The Skinny: Islanders 3, Capitals 0

Game 9

Isles 3, Washington 0

Ryan Pulock and Simon Holmstrom scored on the only two Islander shots in the first period and Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves for his second consecutive shutout as the Islanders blanked the Washington Capitals 3-0 before a crowd of 16,209 at Capital One Arena.

Brock Nelson scored midway through the second period for the final margin; the Capitals thought they had scored midway through the third period, but that goal was erased by a successful Islander challenge for goaltender interference.

The Isles have points in four straight and are 5-2-2 on the season; they head home to face Carolina for the first time since last year’s playoffs, on Saturday night at 7:30pm.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Ryan Pulock (1) Brock Nelson (2), Kyle Palmieri (5) 00:22 NYI 1,WSH 0

Simon Holmstrom (2) Hudson Fasching (1), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (3) 10:41 NYI 2,WSH 0

2nd Period

Brock Nelson (5) Pierre Engvall (5), Scott Mayfield (1) 11:15 NYI 3,WSH 0

3rd Period

None

The Skinny

The Isles killed all three Washington power plays and have killed 20 of 22 over the last six games.… The Isles have outscored their opponents 9-3 in the first period (the three goals allowed is the fewest in the NHL) and have scored the first goal in seven of their nine games …. The Capitals have been outscored 15-3 in the second period… Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin combined for four hits, raising their combined total to exactly 7,500…Alex Ovechkin, who is third all-time in hits, had only one hit and was one of four Caps to go -3. It was only the 2nd time in 68 games vs. the Isles that Ovechkin went -3 or worse…The Isles now lead the NHL with three shutouts; it is the second time in the last three seasons that the Isles have had three shutouts in their first nine games…It is the fifteenth shutout for Semyon Varlamov as an Islander, breaking a tie with Tommy Salo for 5th place in club history…Ryan Pulock’s goal was the earliest in any NHL game this season and the earliest for the Isles against Washington since Mike Bossy scored :20 into a game against the Caps on March 16, 1985…Pierre Engvall earned an assist for the third straight game…The Isles stopped Alex Ovechkin’s six-game point streak, Tom Wilson’s four-game point streak, and three game streaks for Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dylan Strome….The Isles deprived the Caps of their 1,000th home win in franchise history…Alexander Romanov played 25:16 and went +2; it was his highest ice-time as an Islander.

The Injury

Adam Pelech left the game mid-way through the first period and did not return. It came in the first game since Opening Night that the top six Islander defensemen were all healthy.

First Times in a Long Time

• Noah Dobson played 26:31; he has played at least 25 minutes in each of the last five games (first Isle to do that since Travis Hamonic did so six times in 2016) and at least 24 minutes in eight straight games (first since Hamonic did so nine times in 2014).

• The Isles scored multiple goals in a period, without the other goalie making a save, for the first time since November 21, 1992, in Calgary (3rd period – goals by Derek King and Pierre Turgeon).

First Times for Everything

• Ryan Pulock’s game-winning goal came only 22 seconds into play; it is the earliest game-winner in franchise history, breaking a record set by Clark Gillies (:34) on February 22, 1976, in Landover against the Caps.

• It is the first time the Isles have scored a goal in the first minute under Lane Lambert (Last: Anthony Beauvillier – 3/24/2022 vs. DET scored at 0:09) and the first time that they led a road game by multiple goals under Lambert (Last: 4/3/2022 at New Jersey).

• The opposing goaltender(s) did not make a first period save against the Isles for the first time in club history. (It is only the 6th time in any period that the Isles scored on every shot in a period)

Fastest Goals by an Islander Defenseman

:13 Nick Leddy 11/5/16 vs. Edmonton

:16 Denis Potvin 3/11/81 at Winnipeg

:22 Tomas Jonsson 3/9/85 vs Toronto

:22 Ryan Pulock 11/2/23 at Washington

Varly, Varly

Semyon Varlamov recorded his 40th career shutout and 274th career win. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is 6th in wins (274) and third in shutouts (40).

Varlamov now has three career shutouts against the Caps (all as an Islander); it is the seventh team he has shut-out at least three times (Rangers 5, Chicago 4, Columbus 4, Boston 3, St. Louis 3, Tampa Bay 3).

Varlamov has an active 137:20 shutout streak, which is the 22nd-longest in club history and his third-longest as an Islander (248:00 – club record – in April 2021; 142:10 in January 2021); it is also the third time in his Islander career he has recorded consecutive shutouts. He is now tied for the NHL lead in shutouts (2) with Tampa Bay’s Jonas Johansson and Pittsburgh’s Tristan Jarry.

Up For The Challenge

The Isles won their first challenge of the season, erasing a Capital goal just before the midpoint of the third period. The Isles have won all four of their challenges under Lane Lambert.

Shoot the Puck!

The Isles have been getting more rubber on goal during power plays than they did last season:

• 2023-24 Isles have 42 shots in 41:38 of PP (1.01 shots per minute)

• 2022-23 Isles had 336 shots in 379:43 of PP (0.88 shots per minute)

That’s a 13% increase in shots per minute spent on the power play.

Heavy Hitters

Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin are now 1-2 all-time in hits:

1. Cal Clutterbuck 3,775

2. Matt Martin 3,725

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.

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2023-24 5-2-2 for 12 points in 9 games

•2022-23 5-4-0 for 10 points in 9 games

Offense from Defense

• Today: 1-1-2

• Season: 3-11-14

• 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 136 career starts. He has recorded a shutout in 12.6% of his starts, which is the highest in NHL history (since 1943-44) among goalies with at least 100 starts:

• Ilya Sorokin 12.5%

• Roman Cechmanek 12.2%

• Ken Dryden 11.8%

• Dominik Hasek 11.3%

Home and Road

The Isles are 5-2-2 overall; they are 3-1-2 at home and 2-1-0 on the road.

Washington is 4-4-1 overall; they are 3-3-0 at home and 1-1-1 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 4-1-2 against the East (2-0-1 vs. Metropolitan and 2-1-1 vs. Atlantic) and 1-1-0 against the West (1-1-0 vs. Central and 0-0-0 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 88 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 1,410

3. Glen Sather 1,319

First Things First

The Isles are 5-0-2 when scoring first and are 0-2-0 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles 2-7-12=21

Washington 9-13-10=32

The Isles are 1-0-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 3-2-1 when they are out-shot.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves; he is 2-1-0 on the season and 8-11-3 vs. Washington.

Darcy Kuemper made 18 saves; he is 3-3-1 on the season and 5-5-2 vs. the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play (3:25); Washington was 0-3 on the power play (5:25).

The Isles are 2-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-1-1 when they do not. The Isles are 1-1-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 4-1-1 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 3-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-1-0 when they do not. Under Lane Lambert the Isles are 38-7-6 when scoring at least three goals.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 3-0-2 in games decided by a single goal including 3-0 in regulation. They are 0-2 in games decided in overtime and are 0-0 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 0-0-1 in the front end and 0-1-0 in the back end this season. The next set of back-to-backs will be on November 15 in Vancouver and November 16 in Seattle.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (26:31); Washington: John Carlson (25:46)

Bo Horvat led Isles forwards with 19:22 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-0-1), Noah Dobson (3-2-1)

Face-offs

Isles 30, Washington 24 (56%)

Brock Nelson won 11 of 17 for the Isles; Evgeny Kuznetsov won 11 of 17 for Washington.

Hit Count

Isles 16 (Matt Martin -3)

Washington 10 (Tom Wilson -3)

Fights

None. Season total: 2 (Martin 1, Pelech 1)

Blocked Shots

Isles 22 (Ryan Pulock and Alex Romanov-4)

Washington 6 (Rasmus Sandin-2)

For the Analytics Crowd

Corsi: All situations: Isles 42, Washington 83

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 36, Washington 65

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Brock Nelson +1

Washington: John Carlson +16

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 12, Washington 24

5-on-5: Isles 11, Washington 18

Scratches

Julien Gauthier, Oliver Wahlstrom, Samuel Bolduc

Games Lost: 7

The Ironmen

Anders Lee played in his 121st 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: 1 successful, 0 failures – WSH goalie interference (11/2)

Opponents: 0 successful, 1 failures – BUF no offside (10/21)

Quickies

The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute no times this season (no times at home and none on road) and allowed two in the same span twice (COL 10/25 x2)

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 allowed the opposition to do so once.

For (0):

Vs (1): DET 10/30 (trailed 0-2, won 4-3 in OT)

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 (2): Jack Hughes (NJ) 10/20, Lucas Raymond (DET) 10/30

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 775 * 8.Brock Nelson 767 * 9. Casey Cizikas 754…

12. Brent Sutter 694 * 13. Anders Lee 687 * 14. John Tavares 669 * 15. Cal Clutterbuck 645

Goals

1. Mike Bossy 573 * 2. Bryan Trottier 500 * 3. Denis Potvin 310 …

7. John Tavares 272 * 8. Brock Nelson 246 * 9. Anders Lee 241 …

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. Mathew Barzal 262…

18. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 * 20. Brock Nelson 223…

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 469 * 15. Billy Harris 443 * 16. Anders Lee 418 * 17. Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson 369…19. Mathew Barzal 368

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467 * 2. Denis Potvin +456 * 3. Mike Bossy +380…

15. Bob Lorimer +105 * 16. Adam Pelech +79 * 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

Defense Goals

1. Denis Potvin 310 * 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 * Kenny Jonsson 57…

6. Nick Leddy 45 * 7. Ryan Pulock 44 * 8. Roman Hamrlik 43 * 9. Mark Streit 40 * 10. Johnny Boychuk * 11. Adrian Aucoin 33 * 12. Noah Dobson 32

Defense Assists

1. Denis Potvin 742 * 2. Stefan Persson 317 * 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…

8. Mark Streit 139 * 9. Ryan Pulock 130…

15. Bryan Berard and Adam Pelech 100 * 17. Vladimir Malakhov and Noah Dobson 98…

21. Ken Morrow 88 * 23. Bert Marshall 87 *24. Scott Mayfield 86

Defense Points

1. Denis Potvin 1,052 2. Stefan Persson 369 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…

8. Mark Streit 179 * 9. Ryan Pulock 174…

13. Tom Kurvers 134 * 14. Johnny Boychuk and Bryan Berard 131 * 16. Noah Dobson 130 *

17. Gerry Hart 128 * 18. Vladimir Malakhov and Adam Pelech 125 * 20. Thomas Hickey 117 *

21. Adrian Aucoin 113 * 22. Scott Mayfield 112

Goalie Games

1. Billy Smith 674 * 2. Rick DiPietro 318 * 3. Glenn Resch 282 …

8. * Glenn Healy 176 * 9. Ilya Sorokin 142 * 10. Semyon Varlamov 138

Wins

1. Billy Smith 304 * 2. Glenn Resch 157 * 3. Rick DiPietro 130…

7. Roland Melanson 77 * 8. Ilya Sorokin 73 * 9. Glenn Healy 66 * 10. Tommy Salo 62 * 11. Semyon Varlamov 61

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25 * 2. Billy Smith 22 * 3. Ilya Sorokin 17 *

4. Rick DiPietro 16 * 5. Semyon Varlamov 15

On the Farm

Bridgeport (2-4-1-0 on the season) heads to Hershey on Saturday to face the Bears. Ruslan Iskhakov leads the team in scoring (2-6-8) while Jakub Skarek is 2-2-1 in the nets.

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The teams will meet again on Veteran’s Day on Long Island.

The Isles are 4-2-2 in their last eight games against the Caps, including 3-1-1 in DC in that stretch.

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4th —CAROLINA AT ISLANDERS – 7:30pm

[MSGSN (pre-game at 7:00], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The Isles return home to begin a two-game homestand as they face the team that eliminated them in last year’s playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Isles went 1-3-0 in the regular season last year against the Hurricanes, winning in Raleigh 6-2 in late October, but dropping the other three games by a 10-3 margin. (The Canes also eliminated the Isles in six games in the playoffs.)

In regular season play, the Isles are 0-4-1 in their last five home games against Carolina.

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.