"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 40
Isles 5, Boston 4 (OT)
Bo Horvat and Anders Lee each scored twice, and it was Horvat's second goal 3:10 into overtime that gave the Isles a 5-4 win over the Bruins before a sellout crowd of 17,850 at TD Garden.
David Pastrnak scored twice in the third period as Boston rallied from a 4-2 deficit to force overtime.
The Isles improve to 3-6-0 in their last nine games as they move within four points of the final playoff spot. The Isles are off until Thursday when they visit the Golden Knights in Vegas.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Bo Horvat (11) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (11), Ryan Pulock (12) 03:22 NYI 1,BOS 1 SHG
Ryan Pulock (2) Mathew Barzal (7), Adam Pelech (7) 05:33 NYI 2,BOS 1
2nd Period
Anders Lee (17) Alexander Romanov (7) 04:11 NYI 3,BOS 1
Justin Brazeau (10) Andrew Peeke (7) 10:18 NYI 3,BOS 2
3rd Period
Anders Lee (18) Ryan Pulock (13) 03:41 NYI 4,BOS 2
David Pastrnak (16) Morgan Geekie (9) 04:35 NYI 4,BOS 3
David Pastrnak (17) Pavel Zacha (12), Nikita Zadorov (8) 12:44 NYI 4,BOS 4
OT
Bo Horvat (12) 03:10 NYI 5,BOS 4
The Skinny
The Isles allowed the opening goal for the 13th time in 15 games… The Isles have been outscored 60-39 in the third period and overtime…The Isles have scored 77 goals and allowed 74 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 53-29 in all other situations… The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 22 of the last 28 games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 39-33 in the second period this season; they were outscored 107-83 in the second period a season ago… Ilya Sorokin has started 15 of the last 16 games, going 7-7-1 …The Isles killed the game's only penalty, and scored shorthanded to boot – it is the first time in the last nine games they were shorthanded that they did not allow a power play goal; the Isles remain 0-20 on the power play in the last eleven games…It was the third time this season that the Isles did have a power play (2-0-1)…Over the last eleven games, the Isles have been outscored 9-0 on the power play… Matthew Barzal has four assists in the last five games…Adam Pelech (26-121-147) passed Travis Hamonic's Islander totals in assists and points…Bo Horvat joins Leon Draisaitl as the only two NHL players with five OT goals since the start of last season…Horvat is the first Islander to score the goal for consecutive overtime wins in the same season since Anthony Beauvillier did so in March 2021…David Pastrnak had two goals for the second straight night for Boston
The Injury
Hudson Fasching was injured on a hit by Mark Kastelic in the third period; after taking one more shift Fasching left the game and did not return.
The 50 Goal Club
Ryan Pulock is the 5th defenseman in club history to score 50 career goals:
1. Denis Potvin 310
2. Tomas Jonsson 84
3. Kenny Jonsson 57
4. Stefan Persson 52
5. Ryan Pulock 50
Most Consecutive Games Without a Power Play Goal (Isles History, one season)
12 - 11/10-12/9/2010
12 - 11/26-12/20/1972
11 - 2/23-3/16/2019
11 - 12/10/24-CURRENT
The 0-20 stretch leaves the Isles power play at 11-100 (11.0%) on the season.
Bo, Beau, Barzal
This was only the 3rd Islander win in their last thirteen games in Boston; all three went beyond regulation, on goals by Bo Horvat (OT-Tonight), Anthony Beauvillier (OT-3/25/2021) and Mathew Barzal (SOW- 12/19/2019).
Look at Me, I'm Anders Lee
Anders Lee extended his club lead in goals with goals 17 and 18. Lee is 5-0-5 in five games since Christmas. At 18-14-32, Lee is on pace to set career highs in assists (23 - twice) and points (62 in 2017-18). Lee is the last Islander to score 40 goals (2017-18) and only Brock Nelson (3x), Bo Horvat (2023-24) and Kyle Palmieri (2023-24) have reached 30 goals in the interim.
First Times in a Long Time
• Bo Horvat is the first NHL player with a shorthanded goal and an overtime goal in the same game since March 8, 2023 (JT Miller (VAN vs ANA)
• Horvat is the first Islander to accomplish that since John Tavares (January 15, 2018 at Montreal).
• The Isles finished with 37 shots on goal; it is the first time since November 1st in Buffalo (28 games) that they had at least 35 shots on goal, ending the 5th-longest such streak in club history. That win in Buffalo was also their last road win on US soil before tonight; all four road wins in the interim had been in Canada.
Shorthanded Goal and Overtime Goal in Same Game (Islander history)
• Bo Horvat 2025-01-05 at BOS
• John Tavares 2018-01-15 at MTL
• Chris Campoli 2008-11-03 vs CBJ
• Michael Peca 2002-02-12 at PHI (*)
• Brent Sutter 1990-11-15 at CGY
(*) Peca is the only player in Islander regular season history to score an overtime goal while shorthanded; Brent Sutter also did so in the 1988 playoffs.
Weekend Warriors
The Islanders have won five straight Saturday games (four at home, and one in Toronto). The Isles are 8-11-3 in their last 22 games (5-0-0 on Saturday; 3-11-3 on other days). Seven of their last eight wins have come on Saturday or Sunday.
Milestone Men
• Ilya Sorokin recorded his 108th win, passing Kelly Hrudey for 4th place in club history.
• Anders Lee played his 799th game.
• Adam Pelech passed Travis Hamonic in both assists (121) and points (147).
• Noah Dobson's next assist will be his 167th assist, passing Jeff Norton for 7th place among Isles defensemen, and one tying behind Jean Potvin for 6th.
• Anthony Duclair's next goal will be his 150th career goal.
• Casey Cizikas' next point will be his 250th career point.
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
Nelson has gone 17 games without a goal, one shy of his career-longest streak (done twice)
Third Periods
Goals: Isles 37, Opponents 54
Tying Goals: Isles 4, Opponents 11 (in 10 games)
Go Ahead Goals: Isles 6 (in 5 games), Opponents 9
Empty Net Goals: Isles 8, Opponents 12
The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 28 of their 40 games. In the twelve games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (1-10-1), 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, 12/31 @TOR)
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have seven 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
Ten of the first 26 Islanders games went to overtime; this was the first of the last 14 not to have been decided in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 2-4 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 8 empty-net goals and allowed 12.
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 28 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 10 times
• Allowed the next goal: 15 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 3 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2024-25 15-18-7 for 37 points in 40 games
• 2023-24 18-12-10 for 46 points in 40 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 1-4-5
• Season: 13-58-71
• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170
Islander defensemen have earned 33.9% of the team's assists, which is tied-5th in the NHL, and 25.6% of the team's points, which is tied-6th.
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 5-2-3 so far (1-0-0 at home and 4-1-3 on the road). After opening with a home shootout win over Montreal, the Isles played eight straight road games in November/December going (4-1-3). Six of the seven remaining games will be at home.
Going back to last season the Isles are 8-2-3 in the last thirteen games against Canadian teams; the next Canadian opponents will be Ottawa at UBS Arena on January 14th.
Home and Road
The Isles are 15-18-7 overall; they are 7-9-2 at home and 8-9-5 on the road.
Boston is 20-17-5 overall; they are 12-6-3 at home and 8-11-2 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 11-12-3 against the East (4-4-2 vs. Metropolitan and 7-8-1 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 1,459
3. Glen Sather 1,319
Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,459) and Patrick Roy (165) have combined for 1,624 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 7-3-4 when scoring first and are 8-15-3 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 12-17-7-1=37
Boston 9-9-8-4=30
The Isles are 8-11-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 7-6-4 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves; he is 12-13-4 this season and 3-3-2 vs. Boston.
Joonas Korpisalo made 32 saves; he is 7-4-2 this season and 6-5-4 vs the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles did not have a power play; Boston was 0-1 (2:00) and allowed a shorthanded goal on the power play.
The Isles are 8-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 7-17-6 when they do not. The Isles are 9-10-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-8-1 when they do not.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 15-3-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-15-3 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 7-5-7 in games decided by a single goal including 3-5 in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 3-1-1 on the front end and 2-3-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be January 24th-25th when they host division foes Philadelphia and Carolina.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Alex Romanov (25:21); Boston: Charlie McAvoy (24:15)
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards (20:58).
Face-offs
Isles 28, Boston 28 (50%)
Bo Horvat won 13 of 19 for the Isles; Trent Frederic won 5 of 8 for Boston.
Hit Count
Isles 14 (Four with 2)
Boston 31 (Morgan Geekie -5)
Fights
None. Season total: 3 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin)
Blocked Shots
Isles 19 (Alex Romanov -6)
Boston 16 (Charlie McAvoy -4)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 84, Boston 55
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 82, Boston 49
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Noah Dobson +23
Boston: David Pastrnak +11
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 11, Boston 8
5-on-5: Isles 11, Boston 7
Scratches
(Mike Reilly-IR), (Semyon Varlamov-LTIR), Matt Martin, (Isaish George -INJ), (Simon Holmstrom – INJ)
Games Lost to injury: 131. (Last season's total: 181)
The Ironmen
Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 206 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (156) has also played every game since the start of last season.
Most Overtime Goals, Career (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 11
2. Brock Nelson 8
3. Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey 6
5. Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Thomas Hickey, and Anthony Beauvillier 5
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 41 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.
National TV Games
The Isles are 0-3-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with seven games remaining. The next national games will stream on January 28th on ESPN+/Hulu, as the Isles host the Avs and January 30th on ESPN+/Hulu as the Isles visit the Flyers. The remaining five national telecasts are all scheduled in April.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-4-1 in matinee games this season, with six games remaining. The next matinee will be on March 1st vs Nashville. 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: 2 successful, 3 failures (No offsides -PIT 11/5, No goalie interference – SEA 11/16, Goalie Interference 11/29, goalie interference – TOR 12/31, no goalie interference – BOS 1/5)
Opponents: 5 successful, 2 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)
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 (3): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7, BOS 1/5
Opponent responses (6): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31, BOS 1/5
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)), 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 (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 (7): 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)
OT Winners
For (2): Bo Horvat 10/25 at NJD (1:09), Bo Horvat 1/5 @ BOS (3:10)
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 880 6. Clark Gillies 872 7. Casey Cizikas 855 8. Matt Martin 844 9. Bob Bourne 814 10. Anders Lee 799 …
28. Pat LaFontaine 530 29. Kyle Okposo 529 30. Ryan Pulock 526 31. Adam Pelech 520 32. Mathew Barzal 519 33. Nick Leddy 518 34. Dave Lewis 514 35. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 37. Scott Mayfield 507
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 278 …
20. Kyle Okposo 139 21. Mathew Barzal 131…
29. Ray Ferraro 116 30. Casey Cizikas 110
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 2. Denis Potvin 742 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
8. Patrick Flatley 328 9. Brent Sutter 323 10. Mathew Barzal 321…
14. Pat LaFontaine 279 15. Bobby Nystrom 278 16. Brock Nelson 267…
19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 21. Anders Lee 207…
26. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 28. Jean Potvin 167 29. Jeff Norton and Noah Dobson 166 31. Ziggy Palffy 163 32. Ryan Pulock 156…
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 552 …
13. Derek King 499 14. Patrick Flatley 488 15. Anders Lee 485 16. Mathew Barzal 452…
28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258 30. David Volek and Casey Cizikas 249
+/-
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. Ryan Pulock +58 21. Jude Drouin +58 23. Patrick Flatley +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 50 6. Jean Potvin 46 7. Nick Leddy and Noah Dobson 45…
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. Jean Potvin 167 7. Jeff Norton and Noah Dobson 166 9. Ryan Pulock 156…
10. Mark Streit 139 11. Adam Pelech 121…
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…
6. Jean Potvin 213 7. Noah Dobson 211 8. Ryan Pulock 206…
10. Mark Streit 179 11. Roman Hamrlik 153 12. Adam Pelech 147…
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. Kelly Hrudey 241 5. Ilya Sorokin 221 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. Ilya Sorokin 107 …
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 7-21-2-2 after dropping home games to Rochester (6-3) Saturday and Hartford (5-1) Sunday.
Brian Pinho leads the team with 16 goals. Chris Terry's 21 assists pace the Baby Isles in that category and is tied with Pinho for the team point lead with 25.
The Islanders head to Providence on Sunday before opening a four-game homestand next Sunday.
Season Series Stats
The season series is tied 1 game to 1 (Boston leads in points, 3 points to 2). The final meeting will be in Boston on February 27th.
This was the Isles' first regular season win in Boston since March 25, 2021 (1-5-2) ; they are now 2-5-2 in their last nine games overall against the Bruins.
The Bruins have points in 13 straight regular season home games against the Isles (10-0-3), dating back to a 4-0 Isles win on January 16, 2017, in Jack Capuano's final game as Islander coach.
UP NEXT
THURSDAY, JANUARY 9th –ISLES AT VEGAS 10:00pm
[MSGSN2 (pre-game at 9:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The road trip continues as the Isles face the Golden Knights in Vegas in the first meeting of the teams this Sunday.
Vegas swept both games last season to balance the all-time team series – each team has won six games, including one in OT/SO.
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
