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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 ...

Thursday, March 10, 2016

The Skinny: Toronto 4, Isles 3 (SO)

"The Skinny"   

By Eric Hornick
 
Game 65  
Toronto 4, Isles 3 (SO)
 
William Nylander scored the tying goal on a power play with 73 seconds to play and fellow Leafs rookie Nikita Sohnikov tallied the only goal of the shootout as the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied for a 4-3 shootout win over the Isles before a sellout crowd of 18,889 at Air Canada Center.

The Isles move to 7-1-1 in their last nine games as they remain 17 games over NHL-.500.  The Isles are 11-2-2 in their last fifteen games, as they remain in third place in the Metropolitan Division, but move six points ahead of Pittsburgh.  The Isles climb within two points behind the Rangers, and still have two games in hand on the Blueshirts.

The shootout loss ends the Isles' four game winning streak. It is the sixth straight time (including third this season that the Isles have failed to extend a four game winning streak to five games.

The Scoring:
 
1ST PERIOD
08:08    NYI      John Tavares (25) ASST: NONE            1 - 0 NYI          
11:27    TOR     Zach Hyman (2) ASST: Colin Greening (4), Martin Marincin (3)    1 - 1 Tie           
 
2ND PERIOD
10:45    TOR     PPG - Morgan Rielly (7) ASST: Nazem Kadri (24)           2 - 1 TOR        
12:54    NYI      Nick Leddy (5) ASST: NONE     2 - 2 Tie           
 
3RD PERIOD
14:41    NYI      Ryan Strome (8) ASST: Johnny Boychuk (15), Nick Leddy (31)   3 - 2 NYI           
18:47    TOR     PPG - William Nylander (2) ASST: Nazem Kadri (25), Jake Gardiner (19) 3 - 3 Tie      
 
OT PERIOD
NONE

The Shootout
ROUND            TORONTO                   NEW YORK ISLANDERS
1          Peter Holland (NG)                   Frans Nielsen (NG)
2          Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau (NG) Kyle Okposo (NG)     
3          William Nylander (NG)               John Tavares (NG)      
4          Nikita Soshnikov (G/GDG)         Cal Clutterbuck (NG)

The Skinny:
An Islander defenseman has a point on 18 of the last 21 goals… John Tavares' goal, his team-leading 25th was the 199th of his career and second in two games.  Tavares breaks a tie with Kyle Okposo for the team lead in points (53-52). Okposo's next point will give him the 2nd highest total of his career 69 in 2013-14…Casey Cizikas led the Isles with a career-high 7 hits; his line combined for 16 hits…  Nick Leddy extended his point streak to four games; he now has 15 assists since the All-Star Break, tying Erik Karlsson for the league lead among defensemen in the span. Leddy also has three consecutive two-point games…This was the Isles' final game in Canada this season; the Isles went 5-3-2 in the ten games… The Isles allowed two power play goals for the first time since January 2nd in Pittsburgh, a span of 26 games…Brock Nelson played in his 200th consecutive regular season game.
 
First Time in a Long Time
Nick Leddy is the first Islander defenseman to record three consecutive multiple point games since Alexei Zhitnik did it on October 20-22-25, 2005.
 
Moving On Up
The Captain, John Tavares, played in his 494th game as an Islander, breaking a tied with the original Captain, Ed Westfall, for 27th place among Isles skaters.
 
Two Strong in Net                  
Both Thomas Greiss (18) and Jaroslav Halak (18) now have at least 18 wins.  It's the first time since the 1985-86 season (Billy Smith-20 and Kelly Hrudey-19) that two Isles goalies have recorded 18 wins in the same season.  Dallas is the only other NHL team with two goalies with at least 18 wins this season.
 
The Captain's Countdown
John Tavares' goal, his second in two games, was the 199th of his career.  He needs one more goal to become only the 11th player in Islander history to record 200 goals.
 
Most Points in The Post-Cup Era through 65 games
·        85 in 2014-15
·        82 in 2015-16
·        75 in 2001-02 and 1985-86
 
Home Sweet Home
The Isles are 20-8-4 on home-ice (44 points).  In the past 28 years, the Isles have earned more than 44 points in the first 32 home games only twice (46 in first 32 at home last season and 45 in 32 in 2003-04).
The Isles have clinched an above NHL-.500 finish at home.  It is the first time since 2005-06 and 2006-07 that the Isles have recorded successive home seasons above NHL-.500.

Road Warriors
The Isles are 17-12-4 on the road this season.  In the Post-Cup era, the Isles have earned more than 38 points in the first 33 road games only once (39 in first 33 on road last season).
 
This was the ninth game of a stretch in which the Isles are playing 12 out of 14 games on the road for only the 2nd time in their history.  From November 11 – December 9, 2009 (John Tavares' rookie season), the Isles went 5-7-2 in a stretch in which they played 12 of 14 on the road.   However the Isles changed time zones only twice in that stretch (when they visited Winnipeg and St. Louis).  The Isles will change time zones seven times during these trips.

19-Feb-16         @ Devils (Won 1-0)
23-Feb-16         @ Wild (Won 4-1)
25-Feb-16         @ Flames (Won 2-1 OT)
28-Feb-16         @ Oilers (Lost 3-1)
1-Mar-16          @ Canucks (Won 3-2)
3-Mar-16          @ Jets (Won 4-3 OT)
6-Mar-16          @ Rangers (Won 6-4)
8-Mar-16          Vs Penguins (Won 2-1)
9-Mar-16          @ Maple Leafs (Lost/SO 4-3)
12-Mar-16         @ Bruins
14-Mar-16         Vs Panthers
15-Mar-16         @ Penguins
17-Mar-16         @ Predators
19-Mar-16         @ Stars
 
The Shots:
Isles      11-9-5-2=27
Toronto 8-11-13-4=36
 
Home and Road
The Islanders are 37-20-8 overall; 20-8-4 at home and 17-12-4 on the road. 
Toronto is 22-33-11 overall; 10-13-9 at home and 12-20-2 on the road.

By Division
The Isles are 13-5-3 in Division games and are 24-15-5 in games against other divisions. They are 5-10-3 vs. the Atlantic Division, 9-2-1 vs. the Central Division, and 10-3-1 vs. the Pacific Division. 
 
The Isles are 34-11-3 since the start of last season against the Metropolitan Division. 

How The West is Won
The Isles are 19-5-2 against the Western Conference, including 12-0-2 at home. The Isles have the most wins of any Eastern Conference team against the Western Conference (Tampa Bay is 15-9-2 and the Rangers are 15-8-2). 
The Isles are guaranteed to finish with at least the 2nd-best record of an Eastern team vs. the West.  (Washington is 14-4-2 and still has 8 games left against the West, including Wednesday's game in Los Angeles)

In the Nets
Thomas Greiss made 32 saves in his first start since the injury to Jaroslav Halak.  He is 18-6-4 on the season and 2-1-1 in his career against Toronto.  Greiss, who is 7-0-2 in his last nine decisions, is 6-5 all-time in shootouts.
Garrett Sparks made 24 saves and improves to 4-3-1 on the season; it was his first career appearance against the Isles.  Sparks is now 2-1 in shootouts.

Power Plays
The Islanders were 0-1 on the power play, while Toronto was 2-4.
It is the first time since January 2nd that the Isles have allowed two power play goals in a game.
The Isles are 23-5-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 14-15-5 when they do not.  The Isles are 11-9-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 26-11-5 when they do not. 

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles are 30-3-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 7-17-7 when they do not.  The Isles were 40-8-4 when they scored at least three goals (including SO winners) last season.

One Goal Games
The Isles are 16-6-8 in games decided by a single goal including 8-6-0 in regulation. They are 4-4 in games decided in overtime and are 4-4 in shootouts.  The Isles are 6-4 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal
The Isles are 25-5-4 when they score first and are 12-15-4 when they allow the opening goal.   

Second to The One
Jack Capuano, the 2nd winningest coach in Islander history, is 202-168-54 behind the Islander bench.  Among the 9 New York area teams, only the Yankees' Joe Girardi has led his team longer than Capuano. 

Most games coached (Islanders):
1.      Al Arbour 1,500
2.      Jack Capuano 424
3.      Mike Milbury 191
4.      Terry Simpson 187
5.      Scott Gordon 181
 
Most wins by Islander coaches:
1.      Al Arbour 740
2.      Jack Capuano 202
3.      Terry Simpson 81
4.      Peter Laviolette 77
5.      Ted Nolan 74

Capuano is the 86th coach in NHL history to coach at least 400 games. His 202 wins is now 71st all-time.  (Tied/69 – Gerry Cheevers and Todd Richards 204)

They Tweeted It
@SNstats No team has lost 6 straight 1-goal games since the Panthers in Feb-Mar 2002...#Leafs avoided doing so tonight with a 4-3 shootout win
@SNstats #Isles John Tavares has the most points per game at the Air Canada Centre in NHL history at 1.58 (minimum 10 games played).  [This was entering tonight; he's now 8-12-20 in 13 games, 1.53 per game]

Back-to-Backs
Including tonight, The Isles are 3-4-4 on the front-end and 7-2-2 on the back end of back-to-backs this season.  The next back-to-back set will be on March 14th vs Florida and March 15th in Pittsburgh.

Tired vs. Rested
·        The Isles are 3-1-0 when both teams played the night before.
·        The Isles are 5-3-0 when they are rested and their opponents are not.
·        The Isles are 4-1-2 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Travis Hamonic (26:31); Toronto: Morgan Rielly (28:32)
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (22-4-5), Johnny Boychuk (5-3-0), Calvin deHaan (2-3-1), Nick Leddy (6-7-2), John Tavares (0-2-0), Tied (0-1-0)
John Tavares led the forwards with 21:42 of ice time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (25-16-7), Ryan Strome (2-0-0), Kyle Okposo (2-2-1), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Frans Nielsen (4-0-0), Josh Bailey (2-0-0), Tied (1-1-0). 

Face-offs
Isles 34, Toronto 32 (52%)
Casey Cizikas won 10 of 14 for the Isles; Peter Holland won 7 of 11 for Toronto. 
The Isles won 16 of 28 in the third period and overtime after winning only 18 of 38 in the first two periods.
The Isles won 31 of 61 draws at even strength, 1 of 1 on the power play and 2 of 4 on the penalty kill.

Heavy Hitters
Isles 26, Toronto 22.  Casey Cizikas (7), Cal Clutterbuck (5), and Matt Martin (4) combined for 16 hits, as Martin extended his NHL-leading total to 308.  It's the 4th time in his career that he has recorded 300 hits and the 13th time in NHL history a player has had at least 300 hits, tying Cal Clutterbuck's NHL-record for 300-hit seasons (Hits first recorded in 2005-06).

Fights
There were no fights. Season total – 18 (Martin-10, Bernier, Boychuk, Cizikas, Hamonic, Leddy, Lee, Okposo, Strait).

Blocked Shots
The Isles were credited with 13 blocked shots, including three from Brian Strait and Johnny Boychuk.

For the Corsi Crowd
All situations:  Isles 48, Toronto 65.  5-on-5: Isles 46, Toronto 42.  
The overall attempts were 38-38 in the third period before Toronto had 27 of the final 37 attempts.
The Corsi stat measures shots attempted, both for and against (including blocks). 
 
Kyle Okposo and Brian Strait led the Isles with a +8 5-on-5 Corsi rating; Strait also had a club-leading 64% Corsi For percentage. Colin Greening led Toronto with a +8 5-on-5 Corsi rating.

Ironmen
·        Nikolay Kulemin -215 (68 for Maple Leafs and 147 for the Isles)
·        Brock Nelson -200 (all for Isles)
·        Anders Lee -141 (all for Isles)

Longest Consecutive Game Streaks, Post Cup Era 
·        Matt Moulson 10/3/2009- 4/4/2013  284
·        John Tavares 10/16/10 – 12/23/2013  246
·        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
-------------------
·        Brock Nelson 12/7/2013 – CURRENT 200 (Nelson replaced Peter Regin in the first game of his streak)
 
Missing Men
Adam Pelech and Mikhail Grabovski are on injured reserve. Jaroslav Halak (injured), Marek Zidlicky (injured). Calvin deHaan (injured), Eric Boulton, and Steve Bernier were scratched.
The Isles have lost 160 games this season due to injury/illness.

Missing a Piece (or two)
The Isles are 13-15-2 over the last two seasons in games in which they are missing Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic or Nick Leddy, including 5-5-1 this season.  They are 5-4-1, including 2-1-1 this season, when two of the three miss a game.

All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1.      Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900
….
12. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 13. Garry Howatt 596 *** 14. John Tonelli 594 *** 15. Frans Nielsen 590*** 16. Ken Morrow 550 *** 17. Duane Sutter 547 *** 18. Lorne Henning 543 *** 19. Josh Bailey 540 *** 20. Claude Lapointe 535 *** 21. Tomas Jonsson 532 *** 22. Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 23. Dave Lewis 514 *** 24. Kyle Okposo 513 *** 25. Mick Vukota 510 *** 26. Rich Pilon 509 *** 27. John Tavares 4934

Goals
1.      Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310
….
9. Derek King 211 *** 10. John Tonelli 206*** 11. John Tavares 199
16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Kyle Okposo 134 *** 18. Jason Blake 127 *** 19. Duane Sutter 121 *** 20. Alexei Yashin 119 *** 21. Frans Nielsen, Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson, and Steve Thomas 118

Assists
1.      Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***
11. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 12. Bob Nystrom 278 *** 13. Billy Harris 259 *** 14. John Tavares 255*** 15. Tomas Jonsson 249***16. Frans Nielsen 223 *** 17. Kyle Okposo 222
25. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 26. David Volek 154 *** 27. Josh Bailey 153

Points
1.      Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052
10. Derek King 499 *** 11. Pat Flatley 488 *** 12. John Tavares 454 ***13. Billy Harris 443 ***
14. Stefan Persson 369 *** 15. Kyle Okposo 356 *** 16. Frans Nielsen 341
24 Jason Blake & Steve Thomas 258 *** 26. David Volek 249 *** 27. Josh Bailey 245
 
Goalie Games Played
1. Billy Smith 675 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318***3. Glenn Resch 282
9. Garth Snow   127***10. Evgeni Nabokov 123***11. Chris Osgood 103***12. Jaroslav Halak 95
 
Goalie Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157***3. Rick DiPietro 130
6. Glenn Healy 66***7. Tommy Salo 62***8. Evgeni Nabokov 57***9. Jaroslav Halak 56

Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25***2. Billy Smith 22***3. Rick DiPietro 19***4. Tommy Salo 14***
5. Evgeni Nabokov & Jaroslav Halak 9

Season Series Stats
Toronto wins the season series 2 games to 1 and 4 points to 3.
Despite the shootout loss, the Isles are 6-1-1 in their last eight games in Toronto
 
On The Farm
Bridgeport coach Brent Thompson recorded his 100th win behind the bench Sunday afternoon as the Sound Tigers improved to 31-22-3-3 on the season with a 3-2 win over Hartford.  The Sound Tigers, who also beat Providence on Friday, are off until Friday when they visit Syracuse.

Up Next
SATURDAY, MARCH 12th–ISLANDERS AT BOSTON 1:00PM
[MSG+ (Pre-game at 12:30), 91.5 WNYE-FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]
 
The Isles will look to avoid a season sweep as they visit the Bruins in Boston.
 
The Isles have lost only eight games in regulation at Barclays Center and two of them are to the Bruins, who defeated the Isles 5-3 on October 23rd and 2-1 on November 8th.
 
Overall, the Isles have lost four straight to Boston; it's their longest losing streak to the Bruins since a 6-game skein from 2007 to 2009.
 
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.

 
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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