"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 59
Isles 7, Nashville 4
Ilya Sorokin became the second goalie in Islander history to be credited with a goal and also made 24 saves, and the Isles scored multiple goals in each period as they defeated the Nashville Predators 7-4 before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.
The matinee crowd saw Brock Nelson score twice and add an assist, Bo Horvat reach 20 goals for the eighth time in his career, and numerous other star performances, but it was those who stayed to the end that were rewarded with seeing an Islander goalie credited with a goal in a home game for the first time in club history when Steven Stamkos' pass went into an empty net.
The Isles are 27-25-7 as they begin a back-to-back on Monday at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (11) Casey Cizikas (6), Adam Boqvist (5) 02:37 NSH 0,NYI 1
Kyle Palmieri (19) Adam Boqvist (6), Brock Nelson (22) 12:27 NSH 0,NYI 2 PPG
Bo Horvat (20) Anders Lee (19) 19:31 NSH 0,NYI 3
2nd Period
Colton Sissons (7) 01:03 NSH 1,NYI 3
Brock Nelson (18) Simon Holmstrom (17) 02:38 NSH 1,NYI 4 SHG
Marc Del Gaizo (1) Colton Sissons (11), Ryan O'Reilly (22) 04:58 NSH 2,NYI 4
Brock Nelson (19) Alexander Romanov (14), Simon Holmstrom (18) 16:21 NSH 2,NYI 5
3rd Period
Casey Cizikas (5) Hudson Fasching (1), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (19) 05:21 NSH 2,NYI 6
Cole Smith (3) Marc Del Gaizo (4), Colton Sissons (12) 05:51 NSH 3,NYI 6
Cole Smith (4) Tommy Novak (9), Nick Blankenburg (5) 18:56 NSH 4,NYI 6
Ilya Sorokin (1) EN OWN 19:48 NSH 4,NYI 7
The Skinny
The Isles, who scored a season-high seven goals, and led by three goals after one period for the first time all season, have allowed 24 goals in the last six games (2-4-0)…The Isles have been outscored 72-59 in the third period and overtime; the Isles are much improved in third period and OT in the last seventeen games, outscoring their opponents 22-15…The Isles have scored 121 goals and allowed 111 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 64-42 in all other situations… The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 34 of the last 47 games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 62-56 in the second period this season; they were outscored 107-83 in the second period a season ago… The Isles killed all three opponent power plays for the second straight game, and scored a shorthanded goal to boot … The Isles went 1-4 on the power play; over the last 28 games, the Isles have been outscored 14-5 on the power play…It was the first Islander power play goal at UBS Arena since January 20th vs. Columbus and only the second overall over that span….Cole Smith scored twice in the third period; six of his 17 career goals have come in three two-goal games. Alex Romanov extended his point streak to three games with a second period assist. …Brock Nelson established a new career-high with a five-game assist streak… Kyle Palmieri has five goals in the last six games, and seven goals in the last ten games…It is the first time the Isles have ever scored seven goals against Nashville; they had never scored more than five goals in a home game against the Preds… The win ends a streak of four games in which the Isles had scored three times but lost the game in regulation; that had not happened since 1989….Adam Boqvist was credited with his first two assists as an Islander…Casey Cizikas took two minor penalties; his 38 penalty minutes leads the time…Marc DelGaizo, a childhood friend of Kyle MacLean, scored his first NHL goal…Hudson Fasching earned his first point of the season…The Isles tied the UBS record by scoring seven times.
The Goalie Goal
• Ilya Sorokin scored the 18th goal by a goaltender in NHL regular season play (two others have been scored in the playoffs). Sorokin joins Billy Smith (November 28, 1979, vs. Colorado) as Islander goalies to score a goal. (How rare is this? By comparison there have been 24 perfect games pitched in Major League Baseball)
• Sorokin ties Smith's team record for goals by a goalie in a period, game, season, and career.
• The Isles are the third NHL team with multiple goalies to score a goal, joining Pittsburgh and Nashville.
• It is the third goalie goal in the NHL this season; no prior season had more than one.
• Sorokin is the first Islander goalie to be credited with a point this season; it is the fourth point of his career (1-3-4)
• Both games in which an Islander goalie scored ended with a 7-4 score, but the Isles lost the other one. Smith's goal was scored on a delayed penalty in the second period; it is the only time a team lost a game that their goalie scored (17-1-0).
• Steven Stamkos entered the game one career goal behind Mike Bossy; instead of tying Bossy he was on the other end of Islander history.
• It is the third game in Islander history where a goalie scored; Jose Theodore did so for Montreal on January 2, 2001, at the Coliseum, when he shot the puck into an empty net.
Howie's Favorite Stat
For years I have been noting a stat that former Islander broadcaster Howie Rose always liked – how many players have scored goals for the Isles. For completeness I have always included a parenthetical (including Billy Smith). That changes tonight: Ilya Sorokin is the 405th Islander to score a goal (including Billy Smith and, well, himself).
To Infinity and Beyond
Since Ilya Sorokin's goal is credited as an 'own goal', neither Sorokin nor the Isles receive a shot on goal for it; thus, Sorokin now has one goal on zero career shots. This is a shooting percentage of infinity.
First Times in a Long Time
The Isles scored multiple goals in each period for the second time this season (October 14 in Colorado) but for the first time at home since October 15, 2022, vs. Anaheim. It is the first time since 2014-15 that the Isles have done this multiple times in a season.
Milestone Man
Brock Nelson played his 899th game, just one game behind Bob Nystrom for 4th place in club history. Nelson also tied Nystrom for 15th place on the club assist list, one behind Pat LaFontaine for 14th place.
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.
Third Periods
Goals: Isles 55, Opponents 67
Tying Goals: Isles 6, Opponents 13 (in 12 games)
Go Ahead Goals: Isles 10 (in 9 games), Opponents 9
Empty Net Goals: Isles 11, Opponents 16
The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 37 of their 59 games. In the 22 games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (3-18-1), they have been within one goal at some point in all but five of them (10/12 @ DAL, 12/5 vs SEA, 12/17 @ CAR, 12/23 vs BUF, 2/25 vs NYR)
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have twelve come-from behind wins this season, including three 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 4-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 4-4 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 11 empty-net goals and allowed 16.
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 42 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 18 times
• Allowed the next goal: 19 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 5 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2024-25 27-25-7 for 61 points in 59 games
• 2023-24 25-20-14 for 64 points in 59 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-3-3
• Season: 21-89-110
• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170
The Islander defense scored only four times in the first 26 games but have 17 goals in the last 33 games.
Home and Road
The Isles are 27-25-7 overall; they are 14-13-2 at home and 13-12-5 on the road.
Nashville is 21-31-7 overall; they are 15-12-3 at home and 6-19-4 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 17-16-3 against the East (8-6-2 vs. Metropolitan and 9-10-1 vs. Atlantic) and 10-9-4 against the West (6-5-2 vs. Central and 4-4-2 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 1,471
3. Glen Sather 1,319
Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,471) and Patrick Roy (177) have combined for 1,648 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 14-5-4 when scoring first and are 13-20-3 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 19-9-8=36
Nashville 3-11-14=28
The Isles are 13-17-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 13-7-4 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves; he is 22-18-4 this season and 1-3-1 vs. Nashville.
Juuse Saros made 30 saves; he is 13-25-6 this season and 7-2-0 vs the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 1-4 (6:10); Nashville was 0-3 (6:00) and allowed a shorthanded goal.
The Isles are 10-3-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 17-22-6 when they do not. The Isles are 10-13-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 17-12-1 when they do not.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 24-8-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-17-3 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 12-7-7 in games decided by a single goal including 6-7 in regulation. They are 4-6 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 5-2-1 on the front end and 3-5-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be March 3rd -4th when they visit the Rangers and host the Jets.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Noah Dobson (24:48); Nashville: Brady Skjei (26:06)
Brock Nelson led Isles forwards (20:04).
Face-offs
Isles 32, Nashville 26 (55%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 9 of 13 for the Isles; Tommy Novak won 3 of 5 for Nashville.
Hit Count
Isles 18 (Marc Gatcomb -4)
Nashville 10 (Luke Schenn -4)
Fights
Season total: 8 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin-2, Pageau, Tsyplakov, Gatcomb, Cizikas)
Blocked Shots
Isles 7 (Alexander Romanov -3)
Nashville 12 (Luke Schenn -3)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 70, Nashville 54
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 57, Nashville 45
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Casey Cizikas and Hudson Fasching +12
Nashville: Marc Del Gaizo +7
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 18, Nashville 15
5-on-5: Isles 16, Nashville 13
Scratches
(Mike Reilly-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-LTIR), (Mathew Barzal – IR), (Margus Hogberg -IR), (Matt Martin-IR), Scott Mayfield, Max Tsyplakov, Scott Perunovich
Games Lost to injury: 231. (Last season's total: 181)
The Ironmen
Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 225 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (175) 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 43 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 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
Including today, 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, 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, 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)
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (2): CHI 12/12, PHI 1/24
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 (7): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31, BOS 1/5, NAS 3/1
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 (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)
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 899 *** 6. Casey Cizikas 874 *** 7. Clark Gillies 872 *** 8. Matt Martin 848 *** 9. Anders Lee 818 …
23. Ken Morrow 550 *** 24. Duane Sutter 547 *** 25. Lorne Henning 543 *** 26. Adam Pelech 539 *** 27. Ryan Pulock 538 *** 28. Claude Lapointe 535 *** 29. Tomas Jonsson 532 *** 30. Mathew Barzal 531 *** 31. Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 32. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 33. Scott Mayfield 520
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Brock Nelson 294 *** 6. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 *** 8. Anders Lee 283 …
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…
13. Derek King 288 *** 14. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 15. Bobby Nystrom and Brock Nelson 278…
19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 212…
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 158…
35. Travis Green 145 *** 36. Casey Cizikas 144
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
7. Josh Bailey 580 *** 8. Brock Nelson 572 …
13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Anders Lee 494 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 462…
28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 256
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +79 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +59 *** 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 158 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 129…
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 209…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 155…
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 236 *** 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 117 …
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 12-36-3-3 after dropping 5-2 and 5-3 decisions in Lehigh Valley Friday and Saturday.
Brian Pinho scored twice Saturday to give him a team-leading (and career-high) 21 goals, four ahead of Liam Foudy. Chris Terry's 34 assists and 50 points pace the Baby Isles in both categories (he is tied for 2nd in the AHL in points).
Bridgeport heads to Hartford on Wednesday before hosting Toronto on Saturday and Springfield on Sunday.
Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The rematch will be on April 8th in Nashville.
The Isles have won two straight over Nashville after going winless in their previous ten meetings.
UP NEXT
MONDAY, MARCH 3rd – ISLES AT RANGERS 7:00pm
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 6:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles look to extend the winning streak to three as they face the Rangers for the third time this season. The Rangers have won the first two meetings, 5-2 in Manhattan in November and 5-1 at UBS Arena this past Tuesday.
The Isles have lost three straight (0-2-1) over two seasons to the Rangers and are 1-4-2 in the last seven matchups with the Blueshirts; their four-game winless (0-3-1) streak at MSG is the longest since going 0-7-1 from March 24, 2010, to February 7, 2013.
The teams will meet on April 10th at UBS Arena to complete the season series.
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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