The Skinny: Isles 3, Montreal 2 (OT)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 79 

Isles 3, Montreal 2  (OT)   

Kyle Palmieri scored 1:17 into overtime for the winning goal as the  Islanders erased 1-0 and 2-1 deficits and earned their sixth straight win, by defeating the Montreal Canadiens 3-2, before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena. 

Cole Caufield and Casey Cizikas traded third period goals to force overtime. Palmieri's tally was his sixth career overtime goal.

The win keeps the Isles in third place in the Metro Division, three points ahead of Pittsburgh and four points ahead of Washington. The Isles are 18-12-4 under Patrick Roy and 37-27-15 overall. 

The Isles head to Madison Square Garden to battle the Rangers on Saturday.

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Jordan Harris (3) Cole Caufield (37), Nick Suzuki (43) 17:58 MTL 1,NYI 0

2nd Period

Pierre Engvall (10) Adam Pelech (14), Mike Reilly (16) 05:17 MTL 1,NYI 1

3rd Period

Cole Caufield (25) Johnathan Kovacevic (6), Mike Matheson (50) 03:42 MTL 2,NYI 1

Casey Cizikas (9) Adam Pelech (15), Ryan Pulock (13) 06:30 MTL 2,NYI 2

OT

Kyle Palmieri (28) Brock Nelson (33) 01:17 MTL 2,NYI 3

The Skinny     

The Isles are 17-10-3 since the All-Star Break … Since Christmas, the Isles are 11-7-4 at home and 10-12-2 on the road… The Isles' defense has 77 points under Patrick Roy (15-62-77) and have 67 points in the last 30 games (14-53-67)…The Isles have outscored their opponents 71-50 in the first period (tied-fewest allowed in NHL), but have been outscored 103-78 in the second period (most allowed in NHL); the 53-goal difference would be the second-highest between any two periods in club history (56 in 1984-85, 41 in 1995-96)…The Isles have been outscored 97-85 in the third period and overtime this season, but that reflects a 20-5 difference in empty-net goals…The Isles have been outscored 65-38 in the second period since the Christmas break and have allowed at least two goals in 21 of the 46 games …The Isles have won six straight, eight of their last ten (8-2-0) and are 8-7-1 in the sixteen games since their six-game winning streak; they are a season-high ten games over NHL-.500… The Isles are 28-1-7 when leading after two periods... Mathew Barzal's assist streak ended at five games…The Isles are 6-0-0 in April; they won eight games in December, which is the only month that they earned more wins.…Kyle Palmieri has scored in four straight games to match his career high; his 13 goals in the last 20 games are his highest total in a 20-game span since 2018…Pierre Engvall has 56 career goals; they have been scored in 56 different games.  

The Injury

• Noah Dobson left the game in the first period with an upper body injury; he did not return.

Playoff Chase

3rd Metro Isles         89 points (27 RW) in 79 games  (SAT at Rangers, MON at New Jersey, WED vs. Pittsburgh)

2nd WC Pittsburgh     86 points (31 RW) in 79 games  (SAT vs. Boston, MON vs. Nashville, WED at Isles)

3rd WC  Washington  85 points (29 RW) in 79 games  (SAT vs. Tampa Bay, MON vs. Boston, TUE at Philadelphia)

4th  WC Detroit         85 points (27 RW) in 79 games  (SAT at Toronto, MON vs. Montreal, TUE at Montreal)

5th  WC Philadelphia  85 points (29 RW) in 80 games  (SAT vs. New Jersey, TUE vs. Washington)

Maximum Points & Regulation Wins (two teams qualify)

• Isles 95/30

• Pittsburgh 92/34

• Washington 91/32

• Detroit 91/30

• Philadelphia 89/31

Magic Number Time

The Isles are guaranteed to finish ahead of Columbus, Montreal, Ottawa, New Jersey, and Buffalo. They need to finish ahead of (at least) three of these teams to make the playoffs (Magic number in parenthesis): Philadelphia (1), Detroit (3), Washington (3) Pittsburgh (4). Thus, their magic number is four to clinch 3rd place in the Metro and is three to clinch a wild card. 

Friday's Games

None

Saturday's Games

Isles at Rangers 12:30

New Jersey at Philadelphia 5:00

Tampa Bay at Washington 5:30

Detroit at Toronto 7:00

Boston at Pittsburgh 8:00

The Isles will be third in the Metro after Saturday's games regardless of any results.

However, the Isles can CLINCH 3rd in the Metro Saturday IF:

• Isles win; AND

• Pittsburgh loses in regulation; AND

• Washington loses in any fashion

Isles can CLINCH a Playoff Spot on Saturday IF: 

• Isles win; and at least two of these three things happen:

o Pittsburgh loses in regulation, OR 

o Washington loses in any fashion, OR

o Detroit loses in any fashion

OR

• Isles lose in OT/SO; AND

• Washington and Detroit both lose in regulation.

First Times in a Ridiculously Long Time

• The Isles are 124 games over all-time NHL-.500 for the first time since a loss to Detroit on February 27, 1996, dropped them to 865-741-266.

• The Isles have won six straight games for the second time this season. It is the first time since 1983-84 that they have had multiple six-game winning streaks in the same season.

Milestone Men     

• Semyon Varlamov recorded his 285th win, moving him into the top 50 in wins all-time.

• Brock Nelson has 271 goals, one behind John Tavares for 7th in club history.

Woah Noah

Noah Dobson is the first Islander defenseman with at least 70 points since 1983-84 when Denis Potvin had 85, and the first with at least 60 assists since 1983-84, when Potvin recorded 63.

Dobson has recorded only the fifth season in club history with at least 60 assists by a defenseman:  

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. Noah Dobson 60 (2023-24)

Dobson has recorded the 19th 60-assist 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. Noah Dobson 60 in 2023-24

4. Mathew Barzal 57 in 2023-24

Streaking Barzal

Mathew Barzal's assist streak ended at five games. It is the first time this season Barzal has had an assist in five straight games (and is one game shy of his career high, set in 2021). Barzal has 41 points at home and 39 points on the road; he needs one more road point for his second career "40/40" season.

Most Points (Islanders in the 2000s)

1. John Tavares   86 (2014-15)

2. Mathew Barzal 85 (2017-18)

3. John Tavares   84 (2017-18)

4. John Tavares   81 (2011-12)

5. Mathew Barzal 80 (2023-24) CURRENT

Career Year?

Bo Horvat is 33-35-68 on the season. His 33 goals are the second-highest total of his career and trail only 2022-23 (38), while his 68 points are his 2nd- highest total behind last season's 70. Horvat has set a career-high with his 35 assists.

Career Year?

Kyle Palmieri now has 28 goals, marking his second-highest total. His career high of 30 was set in 2015-16. Palmieri needs one point to hit the 50-point mark for the 4th time in his career.

Most Career Goals Before First Multi-Goal Game

• Sandy McCarthy 66

• Jim Dowd 63

• Henrik Sedin 62

• Craig Berube 57

• Pierre Engvall 56

Coach Roy

The Isles are 18-12-4 under Patrick Roy and have allowed only two goals or fewer in 14 of their 18 wins. Ilya Sorokin is 11-8-2 under Roy while Semyon Varlamov is 7-4-2.

Scoring Leaders Under Patrick Roy

1. Mathew Barzal 11-13-34

2. Brock Nelson 10-17-27

3. Bo Horvat 15-11-26 (4 GWG)

4. Noah Dobson 4-21-25

5. Kyle Palmieri 17-7-24 (5 GWG)

Since the Break

The Isles are 17-10-3 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 30.5-28.9 (+1.6) since the break.

Overtime is Our Time

The Isles have played 25 overtime games, one behind Boston for the NHL lead. They are 9-11 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 3-4 in overtime and 0-1 in shootouts. 

The Isles share the NHL lead with Detroit with their nine overtime goals.

Most Islander OT/SO Losses 

• 15 (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 5 empty-net goals and allowed 20.

Most Empty-Net Goals Allowed (Isles):

1. 20  2023-24 (CURRENT)

2. 18  2021-22

3. 17  2022-23

4. 14  2011-12

Killing Their Own PP

The Isles have taken a penalty to interrupt their power play 21 times this season.

Power Play Up; Penalty Killing Down

The Isles have scored 44 power play goals; they scored 35 all last season.

The Isles have allowed 61 power play goals (most since they allowed 63 in 2017-18); they allowed 39 all last season. 

Under Patrick Roy, the Isles Power Play is 16-99 (16.2%) and the Penalty Kill is 22-75 (69.2%). 

 

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 54 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 15 times

• Allowed the next goal: 32 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 7 times 

Heavy Hitters

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

1. Cal Clutterbuck 4,021

2. Matt Martin 3,847

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

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2023-24  37-27-15 for 89 points in 79 games

• 2022-23  40-30-9 for 89 points in 79 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-4-4

• Season: 32-132-164

• 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:

• Juuse Saros 1,772

• Connor Hellebuyck 1,745

• Ilya Sorokin 1,734

• Alexandar Georgiev 1,725 

• Jordan Binnington 1,709

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

Varly, Varly

Semyon Varlamov has 41 career shutouts and 284 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

48. Jose Theodore 286

      Dan Bouchard 286

50. Semyon Varlamov 285

51. Tiny Thompson 284

Joining the Leaderboard

Semyon Varlamov is in 6th place among qualified goalies in save percentage:

1. Anthony Stolarz FLA   .926 

2. Connor Hellebuyck WPG.920 

3. Joey Daccord SEA       .918 

4. Linus Ullmark BOS      .917

5. Thatcher Demko VAN .917

6. Semyon Varlamov NYI .916  

Home and Road

The Isles are 37-27-15 overall; they are 20-10-10 at home and 17-17-5 on the road.

The Canadiens are 30-36-13 overall; they are 16-20-4 at home and 14-16-9 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 23-15-9 against the East (11-7-5 vs. Metropolitan and 12-8-4 vs. Atlantic) and 14-12-6 against the West (8-6-2 vs. Central and 6-6-4 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 121 games at UBS Arena and recorded 88 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 1,442

3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack

Lou Lamoriello (1,442) and Patrick Roy (148) have combined for 1,590 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 25-5-10 when scoring first and are 12-22-5 when allowing the opening goal. Under Patrick Roy, the Isles are 12-2-1 when they score first and are 6-10-3 when they do not.

The Shots

Isles        8-14-8-1=31

Canadiens  5-5-4-0=14

The Isles are 15-10-6 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 21-16-9 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 12 saves; he is 13-8-4 on the season and 7-3-2 vs. the Canadiens.

Sam Montembault made 28 saves; he is 16-15-8 on the season and 3-2-3 vs the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-4 on the power play (0:00); the Canadiens did not have a power play (0:00).

The Isles are 18-8-9 when they score at least one power play goal and 19-19-6 when they do not. The Isles are 13-18-10 when they allow at least one power play goal and 24-9-5 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 33-5-11 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 4-22-4 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 20-3-15 in games decided by a single goal including 10-3 in regulation. They are 9-11 in games decided in overtime and are 1-4 in shootouts. The Isles are 5-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Most One-Goal Wins

• 26 2014-15 

• 23 2007-08 

• 21 2015-16 

• 21 2005-06 

• 20 2023-24 CURRENT

Back-to-Backs     

The Isles went 5-1-4 in the front end and 1-6-3 in the back end this season. 

Fewest Wins on Back-end

0 1972-73 (0-22-3)

1 2023-24 (1-6-3)

2 2012-13 (1-5-1; 48-game schedule)

3 1994-95 (2-3-3; 48-game schedule)

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Mathew Barzal (25:47); Canadiens: Mike Matheson (25:46)

Mathew Barzal led Islander forwards with 25:47 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (11-2-2), Noah Dobson (22-22-9), Alex Romanov (2-2-0), Adam Pelech (0-0-2), Matthew Barzal (1-1-1), Bo Horvat (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 26, Canadiens 22 (54%)

Kyle MacLean won 4 of 5 for the Isles; Jake Evans won 9 of 15 for the Canadiens.

Hit Count

Isles 22 (Four with 3)

Canadiens 21 (Josh Anderson -4)

Fights 

Jean-Gabriel Pageau fought Brendan Gallagher in the second period. Season total: 13 (Martin 5, Lee 3, Pelech 1, Mayfield 1, Horvat 1, MacLean 1, Pageau 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 10 (Ryan Pulock -2)

Canadiens 21 (Two with 4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 75, Canadiens 31

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 63, Canadiens 30

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Adam Pelech +31

Canadiens: None were +

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 24, Canadiens 4

5-on-5: Isles 21, Canadiens 4

Scratches

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

Games Lost to injury: 175

The Ironmen

Anders Lee is the Islanders' ironman, having played 191 consecutive games. Brock Nelson (163), Kyle Palmieri (113), and Noah Dobson (109) are the only other Islanders to have played at least 100 consecutive games. Two other Islanders: Cal Clutterbuck (94) and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (93) 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

3. Brock Nelson 18

Barzal has a point on 20 of the 39 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.

National TV Games 

The Isles are 5-2-3 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners. The final nationally televised game will be on April 13 (ABC) at the Rangers.

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 1-4-1 in matinee games (1-3-1 at home, including an OT loss at Met Life). The final matinee game is April 13th at NYR.

The NHL considers games that start before 5:00 local time to be afternoon games. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Isles are 13-13-9 in matinees.

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: 4 successful, 3 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), FLA goalie interference (3/28); FLA no goalie interference (3/28)

Quickies

The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute eight times this season (four times at home – CBJ 12/7 x2, WSH 12/29, NYR 2/18-MetLife and four times on road-@OTT 11/24, @ARI 1/4, @SJ 3/7, @PHL 4/1) and allowed two in the same span nine 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), @ TB 3/30)

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 (5): 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); Bo Horvat 3/16 vs OTT 19:22 (Isles lost in OT).

Vs (8): 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); Morgan Frost 4/1 @ PHI 19:50 (Isles won in OT)

OT Winners

For (9): 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, Brock Nelson (@ PHI) 4/1; Kyle Palmieri (vs MTL) 4/11

Vs (11): 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; Brady Tkachuk 3/16

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 837 *** 7. Matt Martin 820 *** 8. Bob Bourne 814 *** 9. Casey Cizikas 812 *** 10. Anders Lee 757 *** 11. Mike Bossy 752 *** 12. Cal Clutterbuck 715…

32. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 34. Mathew Barzal 498 *** 35. Adam Pelech 497  *** 36. Ed Westfall 493 *** 37. Ryan Pulock 482 *** 38. Radek Martinek 479 *** 39. Gerry Hart 476 *** 40. Mariusz Czerkawski 472 *** 41. 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 and Brock Nelson 272 *** 9. Anders Lee 260 …

20. Kyle Okposo 139 ***21. Mathew Barzal 129…

29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 106

Assists

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

9. Brent Sutter 323 *** 10. Stefan Persson 317 *** 11. Mathew Barzal 314…

16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Brock Nelson 254…

21. Nick Leddy 198 *** 22. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 23. Anders Lee 192…

31. David Volek 154 *** 32. Mariusz Czerkawski and Noah Dobson 150 *** 34. Travis Green 145 *** 35. Ryan Pulock 142

Points

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

10. Bob Bourne 542 *** 11. Brock Nelson 525 *** 12. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Anders Lee 451 *** 16. Billy Harris 443 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 442…

31. Nick Leddy and Casey Cizikas 243

+/-

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

15. Bob Lorimer +105  *** 16. Adam Pelech +76  *** 16. Tomas Jonsson +76 ***  18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67  

Defense Goals

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

4. Stefan Persson 52 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 48 *** 6. Jean Potvin 46 *** 7. Nick Leddy 45 *** 8. Roman Hamrlik 43 *** 9. Mark Streit and Noah Dobson 40

Defense Assists

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

7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Noah Dobson 151 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 142…

12. Dave Lewis 117 *** 13. Adam Pelech 114… 

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. Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock 191…

13. Dave Lewis 141 *** 14. Adam Pelech 140 *** 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. Ilya Sorokin 190 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177 *** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 162

Wins

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

5. Thomas Greiss 101 *** 6. Ilya Sorokin 94 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 72

Shutouts

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

4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm   

Bridgeport is 24-36-6-2 as they head to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday and Lehigh Valley on Sunday in their final road trip of the season. 

Ruslan Iskhakov had an assist and continues to lead the team in goals (17), assists (31) and points (48).

Season Series Stats

The Canadiens win the season series 2 games to 1 (and 5 points to 2). The Isles did not lead at any point during the three games but avoided being swept in a season series by Montreal for the first time since 2015-16.

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, APRIL 13th –ISLANDERS AT RANGERS– 12:30pm

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

The Isles face the Rangers for the second time this week as they begin the final road trip of the regular season with a trip to Madison Square Garden. The Isles earned a 4-2 win at UBS Arena on Tuesday and will be looking for a split of the four-game season series. 

The Isles have lost two straight at MSG after winning the previous five meetings there. They will be looking to avoid their first three-game regulation losing streak at the Garden since 2010-11. 

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