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The Skinny: Rangers 5, Isles 2

"The Skinny" By Eric Hornick Game 68 Rangers 5, Isles 2 Johnny Brodzinski broke a 2-2 tie with 4:59 left in the middle period and ...

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Additional Skinny Point

#1 Overall, Times Three

Each of the last three #1 overall picks played in this game, with John Tavares skating for the Isles with Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins skating for the Oilers.  It's the first time since 1990 that the last three #1 picks, all forwards, played in the same game.  In the 1990-91 season, Minnesota (with Mike Modano) faced Quebec  (with Owen Nolan and Mats Sundin).

In 2005-06, Washington and Pittsburgh played games with Alex Ovechkin playing for Washington and Marc-Andre Fleury and Sidney Crosby playing for Pittsburgh.

 
Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

The Skinny: Isles 4, Oilers 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick
 
Game 36
Isles 4, Oilers 1
 
John Tavares was named the game's first star for the second straight game and Matt Moulson added a goal and two assists as the Islanders completed a sweep of the Alberta teams as they defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 in front of 13,807 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.  The win continues the Islanders' home-ice dominance over the Western Conference as they are 14-1-7 since November 2009 in home-ice games against the West. 

The Scoring:
1st Period
03:44NYI PPG - John Tavares (13) - ASST: P. Parenteau (25) AND M. Moulson (13)
12:58EDM Sam Gagner (4) - ASST: C. Potter (10) AND A. Sutton (3)
17:55NYI Matt Moulson (17) - ASST: J. Tavares (18) AND K. Okposo (9)
 
2nd Period
03:19NYI PPG - PA Parenteau (7) - ASST: M. Moulson (14) AND F. Nielsen (12)
04:05NYI Matt Martin (4) Wrist - ASST: J. Bailey (8) AND M. Grabner (6)
 
3rd Period - NONE

The Skinny: 
Ken Morrow was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame prior to the game. PA Parenteau's assist gives him 25 on the season; he remains seven assists ahead of John Tavares for the team lead.  Parenteau now also has a team-leading 32 points; he is one point ahead of both John Tavares and Matt Moulson.  The Isles stopped Jordan Eberle's six game point streak (5-3-8) and held ex-mate Ryan Smyth without a point to end his three-game streak (2-1-3).  The Isles scored on three consecutive shots late in the first period and early in the second. Matt Martin was named the game's #3 star; in addition to his goal, Martin drew two penalties on Ben Eager that both resulted in power play goals for the Isles.

The Shots
The Oilers outshot the Islanders 11-7 in the first period and 10-6 in the second period but the Islanders rebounded to outshoot Edmonton 16-8 in the third period.  Each team finished with 29 shots.

Home and Road
The Islanders are 13-17-6 overall and are 7-9-3 at home.  It's the first time that the Islanders have won consecutive games on Coliseum ice since October 10-13-15.
The Oilers are 15-19-3 overall and 5-13-1 on the road. The Oilers end 2011 having dropped seven of eight.

In the Nets
Evgeni Nabokov made 28 saves as he recorded his second straight win for the first time since ending his Sharks career with three straight victories. Nabakov, making his fifth straight start, is now 4-8-0 on the season.
Devyn Dubnyk made 25 saves for the Oilers but drops to 4-9-0.

Power Plays
The Islanders were 2-3 on the power play; the Oilers were 0-4.  The Isles are 5-13 on the power play over the last five games after going just 1-22 in the previous seven games.
The Isles have killed 13-14 (92.9%) over the last seven games; it's the fewest times they have been shorthanded in a 7-game stretch since at least the mid-1980's.

Passing Hexy
Evgeni Nabokov records his 297th career win, passing Ron Hextall for 26th place on the all-time list.  He is just three wins shy of becoming the 26th goalie in NHL history with 300 career wins. Among current NHL goalies, only Martin Brodeur, Nikolai Khabibulin and Roberto Luongo have more career wins.

They Said It
Assistant Coach Scott Allen: "You have to give a lot of credit to Matt Martin in joining those first two penalties."

They Tweeted It
@Schultz88 "I already posted the #NYIPB Goal of the Year nominees, but I think JT and MM just submitted an entry at the deadline."

The Coach
"He's playing extremely well," Isles coach Jack Capuano said of Tavares. "He's strong on the puck, and his skills speak for themselves. He's playing with a lot of desire and determination right now."

Leading Ice Men
Travis Hamonic led the Isles with 22:12; Corey Potter led Edmonton with 22:26.

Heavy Hitters
The Islanders out-hit Edmonton 28-20.  Travis Hamonic had six hits while Matt Martin and Tim Wallace each had four.

Giving Up the Body
 The Isles also blocked 15 shots, led by four from Steve Staios, who returned the line-up for the first time since December 13th.

Puck Pursuit
The Isles were credited with 21 takeaways, with 14 players recording at least one.  Edmonton had only four.

Third Periods
The third period was scoreless; the Isles have been outscored 12-6 in the third period over the past nine games.  The Isles have been outscored 41-21 overall in the third period (31-18 excluding empty nets); the 21 goals scored are the fewest of any team in the third period.  In the first two periods, the Isles have been outscored 66-61.

Best v West
The Isles improve to 14-1-7 in their last 22 home games against the Western Conference (with their only regulation loss being on December 15th against Dallas).  The Islanders are 3-1-2 in home games against the West this season, with games remaining against Detroit, Nashville and Los Angeles.  Overall, this season the Isles are 5-2-4 vs. the West and 8-15-2 against the East.  Since the start of last season, Matt Moulson ranks 2nd among Eastern Conference players in goals against the Western Conference—only Steven Stamkos has more.

44 to Go
The Isles have scored 9,956 goals in their history (excluding 41 shootout winners), leaving the club 44 shy of 10,000.

Over .500
The Islanders end 2011 one game over all-time NHL .500 (1326-1325-427 in 3,078 games).  The Isles have twice this season been one game below .500. Prior to this season, they had not been below NHL .500 since they were 177-178-83 prior to their victory on January 16, 1978.

Good Time to Get Going
This was the 2nd game of a five-game stretch against teams currently not holding a playoff spot (and the Isles are 2-0-0).  Each of the next two games (at Carolina and at Anaheim) is also against a team that is currently in last place in its division.

Scoring
The Isles have scored 44 goals over the last 16 games (8-6-2) after scoring only 15 in the previous nine games (1-6-2).  The Isles have scored 41 goals in their 12 wins (3.42 per game) and 37 goals in their other 23 games (0-17-6; 1.61 per game).  In their 17 regulation losses, the Isles have scored 21 goals (1.24 per game).

Head of the Class
John Tavares had two points for the second consecutive game to give him 152 career points; he is six points ahead of Matt Duchene for most among 2009 draft picks.  No other player in that draft is anywhere close. (Duchene suffered a knee injury on Thursday and is expected to miss the next month.)

Friends, Friends, Friends
Moulson has 17 goals this season; John Tavares has earned assists on 11 of them.  He has now been on-ice for 41 consecutive Moulson goals, earning assists on 27 of them, dating back to Moulson goal on November 17, 2010 against Tampa.  Moulson is now 13 goals away from a third consecutive 30-goal season; no Islander since Ziggy Palffy has accomplished that feat.

In the Circle
The Islanders won 25 of 50 (50%) face-offs. Frans Nielsen was the Islanders' best, winning 9 of 14.  The Isles had 21 defensive zone face-offs and only 11 offensive-zone face-offs.

Welcome Back Steve
Steve Staios returned after missing seven games with a concussion.

Missing Men
Al Montoya (concussion), Micheal Haley (hand) and Mike Mottau were scratched.   David Ullstrom, Jay Pandolfo, Rick DiPietro, and Mark Katic are on injured reserve.  The Isles have lost 174 man-games to injury so far this season.  Anders Nilsson dressed as the back-up to Nabokov for the fifth straight game.

Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 200 games since joining the team. He is the 93rd skater in Islander history to appear in 200 games. Moulson's streak is the longest for an Islander since Richard Park played in 221 games from October 2006- February 2009.  Travis Hamonic has now played 98 NHL games (all consecutive); he has the longest consecutive game streak on defense for the Isles. 

List Time

Career Wins, Active Goalies
 
Career Goals, Active Players
13. Patrik Elias 348
14. Brian Rolston 339
15. Dany Heatley 336
 
Career Goals as an Islander
36
Marty McInnis
79
37
Miroslav Satan
78
37
Matt Moulson
78
39
Claude Lapointe
76
 
42
Alan Kerr
69
43
Brad Isbister
67
44
John Tavares
66
45
Jude Drouin
64
 
Career Games as an Islander (skaters)
62
Steve Thomas
275
63
Frans Nielsen
273



68
Pierre Turgeon
255
69
Jude Drouin
250
70
Brendan Witt
247
71
Brad Isbister
247
71
Josh Bailey
247
73
Sean Bergenheim
246



92
Billy Carroll
200
92
Matt Moulson
200
94
Ralph Stewart
199
95
John Tavares
197
96
Tom Kurvers
192
96
Todd Bertuzzi
192
96
Mark Streit
192
 
Career Points as an Islander
47
Oleg Kvasha
156
48
Alan Kerr
154
49
Roman Hamrlik
153
50
John Tavares
152
 

Season Series Stats
The Islanders win the only meeting of the season between the teams.  The Isles have had lots of success on Coliseum ice against the Oilers; in fact Edmonton had not won here since 1999.  The Islanders have won all six meetings on Long Island since, including once by shootout.  The six games match the Islanders' longest current home winning streak as they have also won the last six games against Colorado.

Happy Anniversary
9 years ago tonight (12-31-02):  Jason Blake scored 1:36 into overtime for the game's only goal as the Islanders blank the Sabres 1-0 in Buffalo.  
Overall, the Isles are 12-7-1 on this date, having gone 6-0-1 in their last seven New Year's Eve games.

As Seen on MSG
The Isles have killed their last 32 penalties on New Year's Eve in those last seven games.  Going back an eighth game (a 1-0 loss), the Isles have killed 35 straight on New Year's Eve.

Auld Lang Syne
This was the final game of 2011.  The Isles were 32-37-13 in 2011, including 13-17-6 so far this season.  The Isles end the calendar year with a 17-20-6 mark at the Coliseum, including 7-9-3 in the 2011-12 campaign. The 32-37-13 mark for the year represented the Isles' best calendar year since 2007.

Auld Lang Syne II
The Islanders had three players score at least 30 goals in 2011: Grabner and Moulson each had 36 while John Tavares scored 31. The Isles last had at least three players with 30 goals in a calendar year in 1993: Pierre Turgeon (53), Steve Thomas (40), Benoit Hogue (36) and Derek King (35) were the four players who did it that year.

December
The Isles finish December with a record of 6-6-2. The 14 points are the most that the Islanders have recorded this season and their most in any December since 2007. The Isles are 219-226-64 in 509 all-time December games.  They have earned 502 points in December, second only to the 529 that they have earned in March.

On The Farm
The Sound Tigers are 1-8-0-0 in their last nine games after falling 3-2 in Norfolk on Friday.  Bridgeport is 12-16-3-1 on the season.  The Sound Tigers visit Wilkes Barre-Scranton for a 5:00 game on New Year's Eve.

Up Next
TUESDAY, JANUARY 3rd ISLANDERS AT CAROLINA 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders Game Night at 6:30pm), WRHU (88.7FM)]
The Islanders open up 2012 with the first game of a three-game road trip as the visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.  It's the first meeting of the season between the teams.  The Isles and Canes will play three times in January and then conclude their season series on February 18th. 
Carolina has dominated the season series in the last three seasons.  The Isles have won only twice in that span (2-9-1), with one win in overtime and the other in a shootout.  Carolina has won the last six meetings, including once in overtime – the Isles have been outscored 25-10 in the six games.
Cam Ward, who was credited with a goal on December 26th against New Jersey, has nine of Carolina's ten wins against the Isles over the last three seasons.

And Finally…
Have a happy and safe new year!  THANKS FOR READING!

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.
 
Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Morrow trivia

In honor of Ken Morrow entering the Islanders Hall of Fame, some Morrow Q&A. 

Enjoy.



1. Q  Ken Morrow scored three playoff overtime goals as an Islander.  Who were the opponents?
    A   Los Angeles (1980), Edmonton (1981) Rangers (1984)

2. Q  Who was the starting Islander goaltender for Ken Morrow's NHL debut?
    A   On March 1, 1980 the starting goalie was Richard Brodeur (later to face the Isles in 1982 Stanley Cup finals); it was his only home start as an Islander.

3.  Q  (Warning--this one is hard)  Who is the only player besides Ken Morrow to play for Bowling Green, the Islanders, and in the Olympics.  (Hint: appeared in Olympics after he played for Isles)
     A   Greg Parks  ( who played in 23 games for Isles in early 90s and then for Canada in 1994 Olympics)

4  Q  Morrow is one of 2 defensemen who played for Bowling Green and then had a lengthy career that included a stint with the Isles.  Who's the other?
     A   Garry Galley played 1149 NHL games -- the final season of which was for the Isles.

5 Q  Morrow's first NHL goal came in the playoffs and is one of the most important goals in Isles history. Who was the opponent and goaltender?
   A  On April 11, 1980, Morrow scored in overtime of game 3 of the playoffs vs Los Angeles (and Mario Lessard).  (The best-of-5 series was tied 1-1 at the time; had the Isles lost the game history would likely be totally different.)

6 Q  In the first week of his NHL career, Morrow received a lengthy standing ovation in what opposing rink?
   A   The Spectrum  (in Philadelphia) -- becoming one of the few opponents to ever recognized in that manner.

7 Q  What Cup feat does Morrow share with Bob Nystrom, Mike McEwen and Mike Bossy (and nobody else)?
   A   They scored the final goal in each of the 4 Stanley Cup clinchers.  Morrow's went into an empty net.

8  Q  Morrow's arrival allowed the Islanders to make a trade to acquire Butch Goring -- the final piece of the Stanley Cup puzzle.  What two players went to LA?
    A   Dave Lewis and Billy Harris

9. Q  Morrow is one of 4 former Islander players to win the Lester Patrick Award.  Who are the others?
    A   Reed Larson, Brian Mullen and Pat Lafontaine.   (Arbour and Torrey are also so honored;  there also is a Tom Fitzgerald who has been honored, but he is NOT the former Islander player)
Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Isles 40in40--#28

Isles 40 in 40 -- #28

In honor of the Isles 40th anniversary year, I've put together a list of the Top 40 moments in club history.  I'll go through them throughout the season, bit by bit.

April 2, 1993-- Turgeon's 50th OTs Rangers at MSG

If you're an Islander fan old enough to remember the team having success in the playoffs, but are under 30, then 1993 is your year of memories.

What you may not remember is that coming into April that spring, a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in three seasons was far from a certainty.  Check out the NHL's Patrick Division standings on the morning of April 2nd:

Patrick Division  W-L-T  Pts 
Pittsburgh  51-21-6  108
Washington  39-30-7  85
New Jersey  38-33-6  82
Islanders  36-33-6  78
NY Rangers  33-31-11  77
Philadelphia  28-37-11  67


The Isles thus had a one-point lead over the Rangers for the final playoff spot, with each team having seven games to play, as they met for the final time in the regular season, at Madison Square Garden.

The Isles jumped out to a 2-0 lead on two goals 2:07 apart.  Derek King scored on a 5-on-3 at 18:25 of the first


... and Vlad Malakhov doubled the advantage early in the second period with this goal:

However, Ed Olczyk brought the Rangers within one late in the second period and Peter Andersson tied the game on a power play at 8:26 of the third.

The Islanders were awarded a power play with 1:43 to play but could not convert, thus sending the game into overtime.  This was still several years before the loser points contaminated the standings so neither team was assured of anything when the extra session began.

Pierre Turgeon had come into the game with 49 goals and was still looking for #50 as overtime play began.  With less than 90 seconds remaining in the extra session Turgeon took a pass from Brad Dalgarno in the slot and beat Ranger goalie Mike Richter for the overtime winner...and his 50th goal.

Here is the video of the entire overtime--the audio is the MSG feed with Sam Rosen and John Davidson.  (If you'd like to skip to the goal start at about 7:00)



You can see Jiggs' call as part of this highlight reel (recorded at a lower quality)





Turgeon thus joined Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier and Pat Lafontaine as the only Islanders to score 50 goals in a season -- no Islander has done it since.  Pierre would finish the regular season with 58 goals; only Mike Bossy has ever scored more for the Isles.


Turgeon would be honored as the 1992-93 SportsChannel Islanders Most Valuable Player in a ceremony prior to the final regular season game:



As it turned out, Turgeon's goal essentially decided the final playoff spot.  The Rangers would win only one more game that season while the Isles would go 40-37-7, finishing with an identical record as the Devils.  A tie-breaker placed the Isles third, where they would go on to eliminate Washington in large part due to Ray Ferraro's overtime escapades (see #32), and the Devils fourth, where they would lose to the Penguins...setting up the opportunity for David Volek to end Pittsburgh's run...with another moment on the Isles 40in40 list.


However, Moment #28 belongs to #77, the best player...on the Islanders best team of the 1990s.


The List to Date:

#28--April 2, 1993-- Turgeon's 50th OTs Rangers at MSG
#29--October, 2001 -- Isles Start Laviolette Era 9-0-1-1
#30--November 23, 2009-- Roloson sets franchise record with 58 saves
#31--December 20, 1985 and January 28, 1986--Potvin Passes Orr.. Twice
#33 -- June 26, 2009  -- Islanders Select John Tavares
#34 -- May, 1982-- Bossy leads the Isles to 3rd Stanley Cup
#35 -- January 6,1981 --With Bossy Chasing 50, Tonelli Lights Up the Leafs
#36 -- January 18, 1973 -- Expansion Isles Beat the Champs
#37 -- November 28, 1979 -- Billy Smith is credited with a goal
#38 -- December 23, 1978 -- Trottier re-writes the record book
#39 -- February 11, 2011 -- Isles pound Pens 9-3
#40 -- Summer 2001 -- Isles hire Laviolette, trade for Peca and Yashin, claim Osgood.
March 16, 2010 -- Tavares' 5-point game.
February 13, 2011 -- Grab-Trick. 
March 31, 1990 -- Uwe, Uwe. 

Like any of these lists, my #2 may be your #20...
Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick