The Skinny: Isles 4, Montreal 3 (SO)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 5

Isles 4, Montreal 3 (SO)

Noah Dobson had two assists and then scored the deciding goal in a nine-round shootout as the Islanders stretched their point streak to three games (2-0-1) with a 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens before a crowd of 15,411 at UBS Arena.

The Isles had built a 2-0 lead on goals 2:26 apart by Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri, only to have Montreal tie it with a pair of goals in a 63-second span across the first two periods. Anders Lee gave the Isles the advantage again with 4:36 left in regulation but Cole Caufield's second goal of the game 2:26 later forced overtime.

The Isles are 2-1-2 on the season and host Detroit Tuesday at a special 7:45 start time. 

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Bo Horvat (2) Mathew Barzal (2), Noah Dobson (3) 14:32 MTL 0,NYI 1 PPG

Kyle Palmieri (2) Noah Dobson (4), Maxim Tsyplakov (2) 16:58 MTL 0,NYI 2

Cole Caufield (5) Mike Matheson (4), Juraj Slafkovsky (4) 19:56 MTL 1,NYI 2 PPG

2nd Period

Logan Mailloux (1) Jake Evans (2), Josh Anderson (1) 00:59 MTL 2,NYI 2

3rd Period  

Anders Lee (2) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1), Adam Pelech (3) 15:24 MTL 2,NYI 3

Cole Caufield (6) Juraj Slafkovsky (5), Nick Suzuki (5) 17:50 MTL 3,NYI 3

OT

None

The (Very Long) Shootout

• Mathew Barzal (NG)/ Cole Caufield (NG)

• Maxim Tsyplakov (NG) / Nick Suzuki (NG)

• Bo Horvat (NG) / Lane Hutson (NG)

• Kyle Palmieri (G) / Oliver Kapanen (G)

• Simon Holmstrom (G) / Emil Heineman (G)

• Jean-Gabriel Pageau (NG) / Alex Newhook (NG)

• Brock Nelson (NG) / Mike Matheson (NG)

• Alexander Romanov (NG) / Juraj Slafkovsky (NG)

• Noah Dobson (G/GDG) / Logan Mailloux (NG)

The Isles are 1-0 in the shootout while Montreal is 0-1… Semyon Varlamov improves to 35-23 in shootouts (including 5-8 as an Islander) while Cayden Primeau falls to 3-5 in his career…The Isles are 5-17 in their last 22 shootouts...It was Noah Dobson's 1st shootout goal (in four attempts) and his 1st game deciding goal...It was the first time the teams had faced each other in a shootout since February 20, 2022, and the first time that the Isles won a shootout from the Canadiens since March 17, 2012….The Isles are 5-2 all-time in shootouts against Montreal…It was the 8th time that an Islander shootout lasted at least nine rounds; Semyon Varlamov has won the last two of these, stopping all nine Flyer shooters on January 18, 2022…The Isles tie the Rangers for most shootout wins all-time (91)..The Isles won only one shootout in each of the last two seasons.

The Skinny

Each team had a power play goal, but the Isles failed on five other opportunities…Through two home games, the Isles are 2-12 on the power play and allowed a goal all three times they were short...Noah Dobson has 13 shots on goal over the last two games after totaling only two over the first three games; his seven shots tonight were one short of his career high…It is the first time since the shortened 2021 season that the Isles are above NHL-.500 thru five games…Montreal has beaten Toronto and Ottawa, but are winless (0-3-1) against US-based teams…Logan Mailloux scored his first NHL goal; he is the 201st  player to do so against the Isles…Julien Gauthier made his season debut, replacing Oliver Wahlstrom; it was the first change in skaters this season; the Isles have played the first five games of the season with the same skaters only once – in Al Arbour's first five games as Isles coach (1973-74)…The Isles took only one penalty; they have taken only ten penalties through the first five games.

The Injury

Anthony Duclair left the game with 16:41 to play in the third period with an apparent lower-body injury. He did not return.

Milestone Men

• Adam Pelech's assist was his 117th, tying Dave Lewis for 12th place among Isles defensemen. 

• Noah Dobson's two assists give him 155, tying, and then passing David Volek for 31st place in club history. 

• Noah Dobson now has 195 points, matching Butch Goring for 48th in club history.

First Times in a Long Time

Noah Dobson is the first Isles defenseman to have a Game-Deciding Goal since Nick Leddy did so on November 22, 2016, in Anaheim; Leddy's goal came in the 14th round and ended the longest shootout in Isles' history.

Dobson is the first Isles defenseman with 40 career multi-point games before turning 25 since Denis Potvin, who did so 105 times.

NHL-.500 

The Isles are 1808-1681-548 all-time; the last time they were 127 games over NHL-.500 was on January 24, 1996, when a loss to Calgary dropped the all-time record to 859-732-266.

Brock-Tober

Brock Nelson has 38 October goals, tying Pat LaFontaine 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 3 overtime games. They are 0-2 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-0 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 0-1 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 1.

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 3 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 2 times

• Allowed the next goal: 1 time

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 0 times 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2024-25  2-1-2 for 6 points in 5 games

• 2023-24  2-2-1 for 5 points in 5 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-3-3

• Season: 0-9-9

• 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 2-1-2 overall; they are 1-0-1 at home and 1-1-1 on the road.

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

East and West

The Isles are 1-0-0 against the East (0-0-0 vs. Metropolitan and 1-0-0 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 124 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 1,446

3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack

Lou Lamoriello (1,446) and Patrick Roy (152) have combined for 1,598 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 1-0-1 when scoring first and are 1-1-1 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles        7-12-14-3=36

Montreal 11-7-3-3=24

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

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 21 saves; he is 1-1-1 this season and 8-3-2 vs. Montreal.

Cayden Primeau made 33 saves; he is 0-1-1 this season and 0-0-1 vs the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-6 on the power play (11:43); Montreal was 1-1 on the power play (0:05).

The Isles are 1-0-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 1-1-1 when they do not. The Isles are 1-0-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 1-1-1 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 2-0-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-1-1 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 1-0-2 in games decided by a single goal including 0-0 in regulation. They are 0-2 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     

The Isles are 0-0-0 on the front end and 0-0-0 on the back end this season. The first back-to-back will be: on October 25th in New Jersey and October 26th vs. Florida.

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 (28:41); Montreal: Mike Matheson (28:10)

Mathew Barzal led Islander forwards with 26:29 of ice-time, which was just two seconds shy of his career-high, set earlier this year in Montreal (1/25/2024).

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

Face-offs

Isles 31, Montreal 24 (56%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 9 of 15 for the Isles; Oliver Kapanen won 3 of 4 for Montreal. 

Hit Count

Isles 28 (Anders Lee -7)

Montreal 30 (Two with 4)

Fights 

None. Season total: 0

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 8 (Noah Dobson -2)

Montreal 25 (Two with 5)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 81, Montreal 47

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 51, Montreal 39

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Mathew Barzal and Alexander Romanov +8

Montreal:  Justin Barron +9

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 11, Montreal 9

5-on-5: Isles 8, Montreal 8

Scratches

Dennis Cholowski, Oliver Wahlstrom

Games Lost to injury: 0.   (Last season's total: 181)

The Ironmen

Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 171 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (121) and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (101) 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 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 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 (2): 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)

OT Winners

For (0): 

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 845 *** 7. Matt Martin 823 *** 8. Casey Cizikas 820 *** 9. Bob Bourne 814 *** 10. Anders Lee 764 …

31. Dave Lewis 514 *** 32. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 34. Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech 505  *** 36. Ed Westfall 493 *** 37. Ryan Pulock 491 *** 38. Radek Martinek 479 *** 39. Gerry Hart 476 *** 40. Scott Mayfield 474

Goals    

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

5. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 *** 7. Brock Nelson 277 *** John Tavares 272 *** 9. Anders Lee 262 …

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 317 *** 11. Mathew Barzal 316…

14. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 15. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 16. Billy Harris 259 *** 17. Brock Nelson 257…

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 153 *** 32. David Volek 154 *** 33. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 34. Travis Green 145 *** 35. Ryan Pulock 144 *** 36. Steve Thomas 140 *** 37. Mark Streit 139 *** 38. Casey Cizikas and Greg Gilbert 138

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 534 *** 12. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Anders Lee 455 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 445…

30. David Volek 249 *** 31. Casey Cizikas 245

+/-

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. Greg Gilbert and Ryan Pulock +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 155 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 144…

11. Travis Hamonic 120 *** 12. Dave Lewis and Adam Pelech 117… 

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 195 *** 8. Ryan Pulock 192…

11. Roman Hamrlik 153 *** 12. Travis Hamonic 146 *** 13. Adam Pelech 143 …

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 …

5. Ilya Sorokin 194 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 193 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177 *** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 166

Wins

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

5. Thomas Greiss 101 *** 6. Ilya Sorokin 96 *** 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 0-3-1 following a 5-4 overtime loss on Saturday at Hartford; Fredrik Karlstrom had a pair of goals with Matthew Maggio and Liam Foudy assisted together on three goals. Bridgeport hosts Hartford in the rematch on Sunday afternoon.

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 1); the teams will meet on December 3rd in Montreal and March 20th at UBS Arena to complete the season series.

The home team has won all seven games played between these teams over the past three seasons.

 

UP NEXT

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22nd —DETROIT AT ISLES 7:45pm

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

The Isles look to extend their point streak to four games as they host Detroit as part of the NHL's Frozen Frenzy.

The Isles went 1-1-1 last season against the Wings, splitting a pair of games in Detroit after suffering an overtime loss at home on a Lucas Raymond goal. That OT loss did extend the Isles' home-ice point streak against Detroit to eight games (7-0-1). The Isles' last regulation home loss to the Red Wings was a 6-3 defeat on December 19, 2017, at Barclays Center.

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