Game 77
Nashville 7, Isles 6 (OT)
Fedor Svechkov scored 1:56 into overtime as the Nashville Predators rallied from a late 6-4 deficit for a 7-6 win over the Isles before a crowd of 17,159 at Bridgestone Arena.
The Preds rally, which included four points from Steven Stamkos, overshadowed Simon Holmstrom's first career four-point game and his team-high fourth multi-goal of the season. Jean-Gabriel Pageau added three assists.
The Isles return home to face the Rangers on Thursday night.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Simon Holmstrom (19) Ryan Pulock (18), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (26) 04:16 NYI 1,NSH 0
Ryan O'Reilly (18) Michael Bunting (17), Luke Evangelista (19) 06:44 NYI 1,NSH 1
Filip Forsberg (30) 11:45 NYI 1,NSH 2
Anders Lee (28) Bo Horvat (28), Adam Pelech (20) 16:12 NYI 2,NSH 2
2nd Period
Simon Holmstrom (20) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (27), Maxim Tsyplakov (25) 04:36 NYI 3,NSH 2
Steven Stamkos (26) Nick Blankenburg (12), Jonathan Marchessault (31) 07:24 NYI 3,NSH 3 PPG
Maxim Tsyplakov (9) Simon Holmstrom (23), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (28) 12:09 NYI 4,NSH 3
Michael McCarron (5) Brady Skjei (19), Jonathan Marchessault (32) 13:25 NYI 4,NSH 4
3rd Period
Kyle Palmieri (24) 15:21 NYI 5,NSH 4
Scott Mayfield (3) Simon Holmstrom (24), Alexander Romanov (16) 16:19 NYI 6,NSH 4 SHG
Steven Stamkos (27) Jonathan Marchessault (33), Filip Forsberg (42) 17:53 NYI 6,NSH 5 PPG
Michael Bunting (18) Steven Stamkos (23), Brady Skjei (20) 19:20 NYI 6,NSH 6
OT
Fedor Svechkov (8) Brady Skjei (21), Steven Stamkos (24) 01:56 NYI 6,NSH 7
The Skinny
The Isles are 5-4-4 in the last thirteen games and 9-7-4 in the last twenty games …The Isles are 6-2-3 in their last eleven home games and 12-4-3 in their last nineteen home games (which started with a 6-0-0 stretch)… The Isles have been outscored 94-83 in the third period and overtime, although they have outscored their opponents 46-37 in those periods over the last 34 games…The Isles outscored the Preds 5-3 at 5-on-5 but allowed goals at 5-on-4, 5-on-3, 6-on-5, and 3-on-3….The Isles have scored 157 goals and allowed 145 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 91-57 in all other situations… The Isles went 0-2 on the power play; the Isles have been outscored 25-13 on the power play over the last 46 games… Ilya Sorokin has started 12 of the last 14 and 25 of the last 29; he has appeared in 28 of the last 32 games…Sorokin is 9-5-2 (with one no-decision) in his last seventeen games, and his 29 wins are the second-highest total of his career… The Isles scored the first goal for only the 29th time this season; it is the first time that they have done so in consecutive games since March 4-8th…This was the Isles final game against both the Western Conference (13-12-7) and Central Division (8-5-3)…Ryan O'Reilly scored his 300th goal early in the game…The Isles have allowed 10 tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes this season; the Isles have lost three games that they had a multi-goal lead at some point in the third period… Maxim Tsyplakov went 1-1-2; Isles rookies are 18-30-48 this season, placing them in the top 8 in the NHL for rookie points…Jean-Gabriel Pageau had his second three-assist game of the season; they are the only two the Isles have this season (they had nine last season, including six from Noah Dobson)…Scott Mayfield recorded his second career shorthanded goal (and his first against a goalie, hitting an empty net on November 3, 2018, vs. New Jersey)…This was the highest-scoring East-West series this season (24 goals, including 13 by the Isles)…It is the fourth time in Preds history that they won a game when trailing by multiple goals in the final five minutes of regulation… Steven Stamkos recorded his 23rd career four-point game (and first with Nashville)..Brady Skjei's assist on the overtime goal was his third of the game and 200th of his career; he has 15 assists in 30 games against the Isles.
The Injury
Ilya Sorokin did not play the third period due to an upper body injury.
First Times in a Long Time
• The Isles scored and allowed multiple goals in each regulation period for the second time in club history (November 23, 1982, vs. Minnesota – an 8-8 tie with no overtime period)
• The Isles played a game with at least five tying goals for the first time since December 21, 2019, vs. Anaheim (6-5 shootout loss); it was only the second such game in the NHL this season (MTL-BUF on November 11th)
• The Isles had won 33 straight games when scoring at least six goals (7-6 loss to Tampa Bay on March 22, 2018, at Barclays Center; they had won 28 straight on the road, dating back to an 8-6 loss in Toronto on December 19, 2005.
Milestone Men
• Anders Lee recorded his 288th goal, passing Brent Sutter and Pat LaFontaine for 6th in club history.
• Ryan Pulock recorded his 214th point, passing Jean Potvin for 7th among Isles defensemen.
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.
The Playoff Chase (through Tuesday)
3rd Metro New Jersey 89 points (36 RW) in 78 games
1st WC x- Ottawa 90 points (34 RW) in 77 games
2nd WC Montreal 87 points (29 RW) in 77 games
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3rd Rangers 79 points (32 RW) in 77 games
4th Detroit 79 points (28 RW) in 77 games
5th ISLES 79 points (27 RW) in 77 games
6th Columbus 79 points (25 RW) in 77 games
x- Clinched playoff spot
Third Periods
Goals: Isles 78, Opponents 86
Tying Goals: Isles 10, Opponents 17 (in 16 games)
Go Ahead Goals: Isles 14 (in 13 games), Opponents 10
Empty Net Goals: Isles 13, Opponents 22
The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 45 of their 76 games. In the 31 games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (5-25-2), they have been within one goal at some point in all but eight 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 seventeen times this season, including ten times in the third period.
Overtime
The Isles are 5-9 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-2 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 0-0 in shootouts
Sorokin has 36 OT/SO losses, extending his club record (Rick DiPietro had 28).
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 22.
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 34-32-11 for 79 points in 77 games
• 2023-24 35-27-15 for 85 points in 77 games
Offense from Defense
• Today: 1-3-4
• Season: 31-124-155
• 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 51 games; Islander defensemen have earned 35.8% of the team's assists, which is 2nd-highest in NHL (Buffalo 37.0%).
Home and Road
The Isles are 34-33-10 overall; they are 19-15-5 at home and 15-18-5 on the road.
Nashville is 28-42-8 overall; they are 19-17-3 at home and 9-25-5 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 21-20-4 against the East (10-8-3 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 1,478
3. Glen Sather 1,319
Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,478) and Patrick Roy (184) have combined for 1,662 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 18-5-6 when scoring first and are 15-28-5 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 8-5-8-1=22
Nashville 12-11-7-2=32
The Isles are 16-23-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 17-8-7 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves over the first two periods. Marcus Hogberg made six saves in the third period and overtime; he is 2-5-1 this season and 1-1-0 vs. Nashville.
Justus Annunen made 16 saves; he is 15-14-1 this season and 1-0-0 vs the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 0-2 (4:00); Nashville was 2-3 (2:03) and allowed a shorthanded goal.
The Isles are 14-5-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 20-27-10 when they do not. The Isles are 15-15-7 when they allow at least one power play goal and 19-17-4 when they do not.
The Isles are 10-5-0 when they outscore the opposition on special teams, 7-16-7 when they are outscored, and 17-11-4 when special team goals are equal.
Three is (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles are 31-10-7 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-22-4 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 14-7-11 in games decided by a single goal including 7-7 in regulation. They are 5-9 in games decided in overtime and are 2-2 in shootouts. The Isles are 5-9 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 6-4-1 on the front end and 4-7-0 on the back end this season. The final back-to-back will be April 12th-13th in Philadelphia and New Jersey.
The Isles are 9-6-1 when the opponent is on the back end, including 2-2-0 when the Isles also played the previous day.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Adam Pelech (23:33); Nashville: Brady Skjei (24:14)
Kyle Palmieri led Isles forwards (20:38).
Face-offs
Isles 43, Nashville 27 (61%)
Bo Horvat won 17 of 25 for the Isles; No Predator won more than he lost.
Hit Count
Isles 26 (Marc Gatcomb -5)
Nashville 21 (Zachary L'Heureux -5)
Fights
None. Season total: 10 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin-2, Pageau, Tsyplakov, Gatcomb, Cizikas-2, Lee)
Blocked Shots
Isles 17 (Two with 3)
Nashville 13 (Five with 2)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 53, Nashville 65
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 45, Nashville 52
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Alex Romanov +9
Nashville: Trevor Van Riemsdyk +12
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 19, Nashville 6
5-on-5: Isles 16, Nashville 5
Scratches
(Semyon Varlamov-LTIR), (Mathew Barzal – IR), Anthony Duclair, Adam Boqvist, Scott Perunovich, Mike Reilly)
Games Lost to injury: 290. (Last season's total: 181)
The Ironmen
Kyle Palmieri is the Islanders' ironman, having played 193 consecutive games. Casey Cizikas (103) and Anders Lee (77) are the only other Isles to have also played every game this season.
National TV Games
The Isles are 3-4-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with two games remaining. The next national game will be on TNT on April 13th as the Isles visit the Devils; two of the last three games will be nationally-televised.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 2-5-2 in matinee games this season, with two games remaining. The next matinee will be April 13 vs. the Devils. 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 14-17-12 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 (4): 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)
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 (2): Andrei Kuzmenko 11/19 @ CGY, Adam Fantilli 3/24 vs CBJ
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 892 7. Clark Gillies 872 8. Matt Martin 850 ** 9. Anders Lee 836 …
22. John Tonelli 594 * 23. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock 556 25. Ken Morrow 550 26. Duane Sutter 547 27. Lorne Henning 543 28. Claude Lapointe 535 29. Tomas Jonsson 532 ** 30. Scott Mayfield, 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 288 …
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 217…
24. Ed Westfall 181 * 25. Noah Dobson 179 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 146
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 * 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 * 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
12. Bob Bourne 542 * 13. Anders Lee 504…
15. Patrick Flatley 488 * 16. Mathew Barzal 462…
27. Ed Westfall 286 * 28. Casey Cizikas 260
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 \\\2. Denis Potvin +456 \\\ 3. Mike Bossy +380
15. Bob Lorimer +105 * 16. Adam Pelech +86 17. Tomas Jonsson +76 18. Garry Howatt +75 19. Pat Price +70 20. JP Parise +67 21. Ryan Pulock +63 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 49…
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 179…
7. Jean Potvin 167 * 8. Jeff Norton 166 9. Ryan Pulock 161 \\\10. Mark Streit 139 \\* 11. Adam Pelech 134…
17. Bryan Berard 100 * 18. Vladimir Malakhov 98 * 19. Johnny Boychuk and Scott Mayfield 96
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 * 2. Stefan Persson 369 * 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…
5. Kenny Jonsson 232 * 6. Noah Dobson 228 * 7. Ryan Pulock 214…
10. Mark Streit 179 * 11. Adam Pelech 160…
18. Gerry Hart 128 * 19. Vladimir Malakhov 125 * 20. Scott Mayfield 124
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 * 2. Rick DiPietro 318 3. Glenn Resch 282 **
4. Ilya Sorokin 251 …
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 124 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 * 8. Roland Melanson 77 * 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25 * 2. Billy Smith 22 3. Ilya Sorokin 21 **
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
Bridgeport is 15-45-4-3 heading into Wednesday's game with Hartford.
Brian Pinho has a team-leading (and career-high) 24 goals, four ahead of Liam Foudy. Terry's 45 assists and 64 points both lead the team and are 2nd and 4th in the AHL, respectively.
The Baby Isles host Hartford again on Saturday.
Season Series Stats
The season series finishes tied, 1 game to 1 (the Isles earned 3 points to Nashville's 2).
The Isles are 0-4-2 in their last six trips to Nashville and have not won there since October 28, 2017.
UP NEXT
THURSDAY, APRIL 10th – RANGERS AT ISLES 7:30pm
[MSGSN (pre-game at 7:00) , WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles return home for the penultimate home game of the season and their final meeting with the Rangers, looking to avoid a season sweep by the Blueshirts.
The Rangers have won all three games, outscoring the Isles 14-3, and have won the last four meetings overall.
The Rangers have not swept a season series from the Isles since 2003-04, when they won all six games by a combined 27-13 score.
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
