Game 68
Isles 4, Montreal 3
Bo Horvat scored his second goal of the game 3:37 into overtime as the Isles moved within two points of a playoff berth with a 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, before a crowd of 15,218 at UBS Arena.
Anthony Duclair and Simon Holmstrom had power play goals for the Isles, who led 1-0 and 3-1. Ilya Sorokin made 38 saves and set Islander history by earning assists on both Horvat goals.
The Isles are 32-28-8 as they match a season high at four games over NHL-.500 (also 24-20-7 and 25-21-7). The homestand continues against Calgary at 4:00pm on Saturday.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Anthony Duclair (7) Anders Lee (22), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (24) 05:37 MTL 0,NYI 1 PPG
Joshua Roy (1) Jayden Struble (8), Patrik Laine (12) 11:58 MTL 1,NYI 1
2nd Period
Simon Holmstrom (17) Noah Dobson (23), Tony DeAngelo (9) 16:40 MTL 1,NYI 2 PPG
3rd Period
Bo Horvat (22) Noah Dobson (24), Ilya Sorokin (1) 02:31 MTL 1,NYI 3
Patrik Laine (17) Nick Suzuki (50) 04:32 MTL 2,NYI 3 PPG
Brendan Gallagher (17) 14:16 MTL 3,NYI 3
OT
Bo Horvat (23) Tony DeAngelo (10), Ilya Sorokin (2) 03:37 MTL 3,NYI 4
The Skinny
The Isles are 3-0-1 in the last four games and 7-3-1 in the last eleven games …The Isles are 4-0-1 in their last five home games and 10-2-1 in their last thirteen home games… The Isles have been outscored 82-74 in the third period and overtime, although they have outscored their opponents 37-25 in those periods over the last 25 games…The Isles have scored 135 goals and allowed 122 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 78-50 in all other situations… The Isles went 2-3 on the power play to snap an 0-18 stretch; the Isles have been outscored 21-10 on the power play over the last 37 games… Ilya Sorokin has started five straight games and 18 of the last 20; he has appeared in 21 of the last 23 games…Sorokin is the first goalie to appear in at least 52 games four times as an Islander; he is 7-2-1 in his last ten games, and his 27 wins are the second-highest total of his career …Simon Holmstrom extended his career high with his 17th goal as he scored for a career-best third straight game… The Isles are 23-2-2 when leading after two periods, including an active 18-0-0 streak…Patrik Laine scored his 14th power play goal, one shy of the NHL lead…Nick Suzuki earned his 50th assist on the Laine goal; he is the first Hab in 18 seasons to have a 50-assist season.
Two for The History Books
Ilya Sorokin is the first goalie in Islander history with a multiple-assist game and the first Islander goalie with a goal and an assist in the same season. Sorokin also joins Ron Hextall (December 1993) as the only Islander goalie with three points in a month, as he becomes the first Islander goalie with multiple overtime assists in his career (3/9/23 in Pittsburgh).
First Times in a Long Time
• Ilya Sorokin is the first Islander goalie to have three points in a month; Ron Hextall set the mark in December 2023.
• Anthony DeAngelo and Noah Dobson are the first Islander defensemen to have multiple assists in the same game since October 18, 2022, when Adam Pelech and Dobson did so against San Jose. When you add in Ilya Sorokin's two helpers, it is the first time since November 28, 1992, against Philadelphia that three non-forwards have done so (Uwe Krupp, Tom Kurvers and Jeff Norton).
Swede 17
Simon Holmstrom is the first Swedish-born Islander to record 17 goals since the 1981-82 season, when Bobby Nystrom had 22 goals and Anders Kallur had 18 goals. Nystrom (8x) and Kallur (3x) are the only Swedes with more goals in a season than Holmstrom.
Milestone Men
• Anders Lee assisted on Anthony Duclair's first period goal for his 500th career point, passing Derek King for 13th place in club history
• Noah Dobson had two assists, tying Kenny Jonsson for 5th place in club history among defensemen and for 35th overall.
• Bo Horvat played his 799th NHL game.
Bo Knows Overtime
Bo Horvat recorded his third overtime goal of the season, his 6th as an Islander, and the 11th of 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)
Quite the Numbers
Marcus Hogberg has now played 389 minutes for the Isles, allowing 11 goals on 178 shots for a 1.70 GAA and a .938 save percentage. Both the GAA and save percentage are the best in Islander history for any goalie who has played at least six games. He is the 44th goalie to win multiple games for the Isles.
Third Periods
Goals: Isles 69, Opponents 77
Tying Goals: Isles 9, Opponents 14 (in 13 games)
Go Ahead Goals: Isles 12 (in 11 games), Opponents 9
Empty Net Goals: Isles 13, Opponents 19
The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 40 of their 68 games. In the 28 games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (5-21-2), they have been within one goal at some point in all but seven of them.
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have fifteen come-from behind wins this season, including five 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 5-7 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 5-5 in overtime and 1-0 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 0-2 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts.
Sorokin has 35 OT/SO losses, extending his club record (Rick DiPietro had 28).
Empty Netters
The Isles have scored 13 empty-net goals and allowed 19.
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 50 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 19 times
• Allowed the next goal: 23 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 8 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2024-25 32-28-8 for 72 points in 68 games
• 2023-24 29-24-15 for 73 points in 68 games
The Isles lost game 69 last season, so the Isles can move ahead of last season's pace with a win on Saturday.
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-4-4
• Season: 26-104-130
• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170
The Islander defense scored only four times in the first 26 games but have 22 goals in the last 42 games.
Home and Road
The Isles are 32-28-8 overall; they are 17-13-3 at home and 15-15-5 on the road.
Montreal is 33-27-8 overall; they are 18-12-4 at home and 15-15-4 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 20-17-3 against the East (9-7-2 vs. Metropolitan and 11-10-1 vs. Atlantic) and 12-11-5 against the West (7-5-2 vs. Central and 5-6-3 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 1,476
3. Glen Sather 1,319
Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,476) and Patrick Roy (182) have combined for 1,658 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 17-5-4 when scoring first and are 15-23-4 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 7-7-8-3=25
Montreal 15-10-15-1=41
The Isles are 16-19-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 15-8-5 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 38 saves; he is 27-20-5 this season and 5-0-2 vs. Montreal.
Sam Montembeault made 21 saves; he is 25-21-5 this season and 4-2-4 vs the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 2-3 (4:23); Montreal was 1-5 (7:33).
The Isles are 13-3-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 19-25-7 when they do not. The Isles are 14-14-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 18-14-2 when they do not.
The Isles are 9-2-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 6-15-5 when they are outscored, and 17-11-3 when special team goals are equal.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 29-8-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-20-4 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 14-7-8 in games decided by a single goal including 7-7 in regulation. They are 5-7 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 5-8 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 6-3-1 on the front end and 4-6-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be March 29th-30th in Tampa Bay and Carolina.
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: Tony DeAngelo (26:14); Montreal: Mike Matheson (26:32)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (21:38).
Face-offs
Isles 32, Montreal 39 (45%)
Bo Horvat won 11 of 19 for the Isles; Alex Newhook won 7 of 8 for Montreal.
Hit Count
Isles 19 (Bo Horvat -3)
Montreal 18 (Two with 4)
Fights
None. Season total: 9 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin-2, Pageau, Tsyplakov, Gatcomb, Cizikas, Lee)
Blocked Shots
Isles 19 (Noah Dobson -6)
Montreal 28 (David Savard -8)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 66, Montreal 75
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 55, Montreal 53
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Tony DeAngelo +19
Montreal: Lane Hutson +17
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 14, Montreal 15
5-on-5: Isles 14, Montreal 10
Scratches
(Semyon Varlamov-LTIR), (Mathew Barzal – IR), Matt Martin, (Adam Boqvist-INJ),(Alex Romanov -ILL), Scott Perunovich
Games Lost to injury: 270. (Last season's total: 181)
The Ironmen
Kyle Palmieri is the Islanders' ironman, having played 184 consecutive games. Casey Cizikas (94) and Anders Lee (68) are the only other Isles to have also played every game this season.
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
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: 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, 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, goalie interference – NYR 3/3, goalie interference x2 – LA 3/11)
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (3): CHI 12/12, PHI 1/24, FLA 3/16
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 (8): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31, BOS 1/5, NAS 3/1, LA 3/11
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 (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 (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 (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); Leon Draisaitl 3/14 vs. EDM (3:52)
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. Brock Nelson 901 * 5. Bobby Nystrom 900 6. Casey Cizikas 883 7. Clark Gillies 872 8. Matt Martin 848 ** 9. Anders Lee 827 …
23. Ken Morrow 550 * 24. Duane Sutter, Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 547 27. Lorne Henning 543 28. Claude Lapointe 535 29. Tomas Jonsson 532 30. Mathew Barzal 531 31. 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 and Brent Sutter 287 * 8. Anders Lee 285 …
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…
19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 * 21. Anders Lee 215…
24. Ed Westfall 181 * 25. Kenny Jonsson and Noah Dobson 175 27. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 29. Jean Potvin 167 30. Jeff Norton 166 31. Ziggy Palffy 163 * 32. Ryan Pulock 158…
34. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 * 35. Travis Green and Casey Cizikas 145
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 * 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 * 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
12. Bob Bourne 542 * 13. Anders Lee 500…
15. Patrick Flatley 488 * 16. Mathew Barzal 462…
27. Ed Westfall 286 * 28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258 * 30. Casey Cizikas 257
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 \\\2. Denis Potvin +456 \\\ 3. Mike Bossy +380
15. Bob Lorimer +105 * 16. Adam Pelech +82 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 18. Garry Howatt +75 19. Pat Price +70 20. JP Parise +67 21. Ryan Pulock +64 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. Stefan Persson and Ryan Pulock 52 * 6. Noah Dobson 48…
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. Kenny Jonsson and Noah Dobson 175 7. Jean Potvin 167 8. Jeff Norton 166 9. Ryan Pulock 157 \\\10. Mark Streit 139 \\* 11. Adam Pelech 131…
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 223 7. Jean Potvin 213 ** 8. Ryan Pulock 209…
10. Mark Streit 179 * 11. Adam Pelech 157…
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 244 …
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 122 …
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 13-40-4-3 heading into a home game on Saturday against Springfield.
Brian Pinho has a team-leading (and career-high) 22 goals, four ahead of Liam Foudy and Chris Terry. Terry's 39 assists rank 2nd in the AHL, while his 57 points are tied for 2nd.
The Baby Isles will also host Wilkes Barre-Scranton on Sunday afternoon.
Season Series Stats
The Isles win the season series, 2 games to 1 (and 5 points to 4), as all three games were won in OT/SO by the home team.
The Isles are 7-3-2 in the last 12 games against Les Canadiens, including 5-0-1 at UBS Arena. The Isles have won the last five UBS matchups, matching their longest home winning streak ever against Montreal.
UP NEXT
SATURDAY, MARCH 22nd – CALGARY AT ISLES 4:00pm
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 3:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles will look to move into a tie for the final playoff spot as they host Calgary in a late-afternoon start on Saturday.
The Flames are the only team to beat the Isles in a shootout this season, doing so in Alberta on November 19th. That made the Isles 2-2-1 in the last five games against the Flames, with both wins coming in OT/SO.
The last Isles regulation win over Calgary came on March 18, 2018 - a 5-2 win behind 50 Christopher Gibson saves at the Scotiabank Saddledome; the Isles are 2-6-1 against the Flames since.
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.
