The Skinny: Ottawa 2, Isles 0

"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 43

Ottawa 2, Isles 0

Leevi Merilainen made 24 saves for his second career shutout and Adam Gaudette's second period goal was the only one to beat Marcus Hogberg as the Ottawa Senators snapped the Isles' three-game winning streak with a 2-0 victory before a crowd of 15,101 at UBS Arena. 

Gaudette thought he had scored his first goal in sixteen games early in the first period, but his goal was reversed on video review; Artem Zub hit the empty net for the final margin.

The Isles are three games under NHL-.500 at home (7-10-2) this late in the season for the first time since 2013-14. Game two of the seven-game homestand is Thursday against Philadelphia.

The Scoring:  

1st Period

No Goals 

2nd Period

Adam Gaudette (14) Tyler Kleven (2), Shane Pinto (6) 08:42 OTT 1,NYI 0

3rd Period

Artem Zub (1)EN Josh Norris (10), Drake Batherson (25) 18:36 OTT 2,NYI 0

The Skinny

The Isles allowed the opening goal for the 15th time in the last 18 games…The Isles have outscored the opposition 70-69 thru two periods but have been outscored 61-42 in the third period and overtime…The Isles have scored 82 goals and allowed 76 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 54-30 in all other situations… The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 24 of the last 31 games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 41-35 in the second period this season; they were outscored 107-83 in the second period a season ago… The Isles killed the only Ottawa penalty, improving to a perfect 5-for-5 in the last four games; it is the first time since November 30-December 7, 2023, that they have been perfect in four straight games on the PK… The Isles did not score on their only power play opportunity, dropping them to 0-25 over the last fourteen games; it is the longest streak without a power play goal in club history and the longest streak in the NHL since Buffalo had a 15-game streak in 2021. … Over the last fourteen games, the Isles have been outscored 9-0 on the power play… Matthew Barzal saw his five-game assist streak (one shy of his career high) come to an end…Jake Sanderson played a career-high 31:46….The Sens now have seven shutouts, with three goalies recording at least two.

The Injury

Thomas Chabot was hit in the face with an Adam Pelech shot in the first period and left the game; he did not return.

Most Consecutive Games Without a Power Play Goal (Isles History, one season)

14 -  12/10/24-CURRENT

12 -  11/10-12/9/2010

12 -  11/26-12/20/1972

The 0-25 stretch leaves the Isles power play at 11-105 (10.5%) on the season.

Most Consecutive Games Without a Power Play Goal (NHL History, one season, expansion era)

16 – CLE:  2/4/78-3/11/78

15 – BUF: 2/27/21-3/25/21

14 -  NYI: 12/10/24-CURRENT

14 – OTT  3/3/16-3/31/16

14 – TOR 12/2/97-12/31/97

Look at Me, I'm Anders Lee

Lee is 6-2-8 in eight games since Christmas. At 19-16-35, 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

• The Isles were shut out for the 6th time this season; it is the first time they have been blanked six times by the end of January since 2011-12 (eight times) and the first time Ottawa has done it to them in New York since February 20, 2012.

• The Isles are playing seven consecutive home games for the first time since 2021-22 (twice) but that reflected games rescheduled due to COVID. The Isles all played seven straight at home in 2013 (lockout season), but this is the first time since February-March 2007 that seven straight were scheduled at home in an original schedule.

• Neither team has scored on the power play in the last four Islander games; it is only the 21st time in club history that has happened and the first time since April 2-10, 2023 (also four games). The club record is 7, set in March 2019.

Quite the Numbers

Marcus Hogberg has now played 211 minutes for the Isles, allowing five goals on 106 shots for a 1.42 GAA and a .953 save percentage. Both the GAA and save percentage are the best in Islander history for any goalie who played multiple games. He is the 52nd goalie to win a game for the Isles (and is one of nine to win exactly one).

Weekend Warriors

The Islanders have won six straight Saturday games (four at home and two on the road). The Isles are 10-12-3 in their last 25 games (6-0-0 on Saturday; 4-12-3 on other days). Eight of their last ten wins have come on Saturday or Sunday.

Milestone Men

• Brock Nelson has 287 goals, matching Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter for 5th place in club history as well as the most of any player without four Stanley Cups.

• Mathew Barzal has 323  assists, tying Brent Sutter for 9th place in club history.

• Anders Lee has 488 points, tying Patrick Flatley for 14th place in club history.

• Noah Dobson's next assist will be his 168th assist, passing Jean Potvin for 6th place on the club's assist list.

• Anthony Duclair's next goal will be his 150th career goal.

Third Periods

Goals:  Isles 40, Opponents 55

Tying Goals: Isles 5, Opponents 11 (in 10 games)

Go Ahead Goals: Isles 7 (in 6 games), Opponents 9

Empty Net Goals: Isles 9, Opponents 13

The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 29 of their 43 games. In the 14 games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (2-11-1), 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 eight come-from behind wins this season, including two when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win eight times this season, including seven times in the third period.

Overtime

Ten of the first 26 Islanders games went to overtime; 16 of the last 17 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 9 empty-net goals and allowed 13.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 29 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 11 times

• Allowed the next goal: 15 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 3 times 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2024-25  17-19-7 for 41 points in 43 games

• 2023-24  19-14-10 for 48 points in 43 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:   0-0-0

• Season: 13-61-74

• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170

Islander defensemen have earned 33.5% of the team's assists, which is tied-7th in the NHL, and 25.2% of the team's points, which is 10th.

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 17-19-7 overall; they are 7-10-2 at home and 10-9-5 on the road.

Ottawa is 22-18-3 overall; they are 11-7-1 at home and 11-11-2 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 11-13-3 against the East (4-4-2 vs. Metropolitan and 7-9-1 vs. Atlantic) and 6-6-4 against the West (4-2-2 vs. Central and 2-4-2 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 1,461

3. Glen Sather 1,319

Leaders of the Pack

Lou Lamoriello (1,461) and Patrick Roy (167) have combined for 1,628 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 8-3-4 when scoring first and are 9-16-3 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles   7-9-8=24

Ottawa  5-7-15=27

The Isles are 9-11-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 8-7-4 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Marcus Hogberg made 25 saves; he is 1-2-0 this season and 0-1-0 vs. Ottawa. 

Leevi Merilainen made 24 saves; he is 5-2-0 this season and 1-0-0 vs the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-1 (2:00); Ottawa was 0-1 (2:00).

The Isles are 8-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 9-18-6 when they do not. The Isles are 9-10-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-9-1 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 16-3-4 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 8-5-7 in games decided by a single goal including 4-5 in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-7 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: Noah Dobson (27:12); Ottawa: Jake Sanderson (career-high 31:46)

Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (23:16).

Face-offs

Isles 36, Ottawa 25 (59%)

Bo Horvat won 12 of 18 for the Isles; Josh Norris won 10 of 19 for Ottawa. 

Hit Count

Isles 22 (Matt Martin-5)

Ottawa 26 (Brady Tkachuk -5)

Fights 

Matt Martin fought Zack MacEwen in the first period. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin-2)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 15 (Adam Pelech and Mathew Barzal -3)

Ottawa 24 (Artem Zub-7)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 61, Ottawa 55

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 58, Ottawa 49

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Pierre Engvall +12

Ottawa: Zack MacEwen +8

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 5, Ottawa 17

5-on-5: Isles 5, Ottawa 15

Scratches

(Mike Reilly-IR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Hudson Fasching-INJ), (Simon Holmstrom – IR), (Alex Romanov-INJ), (Jean-Gabriel Pageau -Sick)

Games Lost to injury: 148. (Last season's total: 181)

The Ironmen

Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 209 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (159) 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: 4 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, offsides-VEG 1/9, goalie interference – OTT 1/14)

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 (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 (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 883 *** 6. Clark Gillies 872 *** 7. Casey Cizikas 858 *** 8. Matt Martin 847 *** 9. Bob Bourne 814 *** 10. Anders Lee 802 …

28. Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 29. Kyle Okposo and Ryan Pulock 529 *** 31. Adam Pelech  523 *** 32. Mathew Barzal 522 *** 33. Nick Leddy 518 ***  34. Dave Lewis 514 *** 35. Scott Mayfield 510

Goals    

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

4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Pat LaFontaine, Brent Sutter, and Brock Nelson 287  *** 8. Anders Lee 279 …

20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 132…

29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 111

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …

8. Patrick Flatley 328 *** 9. Brent Sutter and Mathew Barzal 323…

14. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 15. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 16. Brock Nelson 268…

19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 209…

26. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 28. Jean Potvin and Noah Dobson 167 *** 30. Jeff Norton 166 *** 31. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 32. Ryan Pulock 157… 

35. Travis Green 145 *** 36. 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 555 …

13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Patrick Flatley and Anders Lee 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 455…

28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258 ***  30. Casey Cizikas 250

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467  ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…

15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +76 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 ***  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 and Noah Dobson 167 *** 8. Jeff Norton 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 212 *** 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 222 *** 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 108 …

7. Jaroslav Halak 88 ***  8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 20 *** 

4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm   

Chris Terry scored two goals and added an assist as Bridgeport improved to 8-22-2-2 with a 5-0 win over Lehigh Valley on Sunday; it was the Baby Isles' second home win of the season. Henrik Tikkanen made 21 saves for his first professional shutout.

Brian Pinho, the team's All-Star selection, leads the team with 17 goals. Chris Terry's 22 assists and 29 points pace the Baby Isles in those categories.

The homestand continues on Wednesday against Springfield.

Season Series Stats

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

The road team won all three games this season, each by two goals.

The Isles are 8-2-2 in their last 12 games vs. Ottawa; the loss ended a 6-0-2 stretch in their last eight home games against the Sens, dating back to a 6-5 loss in Brooklyn on December 1, 2017.

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, JANUARY 16th –PHILADELPHIA AT ISLES 7:30pm

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

The Isles and Flyers met only once in all of calendar year 2024 but they will meet three times this month, beginning on Thursday at UBS Arena.

The Isles are 13-2-1 in their last 16 games vs. Philadelphia (including 6-1 in OT/SO) and are 8-0-1 in their last nine home games against the Flyers, dating back to a 4-3 loss at the Coliseum on March 18, 2021. The one OT/SO loss at home was last November 25, when Ilya Sorokin made 40 saves but lost in a shootout.

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