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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 ...

Sunday, February 12, 2017

The Skinny: Isles 5, Colorado 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick
 
Game 54
Isles 5, Colorado 1
Ryan Strome broke a 1-1 tie with a 5-on-3 goal late in the second period and Anders Lee scored twice in the third period as the Islanders extended their home point streak to 9 games (7-0-2) with a 5-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche before a crowd of 14,107 at Barclays Center.
 
Nick Leddy had a goal and two assists for the Isles, surpassing the 200 career point mark, while both Leddy and his defense partner Johnny Boychuk were on-ice for all five Islander goals.
 
Joe Colborne had given Colorado a 1-0 lead in the first period with his first goal since recording a hat trick on Opening Night. Jason Chimera had the other Islander goal while John Tavares was credited with two assists.
 
The Islanders improve to 8-2-2 under Interim Coach Doug Weight.  Colorado falls to 6-27-2 since opening the season 9-9-0.
 
With the win the Isles climb within one point of Toronto and Philadelphia for the 2nd wild card spot.  The Isles and Leafs have each played three fewer games than Philadelphia.
 
The Scoring:
1ST PERIOD
08:12    Colorado           Joe Colborne (4) ASST: Andreas Martinsen (3), Fedor Tyutin (9) 0-1
12:01    New York         Nick Leddy (9) ASST: Stephen Gionta (2), Casey Cizikas (16)     1-1
 
2ND PERIOD
14:46    New York         PPG - Ryan Strome (9) ASST: John Tavares (25), Nick Leddy (21)            2-1
 
3RD PERIOD
01:21    New York         Anders Lee (20) ASST: John Tavares (26), Johnny Boychuk (12) 3-1
11:22    New York         PPG - Anders Lee (21) ASST: Johnny Boychuk (13), Nick Leddy (22)            4-1
13:48    New York         Jason Chimera (13) ASST: Brock Nelson (18)     5-1

The Skinny:
The Isles have allowed the first goal in three straight games, but have rallied to win two of them… Anders Lee retook the team lead in goals, passing John Tavares… Lee is 4-5-9 in the last six games; it's the second time in his career he has reached 20 goals…Since opening the season 6-10-4, Isles are 19-9-6 in their last 34 games… The Isles improve to 21-2-3 at home against Western Conference teams at Barclays Center, including 9-2-1 this season…Nick Leddy tied a career-high with three points and improved to 4-11-15 (+9) in the last 16 games…Jason Chimera scored for the 8th time in the last 15 games (Only John Tavares-9 has more goals during that span…  The Isles ended 4-game point streaks for both Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon…Colorado has been outscored 67-32 in the third period.
 
First Time in a Long Time
The Isles have earned points in their last nine home games (7-0-2).  It's the first time that they have earned points in nine straight home games since 2013, when they went 7-0-3 in a 10-game stretch, but over two seasons.
 
The last time that the Isles had a point streak of nine home games in a single season was in 2003-04, when they earned points in nine straight games (1/17-2/24/04 – 6-0-3).
 
Only once in the Post-Cup era have the Isles earned points in 10 straight home games in a single season. That happened in the 1989-90 season, when the Isles went 9-0-1 between December 16, 1989 and January 28, 1990.
 
The Injury
Shane Prince left the game following an altercation midway through the third period and did not return.
 
Cracking the Top 10
John Tavares recorded two assists, breaking a tie with Derek King for 10th place on the all-time Isles list.
 
30 Point Club
Nick Leddy now has 31 points (9-22-31), giving him at least 30 points in each of his three seasons with the Isles.  He is the first Islander defensemen with 3 seasons of at least 30 points since Mark Streit (2008-09, 2009-10, 2011-12), and the first to do so in three consecutive seasons since Adrian Aucoin (2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04).
 
Most Goals Since November 23rd
1.      Max Pacioretty 24
2.      Anders Lee/Cam Atkinson/Jeff Carter 20
 
Best Records since December 20th
1.      Washington 20-3-3  (.827)
2.      Minnesota 19-4-2     (.800)
3.      Isles 14-5-4             (.696)
 
Best Penalty Kill Since December 20th
1.      ISLES 88.5%
2.      Anaheim 86.9%
3.      Minnesota 85.7%
 
Best Power Play Since January 21st
1.      Capitals 35.5%
2.      Bruins 32.4%
3.      Devils 30.8%
4.      Canucks 30.4%
5.      ISLES 30.3%
 
 

Playoff Chase:
 
Metropolitan
GP
PTS
1.   Washington
56
84
 
2.   Columbus
54
75
 
3.   Pittsburgh
54
75
 
 
 
Atlantic
GP
PTS
 
1.      Montréal
58
70
 
2.      Ottawa
53
64
 
3.      Boston
58
64
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wild Card
GP
PTS
 
1.      NY Rangers
55
73
 
2.      Toronto
54
61
 
3.      Philadelphia
56
61
 
4.      NY Islanders
54
60
 
5.      Florida
54
58
 
6.      Tampa Bay
56
57
 
7.      New Jersey
55
56
 
8.      Buffalo
56
56
 
9.      Carolina
54
55
 
10.   Detroit
56
54

 Last 23
The Isles are now 14-5-4 in their last 23 games (since December 20th vs. Boston).  In those games, the PP is 15-72(20.8%) and the penalty kill is 6-52 (88.5%).   The Isles have had 20 more power plays than their opponents over that span, which is the best differential in the NHL; the 52 times short is the fewest in the NHL over that span.

#1 is #1 (aka The Greiss is Right)
Thomas Greiss has started 16 of the last 19 games (9-4-3) and 18 of the last 24 games (11-4-3).  In the last 16 games that he started he has allowed only 38 goals, with 17 of those coming in just three games.  He has allowed two goals or less in 13 of his last 18 games.
 
50-50 to Begin February
The Isles are beginning February with a 10 game stretch that features five home games and five road games, all in a span of 17 days. The Isles are 3-2-1 in this stretch (2-0-1 at home and 1-2-0 on the road).
 
2/3 at Red Wings (Lost 4-5)
2/4 vs. Hurricanes (Lost 4-5 OT)
2/6 vs. Maple Leafs (Won 6-5 OT)
2/9 at Flyers (Won 3-1)
2/11 at Senators (Lost 3-0)
2/12 vs. Avalanche (Won 5-1)
2/14 at Maple Leafs
2/16 vs. Rangers
2/18 at Devils
2/19 vs. Devils
 
The Isles play 22 of their final 34 on the road and do not have a homestand longer than two games. Following this 10-game stretch the Isles will play nine straight road games for the first time in franchise history.
 
The Shots
Isles       13-9-11=33
Colorado  11-8-8=27
 
The Isles are 13-6-4 when they outshoot their opponents and 2-2-0 when the shots are even but are 10-12-5 when they are outshot.
 
Home and Road
The Islanders are 25-19-10 overall; 18-8-6 at home and 7-11-4 on the road. 
Colorado is 15-36-2 overall; 7-19-1 at home and 8-17-1 on the road.  
 
By Division & Conference
The Isles are 7-6-4 in Division games and 18-13-6 in games versus other divisions (7-8-3 vs. Atlantic, 5-2-1 vs. Central and 6-3-2 vs. Pacific).   The Isles are 14-14-7 against the East and 11-5-3 against the West.
 
In the Nets
Jean-Francois Berube made 26 saves and improves to 2-2-2 on the season and 1-0-0 in his career against Colorado.
Calvin Pickard made 28 saves but falls to 9-17-1 on the season and 1-1-0 in his career against the Isles. 
 
Power Plays
The Isles went 2-5 on the power play, while Colorado was 0-3.
The Isles are 11-6-6 when they score at least one power play goal and 14-13-4 when they do not.  The Isles are 8-9-5 when they allow at least one power play goal and 17-10-5 when they do not.    
 
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 24-5-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-14-7 when they do not. 
 
One Goal Games
The Isles are 8-7-10 in games decided by a single goal including 4-7-0 in regulation. They are 3-7 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 in shootouts.  The Isles are 3-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game (including one game that they allowed a goal after scoring an empty-netter).
 
First Goal
The Isles are 18-6-6 when they score first and are 7-13-4 when they allow the opening goal.
 
Back-to-Backs
Including today, the Isles are 4-5-1 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 3-3-4 on the back-end.  Today's win ended an 0-1-4 stretch in the back-ends.
The Isles will play 16 sets of back-to-backs this season. The next back-to-back set is a home-and-home series with New Jersey on Saturday and Sunday.
 
Tired vs. Rested
·        The Isles are 2-1-3 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 17-13-4 when both teams are rested.
 
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Johnny Boychuk (22:23); Colorado: Francois Beachemin (24:40)
 
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (5-0-0), Nick Leddy (11-14-8), John Tavares (2-1-0), Johnny Boychuk (5-4-1), Dennis Seidenberg (1-0-1), Calvin de Haan (1-0-0)
 
John Tavares led the Isles forwards with 18:42 of ice-time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (18-11-8), Josh Bailey (4-5-2), Casey Cizikas (1-0-0), Cal Clutterbuck (0-1-0), Brock Nelson (1-2-0), Shane Prince (1-0-0).
 
Face-offs
Isles 30, Colorado 38 (44%). 
 
Casey Cizikas won 10 of 17 for the Islanders; but his teammates won only 20 of 51. John Mitchell won 11 of 16 for Colorado.
 
Face-offs by period: 1st period- 12/25; 2nd period 6/16; 3rd period 12/27.
 
Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 21/53; Power play 7/12; Penalty kill 2/3.
 
Hit Count
Isles 13, Colorado 10.  Thomas Hickey led the Isles with three hits; Blake Comeau and Nikita Zadorov had two for Colorado.
 
Fights
There were no fights.  Season total – 9: (Boychuk 1, deHaan 1, Hamonic 3, Mayfield 1, Hickey 1, Strome 1, Chimera 1).
 
Blocked Shots
The Isles were credited with 9 blocked shots, including three from Adam Pelech and Dennis Seidenberg.
 
For the Corsi Crowd
All situations: Isles 48, Colorado 51
5-on-5 Isles 35, Colorado 44
 
5-on 5 leaders:
Isles: 4 players were +3, Andrew Ladd 58%
Colorado: Mark Barbiero and Matt Nieto +8
 
Ironmen
Jason Chimera – 160 (including 106 for the Capitals); Josh Bailey 121
 
Scratches
Scott Mayfield, Alan Quine, Cal Clutterbuck (injured)
 
Injured Reserve: Travis Hamonic
Total games lost: 100
 
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
 
Games Played (skaters)
1.      Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900
….
10. Billy Harris 623 *** 11. Stefan Persson 622 *** 12. Josh Bailey 611
15 Garry Howatt 596 *** 16. John Tonelli 594 *** 17. John Tavares 564
 
Goals
1.      Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310
7. Bob Bourne 238 *** 8. Bob Nystrom 235 **** 9. John Tavares 227
25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Ed Westfall and Benoit Hogue 105 *** 28. Josh Bailey 104
 
Assists
1.      Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553
8. Stefan Persson 317 *** 9. Bob Bourne 304 *** 10. John Tavares 290
16. Frans Nielson and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 18. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 19. Josh Bailey 183
 
Points
1.      Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052
6. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 7. John Tonelli 544 *** 8. Bob Bourne 542 *** 9.  John Tavares 517
20. Mariusz Czerkawski 295 *** 21. Duane Sutter 292 *** 22. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 23. Josh Bailey 287

Late Heroes
The Isles have scored three times in the final two minutes 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
·        2/6 – Tor Maple Leafs – Andrew Ladd (18:31); Isles won in overtime
 
Fit to Be Tied
The Isles have allowed the final goal of regulation in 10 of their 14 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 12 of their 19 regulation losses (and 22 of their 29 overall losses) but have allowed the lead goal in the final 3 minutes of regulation seven times (including one game they rallied to win):
 
·        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)
·        2/3 – Det Red Wings – Danny DeKeyser (19:32)
·        2/6 – Tor Maple Leafs – Michael Nylander (17:59) (Isles won game in OT)

Season Series Stats
The teams split the season series one game to one (the Isles earned three points to Colorado's two). 
 
The Isles are 9-1-0, with all 9 wins in regulation, against Colorado since October 10, 1999.
 
On The Farm
The Sound Tigers completed a sweep of a 3-game-in-3-day weekend, defeating Providence 5-4 in a shootout on Saturday and Hershey 5-4 in regulation on Sunday.  Bridgeport improves to 30-16-1-1 with the wins; Jaroslav Halak set a club record by extending his winning streak to 10 straight games.
 
On Saturday, Michael dal Colle scored the first goal and the only goal in the shootout while Tanner Fritz added three assists.  On Sunday, Carter Verhaege scored twice and Ryan Pulock added three assists.
 
Bracken Kearns leads the Sound Tigers in goals (17) and points (17-22-39).  Rookie Devon Toews leads the team with 24 assists.  Pulock leads the defense with 10 goals (10-12-22 in only 27 games) and tied for the AHL defense lead with 4 game-winning goals (all in the last 2 ½ weeks).  Halak leads the team in wins (11-1-2).
 
The Sound Tigers begin another 3-in-3 weekend on Friday in Rochester, before traveling to Albany on Saturday.  Bridgeport returns home to host Hershey on Sunday at 3pm.
 
Up Next
TUEDAY, FEBRUARY 14th –ISLANDERS AT TORONTO – 7:30PM
[MSG+ (Isles Game Night begins at 7:00), WNYM 970AM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]
 
The Isles will look to move into a playoff spot as they meet the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final time this season.
 
The Isles have outscored the Leafs 11-6 in winning both Barclays Center matchups, the latter in overtime and are 3-0-1 in their last 4 games against Toronto.  The Isles have scored 20 goals in those four games, representing their most goals in a 4-game stretch against the Leafs since January 1986-January 1987.
 
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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