"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 50
Isles 3, Philadelphia 0
Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves for his third shutout of the season, and Simon Holmstrom broke a scoreless tie with a goal midway through the game as the Isles blanked the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 before a crowd of 18,703 at Wells Fargo Center.
The Isles extended the longest active win streak in the NHL to six games as they also got goals from Marc Gatcomb (his first in the NHL) and Kyle Palmieri (his first since December 23rd).
The Isles have won four straight on the road, as well, and move to a season-high three games over NHL-500 (23-20-7). The Isles now head to Florida to begin a stretch of five games against current playoff teams, beginning with a back-to-back in Tampa Bay on Saturday and Florida on Sunday. - that stretch will take the Isles into the 4 Nations Cup break.
The Scoring:
1st Period
No Goals
2nd Period
Simon Holmstrom (13) Scott Perunovich (6), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (16) 10:02 NYI 1,PHI 0
Marc Gatcomb (1) Kyle MacLean (4), Maxim Tsyplakov (13) 17:08 NYI 2,PHI 0
3rd Period
Kyle Palmieri (13) Casey Cizikas (4), Adam Pelech (12) 09:53 NYI 3,PHI 0
The Skinny
The Isles have won six straight and are 9-2-0 in their last eleven games; it is the third time under Patrick Roy that the Isles have won at least six straight (also had two six-game streaks last season)…The Isles have outscored the opposition 21-7 during the six-game win streak…The Isles have outscored their opponents 84-78 in the first two periods but have been outscored 63-52 in the third period and overtime; the Isles are much improved in third period and OT in the last eleven games, outscoring their opponents 15-6…The Isles have scored 99 goals and allowed 85 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 57-37 in all other situations… The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 30 of the last 38 games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 51-40 in the second period this season (including 10-2 in the last six games); they were outscored 107-83 in the second period a season ago… The Isles have killed 20 of 21 over their last eleven games (95.2%) and they have the best PK in the NHL in that span… The Isles went 0-2 on the power play; over the last twenty games, the Isles have been outscored 10-3 on the power play…The Isles improve to 17-2-2 when leading after two periods with their 11th straight win in that situation…Bo Horvat's point streak ended at six games…The Isles have been credited with 200 hits (33.3 per game) during their six-game win streak…Bo Horvat was successful on draws again, winning 12 of 19; he has won 132 of 198 during the 9-2-0 stretch, for an NHL-best 66.7% (minimum 50 face-offs)….Ilya Sorokin has now won four straight starts and five straight appearances (including his 2:03 of overtime outing on Saturday); it is the fourth time in his career that he has had a 5-game winning streak… The Isles have now played fourteen scoreless first periods this season (7-3-4)…The Flyers were shutout on both ends of their back-to-back…Isaiah George played only one shift after being hit by Anthony Richard midway through the first period…Kyle Palmieri's goal was the first scored in an Islander game this season by either team in a 4-on-4 situation…John Tortorella coached his 1,600th NHL game…Only Connor Hellebuyck (23) has more shutouts than Ilya Sorokin (21) since Ilya entered the NHL in 2021…Adam Pelech has five assists in the last six games, matching the most he has earned in any five-game span.
Howie's Stat
Former Isles broadcaster Howie Rose always liked this one: Marc Gatcomb is the 402nd player in Isles history (including Billy Smith) to score a goal. Gatcomb joins Lorne Henning, Ron Smith (both in 72-73), Andrei Vasiliyev (1995), and Robin Salo (2022) as Isles who have scored their first NHL goals in Philadelphia; Jeff Norton and Bob Bassen both scored their 1st NHL goals vs. the Flyers at the Coliseum.
First Times in a Long Time
• The Isles finish January 9-3-0 (.750), completing their best January since the Stanley Cup Champion Islanders went 9-2-1 in January 1983.
• The Isles have allowed seven goals in their six-game winning streak, matching the fewest goals they have allowed in any six-game span since 2019 (four overlapping streaks allowing 4 or 5 goals).
• Scott Perunovich is the first Islander since Johnny Boychuk (10/10-11/2014) to have an assist in each of his first two games with the team.
• The Isles are three games over NHL-.500 for the first time this season and they are also two games over .500 on the road for the first time since November 14th.
Blanking the Flyers
Ilya Sorokin now has four career shutouts against the Flyers; he is the seventh NHL goalie (third-active) with at least four shutouts of the Flyers. (Chico Resch and Garth Snow are the only other Isles with multiple shutouts vs. Philadelphia -both had 2). Sorokin has now blanked the Flyers in three straight seasons.
Most Winning Streaks of 6+ Games (Islander Coach)
1. Al Arbour 13 (although it took 365 games for his first one!)
2. Barry Trotz/Patrick Roy 3
What a Stretch
The Isles are 9-2-0 since January 5th. The nine wins are tied for the NHL lead in that span, and their .818-win percentage is the best in the NHL in that span. The Isles have outscored the opposition 35-19; their 3.18 goals per game rates 8th, while their 1.73 goals allowed trails only Washington (1.58). The Isles have won an NHL-best 55.8% of their draws over those eleven games.
Individual Leaders:
Games: Only 11 players have played all ten games, with Scott Mayfield and Adam Pelech being the only defensemen.
Goals: Horvat 8, Lee 6, Nelson 5
Assists: Barzal 7, Nelson 6, Palmieri 6, Pageau 6, Pelech 6
Points: Nelson 11, Horvat 11, Barzal 10
+/-: Lee +13, Pelech +12, Barzal +10
Shots: Horvat 35, Lee 28, Barzal 28
Faceoff Percentage: Horvat 66.7, Cizikas 57.6, Pageau 53.2
Goalies Sorokin 7-1-0 .938 1.71 ; Hogberg 2-1-0 .946 1.26
+129
The Isles are 129 games over all-time NHL-.500 over the first time since January 17, 1996, when a 6-3 loss to Hartford dropped them to 859-730-266.
Quite the Numbers
Marcus Hogberg has now played 332 minutes for the Isles, allowing eight goals on 151 shots for a 1.45 GAA and a .947 save percentage. Both the GAA and save percentage are the best in Islander history for any goalie who played multiple games. He is the 44th goalie to win multiple games for the Isles.
Weekend Warriors
The Islanders have won eight straight Saturday games (six at home and two on the road). The Isles are 16-13-3 in their last 32 games (8-0-0 on Saturday; 8-13-3 on other days).
Successive Saturday Successes
The Isles have won eight straight Saturday games, matching the longest Saturday win streak (single season) in the Post-Cup era (Also in 2005-06); the last time the Isles had a longer Saturday win streak was December 19, 1981- February 20, 1982, when they won nine straight, with the final five games being games 2, 5, 8, 11, and 15 of the historic 15-game win streak.
Milestone Man
Mathew Barzal has 327 assists, just one assist behind Patrick Flatley for 8th place in club history.
Third Periods
Goals: Isles 49, Opponents 57
Tying Goals: Isles 6, Opponents 11 (in 10 games)
Go Ahead Goals: Isles 8 (in 7 games), Opponents 9
Empty Net Goals: Isles 10, Opponents 14
The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 33 of their 50 games. In the 17 games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (3-13-1), 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 eleven come-from behind wins this season, including three when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win nine times this season, including seven times in the third period.
Overtime
The Isles are 3-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 3-4 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 10 empty-net goals and allowed 14.
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 35 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 14 times
• Allowed the next goal: 16 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 5 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2024-25 23-20-7 for 53 points in 50 games
• 2023-24 21-17-12 for 54 points in 50 games
(The Isles remain within one point of last season's pace after trailing by multiple points between games 19-48)
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-2-2
• Season: 17-74-91
• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170
The Islander defense scored only four times in the first 26 games but have 13 goals in the last 24 games.
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 5-3-3 so far (1-1-0 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. They went 0-1-0 in January; five of the six remaining games will be at home.
Going back to last season the Isles are 8-3-3 in the last 14 games against Canadian teams; the next Canadian opponent will be Winnipeg on February 7th in the Isles' final game in Canada this season.
Home and Road
The Isles are 23-20-7 overall; they are 12-11-2 at home and 11-9-5 on the road.
Philadelphia is 23-24-6 overall; they are 12-12-1 at home and 11-12-5 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 15-14-3 against the East (8-5-2 vs. Metropolitan and 7-9-1 vs. Atlantic) and 8-6-4 against the West (5-2-2 vs. Central and 3-4-2 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 1,467
3. Glen Sather 1,319
Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,467) and Patrick Roy (173) have combined for 1,640 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 11-4-4 when scoring first and are 12-16-3 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 10-8-10=28
Philadelphia 8-12-3=23
The Isles are 12-12-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 10-7-4 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves; he is 18-14-4 this season and 11-3-2 vs. Philadelphia.
Ivan Fedotov made 25 saves; he is 4-7-3 this season and 0-2-1 vs the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-2 (4:00); Philadelphia was 0-3 (6:00).
The Isles are 9-2-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 14-18-6 when they do not. The Isles are 10-10-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 13-10-1 when they do not.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 22-4-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-16-3 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 9-5-7 in games decided by a single goal including 4-5 in regulation. They are 3-6 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-8 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 4-1-1 on the front end and 3-3-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be February 1st-2nd when they visit Tampa bay and Florida.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Anthony DeAngelo (28:14); Philadelphia: Travis Konecny (23:45)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (20:29).
Face-offs
Isles 34, Philadelphia 33 (5`%)
Bo Horvat won 12 of 19 for the Isles; Rodrigo Abols won 8 of 9 for Philadelphia.
Hit Count
Isles 33 (Marc Gatcomb -18)
Philadelphia 20 (Garnet Hathaway -10)
Fights
Max Tsyplakov fought Scott Laughton in the first period. Season total: 6 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin-2, Pageau, Tsyplakov)
Blocked Shots
Isles 25 (Three with 5)
Philadelphia 9 (Two with 2)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 47, Philadelphia 68
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 38, Philadelphia 57
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Scott Perunovich and Bo Horvat +5
Philadelphia: Anthony Richard +14
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 7, Philadelphia 15
5-on-5: Isles 5, Philadelphia 13
Scratches
(Mike Reilly-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-LTIR), (Hudson Fasching-IR), (Noah Dobson-LTIR), (Ryan Pulock -IR), (Margus Hogberg -IR), Matt Martin, Dennis Cholowski, Pierre Engvall
Games Lost to injury: 179. (Last season's total: 181)
The Ironmen
Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 216 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (166) has also played every game since the start of last 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
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 19
Barzal has a point on 21 of the 42 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.
National TV Games
The Isles are 2-3-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with five games remaining. The next national game will stream April 1st on ESPN+/Hulu as the Isles host the Lightning; five of the last nine games are scheduled to be nationally televised.
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: 6 successful, 3 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)
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 (2): CHI 12/12, PHI 1/24
Vs (1): CHI 12/15
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)
Isles responses (4): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7, BOS 1/5, SJ 1/18
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 (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 (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 (3): Bo Horvat 10/25 @ NJD (1:09), Bo Horvat 1/5 @ BOS (3:10), Brock Nelson 1/25 vs CAR (2:03)
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 890 *** 6. Clark Gillies 872 *** 7. Casey Cizikas 865 *** 8. Matt Martin 848 *** 9. Bob Bourne 814 *** 10. Anders Lee 809 …
23. Ken Morrow 550 *** 24. Duane Sutter 547 *** 25. Lorne Henning 543 *** 26. Claude Lapointe and Ryan Pulock 535 *** 28.Tomas Jonsson 532 *** 29. Pat LaFontaine and Adam Pelech 530 *** 31. Kyle Okposo and Mathew Barzal 529 *** 33. Nick Leddy 518 *** 34. Scott Mayfield 517
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Brock Nelson 290 *** 6. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 *** 8. Anders Lee 282 …
20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 134…
29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 111
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
7. John Tonelli 338 *** 8. Patrick Flatley 328 *** 9. Mathew Barzal 327…
13. Derek King 288 *** 14. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 15. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 16. Brock Nelson 272…
19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 210…
25. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 26. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 28. Noah Dobson 169 *** 29. Jean Potvin 167 *** 30. Jeff Norton 166 *** 31. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 32. Ryan Pulock 157…
35. Travis Green 145 *** 36. Casey Cizikas 142
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 562 …
13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Anders Lee 491 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 461…
28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 253
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +84 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +62 *** 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 51 *** 6. Jean Potvin and Noah Dobson 46…
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 169 *** 7. Jean Potvin 167 *** 8. Jeff Norton 166 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 157 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 126…
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 215 *** 7. Jean Potvin 213 *** 8. Ryan Pulock 208…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Roman Hamrlik 153 *** 12. Adam Pelech 152…
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 228 *** 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 113 …
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 10-28-2-2 after a 9-2 loss to Lehigh Valley on Wednesday.
Brian Pinho, the team's All-Star selection, leads the team with 17 goals. Chris Terry's 24 assists and 36 points pace the Baby Isles in both categories.
The Islanders head to Hershey for a pair of games this weekend.
Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series, 2 games to 1 (and 4 points to 2). The final meeting will be in Philadelphia on April 12th.
The Isles are 8-2-2 in their last 12 trips to Philadelphia.
UP NEXT
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1st – ISLES AT TAMPA BAY 7:00pm
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 6:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles will look for their first seven-game winning streak in four seasons as they head to Tampa Bay to face the Lightning for the first time this season.
The Isles have dropped five straight games in Tampa Bay by a combined score of 21-6, since defeating the Bolts 5-1 on December 9, 2019.
Overall, the Isles are 2-8-0 in the last ten games against the Lightning.
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
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