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The Skinny: New Jersey 4, Isles 0

"The Skinny" By Eric Hornick Game 71 New Jersey 4, Isles 0 Timo Meier had a Gordie Howe hat trick, all in the second period, as th...

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The Skinny: Isles 5, Leafs 2

"The Skinny"

 By Eric Hornick
 
Game 73
Isles 5, Leafs 2

Matt Moulson scored the tie-breaking goal on a third period power play and later added an empty-net goal as the Islanders rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 before a crowd of 19,351 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.   The Isles are 3-1-1 on the road in their last five games and now has 35 road points – two more than all last season.

The Scoring:
1st Period
10:24 EV TOR 81 P.KESSEL(36) 42 T.BOZAK(26) 8 M.KOMISAREK(4)
15:34 EV NYI 12 J.BAILEY(11) 91 J.TAVARES(40) 15 P.PARENTEAU(47)
 
2nd Period
4:12 EV TOR 15 M.LOMBARDI(8) 51 J.GARDINER(20) 9 C.ARMSTRONG(2)
13:08 EV NYI 41 D.ULLSTROM(3) 40 M.GRABNER(11) 53 C.CIZIKAS(4)
 
3rd Period
13:56 PP NYI 26 M.MOULSON(31) 91 J.TAVARES(41) 2 M.STREIT(35)
15:43 EV NYI 15 P.PARENTEAU(16) 2 M.STREIT(36)
18:25 EV-EN NYI 26 M.MOULSON(32) 15 P.PARENTEAU(48) 91 J.TAVARES(42)
 
The Skinny
When Luke Schenn took a penalty early in the 2nd period, it ended a streak of 178:58 that the Isles had played against Toronto without being on the power play.  Mark Streit has a five-game point streak (1-6-7), matching his career high as an Islander.  Steve Staios played in his 993rd career game. The Isles had four different goal scorers for the first time since January 31st at Carolina.  Bailey's goal was his first in Toronto since his scored the overtime winner in Dwayne Roloson's 58-save game (11/23/09). Moulson now has a career-high 32 goals, including 13 on the power play.  It's the most power play goals by an Islander since Jason Blake had 14 in 2006-07.  Matt Lombardi played in his 500th NHL game.

The Shots:
Isles               7-13-14=34  
Maple Leafs   5-5-4 =14 
 
It's the first time since November 10, 2010 in Anaheim that the Isles have allowed 14 shots (or fewer).  They have not allowed fewer than 14 shots since a February 16, 2008 game against Atlanta, when they allowed only 10.  It's the fewest shots Toronto has had against the Isles in any game since at least 1987.
 
Home and Road
The Islanders are 30-32-11 overall and are 15-16-5 on the road. The Isles improve to 12-3-1 in games that are tied after two periods.
Toronto is 32-34-8 overall and 16-14-6 at home. The Leafs have been outscored 13-2 over their last two games.

In the Nets
Evgeni Nabokov stopped 12 shots to record his 310th career win.  He is 17-18-3 on the season.  It's the 7th time in his career Nabokov has won a (complete) game where he faced 14 or fewer shots.

James Riemer made 29 saves for Toronto; he is now 13-14-4.

Leaning on #91
John Tavares has 73 points (31-42-73) on 168 Islander goals this season (43.5%).  Zigmund Palffy (41.0% in 1997-98) is the only Islander to record points on over 40% of the team's goals in a complete season.   Tavares is the first Islander since Alexei Yashin (75 in 2001-02) to record at least 73 points in a season.

Highest Percentage of Team's Points by Club Scoring Leader (Isles history)
·         John Tavares
2011-12
43.5%
·         Ziggy Palffy
1997-98
41.0%
·         Pierre Turgeon
1992-93
39.4%
·         Mike Bossy
1982-83
39.1%
·         Mike Bossy
1981-82
38.2%
 
 
 
Most Points, Islanders, Since 1993-94
·         Pierre Turgeon
1993-94
94
·         Ziggy Palffy
1996-97
90
·         Ziggy Palffy
1997-98
87
·         Ziggy Palffy
1995-96
87
·         Alexei Yashin
2001-02
75
·         Steve Thomas
1993-94
75
·         John Tavares
2011-12
73
 
Royalty
Tavares is the fourth player in Islander history to record at least 73 points at age 21 or younger.  The other three have banners hanging at the Coliseum: Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier and Denis Potvin.

Parenteau's Helping Hands
PA Parenteau has 48 assists – most by any Islander since Pierre Turgeon had in 1993-94.  He now has 64 points on the season.

Most Assists, Islanders, Since 1989-90
·         Pierre Turgeon 1992-93 74
·         Pierre Turgeon 1993-94 56
·         Pat Lafontaine 1989-90 51
·         Steve Thomas 1992-93  50
·         Pierre Turgeon 1991-92 49
·         Jeff Norton 1989-90 49
·         PA Parenteau 2011-12 48

61*
The Isles now have three players with at least 61 points (Tavares, Moulson, Parenteau).  It's the first time since 1993-94 that the Isles have at least three players with 61 points.

Power Plays
The Islanders went 1-4 on the power play while Toronto was 0-1.  The Isles are 7-47 in the last 14 games with the extra man and had killed only 30 of 43 in the same span. 

They Said It
Evgeni Nabokov: "Like always, you have to find a motivation…you have to have a pride in the room… play with passion, and see what happens.  That's the bottom line."

They Tweeted It
@StapeNewsday: Parenteau adds a breakaway goal at 15:43, and the Air Canada Centre is filled with boos. Not so filled with fans anymore. 4-2

The Coach
"It was a game that they were ready for…the guys were prepared…all four lines contributed."

Leading Ice Men
Mark Streit led the Isles with 24:08; Dion Phaneuf led Toronto with 24:26. 

In the Circle
The Islanders won 23 draws; the Leafs won 29.  Frans Nielsen won 6 of 7 for the Isles; Mikhail Grabovski won 7 of 12 for Toronto.

Heavy Hitters
The Islanders out-hit Toronto 29-24.  NHL hit leader Matt Martin led the way with 7 hits. Martin has a club record 338 hits (hits have only been recorded since 2005-06) and leads the NHL in hits by a wide margin.  The NHL record is 356, set by Cal Clutterbuck of Minnesota in 2008-09.  Martin has also recorded 13 of the team's 21 fighting majors this season.

Lots of Blocks
The Isles were credited with 13 blocks.  They lead the NHL with 1,233. 

Goals by Period (Season)
Isles:           57-54-54-3 = 168
Opponents: 65-65-77-7 = 214
 
Third period goals include 9 empty net goals for the Islanders and an NHL-leading 13 empty-net goals against the Isles.

All-time Winners
The Islanders improve to three games over all-time NHL .500 (1343-1340-432 in 3,115 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 96 goals in their 30 wins (3.20 per game) and 73 goals in their other 43 games (0-32-11; 1.70 per game).  In their 32 regulation losses, the Isles have scored 41 goals (1.28 per game).

Head of the Class
John Tavares has 194 career points; he is 45 points ahead of Matt Duchene for most among 2009 draft picks.  No other player in that draft is anywhere close.  Tavares also has more goals and more assists than any other player in that draft.

Longest Point Streaks in NHL, Last 2 Seasons
·         Sidney Crosby, 25 games (11/5/10-12/28/10)
·         Eric Staal, 12 games (2/8/12-3/6/12)
·         John Tavares, 12 games (12/29/11-1/21/12)
·         Ilya Kovalchuk 12 games (2/1/11-2/25/11)
 
Friends, Friends, Friends
Moulson has 32 goals this season; John Tavares has earned assists on 21 of them.  He has now been on-ice for 56 consecutive Moulson goals, earning assists on 37 of them, dating back to a Moulson goal on November 17, 2010 against Tampa. 

99er
Moulson now has 99 career goals (93 as an Islander).  While 262 players were selected ahead of Moulson in the 2003 entry draft, only 18 have more goals.

30-30-30
Matt Moulson is the first Islander since Ziggy Palffy (1995-96 to 1997-98) to have at least three consecutive 30-goal seasons.  Only 4 players in Islander history have had more thirty goal seasons: Trottier (11), Bossy (10), Gillies (6), LaFontaine (6). Moulson has 93 goals as an Islander – the most by any Islander since the lockout. Moulson has opened the scoring an NHL-leading 11 times this season and the Isles are 9-1-1 when he does so.  He is the first Islander with at least 11 opening goals since Alexei Yashin had 12 in 2001-02.

30-30
Tavares and Moulson give the Isles two 30-goal scorers for the second straight season (Grabner 34, Moulson 31 last year). Prior to last year, the Isles had not had two 30-goal scorers since 2001-02 (Alexei Yashin & Mark Parrish).  It's the first time since 1992-93 and 1993-94 that the Isles have had multiple 30-goal scorers in consecutive seasons (4 in both 92-93 and 93-94).

20-20-20 x 2
Moulson and Tavares are the first Islander teammates to record at least twenty goals in three straight seasons since Mark Parrish and Jason Blake did so in 2002-03, 2003-04, and 2005-06.  Tavares, by the way, is the fifth player to score at least 20 goals for the Islanders in each of his first three NHL seasons, joining:
·         Billy Harris (first six seasons: 1972-73 through 1977-78),
·         Clark Gillies (five: 1974-75 through 1978-79),
·         Bryan Trottier (13: 1975-76 through 1987-88) and
·         Mike Bossy (all 10 seasons: 1977-78 through 1986-87).
 
Captain, My Captain
Mark Streit had two more assists, giving him 42 points.  He joins a select group of Islander defensemen to record 40 points at least three times in his career, and the 1st to do so that frequently in nearly a quarter-century:
·      
  D   Denis Potvin -15 times (1973-74 to 1987-88)
·         Tomas Jonsson - 5 times (1982-83 to 1987-88, except 1986-87)
·         Stefan Persson - 4 times (1977-78 to 1981-82, except 1979-80)

Only three other Islander defenders have recorded 40 points in the 2000s:  Tom Poti (2006-07), Adrian Aucoin (2003-04) and Roman Hamrlik (2000-01 and 2002-03).

With 36 assists this season, Streit also joins D. Potvin and Persson as the only Isles defenders to have at least 3 seasons with at least 36 assists (Potvin -12x, Persson - 4x)

Ironman
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 237 games since joining the team. Moulson's streak is the longest for an Islander in the Post-Cup era.   Billy Harris played in the first 576 games in Islander history; that figure still stands as the club record.

Frans Nielsen and John Tavares have also played in every game this season while Mark Streit is the only Islander defender to do so.  The Isles have not had as many as four players play in every game since 1986-87.

Longest Consecutive Game Streaks, Islander History
1.     Billy Harris         576
2.     Bob Nystrom     301
3.     Denis Potvin     262
4.     J.P. Parise        240
5.     Matt Moulson  237

Missing Men
Jay Pandolfo (healthy) and Milan Jurcina (healthy) were scratched. Rick DiPietro is on injured reserve.  The Isles have lost 333 man-games to injury so far this season.  Al Montoya served as the back-up.

Career Years
·         Matt Moulson: 32 goals, 29 assists and 61 points are new career highs.
·         PA Parenteau: 48 assists and 64 points are new career highs. He has 16 goals, four shy of his career best.
·         John Tavares: 31 goals, 42 assists and 73 points are new career highs.
·         Frans Nielsen: 14 goals are a new career-high.
·         Travis Hamonic: He has 19 assists, two shy of a career high.
·         Andrew MacDonald: 5 goals are a new career-high.
·         Matt Martin: 7 goals are a new career high.  He has 14 points, two shy of his career best.

List Time
Career Wins, Active Goalies
 
Career Wins
21. Sean Burke 324
22. Miikka Kiprusoff 309
 
Most First Goals of Game (NHL This Season)
1
Matt Moulson
11
1
Ilya Kovalchuk
10
3
Evander Kane
  9
3
Curtis Glencross
  9
3
Jordan Eberle
  9
 
Career Goals as an Islander
26
Mikko Makela
95
 
26
David Volek
95
 
28
Randy Wood
94
 
29
Matt Moulson
93
 
29
Greg Gilbert
93
 
29
Garry Howatt
93
 
32
Travis Green
92
 
33
Butch Goring
87
 
34
Tomas Jonsson
84
 
34
John Tavares
84
 
36
Wayne Merrick
81
 
36
Dave Scatchard
81
 



Career Assists as an Islander – active players
1
Mark Streit
114
 
2
John Tavares
110
 
3
Frans Nielsen
105
 
4
Kyle Okposo
  92
 



 



 










Career Games as an Islander (skaters)
54
Steve Webb
316
 
55
Gerald Diduck
314
 
56
Frans Nielsen
310
 
57
Mikko Makela
307
 



 



 
61
Gord Dineen
287
 
62
Jeff Norton
282
 
62
Josh Bailey
282
64
Steve Thomas
275
 
65
Kyle Okposo
262
 
66
Blake Comeau
261
 
66
Andre St. Laurent
261
 
68
Brad Lauer
259
 



 
77
JP Parise
240
 
78
Matt Moulson
237
 
79
Adrian Aucoin
235
 
80
John Tavares
234
 
81
Darius Kasparaitis
232
 
81
Denis Vaske
232
 
83
Zdeno Chara
231
 
83
Billy MacMillian
231
 
84
Mark Streit
229
 
85
Chris Campoli
228
 
 
Career Points as an Islander
37
Butch Goring
195
38
John Tavares
194
39
Jeff Norton
188



47
Miro Satan
166
48
Matt Moulson
162
49
Oleg Kvasha
158
50
Frans Nielsen
156
51
Alan Kerr
154
52
Roman Hamrlik
153
53
Kyle Okposo
151
54
Michael Peca
142



Season Series Stats
The Leafs won the season series 3 games to one (6 points to 3). The Isles are 4-4-1 in their last nine trips to Toronto, but this was their first regulation win in Toronto since February 14, 2008.

Happy Anniversary
24 years ago tonight (3-20-88):  Billy Smith records his 22nd (and final) career regular season shutout as the Isles blast the Jets 6-0 in Winnipeg. 
All-time, the Isles are 10-6-3 on this date, despite having not hosted a game on this date since 1994.
On The Farm
The Sound Tigers are 32-23-3-5 overall, but are 0-4-0-2 in their last six.  Bridgeport has 72 points and trails Connecticut by four points for the division lead. Bridgeport visits Binghamton on Wednesday.

Up Next
SATURDAY, MARCH 24th ISLANDERS AT TAMPA BAY 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders Game Night at 6:30pm), WRHU (88.7FM)]
The Islanders and Lightning conclude their season series on Saturday in Tampa.  The home team has won each of the first three meetings this season, with Al Montoya holding both Islander victories.  John Tavares has three goals and three assists in the first three games.

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.

3 comments:

Anthony L. said...

Eric... first off, i enjoy reading your Skinny each day..

2nd... Do you have the stat of who leads the NHL with the most career empty net goals??? I think its Mark Messier... if not, then next guess is the Great one. Hopeing you can help me with this.

Eric said...

Not sure I have a definitive answer on this -- I know that Ovechkin has 19.

I've seen reports that Messier had 13 and Gretzky 11 but I wouldn't consider those sources to be absolute. (Remember Edmonton won a lot of blowouts in their era, so fewer chances than in current NHL)

Anthony said...

Thanks for the response Eric.. i have recommended your site to all my islanders friends!

As for Messier, i totally agree with your point about edmonton... i assumed he scored most of his goals when he was with the Rangers.. cause there were soo many time i seen him score empty nets for those bums...