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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...

Friday, December 27, 2019

The Skinny: Chicago 5, Isles 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 36
Chicago 5, Isles 2
It started out as Thomas Greiss versus Robin Lehner, but it didn't stay that way for long as Greiss allowed three goals in a 4:22 span of the first period and the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Isles 5-2 before a sellout crowd of 21,747 at United Center.

An early tally from Ross Johnston and a late shorthanded goal from Casey Cizikas were all the Isles could score against their former teammate.

The Isles have lost three straight (0-2-1) and are 1-3-1 in their last five games.
 
The Scoring: 
1st Period
Ross Johnston (3) Josh Bailey, Nick Leddy 05:50 NYI 1,CHI 0
Dennis Gilbert (1) Dylan Strome, Duncan Keith 07:34 NYI 1,CHI 1
Dominik Kubalik (11) Patrick Kane 09:46 NYI 1,CHI 2
Alex DeBrincat (9) Dylan Strome, Duncan Keith 11:56 NYI 1,CHI 3

2nd Period
No Goals

3rd Period
Jonathan Toews (9) 00:50 NYI 1,CHI 4
Matthew Highmore (1) David Kampf 03:03 NYI 1,CHI 5
Casey Cizikas (6) Tom Kuhnhackl, Adam Pelech 16:32 NYI 2, CHI 5 SHG

The Skinny     
Matthew Barzal, Jordan Eberle and Anders Lee all saw their three-game point streaks end. …The Isles did kill all four Chicago power plays; they had allowed a power play goal in each of the five prior games (longest streak under Barry Trotz) …Dennis Gilbert scored his first NHL goal; he is the first player to do so against the Isles this season. …Thomas Greiss is 1-5-0 in December as the Isles fall to 6-5-1 in the month; the Isles have had a winning record in every month under Barry Trotz.… Matt Martin was penalized for the first time this season, earning a roughing penalty and misconduct late in the game.  Martin now has 918 career penalty minutes…Casey Cizikas now is 3-2-5 while shorthanded; it's the first time in his career he has scored three shorthanded goals.  Casey is tied with Vegas' William Karlsson and the Rangers' Mika Zibanejad for the NHL lead in shorthanded points.…The Isles had 40 shots on goal; it's the second-highest total of the season (42 vs. Pittsburgh on 11-21)..The Isles had 50 hits (2nd-highest total for the Isles and 5th-highest in NHL this season)…Mathew Barzal played his 200th consecutive game; he is the 15th player in Islander history to play at least 200 straight game…Johnny Boychuk played against his nephew John Quenneville for the 2nd time (3-31-2017 vs. New Jersey)…It was the first time since December 19, 2016 (John Gibson/Frederic Andersen) that the reigning Jennings Trophy champions faced each other…The Isles allowed three first period goals for the first time since November 21, 2018 at MSG and only the third time under Barry Trotz…Patrick Kane's assist was his NHL-leading 798th point in the 2010's; he'll need two points in the next two games to reach 800...The Blackhawks have sold out 518 consecutive home games.

3,700 Club
This was the 3,700th regular season game in Islander history. The Isles have completed the most-successful 100-game set since the Cup Era, going 61-31-8 in games 3,601-3,700 to raise their all-time record to 1644-1557-499.

The Isles went 63-18-19 in games 401-500 and 68-18-14 in games 701-800; those are the only other times that the Isles won more games in a 100-game set (that ended in a multiple of 100).

Casey's Corner
Casey Cizikas has five shorthanded points this season (3-2-5).  He is the first Islander since 2010-11 [Frans Nielsen (7-1-8) and Michael Grabner (6-1-7)] to record at least five shorthanded points.

Casey now has 16 career shorthanded points (9-7-16).  Both his goal and point totals are good for a tied-12th in Isles history.

It's Good to be Home(s)
The Isles are 9-4-1 on Coliseum ice.  The Isles will play 28 of their 41 home games this season at the Coliseum.   The Isles are 4-0-1 at Barclays Center this season and have not lost in Brooklyn (regular season) since January 12th (9-0-1); their next Brooklyn game is on January 11, 2020 vs. Boston.

Coach Trotz
Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 833-605-60-144 in 1,642 games.

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville  907 
3. Ken Hitchcock    849
4. Barry Trotz    833
5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,671
3. Barry Trotz        1,642
4. Al Arbour 1,607

First Things First
The Isles are 13-4-2 when scoring first and are 10-6-1 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots
Isles       14-16-10=40
Chicago 13-8-9=30

The Isles are 6-4-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 17-5-1 when they are outshot.

Home and Road
The Islanders are 23-10-3 overall; 13-4-2 at home (9-4-1 on Long Island and 4-0-1 in Brooklyn) and 10-6-1 on the road.  
Chicago is 16-17-6 overall; 9-9-3 at home and 7-8-3 on the road.  

By Division & Conference
The Isles are 6-3-1 in Division games and 17-7-2 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 18-4-1 against the East and 5-6-2 against the West.  

In the Nets
Thomas Greiss made 8 saves before being replaced after the Hawks' third period. He falls to 11-7-0 on the season and 0-2-2 in his career against Chicago.  Semyon Varlamov stopped 17 of 19 in relief.
 
Robin Lehner made 38 saves to improve to 10-6-4 on the season and 5-3-3 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays
The Isles were 0-2 on the power play in 4:00 of power play time; Chicago was 0-4 on the power play in 8:00 of PP time.

The Isles are 10-2-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 13-8-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 9-6-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 14-4-2 when they do not.

The Isles are 4-2-1 when they have more power plays than the opposition, 3-2-0 when the power plays are even, and 16-6-2 when the opposition has more power plays.

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 20-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-9-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 58-3-4 when scoring three or more, with two of the three regulation losses coming against Nashville.

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 12-2-3 in games decided by a single goal including 3-2 in regulation. They are 6-2 in games decided in overtime and are 3-1 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.

Tired vs. Rested 
The Isles are 2-0-0 when both teams played the night before. 
The Isles are 5-1-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 
The Isles are 1-1-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.
The Isles are 15-8-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Ryan Pulock (21:09); Chicago: Duncan Keith (23:40)
Anders Lee led Isles forwards with 19:55 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (8-2-0), Ryan Pulock (9-3-3), Devon Toews (3-2-0), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Nick Leddy (0-2-0), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Mathew Barzal (1-0-0).

Face-offs
Isles 29, Chicago 29 (50%)  
Derek Brassard won 9 of 13 for the Isles; David Kampf won 10 of 14 for Chicago.

Hit Count
Isles 50 (Matt Martin -9)
Chicago 28 (Olli Maatta -6)
   
Fights
There were no fights.  Season total: 7 – Johnston-3 (vs. FLA, vs PHL, vs TB), Cizikas-2 (vs. OTT, vs SJ), Mayfield (vs ANA), Lee (vs FLA).
 
Blocked Shots
Isles 18 (Two with 3)
Chicago 14 (Two with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 58, Chicago 57
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 47, Chicago 50

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Nick Leddy +9
Chicago: Connor Murphy +7

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 13, Chicago 5
5-on-5: Isles 9, Chicago 4

Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 3-1-0 in the front-half and 3-1-0 in the back-half. The next back-to-back will be January 6th vs Colorado and January 7th  in New Jersey. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 14-2-1 in back-ends.

Night and Day
The Isles are 20-10-2 in night games and 3-0-1 in matinees. The next matinee will be December 31st in Washington.

200 Game Club
The Isles have three players who have consecutive game streaks of at least 200 games.  It's the first time since November 25, 1978 that the Isles have had three players with streaks of at least 200 games.

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 236, Brock Nelson 213, Mathew Barzal 200, Ryan Pulock 163, Josh Bailey 121, Anthony Beauvillier 111, and Devon Toews 84. 

Iron D
Ryan Pulock is only the 5th defenseman in Islander history to play at least 163 consecutive regular season games:
1. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979 262
2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220 (*) (**)
3. Gerry Hart 3/1/1975-11/22/1977 198
4. Andrew MacDonald 12/19/2011- 3/2/2014 164 (**)
5. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 163
 (*) Start of NHL career.
(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches
Leo Komarov, Noah Dobson, (Cal Clutterbuck-INJ).
Total games lost: 90.

Late Heroes 
The Isles have scored twice in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or take the lead:
10/14 vs. STL – Mathew Barzal scored at 19:33 and the Isles won in OT.
11/19 @ PIT – Ryan Pulock scored at 18:38 and the Isles won in OT.

Late Goals Allowed
The Isles have allowed one goal in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or win a game:
11/21 vs. PIT – Patric Hornqvist scored at 19:30, but the Isles won in OT.
12/14 vs. BUF -Jack Eichel scored at 18:14, but the Isles won in OT. 

Challenges
Isles: 2 successful, 1 failure (offside-11/19 vs. PIT), (offside-12/9 vs. TBL), (no goalie Interference 12/21 vs, ANA)
Opponents: 1 successful, 2 failures (Nelson-kick 10/8 vs. EDM), (Lee- no high stick 11/1 vs. TB), Cizikas- no goalie interference 11/23 vs. SJ)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Clark Gillies 872 *** 
5.  Josh Bailey 833…
22. Tomas Jonsson 522 *** 23.*** Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 24. Kyle Okposo and Matt Martin 529 *** 26. Casey Cizikas 517 *** 27. Brock Nelson 516

Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
13. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 14. Anders Lee 163 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 148 *** 17. Pierre Turgeon 147 ***18. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 19. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 20. Brock Nelson 137

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553…
9. Stefan Persson 317 *** 10. Josh Bailey 308 …
25. Jeff Norton 166 *** 26. Ziggy Palffy and Nick Leddy 163

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052…
12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 456…
24. Ed Westfall 286 *** 25. Anders Lee 279 *** 26. Brock Nelson 269

Games Played (Goalies)
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 *** 4. Kelly Hrudey 241 ***
5. Tommy Salo 187 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 181

Wins (Goalie)
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130*** 4. Kelly Hrudey 108***
5.   Thomas Greiss 96

Shutouts (Goalie)
1. Glenn Resch 25 ***2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 16 *** 4. Tommy Salo 14***
5. Jaroslav Halak 12 *** 6.  Thomas Greiss 10

Games Coached 
1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 …
9. Steve Stirling 124 *** 10. Doug Weight 122 *** 11. Barry Trotz 118
 
Coaching Wins
1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Terry Simpson 81 *** 4. Peter Laviolette 77 ***
5. Ted Nolan 74 *** 6. Barry Trotz 71

Season Series Stats
Chicago leads the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will meet again at the Coliseum on April 2nd in the penultimate game of the regular season.

The Isles are 1-5-3 in their last nine trips to Chicago, including three shootout losses.

On the Farm   
Bridgeport beat Hartford 5-10 on Friday to improve to 13-16-3-1 on the season.  Andrew Ladd scored twice for the Sound Tigers while Kieffer Bellows added another goal, his 10th of the season.  Otto Koivula added three assists.

The Sound Tigers are 9-5-0-0 in their last 14 games and have climbed out of last place and back within six points of a playoff spot.  Bridgeport hosts Springfield on Saturday before wrapping up 2019 with a 5:00 game at Hartford on New Year's Eve.

Up Next
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29th    —  ISLANDERS AT MINNESOTA –6:00 PM
[MSG+ (pre-game at 5:30), 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 1050] 
The road trip continues in Minnesota as the teams meet for the first time this season.

The Isles swept the season series last year, winning a pair of one-goal games.  Brock Nelson's overtime goal gave the Isles a St. Patrick's Day win in St. Paul last season.

The Isles have split their last four games in Minnesota and are 5-3-0 in the last eight games against the Wild.
 
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 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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