:02)

Mathew Barzal led Islander forwards with 19:18 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-0-2), Noah Dobson (20-18-9), Alex Romanov (2-2-0), Adam Pelech (0-0-2), Matthew Barzal (0-0-1), Bo Horvat (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 30, Detroit 24 (56%)

Bo Horvat won 16 of 21 for the Isles; JT Compher won 7 of 12 for Detroit.

Hit Count

Isles 19 (Cal Clutterbuck -4)

Detroit 13 (Jeff Petry -3)

Fights 

None. Season total: 7 (Martin 3, Pelech 1, Lee 1, Mayfield 1, Horvat 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 20 (Ryan Pulock -5)

Detroit 13 (Olli Maatta-2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 53, Detroit 65

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 39, Detroit 53

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Mike Reilly +8

Detroit: Jeff Petry +10

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 9, Detroit 5

5-on-5: Isles 5, Detroit 4

Scratches

(Robert Bortuzzo -LTIR), Oliver Wahlstrom, (Scott Mayfield – INJ), (Hudson Fasching- LTIR)

Games Lost to injury: 145

The Ironmen

Anders Lee is the Islanders' ironman, having played 171 consecutive games. Brock Nelson (143) is the only other Islander to have played at least 100 consecutive games. Four other Islanders (Noah Dobson, Cal Clutterbuck, Kyle Palmieri, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau) have played every game this season.

Most Overtime Goals, Season (Islanders)

1. John Tavares 4 (2014-15)

2. Bo Horvat 3 (2023-24)

Brock Nelson 3 (2019-20)

John Tavares 3 (2010-11)

Most Overtime Assists, Career (Islanders)

1. Mathew Barzal 15

2. John Tavares 12

Most Overtime Points, Career (Islanders)

1. John Tavares 23

2. Mathew Barzal 20

Barzal has a point on 20 of the 37 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.

National TV Games 

The Isles are 4-0-3 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners. The next nationally televised game will be on March 5th (ESPN+) vs. the Blues.

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 0-2-1 in matinee games (all at home, including an OT loss at Met Life). The remaining matinee games are March 16th vs OTT, March 17th at NYR, March 23rd vs WPG, and April 13th at NYR.

The NHL considers games that start before 5:00 local time to be afternoon games.

Challenges

Isles: 2 successful, 3 failures – WSH goalie interference (11/2), OTT offside (11/24), LA no goalie interference (12/9), VGK no goalie interference (1/6), PIT no hand pass (2/20) 

Opponents: 3 successful, 2 failures – BUF no offsides (10/21), CAR no high-stick (11/30); ANA goalie interference (12/13), CGY offside (2/10), TB offside (2/24)

Quickies

The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute six times this season (four times at home – CBJ 12/7 x2, WSH 12/29, NYR 2/18-MetLife and twice on road-@OTT 11/24, @ARI 1/4) and allowed two in the same span eight times (COL 10/25 x2, MIN 11/8, @MTL 12/16, PIT 12/27, @NAS 1/13, @PIT 2/20, @STL 2/22 (3 in :32))

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins

The Isles have come from at least two goals behind in the third period to win one time this season and have allowed the opposition to do so five times.

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

Vs (5): 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); NYR 2/18 (trailed 3-5, won 6-5 in OT)

Last Minute Heroes:

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

For (4): Bo Horvat 10/20 vs NJ 18:49 (Isles lost in OT); Simon Holmstrom 12/13 vs ANA 18:27 (GWG); Kyle Palmieri 1/27 vs FLA 18:31 (Isles lost in OT); Pierre Engvall 2/5 @ TOR 17:58 (GWG)

Vs (7): 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 1/13 @ NAS 19:52 (GWG); Sean Monahan 1/25 @ MTL 17:48 (GWG); Mika Zibanejad vs NYR – Met Life 18:31 (NYR won in OT)

OT Winners

For (7):   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, Bo Horvat (vs DAL) 1/21, Adam Pelech (vs PIT) 2/20, Bo Horvat (vs DAL) 2/26

Vs (10):   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; Seth Jones (CHI) 1/19, Oliver Ekman-Larsson (FLA) 1/27; Artemi Panarin (NYR) 2/18

Shootout Winners

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

Vs (4):  Kailer Yamamoto (SEA) 11/16, Tyson Foerster (PHI) 11/25, David Pastrnak (BOS) 12/15, Tomas Tatar (SEA) 2/13

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

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

5. Clark Gillies 872 *** 6. Brock Nelson 817 *** 7. Bob Bourne 814 *** 8. Matt Martin 803 *** 9. Casey Cizikas 792 *** 10. Mike Bossy 752 *** 11. Anders Lee 737 *** Patrick Flatley 712 *** 13. Cal Clutterbuck 695…

32. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 34. Ed Westfall 493 *** 35. Radek Martinek 479 *** 36. Mathew Barzal 477 *** 37. Gerry Hart and Adam Pelech 476 *** 39. Mariusz Czerkawski 470 *** 40. Scott Mayfield 468 *** 41. Ryan Pulock 462

Goals    

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

7. John Tavares 272 *** 8. Brock Nelson 268 *** 9. Anders Lee 255 …

21. Jason Blake 127 *** 22. Mathew Barzal 123…

30. Benoit Hogue and Ed Westfall 105 *** 32. Casey Cizikas 104

Assists

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

10. Stefan Persson 317 *** 11. Bob Bourne 304 *** 12. Mathew Barzal 302…

16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson 249  *** 18. Brock Nelson 242…

21. Nick Leddy 198 *** 22. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 23. Anders Lee 184…

31. David Volek 154 *** 32. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 33. Noah Dobson and Travis Green 145 *** 35. Steve Thomas 140 *** 36. Mark Streit 139 *** 37. Greg Gilbert 136 *** 38. Ryan Pulock 135

Points

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

10. Bob Bourne 542 *** 11. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 12. Brock Nelson 510 *** 13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Billy Harris 443 *** 16. Anders Lee 439 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 425…

31. Nick Leddy 243 *** 32. Ray Ferraro 238 *** 33. Travis Green and Casey Cizikas 237

+/-

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

15. Bob Lorimer +105  ***  16. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 17. Garry Howatt +75 *** 18. Adam Pelech +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…

4. Stefan Persson 52 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 47 *** 6. Jean Potvin 46 *** 7. Nick Leddy 45 *** 8. Roman Hamrlik 43 *** 9. Mark Streit 40 *** 10. Noah Dobson 37

Defense Assists

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

7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Noah Dobson 145 *** 9. Mark Streit 139 *** 10. Ryan Pulock 135…

13. Roman Hamrlik 110 *** 14. Tom Kurvers and Gerry Hart 109 *** 16. Adam Pelech 107… 

20. Dave Langevin and Thomas Hickey 95 *** 22. Scott Mayfield 91

Defense Points

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

6. Jean Potvin 213 *** 7. Jeff Norton 188 *** 8. Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock 182 … 

13. Dave Lewis 141 *** 14. Tom Kurvers 134 *** 15. Adam Pelech 133…

19. Vladimir Malakhov 125 *** 20. Thomas Hickey 117 *** 21. Scott Mayfield 116

Goalie Games

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

5. Thomas Greiss 193 *** 6. Tommy Salo 187 *** 7. Ilya Sorokin 179 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177 *** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 153

Wins

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

5. Thomas Greiss 101 *** 6. Jaroslav Halak and Ilya Sorokin 88 *** 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 allowed four goals in the second period on Wednesday and lost to Lavel 4-0 to fall to 16-29-6-1 on the season. 

The Baby Isles head to Lehigh Valley to begin a three-game road trip on Saturday.

Season Series Stats

The season series is tied, 1 game to 1 (the isles have 3 points to Detroit's 2). The season series will be decided with a March 21st game in Detroit.

The Isles are 11-3-2 in their last sixteen games against the Red Wings.

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, MARCH 2nd  –BOSTON AT ISLANDERS – 7:30pm

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

After playing only ten games in February, the Isles begin a 14-game March as they welcome the Bruins to UBS Arena for the second time this season.

The Bruins defeated the Isles 5-2 on November 9th in Boston and then rallied for a 5-4 shootout win at UBS on December 15th.

The Isles are 6-1-1 in their last eight home games with Boston, but the Bruins have beaten the Isles six straight times, including twice in shootouts.

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