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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 29, 2016

The Skinny: Minnesota 6, Isles 4

"The Skinny"

 By Eric Hornick
 
Game 35
Minnesota 6, Isles 4
Nino Niederreiter's shot deflected in off of Erik Haul's leg for the winning goal midway through the third period for the winning goal as the Minnesota Wild extended their franchise-record winning streak to 12 games with a 6-4 victory over the Islanders before a sellout crowd of 19,252 at Xcel Energy Center.
 
Brock Nelson scored twice early in the third period to erase a two-goal deficit but the Isles saw their winning streak end at three games.

The Scoring:                                                                           
1ST PERIOD
12:34    Minnesota         Marco Scandella (2) ASST: Mikael Granlund (18), Christian Folin (3)            0-1
14:05    New York         Jason Chimera (5) ASST: Andrew Ladd (4), Thomas Hickey (7)  1-1
 
2ND PERIOD
06:15    New York         PPG - Nick Leddy (5) ASST: John Tavares (15), Josh Bailey (17) 2-1
14:20    Minnesota         Chris Stewart (7) ASST: Jason Pominville (9), Ryan Suter (15)    2-2
14:55    Minnesota         Jared Spurgeon (4) ASST: Mikko Koivu (13), Ryan Suter (16)      2-3
15:40    Minnesota         Jordan Schroeder (2) ASST: Jonas Brodin (11), Zach Parise (9)  2-4
 
3RD PERIOD
00:55    New York         Brock Nelson (8) ASST: Shane Prince (8), Johnny Boychuk (8)   3-4
01:37    New York         Brock Nelson (9) ASST: Calvin de Haan (7), Dennis Seidenberg (9)            4-4
10:30    Minnesota         Erik Haula (6) ASST: Nino Niederreiter (14), Charlie Coyle (18)   4-5
18:19    Minnesota         EN - Mikael Granlund (9) ASST: Eric Staal (19), Mikko Koivu (14)            4-6

The Skinny:
The Isles allowed the first goal for only the 3rd time in the last 16 games … Andrew Ladd extended his point streak to three games with a first period assist…The three Wild goals in 80 seconds of the second period that chased Jaro Halak set a Wild record for fastest three goals… The Isles have scored at least four goals in four consecutive games for the first time since October 12-20, Chris Stewart scored the first one; it was his 5th career goal vs. the Isles… The Isles have scored 49 goals in the last 15 games (3.27 per game) after scoring only 48 goals in the first 20 games (2.40 per game) ...Three of the four Islander goals were scored by Minnesota natives (Leddy -1, Nelson -2) … Devyn Dubnyk allowed at least three goals for the first time this month and allowed four goals for the first time this season…The Isles are 0-9-1 when trailing after two periods… The Isles fall to 6-5-2 in December and 8-5-2 in their last 15 games… Every Islander defenseman but Travis Hamonic had a point in the game; Nick Leddy's goal was the 22nd by an Isles defenseman this season, including five by Leddy (who now leads the team in that category). Brock Nelson recorded his 4th multiple-goal game of his career…Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund were both +3 for Minnesota while Nick Leddy and the entire Tavares line all went -3…Isles had won six straight games on December 29th before tonight's loss…Brock Nelson is the 2nd Isle to score twice in a period this season; Anders Lee's hot streak began with two third period goals in Los Angeles on November 23rd.
 
Streaking Wild
The Wild have won a franchise-record 12 straight games.
·        CURRENT  12
·        March 8-24, 2007      9
·        Dec. 2-20, 2016        8
·        March 14-27, 2013    7
·        Nov. 28-Dec. 10, 2011 7
 
Milestone Man
John Tavares recorded his 279th career assist, breaking a tie with Bob Nystrom and matching Pat LaFontaine's total (tied-11th in Isles history)
 
Countdown to 500
John Tavares recorded an assist. He needs only four 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 ten of their 15 regulation losses (and 16 of their 21 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)
 
Road Warriors
This was the first game of a stretch in which the Isles will play seven out of eight games on the road.  The only home game during this stretch is on January 11th vs. the Panthers. 
 
The Shots
Isles             6-11-11=28
Minnesota  11-14-11=36
The Isles are 7-3-2 when they outshoot their opponents and 1-2-0 when the shots are even but are 6-10-4 when they are outshot.
 
Home and Road
The Islanders are 14-15-6 overall; 11-7-4 at home and 3-8-2 on the road. 
Minnesota is 23-8-4 overall; 13-3-0 at home and 10-5-4 on the road.  
 
By Division & Conference
The Isles are 4-5-2 in Division games and 10-10-4 in games versus other divisions (3-5-3 vs. Atlantic, 2-2-0 vs. Central and 5-3-1 vs. Pacific).   The Isles are 7-10-5 against the East and 7-5-1 against the West.

In the Nets
Jaroslav Halak made 20 saves before departing after the 4th Wild goal.  JF Berube replaced Halak and made 10 saves; Nelson's two goals made Berube the losing goalie (0-2-1 on season and 1-1-0 vs Minnesota in his career).
Devyn Dubnyk made 24 saves as he improves to 19-6-3 on the season and 3-4-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays
The Islanders were 1-3 on the power play while Minnesota was 0-1. 
The Isles are 5-5-4 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 11-6-2 when they do not.    

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles are 13-3-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-12-4 when they do not. 
The Isles are 8-2-0 when they score at least four goals.

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 1-1 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 4-11-2 when they allow the opening goal. 

Second to The One
Jack Capuano, the 2nd winningest coach in Islander history, is 224-190-62 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 476
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, four behind both Don Cherry and Bob Johnson. His 224 wins places him 64th all-time, and five behind Robbie Ftorek and 10 behind Bob Johnson.

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 7-10-3 when both teams are rested.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Nick Leddy (23:48); Minnesota: Ryan Suter (26:16)
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (5-0-0), Nick Leddy (6-11-4), John Tavares (2-1-0), Johnny Boychuk (1-3-1), Dennis Seidenberg (0-0-1)
Josh Bailey led the Isles forwards with 19:55 of ice-time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (8-9-4), Josh Bailey (4-4-2), Casey Cizikas (1-0-0), Cal Clutterbuck (0-1-0), Brock Nelson (1-1-0)

Face-offs
Isles 29, Minnesota 30 (49%). 
Alan Quine won 8 of 10 for the Isles; Erik Haula won 7 of 11 for Minnesota.
The Isles won 25 of 44 draws over the last two periods after winning only 4 of 15 draws in the first period.
The Isles won 24 of 52 draws at even strength, 3 of 4 on the power play and 2 of 3 on the penalty kill.  

Hit Count
Isles 38, Minnesota 25.  Cal Clutterbuck led the Isles with six hits; No Wild player had more than three.

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

Blocked Shots
The Isles were credited with 18 blocked shots, including four from Travis Hamonic.

For the Corsi Crowd
All situations: Isles 58, Minnesota 67
5-on-5 Isles 43, Minnesota 57
 
The Isles had 10 of the final 11 attempts of the game, with Minnesota's only attempt going into an empty net.
 
5-on 5 leaders:
Isles: Calvin deHaan +5; Calvin deHaan 58%
Minnesota: Jared Spurgeon/Mikael Granlund +11

Ironmen
Jason Chimera – 141 (including 106 for the Capitals); Josh Bailey 102
 
Scratches
Thomas Greiss, Casey Cizikas (injury), Stephen Gionta
 
Injured Reserve: Adam Pelech
Total games lost: 61
 
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 592 *** 17. Ken Morrow 550 *** 18. Duane Sutter 547 *** 19. John Tavares 545

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 and John Tavares 279
19. Ed Westfall 181 *** 20. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 21. Josh Bailey 174

Points
1.      Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052
9. Bobby Nystrom 513 *** 10. Derek King 499 *** 11. John Tavares 496
21. Duane Sutter 292 *** 22. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 23. Ed Westfall 286 *** 24 Josh Bailey 272

Season Series Stats
The teams split the season series one game to one (and two points to two). 
Since 2011 the Isles are 7-3-1 in their last 11 games against the Wild, including 3-2-0 in their last five trips to St. Paul.

On The Farm
Joshua Ho-Sang scored a goal and then assisted on the overtime winner as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers beat Springfield 5-4 in overtime.  The Sound Tigers, who are 17-12-0-0 on the season, also got goals from Jon Landry, Ryan Pulock, and Bracken Kearns before Travis St. Denis connected with Ho-Sang for the overtime winner.
 
Kearns continues to lead the Sound Tigers in scoring (9-14-23); he is tied with Steve Bernier for the team lead 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 begin a 5-game road trip on Friday in Hershey.

Up Next
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31st - ISLANDERS AT WINNIPEG -  7:00PM
[MSG+ (Isles pre-game at 6:30), WFAN 660/101.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]
 
It's out with the old as the Isles close 2016 with a game in Winnipeg. 
The Isles are 6-0-1 in seven trips to Winnipeg since the Thrashers moved to Manitoba for the 2011-12 season.  However, 5 of those seven games have been decided in either overtime or a shootout.
Overall, the Isles are 7-0-2 in their last 9 road games against the Thrashers/Jets and are 9-2-1 in their last dozen games against the Jets.
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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