The Skinny: Columbus 2, Isles 0

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 10

Columbus 2, Isles 0

Damon Severson's shot deflected in off Ryan Pulock's skate 5:43 into the third period and that was the only goal to beat either netminder, as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Isles 2-0 before a crowd of 14,015 at Nationwide Arena.

Justin Danforth hit the empty-net with 2:03 to play to hand the Isles their third straight regulation loss and fourth in the last five games (1-4-0). Elvis Merzlikins made 26 saves for his 11th career shutout.

The Isles are 3-5-2 on the season and head to Buffalo on Friday; it is the middle game of a three-game road trip that begins a stretch where they will play 9 of 11 off Long Island.

The Scoring:  

1st Period

None

2nd Period

None

3rd Period

Damon Severson (2) Sean Kuraly (2), Kevin Labanc (5) 05:43 NYI 0,CBJ 1

Justin Danforth (2)EN Cole Sillinger (6), Ivan Provorov (3) 17:57 NYI 0,CBJ 2

The Skinny

The Isles have been held to one goal or fewer five times this season (0-4-1); it is the first time in their history that they have been shutout four times in the first ten games…The Isles did not take a penalty, so they remain perfect in road penalty kills (7 of 7). …At least one Isles defenseman had earned a point on 12 of the last 13 goals (1-12-13) …….The Isles have scored only three second period goals this season – all on the road…The Isles allowed an empty-net goal for the third straight game…Elvis Merzlikins earned his eleventh career shutout (4th in Blue Jackets history)… Damon Severson's goal was the 1,000th (including shootout winners) scored in the NHL this season…The Isles have scored just one goal in the last 168:19.

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles were shutout for the fourth time this month, matching November 2011 for the most in a month in club history.

• The Isles have eight points through ten games (3-5-2); it is the first time since 2016-17 that they have eight or fewer points (4-6-0) and the first time since 2011-12 that they have as few as three wins (3-5-2).

Milestone Men

Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech each played their 510th Islander game, breaking a tie with both Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota for 32nd place.

What a Start

Ilya Sorokin has allowed only nine goals in his first five games (1.80 GAA, .932 save percentage). It is the first time he has allowed fewer than eleven goals.

Brock-Tober

Brock Nelson has 40 October goals, good for 5th place in club history (Mike Bossy 80, Bryan Trottier 56, Brent Sutter 46, John Tavares 45).

The Road Ahead

The Isles are in a stretch where they play nine of eleven games on the road.  So far, the Isles are 0-1-0:

• 30-Oct-24 @ Columbus  L 0-2

• 1-Nov-24  @ Buffalo

• 3-Nov-24  @ New York

• 5-Nov-24  Vs Pittsburgh

• 7-Nov-24  @ Ottawa

• 9-Nov-24  Vs New Jersey

• 12-Nov-24 @ Edmonton

• 14-Nov-24 @ Vancouver

• 16-Nov-24 @ Seattle

• 19-Nov-24 @ Calgary

• 21-Nov-24 @ Detroit

Overtime is Our Time

The Isles have played 4 overtime games. They are 1-2 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-0 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 1-1 in overtime and 0-0 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 0-1 in overtime and 1-0 in shootouts. 

Empty Netters 

The Isles have scored 1 empty-net goal and allowed 4.

Killing Their Own PP

The Isles have taken a penalty to interrupt their power play 0 times this season.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 5 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 3 times

• Allowed the next goal: 2 time

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 0 times 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2024-25  3-5-2 for 8 points in 10 games

• 2023-24  5-2-3 for 13 points in 10 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-0-0

• Season: 1-16-17

• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170

The 137 assists were the most since 2006-07, when they also had 137.

Varly, Varly

Semyon Varlamov has 41 career shutouts and 287 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

47. Ed Giacomin 290

48. Semyon Varlamov 287

49. Jose Theodore 286

      Dan Bouchard 286

Home and Road

The Isles are 3-5-2 overall; they are 1-3-1 at home and 2-2-1 on the road.

Columbus is 5-3-1 overall; they are 4-2-0 at home and 1-1-1 on the road

East and West

The Isles are 2-3-0 against the East (1-1-0 vs. Metropolitan and 1-2-0 vs. Atlantic) and 1-2-2 against the West (1-1-2 vs. Central and 0-1-0 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 127 games at UBS Arena and recorded 90 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 1,447

3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack

Lou Lamoriello (1,447) and Patrick Roy (153) have combined for 1,600 career wins as general manager and coach. That is the highest in the NHL among active combinations by a wide margin.

First Things First

The Isles are 2-1-1 when scoring first and are 1-4-1 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles          5-11-10=26

Columbus 8-7-11=28

The Isles are 2-3-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-2-0 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 24 saves; he is 1-3-1 this season and 11-6-2 vs. Columbus.

Elvis Merzlikins made 27 saves; he is 2-2-0 this season and 2-3-0 vs the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-1 on the power play (2:00); Columbus did not have a power play.

The Isles are 2-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 1-4-1 when they do not. The Isles are 1-2-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 2-3-1 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 3-1-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-4-1 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 2-1-2 in games decided by a single goal including 0-1 in regulation. They are 1-2 in games decided in overtime and are 1-0 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-2 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 1-1-0 on the front end and 0-2-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be on November 29th in Washington and November 30th vs. Buffalo.

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: Noah Dobson (23:03); Columbus: Ivan Provorov (23:41)

Mathew Barzal led Islander forwards with 22:46.

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Noah Dobson (2-4-1), Alex Romanov (0-1-0), Ryan Pulock (1-0-0), Adam Pelech (0-0-1)

Face-offs

Isles 27, Columbus 18 (60%)

Bo Horvat won 12 of 15 for the Isles; No Blue Jacket won more than he lost. 

Hit Count

Isles 23 (Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Maxim Tsyplakov -4)

Columbus 18 (Two with 3)

Fights 

None. Season total: 1 (Mayfield)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 12 (Matt Martin -2)

Columbus 20 (Three with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 72, Columbus 53

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 61, Columbus 51

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Kyle Palmieri +13  

Columbus:  Zach Aston-Reese +4

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 11, Columbus 8

5-on-5: Isles 10, Columbus 7

Scratches

(Alex Romanov – INJ), (Anthony Duclair-LTIR), Oliver Wahlstrom, Pierre Engvall

Games Lost to injury: 8.   (Last season's total: 181)

The Ironmen

Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 176 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (126) and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (106) also played every game since the start of last 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 16

2. John Tavares 12

Most Overtime Points, Career (Islanders)

1. John Tavares 23

2. Mathew Barzal 21

3. Brock Nelson 18

Barzal has a point on 21 of the 40 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.

National TV Games 

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with ten games remaining. The first national game will stream on December 5th on ESPN+/Hulu, as the Isles host Seattle. The Isles have five national telecasts scheduled through the end of March, with the other five all scheduled in April.

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 0-0-0 in matinee games this season, with 11 games remaining. The first matinee will be on November 3rd at MSG. 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 13-13-10 in matinees.

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures 

Opponents: 0 successful, 1 failures (No Goalie Interference -UTA 10/10)

Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)

For (0):

Vs (0): 

Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)

Isles responses (0):

Opponent responses (2): UTA 10/10 (2)

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins 

For (0):

Vs (0): 

Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):

For (1): Maxim Tsyplakov 10/10 vs. UTA (17:53, go-ahead goal but lost in OT)

Vs (3): Josh Doan 10/10 vs. UTA (18:06- GTG; UTA won in OT); Cole Caufield 10/19 vs MTL (17:50-GTG; NYI won in SO); Jesper Bratt 10/25 at NJD (18:31-GTG; NYI won in OT)

OT Winners

For (1): Bo Horvat 10/25 at NJD (1:09)

Vs (2): Dylan Guenther 10/10 vs. UTA (2:18); Jake Neighbours 10/17 @ STL (2:04)

Shootout Winners

For (1): Noah Dobson 10/19 vs MTL

Vs (0): 

 

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 850 *** 7. Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin 825 *** 9. Bob Bourne 814 *** 10. Anders Lee 769 …

31. Dave Lewis 514 *** 32. Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech 510 *** 34. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 36. Ryan Pulock 496  *** 37. Ed Westfall 493 *** 38. Radek Martinek 479 *** 39. Scott Mayfield 478

Goals    

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

5. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 *** 7. Brock Nelson 279 *** John Tavares 272 *** 9. Anders Lee 263 …

20. Kyle Okposo 139 ***21. Mathew Barzal 130…

29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 107

Assists

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

8. Patrick Flatley 328 *** 9. Brent Sutter 323 *** 10. Stefan Persson and Mathew Barzal 317…

14. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 15. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Brock Nelson 258…

19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Nick Leddy 198 *** 22. Pierre Turgeon and Anders Lee 193…

30. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 31. Noah Dobson 157 *** 32. David Volek 154 *** 33. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 34. Ryan Pulock 146 *** 35. Travis Green 145 *** 36. Steve Thomas 140 *** 37. Mark Streit and Casey Cizikas 139

Points

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

9. John Tonelli 544 *** 10. Bob Bourne 542 *** 11. Brock Nelson 537 *** 12. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Anders Lee 456 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 447…

30. David Volek 249 *** 31. Casey Cizikas 246

+/-

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 +73 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67  *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Ryan Pulock +56 *** 24. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 25. Gord Lane +48

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…

14. Vladimir Malakhov 27 *** 15. Adam Pelech and four others 26 *** 20. Scott Mayfield 25

Defense Assists

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

7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Noah Dobson 157 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 146…

11. Travis Hamonic 120 *** 12. Adam Pelech 118… 

20. Dave Langevin and Thomas Hickey 95 *** 22. Scott Mayfield 92

Defense Points

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

6. Jean Potvin 213 *** 7. Noah Dobson 197 *** 8. Ryan Pulock 194…

11. Roman Hamrlik 153 *** 12. Travis Hamonic 146 *** 13. Adam Pelech 144 …

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

Goalie Games

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

4. Kelly Hrudey 241 *** 5. Ilya Sorokin 197 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 193 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177 *** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 168

Wins

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

5. Thomas Greiss 101 *** 6. Ilya Sorokin 97 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 74

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 1-5-1-1 after losing in a shootout to Tristan Jarry and Wilkes Barre-Scranton on Wednesday, by a score of 4-3. Brian Pinho scored his fifth goal of the season (a shorty) and added an assist. Matthew Maggio was the lone Islander to score in the shootout. 

Bridgeport heads to Springfield for a game on Friday night; their following game is also in Springfield, on Wednesday morning.

Season Series Stats

Columbus leads the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0); the next meeting will on MLK Day (January 20th) at UBS Arena.

The Isles had outscored the Jackets 41-21 over the prior ten meetings, going 9-0-1.

UP NEXT

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1st - ISLES AT BUFFALO 7:00pm

[MSGSN (pre-game at 6:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]

The three-game road trip continues on Friday night as the Isles head to Buffalo to face the Sabres for the first time this season.

This was a 'homer' series last season, with the home team winning all three games; the Isles' only win came in last season's home opener. 

The Isles have struggled in Buffalo in recent years, going 0-5-2 in their last seven visits. Overall, the Isles are 2-5-1 in their last eight games; they have not scored on the power play in that span, going 0-19. 

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