The Skinny: Buffalo 4, Isles 0

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 65

Buffalo 4, Isles 0

The Isles have allowed the most 2nd period goals in the NHL. Buffalo scored three of them, in just a 5:13 span, and defeated the Isles 4-0 before a crowd of 15,637 at KeyBank Center.

The Isles went 2-2-0 on this road trip. However, after scoring thirteen goals in San Jose and Anaheim, the Isles ran into David Rittich in Los Angeles and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen tonight. Luukkonen made 21 saves for his 5th shutout of the season as the Isles scoreless streak hit 121:48.

Victor Olofsson, Dylan Cozens, and Zach Benson all scored in the second period for the Sabres, who move within three points of a playoff spot.

The Isles are 10-7-3 under Patrick Roy and 29-22-14 overall as they remain in the second wild card spot (same points as Detroit in one fewer game); they remain four points behind Philadelphia for third place in the Metro Division and drop four points behind Tampa Bay for the top Wild Card spot. 

The Isles head back to New York for a pair of matinees, as they host Ottawa on Saturday before visiting Madison Square Garden to face the Rangers on Sunday.

The Scoring:  

1st Period

None

2nd Period

Victor Olofsson (6) JJ Peterka (19), Owen Power (20) 04:28 NYI 0,BUF 1 PPG

Dylan Cozens (15) Connor Clifton (12), Jeff Skinner (21) 08:15 NYI 0,BUF 2

Zach Benson (8) Henri Jokiharju (12), Owen Power (21) 09:41 NYI 0,BUF 3

3rd Period

Zach Benson (9)EN Rasmus Dahlin (34), Bowen Byram (14) 15:06 NYI 0,BUF 4

The Skinny     

The Isles are 9-5-2 since the All-Star Break … Since Christmas, the Isles are 6-4-3 at home and 7-9-2 on the road… The Isles' defense has 50 points under Patrick Roy (10-40-50) and have 40 points in the last 16 games (9-31-40)…The Isles have outscored their opponents 56-38 in the first period (fewest allowed in NHL), but have been outscored 89-67 in the second period (have allowed the most 2nd period goals in NHL) and 82-72 in the third period and overtime this season…The Isles have been outscored 51-28 in the second period since the Christmas break and have allowed at least two goals in 17 of the 33 games; the goal allowed are the most in the NHL over that span …The Isles are 8-19-5 when they allow the opening goal …Mathew Barzal is 20-48-68; they are his highest totals in each category since his rookie season (22-63-85 in 2017-18)... Barzal now has 32 primary assists while Noah Dobson had 32 primary assists… Ilya Sorokin falls to 8-3-2 in his last thirteen decisions… Sorokin has allowed just 15 goals in his last seven games (5-2-0)… The Isles were shut-out for the 6th time this season and the second straight game… Zach Benson recorded his first career 2-goal game as he became the third Sabre with a multi-goal game before he turned 19 (Pierre Turgeon  x2, Phil Housley)…. Buffalo outscored the Isles 7-1 at home this season.

First Time in a Long Time

• The Isles were shut-out in consecutive games for the first time since February 13-15, 2020, when Nashville (Juuse Soros) and Vegas (Marc-Andre Fleury) blanked them in consecutive road games.

• Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is the first Sabre since Ryan Miller (6 in 2011-12) to record at least five shutouts in a season.

First Periods

The first period was scoreless. The Isles have scored 11 consecutive first period goals (over eight games), matching their longest streak of first period goals scored since they scored 13 straight in 2019. There are only five longer streaks of consecutive first period goals for in club history:

• 17  12/26/1978 - 1/14/1979

• 15  2/15/1994 - 3/1/1994

• 15 10/21/1977 - 11/5/1977

• 13 1/10/2019 - 2/2/2019

• 13 3/8/1980 - 3/22/1980

March to the Playoffs

Metro Division

3rd  Philadelphia 76 points in 67 games  (Saturday at Boston)

4th  Isles 72 points in 65 games  (Saturday vs Ottawa)

5th Washington   69 points in 63 games  (Late: Thursday at Seattle, Saturday at Vancouver)

Wild Card

1st WC Tampa Bay  76 points in 66 games  (Saturday at Florida)

2nd WC  Isles           72 points in 65 games  (Saturday vs. Ottawa)

3rd Detroit        72 points in 66 games  (Saturday vs. Buffalo)

4th Washington 69 points in 64 games (Late: Thursday at Seattle, Saturday at Vancouver)

5th Buffalo        69 points in 67 games (Saturday at Detroit)

Milestone Men  

• Brock Nelson has 270 goals, two behind John Tavares for 7th in club history.

• Anders Lee has 443 points, tied with Billy Harris for 15th place in club history.

• Brock Nelson is one goal away from his third consecutive 30-goal season, a feat last accomplished for the Islanders by Matt Moulson.

Mr. Consistency

Mathew Barzal has had five point streaks of at least five games this season, including an 8-game and a 7-game streak.

Woah Noah

Dobson is the first Islander defenseman with at least 64 points since 1984-85 when Denis Potvin had 68, and the first with at least 56 assists since 1983-84, when Potvin recorded 63.

Dobson is on pace for 71 assists; Denis Potvin holds the club record for assists by a defenseman (70 in 1978-79). Dobson is on pace for 81 points, which would trail only four seasons by Potvin.

Dobson is tied for 5th in club history with his 56-assist season:

1. Denis Potvin 70 (1978-79)

2. Denis Potvin 67 (1975-76)

3. Denis Potvin 64 (1977-78)

4. Denis Potvin 63 (1983-84)

5. Denis Potvin 56 (1980-81)

    Stefan Persson 56 (1978-79)

    Noah Dobson 56 (2023-24)

Dobson has a point in eleven straight home games, which is the third-longest defense streak in club history (Denis Potvin - 15 in 1974-75 and Tom Kurvers -14 in 1991-92). Only one active defenseman has had a longer streak (Brent Burns -12 in 2017-18)

Dobson is now tied-25th overall for assists in a season by an Islander.

Most assists (Islanders, last 35 years)

1. Pierre Turgeon 74 in 1992-93

2. Mathew Barzal 63 in  2017-18

3. Pierre Turgeon 56 in 1993-94 (traded after 69 games)

Noah Dobson 56 in 2023-24

Coach Roy

The Isles are 10-7-3 under Patrick Roy and have allowed only two goals or fewer in eight of their ten wins. Ilya Sorokin is 9-4-2 under Roy while Semyon Varlamov is 1-3-1.

Scoring Leaders Under Patrick Roy

1. Mathew Barzal 8-14-22

2. Brock Nelson 9-11-20

3. Noah Dobson 2-17-19

4. Bo Horvat 8-8-16 (4 GWG)

5. Kyle Palmieri 9-5-14

Since the Break

The Isles are 9-5-2 since the all-star break. While they were outshot 34.9-30.0 per game (-4.9) prior to the break, the Isles have out-shot their opponents 29.7-27.8 (+1.9) since the break.

Inter-Division Games

Tonight was the tenth of eleven consecutive inter-division games; the Isles are 6-4-0 in that stretch. The Isles will finish this stretch at home on Saturday against Ottawa before facing 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 28 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 2 empty-net goals and allowed 16.

Killing Their Own PP

The Isles have taken a penalty to interrupt their power play 20 times this season.

Power Play Up; Penalty Killing Down

The Isles have scored 40 power play goals; they scored 35 all last season.

The Isles have allowed 53 power play goals; they allowed 39 all last season. 

Under Patrick Roy, the Isles Power Play is 12-61 (19.7%) and the Penalty Kill is 16-54 (70.4%). 

 

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 47 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 13 times

• Allowed the next goal: 30 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 4 times 

Heavy Hitters

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

1. Cal Clutterbuck 3,979

2. Matt Martin 3,824

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 eight more goals this season for his 7th season with at least 25 goals.

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2023-24  29-22-14 for 72 points in 65 games

• 2022-23  32-25-8 for 72 points in 65 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-0-0

• Season: 27-110-137 

• Season Pace 34-139-173

• 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 1,572

• Juuse Saros 1,519

• Alexandar Georgiev 1,490 

• Jordan Binnington 1,449

• Thatcher Demko 1,427

• Connor Hellebuyck 1,426

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 (183 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 279 career wins. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is seventh in wins and fourth in shutouts.

All-time Goalie Wins

51. Brian Elliott 279

51. Semyon Varlamov 279

53. Marty Turco 275

Home and Road

The Isles are 29-22-14 overall; they are 15-8-9 at home and 14-14-5 on the road.

Buffalo is 32-30-5 overall; they are 17-17-1 at home and 15-13-4 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 18-10-8 against the East (8-4-5 vs. Metropolitan and 10-6-3 vs. Atlantic) and 11-12-6 against the West (5-6-2 vs. Central and 6-6-4 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 113 games at UBS Arena and recorded 78 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 1,434

3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack

Lou Lamoriello (1,434) and Patrick Roy (140) have combined for 1,574 career 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 21-3-9 when scoring first and are 8-19-5 when allowing the opening goal. Under Patrick Roy, the Isles are 8-0-0 when they score first and are 2-7-3 when they do not.

The Shots

Isles     5-6-10=21

Buffalo 13-16-8=37

The Isles are 11-8-5 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 17-13-9 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 33 saves; he is 22-15-11 on the season and 5-3-2 vs. Buffalo.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 21 saves; he is 22-16-3 on the season and 2-1-0 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-4 on the power play (7:39); Buffalo was 1-4 on the power play (5:58).

The Isles are 16-7-8 when they score at least one power play goal and 13-15-6 when they do not. The Isles are 11-15-9 when they allow at least one power play goal and 18-7-5 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 27-4-10 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-18-4 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 2-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     

The Isles are 3-1-3 in the front end and 0-4-3 in the back end this season. The next back-to-back set will be on Saturday vs. Ottawa and Sunday at the Rangers. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (26:00); Buffalo: Bowen Byram (23:24)

Brock Nelson led Islander forwards with 22:01 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (4-1-2), Noah Dobson (22-19-9), Alex Romanov (2-2-0), Adam Pelech (0-0-2), Matthew Barzal (0-0-1), Bo Horvat (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 20, Buffalo 24 (45%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 8 of 14 for the Isles; Peyton Krebs won 7 of 8 for Buffalo.

Hit Count

Isles 50 (Kyle Palmieri -4)

Buffalo 21 (Jordan Greenway-5)

Fights 

Anders Lee fought Connor Clifton in the third period. Season total: 8 (Martin 3, Lee 2, Pelech 1, Mayfield 1, Horvat 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 9 (Nine with 1)

Buffalo 8 (Zemgus Girgensons -2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 42, Buffalo 56

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 30, Buffalo 43

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Two with +1

Buffalo: Jordan Greenway +11

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 4, Buffalo 8

5-on-5: Isles 2, Buffalo 7

Scratches

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

Games Lost to injury: 159

The Ironmen

Anders Lee is the Islanders' ironman, having played 177 consecutive games. Brock Nelson (149) 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 5-0-3 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners. The next nationally televised game will be on March 17th (TNT) vs. the Rangers.

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, 4 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) , BUF no goalie interference (3/14)

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 seven times this season (four times at home – CBJ 12/7 x2, WSH 12/29, NYR 2/18-MetLife and three time on road-@OTT 11/24, @ARI 1/4, @SJ 3/7)  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 823 *** 7. Bob Bourne 814 *** 8. Matt Martin 808 *** 9. Casey Cizikas 798 *** 10. Mike Bossy 752 *** 11. Anders Lee 743 *** Patrick Flatley 712 *** 13. Cal Clutterbuck 701…

32. Rich Pion and Mick Vukota 509 *** 34. Ed Westfall 493 *** 35. Mathew Barzal 484 *** 36. Adam Pelech 483 *** 37. Radek Martinek 479 **** 38. Gerry Hart 476 *** 39. Mariusz Czerkawski 470 *** 40. Ryan Pulock  and Scott Mayfield 469 

Goals    

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

5. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 *** 7. John Tavares 272 *** 8. Brock Nelson 270 *** 9. Anders Lee 257 …

20. Kyle Okposo 139 ***21. Jason Blake 127 *** 22. Mathew Barzal 125…

29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Benoit Hogue, Ed Westfall, and Casey Cizikas 105

Assists

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

10. Stefan Persson 317 *** 11. Mathew Barzal 305…

16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson 249  *** 18. Brock Nelson 248…

21. Nick Leddy 198 *** 22. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 23. Anders Lee 187…

31. David Volek 154 *** 32. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 33. Noah Dobson 147 *** 34. Travis Green 145 *** 35. Steve Thomas 140 *** 36. Mark Streit 139 *** 37. Ryan Pulock 137

Points

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

10. Bob Bourne 542 *** 11. Brock Nelson 518 *** 12. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Anders Lee 444  *** 16. Billy Harris 443 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 430…

31. Nick Leddy 243 *** 32. Ray Ferraro and Casey Cizikas 238

+/-

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

15. Bob Lorimer +105  *** 16. Adam Pelech +76 ***  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…

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 38

Defense Assists

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

7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Noah Dobson 147 *** 9. Mark Streit 139 *** 10. Ryan Pulock 137…

13. Roman Hamrlik 110 *** 14. Adam Pelech 110… 

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 185 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 184

13. Dave Lewis 141 *** 14. Adam Pelech 136 *** 15. Tom Kurvers 134 …

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 184 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177 *** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 154

Wins

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

5. Thomas Greiss 101 *** 6. Ilya Sorokin 92 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Glenn Healy and Semyon Varlamov 66

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 20-31-6-1 on the season as they drooped a 5-1 decision to Laval (Quebec) on Wednesday. After an off-day Thursday, they will also play in Laval on Friday. The weekend concludes with a game on Saturday in Belleville (Ontario).

Season Series Stats

Buffalo wins the season series 2 games to 1 (and 4 points to 2). 

The home team won all three games this season, with the Isles scoring only one goal in two trips to Buffalo. 

This has been a 'homer' series in recent years, with the home team winning 14 of the last 15 meetings; the Isles are 7-1-0 at home but are 0-5-2 in their last seven trips to Western New York. It is the first time ever that the Sabres have won seven straight home games against the Isles.

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, MARCH 16th  – OTTAWA AT ISLANDERS– 12:30pm

[MSGSN(pre-game at 12:00), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].

The Isles return home as they play the front-end of a back-to-back weekend by hosting the Ottawa Senators.

The Isles will be looking to sweep the season series from the Sens, having won 3-2 in October at UBS Arena (45 saves for Sorokin) and 5-3 in Ottawa on Black Friday (Isles played most of the game with four defensemen).

The Isles are 12-2-1 in their last fifteen games with Ottawa, including 6-0-1 at home.

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