"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 75
Isles 3, Minnesota 1
Casey Cizikas and Simon Holmstrom scored 1:44 apart in the second period, offsetting a Mats Zuccarello goal, as the Islanders snapped their six-game (0-4-2) losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild before a crowd of 15,742 at UBS Arena.
Noah Dobson added a third period power play goal for the final margin of victory as the Isles improve to 33-32-10 on the season. The Isles host Washington on Sunday afternoon to conclude the homestand.
The Scoring:
1st Period
No Goals
2nd Period
Mats Zuccarello (18) Marcus Johansson (22) 01:42 MIN 1,NYI 0
Casey Cizikas (7) Noah Dobson (28), Pierre Engvall (6) 02:18 MIN 1,NYI 1
Simon Holmstrom (18) Maxim Tsyplakov (24), Ryan Pulock (17) 04:02 MIN 1,NYI 2
3rd Period
Noah Dobson (9) Tony DeAngelo (13) 03:36 MIN 1,NYI 3 PPG
The Skinny
The Isles are 4-4-3 in the last eleven games and 8-7-3 in the last eighteen games …The Isles are 5-2-3 in their last ten home games and 11-4-3 in their last eighteen home games (which started with a 6-0-0 stretch)… The Isles have been outscored 91-80 in the third period and overtime, although they have outscored their opponents 43-34 in those periods over the last 32 games…The Isles outscored the Wild 2-1 at 5-on-5 tonight….The Isles have scored 148 goals and allowed 142 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 86-56 in all other situations… The Isles went 1-3 on the power play; the Isles have been outscored 22-13 on the power play over the last 44 games… Ilya Sorokin has started ten of the last twelve and 23 of the last 27 he has appeared in 26 of the last 30 games…Sorokin is 8-5-2 in his last fifteen games, and his 28 wins are the second-highest total of his career… The Isles improve to 24-2-3 when leading after two periods… The Isles allowed the first goal for an NHL-leading 48th time; they have exceeded that total only four times in their history (including 1972-73 and 1973-74) …
The Injury
Jake Middleton left the game in the second period after a check from Bo Horvat; he did not return.
One For The History Books
This was the first game in NHL history between two goaltenders who had already been credited with a goal in that season; Ilya Sorokin was credited with a goal on March 1 vs. Nashville and Filip Gustavsson scored a goal on October 16 vs. St. Louis.
A Clean Sweep For Sorokin
Ilya Sorokin has now beaten all 31 opponents in the NHL that he has faced, including Arizona. He has not faced Utah, which technically is a different franchise that Arizona.
Milestone Men
• Anders Lee has 287 goals, tying Brent Sutter and Pat LaFontaine for 6th in club history.
• Ilya Sorokin played his 249th game and Tony DeAngelo played his 399th NHL game.
• Ryan Pulock earned his 213th point, matching Jean Potvin for 7th among Isles defensemen.
Simon Says 18
Simon Holmstrom is the first Swedish-born Islander to record 18 goals since the 1981-82 season, when Bobby Nystrom had 22 goals and Anders Kallur had 18 goals. Nystrom (8x) and Kallur (2x) are the only Swedes with more goals in a season than Holmstrom.
The Playoff Chase (through Friday)
3rd Metro New Jersey 87 points (35 RW) in 76 games (SAT vs. Rangers)
1st WC Ottawa 86 points (31 RW) in 75 games (SAT vs. Florida)
2nd WC Montreal 81 points (26 RW) in 75 games (SAT vs. Philadelphia)
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3rd Rangers 79 points (32 RW) in 75 games (SAT at New Jersey)
4th Columbus 77 points (24 RW) in 74 games (SAT at Toronto)
5th Detroit 77 points (27 RW) in 75 games (SUN vs Florida)
6th ISLES 76 points (26 RW) in 75 games (SUN vs. Washington)
Maximum Points & Regulation Wins
• New Jersey 99/41 (3rd Metro)
• Ottawa 100/38 (WC 1)
• Montreal 95/33 (WC 2)
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• Rangers 93/39
• Columbus 93/32
• Detroit 91/34
• Isles 90/33
Third Periods
Goals: Isles 75, Opponents 84
Tying Goals: Isles 10, Opponents 16 (in 15 games)
Go Ahead Goals: Isles 13 (in 12 games), Opponents 10
Empty Net Goals: Isles 13, Opponents 22
The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 43 of their 74 games. In the 31 games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (5-25-2), they have been within one goal at some point in all but eight of them.
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have sixteen come-from behind wins this season, including five when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win sixteen times this season, including nine times in the third period.
Overtime
The Isles are 5-8 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-2 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 5-5 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts, Semyon Varlamov is 0-2 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts, and Marcus Hogberg is 0-1 in overtime and 0-0 in shootouts
Sorokin has 36 OT/SO losses, extending his club record (Rick DiPietro had 28).
Bo Knows Overtime
Bo Horvat has three overtime goals this season, six as an Islander, and eleven in his NHL career. All six of his overtime goals have come in the last two seasons; John Tavares is the only other Islander with multiple seasons with at least three overtime goals.
Most Overtime Goals, Career (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 11
2. Brock Nelson 9
3. Bo Horvat, Kyle Okposo, and Josh Bailey 6
6. Mathew Barzal, Thomas Hickey, and Anthony Beauvillier 5
Most Overtime Goals, Season (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 4 (2014-15)
2. Bo Horvat 3 (2023-24)
Bo Horvat 3 (2024-25)
Brock Nelson 3 (2019-20)
John Tavares 3 (2010-11)
Empty Netters
The Isles have scored 13 empty-net goals and allowed 22.
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 51 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 19 times
• Allowed the next goal: 24 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 9 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2024-25 33-32-10 for 76 points in 75 games
• 2023-24 33-27-15 for 81 points in 75 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 1-3-4
• Season: 30-120-150
• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170
The Islander defense scored only four times in the first 26 games but have 26 goals in the last 49 games
Home and Road
The Isles are 33-32-10 overall; they are 18-15-5 at home and 15-17-5 on the road.
Minnesota is 41-29-7 overall; they are 19-17-2 at home and 22-12-5 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 20-20-4 against the East (9-8-3 vs. Metropolitan and 11-12-1 vs. Atlantic) and 13-12-6 against the West (8-5-2 vs. Central and 5-7-4 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 1,477
3. Glen Sather 1,319
Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,477) and Patrick Roy (183) have combined for 1,660 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 17-5-5 when scoring first and are 15-28-5 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 4-14-9=27
Minnesota 11-9-8=28
The Isles are 16-23-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 16-8-6 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves; he is 28-23-6 this season and 1-4-1 vs. Minnesota.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves; he is 29-18-6 this season and 3-2-0 vs the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 1-3 (4:47); Minnesota was 0-2 (4:00).
The Isles are 14-5-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 19-27-9 when they do not. The Isles are 14-15-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 19-17-4 when they do not.
The Isles are 10-5-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 6-16-6 when they are outscored, and 17-11-4 when special team goals are equal.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 30-10-6 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-22-4 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 14-7-10 in games decided by a single goal including 7-7 in regulation. They are 5-8 in games decided in overtime and are 2-2 in shootouts. The Isles are 5-9 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 6-4-1 on the front end and 4-7-0 on the back end this season. The final back-to-back will be April 12th-13th in Philadelphia and New Jersey.
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: Alex Romanov (23:06); Minnesota: Brock Faber (26:18)
Kyle Palmieri led Isles forwards (20:13).
Face-offs
Isles 27, Minnesota 23 (54%)
Casey Cizikas won 7 of 10 for the Isles; Devin Shore won 5 of 6 for Minnesota.
Hit Count
Isles 14 (Matt Martin-3)
Minnesota 21 (Yakov Trenin-6)
Fights
None. Season total: 10 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin-2, Pageau, Tsyplakov, Gatcomb, Cizikas-2, Lee)
Blocked Shots
Isles 18 (Three with 3)
Minnesota 26 (Jon Merrill -6)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 70, Minnesota 67
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 63, Minnesota 50
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Pierre Engvall +19
Minnesota: Jonas Brodin +8
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 15, Minnesota 12
5-on-5: Isles 15, Minnesota 8
Scratches
(Semyon Varlamov-LTIR), (Mathew Barzal – IR), Anthony Duclair, Adam Boqvist, Scott Perunovich, Mike Reilly)
Games Lost to injury: 286. (Last season's total: 181)
The Ironmen
Kyle Palmieri is the Islanders' ironman, having played 191 consecutive games. Casey Cizikas (101) and Anders Lee (75) are the only other Isles to have also played every game this season.
National TV Games
The Isles are 2-4-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with three games remaining. The next national game will be on TNT on April 6th as the Isles host the Caps; three of the last eight games will be nationally-televised.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 1-5-2 in matinee games this season, with three games remaining. The next matinee will be April 6 vs. the Caps. 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 13-17-12 in matinees.
Challenges
Isles: 7 successful, 5 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, offside -MTL 3/20, no goalie interference – MTL 3/20)
Opponents: 8 successful, 4 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, No goalie interference – CBJ 3/24)
Hockey Opps: 0 favorable, 1 unfavorable (Goalie interference – CBJ 3/24)
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (3): CHI 12/12, PHI 1/24, FLA 3/16
Vs (3): CHI 12/15, MIN 2/8, CAR 3/30
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)
Isles responses (8): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7, BOS 1/5, SJ 1/18, MIN 2/8, DAL 2/23, NAS 3/1, MIN 4/4
Opponent responses (9): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31, BOS 1/5, NAS 3/1, LA 3/11, CGY 3/22
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 (4): 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 @ UTA (18:35-GAG), Kyle MacLean 3/22 vs. CGY (17:09, GAG, but lost in OT)
Vs (9): 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); Jonathan Huberdeau 3/22 vs. CGY (17:38- GTG; CGY won in OT)
OT Winners
For (5): 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), Bo Horvat 3/20 vs MTL (3:37)
Vs (8): 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); Nazem Kadri 3/22 vs CGY (3:51)
Shootout Winners
For (2): Noah Dobson 10/19 vs MTL, Bo Horvat 11/5 vs PIT
Vs (2): Andrei Kuzmenko 11/19 @ CGY, Adam Fantilli 3/24 vs CBJ
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 890 *** 7. Clark Gillies 872 *** 8. Matt Martin 848 *** 9. Anders Lee 834 …
22. John Tonelli 594 *** 23. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 554 *** 25. Ken Morrow 550 *** 26. Duane Sutter 547 *** 27. Lorne Henning 543 *** 28. Claude Lapointe 535 *** 29. Tomas Jonsson 532 *** 30. Mathew Barzal and Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 32. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 33. Scott Mayfield 527
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
5. Brock Nelson 295 *** 6. Pat LaFontaine, Brent Sutter, and Anders Lee 287 …
20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 134…
29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 114
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 216…
24. Ed Westfall 181 *** 25. Noah Dobson 179 *** 26. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 27. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 29. Jean Potvin 167 *** 30. Jeff Norton 166 *** 31. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 32. Ryan Pulock 160…
34. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 35. Casey Cizikas 146
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
12. Bob Bourne 542 *** 13. Anders Lee 502…
15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 462…
27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 260
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +81 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +60 *** 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. Ryan Pulock 53 *** 5. Stefan Persson 52 *** 6. Noah Dobson 49…
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 ***
4. Nick Leddy 198 *** 5. Noah Dobson 179…
7. Jean Potvin 167 *** 8. Jeff Norton 166 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 160 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 133…
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 228 *** 7. Jean Potvin and Ryan Pulock 213…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 159…
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 249 …
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 123 …
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 15-44-4-3 following a 4-1 loss to Lehigh Valley on Wednesday.
Brian Pinho has a team-leading (and career-high) 23 goals, three ahead of Liam Foudy. Terry's 43 assists and 62 points both lead the team and are tied-3rd and tied-4th in the AHL, respectively.
The Baby Isles host Charlotte on Saturday in game 2 of their five-game homestand.
Season Series Stats
The teams split the season series, 1 game to 1 (and 2 points to 2).
The Isles beat the Wild for the first time since December 29, 2019, in St. Paul, ending an 0-6-1 streak.
UP NEXT
SUNDAY, APRIL 6th – WASHINGTON AT ISLES 12:30pm
[TNT, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles allowed Wayne Gretzky's 894th goal in 1999; they will look to avoid allowing Alex Ovechkin's 895th goal on Sunday as the Capitals visit UBS Arena for the first time this season.
The Isles made only one team to DC this season, and the Caps rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the third period for a 5-4 victory on an overtime goal by Jakob Chychrun back on November 29th. Semyon Varlamov was in goal for the Islanders, but he has not played since.
The Isles are 5-3-3 in the last 11 meetings with Washington, dating back to the final week of Barry Trotz' Islander tenure. At UBS Arena, the Isles are 2-3-1 vs. the Caps.
Alex Ovechkin has not scored a goal in three games vs. Ilya Sorokin; he did score career goals 684 (which tied Teemu Selanne) and 694 (which tied Mark Messier) against Marcus Hogberg in January 2020.
Kenny Albert, Ed Olczyk and Brian Boucher will have the call on TNT.
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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