The Skinny: Isles 4, Columbus 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 76

Isles 4, Columbus 2     

Look who is back in a playoff spot! Noah Dobson scored 3:21 into the 3rd period to break a 2-2 tie and Kyle Palmieri cemented matters with an empty-net goal as the Islanders earned their third straight win by defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-2, before a crowd of 16,213 at Nationwide Arena. It is the first time since March 15th that the Isles will spend a night in a playoff spot.

Pierre Engvall and Bo Horvat had first period goals for the Isles, but Columbus answered each goal with a tally of their own just minutes later. Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves for his second straight win. The Isles are 15-12-4 under Patrick Roy and 34-27-15 overall as they moved one point ahead of Washington and Detroit for the 2nd Wild Card while tying the Flyers (for 3rd place in the Metro) in the standings. Philadelphia does own the regulation win tie-breaker.

The Isles will either be in a playoff spot or have a chance to move back into a playoff spot when they host Nashville on Saturday night.

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Pierre Engvall (9) Ryan Pulock (12), Kyle Palmieri (21) 07:53 NYI 1,CBJ 0 PPG

Dmitri Voronkov (18) Kirill Marchenko (18), Alexandre Texier (17) 09:45 NYI 1,CBJ 1 PPG

Bo Horvat (32) Mathew Barzal (54), Alexander Romanov (12) 13:48 NYI 2,CBJ 1

Kirill Marchenko (21) Zach Werenski (42), Cole Sillinger (17) 17:22 NYI 2,CBJ 2

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

Noah Dobson (9) Mathew Barzal (55), Alexander Romanov (13) 03:21 NYI 3,CBJ 2

Kyle Palmieri (25)EN 19:22 NYI 4,CBJ 2 

The Skinny     

The Isles are 14-10-3 since the All-Star Break … Since Christmas, the Isles are 8-7-4 at home and 10-12-2 on the road… The Isles' defense has 67 points under Patrick Roy (13-54-67) and have 57 points in the last 26 games (12-45-57)…The Isles have outscored their opponents 68-49 in the first period (second-fewest allowed in NHL), but have been outscored 101-76 in the second period (most allowed in NHL); the 52-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 96-81 in the third period and overtime this season, but that reflects a 20-3 difference in empty-net goals…The Isles have been outscored 63-37 in the second period since the Christmas break and have allowed at least two goals in 20 of the 43 games … Mathew Barzal is 23-55-78; he has set a career high in goals while his assist and point totals are the highest since his rookie season (22-63-85 in 2017-18)....The Isles are 5-7-1 in the thirteen games since their six-game winning streak… The Isles are 6-3-6 when tied after two periods...It is the first time since March 15th that the Isles are in a playoff spot….Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 10 of 14 draws; he has won 47 of 60 (78%) over the last five games and is now 11th in the NHL (minimum 1,000 face-offs) with a 55.5% success rate…The Isles' 4th line was on the ice together for 6:34.  During that time, they had 18 attempts to the Jackets' 1….Cal Clutterbuck matched a season-high with five shots on goal…The Isles had 41 shots for the first time since the outdoor game (February 18th vs. the Rangers at Met Life) and finished with 88 attempts, matching their 2nd-highest total of the season…The Isles had a season-high 5.84 expected goals and a season-high 24 high-danger chances (per Natural Stat Trick)…Johnny Gaudreau did not dress due to illness, leaving Ivan Provorov as the only Blue Jacket to play every game…Columbus allowed the first goal for the first time in their last eight games.

The Injuries

• Daniil Tarasov left the game late in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return.

• Anders Lee left the game midway through the second period but returned for the third period.

• Jake Bean left the game after blocking a shot in the third period and did not return

First Time in a Long Time 

The Isles have not allowed a second period goal in consecutive games for the first time since mid-November.

Playoff Chase

Metro Division

3rd  Philadelphia 83 points (28 RW) in 76 games  (FRI at Buffalo, SAT at Columbus, TUE at Montreal)

4th  Isles   83 points (25 RW) in 76 games  (SAT vs. Nashville, TUE vs. Rangers)

5th  Washington  82 points (28 RW) in 75 games  (FRI at Carolina, SUN vs. Ottawa, TUE at Detroit)

Wild Card

1st WC Tampa Bay   93 points (34 RW) in 76 games  (SAT at Pittsburgh, TUE vs. Columbus)

2nd WC Isles           83 points (25 RW) in 76 games  (SAT vs. Nashville, TUE vs. Rangers)

3rd      Washington  82 points (28 RW) in 75 games  (FRI at Carolina, SUN vs. Ottawa, TUE at Detroit)

4th      Detroit         82 points (26 RW) in 75 games  (FRI vs. Rangers, SUN vs. Buffalo, TUE vs. Washington)

5th      Pittsburgh    81 points (30 RW) in 75 games  (SAT vs. Tampa Bay, Monday at Toronto)

6th      Buffalo        77 points (30 RW) in 76 games  (FRI vs. Philadelphia, SUN at Detroit, TUE at Dallas)

7th      New Jersey  76 points (31 RW) in 76 games  (SAT at Ottawa, SUN vs. Nashville, TUE vs. Toronto)

Maximum Points & Regulation Wins (two teams qualify)

• Washington 96/35

• Detroit 96/33

• Pittsburgh 95/37

• Philadelphia 95/34

• Isles 95/31

• Buffalo 89/36

• New Jersey 88/37

Milestone Men     

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

• Bo Horvat's 32 goals is the 2nd-highest total of his career; he has tied his career high in assists (34)

• Anders Lee needs one goal to reach 20 goals for the 8th time in his career.

• Cal Clutterbuck played his 712th game as an Isle, tying Patrick Flatley for 12th in club history.

Woah Noah

Noah Dobson is the first Islander defenseman with at least 67 points since 1984-85 when Denis Potvin had 68, and the first with at least 58 assists since 1983-84, when Potvin recorded 63.

Dobson has recorded only the fifth season in club history with at least 58 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 58 (2023-24)

Dobson is tied-21st 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. Noah Dobson 58 in 2023-24

4. Pierre Turgeon 56 in 1993-94

5. Mathew Barzal 55 in 2023-24

Career Year?

Bo Horvat is 32-34-66 on the season. His 32 goals are the second-highest total of his career and trail only 2022-23 (38), while his 66 points are his 2nd- highest total behind last season's 70. Horvat has tied his career-high of 34 assists which he set in 2018-19.

Horvat has a three-game goal scoring streak for the third time this season.

Coach Roy

The Isles are 15-12-4 under Patrick Roy and have allowed only two goals or fewer in ten of their fourteen wins. Ilya Sorokin is 11-8-2 under Roy while Semyon Varlamov is 4-4-2.

Scoring Leaders Under Patrick Roy

1. Mathew Barzal 11-21-32

2. Brock Nelson 10-15-25

3. Bo Horvat 14-10-24 (4 GWG)

4. Noah Dobson 3-19-22

5. Kyle Palmieri 14-6-20

Since the Break

The Isles are 14-10-3 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 30.4-28.7 (+1.7) since the break.

Overtime is Our Time

The Isles have played 24 overtime games, one behind Boston for the NHL lead. They are 8-11 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 2-4 in overtime and 0-1 in shootouts. 

The Isles have won 19 of the last 47 games decided by an overtime goal (since January 11, 2020).

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 3 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 59 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 16-92 (17.4%) and the Penalty Kill is 22-72 (69.4%). 

 

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 50 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 14 times

• Allowed the next goal: 31 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 5 times 

Heavy Hitters

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

1. Cal Clutterbuck 4,016

2. Matt Martin 3,841

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  34-27-15 for 83 points in 76 games

• 2022-23  39-28-9 for 87 points in 76 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   1-3-4

• Season: 30-124-154

• 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 1,734

• Juuse Saros 1,725

• Jordan Binnington 1,671

• Connor Hellebuyck 1,670

• Alexandar Georgiev 1,620 

• Petr Mrazek 1,608 

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 (190 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 282 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

50. Tiny Thompson 284

51. Semyon Varlamov 282

52. Brian Elliott 279

Home and Road

The Isles are 34-27-15 overall; they are 17-10-10 at home and 17-17-5 on the road.

Columbus is 25-39-12 overall; they are 15-19-5 at home and 10-20-7 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 21-15-9 against the East (10-7-5 vs. Metropolitan and 11-8-4 vs. Atlantic) and 12-12-6 against the West (7-6-2 vs. Central and 6-6-4 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 118 games at UBS Arena and recorded 85 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 1,439

3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack

Lou Lamoriello (1,439) and Patrick Roy (145) have combined for 1,584 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 23-5-10 when scoring first and are 11-22-5 when allowing the opening goal. Under Patrick Roy, the Isles are 10-2-1 when they score first and are 5-10-3 when they do not.

The Shots

Isles   18-14-9=41

Columbus  9-6-12=27

The Isles are 14-10-6 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 19-16-9 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves; he is 24-19-11 on the season and 5-0-2 vs. Columbus.

Daniil Tarasov made 13 saves before leaving late in the first period; Jet Greaves made 24 saves in relief;  he is 1-3-0 on the season and 0-1-0 vs the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play (5:55); Columbus was 1-1 on the power play (1:25).

The Isles are 18-8-9 when they score at least one power play goal and 16-19-6 when they do not. The Isles are 12-18-10 when they allow at least one power play goal and 22-9-5 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 31-5-11 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-22-4 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 19-3-15 in games decided by a single goal including 10-3 in regulation. They are 8-11 in games decided in overtime and are 1-4 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

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: Ryan Pulock (23:45); Columbus: Zach Werenski (24:29)

Mathew Barzal led Islander forwards with 20:16 of ice-time. 

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

Face-offs

Isles 34, Columbus 22 (61%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 10 of 14 for the Isles; No Blue Jacket who took multiple draws won more than they lost.

Hit Count

Isles 10 (Two with 2)

Columbus 18 (James Malatesta -5)

Fights 

None. Season total: 12 (Martin 5, Lee 3, Pelech 1, Mayfield 1, Horvat 1, MacLean 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 16 (Anders Lee -3)

Columbus 22 (Erik Gudbranson -5)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 88, Columbus 51

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 70, Columbus 38

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Ryan Pulock +21

Columbus: No Blue Jacket was a +

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 24, Columbus 8

5-on-5: Isles 22, Columbus 5

Scratches

(Scott Mayfield – LTIR), Hudson Fasching, Sebastian Aho, Oliver Wahlstrom, Samuel Bolduc

Games Lost to injury: 172

The Ironmen

Anders Lee is the Islanders' ironman, having played 188 consecutive games. Brock Nelson (160), Kyle Palmieri (110), and Noah Dobson (106) are the only other Islanders to have played at least 100 consecutive games. Two other Islanders: Cal Clutterbuck (91) and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (90) 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 17

Barzal has a point on 20 of the 38 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 (8): 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/ y1

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 834 *** 7. Matt Martin 817 *** 8. Bob Bourne 814 *** 9. Casey Cizikas 809 *** 10. Anders Lee 754 *** 11. Mike Bossy 752 *** 12. Patrick Flatley and Cal Clutterbuck 712…

32. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 34. Mathew Barzal 495 *** 35. Adam Pelech 494  *** 36. Ed Westfall 493 *** 37. Radek Martinek and Ryan Pulock 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 272 *** 8. Brock Nelson 271 *** 9. Anders Lee 259 …

20. Kyle Okposo 139 ***21. Mathew Barzal 128…

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 …

9. Brent Sutter 323 *** 10. Stefan Persson 317 *** 11. Mathew Barzal 312…

16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Brock Nelson 252…

21. Nick Leddy 198 *** 22. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 23. Anders Lee 191…

31. David Volek 154 *** 32. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 33. Noah Dobson 148 *** 34. Travis Green 145 *** 35. Ryan Pulock 141

Points

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

10. Bob Bourne 542 *** 11. Brock Nelson 523 *** 12. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Anders Lee 450  *** 16. Billy Harris 443 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 440…

31. Nick Leddy 243 *** 32. Casey Cizikas 242

+/-

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 +74  *** 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 48 *** 6. Jean Potvin 46 *** 7. Nick Leddy 45 *** 8. Roman Hamrlik 43 *** 9. Mark Streit 40 *** 10. Noah Dobson 39

Defense Assists

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

7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Noah Dobson 149 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 141…

12. Dave Lewis 117 *** 13. Adam Pelech 112… 

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. Ryan Pulock 189 *** 8. Jeff Norton and Noah Dobson 188…

13. Dave Lewis 141 *** 14. Adam Pelech 138 *** 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 159

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 69

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 beat Hartford 4-1 on Wednesday, improving their record to 24-35-6-1 on the season. Alex Jefferies scored for the second straight game; Brian Pinho had a pair of assists.

Ruslan Iskhakov continues to lead the team in goals (17), assists (29) and points (46).

Bridgeport hosts Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday at 5:00.

 

Season Series Stats

The Isles sweep the season series 3 games to 0 (and 6 points to 0). 

The Isles are 9-0-1 in their last ten games with Columbus, dating back to 2022. They have earned points in their last six games in Columbus, going 4-0-2. 

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, APRIL 6th –NASHVILLE AT ISLANDERS– 7:30pm

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

The Isles return home to begin a key three-game homestand as they welcome Barry Trotz' Nashville Predators to UBS Arena. 

The Preds rallied for a 3-1 victory on January 13th in Music City, scoring the winning goal with just eight seconds remaining. The Isles are 0-8-2 in ten games against the Preds since earning a 6-2 win at Bridgestone Arena on October 28, 2017, and they have scored two goals or fewer in five of those games. 

The Isles' last home win vs. the Preds was on October 15, 2015, at Barclays Center (their second win in Brooklyn). Since then, the Isles are 0-5-1 at home vs. Nashville, including 0-2-0 at UBS Arena.

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