Game 38
Toronto 3, Isles 1
Steven Lorentz scored sixteen seconds after the Islanders tied the game in the second period and that turned out to be the game-winner as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Isles 3-1 before a sellout crowd of 18,933 at Scotiabank Arena.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored the only goal for the Isles, who are 2-5-0 in their last seven games.
The Isles fall three games below .NHL-.500 for the first time since March 7, 2022 (21-24-8); they return home to host Toronto Thursday before heading out on a three-game road trip.
The Scoring:
1st Period
David Kampf (2) William Nylander (19), Chris Tanev (10) 17:54 NYI 0,TOR 1
2nd Period
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (9) Noah Dobson (15), Mathew Barzal (5) 11:59 NYI 1,TOR 1
Steven Lorentz (4) Ryan Reaves (2), Connor Dewar (2) 12:15 NYI 1,TOR 2
3rd Period
John Tavares (19)EN William Nylander (20), Mitch Marner (38) 19:27 NYI 1,TOR 3 PPG
The Skinny
The Isles allowed the opening goal for the 11th time in thirteen games… The Isles have been outscored 57-37 in the third period and overtime…The Isles have scored 73 goals and allowed 68 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 53-27 in all other situations… The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 19 of the last 25 games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 37-31 in the second period this season; they were outscored 107-83 in the second period a season ago… Ilya Sorokin has started 13 of the last 14 games, going 6-6-1 …It took an empty net, but the Isles allowed a power play goal for the seventh straight game in which they were shorthanded; they are 0-17 on the power play in the last nine games… The Isles are 1-11-1 when trailing after two periods…Jean-Gabriel Pageau received a misconduct penalty after the empty-net goal; he had only two minor penalties on the season…Brock Nelson was stopped on a breakaway and ends December without a goal (and only 18 shots on goal in 13 games)… The Isles lose on New Year's Eve for the second straight time (last year in Pittsburgh); despite that, the Isles are 12-3-1 since 2002 on 12/31…Toronto improves to 15-2-1 when scoring first, 13-1-0 when leading after one period, and 19-0-0 when leading after two periods…Each team had a goal disallowed in the second period; the Isle disallowed goal would have been Adam Pelech's first goal since an overtime winner in Pittsburgh on February 20th...With points on the empty-net goal, Mitch Marner extended his point streak to nine games and John Tavares extended his point streak to eight games.
First Times in a Long Time
The Isles lost to the Leafs for the first time in six games and lost a game in regulation to a Canadian opponent for the first time in twelve games (8-0-3).
Weekend Warriors
The Islanders have won five straight Saturday games (four at home, and one in Toronto). The Isles are 7-10-3 in their last twenty games (5-0-0 on Saturday; 2-10-3 on other days). Six of their last seven wins have come on Saturday or Sunday.
Milestone Men
• Mathew Barzal recorded his 450th career point with an assist on the JG Pageau goal.
• Noah Dobson recorded his 166th assist, tying Jeff Norton for 7th place among Isles defensemen, and one behind Jean Potvin for 6th.
• Anthony Duclair's next goal will be his 150th career goal.
• Casey Cizikas' next point will be his 250th career point.
• Ilya Sorokin's next win will be his 107th, passing Kelly Hrudey for 4th place in club history.
2024 Calendar Year Leaders
The Isles went 36-34-14 in 84 games, for 86 points
Team Stats
• Goals For 2.81, Goals Against 3.13
• Power Play 35-228 15.4%
• Penalty Kill 64-195 67.2%
• Combined 82.6%
• Shots For 29.5
• Shots Allowed 29.8
• Face-off % 53.6% (2nd in NHL to Edmonton 53.8%)
Games
1. Brock Nelson / Kyle Palmieri 84
3. Anders Lee / Bo Horvat 83
Goals
1. Palmieri 33
2. Horvat 29
3. Nelson 28
4. Lee 26
Assists
1. Noah Dobson 46
2. Mathew Barzal 36
3. Nelson 32
4. Horvat 31
Points
1. Horvat/Nelson 60
3. Palmieri 59
4. Dobson 55
+/-
1. Alex Romanov 16
2. Ryan Pulock 10
3. Max Tsyplakov 9
4. Scott Mayfield / Mike Reilly 7
Penalty Minutes
1. Lee 61
2. Mayfield 39
3. Matt Martin 36
4. Dobson 32
Power Play Goals
1. Palmieri 8
2. Nelson/Horvat 6
4. Lee 5
Shorthanded Goals
1. Nelson/ Jean-Gabriel Pageau 2
3. Horvat 1
Overtime Goals
1. Horvat 3
2. Palmieri/Nelson/ Adam Pelech/Barzal 1
Game-Winning Goals
1. Palmieri 7
2. Horvat 6
3. Nelson 3
Shots
1. Horvat 249
2. Nelson 226
3. Palmieri 222
4. Lee/Dobson 207
Shooting % (minimum 50 games played)
1. Holmstrom 17.7%
2. Palmieri 14.9%
3 Pageau 12.9%
4. Lee 12.6%
Ice Time
1. Dobson 23:41
2. Pulock 22:24
3. Barzal 20:37
4. Pelech 20.27
Faceoffs
1. Horvat 58.4%
2. Pageau 57.0%
3. Cizikas 54.8%
Goalies
Sorokin 25-25-9 .902 2.93 1 shutout
Varlamov 11-8-5 .907 2.64 1 shutout
Top 5 Goal Scorers
Brock Nelson needs just three more goals to become the fifth-highest goal scorer in club history:
• 5. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287
• 7. Brock Nelson 285
Third Periods
Goals: Isles 36, Opponents 51
Tying Goals: Isles 4, Opponents 10 (in 9 games)
Go Ahead Goals: Isles 6 (in 5 games), Opponents 8
Empty Net Goals: Isles 8, Opponents 12
The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 26 of their 38 games. In the twelve games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (1-10-1), 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 six come-from behind wins this season, including one when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win eight times this season, including an NHL-high seven times in the third period.
Overtime
The Isles have played ten overtime games. They are 1-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 1-4 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 8 empty-net goals and allowed 12.
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 26 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 10 times
• Allowed the next goal: 13 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 3 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2024-25 14-17-7 for 35 points in 38 games
• 2023-24 18-10-10 for 46 points in 38 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-1-1
• Season: 11-53-64
• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170
Islander defensemen have earned 32.5% of the team's assists, which is tied-9th in the NHL.
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 5-1-3 so far (1-0-0 at home and 4-1-3 on the road). After opening with a home shootout win over Montreal, the Isles played four road games in November (2-0-2) and four in December (2-1-1). Seven of the eight games scheduled for the New Year will be at home.
Going back to last season the Isles are 8-1-3 in the last twelve games against Canadian teams; the next Canadian opponents will be Toronto at UBS Arena on January 2nd .
Home and Road
The Isles are 14-17-7 overall; they are 7-8-2 at home and 7-9-5 on the road.
Toronto is 23-13-2 overall; they are 15-7-0 at home and 8-6-2 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 10-11-3 against the East (4-4-2 vs. Metropolitan and 6-7-1 vs. Atlantic) and 4-6-4 against the West (3-2-2 vs. Central and 1-4-2 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 1,458
3. Glen Sather 1,319
Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,458) and Patrick Roy (164) have combined for 1,622 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 7-3-4 when scoring first and are 7-14-3 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 9-12-10=31
Toronto 7-13-5=25
The Isles are 7-10-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 7-6-4 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves; he is 11-12-4 this season and 6-4-0 vs. Toronto.
Joseph Woll made 30 saves; he is 11-6-0 this season and 1-1-0 vs the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-1 (2:00) on the power play; Toronto was 1-4 (6:10) on the power play.
The Isles are 8-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 6-16-6 when they do not. The Isles are 9-9-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-8-1 when they do not.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 14-3-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-14-3 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 6-4-7 in games decided by a single goal including 3-4 in regulation. They are 1-6 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-6 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: Ryan Pulock (22:07); Toronto: Jake McCabe (25:36)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (19:30).
Face-offs
Isles 29, Toronto 25 (54%)
Bo Horvat and Brock Nelson each won 9 of 15 for the Isles; John Tavares won 14 of 23 for Toronto.
Hit Count
Isles 20 (Jean-Gabriel Pageau -6)
Toronto 22 (Ryan Reaves -6)
Fights
None. Season total: 3 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin)
Blocked Shots
Isles 17 (Ryan Pulock -4)
Toronto 15 (Chris Tanev -4)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 61, Toronto 54
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 48, Toronto 44
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Anders Lee +14
Toronto: Jake McCabe +6
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 13, Toronto 10
5-on-5: Isles 10, Toronto 7
Scratches
(Mike Reilly-IR), (Semyon Varlamov-LTIR), Matt Martin, Dennis Cholowski, (Simon Holmstrom – INJ)
Games Lost to injury: 124. (Last season's total: 181)
The Ironmen
Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 204 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (154) has also played every game since the start of last season.
Most Overtime Goals, Season (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 4 (2014-15)
2. Bo Horvat 3 (2023-24)
Brock Nelson 3 (2019-20)
John Tavares 3 (2010-11)
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 40 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.
National TV Games
The Isles are 0-2-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with eight games remaining. The next national game will stream on January 2nd on ESPN+/Hulu, as the Isles host the Leafs. The Isles have five national telecasts scheduled through the end of March, with the other five 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: 2 successful, 2 failures (No offsides -PIT 11/5, No goalie interference – SEA 11/16, Goalie Interference 11/29, goalie interference – TOR 12/31)
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 (2): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7
Opponent responses (5): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31
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), 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 (2): 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)
Vs (6): 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)
OT Winners
For (1): Bo Horvat 10/25 at NJD (1:09)
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 878 * 6. Clark Gillies 872 * 7. Casey Cizikas 853 * 8. Matt Martin 843 * 9. Bob Bourne 814 * 10. Anders Lee 797 …
28. Pat LaFontaine 530 * 29. Kyle Okposo 529 * 30. Ryan Pulock 524 \\\31. Nick Leddy and Adam Pelech 518 \\\ 33. Mathew Barzal 517 * 34. Dave Lewis 514 * 35. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 * 37. Scott Mayfield 506
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 * 2. Bryan Trottier 500 * 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
5. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 * 7. Brock Nelson 285 * 8. Anders Lee 276 …
20. Kyle Okposo 139 * 21. Mathew Barzal 131…
29. Ray Ferraro 116 * 30. Casey Cizikas 110
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 * 2. Denis Potvin 742 * 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
8. Patrick Flatley 328 * 9. Brent Sutter 323 * 10. Mathew Barzal 319…
14. Pat LaFontaine 279 * 15. Bobby Nystrom 278 * 16. Brock Nelson 267…
19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 * 21. Anders Lee 207…
28. Jean Potvin 167 * 29. Jeff Norton and Noah Dobson 166 * 30. Ziggy Palffy 163 * 32. David Volek and Ryan Pulock 154 * 34. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 * 35. Travis Green 145 * 36. Steve Thomas 140 * 37. 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 552 …
13. Derek King 499 * 14. Patrick Flatley 488 * 15. Anders Lee 483 * 16. Mathew Barzal 450…
28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258 * 30. David Volek and Casey Cizikas 249
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 * 2. Denis Potvin +456 * 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 * 16. Tomas Jonsson +76 \\\17. Garry Howatt +75 \\\ 18. Adam Pelech +71 * 19. Pat Price +70 * 20. JP Parise +67 * 21. Jude Drouin +58 * 22. Patrick Flatley +57 * 24. Ryan Pulock +56 * 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 49 * 6. Jean Potvin 46 * 7. Nick Leddy and Noah Dobson 45…
14. Vladimir Malakhov 27 * 15. Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield and four others 26
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742 * 2. Stefan Persson 317 * 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…
6. Jean Potvin 167 * 7. Jeff Norton and Noah Dobson 166 * 9. Ryan Pulock 154…
11. Travis Hamonic 120 * 12. Adam Pelech 119…
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 211 * 8. Ryan Pulock 203…
11. Roman Hamrlik 153 * 12. Travis Hamonic 146 * 13. Adam Pelech 145 …
19. Vladimir Malakhov 125 * 20. Scott Mayfield 122
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 * 2. Rick DiPietro 318 * 3. Glenn Resch 282 …
4. Kelly Hrudey 241 * 5. Ilya Sorokin 219 * 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. Kelly Hrudey and Ilya Sorokin 106 * 6. Thomas Greiss 101 * 7. Jaroslav Halak 88 * 8. Roland Melanson 77 * 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25 * 2. Billy Smith 22 * 3. Ilya Sorokin 19 *
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
Bridgeport is 7-19-2-2 record, heading into their Saturday game with Rochester.
Brian Pinho leads the team with 15 goals and 24 points. Chris Terry's 19 assists pace the Baby Isles in that category.
Six of their first seven games in January are at home.
Season Series Stats
The season series is tied 1 game to 1 (and 2 points to 2). The teams will complete the season series on January 2nd at UBS Arena.
The Isles are 5-1-0 in the last six meetings with Toronto.
UP NEXT
THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2025 –TORONTO AT ISLES 7:30pm
[ESPN+/Hulu, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Islanders conclude the season series, and the home-and-home, as they welcome Toronto to UBS Arena for the only time this season.
The Isles are 9-7-0 against the Leafs in the sixteen games since John Tavares switched teams; Tavares has seven goals and six assists in those games against the Isles.
This game will stream nationally, with Bob Wischusen and Kevin Weekes on the call.
