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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...

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

The Skinny: Isles 4, Washington 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick
Game 34
Isles 4, Washington 3
Andrew Ladd scored two goals for his first multi-goal game as an Islander and Anders Lee scored 43 seconds after Ladd's second goal for the game winning tally as the Isles defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 before a sellout crowd of 15,795 at Barclays Center.
The Isles have won three straight games, matching their longest winning streak of the season.
The Scoring:                                                                           
1ST PERIOD
08:02    New York         Cal Clutterbuck (3) ASST: Nikolay Kulemin (6), Ryan Strome (6) 1-0
13:24    Washington      Justin Williams (8) ASST: Alex Ovechkin (10), Dmitry Orlov (14)  1-1
2ND PERIOD
14:03    New York         Andrew Ladd (6) ASST: Thomas Hickey (5), Alan Quine (5)        2-1
3RD PERIOD
01:17    Washington      Alex Ovechkin (16) ASST: Justin Williams (5), Evgeny Kuznetsov (15)            2-2
04:41    New York         Andrew Ladd (7) ASST: Alan Quine (6), Thomas Hickey (6)        3-2
05:24    New York         Anders Lee (13)    4-2
13:05    Washington      Andre Burakovsky (4) ASST: Jay Beagle (7), Matt Niskanen (13) 4-3

The Skinny:
The Isles scored the first goal for the 13th time in the last 15 games … The Isles are 10-0-2 when leading after two periods… Andrew Ladd has scored three goals in the last two games and five goals in the last 10 games; Ladd has 16 goals vs. Washington, more than any other NHL team…Only Anders Lee (13) and John Tavares (10) have more goals for the Isles than Ladd…Cal Clutterbuck's goal was his first in 20 games…The Isles improve to 6-4-2 in December and 8-4-2 in their last 14 games…The Isles have scored at least four goals in three consecutive games for the first time this season; their 13 goals over the last three games is also a season high…Alex Ovechkin had a goal, an assist and a season-high 9 shots on goal.  The points ended Ovechkin career-long three game streak without a point against the Isles…Nikolay Kulemin has five points in the last 7 games (2-3-5) after accumulating the same totals in his first 25 games…Anders Lee has 12 goals since November 23rd, one shy of Sidney Crosby's total for the league lead in that span.  Three of Lee's goals have been game-winners and all three have occurred in the 3rd period…The Isles are 11-7-4 at home, just two points off last season's 13-7-2 record through 22 games.  This is the first time in Islander history that they have played their 22nd home game of the season in December…Including power plays and sixth attackers Washington had more skaters than the Isles for all but :16 of the final 5:15 but failed to tie the game…The Isles have scored 45 goals in the last 14 games (3.21 per game) after scoring only 48 goals in the first 20 games (2.40 per game).

Tavares on the PK
John Tavares played a career high 4:11 on the PK.  He won 3 of 5 face-offs while shorthanded and has won 12 of 20 draws while shorthanded.  The three highest PK times of his career have come in the last three games.
Better at 5-on-5
The Isles have outscored the opposition 74-68 when each team has five skaters, but have been outscored 35-19 in all other situations.
Milestone Man
John Tavares played in his 544th Islander game, passing Lorne Henning for 19th place on the all-time club list.
Cal Clutterbuck recorded his 99th career goal.
Alex Ovechkin played in his 872nd Capital game, tying Dale Hunter for 4th place on the all-time Capital list.
Countdown to 500
John Tavares was held pointless for the 4th time in five games. He needs only five points to become the 10th player in Islander history with 500 career points.
Last Minute Heroes
The Isles have scored twice in the final minute of regulation to either tie or win a game:
·        11/25 – SJ Sharks -- Nick Leddy (19:02); tied game, but Isles lost in regulation
·        11/30 – Pit Penguins – Anders Lee (19:33); Game Winning goal
Fit to Be Tied
The Isles have allowed the final goal of regulation in seven of their eight games that have gone to overtime this season, including three in the final minute:
·        10/16 – Ana Ducks – Ryan Getzlaf (19:00); Isles won in OT
·        11/3 – Phi Flyers – Jakob Voracek (19:02/PP); Flyers won in SO
·        11/12 – Fla Panthers – Jonathan Marchessault (19:46); Panthers won in OT
Late Losses
The Isles have been tied in the third period in nine of their 14 regulation losses (and 15 of their 20 overall losses) but have allowed the lead goal in the final 3 minutes of regulation five times:
·        10/18 – SJ Sharks - Joe Pavelski (17:49)
·        10/26 – Mtl Canadiens - Shea Weber (17:03)
·        10/27 – Pit Penguins - Sidney Crosby (17:35)
·        11/23 – LA Kings – Dwight King (17:07)
·        11/25 – SJ Sharks – Patrick Marleau (19:37)
Home Til the Holidays
The Isles have reached the end of a stretch where they played 10 out of 14 at home.  The Isles went 6-3-1 at home and 2-1-1 on the road during this stretch.   
The Isles will now play seven of their next eight games on the road before beginning a six-game homestand on January 19th.
The Shots
Isles             10-12-9=31
Washington  13-9-12=34
The Isles are 7-3-2 when they outshoot their opponents and 1-2-0 when the shots are even but are 6-9-4 when they are outshot.
Home and Road
The Islanders are 14-14-6 overall; 11-7-4 at home and 3-7-2 on the road. 
Washington is 20-9-4 overall; 12-5-0 at home and 8-4-4 on the road.  
By Division & Conference
The Isles are 4-5-2 in Division games and 10-9-4 in games versus other divisions (3-5-3 vs. Atlantic, 2-1-0 vs. Central and 5-3-1 vs. Pacific).   The Isles are 7-10-5 against the East and 7-4-1 against the West.
In the Nets
Jaroslav Halak made 31 saves to improve to 6-8-5 on the season and 8-7-0 in his career against the Islanders.  Halak is 2-1-0 vs. Washington this season.
Braden Holtby made 27 saves but falls to 15-8-3 on the season and 12-3-3 in his career against the Isles.  Holtby, who allowed four goals for only the third time this season, had lost only once in regulation to the Isles prior to this season but is 2-2-0 this year.

Power Plays
The Islanders were 0-4 on the power play while Washington was 0-4. 
The Isles are 5-4-4 when they score at least one power play goal and 9-10-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 3-9-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 11-5-2 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 13-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-12-4 when they do not. 

One Goal Games
The Isles are 6-5-6 in games decided by a single goal including 3-5-0 in regulation. They are 2-4 in games decided in overtime and are 1-2 in shootouts.  The Isles are 1-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal
The Isles are 10-4-4 when they score first and are 4-10-2 when they allow the opening goal. 

Second to The One
Jack Capuano, the 2nd winningest coach in Islander history, is 224-189-62 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 475
3.      Mike Milbury 191
4.      Terry Simpson 187
5.      Scott Gordon 181
Most wins by Islander coaches:
1.      Al Arbour 740
2.      Jack Capuano 224
3.      Terry Simpson 81
4.      Peter Laviolette 77
5.      Ted Nolan 74
Capuano is 71st in NHL in games coached, five behind both Don Cherry and Bob Johnson. His 224 wins places him 64th all-time, and five behind Robbie Ftorek.

Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 2-3-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 2-2-1 on the back-end. 
The Isles will play 16 sets of back-to-backs this season.  The next back-to-back set is on January 6th in Colorado and January 7th in Arizona.
Tired vs. Rested
·        The Isles are 1-0-0 when both teams played the night before.
·        The Isles are 5-3-2 when they are rested and their opponents are not.
·        The Isles are 1-2-1 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.
·        The Isles are 7-9-3 when both teams are rested.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: John Tavares (22:06); Washington: John Carlson (25:40)
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (5-0-0), Nick Leddy (6-10-4), John Tavares (2-1-0), Johnny Boychuk (1-3-1), Dennis Seidenberg (0-0-1)
Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (8-9-4), Josh Bailey (4-3-2), Casey Cizikas (1-0-0), Cal Clutterbuck (0-1-0), Brock Nelson (1-1-0)

Face-offs
Isles 28, Washington 29 (49%). 
Brock Nelson won 6 of 10 for the Isles; Jay Beagle won 10 of 13 for Washington.
The Isles won 21 of 38 draws over the last two periods after winning only 7 of 19 draws in the first period.
The Isles won 21 of 45 draws at even strength, 3 of 5 on the power play and 4 of 7 on the penalty kill.  

Hit Count
Isles 15, Washington 16.  Cal Clutterbuck and Johnny Boychuk led the Isles with four shots; Tom Wilson had four for Washington.

Fights
There were no fights.  Season total – 6: (Boychuk 1, deHaan 1, Hamonic 3, Mayfield 1).

Blocked Shots
The Isles were credited with 14 blocked shots, including three from Johnny Boychuk.

For the Corsi Crowd
All situations: Isles 54, Washington 61
5-on-5 Isles 45, Washington 41
The Capitals, buoyed by two late power plays, had the final 18 attempts of the game.
5-on 5 leaders:
Isles: Dennis Seidenberg +10; Cal Clutterbuck 71%
Washington: Justin Williams +12
Ironmen
Jason Chimera – 140 (including 106 for the Capitals); Josh Bailey 101
Scratches
Thomas Greiss, Casey Cizikas (injury), Stephen Gionta
Injured Reserve: Adam Pelech
Total games lost: 59
Missing a Piece (or two)
Since the start of the 2014-15 season, the Isles are 19-18-4 in games in which they are missing Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic or Nick Leddy, including 3-1-1 this season.

All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1.      Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900
….
13. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 14. Garry Howatt 596 *** 15. John Tonelli 594 *** 16. Josh Bailey 591 *** 17. Ken Morrow 550 *** 18. Duane Sutter 547 *** 19. John Tavares 544

Goals
1.      Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310
7. Bob Bourne 238 *** 8. Bob Nystrom 235 **** 9. John Tavares 217

Assists
1.      Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553
10. Derek King 288 *** 11. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 12. Bob Nystrom and John Tavares 278
19. Ed Westfall 181 *** 20. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 21. Josh Bailey 173

Points
1.      Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052
9. Bobby Nystrom 513 *** 10. Derek King 499 *** 11. John Tavares 495
21. Duane Sutter 292 *** 22. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 23. Ed Westfall 286 *** 24 Josh Bailey 271

Season Series Stats
The season series is tied, two games to two (the Isles have earned four points to Washington's four).  The teams will meet this season for the final time on January 31st in Brooklyn.  Each team is 1-1 at home and 1-1 on the road.
The Caps have outshot the Isles in every game this season (138-110 in aggregate) and in the last six meetings overall.
Tonight's win was their first in regulation time against the Caps at home since March 9, 2013 (3-2-3).
On The Farm
The Bridgeport Sound Tigers allowed the final four goals to Hartford on Monday, as they fell 5-2 to the Wolfpack for their fifth straight loss.  The Sound Tigers, who are 16-12-0-0 on the season, got goals from Tanner Fritz and Ryan Pulock.
Bracken Kearns continues to lead the Sound Tigers in scoring (8-14-22), while Steve Bernier leads the team in goals with nine.  Toews leads the team with 17 assists and is second on the team in points (4-17-21); fellow rookie Eamon McAdam leads the team with 7 wins (7-2-0).
The Sound Tigers host Springfield on Wednesday in their final home game before beginning a 5-game road trip.

Up Next
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29th–ISLANDERS AY MINNESOTA -  8:00PM
[MSG+ (Isles pre-game at 7:30), WNYM 970, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]
The Isles begin a stretch of four consecutive road games on Thursday as they visit the red-hot Minnesota Wild.  The Wild defeated Nashville in overtime on Tuesday for their 11th straight win.

The Isles will be looking to sweep the season series from the Wild for the second straight year; the Isles defeated Minnesota 6-3 back on October 23rd.  Since 2011 the Isles are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games against the Wild, including 3-1-0 in their last four trips to St. Paul.

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 & on his blog http://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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