Game 18
Isles 5, Los Angeles 2
Brayden Schenn scored a goal and added two assists as the Isles celebrated Matthew Schaefer’s 100th NHL game by defeating the Los Angeles Kings, 5-2, before a crowd of 15,622 at crypto.com Arena.
Schaefer had a power play goal for the Isles; it was the 29th career goal for the talented teen. Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves for his second career win over the Kings as the Isles won in Los Angeles for the first time since 2018.
The Isles have points in three straight (1-0-2) and complete their California road trip on Saturday in Anaheim.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Brayden Schenn (6) Mitchell Chaffee (1), Ryan Pulock (2) 05:50 NYI 1, LAK 0
Trevor Moore (3) Brandt Clarke (9), Joel Armia (4) 08:55 NYI 1, LAK 1
Matthew Schaefer (6) Matias Maccelli (5), Brayden Schenn (9) (PP) 12:56 NYI 2, LAK 1
2nd Period
Victor Eklund (7) Brayden Schenn (10), Ryan Pulock (3) 05:35 NYI 3, LAK 1
Quinton Byfield (5) Artemi Panarin (11), Kevin Fiala (1) (PP) 07:52 NYI 3, LAK 2
3rd Period
Simon Holmstrom (6) Unassisted 00:39 NYI 4, LAK 2
Bo Horvat (8) Simon Holmstrom (6) (EN) 17:14 NYI 5, LAK 2
The Skinny
The Isles went 1-3 on the power play and killed two of three Los Angeles power plays, allowing only a 5-on-3 goal… The Isles’ PK is 36-41 in the last eleven games, and the power play improved to 3-25 over the last eight games and 5-39 over the last thirteen games… The Isles have scored on the power play in three consecutive road games for the first time since January 19-26, 2026… The Isles are 6-0-1 when leading after two periods … The Isles snapped a streak of eight straight games without winning in regulation (2-3-3), as they extend their road point streak to four games (3-0-1)… The Isles have now had eight fights in the first 18 games this season, a total they didn’t reach last season until game 69 (Brayden Schenn/Ridley Greig -OTT) …Darcy Kuemper played in his 500th NHL game…Matthew Schaefer has 29 goals; since the start of last season, Evan Bouchard (31) is the only defenseman in the NHL with more…Victor Eklund is now tied-2nd among NHL rookies with seven goals; Roman Kantserov leads with nine…Simon Holmstrom’s goal was the earliest that the Isles have scored in a regulation period this season…Ryan Pulock and Matias Maccelli both returned to the lineup; the Isles dressed seven defensemen but Matthew Kessel played only 3:01. ...Pulock and Adam Pelech each went +4, tying career highs...It was Brayden Schenn's second career three-point game as an Islander.
Four Straight for Eklund
Victor Eklund scored for the fourth straight game; he is the first Isles 20 or younger to do that since Anthony Beauvillier in 2018:
Mike Bossy 7 11/13-11/26/1977
Anthony Beauvillier 5 3/27-4/5/2018
Brent Sutter 5 2/13-20/1982
Kyle Okposo 4 3/7-12/2009
Kyle Okposo 4 1/19-1/31/2009
Bryan Berard 4 10/25-10/30/1997
Pat LaFontaine 4 11/16-11/21/1985
Victor Eklund 4 11/5/2026 - CURRENT
Eklund is the first Islander rookie since Michael Grabner to score in four consecutive games. Grabner had a 6-game streak in February 2011 and a 4-game streak in January 2011.
Eklund joins Patrick Flatley (6 games) and Trent Hunter (4 games) as Islander rookies to have a 4-game goal streak within the first 18 games of a rookie season. However, Flatley played 16 games in the season before his rookie season.
Milestone Men (non-Schaefer)
- Casey Cizikas played in his 996th game, all with the Islanders.
- Tony DeAngelo played in his 500th NHL game.
- Ryan Pulock had two points tonight, giving him 244, which tied, and then passed, Nick Leddy for fourth place in club history among defensemen.
- Scott Mayfield did not play and remains one game behind Stefan Persson for 5th place among Islander defensemen.
The Schaefer’s
- Matthew Schaefer became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to reach 100 games (19 years, 68 days); Jordan Staal (19 years, 66 days) is the only player to do so at a younger age.
- Schaefer is the first teenage defenseman to play at least 100 games since Rasmus Dahlin (141 in 2018-19 to 2019-20), and the 25th defenseman to play 100 games before his 20th birthday.
- Schaefer’s power play goal came on the 286th shot of his career, passing Tim Connolly’s club teenage record of 285 shots on goal.
- Schaefer now has 77 points, passing Rick Hampton for 4th place on the teenage defenseman point list. He is 55 points behind Phil Housley’s teenage record.
- Schaefer has a point in ten of the last 11 games; the Isles were shutout in the other one.
- Schaefer has played over 26 minutes 53 times in his first 100 career games; since ice-time became official, no other player has done that more than 45 times (Brock Faber).
Most Goals by an NHL Teenage Defenseman:
1. Phil Housley 46
2. Matthew Schaefer 29
Most Points by an NHL Teenage Defenseman:
1. Phil Housley 132
2. Rasmus Dahlin 84
3. Ray Bourque 79
4. Matthew Schaefer 77
Most Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 32
2. Matthew Schaefer 29
Most Assists by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 63
2. Tim Connolly 51
3. Matthew Schaefer 48
Most Points by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier 95
2. Matthew Schaefer 77
Most Game-Winning Goals by an Islander Teenager
1.Bryan Trottier and Matthew Schaefer 5
Most Power Play Goals by an Islander Teenager
1. Bryan Trottier and John Tavares 11
2. Matthew Schaefer 9
Most Shots on Goal by an Islander Teenager
1. Matthew Schaefer 287
2. Tim Connolly 285
Schaefer will play this entire season as a teenager.
Most Ice Time by an Islander Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 32:16 10/27/2026 at NSH (SO)
2. Matthew Schaefer 31:59 3/24/2026 vs CHI
3. Matthew Schaefer 30:51 11/9/2026 at SJ (SO)
4. Matthew Schaefer 30:01 11/5/2026 vs CAR
Matthew Schaefer 30:01 10/29/2026 at MIN (OT)
The last Islander to play more than 32:16 was Mark Streit, who played 32:27 on March 27, 2010, vs. CBJ. Since ice-time became official, no Islander has played more than the 31:59 Schaefer played on 3/24/2026 in a game that ended in regulation.
Most Ice Time by a Teenager, Game
1. Matthew Schaefer 32:16 10/27/2026 at NSH (SO)
2. Matthew Schaefer 31:59 3/24/2026 vs CHI
3. Jay Bouwmeester 30:57 1/30/2003 for FLA vs. DET (OT)
4. Matthew Schaefer 30:51 11/9/2026 at SJ (SO)
There are nine recorded instances of a teenager playing 30 minutes in a game, including Schaefer five times and Seth Jones twice.
Schaefer has played at least 20:00 in 88 straight games; it is the longest streak in NHL history by a player 20 or younger since ice-time became official and the longest by an Islander since Mark Streit set the record (since 1997-98) by doing so in 141 consecutive games from 2009-2011.
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have one come-from behind win this season, including no times when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win three times this season, including once in the third period.
The Isles have zero multi-goal comeback wins (zero in the third period); opponents have one (one in the third period).
Overtime Is Our Time
The Isles are 1-2 in games decided by an overtime goal; they are 1-2 in shootouts.
Last season the Isles established an NHL record by winning all ten games decided by an overtime goal.
The Sixth Attacker
The Isles have not scored with the sixth attacker and allowed five empty net goals.
Opponents have scored two goals with the sixth attacker and allowed three empty-netters to the Isles.
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2026-27: 8-6-4 for 20 points in 18 games
• 2025-26: 10-6-2 for 22 points in 18 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 1-2-3
• Season: 9-28-37
• Last Season (Final) 40-126-166
The 40 goals last season were the most for the Islander defense since they had 41 in 2022-23.
Home and Road
The Isles are 8-6-4 overall; they are 4-3-2 at home and 4-3-2 on the road.
Los Angeles is 5-10-2 overall; they are 2-7-0 at home and 3-3-2 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 2-4-2 against the East (1-2-1 vs. Metropolitan and 1-2-1 vs. Atlantic) and 6-2-2 against the West (3-1-0 vs. Central and 3-1-2 vs. Pacific).
Coach DeBoer
Pete DeBoer is 671-456-156 as an NHL coach, and 9-9-4 with the Isles.
Career Wins
15. Todd McLellan 672
15. Mike Keenan 672
17. Pete DeBoer 671
First Things First
The Isles are 7-0-3 when scoring first and 1-6-1 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 6-3-12=21
Los Angeles 9-10-9=28
The Isles are 4-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 4-5-2 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves; he is 7-4-2 this season and 2-7-0 vs. Los Angeles.
Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves; he is 5-5-1 this season and 11-7-2 vs. the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 1-3 (2:48); Los Angeles was 1-3 (3:21), scoring :53 into a 5-on-3.
The Isles are 5-2-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-4-2 when they do not. The Isles are 3-5-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-1-3 when they do not.
The Isles are 3-0-2 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 2-2-1 when they are outscored, and 3-4-1 when special team goals are equal.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles 8-3-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-3-3 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 4-1-4 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 1-2 in games decided in overtime and are 1-2 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-3 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 0-0-0 on the front end and 0-0-0 on the back end this season. The first back-to-back will be on November 27th vs. Winnipeg and November 28th at Philadelphia.
The Isles are 1-1-0 when the opponent is on the back end, including 0-0-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Matthew Schaefer (27:02); Los Angeles: Brandt Clarke (22:22)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (25:41).
Shots on Goal
Isles 21 (Matthew Schaefer – 3)
Los Angeles 28 (Artemi Panarin and Trevor Moore – 5)
Shot Attempts
Isles 37 (Matthew Schaefer – 8)
Los Angeles 69 (Artemi Panarin and Trevor Moore – 9)
Face-offs
Isles 33, Los Angeles 31 (52%)
Bo Horvat won 15 of 26 for the Isles; Quinton Byfield won 12 of 20 for Los Angeles.
Hit Count
Isles 9 (Brayden Schenn and Kyle Palmieri – 2)
Los Angeles 33 (Joel Armia – 4)
Blocked Shots
Isles 23 (Logan Stanley – 4)
Los Angeles 9 (Mikey Anderson – 4)
Fights
Tony DeAngelo fought Corey Perry in the second period. Season total: 8 (Stanley-2, Chaffee-2, Schenn, Pelech, MacLean, DeAngelo)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 38, Los Angeles 69
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 34, Los Angeles 58
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Ondrej Palat +4
Los Angeles: Brian Dumoulin +17
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 5, Los Angeles 16
5-on-5: Isles 5, Los Angeles 13
Scratches
Mathew Barzal (NonRoster IR), Alex Romanov (IR), Cal Ritchie (IR), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (INJ), Kyle MacLean, Scott Mayfield
Games Lost to injury: 57. (Last season’s total: 399)
The Ironmen
Brayden Schenn played his 344th consecutive game (the first 307 for the Blues); it is the 8th longest active streak in the NHL. Emil Heineman played his 101st consecutive game, all but one for the Isles, while Adam Pelech and Matthew Schaefer extended their streaks to 100 consecutive games.
National TV Games
Including tonight, the Isles are 1-2-1 in games that air on one of the NHL’s US national broadcast partners. The next nationally televised game will be on December 3rd against the Flyers in Philly.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-1-0 in matinee games. 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 18-25-14 in matinees.
The next matinee will be on Monday, December 7th, when the Isles host the Avs at 1:00pm.
Challenges
Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures. OTT (Offside) 10/15.
Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures
Hockey Opps: 0 favorable, 0 unfavorable
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (2): Vs NJD 10/3, vs VAN 10/13
Vs (2): @ NYR 10/6, vs TB 10/10
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of the other team)
Isles responses (1): Vs NJ 11/7
Opponent responses (3): ANA 10/20, DAL 10/25, NJ 11/7
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 (0):
Vs (1): Brandon Hagel (GWG) 18:16 – 10/10 vs. TB
OT Winners
For (1): Matthew Schaefer (MIN) 10/29
Vs (2): Brandt Clarke (LA) 10/22, Jack Hughes (NJ) 11/7
Shootout Winners
For (1): Kyle Palmieri (NAS) 10/27
Vs (2): Shane Pinto (OTT) 10/15, Iyar Stenberg (SJ) 11/9
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 996…
15. Brent Sutter 694 \\* 16. Adam Pelech 660 \\* 17. Ryan Pulock 650 \\* 18. Derek King 638 \\* 19. Billy Harris 623 \\* 20. Stefan Persson 622 \\* 21. Scott Mayfield 621 \\* 22. Mathew Barzal 611
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 \\* 2. Bryan Trottier 500 \\* 3. Denis Potvin 310…
17. Patrick Flatley 160 \\* 18. Mathew Barzal 153…
22. Jason Blake 127 \\* 23. Casey Cizikas 125…
30. Ray Ferraro 116 \\* 31. Bo Horvat 107
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 \\* 2. Denis Potvin 742 \\* 3. Mike Bossy 553 \\*
4. Josh Bailey 396 \\* 5. Mathew Barzal 381…
23. Pierre Turgeon 193 \\* 24. Ryan Pulock 188…
32. Ziggy Palffy 163 \\* 33. Casey Cizikas 158 \\* 34. David Volek 154 \\* 35. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 \\* 36. Adam Pelech 149
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 \\* 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 \\* 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
9. Pat LaFontaine 566 \\* 10. Anders Lee 549 \\* 11. John Tonelli 544 \\* 12. Bob Bourne 542 \\* 13. Mathew Barzal 533…
27. Ed Westfall 286 \\* 28. Casey Cizikas 283 …
31. David Volek 249 \\* 32. Ryan Pulock 244
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 \\\2. Denis Potvin +456 \\\ 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 \\* 16. Adam Pelech +82 \\* 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 \\* 18. Garry Howatt +75 \\* 19. Ryan Pulock +72 \\* 20. Pat Price +70 \\* 21. JP Parise +67 \\* 22. Jude Drouin +58
Defense Games
1. Denis Potvin 1,060 \\* 2. Adam Pelech 660 \\* 3. Ryan Pulock 650\\*
4. Stefan Persson 622 \\* 5. Scott Mayfield 621
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 and Adam Pelech 31 \\* 15. Scott Mayfield 30 \\* 16. Matthew Schaefer 29
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742\\* 2. Stefan Persson 317 \\* 3. Tomas Jonsson 249 \\*
4. Nick Leddy 198 \\* 5. Ryan Pulock 188 …
9. Jeff Norton 166 \\* 10. Adam Pelech 149…
13. Dave Lewis 117 \\* 14. Roman Hamrlik and Scott Mayfield 110
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 \\* 2. Stefan Persson 369 \\* 3. Tomas Jonsson 333 \\*
4. Ryan Pulock 244…
9. Jeff Norton 188 \\* 10. Adam Pelech 180…
14. Dave Lewis 141 \\* 15. Scott Mayfield 140
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 \\* 2. Ilya Sorokin 321…
6. Thomas Greiss 193 \\* 7. Tommy Salo 187 \\* 8. Semyon Varlamov 178
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 \\* 2. Ilya Sorokin 161 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 \\* 8. Roland Melanson and Semyon Varlamov 77
Shutouts
1. Ilya Sorokin 30 \\* 2. Glenn Resch 25 \\* 3. Billy Smith 22 \\*
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
The Hamilton Hammers improved to 5-9-0-2 this season as they began a four-game road trip with a 4-1 win in Hershey on Wednesday. Pierre Engvall scored the winning goal on the power play in the third period and Vitek Vanecek made 34 saves for his second win of the season. Hamilton heads to Lehigh Valley on Friday night.
Team leaders:
Goals: Liam Foudy and Pierre Engvall (5); Assists: Foudy (10); Points: Foudy (15)
Goalies: Josh Kotai (3-4-1, 2.92, .906), Vitek Vanecek (2-5-1, 3.85, .884)
Season Series Stats
The teams split the season series, 1 game to 1 (the Isles earned 3 points to Los Angeles’ 2).
The Isles win snapped a six-game Los Angeles win streak over the Isles, dating back to a JG Pageau overtime goal in December 2023. The Isles had not beaten the Kings in Los Angeles since a 7-2 win on October 18, 2018. It is the first time since December 16, 2017 – February 2, 2019 (3-0-0) that the Isles have earned at least one point in consecutive games against Los Angeles.
UP NEXT
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14th -- ISLANDERS AT ANAHEIM 10:00pm
[MSGSN (pre-game at 9:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles head to Orange County as they look to complete a season series sweep from the Anaheim Ducks.
The Isles earned a 3-2 win against the Ducks on October 20th at UBS Arena by scoring three first period goals in a 5:05 span. The Isles held Anaheim to only 17 shots on goal.
The Isles are 8-3-0 in the last eleven games with the Ducks, although Anaheim has won the last two games played at Honda Center.
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.
