The Skinny: Buffalo 7, Isles 1

"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 35

Buffalo 7, Isles 1

Beck Melenstyn scored 2:07 into the first period and the Sabres outscored the Isles by two goals in each period, defeating the Isles 7-1 before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Rasmus Dahlin had four assists as Buffalo snapped a 13-game winless streak (0-10-3). Kyle Palmieri scored the only goal for the Isles, who fell two games under NHL .500 at the holiday break.

The Isles return to play on Saturday as they host the Penguins in the front-end of a back-to-back home-and-home. 

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Beck Malenstyn (3) Jacob Bryson (3), Ryan McLeod (10) 02:07 BUF 1,NYI 0

Jiri Kulich (5) Dylan Cozens (9), Rasmus Dahlin (14) 16:49 BUF 2,NYI 0

2nd Period

Jason Zucker (9) Jack Quinn (5), Rasmus Dahlin (15) 06:53 BUF 3,NYI 0 PPG

Zach Benson (5) Rasmus Dahlin (16), Jiri Kulich (2) 15:45 BUF 4,NYI 0

Jack Quinn (4) Dylan Cozens (10), JJ Peterka (15) 18:21 BUF 5,NYI 0

Kyle Palmieri (12) Anthony Duclair (3), Isaiah George (4) 19:05 BUF 5,NYI 1

3rd Period

Tage Thompson (17)EN Rasmus Dahlin (17) 10:07 BUF 6,NYI 1

Jiri Kulich (6) 15:49 BUF 7,NYI 1

The Skinny

The Isles allowed the opening goal for the ninth time in ten games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 58-57 in the first and second periods but have been outscored 55-33 in the third period and overtime…The 49 goals allowed in the third period match the highest total in the NHL …The Isles have scored 67 goals and allowed 63 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 49-24 in all other situations… The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 18 of the last 22 games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 33-27 in the second period this season; they were outscored 107-83 in the second period a season ago… Ilya Sorokin made his career-high eleventh straight start (5-5-1) he has allowed 21 goals in his last five games.… Anthony Duclair has assists in both games since his return… Tage Thompson's goal was the 2nd-earliest end-of-game empty-netter allowed in Isles history; Pavel Buchnevich scored at 9:21 of the 3rd period earlier this year (February 22nd)…The Isles have played more games (36) and earned more standings points (42) on December 23rd than any other day in their history…Zach Benson scored a goal for Buffalo in his 100th NHL game; Benson will not turn 20 years old until May…Both Bowen Byram and Rasmus Dahlin were +4; Ryan Pulock was -4 after going -3 on Saturday…The Isles allowed a power play goal for the fourth straight game in which they were shorthanded; they are 0-12 on the power play in the last six games.

One for The Record Books

This is the first time in Islander history that they have been outscored by multiple goals in each period in a home game. It has happened nine previous times (most recently February 25, 2017, in Columbus), all on the road.

 

Top 5 Goal Scorers 

Brock Nelson needs just three more goals to become the fifth-highest goal scorer in club history:

• 5. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 

• 7. Brock Nelson 285 

Top 10 Assist Leaders

Mathew Barzal remains tied with Stefan Persson (317) for 10th place in club history.

Third Periods

Goals:  Isles 32, Opponents 49

Tying Goals: Isles 4, Opponents 10 (in 9 games)

Go Ahead Goals: Isles 6 (in 5 games), Opponents 8

Empty Net Goals: Isles 7, Opponents 11

The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 24 of their 35 games. In the eleven games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (1-9-1), they have been within one goal at some point in all but four of them (10/12 @ DAL, 12/5 vs SEA, 12/17 @ CAR, 12/23 vs BUF). 

Did Somebody Say Comeback?

The Isles have six come-from behind wins this season, including one when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win eight times this season, including an NHL-high seven times in the third period.

Overtime

The Isles have played ten overtime games, two fewer than Calgary for the NHL lead. They are 1-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 1-4 in overtime and 1-0 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 0-2 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts. 

Sorokin has 34 OT/SO losses, extending his club record (Rick DiPietro had 28). 

Empty Netters 

The Isles have scored 7 empty-net goals and allowed 11.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 23 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 8 times

• Allowed the next goal: 12 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 3 times 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2024-25  13-15-7 for 33 points in 35 games

• 2023-24  17-9-9 for 43 points in 35 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-1-1

• Season: 11-48-59

• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170

Varly, Varly

Semyon Varlamov has 41 career shutouts and 289 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. Mike Liut 293

48. Ed Giacomin 290

49. Semyon Varlamov 289

Oh Canada

The Isles are playing 17 games against Canadian-based teams this season; they are 5-0-3 so far (1-0-0 at home and 4-0-3 on the road). After opening with a home shootout win over Montreal, the Isles played four road games in November (2-0-2) and have four more road games in December (2-0-1 with one to play). Seven of the eight games scheduled for the New Year will be at home. 

Going back to last season the Isles have earned points in eleven straight games against Canadian teams; the next two Canadian opponents will be a home-and home series with Toronto on December 31 and January 2nd.

Home and Road

The Isles are 13-15-7 overall; they are 6-8-2 at home and 7-7-5 on the road.

Buffalo is 12-19-4 overall; they are 6-10-3mat home and 6-9-1 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 9-9-3 against the East (3-3-2 vs. Metropolitan and 6-6-1 vs. Atlantic) and 4-6-4 against the West (3-2-2 vs. Central and 1-4-2 vs. Pacific).

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 1,457

3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack

Lou Lamoriello (1,457) and Patrick Roy (163) have combined for 1,620 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 6-3-4 when scoring first and are 7-12-3 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles      5-11-12=28

Buffalo  8-12-5=25

The Isles are 6-9-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 7-5-4 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 18 saves; he is 10-11-4 this season and 7-4-2 vs. Buffalo. 

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves; he is 9-11-3 this season and 3-1-0 vs the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-1 (2:00) on the power play; Buffalo was 1-3 (4:53) on the power play. 

The Isles are 8-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 5-14-6 when they do not. The Isles are 8-7-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-8-1 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 13-3-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-12-3 when they do not. 

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 6-3-7 in games decided by a single goal including 3-3 in regulation. They are 1-6 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-5 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs     

The Isles are 2-1-1 on the front end and 2-2-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be on December 28-29th vs. Pittsburgh with the first game occurring at UBS Arena and the second in Pittsburgh.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (26:28); Buffalo: Rasmus Dahlin (23:11)

Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (20:02).

Face-offs

Isles 37, Buffalo 27 (58%)

Bo Horvat won 12 of 18 for the Isles; Ryan Mc Leod won 8 of 14 for Buffalo. 

Hit Count

Isles 19 (Jean-Gabriel Pageau -4)

Buffalo 17 (Peyton Krebs -4)

Fights 

None. Season total: 3 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 9 (Ryan Pulock and Noah Dobson -3)

Buffalo 30 (Alex Tuch -5)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 78, Buffalo 44

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 59, Buffalo 30

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Maxim Tsyplakov and Noah Dobson +14

Buffalo: No Sabre was +

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 6, Buffalo 9

5-on-5: Isles 5, Buffalo 8

Scratches

(Mike Reilly-IR), (Semyon Varlamov-LTIR), Matt Martin, Pierre Engvall, Dennis Cholowski

Games Lost to injury: 117. (Last season's total: 181)

The Ironmen

Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 201 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (151) has 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 0-2-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with eight games remaining. The next national game will stream on January 2nd on ESPN+/Hulu, as the Isles host the Leafs. 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 0-3-1 in matinee games this season, with seven games remaining. The next matinee will be on December 31st in Toronto. The NHL considers games that start before 5:00 local time to be afternoon contests. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Isles are 13-16-11 in matinees.

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 2 failures  (No offsides -PIT 11/5, No goalie interference – SEA 11/16, Goalie Interference 11/29)

Opponents: 3 successful, 2 failure (No Goalie Interference -UTA 10/10, Offside-VAN 11/14, Goalie Interference-STL 11/23, Offside -BUF 11/30, No Goalie Interference-CHI 12/15)

Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)

For (1): CHI 12/12

Vs (1): CHI 12/15

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

Isles responses (2): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7

Opponent responses (4): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins 

For (1): Vs. PIT 11/5 (Trailed 3-1, won 4-3 (SO))

Vs (2):  Vs. NJ 11/9 (Led 3-1, Lost 4-3 (OT), Led 4-2, Lost 5-4 (SO))

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

For (2): Maxim Tsyplakov 10/10 vs. UTA (17:53, GAG but lost in OT); Anders Lee 11/12 @ EDM (17:20-GTG; EDM won in OT)

Vs (6): 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); Stefan Noesen 11/9 vs NJ (19:10-GTG; NJD won in OT); Lucas Raymond 11/21 at DET (19:09-GAG); 12/15 Connor Bedard at CHI (19:06-GAG)

OT Winners

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

Vs (6): Dylan Guenther 10/10 vs. UTA (2:18); Jake Neighbours 10/17 @ STL (2:04); Jack Hughes 11/9 vs NJD (2:35); Leon Draisaitl 11/12 @ EDM (1:52); Jakub Chychrun 11/29 @ WAS (1:20); Nick Suzuki 12/3 @ MTL (2:39)

Shootout Winners

For (2): Noah Dobson 10/19 vs MTL, Bo Horvat 11/5 vs PIT

Vs (1): Andrei Kuzmenko 11/19 @ CGY 

 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057 ***

4. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 5. Brock Nelson 875 *** 6. Clark Gillies 872 *** 7. Casey Cizikas 850 *** 8. Matt Martin 843 *** 9. Bob Bourne 814 *** 10. Anders Lee 794 …

28. Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 29. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 30. Ryan Pulock 521 ***31. Nick Leddy 518 *** 32. Adam Pelech  515 *** 33. Dave Lewis and Mathew Barzal 514 *** 35. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 37. Scott Mayfield 503

Goals    

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

5. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 *** 7. Brock Nelson 285 *** 8. Anders Lee 273 …

20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 131…

29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 108

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. Brock Nelson 266…

19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 207…

28. Jean Potvin 167 *** 29. Jeff Norton 166 *** 30. Noah Dobson 165 *** 30. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 32. David Volek 154 *** 33. Ryan Pulock 153 *** 34. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 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…

7. Josh Bailey 580 *** 8. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 9. Brock Nelson 551 …

13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 15. Anders Lee 480 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 448…

30. David Volek 249 *** 31. Casey Cizikas 247

+/-

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. Pat Price +70 *** 19. Adam Pelech +68 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 24. Ryan Pulock +53 *** 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 49 *** 6. Jean Potvin 46 *** 7. Nick Leddy and Noah Dobson 45…

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

Defense Assists

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

6. Jean Potvin 167 *** 7. Jeff Norton 166 *** 8. Noah Dobson 165 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 153…

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

18. Vladimir Malakhov 98 *** 19. Johnny Boychuk and Scott Mayfield 96

Defense Points

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

6. Jean Potvin 213 *** 7. Noah Dobson 210 *** 8. Ryan Pulock 202…

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

19. Vladimir Malakhov 125 *** 20. Scott Mayfield 122

Goalie Games

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

4. Kelly Hrudey 241 *** 5. Ilya Sorokin 217 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 193 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177 *** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173

Wins

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

4. Kelly Hrudey 106 *** 5. Ilya Sorokin 105 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 101 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 19 *** 

4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm   

Bridgeport is 6-18-2-2 on the season after a 4-1 win in Charlotte on Sunday. 

Brian Pinho leads the team (and is tied-4th in the AHL) with 15 goals. Chris Terry's 19 assists  (just three off of the AHL lead) and 23 points pace the Baby Isles in those categories.

Bridgeport is back in action on Friday when they host Providence.

Season Series Stats

The Isles win the season series, 2 games to 1 (and 4 points to 2). 

This was only the second loss in the last fifteen home games for the Isles against Buffalo (13-2-0).

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28th –PITTSBURGH AT ISLES 7:30pm

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

Following the holiday break the Isles the Isles get back in action as they host Pittsburgh in the final home game of 2024.

It is the second meeting of the teams this season; the Isles rallied from a 3-1 deficit for a 4-3 shootout win on November 5th at UBS Arena.

The teams will meet again on Sunday in The Steel City and will also play there on March 18th to conclude the season series.

AND FINALLY...

Happy Holidays to all!  Thanks so much for reading and commenting on The Skinny all season long!

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