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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...

Thursday, December 01, 2016

The Skinny: Isles 5, Pittsburgh 3

"The Skinny"

 By Eric Hornick
 
Game 22
Isles 5, Pittsburgh 3
Anders Lee deflected Thomas Hickey's shot for the winning goal with 26.6 seconds to play and Nikolay Kulemin added an empty-net goal 3.1 seconds later as the Islanders foiled a Penguin comeback from a 3-0 deficit and defeated the Stanley Cup Champions 5-3 before a sellout crowd of 12,149 at Barclays Center.
 
The Isles led 3-0 heading to the third, only to have the Penguins storm back to tie the game, setting the scene for Lee's heroics.  The final two goals, officially just three seconds apart, tied the NHL record for fastest two goals by one team.
 
The Scoring:
1ST PERIOD
19:47    New York         Johnny Boychuk (3) ASST: Josh Bailey (10), Brock Nelson (9)    1-0
 
2ND PERIOD
02:10    New York         Jason Chimera (2) ASST: Scott Mayfield (1), Anthony Beauvillier (5)            2-0
17:21    New York         Casey Cizikas (3) ASST: Scott Mayfield (2), Andrew Ladd (2)      3-0
 
3RD PERIOD
00:32    Pittsburgh         Conor Sheary (5) ASST: Patric Hornqvist (9), Sidney Crosby (6)  3-1
10:40    Pittsburgh         Justin Schultz (1) ASST: Ian Cole (4)     3-2
13:08    Pittsburgh         Evgeni Malkin (9) ASST: Brian Dumoulin (3), Sidney Crosby (7)  3-3
19:33    New York         Anders Lee (5) ASST: Thomas Hickey (4), Johnny Boychuk (5)   4-3
19:36    New York         EN - Nikolay Kulemin (2) ASST: Casey Cizikas (5)          5-3

The Skinny
The Isles have scored the first goal in three consecutive games after doing so only five times in the first 19 games…The Isles match a season-best 2-game winning streak (also October 21-23 vs Arizona and Minnesota) as they finish November with a 4-5-4 record.  It's the first time in nine games that the Isles have scored at least 3 goals and only the third time this season they've scored at least 5 (6 vs. Minnesota on 10/23 and 5 vs. Toronto on 10/30) … Thomas Greiss has started four of the last five games, going 3-1-0 with a 2.15 GAA and a 93.2 save percentage… The Isles defense chipped in 1 goal and 4 assists, raising the season totals to 17-33-50 …It was the first time all season that the Isles had a 3-0 lead; the Isles have won 21 straight games in which they scored the first three goals.…For the second time in three nights the Isles gained ground on every other team in the Eastern Conference…Sidney Crosby had a pair of assists, as he became the fourth player with at least 100 career points against the Isles (Jagr, Lemieux, Recchi)…Anthony Beauvillier recorded his first assist in 13 games while Jason Chimera' goal was his first in 9 games. 
 
Rewriting the Record Book
The two late goals rewrote the Isles', the Penguins' and the NHL's record book.
 
The previous fastest two Islander goals came :06 apart when Clark Gillies (4:51) and Mike Bossy (4:57) did so against Chicago in the third period at the Coliseum on October 27, 1979
 
The Penguins had allowed a pair of goals :06 apart on three different occasions, most recently in 1999 to the then-Phoenix Coyotes.
 
The two goals tied the NHL record for fastest two goals by one team:
0:03 – St. Louis Eagles, Mar. 12, 1935, at St. Louis, third period. Scorers: Frank Jerwa, 14:50; Joe Lamb, 14:53. St. Louis defeated Detroit 3-2.
– Minnesota Wild, Jan. 21, 2004, at Minnesota, third period. Scorers: Jim Dowd, 19:44; Richard Park, 19:47. Minnesota defeated Chicago 4-2.
 
First Time in a Long Time
Scott Mayfield had a pair of helpers in the second period – he is the first Islander rookie to have two assists vs. Pittsburgh since Travis Hamonic did in his "Gordie Howe Hat Trick" game—the fight-filled 9-3 win over the Penguins on February 11, 2011.
 
3 Up, 3 Down
Both Calvin deHaan and Johnny Boychuk were +3, while Trevor Daly, Bryan Rust, Evgeni Malkin and the Isles' Travis Hamonic were -3.
 
Great Time for 99
Anders Lee's winning goal was his 99th NHL point (55-44-99).  Lee has 10 game-winning goals; this was the first of his 5 goals this season that came in an Isles win.  Lee now has 4 goals in the last 4 games.
 
Beating the Champs
(h/t @BobGrove) With tonight's Isles win, the Penguins fall to 5-5-1 in the last 11 games when trailing the Isles after two periods.  It's only the 6th time (in 23 tries) that the Isles have beaten the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Penguins.
 
Staying Out of the Box
The Isles have been shorthanded only nine times in the last five games after being shorthanded 69 times in the first 17 games.
 
Movin' on Up x 3
John Tavares played in his 532nd Islander game, tying Tomas Jonsson for 21st on the all-time club list. Tavares was held pointless as he remained tied with Patrick Flatley for 11th on the all-time club point list (488).  Josh Bailey's assist was his 167th for the Isles, breaking a deadlock with Jeff Norton and tying Jean Potvin for 23rd on the all-time list.
 
Last Minute to Play in the Period
Maybe it was because Doc Emrick introduced Alex Anthony's PA announcement in the first period, but the Isles scored three goals in the final minute of a period tonight.  This was the second time in three games that two goals were scored in the final minute of the third period – Anders Lee had the first one both times, but Patrick Marleau scored the winner for San Jose on Friday afternoon.

Fit to Be Tied
The Isles have allowed the final goal of regulation in all seven of their 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 six of their 10 regulation losses (and 10 of their 14 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 are early in a stretch where they will play 10 out of 14 at home.  By the time the Isles host Washington on December 27th, the Isles will have played 22 of their first 34 games at home.
 
The Isles are 2-0-0 at home and 0-0-0 on the road during this stretch.  The Isles do not play consecutive road games again until after Christmas.
 
The Shots
Isles                  7-13-10=30
Pittsburgh         9-13-12=34
 
The Isles are 5-3-1 when they outshoot their opponents and 1-1-0 when the shots are even but are 2-6-3 when they are outshot.
 
Home and Road
The Islanders are 8-10-4 overall; 7-4-3 at home and 1-6-1 on the road. 
Pittsburgh is 13-7-3 overall; 8-2-1 at home and 5-5-2 on the road.

By Division & Conference
The Isles are 1-3-2 in Division games and 7-7-2 in games versus other divisions (1-4-1 vs. Atlantic, 1-0-0 vs. Central and 5-3-1 vs. Pacific).   The Isles are 2-7-3 against the East and 6-3-1 against the West.
 
Last season the Isles went 18-8-4 in Division games and 27-19-6 in games against other divisions. The Isles went 19-7-2 against the Western Conference, including 12-0-2 at home.
 
In the Nets
Thomas Greiss made 31 saves to improve to 5-4-0 on the season and 3-1-0 in his career against Pittsburgh. 
Matt Murray made 25 saves but falls to 7-2-0 on the season and 2-1-0 against the Isles in his career.

Power Plays
The Islanders were 0-4 on the power play, while Pittsburgh was 0-3. 
The Isles are 1-4-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 7-6-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 3-5-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-5-0 when they do not. 

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 7-1-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-9-3 when they do not.  The Isles were 37-4-2 when they scored at least three goals (including SO winners) last season.

One Goal Games
The Isles are 4-4-3 in games decided by a single goal including 1-4-0 in regulation. They are 2-2 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 5-1-2 when they score first and are 3-9-1 when they allow the opening goal. 

Second to The One
Jack Capuano, the 2nd winningest coach in Islander history, is 218-185-60 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 463
3.      Mike Milbury 191
4.      Terry Simpson 187
5.      Scott Gordon 181
 
Most wins by Islander coaches:
1.      Al Arbour 740
2.      Jack Capuano 218
3.      Terry Simpson 81
4.      Peter Laviolette 77
5.      Ted Nolan 74

Capuano is the 75th coach in NHL history to coach at least 450 games. His 218 wins places him 66th all-time, 1 behind Herb Brooks and 3 behind Bob McCammon.

Back-to-Backs
Including tonight, the Isles are 2-2-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 1-2-0 on the back-end.  Last season, the Isles went 5-5-5 on the front-end and 9-3-3 on the back end of back-to-backs.  
The Isles will play 16 sets of back-to-backs this season; this set concludes on Thursday in Washington.
 
Tired vs. Rested
·        The Isles are 1-0-0 when both teams played the night before.
·        The Isles are 4-1-1 when they are rested and their opponents are not.
·        The Isles are 0-2-0 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.
·        The Isles are 3-7-3 when both teams are rested.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Travis Hamonic (23:48); Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (24:43)
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (2-0-0), Nick Leddy (4-7-2), John Tavares (1-0-0), Johnny Boychuk (1-3-1), Dennis Seidenberg (0-0-1)
John Tavares led the forwards with 21:36 of ice-time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (5-8-3), Josh Bailey (2-1-1), Casey Cizikas (1-0-0), Cal Clutterbuck (0-1-0)

Face-offs
Isles 41, Pittsburgh 33 (55%). 
Anthony Beauvillier won 7 of 10 for the Isles; Matt Cullen, who is nearly 21 years older than Beauvillier, won 11 of 18 for Pittsburgh.
The Isles won 14 of 21 face-offs in the first period and then won 27 of 53 the rest of the way. The Isles won 31 of 59 draws at even strength, 5 of 8 on the power play and 5 of 7 on the penalty kill.

Hit Count
Isles 18, Pittsburgh 21.  Cal Clutterbuck led the Isles with 3 hits; Brian Dumoulin and Kris Letang had four to lead Pittsburgh.

Fights
There were no fights. Season total – 3: (deHaan 1, Hamonic 1, Mayfield 1).
The Isles were involved in 23 fights last season.

Blocked Shots
The Isles were credited with 16 blocked shots, including four from Calvin deHaan.

For the Corsi Crowd
All situations: Isles 64, Pittsburgh 64
5-on-5 Isles 49, Pittsburgh 55
 
5-on 5 leaders:
Isles: Jason Chimera +2; Jason Chimera 54%
Pittsburgh: Kris Letang +14
 
Ironmen
Jason Chimera – 127 (including 105 for Washington); Josh Bailey 90
 
Scratches
Jaroslav Halak, Alan Quine, Adam Pelech (injured)
 
Injured Reserve: Dennis Seidenberg
Total games lost: 41
 
Missing a Piece (or two)
Since the start of the 2014-15 season, the Isles are 18-18-4 in games in which they are missing Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic or Nick Leddy, including 2-1-1 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 579
20. Claude Lapointe 535 *** 21. Tomas Jonsson and John Tavares 532

Goals
1.      Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310
7. Bob Bourne 238 *** 8. Bob Nystrom 235 **** 9. John Tavares 213

Assists
1.      Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553
10. Derek King 288 *** 11. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 12. Bob Nystrom 278 *** 13. John Tavares 275
21. Duane Sutter & Alexi Yashin 171 *** 23. Jean Potvin and Josh Bailey 167

Points
1.      Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052
9. Bobby Nystrom 513 *** 10. Derek King 499 *** 11. Pat Flatley and John Tavares 488
21. Duane Sutter 292 *** 22. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 23. Ed Westfall 286 *** 24 Josh Bailey 263

Season Series Stats
Pittsburgh leads the season series two games to one (and four points to three).  The season series will conclude in Pittsburgh on March 24th.
It's the Isles' first win against the Penguins in five tries, ending an 0-2-2 stretch.
After being held scoreless for 40 minutes, the Penguins scored three times in the third period.  It's the 172nd consecutive regular season game that Pittsburgh has scored at least once against the Isles; the last Isles shutout was on January 9, 1986 (9-0 for Kelly Hrudey).

On The Farm
The Sound Tigers are 13-6-0-0 after a come-from-behind 5-4 shootout win on Tuesday against Albany on Tuesday.  Devon Toews assisted on all four Sound Tiger goals to give him a team-leading 12 assists; Josh Winquist's goal midway through the third period forced the extra session. Eamon McAdam made 24 saves for the victory.
 
Bracken Kearns continues to lead the Sound Tigers in scoring (6-11-17), while Steve Bernier leads the team in goals with eight goals.  Toews is tied for the AHL rookie assist lead with those 12 helpers.
 
Christopher Gibson, who hasn't played since an injury November 5th, remains the team leader in victories (6-0-0) while McAdam is now 5-0-0.
 
Bridgeport has a three-game in three-day weekend upcoming, as they visit Springfield on Friday before hosting Binghamton on Saturday night and Lehigh Valley at 3pm on Sunday.
 
Up Next
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1st–ISLANDERS AT WASHINGTON-  7:00PM
[MSG+ (Isles pre-game at 6:30), WFAN 660/101.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]
 
After defeating the Stanley Cup Champs at home, the Islanders head to DC for the second time this season as they visit the President Trophy's Champs for the second time this season.
 
Daniel Winnik had both Capital goals as Washington edged the Isles 2-1 back on October 15th.
 
This is the first of three meetings in December between the teams as the Caps will be in Brooklyn on both December 13th and December 27th.  Washington is the only team to come to Barclay's Center three times; the teams will meet for the final time this regular season on January 31st.
 
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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