"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 67
Isles 4, Pittsburgh 2
Stop me if you have heard this before: what a third period!
For the second straight game, the Isles rallied from a 2-0 second intermission deficit with four third period goals as they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2, before a crowd of 17,484 at PPG Paints Arena.
Pittsburgh scored twice in the first period, and it stayed that way until Kyle Palmieri scored 17 seconds into the third period. Noah Dobson tied the game with his second goal in as many games, and then Pierre Engvall scored the eventual game winner at 13:08 of the third. For the second straight game, Simon Holmstrom sealed matters with an empty-netter.
The Isles are 31-28-8 as they head home to begin a four game homestand on Thursday as they host Montreal; the Isles are three points behind the Habs, who currently hold the last playoff spot.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Joona Koppanen (1) Vladislav Kolyachonok (5), Kris Letang (20) 04:40 NYI 0,PIT 1
Sidney Crosby (24) Conor Timmins (9), Ryan Graves (2) 19:45 NYI 0,PIT 2
2nd Period
No Goals
3rd Period
Kyle Palmieri (21) 00:17 NYI 1,PIT 2
Noah Dobson (8) Bo Horvat (24), Kyle Palmieri (22) 05:34 NYI 2,PIT 2
Pierre Engvall (5) Noah Dobson (22), Hudson Fasching (2) 13:08 NYI 3,PIT 2
Simon Holmstrom (16)EN Kyle Palmieri (23) 18:28 NYI 4,PIT 2
The Skinny
The Isles are 2-0-1 in the last three games and 6-3-1 in the last ten games …The Isles are 9-2-1 in their last twelve home games… The Isles have been outscored 80-72 in the third period and overtime, although they have outscored their opponents 35-23 in those periods over the last 24 games…The Isles have scored 134 goals and allowed 120 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 77-47 in all other situations… The Isles went 0-1 on the power play and are now 0-18 over the last five games; the Isles have been outscored 20-8 on the power play over the last 36 games… The Isles allowed the first goal for the 42nd time, tying the Penguins for the most in the NHL….Ilya Sorokin has now appeared in 51 games; he is the first goalie to appear in at least 51 games four times as an Islander; Sorokin is 6-2-1 in his last nine games …Simon Holmstrom set a career high with his 16th goal as he hit the empty-net for the second straight game…The Isles scored four goals in a period for the fourth time this season…Joona Koppanen is the 15th Penguin to score his first NHL goal against the Isles…Adam Pelech led the Isles with a season-high 26:00; it was only the fifth time in his career he has played that much in a game….Kyle Palmieri had three points in the third period; it was his first three-point game of the season, and the 16th time in his career that he has had at least three points in a game…Palmieri's goal at :17 of the third period was the second-earliest in any period for the Isles this season (Scott Mayfield :14 at Vancouver on November 14th); it was Palmieri's first goal in six games…Kris Letang earned his 50th point against the Isles, most among active defensemen…The Penguins are 18-2-2 when leading after two periods, but 0-1-1 against the Isles this season.
First Times in a Long Time
- The Isles scored four goals in consecutive third periods for the first time since November 14-17, 1987, under Coach Terry Simpson. The Isles had played nearly 2,900 games in the interim.
- The Isles won consecutive games IN REGULATION that they started the third period trailing by multiple goals for the 2nd time in their history (1/2-1/17/1986 vs. Boston and Philadelphia); it is the first time that they have done so in consecutive team games.
- The last time Isles won successive games after trailing by multiple goals through two periods was November 7-8/2022 (vs Calgary, at Rangers); ironically, those teams played each other tonight.
Never Say Die-landers
NHL Stats notes that it is the fourth time in club history that the Isles have earned multi-goal third period wins in consecutive team games (also 11/7-8/2022, 11/16-19/2019, and 12/31/1985-1/2/1986), tying the NHL record set by Detroit for most all-time. (The Red Wings have played 6,875 games to the Isles' 4,101.)
What's In a Name?
Referee Mike Sullivan officiated a Penguin game coached by Mike Sullivan for the second time (both against the Isles, and both won by the Isles).
87>99
Sidney Crosby's goal was his 1,670th Penguin point, one more than Wayne Gretzky had as an Oiler. Only Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman and Mario Lemieux have had more points for a single franchise. Crosby has scored 43 of his 616 goals against the Isles and now has 137 points in games between the teams.
Milestone Men
• Anders Lee has 499 points; he is tied with Derek King for 13th place in club history
• Noah Dobson scored the winning goal; it was his 48th goal overall, and the eighth time he has scored in consecutive games.
• Anthony Duclair played his 600th NHL game.
Quite the Numbers
Marcus Hogberg has now played 389 minutes for the Isles, allowing 11 goals on 178 shots for a 1.70 GAA and a .938 save percentage. Both the GAA and save percentage are the best in Islander history for any goalie who has played at least six games. He is the 44th goalie to win multiple games for the Isles.
Third Periods
Goals: Isles 68, Opponents 75
Tying Goals: Isles 9, Opponents 13 (in 12 games)
Go Ahead Goals: Isles 12 (in 11 games), Opponents 9
Empty Net Goals: Isles 13, Opponents 19
The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 39 of their 67 games. In the 27 games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (5-21-2), they have been within one goal at some point in all but seven of them.
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have fifteen come-from behind wins this season, including five when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win twelve times this season, including seven times in the third period.
Overtime
The Isles are 4-7 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 4-5 in overtime and 1-0 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 0-2 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts.
Sorokin has 35 OT/SO losses, extending his club record (Rick DiPietro had 28).
Empty Netters
The Isles have scored 13 empty-net goals and allowed 19.
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 49 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 19 times
• Allowed the next goal: 22 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 8 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2024-25 31-28-8 for 70 points in 67 games
• 2023-24 29-23-15 for 73 points in 67 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 1-1-2
• Season: 26-100-126
• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170
The Islander defense scored only four times in the first 26 games but have 22 goals in the last 41 games.
Home and Road
The Isles are 31-28-8 overall; they are 16-13-3 at home and 15-15-5 on the road.
Pittsburgh is 28-32-10 overall; they are 17-14-5 at home and 11-18-5 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 19-17-3 against the East (9-7-2 vs. Metropolitan and 10-10-1 vs. Atlantic) and 12-11-5 against the West (7-5-2 vs. Central and 5-6-3 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 1,475
3. Glen Sather 1,319
Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,475) and Patrick Roy (181) have combined for 1,656 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 16-5-4 when scoring first and are 15-23-4 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 12-13-13=38
Pittsburgh 9-8-5=22
The Isles are 16-19-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 14-8-5 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves; he is 26-20-5 this season and 11-6-0 vs. Pittsburgh.
Tristan Jarry made 34 saves; he is 12-9-4 this season and 11-5-1 vs the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-1 (2:00); Pittsburgh was 0-3 (6:00).
The Isles are 12-3-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 19-25-7 when they do not. The Isles are 13-14-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 18-14-2 when they do not.
The Isles are 8-2-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 6-15-5 when they are outscored, and 17-11-3 when special team goals are equal.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 28-8-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-20-4 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 13-7-8 in games decided by a single goal including 7-7 in regulation. They are 4-7 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 5-8 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 6-3-1 on the front end and 4-6-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be March 29th-30th in Tampa Bay and Carolina.
The Isles are 9-6-1 when the opponent is on the back end, including 2-2-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Adam Pelech (season-high 26:00); Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (21:34)
Simon Holmstrom led Isles forwards (20:38).
Face-offs
Isles 25, Pittsburgh 30 (45%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 11 of 17 for the Isles; Sidney Crosby won 12 of 15 for Pittsburgh.
Hit Count
Isles 18 (Casey Cizikas and Ryan Pulock -4)
Pittsburgh 18 (Two with 3)
Fights
None. Season total: 9 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin-2, Pageau, Tsyplakov, Gatcomb, Cizikas, Lee)
Blocked Shots
Isles 23 (Noah Dobson -4)
Pittsburgh 15 (Kris Letang -4)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 71, Pittsburgh 66
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 66, Pittsburgh 57
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Adma Pelech +16
Pittsburgh: Conor Timmins +13
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 13, Pittsburgh 10
5-on-5: Isles 12, Pittsburgh 10
Scratches
(Semyon Varlamov-LTIR), (Mathew Barzal – IR), Matt Martin, (Adam Boqvist-INJ),(Alex Romanov -ILL), Scott Perunovich
Games Lost to injury: 266. (Last season's total: 181)
The Ironmen
Kyle Palmieri is the Islanders' ironman, having played 183 consecutive games. Casey Cizikas (93) and Anders Lee (67) are the only other Isles to have also played every game this season.
Most Overtime Goals, Career (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 11
2. Brock Nelson 9
3. Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey 6
5. Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Thomas Hickey, and Anthony Beauvillier 5
National TV Games
The Isles are 2-3-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with four games remaining. The next national game will stream April 1st on ESPN+/Hulu as the Isles host the Lightning; four of the last nine games will be nationally-televised. Note that the April 12th game in Philadelphia will now be an Islander local telecast.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 1-4-1 in matinee games this season, with five games remaining. The next matinee will be on March 22nd vs. Calgary. 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: 6 successful, 4 failures (No offsides -PIT 11/5, No goalie interference – SEA 11/16, Goalie Interference- WAS 11/29, goalie interference – TOR 12/31, no goalie interference – BOS 1/5, offsides-VEG 1/9, goalie interference – OTT 1/14, goalie interference – COL 1/28, goalie interference – PHI 1/30, no goalie interference – PIT 3/18)
Opponents: 8 successful, 3 failures (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, Goalie Interference – PIT 12/28. Offside 12/31, No goalie interference – NSH 3/1, goalie interference – NYR 3/3, goalie interference x2 – LA 3/11)
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (3): CHI 12/12, PHI 1/24, FLA 3/16
Vs (2): CHI 12/15, MIN 2/8
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)
Isles responses (7): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7, BOS 1/5, SJ 1/18, MIN 2/8, DAL 2/23, NAS 3/1
Opponent responses (8): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31, BOS 1/5, NAS 3/1, LA 3/11
Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
For (3): PIT 11/5 (Trailed 3-1, won 4-3 (SO), FLA 3/16 (Trailed 2-0, won 4-2), PIT 3/18 (Trailed 2-0, won 4-2).
Vs (2): NJ 11/9 (Led 3-1, Lost 4-3 (OT), WSH 11/29 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 (3): 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); Mathew Barzal 1/11 vs UTA (18:35-GAG)
Vs (8): 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); Bobby McMann 1/2 vs. TOR (17:01- GAG); Nikita Kucherov 2/1 at TB (19:13-GTG; NYI won in OT)
OT Winners
For (4): Bo Horvat 10/25 @ NJD (1:09), Bo Horvat 1/5 @ BOS (3:10), Brock Nelson 1/25 vs CAR (2:03), Tony DeAngelo 2/1 @ TB (0:32)
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); Leon Draisaitl 3/14 vs. EDM (3:52)
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. Brock Nelson 901 *** 5. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 6. Casey Cizikas 882 *** 7. Clark Gillies 872 *** 8. Matt Martin 848 *** 9. Anders Lee 826 …
23. Ken Morrow 550 *** 24. Duane Sutter 547 *** 25. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 546 *** 27. Lorne Henning 543 *** 28. Claude Lapointe 535 *** 29. Tomas Jonsson 532 *** 30. Mathew Barzal 531 *** 31. Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 32. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 33. Scott Mayfield 526
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
5. Brock Nelson 295 *** 6. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 *** 8. Anders Lee 285 …
20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 134…
29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 112
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
7. John Tonelli 338 *** 8. Patrick Flatley and Mathew Barzal 328…
19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 214…
25. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 25. Noah Dobson 173 *** 27. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 29. Jean Potvin 167 *** 30. Jeff Norton 166 *** 31. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 32. Ryan Pulock 158…
34. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 35. Travis Green and Casey Cizikas 145
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
12. Bob Bourne 542 *** 13. Derek King and Anders Lee 499 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 462…
27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 257
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +82 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +64 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 23. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 24. Greg Gilbert +54
Defense Goals
1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57 ***
4. Stefan Persson and Ryan Pulock 52 *** 6. Noah Dobson 48…
13. Bryan Berard 31 *** 14. Vladimir Malakhov and Scott Mayfield 27 *** 16. Adam Pelech and four others 26
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742*** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…
5. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 6. Noah Dobson 173 *** 7. Jean Potvin 167 *** 8. Jeff Norton 166 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 157 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 131…
17. Bryan Berard 100 *** 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…
5. Kenny Jonsson 232 *** 6. Noah Dobson 221 *** 7. Jean Potvin 213 *** 8. Ryan Pulock 209…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 157…
18. Gerry Hart 128 *** 19. Vladimir Malakhov 125 *** 20. Scott Mayfield 123
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 ***
4. Ilya Sorokin 243 …
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. Ilya Sorokin 121 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 21 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
Bridgeport is 13-40-4-3 heading into a home game on Saturday against Springfield.
Brian Pinho has a team-leading (and career-high) 22 goals, four ahead of Liam Foudy and Chris Terry. Terry's 39 assists rank 2nd in the AHL, while his 57 points are tied for 2nd.
Season Series Stats
The Isles win the season series, 3 games to 1 (and 6 points to 3).
The Isles are 9-3-0 in the last 12 games against the Penguins, including 4-2-0 at PPG Paints Arena.
UP NEXT
THURSDAY, MARCH 20th – MONTREAL AT ISLES 7:30pm
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 7:00), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles return home for a pivotal four game homestand beginning on Thursday against Montreal. The Canadiens are 8-1-2 since the Four Nations Cup break.
The teams have split the first two games, with the Isles winning at UBS in a shootout, and dropping a 2-1 decision in Montreal on a Nick Suzuki overtime goal.
The Isles are 6-3-2 in the last 11 games against Les Canadiens, including 4-0-1 at UBS Arena. The Isles have won the last four UBS matchups, making it their longest home winning streak over the Canadiens since a five-game streak from December 29, 2001 – March 31, 2004 (which matches the longest home win streak against Montreal).
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 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
