“The Skinny”
By Eric Hornick
Game 7
Ottawa 2, Isles 1 (SO)
Mattias Maccelli extended his point streak to five games, but Ridley Greig tied the game in the second period and Shane Pinto scored the only goal in the shootout as the Ottawa Senators defeated the Islanders 2-1, before a crowd of 14,534 at Canadian Tire Centre.
Semyon Varlamov made 18 saves in his second appearance since November 2024 and lowered his GAA to 1.94.
The Isles are 0-2-1 on the road this season as they head to Toronto for a rematch with the Leafs on Saturday.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Matias Maccelli (2) 19:48 NYI 1,OTT 0
2nd Period
Ridly Greig (1) Warren Foegele (2), Artem Zub (1) 15:43 NYI 1,OTT 1
3rd Period
No Goals
OT
No Goals
The Shootout
Drake Batherson (NG)/Brayden Schenn (NG)
Tim Stutzle (NG)/ Bo Horvat (NG)
Shane Pinto (G/GDG)/ Simon Holmstrom (NG)
The Isles are 0-1 in the shootout while Ottawa is 2-0… Semyon Varlamov falls to 35-25 in shootouts while Linus Ullmark improves to 17-9 … The Isles (96-95) remain second behind Buffalo (98-85) for the most shootout wins in NHL history… Only Florida (196) has contested more shootouts than the Isles (191) …Shano Pinto is now 4-6 in the shootout with three game-deciding goals…It was the first Islander shootout since January 8th in Nashville; the Isles contested nine shootouts last season, all in their first 44 games.
The Skinny
The Isles went 0-3 on the power play, but killed all four Senator power plays… Mattias Maccelli has points in the last five games (2-4-6)… The Isles have scored three first period goals over the last two games after only scoring one first period goal in the first five games… This was the first Islander game to go to overtime since March 11th in St. Louis… After outscoring the opposition 10-3 in the second period thru five games, the Isles have been outscored 3-0 in the middle period over the last two games…The Isles have not had a winning streak or a losing streak this season but now have a two-game point streak (2-0-1)…Linus Ullmark joins Ray Emery (2005-06) as the only Sens goalie to start a season 6-0-0; he has won ten straight since April 5, 2026 – establishing a new Sens record; Ullmark lowered his goals against average to 1.20…Both Islander goaltenders now had goals against averages under 2.00 (Sorokin 1.81 and Varlamov 1.94)…It is the first time in a decade (0-4-1 in 2016-17) that the Isles have not won one of their first three road games.
First Time in a Long Time
Excluding the shootout game deciding goal, the Isles have allowed only 16 goals in 7 games (including three empty-netters). It is the fewest goals the Isles have allowed in their first seven games since 2003, when they also allowed 16 goals.
Milestone Men
• Ilya Sorokin has 157 wins for the Islanders, tied with Chico Resch for second place in club history.
• Semyon Varlamov has played 175 games for the Isles, one fewer than Glenn Healy and two fewer than Jaroslav Halak, who sits 8th in club history.
Most Goals by an NHL Teenage Defenseman:
1. Phil Housley 46
2. Bobby Orr 24
3. Matthew Schaefer and Ray Bourque 23
Most Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 32
2. Pat LaFontaine 26
3. John Tavares and Tim Connolly 24
5. Brent Sutter and Matthew Schaefer 23
Schaefer has scored the most goals by any Islander teenage defenseman.
Most Assists by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 63
2. Tim Connolly 51
3. Matthew Schaefer 42
Schaefer has the most assists by any Islander teenage defenseman.
Most Points by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 95
2. Tim Connolly 75
3. Matthew Schaefer 65
Schaefer has the most points by any Islander teenage defenseman.
Most Game-Winning Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 5
2. Matthew Schaefer 4
Most Shots on Goal by an Islander Teenager
1. Tim Connolly 285
2. Matthew Schaefer 247
Schaefer will play this entire season as a teenager.
Most Ice Time by an Islander Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 31:59 3/24/2026 vs CHI
2. Matthew Schaefer 29:40 3/31/2026 at BUF
3. Matthew Schaefer 29:29 10/15/2026 at OTT (SO)
3. Matthew Schaefer 29:24 3/13/2026 vs LA
4. Matthew Schaefer 29:01 3/7/2026 at SJ (OT)
The last Islander to play more than 31:59 was Mark Streit, who played 32:27 on March 27, 2010, vs. CBJ. Since ice-time became official, no Islander has played more than 31:59 in a game that ended in regulation.
Most Ice Time by a Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 31:59 3/24/2026 vs CHI
2. Jay Bouwmeester 30:57 1/30/2003 for FLA vs. DET (OT)
There are five recorded instances of a teenager playing 30 minutes in a game. Schaefer is the first teenager with five games of at least 29 minutes.
Schaefer has played at least 20:00 in 77 straight games; it is the longest streak in NHL history by a teenager in a single season since ice-time became official and the longest by an Islander since Mark Streit set the record (since 1997-98) by doing so in 141 consecutive games from 2009-2011.
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have zero come-from behind wins this season, including no times when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win one time this season, including zero times in the third period.
The Isles have zero multi-goal comeback wins (zero in the third period); opponents have zero (none in the third period).
Overtime Is Our Time
The Isles are 0-0 in games decided by an overtime goal; they are 0-1 in shootouts.
Last season the Isles established an NHL record by winning all ten games decided by an overtime goal.
The Sixth Attacker
The Isles have not scored with the sixth attacker and allowed three empty net goals.
Opponents have scored one goal with the sixth attacker and allowed one empty-netter to the Isles.
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2026-27: 3-3-1 for 7 points in 7 games
• 2025-26: 4-3-0 for 8 points in 7 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-0-0
• Season: 1-14-15
• Last Season (Final) 40-126-166
The 40 goals are the most for the Islander defense since they had 41 in 2022-23.
Home and Road
The Isles are 3-3-1 overall; they are 3-1-0 at home and 0-2-1 on the road.
Ottawa is 6-2-0 overall; they are 3-1-0 at home and 3-1-0 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 1-3-1 against the East (1-1-0 vs. Metropolitan and 0-2-1 vs. Atlantic) and 2-0-0 against the West (1-0-0 vs. Central and 1-0-0 vs. Pacific).
First Things First
The Isles are 3-0-1 when scoring first and 0-3-0 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 5-6-7-3=21
Ottawa 4-10-3-2=19
The Isles are 1-1-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 2-2-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 18 saves; he is 0-1-1 this season and 8-5-4 vs. Ottawa.
Linus Ullmark made 20 saves; he is 6-0-0 this season and 11-7-1 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-3 (4:59); Ottawa was 0-4 (8:00).
The Isles are 2-2-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 1-1-1 when they do not. The Isles are 1-3-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 2-0-1 when they do not.
The Isles are 2-0-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 1-0-0 when they are outscored, and 1-2-1 when special team goals are equal.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles 3-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-2-1 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 1-1-1 in games decided by a single goal including 1-1 in regulation. They are 0-0 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 0-0-0 on the front end and 0-0-0 on the back end this season. The first back-to-back will be on November 27th vs. Winnipeg and November 28th at Philadelphia.
The Isles are 0-1-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 0-0-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Matthew Schaefer (29:29); Ottawa: Thomas Chabot (24:37)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (23:22).
Shots on Goal
Isles 21 (Bo Horvat – 4)
Ottawa 19 (Six with 2)
Shot Attempts
Isles 53 (Matthew Schaefer -10)
Ottawa 49 (Claude Giroux -8)
Face-offs
Isles 30, Ottawa 21 (58.8%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 14 of 20 for the Isles; Shane Pinto won 8 of 14 for Ottawa.
Hit Count
Isles 23 (Logan Stanley – 4)
Ottawa 22 (Claude Giroux – 4)
Blocked Shots
Isles 14 (Logan Stanley – 5)
Ottawa 15 (Artem Zub – 6)
Fights
None. Season total: 3 (Schenn, Pelech, Stanley)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 53, Ottawa 49
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 46, Ottawa 30
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Jean-Gabriel Pageau +20
Ottawa: Ridley Greig +5
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 9, Ottawa 15
5-on-5: Isles 8, Ottawa 7
Scratches
Mathew Barzal (NonRoster IR), Alex Romanov (IR), Scott Mayfield, Kyle MacLean
Games Lost to injury: 11. (Last season’s total: 399)
The Ironmen
Brayden Schenn played his 333rd consecutive game (the first 307 for the Blues). Adam Pelech, Matthew Schaefer, and Emil Heineman have also played in every Islander game since the start of last season.
National TV Games
The Isles are 0-1-0 in games that air on one of the NHL’s US national broadcast partners. The next nationally televised game will be on October 22nd against the Kings.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-0-0 in matinee games. 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 18-24-14 in matinees.
The first matinee will be on Halloween, when the Isles host the Oilers at 2:00pm.
Challenges
Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures. OTT (Offside) 10/15.
Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures
Hockey Opps: 0 favorable, 0 unfavorable
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (2): Vs NJD 10/3, vs VAN 10/13
Vs (2): @ NYR 10/6, vs TB 10/10
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of the other team)
Isles responses (0):
Opponent responses (0):
Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
For (0):
Vs (0):
Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):
For (0):
Vs (1): Brandon Hagel (GWG) 18:16 – 10/10 vs. TB
OT Winners
For (0):
Vs (0):
Shootout Winners
For (0):
Vs (1): Shane Pinto (OTT) 10/15
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057 ***
4. Casey Cizikas 985…
15. Brent Sutter 694 *** 16. Adam Pelech 649 *** 17. Ryan Pulock 643 *** 18. Derek King 638 *** 19. Billy Harris 623 *** 20. Stefan Persson 622 *** 21. Scott Mayfield 617 *** 22. Mathew Barzal 611
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
17. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 18. Mathew Barzal 153…
22. Jason Blake 127 *** 23. Casey Cizikas 125…
31. Benoit Hogue and Ed Westfall 105 *** 33. Bo Horvat 103
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***
4. Josh Bailey 396 *** 5. Mathew Barzal 381…
23. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 24. Ryan Pulock 185…
32. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 33. Casey Cizikas 157 *** 34. David Volek 154 *** 35. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 36. Adam Pelech 149
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
9. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 10. Anders Lee 549 *** 11. John Tonelli 544 *** 12. Bob Bourne 542 *** 13. Mathew Barzal 533…
27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 282 …
32. Nick Leddy 243 *** 33. Ryan Pulock 241
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Adam Pelech +83 *** 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +65 *** 22. Jude Drouin +58
Defense Games
1. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 2. Adam Pelech 649 *** 3. Ryan Pulock 643 ***
4. Stefan Persson 622 *** 5. Scott Mayfield 617
Defense Goals
1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57 ***
4. Ryan Pulock 56…
12. Adrian Aucoin 33 *** 13. Bryan Berard 31 *** 14. Scott Mayfield and Adam Pelech 30
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742*** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249 ***
4. Nick Leddy 198 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 185 …
9. Jeff Norton 166 *** 10. Adam Pelech 149…
13. Dave Lewis 117 *** 14. Roman Hamrlik and Scott Mayfield 110
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333 ***
4. Nick Leddy 243 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 241…
9. Jeff Norton 188 *** 10. Mark Streit and Adam Pelech 179…
14. Dave Lewis 141 *** 15. Scott Mayfield 140
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 313…
8. Jaroslav Halak 177*** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 175
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 and Ilya Sorokin 157 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Ilya Sorokin 30 *** 2. Glenn Resch 25 *** 3. Billy Smith 22 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
The Hamilton Hammers are 1-3-0-0 this season heading into Friday’s home game against Rochester.
Team leaders:
Goals: Mitchell Chaffee (4); Assists: Liam Foudy (4); Points: Foudy (6)
Goalies: Vitek Vanecek (1-1-0), Josh Kotai (0-2-0)
Season Series Stats
Ottawa leads the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 1). The teams will play on December 27th and April 2nd on Long Island.
The Isles are 5-3-2 in their last ten meetings with Ottawa, including 0-2-1 in the last three games.
UP NEXT
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17th – ISLANDERS AT TORONTO 7:00pm
[MSGSN (pre-game at 6:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles play their final game this season in Ontario as they meet the Maple Leafs in Toronto for the second time in 18 days. The Leafs scored twice in the first period and held on for a 2-1 victory over the Isles to spoil the first September regular-season game in Islander history.
Despite that loss, the Isles are 8-3-0 in their last eleven meetings with Toronto.
AND FINALLY…
With the Dodgers loss tonight, there are no reigning repeat champions in any of the four major sports. This means that it will be at least until Super Bowl LXIII in 2029 before a team has a shot to match what the Islander Dynasty did from 1980-1983.
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