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The Skinny: Isles 5, Chicago 4

"The Skinny"  By Eric Hornick Game 31 Isles 5, Chicago 4 Simon Holmstrom scored a goal and added two assists, while Jean-Gabriel P...

Friday, January 20, 2012

The Skinny: Isles 4, Flyers 1


“The Skinny”

By Eric Hornick

Game 45
Isles 4, Flyers 1
Phinally! Four different Islanders scored goals four different ways (even strength,shorthanded, power play, and empty net) and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 40 shots for his third straight victory (and 302nd of his career) as the Islanders dominated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 in front of 19,796 at Wells Fargo Center.  It’s the Islanders’ first win in Philadelphia since April 7, 2007 (ending a 0-11-2 streak) and their first over the Flyers in nine games overall.

The Scoring:
1st Period
NONE

2nd Period
00:28 NYI Matt Moulson (22) - ASST: J. Tavares (28) AND K. Okposo (12)
12:58 NYI SHG - Josh Bailey (4) - ASST: M. Martin (6)

3rd Period
07:07 NYI PPG - Mark Streit (3) - ASST: J. Tavares (29) AND P. Parenteau (31)
10:48 PHI Matt Read (14) - ASST: S. Couturier (8) AND A. Meszaros (11)
19:59 NYI EN - Michael Grabner (14) - ASST: P. Parenteau (32)

The Skinny: 
John Tavares extended his point streak to a career-high eleven games. Tavares has five goals and 14 assists in those 11 games (including six multi-point games). Matt Moulson extended his point streak to six games.  Josh Bailey ended a 16-game goal scoring drought and recorded his 100th NHL point.  Mark Streit scored for the first time in 29 games; it was the Isles’ first 4-on-3 goal this season. PA Parenteau recorded his 2nd consecutive two-point game (and 13th of the season) as the Isles became the first team in the East with three 40-point scorers; Parenteau leads the team with 32 assists.  Grabner’s empty-netter was his third goal in the last four games and the Isles’ 5th ENG of the season.  The Isles won consecutive road games, both by at least three goals, for the first time since March 13-15, 2003. Matt Read’s deflection broke Nabokov’s shutout in the 3rd period and extended Read’s point streak to four games and fellow rookie Sean Couturier’s streak to six games.

The Shots
The Isles outshot Philadelphia 12-8 in the first period before the Flyers outshot the Isles 17-9 in the second period and 16-6 in the third period. For the game, the Flyers outshot the Isles 41-27.  It’s only the second time this season that the Isles have allowed at least 40 shots.

Home and Road
The Islanders are 18-21-6 overall and are 8-10-3 on the road.  The Isles are 8-5-1 in their last 14 road games, and have won consecutive road games in regulation for the second time this season.  Their 19 points in the first 21 road games matches their highest total since 2002-03.  It’s the first time since January 3rd that the Isles are within three games of NHL-.500.

The Flyers are 27-14-4 overall and 11-7-2 at home.  The loss breaks Philadelphia’s three-game home winning streak.

The Isles win ends a 13-game Flyer winning streak against the Isles in Philadelphia.  Only Dallas, who has won 14 straight home games against Minnesota, has a longer current home ice streak.

In the Nets
Evgeni Nabokov made 40 saves for his 302nd career win as he improves to 9-11-0 on the season. It’s the tenth time in his career (7-1-2) that he has recorded at least 40 saves. Nabby is now 7-1-2 in his career against the Flyers.

The Islanders finally beat Sergei Bobrovsky (now 7-1-0 vs the Isles) although he made 23 saves, including four on breakaways. 

Power Plays
The Islanders were 1-3 on the power play; the Flyers were 0-4 and allowed a shorthanded goal to Bailey.  The Isles, who entered the game tied-5th in the league with the extra man, are 12-40 on the power play over the last 13 games after going just 1-22 in the previous seven games.  The Isles are also 9-31 in the last ten games on the power play.

The Isles have killed 29-30 (96.7%) over the last 12 games and 33-35 (94.3%) over the last 16 games.

Bailey’s goal was the Islanders’ second shorthanded goal of the season.  It’s the first time since March 22, 2011 (vs. Tampa) that the Isles have scored a power play goal, a shorthanded goal, and an even-strength goal in the same game.

300 Club
Evgeni Nabokov has become 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.  He is now tied with Turk Broda (301) for 24th place on the all-time list. He one of five goalies who have won 300 games, including at least one for the Isles: [Chris Osgood (401 -- 49 with Isles), John Vanbiesbrouck (374 -- 10 with Isles), Roberto Luongo (325 -- 7 with Isles), Billy Smith (305 -- 304 with Isles) and now Evgeni Nabokov (302 -- 9 with Isles)]

They Said It
Mark Streit: “We needed it.  We're desperate. We need points. It was a big road trip for us -- we had our dads on the trip, which makes it even more special. Washington is a really good team and Philly as well. Two big wins."

Daniel Briere: “Just in the second alone, I think we gave away four breakaways or something ridiculous like that. I don't know if we have given up as many breakaways before in the whole season as in this game.”

They Tweeted It
@JohnBorukCSN ESPN recently listed the Top 25 players under the age of 25. John Tavares did not make it. Keep talking Tebow ESPN!

The Coach
(on John Tavares): “…his will to compete, his will to want to help this team strive to get to the playoffs, he's a leader for our team and I think it's carrying over to some of our other guys right now.”

Leading Ice Men
Travis Hamonic led the Isles with 25:43; Matt Carle led Philadelphia with 24:34.

In the Circle
The Islanders won 25 draws; Philadelphia won 29. Josh Bailey won 6 of 10 for the Isles; Claude Giroux 13 of 19 for the Flyers.

Heavy Hitters
The Islanders were out-hit 30-24.  Nino Niederreiter led all players with five hits; NHL hit leader Matt Martin added four hits, raising his total to 196.

Third Periods
The Isles outscored the Flyers 2-1 in the third period; the Isles have been outscored 49-33 overall in the third period (39-28 excluding empty nets). In the first two periods, the Isles have been outscored 80-74. 

19 to Go
The Isles have scored 9,981 goals in their history (excluding 42 shootout winners), leaving the club 19 shy of 10,000.

2 Over .500
The Islanders improve to two games over all-time NHL .500 (1331-1329-427 in 3,087 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.

Scoring
The Isles have scored 68 goals over the last 24 games (13-9-2) after scoring only 15 in the previous nine games (1-6-2).  The Isles have scored 64 goals in their 18 wins (3.56 per game) and 43 goals in their other 27 games (0-21-6; 1.59 per game).  In their 22 regulation losses, the Isles have scored 27 goals (1.29 per game).

Shutout Streak
Reed’s goal ended an Islander shutout streak of 159:11.  Nabokov’s personal streak ended at 133:50.

Stopping JJ
The Isles held Jaromir Jagr without a point; he is 0-1-1 against the Isles in three games this season.  Jagr is 59-83-142 in 94 career games against the Islanders.  It is the most points Jagr has against any opponent and the most points any player has accumulated against the Islanders.

Head of the Class
John Tavares had two assists, giving him 19 points over the last eleven games.  He now has 167 career points; he is 21 points ahead of Matt Duchene for most among 2009 draft picks.  No other player in that draft is anywhere close. (Duchene, who suffered a knee injury in late December and is expected to miss the next month.)   Tavares’ 11-game point streak is the longest by an Islander since Mark Parrish had a twelve-game streak (5-8-13) in October/November, 2001 and equals the longest in the NHL this season.  Boston’s David Krejci had an 11-game streak stopped on Monday.

Friends, Friends, Friends
Moulson has 22 goals this season; John Tavares has earned assists on 15 of them.  He has now been on-ice for 46 consecutive Moulson goals, earning assists on 31 of them, dating back to a Moulson goal on November 17, 2010 against Tampa. 

MOT-ley Crew?
Since being put together ten games ago, Matt Moulson is 6-9-15, Kyle Okposo is 5-5-10, 
and John Tavares is 6-13-19. 

As Seen on MSG+
Last 5 Islanders with 10+ Game Point Streaks
·         Pierre Turgeon (1993-94)  13 games
·         Ziggy Palffy (1997-98)  13 games
·         Mariusz Czerkawski (1999-2000) 13 games
·         Mark Parrish (2001-02) 12 games
·         John Tavares (2011-12) 11 games

20-20-20, 30-30-30?
Matt Moulson is the first Islander since Jason Blake (4 seasons: 2002-03 to 2006-07) to have at least three consecutive 20-goal seasons. He is eight goals away from a third consecutive 30-goal season; no Islander since Ziggy Palffy has accomplished that feat.  Moulson has 83 goals as an Islander – the most by any Islander since the lockout.

Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles’ reigning ironman, has played in all 209 games since joining the team. 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 107 NHL games (all consecutive); he has the longest consecutive game streak on defense for the Isles. 

Moulson is one of only five Islanders in the last thirty years to appear in 200 consecutive games:
·         Matt Moulson 10/3/2009-1/16/2012  209
·         Richard Park 10/5/2006 – 2/18/2009 221
·         Mariusz Czerkawski 12/23/99 – 4/14/2002 215
·         Bryan McCabe 10/7/95-2/4/98 220
·         Bryan Trottier 3/7/81- 1/12/84 219

Billy Harris played in the first 576 games in Islander history; that figure still stands as the club record.

Century Club
Hamonic is only the 8th defensemen in Islander history to play in 100 consecutive games and the first since Janne Niinimaa. He currently has the 7th longest streak by a defenseman in Islander history.

1.     Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979  262
2.     Bryan McCabe 10/7/95-2/4/98 220
3.     Gerry Hart 3/1/75-11/22/77 198
4.     Janne Niinimaa 3/13/2004-1/7/2006 136
5.     Ken Morrow 3/1/1980-12/29/1981 134
6.     Jean Potvin 10/23/75-1/2/77 110
7.     Travis Hamonic 11/24/10 – CURRENT 107
8.     Kenny Jonsson 12/26/96-2/4/98 104

Like Hamonic, McCabe and Morrow’s streaks came at the start of their NHL careers.  Both Niinimaa’s streak and McCabe’s streak encompassed their entire Islander careers.

Missing Men
Marty Reasoner (broken thumb) and Steve Staios (healthy) were scratched.  Mike Mottau, Rick DiPietro, and Mark Katic are on injured reserve.  The Isles have lost 223 man-games to injury so far this season.  Al Montoya dressed as the back-up goalie for the second straight game. 

List Time
Career Wins, Active Goalies
4. Evgeni Nabokov  302

Career Wins
22. Billy Smith 305
23. Olaf Kolzig 303
24. Turk Broda 302
26.  Mike Richter 301

Career Goals, Active Players
13. Patrik Elias 352
14. Brian Rolston 339
15. Dany Heatley 338

Career Games, Active Players

1  Nicklas Lidstrom 1,540
2  Roman Hamrlik  1,352
3  Jaromir Jagr       1,312
4  Teemu Selanne  1,304
5  Brian Rolston     1,224

Rolston’s 1,224 career games ties Gary Roberts for 80th place in NHL history. He is two games behind Islander Hall-of-Famer Ed Westfall (1,226).

Most First Goals of Game (NHL This Season)
1
Matt Moulson
9
2
Evander Kane
7
2
Loui Eriksson
7

Career Goals as an Islander
32
Butch Goring
87
33
Tomas Jonsson
84
34
Matt Moulson
83
35
Wayne Merrick
81
35
Dave Scatchard
81

40
Lorne Henning
73
40
JP Parise
73
42
John Tavares
70
43
Alan Kerr
69
44
Brad Isbister
67

Career Games as an Islander (skaters)
60
Gord Dineen
287

61
Frans Nielsen
282

61
Jeff Norton
282





66
Brad Lauer
259

67
Benoit Hogue
258

68
Josh Bailey
256

69
Pierre Turgeon
255




76
JP Parise
240

77
Adrian Aucoin
235

78
Kyle Okposo
234

79
Darius Kasparaitis
232

79
Dennis Vaske
232





88
Andy Hilbert
218

89
Paul Boutilier
211

90
Gary Nylund
209

90
Matt Moulson
209

92
John Tavares
206

93
Tom Fitzgerald
205

94
Mark Streit
201

95
Billy Carroll
200











Career Points as an Islander
43
Shawn Bates
170
44
Jude Drouin
169
45
Dave Scatchard
168
46
John Tavares
167
47
Miroslav Satan
166



50
Roman Hamrlik
153
51
Matt Moulson
144
52
Frans Nielsen
142
52
Michael Peca
142
54
Dave Lewis
141
55
Robert Reichel
140
56
Bryan Smolinski
139
56
Kyle Okposo
139



Back in the Race
The Isles climbed into a 12th place tie with Montreal in the Eastern Conference standings, and are technically ahead of Montreal because they have a game in hand.

Season Series Stats
The Flyers lead the season series two games to one (and four points to three).  It’s the first Islander win in the last nine games against Philadelphia (1-6-2). The Isles will return to Philadelphia on February 7th and March 1st, before entertaining the Flyers on March 15th.

Happy Anniversary 
34 years ago tonight (1-19-78):  Billy Smith stopped 23 shots and recently-acquired Wayne Merrick had the winning goal as the Isles blanked the St. Louis Blues 3-0 in St. Louis.
Overall, the Isles are 8-8-3 on this date, with their win today being their first on this date since 2004 (0-3-1).
On The Farm
Bridgeport is RED HOT.  The Sound Tigers have won seven straight and improved to 19-17-3-1 with a 3-2 win over Binghamton on Sunday.  Rhett Rakhshani extended his point streak to eight straight games and Casey Cizikas had a goal and an assist to back 34 saves from Anders Nilsson, who won for the third straight day.  The Sound Tigers next play on Saturday night in Glens Falls, NY against the Adirondack Phantoms. Bridgeport’s winning streak is two shy of the club record of 9, set in 2002 and equaled in 2003; the hot streak has moved them within two points of first-place in the AHL Northeast Division.

Up Next
SATURDAY, JANUARY 21st CAROLINA AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders Game Night at 6:30pm), WRHU (88.7FM)]
The Islanders look to extend their winning streak to three straight games as they entertain the Hurricanes in the second of three January meetings between the squads.  The Isles opened 2012 with a shootout win in Raleigh, but have lost three straight to Carolina on Coliseum ice. 

It will be Kirk Muller’s first trip to Long Island as Hurricanes coach.  Muller played 27 games over parts of two seasons in the mid-90s for the Islanders before being sent home to await a trade.

The Canes have had a lot of success against the Isles in recent years, going 10-0-3 since an Islander regulation win on January 22, 2008.

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.

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