Game 3
New Jersey 5, Isles 4 (OT)
Jack Hughes completed a four-point game with an overtime goal as the New Jersey Devils scored four power play goals and overcame a late tying goal by Bo Horvat to defeat the Islanders 5-4 before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.
Brock Nelson and Bo Horvat each scored twice for the Islanders, with Horvat’s goal at 18:49 representing the latest tying goal for the Islanders since the final game of the 2017-18 season (Ryan Pulock at Detroit – 19:30)
It’s the first time since 2014-15 that the Isles have opened 2-0-1 or better and only the eleventh time in franchise history that they have done so.
The Isles head to Buffalo on Saturday to conclude the first back-to-back of the season.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Brock Nelson (2) Pierre Engvall (2), Kyle Palmieri (2) 12:35 NJD 0,NYI 1
Dougie Hamilton (3) Timo Meier (1), Akira Schmid (1) 19:00 NJD 1,NYI 1 PPG
2nd Period
Tyler Toffoli (1) Jack Hughes (5), Jesper Bratt (3) 00:21 NJD 2,NYI 1 PPG
Brock Nelson (3) Kyle Palmieri (3) 01:37 NJD 2,NYI 2
Luke Hughes (1) Jack Hughes (6), Jesper Bratt (4) 02:36 NJD 3,NYI 2 PPG
Bo Horvat (1) Noah Dobson (2), Matt Martin (1) 06:10 NJD 3,NYI 3
3rd Period
Jack Hughes (3) Ondrej Palat (2), Jesper Bratt (5) 04:30 NJD 4,NYI 3 PPG
Bo Horvat (2) Mathew Barzal (1), Kyle Palmieri (4) 18:49 NJD 4,NYI 4
OT
Jack Hughes (4) 02:19 John Marino (2), Timo Meier (2)NJD 5,NYI 4
The Skinny
The Isles scored first for the third straight game; Ottawa is the only other team to score first in every game they have played this season…Brock Nelson now has 35 goals in games played in October, tying Denis Potvin for 7th place on the club’s all time list; Nelson is now six goals shy of joining the 250-goal club…There were five goals scored in a span of 7:10, beginning with Dougie Hamilton’s goal late in the first period; it was the first time the Devils had scored a goal in the first period and the first time the Isles had allowed one…Noah Dobson had a career-high eight blocked shots…The Isles scored three tying goal s for the first time since an overtime win vs. Columbus last November 12th…Bo Horvat, who had 28 multi-goal games for Vancouver, recorded his first one for the Isles… Lindy Ruff earned his 100th win as Devils coach…Jack Hughes leads the NHL with 10 points; he now has six goals in nine games against Ilya Sorokin and is 7-3-10 in 15 games against the Isles….Kyle Palmieri had two assists, giving him four points (1-3-4) in his three-game point streak to open the season.
First Times in a Long Time
• The Isles allowed three power play goals for the first time since March 16, 2018 (in Washington) and then allowed a fourth power play goal for the first time since March 1, 2014 (also at home vs. New Jersey)
• Jesper Bratt had three assists, all on the power play. He is the first opponent with three power play assists against the Isles since Nicklas Backstrom of Washington (November 5, 2013).
• Noah Dobson was a career-best +4; he is the first Isle to go +4 in a game that the Isles did not win since Thomas Hickey was +4 in a 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh on January 23, 2014.
The Injury
Nico Hischier missed the third period with an upper body injury.
Home is Where The Sorokin Is
Ilya Sorokin, who went 20-10-3 at UBS Arena with a 1.91 GAA and a 93.6% save percentage last season, is 2-0-1 in the new campaign. He is only the third goalie in Islander history to win at least 20 games at home in a season (Halak 22 in 2014-15, Smith 20 in 1981-82). Among all active goalies, Sorokin has the best career home marks in both GAA (2.00) and save percentage (93.1%).
Heavy Hitters
Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin are now 1-2 all-time in hits:
1. Cal Clutterbuck 3,765
2. Matt Martin 3,712
Martin (7) and Clutterbuck (3) have combined for the 10-biggest hits seasons in Isles history in the Real-Time era, which began in 2005-06.
Simon Says “No Penalties”
Simon Holmstrom extended his club record for consecutive games at the start of his tenure with the team before taking a penalty:
Isles Games Played Before Taking First Penalty
• Simon Holmstrom 53 (CURRENT) *
• Billy MacMillian 42
• Brian Marchinko 42 (ENTIRE ISLES CAREER)
• Mike Bossy 39
• Frans Nielsen 39
Marchinko played five games with Toronto before joining the Isles in 1972; he took no penalties in his 47-game career. Like Holmstrom, both Bossy and Nielsen represent games from the start of their career.
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2023-24 2-0-1 for 5 points in 3 games
• 2022-23 2-1-0 for 4 points in 3 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-1-1
• Season: 0-4-4
• Last Season (Final) 41-132-173
The Islander defense scored 41 goals last season, which was the most since they scored 42 in 2003-04. The 173 points were their most since 1993-94, when they had 174 points in an 84-game season.
Best of the Best
Ilya Sorokin has 17 shutouts in 133 career starts. He has recorded a shutout in 12.9% of his starts, which is the highest in NHL history (since 1943-44) among goalies with at least 100 starts:
• Ilya Sorokin 12.8%
• Roman Cechmanek 12.2%
• Ken Dryden 11.8%
• Dominik Hasek 11.3%
Home and Road
The Isles are 2-0-1 overall; they are 2-0-1 at home and 0-0-0 on the road.
New Jersey is 2-1-10 overall; they are 1-1-1 at home and 1-0-0 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 1-010 against the East (0-0-1vs. Metropolitan and 1-0-0 vs. Atlantic) and 1-0-0 against the West (1-0-0 vs. Central and 0-0-0 vs. Pacific).
Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 85 games at UBS Arena and recorded 62 sellouts of 17,255.
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 1,407
3. Glen Sather 1,319
First Things First
The Isles are 2-0-1 when scoring first and are 0-0-0 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 8-10-13-1=32
New Jersey 13-15-9-2=39
The Isles are 1-0-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 0-0-1 when they are out-shot.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves; he is 2-0-1 on the season and 6-3-1 vs. New Jersey.
Akira Schmid made 28 saves; he is 1-0-1 on the season and 1-2-0 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-2 on the power play (4:00); New Jersey was 4-5 on the power play (5:09).
The Isles are 1-0-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 1-0-1 when they do not. The Isles are 0-0-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 2-0-0 when they do not.
Three is (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles are 1-0-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-0-0 when they do not. Under Lane Lambert the Isles are 36-6-5 when scoring at least three goals.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 2-0-1 in games decided by a single goal including 2-0 in regulation. They are 0-1 in games decided in overtime and are 0-0 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-0 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 in the front end and 0-0-0 in the back end this season. This back-to-back concludes on Saturday in Buffalo. The next set of back-to-backs will be on November 15 in Vancouver and November 16 in Seattle.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Ryan Pulock (26:57); New Jersey: Jack Hughes (24:21)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards with 20:47 of ice-time.
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-0-1)
Face-offs
Isles 31, New Jersey 29 (52%)
Brock Nelson won 9 of 15 for the Isles; Nico Hischier won 11 of 18 for New Jersey.
Hit Count
Isles 22 (Ryan Pulock -6)
New Jersey 10 (2 with 2)
Fights
None. Season total: 0
Blocked Shots
Isles 24 (Noah Dobson -8)
New Jersey 9 (2 with 2)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 45, New Jersey 72
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 34, New Jersey 58
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Brock Nelson +3
New Jersey: Nico Hischier +17
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 14, New Jersey 12
5-on-5: Isles 10, New Jersey 9
Scratches
Oliver Wahlstrom. Julien Gauthier, (Scott Mayfield -INJ)
Games Lost: 2
The Ironmen
Anders Lee played in his 115th consecutive Islander game; it Is the longest active streak on the team. (Ryan Pulock and Brock Nelson are the other current Islanders to appear in every game last season and this season.)
Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures
Opponents: 0 successful, 1 failures – BUF no offside
Quickies
The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute no times this season (no times at home and none on road):
Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
The Isles have come from two goals behind after two periods to win no times this season and have not allowed the opposition to do so.
For (0):
Vs (0):
Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have scored one goal and have allowed no goals in the final three minutes of the third period to tie or go-ahead:
For (1): Bo Horvat 10/20 vs NJ 18:49 (Isles lost in OT)
OT Winners
For (0):
Vs (1): Jack Hughes (NJ) 10/20
Shootout Winners
For (0):
Vs (0):
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 * 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 3. Josh Bailey 1,057…
6. Bob Bourne 814 7. Matt Martin 769 8.Brock Nelson 761 9. Mike Bossy 752 10. Casey Cizikas 748…
12. Brent Sutter 694 13. Anders Lee 681 14. John Tavares 669 ** 15. Cal Clutterbuck 639
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 * 2. Bryan Trottier 500 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
7. John Tavares 272 8. Brock Nelson 244 9. Anders Lee 240 …
28. Ray Ferraro 116 ** 29 Mathew Barzal 106
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 * 2. Denis Potvin 742 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
13. Pat LaFontaine 279 14. Bob Nystrom 278 15. Billy Harris 259 16. Mathew Barzal 258 17. Tomas Jonsson 249 18. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 20. Brock Nelson 222…
23. Ed Westfall 181 ** 24. Anders Lee 177
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 * 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
13. Patrick Flatley 488 14. Brock Nelson 466 15. Billy Harris 443 16. Anders Lee 417 * 17. Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson 369…19. Mathew Barzal 364
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 * 2. Denis Potvin +456 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 16. Adam Pelech +80 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 18. Garry Howatt +75 19. Pat Price +70 20. JP Parise +67 21. Jude Drouin +58 22. Patrick Flatley +57 23. Greg Gilbert +54 * 24. Ryan Pulock +52
Defense Goals
1. Denis Potvin 310 * 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 Kenny Jonsson 57…
6. Nick Leddy 45 7. Roman Hamrlik and Ryan Pulock 43 9. Mark Streit 40 10. Johnny Boychuk 11. Adrian Aucoin 33 12. Bryan Berard 31*13. Noah Dobson 30
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742 * 2. Stefan Persson 317 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…
8. Mark Streit 139 9. Ryan Pulock 131…
15. Bryan Berard and Adam Pelech 100 17. Vladimir Malakhov 98 18. Dave Langevin and Thomas Hickey 95 20. Noah Dobson 93 21. Ken Morrow 88 23. Bert Marshall 87 **24. Radek Martinek and Scott Mayfield 85
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 * 2. Stefan Persson 369 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…
8. Mark Streit 179 9. Ryan Pulock 173…
17. Vladimir Malakhov 125 18. Adam Pelech 125 19. Noah Dobson 123 20. Thomas Hickey 117 21. Adrian Aucoin 113 * 22. Scott Mayfield 111
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 * 2. Rick DiPietro 318 3. Glenn Resch 282 …
8. Glenn Healy 176 9. Ilya Sorokin 139 10. Roland Melanson 136 * 11. Semyon Varlamov 135
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 * 2. Glenn Resch 157 3. Rick DiPietro 130…
7. Roland Melanson 77 8. Ilya Sorokin 72 9. Glenn Healy 66 10. Tommy Salo 62 * 11. Semyon Varlamov 59
Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25 * 2. Billy Smith 22 3. Ilya Sorokin 17
4.Rick DiPietro 16 5. Tommy Salo 14 ** 6. Semyon Varlamov 13
On the Farm
Bridgeport is 1-2-0-0 on the season after dropping a 4-2 decision in Providence on Wednesday.
Bridgeport hosts Utica Saturday in their home opener.
Season Series Stats
New Jersey leads the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 1). The next meeting will be in New Jersey on November 28th.
The Isles are 16-5-1 in their last 22 games against the Devils.
UP NEXT
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21st — ISLANDERS at BUFFALO - 7:00pm,
MSGSN (pre-game at 6:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]
The Islanders play their first road game as they head to Buffalo to face the Sabres.
The Isles defeated Buffalo 3-2 in their season-opener last Saturday but are 0-3-2 in their last five games in Buffalo. The Isles will be looking to avoid a 6-game winless streak in Western New York for the first time since 1999 to 2001 (0-4-2).
The teams will meet again in Buffalo on Pi Day (March 14th) to conclude the season series.
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 1982. Information contained in “The Skinny” has been gathered from various sources. Follow Eric @ehornick on Twitter & on his blog www.nyiskinny.com.
