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The Skinny: Utah 5, Isles 4 (OT)

"The Skinny" By Eric Hornick Game 1 Utah 5, Isles 4 (OT)    Dylan Guenther became the first player in 107 years to record consecu...

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

The Skinny: Isles 5, Philadelphia 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 55
Isles 5, Philadelphia 3
Ryan Pulock scored the winning goal with 38.9 seconds to play as the Islanders overcame a Flyer rally to earn a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers before a crowd of 12,228 at Barclays Center. 

The Isles had grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first period, but Sean Couturier capped a Flyer rally with the tying goal with 92 seconds to play.  The Isles kept playing and Mathew Barzal's third assist of the night set up Pulock for the winning tally.  Leo Komarov added a goal into the empty net with seconds to play to seal the victory.

The Isles improve to 33-16-6; their 72 points matches last year's Islander team for the 2nd-highest total of points thru 55 games in the Post-Cup era (73 in 2014-15).

The Scoring:
1st Period
Josh Bailey (12) Mathew Barzal (28) 07:45  PHI 0,NYI 1
Matt Martin (5) Leo Komarov (10), Derick Brassard (19) 11:13 PHI 0,NYI 2
Jordan Eberle (10) Mathew Barzal (29), Anders Lee (16) 15:36 PHI 0,NYI 3

2nd Period
Travis Konecny (19) James van Riemsdyk (18), Scott Laughton (7) 09:34 PHI 1,NYI 3
Robert Hagg (2) Claude Giroux (25), Scott Laughton (8) 11:56 PHI 2,NYI 3

3rd Period
Sean Couturier (16) Claude Giroux (26), Ivan Provorov (18) 18:28 PHI 3,NYI 3
Ryan Pulock (7) Mathew Barzal (30), Jordan Eberle (20) 19:19 PHI 3,NYI 4 
Leo Komarov (3)EN Josh Bailey (25) 19:56 PHI 3,NYI 5

The Skinny        
The Isles are 5-1-2 in their last eight games…Anthony Beauvillier saw his point streak end at six games. … Mathew Barzal earned three primary assists, including on the winning goal; it's the sixth time in his career he has had at least three assists and the third time he has had at least three primary assists …The Isles scored three goals in the first period for the second straight game after doing so only twice in the first 53 games…The Isles have had a three-goal period in each of the three games against the Flyers.... Mathew Barzal played in his 219th consecutive game, tying Bryan Trottier for 11th on the all-time club list…Barry Trotz recorded his 80th Islander win; he is only one win behind Terry Simpson for 3rd place on the all-time Isles win list…The Isles are a season-high 17 games over .500…Derick Brassard extended his point streak to four games with an assist on Matt Martin's goal; Leo Komarov also assisted on the goal, giving him 100 career assists…Kieffer Bellows got back in the lineup and finished with three shots on goal and six attempts…Devon Toews went +3… Scott Laughton had his first multi-assist game of the season…Leo Komarov has goals in consecutive games for the first time since January 1st-3rd, 2017 (as a Maple Leaf)…Ryan Pulock has three game-winning goals this season; six of his 28 career goals have been GWG's.  Pulock joins Denis Potvin (10x) and Tomas Jonsson (2x) as Islander defensemen with 3+ GW goals in multiple season. Potvin is the only one besides Pulock to do so in consecutive seasons…Josh Bailey's assist on the empty netter was his 318th, breaking a tie with Stefan Persson for 9th place on the all-time club list.

The Injury
Casey Cizikas suffered a lower body injury 3:23 into the game; he did not return.

First Times in a Long Time
The Isles scored the winning goal in the final minute of regulation for the first time since November 30, 2016 vs PIT (Lee)
The Isles have had three players (Bailey, Nelson, Barzal)  with at least three assists in a 2-game span for the first time since February 11- 13, 2011 (Tavares vs PIT, Okposo/Nielsen at BUF) 
The Isles beat Brian Elliott in regulation time for the first time since April 3, 2010 when Elliott was an Ottawa Senator; Josh Bailey was the only Islander to play in both games.  Elliott is now 8-2-7 in his career against the Isles.
The Isles scored three 1st period goals on consecutive days for the first time since December 28-29, 1991 (and the 5th time in club history)  [h/t @PR_NHL]

Ryan Leaves Them Crying
Ryan Pulock is only the fourth Islander this century to score a tie-breaking game-winner goal in the final minute of regulation.

The others:
Anders Lee vs. Pittsburgh (11/30/2016) 19:33
Michael Grabner vs. Winnipeg (4/5/2012) 19:13 
Mike Sillinger vs. Pittsburgh (2/19/2007) 19:33

(Two others were credited with empty-net game-winners in the final minute.)

Straight B's in Hockey 
An Islander with a surname starting with "B" has earned a point on 20 of the Isles' 23 goals this month, including all five goals tonight.

+17 / +91
The Isles are 17 games over NHL-.500 for the first time this season.  Their all-time record is 1654-1563-502; it's the first time that they are 91 games over all-time NHL-.500 since March 6, 1998, when a 4-2 win in Buffalo raised the all-time record to 920-829-288.

Last Season vs. This Season
The Isles are 33-16-6 thru 55 games this season; they were an identical 33-16-6 thru 55 games last season.  Their 72 points in 55 games is tied for the 2nd-highest in the Post-Cup era (73 points in 2014-15, 72 points last season).

It's Good to be Home(s)
The Isles will play 28 of their 41 home games this season at the Coliseum.  The Isles are 11-7-1 on Coliseum ice, but only 2-5-1 in their last 8 games in Uniondale.  The Isles are 7-0-3 at Barclays Center this season and have not lost in Brooklyn (regular season) since January 12, 2019 (12-0-3); their next Brooklyn game is on March 3rd vs. Montreal.

Road Warriors
The Isles are 15-9-2 on the road this season, including 8-4-1 in the last 13 games.

The Road Ahead
The Isles are beginning a stretch in which they will play six out of seven games (and 17 of their next 27 games) on the road. The Isles are 2-1-0 in this stretch:

2/8 - @ Lightning L 1-3
2/10 - @ Capitals W 5-3
2/11 – Vs. Flyers W 5-3
2/13 - @ Predators
2/15 - @ Golden Knights
2/17- @ Coyotes
2/19 - @ Avalanche

Coach Trotz
Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 843-611-60-147 in 1,661 games, and he is now seven wins shy of supplanting Ken Hitchcock as the 3rd-winningest coach in NHL history.

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville  920
3. Ken Hitchcock    849
4. Barry Trotz    843
5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,692
3. Barry Trotz        1,661
4. Al Arbour 1,607

First Things First
The Isles are 21-7-3 when scoring first and are 12-9-3 when allowing the opening goal.

Highest Percentage of Games Won (Post-Cup Era) Allowing First Goal
.545 (18-13-2) 2014-15
.500 (12-9-3) 2019-20
.459 (17-18-2) 2018-19
.410 (14-21-4) 1985-86

The Shots
Isles         9-9-7=25
Philadelphia  10-14-14=38

The Isles are 12-6-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 21-9-2 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 52-20-8 when outshot; the 52 wins are the most in the NHL.

Home and Road
The Islanders are 33-16-6 overall: 187-7-4 at home (11-7-1 on Long Island and 7-0-3 in Brooklyn) and 15-9-2 on the road.  
Philadelphia is 31-19-7 overall: 19-5-4 at home and 12-14-3 on the road.  

By Division & Conference
The Isles are 11-7-2 in Division games and 22-9-4 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 24-10-3 against the East and 9-6-3 against the West.  

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 35 saves to improve to 17-9-4 on the season and 7-2-1 in his career against Philadelphia.

Brian Elliott made 20 saves but falls to 14-7-4 on the season and 8-2-7 against the Isles.   

Power Plays
The Isles were 0-1 in 2:00 of power play time; Philadelphia was 0-2 in 4:00 of power play time.

The Isles are 12-5-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 21-11-5 when they do not.  The Isles are 13-9-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 20-8-4 when they do not.

The Isles are 5-4-3 when they have more power plays than the opposition, 4-6-0 when the power plays are even, and 24-6-3 when the opposition has more power plays.

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 29-2-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 4-14-3 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 65-4-5 when scoring three or more, with two of the four regulation losses coming against Nashville.

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 16-4-6 in games decided by a single goal including 5-4 in regulation. They are 8-4 in games decided in overtime and are 3-2 in shootouts.  The Isles are 5-3 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Greatest Percentage of 1-goal games won 
1981-82 -- .800
1982-83 & 1976-77 -- .667
1991-92 -- .619
2019-20 -- .615
2014-15 -- .605
2018-19 -- .594

Tired vs. Rested 
The Isles are 3-0-0 when both teams played the night before. 
The Isles are 6-1-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 
The Isles are 3-1-1 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.
The Isles are 21-14-5 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Nick Leddy (21:58); Philadelphia: Ivan Provorov (25:22)
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 20:25 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (9-2-0), Ryan Pulock (12-5-3), Devon Toews (3-5-1), Scott Mayfield (2-1-0), Nick Leddy (5-3-2), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Mathew Barzal (1-0-0).

Face-offs
Isles 22, Philadelphia 24 (48%)  
Derick Brassard won 7 of 11 for the Isles; Sean Couturier won 7 of 11 for Philadelphia.

Hit Count
Isles 17  (Matt Martin -3)
Philadelphia 23 (Three with 3)
 
Fights
There were no fights.  Season total:11 – Johnston-5 (vs. FLA, vs PHL, vs TB, vs NYR, vs WAS), Cizikas-3 (vs. OTT, vs SJ, vs. LA), Mayfield (vs ANA), Lee (vs FLA), Martin (vs NYR)
 
Blocked Shots
Isles 17  (Five with 2)
Philadelphia 13 (Travis Sandheim -3)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 47, Philadelphia 67
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 45, Philadelphia 57

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Johnny Boychuk +5
Philadelphia: Ivan Provorov +11

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 12, Philadelphia 12
5-on-5: Isles 10, Philadelphia 10

Back-to-Backs
Including tonight, the Isles are 5-3-0 in the front-half and 6-1-1 in the back-half. The next back-to-back will be March 12th in Calgary and March 13th in Edmonton. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 17-2-2 in back-ends.

Night and Day
The Isles are 29-15-4 in night games and 4-1-2 in matinees. The next matinee will be February 17th in Arizona. 

200 Game Club
The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 200 games, and they are three of just 25 players in the NHL who have played every game since the start of the 2017-18 season.  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 255, Brock Nelson 232, Mathew Barzal 219, Ryan Pulock 182, Josh Bailey 140, Anthony Beauvillier 130, and Devon Toews 103. 

Iron Man
Anders Lee now has the fifth longest consecutive game streak while Brock Nelson has also moved into the top 8:
1. Billy Harris 10/7/1972 -11/30/1979 576 (*)
2. Bobby Nystrom 1/7/1975 - 11/25/1978 301
3. Matt Moulson 10/3/2009 - 4/4/2013 284
4. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975 - 1/17/1979 262
5. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 255
6. John Tavares 10/16/2010 - 12/23/2013 246
7. J.P. Parise 1/7/1975 – 1/7/1978 240 (**)
8. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 232
9. Richard Park 10/5/2006 - 2/18/2009 221
10. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995 - 2/4/1998 220 (*) (**)
11. Bryan Trottier 3/7/1981 - 1/12/1984 219
        Mathew Barzal 10/6/17- CURRENT 219

 (*) Start of NHL career.
(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D
Ryan Pulock has the fourth-longest consecutive game streak of any defenseman in Islander history: 
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. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 182
 (*) Start of NHL career.
(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches
(Adam Pelech-INJ), (Cal Clutterbuck-INJ), Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Tom Kuhnhackl
Total games lost: 118.

Late Heroes 
The Isles have scored four times 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.
2/1 vs VAN – Brock Nelson scored at 19:34, but the Isles lost in OT.
2/11 vs PIT – Ryan Pulock scored the winning goal at 19:19.

Late Goals Allowed
The Isles have allowed four goals 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. 
1/16 vs. NYR- Chris Kreider scored the winning goal at 19:35.
2/11 vs. PHI – Sean Couturier scored at 18:28, but the Isles won in regulation.

Challenges
Isles: 4 successful, 1 failure (offside-11/19 vs. PIT), (offside-12/9 vs. TBL), (no goalie Interference 12/21 vs, ANA), (offside-1/6 vs. COL), (offside 1/21 vs NYR)
The Isles are 4-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-1 in games that they are unsuccessful.

Opponents: 4 successful, 3 failures (Nelson-kick 10/8 vs. EDM), (Lee- no high stick 11/1 vs. TB), (Cizikas- no goalie interference 11/23 vs. SJ), (Komarov-goalie interference 1/2 vs. NJ),(no offside 1/18 vs WSH), (Lee-goalie interference 2/4 vs. DAL), (offside- 2/9 vs TBL)
The Isles are 1-1-1 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 1-3-0 in games that go the opponent's way.

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 852…
18. Ken Morrow 550 *** 19. Matt Martin 548 *** 20. Duane Sutter 547 *** 21. Lorne Henning 543 *** 22. Claude Lapointe and Brock Nelson 535 *** 24. Casey Cizikas 534

Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 169 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 152 *** 17. Pierre Turgeon 147 ***18. Mariusz Czerkawski and Brock Nelson 145

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553…
7.    Pat Flatley 328 *** 8.   Brent Sutter 323 *** 9. Josh Bailey 318 …
21. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 22. Duane Sutter and Alexei Yashin 171*** 24. Nick Leddy 168

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052…
12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 470…
21. Mariusz Czerkawski 295 *** 22. Duane Sutter 292 *** 23. Anders Lee 291 *** 24. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 25. Ed Westfall and Brock Nelson 286

Games Played (Goalies)
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 *** 4. Kelly Hrudey 241 ***
5. Thomas Greiss 189

Wins (Goalie)
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130*** 4. Kelly Hrudey 108***
5.   Thomas Greiss 101

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 …
6. Peter Laviolette 164 *** 7. Ted Nolan 163 *** 8. Butch Goring 154 *** 9. Barry Trotz 137
 
Coaching Wins
1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Terry Simpson 81 *** 4. Barry Trotz 80

Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series 3 games to 0 (and 6 points to 1).  

The Isles are 8-3-0 in their last 11 games against the Flyers, including three OT/SO wins.

This was the Flyers' first game at Barclays Center since April 3, 2018; overall, the Isles are 4-2-2 in eight games between the teams in Brooklyn.

The teams will meet again in Philadelphia on March 24th to complete the season series.

On the Farm   
The Sound Tigers head to Lehigh Valley on Friday and then return home to face Wilkes Barre-Scranton on Saturday.

Up Next
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13th  -  ISLANDERS AT NASHVILLE –8:00 PM
[MSG+2 (pre-game at 7:30), 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-1050]
The Isles begin a four-game road trip as they head to Nashville to face the Predators.

The Isles will try to do something that they have not done under Barry Trotz: beat the Predators. Trotz will be looking for his 81st win behind the Isles bench, which would tie Terry Simpson for 3rd place on the all-time club list.

Nashville has won all three meetings by a combined 17-8 score.  Two of the four regulation losses the Isles have under Trotz when they have scored three goals have come against Nashville.

Back on December 17th, the Isles had a 3-1 lead midway through the game but allowed seven straight goals to fall to the Preds, 8-3 at the Coliseum.

Despite losing the last three meetings, the Isles are 6-5-1 in the last 12 games against the Preds.

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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