The Skinny: Florida 6, Isles 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 8

Florida 6, Isles 3 

The Isles scored three times in the first twelve minutes, but the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers stormed back to defeat the Isles 6-3 before a crowd of 15,807 at UBS Arena.

Dennis Cholowski, Kyle Palmieri, and Brock Nelson gave the Isles that 3-0 advantage but Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk each scored twice for the visitors; Mackie Samoskevich's first NHL goal tied the game last in the second period; Gustav Forsling sealed things with a shorthanded empty-netter. 

The Isles are 3-3-2 on the season and host Anaheim on Tuesday before beginning a stretch where they will play 9 of 11 on the road.

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Dennis Cholowski (1) Casey Cizikas (1) 01:32 FLA 0,NYI 1

Kyle Palmieri (4) Ryan Pulock (3), Maxim Tsyplakov (3) 06:01 FLA 0,NYI 2

Brock Nelson (4) Maxim Tsyplakov (4), Kyle Palmieri (3) 11:41 FLA 0,NYI 3

Sam Reinhart (6) Eetu Luostarinen (2), Anton Lundell (5) 13:27 FLA 1,NYI 3

2nd Period

Matthew Tkachuk (1) Carter Verhaeghe (5) 06:38 FLA 2,NYI 3

Mackie Samoskevich (1) Dmitry Kulikov (2), Spencer Knight (1) 18:16 FLA 3,NYI 3

3rd Period

Sam Bennett (7) Matthew Tkachuk (4), Niko Mikkola (4) 06:19 FLA 4,NYI 3

Matthew Tkachuk (2) Adam Boqvist (2), Anton Lundell (6) 09:49 FLA 5,NYI 3 PPG

Gustav Forsling (3)EN 17:43 FLA 6,NYI 3 SHG

The Skinny

The Isles, who have points in three straight road games (2-0-1), have lost two straight games at home… The Isles have scored either 0 goals or 3+ goals in every game this season …The Isles were shorthanded only twice, allowing one goal; they have been shorthanded two times or fewer in every game this season (it is the longest streak to start an Islander season since PK opportunities became official in 1977-78).…The Isles have led in all five games that they have scored, but have allowed a tying goal in four of them…Dennis Cholowski scored his third NHL goal in his season debut; an injury to Alex Romanov required the Isles to make a change to the defense for the first time this season. …An Isles  defenseman had earned a point on eleven consecutive goals (1-11-12) before Brock Nelson's goal …Sam Bennett scored for the fourth straight game (5 goals) while Carter Verhaeghe extended his point streak to six games….Ten of the Isles' 20 goals have come in the first period; they had won the first three games that they led after one period…The Panthers are the third team this season to win a game that they trailed by three goals.

…Matt Martin made his season debut after being signed off the practice squad.

First Time in a Long Time

The Isles, who lost three games in overtime/shootouts last season after having a three-goal lead, lost in regulation for the first time since Washington beat them 6-3 at Nassau Coliseum on January 18, 2019.

What a Start

Ilya Sorokin has allowed only seven goals in his first four games (1.74 GAA, .936 save percentage). It is the first time he has allowed fewer than eleven goals over his first four games.

Four for Two

Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson each scored in the first period; they share the team lead with four goals.

Chasing History

The Isles are only the 2nd team since penalty killing opportunities became official in 1977-78 to not be shorthanded three times in any of their first eight games. The longest streak (10 games) belongs to the 2019-20 Winnipeg Jets.

It is only the 4th time in that span that the Isles have had an 8-game streak at any point in a single season; the club record of 15 was set in 2022:

• 15  1/21/2022 – 2/24/2022

• 9    3/27/2023-10/14/2023  (single season streak – 8)

• 9    4/17/2024-CURRENT  (single season streak -8)

• 8   12/31/2019-1/14/2020

Brock-Tober

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

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 2.

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  3-3-2 for 8 points in 8 games

• 2023-24  4-2-1 for 9 points in 7 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   1-1-2

• Season: 1-15-16

• 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 3-3-2 overall; they are 1-2-1 at home and 2-1-1 on the road.

Florida is 6-3-1 overall; they are 2-1-1 at home and 4-2-0 on the road

East and West

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

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 126 games at UBS Arena and recorded 90 sellouts of 17,255. 

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 1-2-1 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    8-7-13=28

Florida 9-7-12=28

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

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 22 saves; he is 1-2-1 this season and 9-5-2 vs. Florida.

Spencer Martin made 25 saves; he is 2-1-0 this season and 2-0-0- vs the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play (6:00); Florida was 1-2 on the power play (2:47).

The Isles are 2-0-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 1-3-1 when they do not. The Isles are 1-1-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 2-2-1 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 0-2-1 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 0-0 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 1-0-0 on the front end and 0-1-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be on October 29th vs. Columbus and October 30th in Columbus.

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 (25:01); Florida: Gustav Forsling (23:15)

Bo Horvat led Islander forwards with 19:13.

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

Face-offs

Isles 39, Florida 28 (58%)

Kyle MacLean won 7 of 10 for the Isles; Sam Bennett won 12 of 16 for Florida. 

Hit Count

Isles 14 (Noah Dobson -3)

Florida 20 (Sam Bennett -5)

Fights 

None. Season total: 1 (Mayfield)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 11 (Ryan Pulock -2)

Florida 12 (Niko Mikkola -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 59, Florida 58

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 52, Florida 50

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Pierre Engvall +10  

Florida:  Three with +4

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 11, Florida 10

5-on-5: Isles 9, Florida 9

Scratches

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

Games Lost to injury: 4.   (Last season's total: 181)

The Ironmen

Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 174 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (124) and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (104) 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 848 *** 7. Matt Martin 824 *** 8. Casey Cizikas 823 *** 9. Bob Bourne 814 *** 10. Anders Lee 767 …

31. Dave Lewis 514 *** 32. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 34. Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech 508 *** 36. Ryan Pulock 494  *** 37. Ed Westfall 493 *** 38. Radek Martinek 479 *** 39. Scott Mayfield 476

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 129…

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 156 *** 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 446…

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 +74 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67  *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Ryan Pulock +57 *** 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 156 *** 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 196 *** 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 196 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 193 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177 *** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 167

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 following a 5-2 loss in Charlotte on Saturday night. Brian Pinho and Fredrik Karlstrom scored goals for the Islanders, who were out-shot 40-12. Bridgeport returns home to host Wilkes Barre-Scranton on Wednesday.

Season Series Stats

Florida leads the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0); the teams will meet on February 2nd in Sunrise and March 16th at UBS Arena to complete the season series.

The Isles are 3-5-2 in their last ten games against the Panthers. 

UP NEXT

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29th -ANAHEIM AT ISLES 7:30pm

[MSGSN (pre-game at 7:00], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]

The Isles will look to get back on the winning track as they start another back-to-back by welcoming the Anaheim Ducks to UBS Arena.

The Isles have swept the season series three straight series, winning the six games (all in regulation) by a combined total of 31-11. 

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

…Matt Martin made his season debut after being signed off the practice squad.