"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 82
Columbus 6, Isles 1
Zach Werenski scored a goal and added an assist as the Columbus Blue Jackets scored five goals in the second period and defeat the Isles 6-1, before a sellout crowd of 18,874 at Nationwide Arena.
Hudson Fasching scored the only Islander goal.
The Isles end the season at NHL-.500, with a 35-35-12 record.
The Scoring:
1st Period
No Goals
2nd Period
Cole Sillinger (11) 02:21 NYI 0,CBJ 1
Dante Fabbro (9) Jordan Harris (4) 07:43 NYI 0,CBJ 2
Dmitri Voronkov (23) Zach Werenski (59), Cole Sillinger (22) 10:09 NYI 0,CBJ 3
Sean Kuraly (6) Justin Danforth (12), Erik Gudbranson (4) 15:14 NYI 0,CBJ 4
Zach Werenski (23) Sean Monahan (38), Kirill Marchenko (43) 17:27 NYI 0,CBJ 5
3rd Period
Hudson Fasching (2) Casey Cizikas (10) 14:48 NYI 1,CBJ 5
Adam Fantilli (31) James van Riemsdyk (20) 18:37 NYI 1,CBJ 6
The Skinny
The Isles are 3-7-4 in the last fourteen games…The Isles are 6-4-3 in their last thirteen home games and 12-6-3 in their last 21 home games (which started with a 6-0-0 stretch)… The Isles have been outscored 101-87 in the third period and overtime….The Isles scored 162 goals and allowed 162 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 95-60 in all other situations… The Isles went 0-1 on the power play; the Isles were outscored 27-15 on the power play over the last 50 games… The Isles allowed the first goal for the 52nd time this season, one shy of the club record (2010-11)... The Isles are 5-2-2 in their last nine finales …The Isles finished 11-11-4 against the Metro and 22-23-5 against the East…Matt Martin, playing his 987th regular season game (1,075 including the playoffs) served as an alternate captain for the second straight game…The Isles ended the season scoring only one goal in each of the last three games….The Isles played a scoreless first period for the 22nd time this season… Ilya Sorokin earned 30 of the Isles' 35 wins; Billy Smith earned seven of the Isles' 12 wins in 1972-73 which was the only other full season that the goalies who did not lead the team in wins combined for five wins.
First Time in a Long Time
The Isles finished at NHL-.500 for the first time since 1993-94, when they went 36-36-12 in an 84-game season.
Isles Team Leaders
Goals: Lee 29, Horvat 28, Palmieri 24
Assists: Dobson/Horvat 29, Pageau 28
Points: Horvat 57, Lee 54, Palmieri 48
+/-: Mayfield +18, Barzal +10, Holmstrom +5
• Either Lee (4x) or Brock Nelson (5x) has led the Isles in goals for the last nine seasons.
• Dobson shared the team lead in assist after leading outright last season.
• It is only the second time in eight seasons that Mathew Barzal (who missed 52) games did not have at least a share of the club point lead.
• Despite missing 17 games, Scott Mayfield led the team and matched a career-best with a +18 rating.
Other Team Leaders
Games: Palmieri, Lee, and Cizikas 82
PIM: Cizikas 51, Tsyplakov 39, Lee 35
PP Goals: Lee/Palmieri 5, Duclair/Horvat 3
PP Points: Dobson 12, Lee/Palmieri 9
SH Goals: Horvat 2, 4 with 1
SH Points: Holmstrom/ Pageau 46, Horvat/Pulock 2
OT Goals: Horvat 3
GW Goals: Horvat 7, Holmstrom/Lee 3
Shots: Horvat 242, Lee 227, Dobson 193
Shoot %:(minimum 40 games): Holmstrom 20.8%, Palmieri 14.2%, Lee 12.4%
Ice Time: DeAngelo 23:20, Dobson 23:16, Romanov 22:18
Face-off Win %: Pageau 59.6%, Horvat 58.2%, Cizikas 55.1%
Shootout Goals: Four with 1
Hits: Cizikas 202, Gatcomb 149, Romanov 147
Blocks: Romanov 165, Pulock 155, Dobson 126
The Goals (Season)
Isles 57-78-82-5=222 (2.7/game)
Opponents 67-87-94-9=257 (3.1/game)
The Shots (Season)
Isles 731-875-782-30=2418 (29.5/game)
Opponents 752-772-795-38=2357 (28.7/game)
Special Teams (Season)
Power Play 26-207 12.6% (8 shorthanded goals allowed)
Penalty Kill 50-180 72.2% (9 shorthanded goals scored)
The 12.6% power play is the lowest in club history since the stat became official in 1977-78; the 72.2% penalty kill is the 2nd-lowest in franchise history (71.5% last season).
The Finales
The Isles are 6-2-4 in their last twelve season finales and are 27-15-9 all-time in their final game of the year.
Milestone Men
• Kyle Palmieri played in his 900th game.
• Simon Holmstrom played in his 200th game.
-30- Win Club
1. Jaroslav Halak 38 (2014-15)
2. Billy Smith 32 (1981-82)
Rick DiPietro 32 (2006-07)
Chris Osgood 32 (2001-02)
5. Ilya Sorokin 31 (2022-23)
6. Rick DiPietro 30 (2005-06)
Ilya Sorokin 30 (2024-25)
Simon Says 20
Simon Holmstrom is the first Swedish-born Islander to record 20 goals since the 1981-82 season, when Bobby Nystrom had 22 goals. Nystrom (7x) and Anders Kallur (2x) are the only Swedes with more goals in a season than Holmstrom.
Third Periods
Goals: Isles 82, Opponents 94
Tying Goals: Isles 11, Opponents 18 (in 17 games)
Go Ahead Goals: Isles 14 (in 13 games), Opponents 11
Empty Net Goals: Isles 13, Opponents 23
The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 48 of their 82 games. In the 34 games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (5-27-2), they have been within one goal at some point in all but ten of them.
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have sixteen come-from behind wins this season, including five when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win eighteen times this season, including eleven times in the third period.
Overtime
The Isles are 5-9 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-3 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 5-5 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts, Semyon Varlamov is 0-2 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts, and Marcus Hogberg is 0-2 in overtime and 0-1 in shootouts.
Bo Knows Overtime
Bo Horvat has three overtime goals this season, six as an Islander, and eleven in his NHL career. All six of his overtime goals have come in the last two seasons; John Tavares is the only other Islander with multiple seasons with at least three overtime goals.
Most Overtime Goals, Career (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 11
2. Brock Nelson 9
3. Bo Horvat, Kyle Okposo, and Josh Bailey 6
6. Mathew Barzal, Thomas Hickey, and Anthony Beauvillier 5
Most Overtime Goals, Season (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 4 (2014-15)
2. Bo Horvat 3 (2023-24)
Bo Horvat 3 (2024-25)
Brock Nelson 3 (2019-20)
John Tavares 3 (2010-11)
Empty Netters
The Isles have scored 13 empty-net goals and allowed 23.
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 55 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 20 times
• Allowed the next goal: 26 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 9 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2024-25 35-35-12 for 82 points in 82 games
• 2023-24 39-27-16 for 94 points in 82 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-0-0
• Season: 32-129-161
• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170
The Islander defense scored only four times in the first 26 games but have 27 goals in the last 55 games; Islander defensemen have earned 36.0% of the team's assists, which is 2nd in the NHL (Buffalo 36.8%).
Home and Road
The Isles are 35-35-12 overall; they are 19-17-5 at home and 16-18-7 on the road.
Columbus is 40-33-9 overall; they are 26-10-5-at home and 14-23-4 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 22-23-5 against the East (11-11-4 vs. Metropolitan and 11-12-1 vs. Atlantic) and 13-12-7 against the West (8-5-3 vs. Central and 5-7-4 vs. Pacific).
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 1,479
3. Glen Sather 1,319
Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,479) and Patrick Roy (185) have combined for 1,664 career wins as general manager and coach. That is the highest in the NHL among active combinations by a wide margin.
First Things First
The Isles are 19-5-6 when scoring first and are 16-30-6 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 10-16-11=37
Columbus 6-11-9=26
he Isles are 16-25-5 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 18-9-7 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Marcus Hogberg made 33 saves; he is 2-6-3 this season and 0-2-1 vs. Columbus.
Jet Greaves made 32 saves; he is 7-2-2 this season and 1-1-0 vs the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-1 (2:00); Columbus was 0-0 (0:00) .
The Isles are 14-6-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 21-29-10 when they do not. The Isles are 15-17-8 when they allow at least one power play goal and 20-18-4 when they do not.
The Isles are 10-5-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 7-17-7 when they are outscored, and 18-13-5 when special team goals are equal.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 31-10-8 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 4-25-4 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 15-7-12 in games decided by a single goal including 8-7 in regulation. They are 5-9 in games decided in overtime and are 2-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 5-10 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles went 6-4-2 on the front end and 5-7-0 on the back end this season.
The Isles are 9-7-1 when the opponent is on the back end, including 2-2-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Noah Dobson (23:19); Columbus: Zach Werenski (23:27)
Scott Mayfield led Isles forwards (21:11).
Face-offs
Isles 28, Columbus 21 (57%)
Kyle MacLean won 7of 12 for the Isles; no Blue Jacket who took multiple face-offs won more than he lost.
Hit Count
Isles 8 (Marc Gatcomb -5)
Columbus 9 (Erik Gudbranson-3)
Fights
None. Season total: 10 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin-2, Pageau, Tsyplakov, Gatcomb, Cizikas-2, Lee)
Blocked Shots
Isles 18 (Two with 3)
Columbus 15 (Dante Fabbro -5)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 72, Columbus 64
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 68, Columbus 64
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Kyle Palmieri +12
Columbus: Kent Johnson +4
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles10, Columbus 12
5-on-5: Isles 10, Columbus 12
Scratches
(Semyon Varlamov-LTIR), (Mathew Barzal – IR), (Alex Romanov – ILL), Tristan Lennox, Anthony Duclair, Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech
Games Lost to injury: 304. (Last season's total: 181)
The Ironmen
Kyle Palmieri is the Islanders' ironman, having played 198 consecutive games. Casey Cizikas (108) and Anders Lee (91) are the only other Isles to have also played every game this season.
National TV Games
The Isles went 4-4-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners.
Matinee Isles
The Isles went 3-5-3 in matinee games this season. 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 15-17-13 in matinees.
Challenges
Isles: 7 successful, 5 failures (No offsides -PIT 11/5, No goalie interference – SEA 11/16, Goalie Interference- WAS 11/29, goalie interference – TOR 12/31, no goalie interference – BOS 1/5, offsides-VEG 1/9, goalie interference – OTT 1/14, goalie interference – COL 1/28, goalie interference – PHI 1/30, no goalie interference – PIT 3/18, offside -MTL 3/20, no goalie interference – MTL 3/20)
Opponents: 8 successful, 4 failures (No Goalie Interference -UTA 10/10, Offside-VAN 11/14, Goalie Interference-STL 11/23, Offside -BUF 11/30, No Goalie Interference-CHI 12/15, Goalie Interference – PIT 12/28. Offside 12/31, No goalie interference – NSH 3/1, goalie interference – NYR 3/3, goalie interference x2 – LA 3/11, No goalie interference – CBJ 3/24)
Hockey Opps: 0 favorable, 1 unfavorable (Goalie interference – CBJ 3/24)
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (4): CHI 12/12, PHI 1/24, FLA 3/16, NAS 4/8
Vs (3): CHI 12/15, MIN 2/8, CAR 3/30
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)
Isles responses (8): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7, BOS 1/5, SJ 1/18, MIN 2/8, DAL 2/23, NAS 3/1, MIN 4/4
Opponent responses (9): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31, BOS 1/5, NAS 3/1, LA 3/11, CGY 3/22
Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
For (3): PIT 11/5 (Trailed 3-1, won 4-3 (SO), FLA 3/16 (Trailed 2-0, won 4-2), PIT 3/18 (Trailed 2-0, won 4-2).
Vs (3): NJ 11/9 (Led 3-1, Lost 4-3 (OT), WSH 11/29 Led 4-2, Lost 5-4 (SO), NAS 4/8, Led 6-4, Lost 7-6 (OT))
Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):
For (5): Maxim Tsyplakov 10/10 vs. UTA (17:53, GAG but lost in OT); Anders Lee 11/12 @ EDM (17:20-GTG; EDM won in OT); Mathew Barzal 1/11 @ UTA (18:35-GAG), Kyle MacLean 3/22 vs. CGY (17:09, GAG, but lost in OT, Bo Horvat 4/12 @ PHI 18:59 – GTG: PHI won in SO)
Vs (10): Josh Doan 10/10 vs. UTA (18:06- GTG; UTA won in OT); Cole Caufield 10/19 vs MTL (17:50-GTG; NYI won in SO); Jesper Bratt 10/25 at NJD (18:31-GTG; NYI won in OT); Stefan Noesen 11/9 vs NJ (19:10-GTG; NJD won in OT); Lucas Raymond 11/21 at DET (19:09-GAG); 12/15 Connor Bedard at CHI (19:06-GAG); Bobby McMann 1/2 vs. TOR (17:01- GAG); Nikita Kucherov 2/1 at TB (19:13-GTG; NYI won in OT); Jonathan Huberdeau 3/22 vs. CGY (17:38- GTG; CGY won in OT), Michael Bunting 4/8 at NAS (19:20- GTG; NAS won in OT)
OT Winners
For (5): Bo Horvat 10/25 @ NJD (1:09), Bo Horvat 1/5 @ BOS (3:10), Brock Nelson 1/25 vs CAR (2:03), Tony DeAngelo 2/1 @ TB (0:32), Bo Horvat 3/20 vs MTL (3:37)
Vs (9): Dylan Guenther 10/10 vs. UTA (2:18); Jake Neighbours 10/17 @ STL (2:04); Jack Hughes 11/9 vs NJD (2:35); Leon Draisaitl 11/12 @ EDM (1:52); Jakub Chychrun 11/29 @ WAS (1:20); Nick Suzuki 12/3 @ MTL (2:39); Leon Draisaitl 3/14 vs. EDM (3:52); Nazem Kadri 3/22 vs CGY (3:51); Fedor Svechkov 4/8 vs NAS (1:56)
Shootout Winners
For (2): Noah Dobson 10/19 vs MTL, Bo Horvat 11/5 vs PIT
Vs (3): Andrei Kuzmenko 11/19 @ CGY, Adam Fantilli 3/24 vs CBJ, Bobby Brink 4/12 @ PHI
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057 ***
4. Brock Nelson 901 *** 5. Bobby Nystrom 900 *** 6. Casey Cizikas 897 *** 7. Clark Gillies 872 *** 8. Matt Martin 855 *** 9. Anders Lee 841 …
22. John Tonelli 594 *** 23. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 560 *** 25. Ken Morrow 550 *** 26. Duane Sutter 547 *** 27. Lorne Henning 543 *** 28. Claude Lapointe and Scott Mayfield 535 *** 30. Tomas Jonsson 532 *** 31. Mathew Barzal and Pat LaFontaine 530
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
5. Brock Nelson 295 *** 6. Anders Lee 289 …
20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 134…
29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 114
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
7. John Tonelli 338 *** 8. Patrick Flatley and Mathew Barzal 328…
19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 218…
24. Ed Westfall 181 *** 25. Noah Dobson 180 *** 26. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 27. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 29. Jean Potvin 167 *** 30. Jeff Norton 166 *** 31. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 32. Ryan Pulock 161…
34. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 35. Casey Cizikas 148
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
12. Bob Bourne 542 *** 13. Anders Lee 506…
15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 462…
27. Ed Westfall 286 *** 28. Casey Cizikas 262
+/-
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. Ryan Pulock +58 *** 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 *** 5. Stefan Persson 52 *** 6. Noah Dobson 50…
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 ***
4. Nick Leddy 198 *** 5. Noah Dobson 180…
7. Jean Potvin 167 *** 8. Jeff Norton 166 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 161 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 135…
17. Bryan Berard 100 *** 18. Vladimir Malakhov 98 *** 19. Scott Mayfield 97
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 214…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Adam Pelech 161…
18. Gerry Hart 128 *** 19. Vladimir Malakhov and Scott Mayfield 125
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 ***
4. Ilya Sorokin 253 …
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 125 …
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 15-48-4-3 as they head to Hartford on Friday and Providence on Saturday to close out the campaign.
Brian Pinho has a team-leading (and career-high) 25 goals, five ahead of Liam Foudy. Chris Terry's 47 assists and 65 points both lead the team and are tied for 1st and tied for 3rd in the AHL, respectively.
Season Series Stats
Columbus wins the season series, 2 games to 1 (and 4 points to 3).
The Isles are 10-2-2 in their last fourteen games against Columbus, including 4-2-1 in their last seven trips to Nationwide Arena.
UP NEXT
NHL Draft June 27-28
The Isles have the 10th seed going into the NHL draft lottery. Based on last season, they will have a 3.5% chance of grabbing the top pick
As of right now, the Isles have seven picks: their own picks in all Seven Rounds.
AND FINALLY...
The 2024-25 season ends without a playoff berth for only the second time in the last seven seasons. While the Isles missed over 300 man-games, and only three players played every game, The Skinny was a constant. The Skinny appeared after all 82 regular season games, making yet another perfect season, at least in attendance. The Skinny streak is 1,096 consecutive games (including playoffs). With a little luck and good health, we will hit 1,100 games in mid-October.
I love our home broadcast spot in The Dime Club at UBS Arena and always appreciate it when our grear fans stop by to say hello- thank you so much for your support and for reading and commenting on The Skinny all season long.
Finally, thanks to my first line – my wife Diane, and my sons Adam and Evan, for their continuous support in both good times and bad– everyone should be as blessed as I am. You all are the absolute best!
Have a great summer – and in about 25 weeks, we will do it all over again.
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
