Sunday, November 10, 2013

The Skinny: Montreal 4, Isles 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick
 
Game 18
Montreal 4, Isles 2
 
Lars Eller and Michael Bournival scored power play goals 2:50 apart late in the second period as the Montreal Canadiens broke a 1-1 tie and defeated the Isles 4-2 before the 370th consecutive sellout crowd of 21,273 at Bell Centre. The Isles conclude their road trip with an 0-4-0 record; they allowed eight power play goals in the four games (first time since December 2009 that they have allowed eight PP goals in any four game stretch) and dropped from 2nd place to 6th place in the Metropolitan Division.

The Scoring:
1st Period
NONE
 
2nd Period
01:46 MTL Brendan Gallagher (8) Wrist shot - ASST: Alex Galchenyuk (10), Lars Eller (5) 1 - 0 MTL           
07:23 NYI  PPG - Pierre-Marc Bouchard (3) Slapshot - ASST: John Tavares (12)   1 - 1 Tie           
16:14 MTL PPG - Lars Eller (6) Wrist shot - ASST: Alex Galchenyuk (11), P.K. Subban (14) 2 - 1 MTL       
19:04 MTL PPG - Michael Bournival (5) Tip-in - ASST: Raphael Diaz (7), Tomas Plekanec (7) 3 - 1 MTL     
 
3rd Period
04:10 NYI PPG - Brock Nelson (2) Tip-in - ASST: John Tavares (13), Frans Nielsen (10)     3 - 2 MTL         
10:37 MTL Alex Galchenyuk (3) Tip-in - ASST: Lars Eller (6), Brendan Gallagher (4)           4 - 2 MTL

The Skinny:  
Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored the Isles' first power play goal in eight games; Brock Nelson, elevated to the top line in the absence of Thomas Vanek also converted on the power play… The Isles have scored 25 of their 49 goals in the second period, but have been outscored 16-11 in the third period… The Isles allowed two more power play goals and have now allowed 16 goals in 59 times short (72.9%, lowest in the NHL)…Alex Galchenyuk won't turn 20 until February; he is the first Canadiens' teen since Eric Desjardins  (2/18/1989) to record three points in a game and the youngest player to do so against the Isles since Sidney Crosby did so (six times between 2005 and 2007)…The Canadiens had scored two goals or fewer in five straight games and broke a four-game winless streak (0-3-1)…John Tavares assisted on both Islander goals; it was his 2nd multi-assist game of the season and his first on the road since February 21st (in Montreal). Tavares now has 150 career assists; he is the 25th player in Isles history to reach that mark…PK Subban extended his point streak to five games…Eight current Islanders have each scored one power play goal this season to share the team lead…Canadiens' coach Michel Therrien's recorded his 250th career win as a head coach.

The Injury:
The Isles played the final 3 ½ minutes without Travis Hamonic, who was injured in a collision with Max Pacioretty. 

The Shots:
Isles            10-8-8=26
Canadiens  10-10-11=31

Home and Road
The Islanders are 6-9-3 overall, 3-3-3 at home and 3-6-0 on the road.  The Isles went 0-4-0 on this road trip and were outscored 16-6 after winning two straight games to begin the month.  The Isles allowed at least three goals in a period in three of the four games.
The Canadiens are 9-8-1 overall; they are 5-4-1 at home and 4-4-0 on the road.   

In the Nets
Kevin Poulin made 27 saves in his first NHL start in his hometown but falls to 1-4-0 on the season. 
Carey Price made 24 saves for the Canadiens and improves to 7-7-1 on the season. Price is 6-2-3 in his career against the Isles.

Power Plays
The Islanders were 2-4 while the Canadiens were 2-5.  The Islander power play goals were their first in eight games; it's the 4th time this season that they have tallied twice on the power play.
The Isles are 3-2-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-7-0 when they do not.  The Isles are 1-7-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-2-1 when they do not. 
Over the last eight games, the Isles power play is 2-26 (7.7%) while the penalty kill is 12-30 (60%).

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 6-1-2 when they score at least three goals and are 0-8-1 when they do not. 

Second to The One
Jack Capuano is now 2nd on the all-time Islander list in both games coached (213) and wins (90).
Most wins by Islander coaches:
1.     Al Arbour 740
2.     Jack Capuano 90
3.     Terry Simpson 81
4.     Peter Laviolette 77
5.     Ted Nolan 74
 
Most games coached (Islanders):
1.     Al Arbour 1,500
2.     Jack Capuano 213
3.     Mike Milbury 191
4.     Terry Simpson 187
5.     Scott Gordon 181

They Said It
Kyle Okposo: "Our effort was there...it was a much better game than last night…we just didn't get the results we wanted."

They Tweeted It
@NHLJensen  Eller, Galchenyuk & Gallagher combined for 8 points in win over #Isles. Getting that line going again just what doctor ordered for #Habs.

The Coach
"We're right there again and bang-bang, two power-play goals."

Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 3-2-0 in the front-end and 1-3-1 on the back end of back-to-backs this season.
They have earned 4 points once, 3 points once, 2 points once, and no points on two occasions.

Head of the Class
John Tavares has 269 career points; he is 57 points ahead of Matt Duchene for most among 2009 draft picks.  No other player from that draft is anywhere close.  Tavares also has more goals and more assists than any other player from that draft.

Leading Ice Men
Andrew MacDonald played 25:24 to lead the Isles for the 14th time this season. PK Subban led Montreal with 25:34. 
The Isles are 5-7-2 when MacDonald leads them in ice-time and 1-2-1 when Hamonic leads them.

In the Circle
The Islanders won 31 of 65 draws. Casey Cizikas won 8 of 12 to lead the Isles but the other Isles lost a combined 30 of 53; Tomas Plekanec won 10 of 17 for Montreal.
The Isles are tied-25th in the NHL in faceoff percentage, winning 45.6%.

Heavy Hitters
The Isles were out-hit 18-15.  Travis Hamonic led the Isles with three hits. Matt Martin added one hit; he leads the NHL with 80.  There were no fights, leaving the season total at four: Boulton (2), Martin (2).

Giving Up the Body
The Isles were credited with 13 blocked shots; Andrew MacDonald extended his league-leading total to 67 with three blocks.  Thomas Hickey was also credited with three.

All–time Winners
The Islanders fall to six games over all-time NHL .500 (1377-1371-442 in 3,189 games).  The Isles have finished every season since 1977-78 above all-time NHL .500.

Ironmen
John Tavares is the reigning Islanders' ironman. Tavares has now played in 225 consecutive games, which is the second-longest streak for an Islander in the Post Cup era.
Frans Nielsen (148) and Kyle Okposo (131) also have streaks of at least 100 consecutive games.

Longest Consecutive Game Streaks, Post Cup Era 
·         Matt Moulson 10/3/2009- 4/4/2013  284
·         John Tavares 10/16/10 – CURRENT  225
·         Richard Park 10/5/2006 – 2/18/2009 221
·         Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220
·         Bryan Trottier 3/7/1981- 1/12/1984 219
·         Mariusz Czerkawski 12/23/1999 – 4/14/2002 215

Missing Men
Lubomir Visnovsky and Brian Strait are on injured reserve. Cal Clutterbuck missed his 3rd game and Thomas Vanek missed his first game with upper body injuries. Brock Nelson replaced Vanek in the lineup while Radek Martinek was scratched. The Isles have lost 32 games this season due to injury.

Nobody Beat the Viz
The Isles were 19-12-4 last season and are 3-3-2 this season with Lubomir Visnovsky in the lineup.  They were 5-5-3 last season and 3-6-1 this season without him in the lineup.

Career Wins, Active Goalies
 
Career Wins
19. Gump Worsley 335
20. Nikolai Khabibulin 333
 
Career Shutouts, Active Goalies
4. Tomas Vokoun 51
 
Career Shutouts
 18 Clint Benedict       57
19 Evgeni Nabokov 55
20 Bernie Parent       54
20 Ed Giacomin        54
 
Career Goals as an Islander
17
Duane Sutter
121
 
18
Alexei Yashin
119
 
18
John Tavares
119
 
20
Matt Moulson
118
 
20
Mark Parrish
118
 
20
Steve Thomas
118
 
 
 
 
 
Career Assists as an Islander
 
23
David Volek
153
24
John Tavares
150
24
Mariusz Czerkawski
150
26
Frans Nielsen
146
27
Travis Green
145

 







Career Games as an Islander (skaters)
25
Gerry Hart
476
26
Radek Martinek
473
27
Mariusz Czerkawski
470
 
 
 
37
Travis Green
388
38
Frans Nielsen
385
39
Anders Kallur
383
40
Randy Wood
381
41
Dave Scatchard
347
42
Josh Bailey
346
42
Alexei Yashin
346
44
Mark Parrish
345
45
Marty McInnis
337
45
Kyle Okposo
337
47
Robert Goring
332
47
Oleg Kvasha
332
 
 
 
54
Brad Dalgarno
321
55
Ray Ferraro
316
55
Steve Webb
316
55
Richard Park
316
58
Gerald Diduck
314
59
John Tavares
309
60
Mikko Makela
307
 
 
 
 
 







Career Points as an Islander
20
Ed Westfall
286
21
John Tavares
269
22
Jason Blake
258
22
Steve Thomas
258



32
Mikko Makela
219
33
Frans Nielsen
215
34
Mark Parrish
214
35
Garry Howatt
213
35
Jean Potvin
213
37
Anders Kallur
211
38
Kyle Okposo
204
39
Marty McInnis
198






Season Series Stats
The Canadiens lead the season series one game to none (and two points to none) with two games to play.  The teams will next play on December 14th at the Coliseum.
The Isles are 5-7-1 in their last 13 games in Montreal, starting with a loss on March 13, 2007 in a game in which Rick DiPietro was forced from the game after a collision with Steve Begin, however all five Isles wins in that stretch have come in extra time (three times in shootouts, twice in overtime), leaving Les Habitants 8-0-5 in those 13 games.

Happy Anniversary

26 years ago tonight: November 10, 1987.  Pat LaFontaine scored three times in regulation, but it was Brad Lauer who scored in overtime as the Islanders defeated Washington 4-3.  It was Lauer's only overtime goal as an Islander.

Overall the Islanders are now 7-11-2 on this date.

On The Farm
Anders Lee scored his first goal since opening night, and then added another goal 6:34 into the third that broke a 2-2 tie as the Sound Tigers erased a 2-0 Adirondack lead for a 3-2 victory at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport.  Ken Reiter recorded his first AHL win in the Bridgeport net as the Sound Tigers improve to 3-0-1-1 in their last four games. Bridgeport is 4-5-1-1 on the season and conclude their three games in three days weekend with a Veteran's Day matinee in Albany.

Up Next
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12th —NASHVILLE AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN-FM]

The Islanders return home to begin a three-game homestand as they entertain Nashville on Tuesday night. 
It's the second and final meeting of the teams this season; the Predators held the Isles to only 16 shots on October 12th as they rallied from a 2-1 deficit for a 3-2 victory.
The Islanders are 3-3-1 all-time in regular season games against Nashville; however, their only regulation win came on Election Night 2000.  Brad Isbister had the winning goal in a 2-1 victory for Coach Butch Goring.
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.

 
Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

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