The Skinny: Wild 5, Islanders 2

“The Skinny”

By Eric Hornick

Game 13

Boston 4, Isles 3 (SO)

Marat Khusnutdinov scored the tying goal with 4:54 to play and the only goal of the shootout as the Boston Bruins rallied for a 4-3 win over the Islanders before a crowd of 15,585 at UBS Arena.

The Isles had three separate one goal leads, only to have the Bruins even the game each time. Anthony scored the opening goal and Bo Horvat scored twice for the Isles.

The Isles are 2-0-1 in their last three games overall and 4-0-1 in their last five game at home; they welcome the Wild to UBS Arena at 7:00 on Friday in the final home game before a seven-game road trip.

The Scoring:

1st Period

None

2nd Period

Anthony Duclair (3) Casey Cizikas (2), Kyle MacLean (1) 05:11 BOS 0,NYI 1

Viktor Arvidsson (4) Hampus Lindholm (2), Casey Mittelstadt (5) 12:21 BOS 1,NYI 1

Bo Horvat (8) Mathew Barzal (7), Emil Heineman (3) 13:06 BOS 1,NYI 2

Pavel Zacha (3) Charlie McAvoy (11), Morgan Geekie (3) 17:29 BOS 2,NYI 2 PPG

3rd Period

Bo Horvat (9) Matthew Schaefer (6), Kyle Palmieri (6) 05:05 BOS 2,NYI 3

Marat Khusnutdinov (2) Fraser Minten (3), David Pastrnak (11) 15:06 BOS 3,NYI 3

OT

No Goals

The Shootout

Simon Holmstrom (NG)/Casey MIddlestadt (NG)

Bo Horvat (NG)/ Marat Khusnutdinov (G/GDG)

Jonathan Drouin (NG)

The Isles are 0-2 in the shootout while Boston is 1-0… Jeremy Swayman improves to 7-6 in shootouts while Ilya Sorokin falls to 7-15 in his career…The Isles have lost five straight shootouts, nine of their last eleven and 22 of their last 28 shootouts; they are 3-10 all-time in UBS Arena shootouts… Swayman has stopped 40 of 52 career shootout attempts (76.9%)… Marat Khusnutdinov, playing his 101st NHL game, scored on his first career attempt.

The Skinny

Simon Holmstrom’s point streak ended at three games; he is 4-3-7 in the last seven games.…The Isles allowed a power play goal for the first time in four games; they have killed 12 of the last 13…Mathew Barzal tied Anders Lee for the team lead with seven assists …Bo Horvat extended his points streak to three games (3-1-4) and he now has nine goals in thirteen games; John Tavares (12 in 2017-18) is the only Islander with more goals in the team’s first thirteen games. …Charlie McAvoy has eleven assists for Boston; Ray Bourque (13 in 1991-92) is the only Bruin defensemen with more in the first fifteen games…Pavel Zacha has a 4-game point streak (1-3-4)…Jeremy Swayman earned his 106th win in his 199th game as a Bruin; it was only the third time in his career that he has faced the Isles…Kyle MacLean earned his first point of the season, leaving Cal Ritchie (3 games) as the only Isle forward without a point.

Today’s Schaeferisms

• Matthew Schaefer is the first NHL defenseman with at least five goals and at least six assists in his first thirteen games since Vladimir Malakhov did so for the Isles in 1992-93; they are the only two NHL defensemen to do so in the last century.

• His 11 points are already tied for the second-highest (with Eric Brewer) by an Islander teenage defensemen; Bryan Berard had 39 in 1996-97. Both of the other players were 19, not 18, at the time.

• His six assists tie David Chyzowski for the second-highest total by an 18-year-old Islander; Tim Connolly had 20.

Rare Company (5+ goals and 6+ assists in First 13 Games, NHL Defenseman, Last 100 Years)

5-7-12 – Vladimir Malakhov 1992-93

5-6-11 – Matthew Schaefer 2025-26

Milestone Man

Ryan Pulock remains tied with Jeff Norton for eighth place among Islander defensemen with 166 assists; Jean Potvin had 167.

Most Ice Time by an Islander Teenager, Game

1. Matthew Schaefer 27:40 10/25/2025 at PHI (SO)

2. Eric Brewer 26:57 4/3/1999 vs ANA (OT)

3. John Tavares 26:46 4/11/2010 vs. PIT (SO)

4. Matthew Schaefer 26:35 10/13/2025 vs. WPG

5. Matthew Schaefer 26:04 10/11/2025 vs. WAS

A 20-year-old Islander has played more than 27:40 seven times (Bryan Berard – four times; Travis Hamonic -3 times). The youngest of these was Hamonic (at MTL) on February 10, 2011, when he was 20 years, 178 days old; Schaefer will not hit that age until March 1, 2028.

Most Games Played as an 18-Year-Old (Isles history)

Tim Connolly 81 (14-20-34)

Dave Chyzowski 34 (8-6-14)

Mathew Schaefer 13 (5-6-11)

Nino Niederreiter 9 (1-1-2)

Brent Sutter 3 (2-2-4)

Brad Dalgarno 2 (1-0-1)

Paul Boutilier 1 (0-0-0)

Lots of Travel

The Isles are in a stretch where they are playing 11 of 14 games on the road. They are 2-2-2 in this stretch (1-0-1 home, 1-2-1 road).

Did Somebody Say Comeback?

The Isles have five come-from behind wins this season, including two when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win four times this season, including three` in the third period.

Overtime

The Isles are 0-0 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 0-2 in shootouts.

Empty Netters

The Isles have scored 2 empty-net goals and allowed 2.

Building on a Lead

The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 6 times this season:

• Score the next goal: 1 time

• Allowed the next goal: 3 times

• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 2 times

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2025-26 6-5-2 for 14 points in 13 games

• 2024-25 5-6-2 for 12 points in 13 games

Offense from Defense

• Today: 0-1-1

• Season: 6-22-28

• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161

The Islander defense did not score their sixth goal last season until December 12th (Game 31).

Home and Road

The Isles are 6-5-2 overall; they are 4-2-1 at home and 2-3-1 on the road.

Boston is 8-7-0 overall; they are 6-3-0 at home and 2-4-0 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 4-4-2 against the East (2-3-1 vs. Metropolitan and 2-1-1 vs. Atlantic) and 2-1-0 against the West (0-1-0 vs. Central and 2-0-0 vs. Pacific).

First Things First

The Isles are 3-1-2 when scoring first and are 3-4-0 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles 3-18-7-2=30

Boston 7-8-11-1=27

The Isles are 1-4-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-1 when the shots are even and 4-1-0 when the opposition has more shots.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves; he is 3-4-2 this season and 4-4-3 vs. Boston.

Jeremy Swayman made 27 saves; he is 5-4-0 this season and 2-1-0 vs. the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-4 (6:44); Boston was 0-3 (6:00).

The Isles are 3-2-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-3-2 when they do not. The Isles are 3-3-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 3-2-0 when they do not.

The Isles are 4-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 2-3-1 when they are outscored, and 0-1-1 when special team goals are equal.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 6-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-4-0 when they do not.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 3-1-2 in games decided by a single goal including 3-1 in regulation. They are 0-0 in games decided in overtime and are 0-2 in shootouts. The Isles are 2-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 0-1-0 on the front end and 1-0-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be on November 7-8 vs. Minnesota and the Rangers.

The Isles are 2-1-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 0-0-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Bo Horvat (24:33); Boston: Charlie McAvoy (23:43)

Horvat led Isles forwards (24:33).

Face-offs

Isles 29, Boston 29 (50%)

Bo Horvat won 11 of 18 for the Isles. Sean Kuraly won 5 of 9 for Boston.

Hit Count

Isles 15 (Emil Heineman and Casey Cizikas -3)

Boston 16 (Tanner Jeannot -4)

Fights

None. Season total: 2 (Mayfield, McLean)

Blocked Shots

Isles 14 (Two with 2)

Boston 16 (Andrew Peeke -4)

For the Analytics Crowd

Corsi: All situations: Isles 64, Boston 58

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 40, Boston 42

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Adam Pelech +11

Boston: Andrew Peeke +4

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 11, Boston 14

5-on-5: Isles 6, Boston 7

Scratches

(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Ethan Bear-IR), (Max Shabonov-INJ). Max Tsyplakov, Adam Boqvist.

Games Lost to injury: 51. (Last season’s total: 304)

The Ironmen

Kyle Palmieri is the Islanders’ ironman, having played 211 consecutive games. Casey Cizikas (121) and Anders Lee (104) are the only other Isles to have also played every game since the start of last season.

National TV Games

The Isles are 1-1-0 in games that air on one of the NHL’s US national broadcast partners. Their next appearance will be on TNT on December 9th vs Vegas.

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 1-1-1 in matinee games this season; the next matinee will be at 3:30pm on November 22nd against St. Louis. 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 16-18-13 in matinees.

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures

Opponents: 0 successful, 3 failure (No hand pass – WAS 10/11), (No interference – DET 10/23), (No offside – WAS 10/31)

Hockey Opps: 0 favorable, 0 unfavorable

Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)

For (2): DET 10/23, CBJ 11/2

Vs (1): BOS 10/28

Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)

Isles responses (3): OTT 10/18, SJS 10/21, BOS 11/4

Opponent responses (2): WPG 10/13, CAR 10/30

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 (3): Anders Lee, GWG(18:57)10/18 OTT, Matthew Schaefer, GTG (18:53) and Simon Holmstrom GWG (19:22) 11/2 CBJ

Vs (0):

OT Winners

For (0):

Vs (0):

Shootout Winners

For (0):

Vs (2): PHI 10/25, BOS 11/4

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 910 * 5. Brock Nelson 901 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 7. Clark Gillies 872 8. Matt Martin 855 ** 9. Anders Lee 854 …

22. John Tonelli 594 * 23. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 573 25. Ken Morrow 550 26. Scott Mayfield 548 27. Duane Sutter 547 28. Lorne Henning 543 * 29. Mathew Barzal 542

Goals

1. Mike Bossy 573 * 2. Bryan Trottier 500 * 3. Denis Potvin 310 …

5. Brock Nelson 295 * 6. Anders Lee 291 …

20. Kyle Okposo 139 * 21. Mathew Barzal 137…

29. Ray Ferraro 116 * 30. Casey Cizikas 115

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 * 2. Denis Potvin 742 * 3. Mike Bossy 553 …

7. John Tonelli 338 * 8. Mathew Barzal 335…

19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 * 21. Anders Lee 225…

27. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 * 29. Jean Potvin 167 * 30. Jeff Norton and Ryan Pulock 166…

34. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 * 35. Casey Cizikas 149

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 * 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 * 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

12. Bob Bourne 542 * 13. Anders Lee 516…

15. Patrick Flatley 488 * 16. Mathew Barzal 472…

27. Ed Westfall 286 * 28. Casey Cizikas 264

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467 \\\2. Denis Potvin +456 \\\ 3. Mike Bossy +380

15. Bob Lorimer +105 * 16. Adam Pelech +84 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…

13. Bryan Berard 31 * 14. Scott Mayfield 28 15. Vladimir Malakhov 27 ** 16. Adam Pelech and four others 26

Defense Assists

1. Denis Potvin 742* 2. Stefan Persson 317 3. Tomas Jonsson 249 **

7. Jean Potvin 167 * 8. Jeff Norton and Ryan Pulock 166 \\\10. Mark Streit 139 \\\ 11. Adam Pelech 137…

17. Bryan Berard and Scott Mayfield 100

Defense Points

1. Denis Potvin 1,052 * 2. Stefan Persson 369 * 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…

5. Kenny Jonsson 232 * 6. Noah Dobson 230 * 7. Ryan Pulock 219…

10. Mark Streit 179 * 11. Adam Pelech 163…

18. Gerry Hart and Scott Mayfield 128

Goalie Games

1. Billy Smith 674 * 2. Rick DiPietro 318 3. Glenn Resch 282 **

4. Ilya Sorokin 262 …

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 128 …

7. Jaroslav Halak 88 * 8. Roland Melanson 77 * 9. Semyon Varlamov 76

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25 * 2. Billy Smith and Ilya Sorokin 22 *

4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 3-5-1-0 heading into a home game with Lehigh Valley on Wednesday night.

Leaders: Goals: Three with 3; Assists: Matthew Highmore and Matthew Warren 4; Points: Warren 6

Goalies: Marcus Hogberg 2-3-1 2.35, .919; Parker Gahagen 1-2-0 3.73, .869

Season Series Stats

Boston leads the season series, 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 1). The teams will meet again the night before Thanksgiving at UBS Arena to complete the season series.

The Isles are 3-6-3 in their last dozen games with the Bruins; they have had much more success on home ice, going 7-2-2 since the opening of the 2021 COVID-shortened season, including 3-2-3 at UBS Arena.

UP NEXT

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7th —MINNESOTA AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm

[MSGSN (pre-game at 6:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]

The Isles look to extend their home point streak to six games they welcome the Wild to UBS Arena on Friday, in the first of two meetings between the teams this season.

The Isles are 1-6-1 in their last eight games with the Wild, while being outscored 30-15. The Isles did earn a 3-1 win at UBS Arena on April 4th, stopping a seven-game winless streak again Minnesota.

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