Game 58
Isles 3, New Jersey 1
Sweep up those pitchforks!
Bo Horvat scored an unassisted goal with 3:27 to play to break a 1-1 tie as the Isles headed into the Olympic break with a 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils before a sellout crowd of 16,514 at Prudential Center.
The win completes a four-game sweep of the Devils and an eight-game sweep of their Metro area rivals. Mathew Barzal added an empty net goal to seal the victory and give him goals in four straight games to enter the break.
The Isles improve to 19-11-2 in their last 32 games as they end a stretch of eight games in 13 days with a 5-3-0 record. The Isles resume the NHL regular season on February 26th in Montreal.
The Scoring:
1st Period
No Goals
2nd Period
Casey Cizikas (7) Kyle MacLean (4), Marc Gatcomb (3) 06:30 NYI 1,NJD 0
Nico Hischier (19) Jesper Bratt (28), Jake Allen (1) 18:26 NYI 1,NJD 1
3rd Period
Bo Horvat (24) 16:33 NYI 2,NJD 1
Mathew Barzal (17)EN Bo Horvat (16) 19:36 NYI 3,NJD 1
The Skinny
The Isles finished a stretch where they played six divisional games in a seven-game span; they were 5-1-0 vs. Metro opponents and 0-1-0 vs. Nashville…Bo Horvat was credited with his 600th point on the winning goal and heads into the break with 3-2-5 in two games... Horvat now has 24 goals in his first 44 games played this season; in the last 30 seasons only Anders Lee (25 in 2017-18) and Ziggy Palffy (26 in 196-97) have scored more goals in that span… The Isles improve to 12-2-3 when tied after two periods...Mathew Barzal has six goals in his last seven games to give him 17 on the season; his career high is 23 goals… This was Ilya Sorokin's 11th win over the Devils; eleven of his 145 career wins have been against New Jersey…Bo Horvat now has six seasons of at least 24 goals…The Isles scored first for the 33rd time this season; they scored the first goal thirty times all last season…The Isles had only 14 shots on goal; it is their fewest since they (also) had 14 against Vegas on February 4, 2025… Only seven of those shots came in the first 40 minutes, marking the first time since February 20, 2019 (at Calgary) that they were held to seven or fewer through two periods…Jake Allen earned his 7th career assist and first as a Devil… The Isles had only two power plays in the season series but won all four games by a combined 17-4 score…It is the first time the Isles every game (8-0-0) played against the Rangers and Devils in a season and the fifth time since the Devils moved to New Jersey that the Isles won every meeting (also 1982-83, 1983-84, 2014-15, 2018-19)...The Isles hit the break at 11 games over NHL-.500, which matches a season high.
The Standings
The Isles remain one point behind Pittsburgh for 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division (the Isles have played two more games); they are now four points ahead of Columbus and Washington.
Milestone Men
• Bo Horvat recorded his 600th and 601st career points; 183 have come with the Isles.
• Mathew Barzal tied Bob Nystrom (513) for 13th place in club history in points with his empty net goal.
• Ilya Sorokin reached the 20-win mark for the fifth straight season; Chico Resch also had five straight 20-win seasons while Billy Smith holds the record with eight 20-win seasons (no more than three consecutive)
• Casey Cizikas tied Duane Sutter for 23rd on the club's all-time goal list (121).
• Matthew Schaefer remains one goal of Denis Potvin's club record of 17 goals by a rookie defenseman and Phil Housley's NHL record for an 18-year-old defenseman.
• Schaefer is also now tied-14th in goals in a season by an Islander defensemen; the top 13 spots all belong to the surname Potvin (Denis-12, Jean -1)
• Ryan Pulock has 56 goals, one behind Kenny Jonsson for third place in club defenseman history.
• Ryan Pulock remains tied with Ed Westfall for 24th place with 181 assists.
Longest Sellout Streaks in UBS History (one season)
• 19 (2021-22; the first 19 games played at UBS Arena)
• 12 (2022-23; the final 12 games of that season)
• 11 (2025-26 CURRENT)
The Isles have sold out sixteen games this season; they had fifteen home sell-outs a year ago.
Return to Form
Ilya Sorokin was 2-4-1 (.868 and 3.75) in his first seven games this season; he is 18-9-1 (with an NHL-best .928 save percentage, and a 2.11 goals-against average) and an NHL-leading six shutouts since then.
Sorokin is 14-1-0 when facing more than 30 shots; he won his first thirteen while facing over 30 to set the club record for consecutive wins when facing more than 30 shots.
The Shutout Leader
Sorokin not only leads the NHL in shutouts this season; his 28 career shutouts are the most by an NHL goalie since Sorokin debuted in 2020-21; Connor Hellebuyck has 25 and Igor Shesterkin has 22 in that span.
Sorokin now has three seasons of at least six shutouts; he is the only goalie in club history with more than one such season (Varlamov, Resch, Halak, and Lehner each did it once.) Hellebuyck, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Sergei Bobrovsky are the only other actives with three seasons.
Shutouts in Highest Percentage of Games Played (minimum 25 shutouts)
1. Roman Cechmanek (25/212) 11.8%
2. Ken Dryden (46/397) 11.6%
3. Dominik Hasek (81/735) 11.0%
4. Martin Brodeur (125/1266) 9.9%
5. Ilya Sorokin (28/287) 9.8%
Big Save Dave
David Rittich is 12-8-3 on the season. He is 1-3-1 in his last five games.
Islander goalies other than Sorokin won only five games last season (tying a franchise record for fewest by the non-winningest goalies on the team).
Most Islander Shutouts in a Season
• 11 2018-19
• 10 2020-21 and 1975-76
• 9 2021-22
• 8 2025-26, 2022-23 and 1997-98
Looking Ahead
The Isles will come out of the break by playing six of seven games, and nine of 12 games on the road.
Following this stretch they will end the season by playing 10 of the final 12 games at home.
Fourteen of their last 24 games will be played in seven sets of back-to-backs.
Most Goals by an 18-Year-Old Defenseman
1. Phil Housley (BUF) 17 (1982-83)
2. Matthew Schaefer 16 (2025-26)
(Housley had 19 goals as a rookie, but the final two occurred after his 19th birthday)
Most Points by an 18-Year-Old Defenseman
1. Phil Housley (BUF) (17-40-57 in 66 GP) 1982-83
2. Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) (9-35-44 in 82 GP) 2018-19
3. Matthew Schaefer (16-23-39 in 58 GP)
Most Power Play Goals by an 18-Year-Old Defenseman
1. Phil Housley (BUF) 10 (1982-83)
2. Matthew Schaefer 6 (2025-26)
3. Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) 5 (2018-19)
Most Multi-Point Games by an 18-Year-Old Defenseman
1. Phil Housley (BUF) 13 1982-83
2. Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) 2018-19, Bobby Orr (BOS) 1966-67, and Matthew Schaefer - all with 8.
Most Goals by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Matthew Schaefer 16
2. Bryan Berard 7
Only six Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have scored at least sixteen goals, led by Bryan Trottier's 32 and Pat LaFontaine's 26. Brent Sutter (23) is the one now above Schaefer.
Most Assists by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Bryan Berard 32
2. Matthew Schaefer 23
Only seven Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have recorded at least 23 assists, led by Bryan Trottier's 63 and Tim Connolly's 51. Brent Sutter (24) is the one now above Schaefer.
Most Points by an Islander Teenage Defenseman
1. Bryan Berard 39
Matthew Schaefer 39
Only seven Islander teenagers, regardless of position, have recorded at least 39 points, led by Bryan Trottier's 95 and Tim Connolly's 75. Bryan Berard (39) is tied with Schaefer; Brent Sutter (47) is the one above Schaefer.
Most Game-Winning Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 5
2. Matthew Schaefer 4
Schaefer will still be a Teenager for the next 108 Isles games.
Most Games, Goals, Assists and Points as an 18-Year-Old (Isles history)
Matthew Schafer now holds the club record for goals (16), assists (23), and points (39). Tim Connolly played 81 games as a rookie – the only 18-year-old to play more games than Schaefer.
Most Goals by an Islander Rookie Defenseman
1. Denis Potvin 17 (1973-74)
2. Matthew Schaefer 16 (2025-26)
Most Points by an Islander Rookie Defenseman
1. Stefan Persson 56 (1977-78)
2. Denis Potvin 54 (1973-74)
3. Vladimir Malakhov 52 (1992-93)
4. Bryan Berard 48 (1996-97)
5. Matthew Schaefer 39 (2025-26)
Most Goals by an NHL Rookie Defenseman (Last 30 seasons)
1. Dion Phaneuf – CGY 20 (2005-06)
2. Shayne Gostisbehere - PHI 17 (2015-16)
3. Matthew Schaefer 16 (2025-26)
The NHL record is 23, held by Brian Leetch-NYR (1988-89)
Schaefer and Penalties
Matthew Schaefer has drawn 28 penalties this season, more than any other NHL defenseman, and tied-fourth in the NHL (behind Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini, and Mikko Rantanen). He is a net +14 (having taken only 14 penalties).
Since penalties drawn was tracked in 2009-10, no Isle defenseman has finished a season higher than +11 (Noah Dobson 2021-22), John Tavares holds the club record for a season at +29 in 2011-12, while Mathew Barzal +26 in 2017-18 is the only other Islander to finish higher than +15. Cale Makar is the only NHL defenseman to finish higher than +16 (Makar was +19 in 2024-25 and +17 in 2023-24).
Most Penalties Drawn by an Islander Defenseman (Season, Since 2009-10)
1. Matthew Schaefer 2025-26 28
2. Matt Carkner 2013-14 23
3. Thomas Hickey 2016-17 22
Most Penalties Drawn by an Islander Rookie (Season, Since 2009-10)
1. Mathew Barzal 2017-18 40
2. Matthew Schaefer 2025-26 28
3. Matt Martin 2010-11 25
[Travis Hamonic (17 in 2010-11) is the only other Islander rookie defenseman to draw more than 10.)
Most Ice Time by an Islander Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 28:53 11/28/2025 vs PHI (SO)
Matthew Schaefer 28:53 1/8/2026 at NAS (SO)
3. Matthew Schaefer 28:12 12/9/2025 vs VEG
4. Matthew Schaefer 27:59 2/3/2026 vs PIT
5. Matthew Schaefer 27:41 1/10/2026 at MIN (OT)
6. Matthew Schaefer 27:40 10/25/2025 at PHI (SO)
A 20-year-old Islander has played more than 28:53 only twice (Bryan Berard -31:30; Travis Hamonic -28:54). The younger of these was Hamonic (vs PIT) on April 8, 2011, when he was 20 years, 235 days old; Schaefer will not hit that age until April 27, 2028.
Most Ice Time by an 18-Year-Old, Game
1. Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) 29:15 12/4/2018 vs TOR (OT)
2. Drew Doughty (LA) 29:04 11/22/2008 vs COL (SO)
3. Matthew Schaefer 28:53 11/28/2025 vs PHI (SO)
Matthew Schaefer 28:53 1/8/2026 vs NAS (SO)
Schaefer has played at least 27 minutes nine times and at least 26 minutes fifteen times. He is the first 18-year-old to do either of these things since ice time became official.
Schaefer has played at least 20:00 in 46 straight games; it is the longest streak in NHL history by an 18-year-old and the second-longest by a teenager (Tyler Myers -47) since ice-time became official.
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have fourteen come-from behind wins this season, including six when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win twelve times this season, including four times in the third period.
The Isles have two multi-goal comeback wins (none in the third period); opponents have three (none in the third period).
Overtime Is Our Time
The Isles are 6-0 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 4-5 in shootouts.
The Sixth Attacker
The Isles have scored nine goals with the 6th attacker (most in NHL) and allowed 11 empty net goals.
Opponents have scored seven goals with 6th attacker and allowed seven empty-netters to the Isles.
Most Extra Attacker Goals, Isles (since 2009-10)
1. 2017-18 9
2025-26 9
Most Career Empty Net Goals
1. Bryan Trottier 27
2. John Tavares 20
3. Mike Bossy 15
4. Brock Nelson 13
5. Jason Blake and Casey Cizikas 11
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 30 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 12 times
• Allowed the next goal: 13 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 5 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2025-26 32-21-5 for 69 points in 58 games
• 2024-25 26-25-7 for 59 points in 58 games; they recorded points 69-70 in their 67th game.
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-0-0
• Season: 29-83-112
• Last Season (Final) 32-129-161
Rookie Scoring
• Today: 0-0-0
• Season: 28-46-74
• Last Season (Final) 19-30-49
• This season's totals are the most since 2017-18 (38-101-139)
The 28 rookie goals trail only Montreal (31) for the most in the NHL while the 74 points are 3rd. Islander rookies have scored 17.0% of the team's goals, which is the highest percentage in the NHL.
Home and Road
The Isles are 32-21-5 overall; they are 16-10-2 at home and 16-11-3 on the road.
New Jersey is 28-27-2 overall; they are 13-12-2 at home and 15-15-0 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 19-11-4 against the East (12-6-2 vs. Metropolitan and 7-5-2 vs. Atlantic) and 13-10-1 against the West (5-7-1 vs. Central and 8-3-0 vs. Pacific).
First Things First
The Isles are 23-7-3 when scoring first and 9-14-2 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 2-5-7=14
New Jersey 5-13-6=24
The Isles are 9-14-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 2-1-1 when the shots are even and 21-6-0 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves; he is 20-13-2 this season and 11-5-2 vs. New Jersey.
Jake Allen made 11 saves; he is 12-14-1 this season and 2-6-1 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-1 (2:00); New Jersey was 0-1 (2:00).
The Isles are 16-5-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 16-16-3 when they do not. The Isles are 10-10-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 22-11-1 when they do not.
The Isles are 15-1-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 3-9-2 when they are outscored, and 14-11-3 when special team goals are equal. (Their only loss when outscoring the opposition on special teams was in the home opener against Washington.)
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 25-3-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 7-18-2 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 19-5-5 in games decided by a single goal including 9-5 in regulation. They are 6-0 in games decided in overtime and are 4-5 in shootouts. The Isles are 5-3 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 4-5-0 on the front end and 6-2-1 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be February 28-March 1 when the Isles visit Columbus and host Florida.
The Isles are 6-3-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 4-1-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Matthew Schaefer (24:17); New Jersey: Dougie Hamilton (22:47)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (20:50).
Face-offs
Isles 33, New Jersey 16 (67%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 11 of 13 for the Isles; Dawson Mercer won 3 of 5 for New Jersey.
Hit Count
Isles 25 (Emil Heineman -5)
New Jersey 13 (Paul Cotter -4)
Fights
None. Season total: 5 (Mayfield -2, MacLean, Lee, DeAngelo)
Blocked Shots
Isles 12 (Onrdej Palat -3)
New Jersey 15 (Five with 2)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 43, New Jersey 43
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 45, New Jersey 52
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Adam Pelech +8
New Jersey: Three with +4
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 10, New Jersey 9
5-on-5: Isles 9, New Jersey 9
Scratches
(Pierre Engvall-LTIR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Alex Romanov-IR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), Anthony Duclair, Adam Boqvist, Max Shabanov
Games Lost to injury: 285. (Last season's total: 304)
The Ironmen
Anders Lee (140) is the Islanders' ironman. Adam Pelech, Matthew Schaefer, Tony DeAngelo, and Emil Heineman have also played in every game this season. Of those, DeAngelo, who played the final 35 games of last season, has the longest streak (93).
National TV Games
Including tonight, the Isles are 4-2-1 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners. Their next appearance will be on ESPN March 1st vs. Florida.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 2-6-2 in matinee games this season; the remaining matinees are on March 28th vs Florida and April 11th vs Ottawa, both at 1:00pm. 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 17-23-14 in matinees.
Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 3 failures (No goalie interference – VEG 11/14), (No goalie interference – WPG 1/13), (No goalie interference – NSH 1/31)
Opponents: 3 successful, 4 failures (No hand pass – WAS 10/11), (No interference – DET 10/23), (No offside – WAS 10/31), (No interference – COL 12/4), (Puck not shot out – EDM 1/15), (Offside – VAN 1/19), (Puck not shot out – NJ 2/5)
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 (3): DET 10/23, CBJ 11/2, NJ 1/6, NYR 1/28
Vs (7): BOS 10/28, COL 11/16, PHI 11/28, WAS 11/30, WPG 1/13, BUF 1/24, WAS 2/2
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)
Isles responses (4): OTT 10/18, SJS 10/21, BOS 11/4, CGY 1/17
Opponent responses (3): WPG 10/13, CAR 10/30, COL 12/4
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 (8): 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 GTG (17:23 11/13 VEG)- Isles won in OT; Emil Heineman GTG (19:31 12/20 BUF)- Isles lost in OT; Adam Pelech GWG (18:45 12/23 NJD); Emil Heineman GTG (17:45 1/3 TOR) – Isles won in OT
Vs (4): Simon Nemec GTG (19:55 11/10 NJ) but NYI won in OT, Pavel Dorfeyev (19:46, 12/9 VEG) but NYI won in SO; Alex DeBrincat GWG (17:43 12/16 DET); Roman Josi GWG (18:46 1/31 NSH)
OT Winners
For (6): Mathew Barzal 11/10 @ NJ, JG Pageau 11/13 @ VEG, Matthew Schaefer 11/14 @ UTA and 1/3 Vs TOR, Simon Holmstrom 1/10 @ MIN, Bo Horvat 2/3 vs PIT
Vs (0):
Shootout Winners
For (4): SEA 11/23, VEG 12/9, TBL 12/13, CHI 12/30
Vs (5): PHI 10/25, BOS 11/4, PHL 11/28, BUF 12/20, NAS 1/8
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 954 * 5. Brock Nelson 901 6. Bobby Nystrom 900 ** 7. Anders Lee 899…
17. Billy Harris 623 * 18. Stefan Persson 622 19. Adam Pelech 618 20. Ryan Pulock 616 21. Frans Nielsen 606 22. Kenny Jonsson 597 23. Garry Howatt 596 24. John Tonelli 594 25. Scott Mayfield 591 ** 26. Mathew Barzal 587
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 * 2. Bryan Trottier 500 3. Denis Potvin 310 **
4. Clark Gillies 304 * 5. Anders Lee 300 …
17. Patrick Flatley 160 * 18. Mathew Barzal 151…
22. Jason Blake 127 * 23. Duane Sutter and Casey Cizikas 121
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 * 2. Denis Potvin 742 3. Mike Bossy 553 **
4. Josh Bailey 396 * 5. Mathew Barzal 362…
18. Tomas Jonsson 249 * 19. Anders Lee 238…
23. Pierre Turgeon 193 * 24. Ed Westfall and Ryan Pulock 181…
32. Ziggy Palffy 163 * 33. Casey Cizikas 156
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 * 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 * 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
9. Pat LaFontaine 566 * 910. John Tonelli 544 11. Bob Bourne 542 12. Anders Lee 538 *
13. Bob Nystrom and Mathew Barzal 513…
27. Ed Westfall 286 * 28. Casey Cizikas 277
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 \\\2. Denis Potvin +456 \\\ 3. Mike Bossy +380
15. Bob Lorimer +105 * 16. Adam Pelech +88 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 18. Garry Howatt +75 19. Pat Price +70 20. Ryan Pulock +69 21. JP Parise +67 22. 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 56…
12. Adrian Aucoin 33 * 13. Bryan Berard 31 * 14. Scott Mayfield and Adam Pelech 29
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742* 2. Stefan Persson 317 3. Tomas Jonsson 249 **
4. Nick Leddy 198 * 5. Ryan Pulock 181 …
9. Jeff Norton 166 *10. Adam Pelech 142…
15. Tom Kurvers and Gerry Hart 108 * 17. Scott Mayfield 104
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 * 2. Stefan Persson 369 3. Tomas Jonsson 333 **
4. Nick Leddy 243 * 5. Ryan Pulock 237…
10. Mark Streit 179 * 11. Adam Pelech 170…
14. Dave Lewis 141 * 15. Tom Kurvers 134 * 16. Scott Mayfield 133
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 * 2. Rick DiPietro 318 * 3. Ilya Sorokin 287…
8. Jaroslav Halak 177* 9. Glenn Healy 176 * 10. Semyon Varlamov 173
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 * 2. Glenn Resch 157 * 3. Ilya Sorokin 145 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 * 8. Roland Melanson 77 * 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Ilya Sorokin 28 * 2. Glenn Resch 25 3. Billy Smith 22 **
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
The Bridgeport Islanders out-shot first place Providence 37-19 on Wednesday but fell to 19-20-2-2 on the season with a 2-1 defeat. Bridgeport still holds a four-point lead over Springfield for the final playoff spot; Bridgeport heads to Utica on Friday in the first of nine games that they will play before the parent club resumes their schedule.
Leaders: Goals: Adam Beckman 17; Assists: Marshall Warren 19; Points: Beckman 28.
Goalies: Henrik Tikkanen 8-5-1, 2.34, .905; Marcus Hogberg 8-10-3, 2.97, .891
Season Series Stats
The Isles win the season series, 4 games to 0 (and 8 points to 1).
The Isles are 7-0-1 in their last eight meetings with the Devils and have won five straight games in Newark. That is their longest winning streak in New Jersey since a six-game stretch in 2013-2015 that included two wins in regulation, two in overtime, and two in shootouts.
UP NEXT
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26th — ISLES AT MONTREAL 7:00PM
[MSGSN (pre-game at 6:30); WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Olympic Break means that the Isles will not play for 20 consecutive days, which is the longest in-season streak in club history. They will return to the ice on February 26th with their first meeting of the season with the Montreal Canadiens.
It will be the first game between the teams since last March 20th, when Bo Horvat's overtime winner gave the Isles their 32nd win of the season; their win over New Jersy (on February 5th) was also their 32nd.
All three games last season, and the last four meetings overall have gone to overtime; the Isles are 3-0-0 at UBS but dropped a 2-1 decision in Montreal last December 3rd.
The Isles are 0-2-2 in their last four trips to La Belle Province; their last win there was a 44-save shutout by Ilya Sorokin on April 15, 2022.
This will be the first meeting with the reigning Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson, and the first time the Isles will face Noah Dobson since he was traded last June.
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.
