Game 24
Boston 3, Isles 1
Jeremy Swayman made a career-high 44 saves, and Alex Steeves scored twice, the latter shorthanded, as the Boston Bruins defeated the Islanders 3-1 before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.
Matthew Barzal had given the Isles an early 1-0 lead but that was all they could get against Swayman, who earned his second win this month at UBS Arena. Tanner Jeannot's first goal in 20 games proved to be the game winner.
The Isles fall to 9-4-1 in their last fourteen games and 1-2-0 on this homestand; they will host Philadelphia on Black Friday at 4:00 in the middle game of this seven-game homestand.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Mathew Barzal (7) Tony DeAngelo (8), Matthew Schaefer (9) 04:41 BOS 0,NYI 1
Alex Steeves (2) Sean Kuraly (4), Michael Eyssimont (7) 06:23 BOS 1,NYI 1
2nd Period
Tanner Jeannot (3) Fraser Minten (4) 00:43 BOS 2,NYI 1
3rd Period
Alex Steeves (3) Fraser Minten (5) 10:21 BOS 3,NYI 1 SHG
The Skinny
The Isles are 13-6-2 since they opened 0-3-0…The Isles killed the only Boston power play; they have not allowed a power play goal in six games (10-10) and have killed 20 of the last 21, 24 of 27, and 38 of the last 41 … The Isles' power play is 0-23 over the last seven games and 5-57 over the last 18 games …Ilya Sorokin faced only 14 shots in the game; it was the fewest allowed by the Isles win since allowing only 11 to Detroit on October 22, 2024…Matthew Schaefer earned his ninth assist, second among Islander teenage defenseman (Bryan Berard -32) as he breaks a tie with Gerald Diduck…The Isles are 0-4-2 in the last six games (including one at Met Life) that they have had at least 40 shots on goal…There has not been a power play goal scored by either team in the last six games; the club record is seven, set in March 2019…It was the second-fewest shots on goal in a winning effort in Bruins history…Matthew Schaefer drew two penalties, giving him a league-leading 15; he has taken only four himself, so he is a net of +11 penalties, which is the best in the NHL (four others started the night at +8).
First Times in a Long Time
The Isles have allowed only 33 shots in the last two games; it is the fourth-lowest two-game stretch in club history and lowest since October 12-15, 2002, when they allowed only 27 to Washington and Nashville.
The 55 shots that the Isles have allowed in the last three games are the fewest since January 2019.
Lots of Shots
The Isles out-shot the Bruins 45-14 and have a 110-55 advantage over the last three games; however, they have scored only twice in those games.
The 23 shots matched the most for the Isles in any period at UBS Arena; the record was set in the third period of another Thanksgiving Eve game (3-0 win on 11-23-2022 vs Edmonton). This was the first time that they had 23 shots in any period anywhere in the interim.
Milestone Men
• Anders Lee remains two goals behind Brock Nelson for fifth place in Isles history.
• Patrick Roy remains at 198 wins as an NHL coach (68 with the Isles).
Return to Form
Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 5-3-1 (.929 and 1.89) since October 31st with two shutouts.
Big Save Dave
David Rittich is 6-2-0 on the season. In his last three games (all one-goal wins), he has stopped 68 of 72 shots for a 1.29 GAA and a .945 save percentage.
Islander goalies not named Sorokin won only five games all last season (tying a franchise record for fewest by the non-winningest goalies on the team).
Most Ice Time by an Islander Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 27:40 10/25/2025 at PHI (SO)
2. Matthew Schaefer 27:30 11/22/2025 vs. STL
3. Matthew Schaefer 27:23 11/23/2025 vs. SEA (SO)
4. Eric Brewer 26:57 4/3/1999 vs ANA (OT)
5. John Tavares 26:46 4/11/2010 vs. PIT (SO)
6. Matthew Schaefer 26:35 10/13/2025 vs. WPG
7. 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.
Since ice-time became official, Drew Doughty is the only other 18-year-old to play at least 27 minutes three times while Victor Hedman (seven times) is the only 18-year-old to pay 26 minutes more often than Schaefer.
Most Goals by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Bryan Berard 7
Matthew Schaefer 7
Most Assists by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Bryan Berard 32
2. Matthew Schaefer 9
The Isles will play 142 more games before Schaefer is no longer a Teenager
Most Games Played as an 18-Year-Old (Isles history)
1. Tim Connolly 81 (14-20-34)
2. Dave Chyzowski 34 (8-6-14)
3. Mathew Schaefer 24 (7-9-16)
Home for the Holidays
The Isles are 1-2-0 in their seven-game homestand that also starts a stretch where they will play 13 of 17 games at UBS Arena through December 27th.
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have eight come-from behind wins this season, including four when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win six times this season, including three in the third period.
Overtime Is Our Time
The Isles are 3-0 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 1-2 in shootouts.
Empty Netters
The Isles have scored 3 empty-net goals and allowed 3.
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 10 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 3 times
• Allowed the next goal: 5 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 2 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2025-26 13-9-2 for 28 points in 24 games
• 2024-25 8-10-6 for 22 points in 24 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-2-2
• Season: 8-35-43
• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161
Rookie Scoring
• Today: 0-1-1
• Season: 12-15-27
• Last Season (Final) 19-30-49
Home and Road
The Isles are 13-9-2 overall; they are 5-5-1 at home and 8-4-1 on the road.
Boston is 13-10-0 overall; they are 8-4-0 at home and 6-7-0 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 7-5-2 against the East (4-3-1 vs. Metropolitan and 3-2-1 vs. Atlantic) and 6-4-0 against the West (2-4-0 vs. Central and 4-0-0 vs. Pacific).
First Things First
The Isles are 9-3-2 when scoring first and 4-6-0 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 11-11-23=45
Boston 4-7-3=14
The Isles are 2-8-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-1 when the shots are even and 10-1-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 11 saves; he is 7-7-2 this season and 4-5-3 vs. Boston.
Jeremy Swayman made a career-high 44 saves; he is 10-6-0 this season and 3-1-0 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-4 (8:00) and allowed a shorthanded goal; Boston was 0-1 (2:00).
The Isles are 6-2-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 7-7-2 when they do not. The Isles are 5-3-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-6-0 when they do not.
The Isles are 7-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 3-4-1 when they are outscored, and 3-4-1 when special team goals are equal.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 12-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-7-0 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 8-2-2 in games decided by a single goal including 4-2 in regulation. They are 3-0 in games decided in overtime and are 1-2 in shootouts. The Isles are 2-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 1-3-0 on the front end and 4-0-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be on December 6-7 when they visit Tampa Bay and Florida.
The Isles are 4-2-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 2-0-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Matthew Schaefer (25:18); Boston: Nikita Zadorov (27:38)
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards (24:51).
Face-offs
Isles 25, Boston 25 (50%)
Bo Horvat won 12 of 23 for the Isles; Mark Kastelic won 7 of 10 for Boston.
Hit Count
Isles 17 (Emil Heineman -6)
Boston 24 (Two with 4)
Fights
None. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, MacLean, Lee, De Angelo)
Blocked Shots
Isles 17 (Adam Boqvist -4)
Boston 12 (Sean Kuraly)-3
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 81, Boston 42
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 48, Boston 35
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Matthew Schaefer +15
Boston: Jonathan Aspirot +6
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 10, Boston 8
5-on-5: Isles 7, Boston 7
Scratches
(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Ethan Bear-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), (Jean-Gabriel Pageau-INJ), Kyle MacLean, Travis Mitchell
Games Lost to injury: 95. (Last season's total: 304)
The Ironmen
Kyle Palmieri is the Islanders' ironman, having played 222 consecutive games. Casey Cizikas (132) and Anders Lee (106) 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 1-2-1 in matinee games this season; the next matinee will be at 4pm on Friday against Philadelphia. 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 16-19-13 in matinees.
Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure (No goalie interference – VEG 11/14)
Opponents: 0 successful, 3 failure (No hand pass – WAS 10/11), (No interference – DET 10/23), (No offside – WAS 10/31)
Hockey Opps: 1 favorable, 1 unfavorable (No missed stoppage- NJ 11/10), (goalie interference -DAL 11/18)
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (2): DET 10/23, CBJ 11/2
Vs (2): BOS 10/28, COL 11/16
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 (5): Anders Lee, GWG(18:57)10/18 OTT, Matthew Schaefer, GTG (18:53) and Simon Holmstrom GWG (19:22) 11/2 CBJ, Kyle Palmieri GAG (17:07 11/10 NJ)- Isles won in OT, Mathew Barzal (17:23 11/13 VEG); Isles won in OT
Vs (1): Simon Nemec GTG (19:55 11/10 NJ) but NYI won in OT
OT Winners
For (3): Mathew Barzal 11/10 @ NJ, JG Pageau 11/13 @ VEG, Matthew Schaefer 11/14 @ UTA
Vs (0):
Shootout Winners
For (1): SEA 11/23
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 921 * 5. Brock Nelson 901 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 7. Clark Gillies 872 * 8. Anders Lee 865 …
20. Kenny Jonsson 597 * 21. Garry Howatt 596 22. John Tonelli 594 23. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 584 25. Scott Mayfield 557 ** 26. Mathew Barzal 553
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 * 2. Bryan Trottier 500 3. Denis Potvin 310 **
4. Clark Gillies 304 * 5. Brock Nelson 295 * 6. Anders Lee 293 …
19. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 * 20. Mathew Barzal 141…
26. Three with 118 * 29. Ray Ferraro 116 * 30. Casey Cizikas 115
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 * 2. Denis Potvin 742 * 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
5. Clark Gillies 359 * 6. John Tavares 349 * 7. Mathew Barzal 339…
18. Tomas Jonsson 249 * 19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 * 21. Anders Lee 226…
26. Kenny Jonsson 175 * 27. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 * 29. Ryan Pulock 170…
32. Ziggy Palffy 163 * 33. David Volek 154 * 34. Casey Cizikas 152
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 * 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 * 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
12. Bob Bourne 542 * 13. Anders Lee 519…
15. Patrick Flatley 488 * 16. Mathew Barzal 480…
27. Ed Westfall 286 * 28. Casey Cizikas 267
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 \\\2. Denis Potvin +456 \\\ 3. Mike Bossy +380
15. Bob Lorimer +105 * 16. Adam Pelech +87 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. 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 **
5. Noah Dobson 180 * 6. Kenny Jonsson 175 * 7. Ryan Pulock 1709 …
9. Jeff Norton 166 \\\10. Mark Streit 139 \\\ 11. Adam Pelech 137…
15. Tom Kurvers and Gerry Hart 108 * 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 223…
10. Mark Streit 179 * 11. Adam Pelech 163…
16. Johnny Boychuk and Bryan Berard 131 * 18. Gerry Hart and Scott Mayfield 128
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 * 2. Rick DiPietro 318 3. Glenn Resch 282 **
4. Ilya Sorokin 269 …
8. Jaroslav Halak 177* 9. Glenn Healy 176 * 10. Semyon Varlamov 173
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 * 2. Glenn Resch 157 * 3. Ilya Sorokin 132 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 * 8. Roland Melanson 77 * 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25 * 2. Ilya Sorokin 24 3. Billy Smith 22 **
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
Bridgeport is 6-9-1-1 on the season heading into a home-and-home series with Springfield that begins Friday afternoon in Bridgeport.
Leaders: Goals: Joey Larson- 8; Assists: Matthew Maggio-11; Points: Maggio-13
Goalies: Marcus Hogberg 4-5-2, 2.92, .893; Parker Gahagen 2-4-0, 3.55, .868
Season Series Stats
Boston wins the season series, 3 games to 0 (and 6 points to 1).
After the Isles led the first game 2-0, they were outscored 11-4 by Boston the rest of the season series.
The Isles are 3-7-3 in the last thirteen meetings with the Bruins and are 3-3-2 in eight all-time meetings with the Bs at UBS Arena.
UP NEXT
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28th —PHILADELPHIA AT ISLANDERS 4:00PM
[MSGSN (pre-game at 3:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The rest of the Thanksgiving Weekend features divisional opponents, starting with a matchup with the Flyers at 4pm on Friday. It is the fourth time the teams have met on Black Friday; the previous three were all in Philadelphia, most recently in 2017.
It is the second meeting between the teams; the Flyers rallied for a shootout victory in Philadelphia last month.
The Isles have dominated the series with Philadelphia on home ice in recent years, going 9-1-1 in the last eleven meetings and 6-1-1 all-time at UBS Arena.
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.
