Monday, August 31, 2020

The Skinny: Isles 3, Philadelphia 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Round 2 Game 4
Isles 3, Philadelphia 2  
Isles lead best-of-7 series, 3-1
Thomas Greiss made 36 saves for his first playoff victory since 2016 and the Isles got a pair of goals from Brock Nelson and a go-ahead goal from Jean-Gabriel Pageau as they grabbed a 3-1 lead in their second round series with a 3-2 victory at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.  

The win is the Isles' 10th in the bubble, passing the 1993 team for most playoff wins in the Post-Cup era.  The Isles are now 9 wins away from the Stanley Cup as they continue to move closer to the Cup than they have been in any year since 1993.

The Isles need one more win to advance to Edmonton and the Conference Finals; game 5 will be on Tuesday at 7pm.  

The Scoring: 
1st Period
No Goals

2nd Period
Brock Nelson (4) Josh Bailey (10) 06:52 PHI 0,NYI 1
Sean Couturier (2) Justin Braun (2), Robert Hagg (2) 15:19 PHI 1,NYI 1

3rd Period
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (7) Scott Mayfield (3), Devon Toews (5) 07:18 PHI 1,NYI 2
Brock Nelson (5) Josh Bailey (11), Anthony Beauvillier (4) 11:12 PHI 1,NYI 3
Ivan Provorov (2) Kevin Hayes (7), Travis Sanheim (5) 18:55 PHI 2,NYI 3

The Series (Isles lead 3-1)
Game 1: Isles 4 Philadelphia 0
Game 2: Philadelphia 4 Isles 3 (OT)
Game 3: Isles 3 Philadelphia 1
Game 4: Isles 3 Philadelphia 2
Game 5: Tuesday 7pm
Game 6: (if needed) Thursday September 3rd 
Game 7: (if needed) Saturday, September 5th

Tuesday's will be the first Isles game to ever be played in September (except pre-season).

The Skinny
The Isles have outscored the Flyers 8-1 in the third period after outscoring the Caps 7-1 in the third period; the Isles have allowed only two third period goals in their ten wins this post-season and lead the NHL with 19 third period goals in this year's playoffs… Nick Leddy played his 39th playoff game as an Islander without being penalized, extending his own club record...The Isles allowed 38 shots; it is the most they have allowed in any game this summer …The Isles have been shorthanded only five times in the first four games of this series; that's two fewer than any other series through four games (records date to 1978). The previous record was 7, set in 2015 vs. Washington.  This was the second time in the post-season the Isles have played back-to-back (games 2 and 3 vs. Florida) and the second time the Flyers had done so (games 4 and 5 vs. Montreal).  The Isles are 17-2-2 in regular season play under Barry Trotz in back-ends, which is by far the best record in the NHL over the last two seasons in that situation…The Flyers are 0-4 this year when allowing the first goal and are 0-10 in their last three playoff years (2016, 2018, 2020) when allowing the first goal…Brock Nelson recorded his second career multi-goal playoff game (game 1 vs. Washington in 2015) and the Isles' 4th two-goal game of this year's playoffs, joining Jordan Eberle and Anthony Beauvillier (twice)…Devon Toews, who earned an assist in each of the four games vs. Florida, recorded his first assist since then on the JG Pageau goal…Josh Bailey, who recorded his 4th multi-point games, is now tied-4th in the NHL with his 11 assists.

First Times in a Long Time (Playoff Only)
Thomas Greiss started his first game since May 8, 2016 and recorded his first win since April 27, 2016 (both against Tampa Bay).  It is the longest an Isles goalie has gone between playoff games and win, surpassing records set by Glenn Healy between 1990 and 1993.
The Isles have had two goalies earn playoff wins in the same post-season for the first time since 1985 (Billy Smith 3, Kelly Hrudey 1).
The Isles have won 10 games in a playoff year for the first time since 1984.

A Special Summer
The Isles have won 10 games this summer. It is their most wins in a single post-season since the Dynasty Era:
1980 -15
1981 -15
1982 -15
1983 -15
1984 -12
2020 -10

Pageau, Pageau, JG Pageau
JG Pageau has 19 goals in 48 career Stanley Cup games. Among active players who have played 48 or fewer games, only Jake Guentzel has scored more goals:
Jake Guentzel 25 goals in 45 games
JG Pageau 19 goals in 48 games
Nathan MacKinnon 18 goals in 37 games
*Mark Stone 17 goals in 45 games
Mark Schiefele 16 goals in 28 games
* Not including Vegas-Vancouver on Sunday night

Pageau's 7 playoff goals this summer are the 5th highest in a player's first playoff with the Isles:
Ray Ferraro 13 (1993)
Steve Thomas 9 (1993)
Patrick Flatley 9 (1984)
JP Parise 8 (1975)
JG Pageau 7 (2020)

Plus, Plus, Plus
The Isles now have three players +10 or better:
JG Pageau +13 (Leads NHL)(*)
Nick Leddy +11
Josh Bailey +10

No Isle has finished a playoff year higher than +6 (Benoit Hogue in 1993) in the Post-Cup era. Denis Potvin (team-leading +20) was one of five Isles +16 or better in 1983.

They are three of only five players in NHL +10 or better (Alec Martinez +11(*), Cole Makar +10)
* Not including Vegas-Vancouver on Sunday night

Beau + Pageau = Goals
Anthony Beauvillier and JG Pageau each has seven goals this summer, leaving them fourth in goals by an Islander in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Ray Ferraro 13 (1993)
Steve Thomas 9 (1993)
Bryan Trottier 8 (1987)
Anthony Beauvillier 7 (2020)
JG Pageau 7 (2020)

Hey, Josh Bailey
Josh Bailey now has eleven assists this summer, matching Derek King for most assists by an Islander in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Josh Bailey 11 (2020)
Derek King 11 (1993)
Steve Thomas 8 (1993)
Pat LaFontaine 8 (1987)
John Tonelli 8 (1985)

Bailey also joins Steve Thomas (1993) as the only Isle to have three multi-assist games in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.

Thanks for the Help
Ryan Pulock now has six assists this summer, matching the most by an Islander defenseman in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Ryan Pulock 6 (2020)
Roman Hamrlik 6 (2002)
Dennis Vaske 6 (1993)
Vladimir Malakhov 6 (1993)

Brock Best
Brock Nelson now has 12 playoff goals for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:
Brock Nelson 12
John Tavares 11
Josh Bailey 10

Elite Eight Again!
The Isles are in Round 2 for the second straight season and third time in the last five years.  In those five years, no Eastern Conference team has advanced to Round 2 more than the Isles.  Tampa Bay, Boston, Pittsburgh, and Washington have also appeared in the Elite 8 three times.

Longest Playoff Shutout Streaks by a Goalie:
Semyon Varlamov 138:17 (8/20-8/26/2020)
Billy Smith  136:59 (4/11-4/16/1980)
Robin Lehner 123:29 (4/16-4/26/2019)

The Isles' team shutout record in post-season play is 182:50, set in April 1979 (all vs. Chicago).

Joining Smitty
Semyon Varlamov has won 9 of his 11 decisions this summer. Billy Smith (10-1 in 1980 and 9-2 in 1981) is the only other goalie in Isles history to start a playoff year that way.

Familiar Foes
This is the 5th meeting of the Isles and Philadelphia in the playoffs (Isles are 1-3 and have won 14 of 29 games):
1975 Semi-Finals  Flyers won series 4-3
1980 STANLEY CUP FINAL  Isles won series, and Stanley Cup  4-2
1985 Patrick Division Finals  Flyers won series 4-1
1987 Patrick Division Finals  Flyers won series 4-3
2020 Eastern Conference Second Round  Isles lead series 3-1

2020 is the third straight playoff meeting between the teams that followed the Isles eliminating Washington; the winner of each previous Islander-Flyer series between the teams has at least reached the Stanley Cup Final.

Barry and Al
Barry Trotz is only the 2nd coach to lead the Isles to multiple series wins, joining Al Arbour.  Terry Simpson and Jack Capuano are the only other coaches to lead the Isles to a playoff series victory.

Lou and Bill
Lou Lamoriello has won 28 playoff series as a General Manager, tying Bill Torrey for second place on the all-time list. Glen Sather has 41 wins.

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 35-18 (.660) all-time in overtime, including 19-10 (.655) at home. The .660 overall percentage is 2nd to Tampa Bay (18-8 .692) while the .655 home percentages is the best in NHL history. The Isles are 1-1 in overtime this season; they have gone 6-5 in eleven overtime games since 2015.

Overtime is Our Time vs. Philadelphia
The Isles are 3-2 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Philadelphia:
05/01/75 @ Bob Clarke L Phil 2:56 
05/07/75 Vs Jude Drouin W Phil 1:53 
05/13/80 @ Denis Potvin W Phil 4:07 
05/24/80 Vs Bobby Nystrom W Phil 7:11
08/26/20 @(Tor) Philippe Myers  L            Phil       2:41

Lead/Tie/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 53:54, Tied: 6:06,  Trailed: 0:00 
Game 2: Led:  0:00. Tied 6:47, Trailed: 55:54
Game 3: Led: 20:06, Tied 27:00, Trailed 12:54
Game 4: Led: 21:09, Tied 38:51, Trailed: 0:00 
Series:   Led: 95:09, Tied: 78:44,  Trailed: 68:48 

Vs Florida:  Led: 120:01, Tied: 58:56,  Trailed 61:03
Vs. Washington  Led  130:12, Tied 120:32, Trailed: 53:44

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles improve to 158-127 in 285 all-time playoff games.  They are 89-47 at home (including 2-5 at Barclays and 5-1 in Toronto) and 69-80 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 5-1 when they are the home team and 5-2 when they are the road team.

A Winning Summer
With a record of 10-3 in the playoffs, the Isles are guaranteed a winning record for this year's playoffs.  It is the first time in the post-Cup era that the Isles have won more games than they lost.  It is the most games the Isles have won in the playoffs since 1984, when they won 12.

Coach Trotz
Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 845-618-60-151 in 1,674 games and will begin next season just five 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  925
3. Ken Hitchcock    849
4. Barry Trotz    845
5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,705
3. Barry Trotz        1,674
4. Al Arbour 1,607 

Coach Trotz (Playoffs)
Barry Trotz has now coached 134 playoff games (69-65).  His 69 wins breaks a tie with Claude Julien for 15th place.  Trotz won the Stanley Cup with Washington in 2018; Joel Quenneville (3) and Mike Sullivan (2) are the only active coaches with multiple Stanley Cups.

Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:
Al Arbour 119
Barry Trotz 14
Jack Capuano 10
Terry Simpson 9
Peter Laviolette 4
Ted Nolan 1
Steve Stirling 1

Most playoff games coached (Islanders):
Al Arbour 198
Jack Capuano 24
Barry Trotz 21
Terry Simpson 20
Peter Laviolette 12
Steve Stirling 5
Ted Nolan 5

Most overtime wins/overtime record:
Al Arbour 26 (26-9)
Jack Capuano 4 (4-5)
Terry Simpson 3 (3-0)
Barry Trotz 2 (2-2)
Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)
Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)

Most playoff series wins:
Al Arbour 29
Barry Trotz 3
Jack Capuano 1
Terry Simpson 1

First Things First
The Isles are 6-1 when scoring first and are 4-2 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots
Isles         18-3-12=33
Philadelphia  7-17-14=38

Shots by Game
Game 1: Isles 29, Philadelphia 29
Game 2: Isles 34, Philadelphia 31
Game 3: Isles 29, Philadelphia 27
Game 4: Isles 33, Philadelphia 38
Series: Isles 125, Philadelphia 125
Vs. Florida: Isles 122, Florida 103
Vs. Washington: Isles 136, Washington 124
Playoffs: Isles 383, Opponents 352

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

In the Nets
Thomas Greiss made 36 saves to improve to 1-0 in this year's playoffs and 6-7 in his playoff career.
Brian Elliott made 30 saves but falls to 1-1 this year and 17-26 in his playoff career.

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

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 0-1 (2:00, 0 shots), Philadelphia 0-1 (2:00, 1 shot)
Game 2: Isles 1-3 (4:17, 5 shots), Philadelphia 0-2 (4:00, 2 shots)
Game 3: Isles 1-2 (3:13, 1 shot), Philadelphia 0-1 (2:00, 4 shots)
Game 4: Isles 0-1 (2:00, 9 shots), Philadelphia 0-1 (2:00, 0 shots)
Series: Isles 2-7 (11:30, 15 shots), Philadelphia 0-5 (10:00, 7 shots)
Vs. Florida: Isles 4-13 (23:55; 15 shots), Florida 4-14 (16:51, 21 shots)
Series: Isles 2-22 (34:26, 29 shots), Washington 4-18 (24:57, 20 shots)
Playoffs:  Power Play: 8-42 (71:51, 59 shots), Penalty Kill 8-37 (51:48, 48 shots)

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 8-1 in the playoffs (7-0 in regulation and 0-1 in overtime) when they score at least three goals and 2-2 when they do not.  Last season the Isles scored at least three goals in each of their four wins and two or fewer in each of their four losses.

Shutting the Door
The Isles are 10-0 when allowing two or fewer goals in this year's playoffs.  (The Isles won 25 straight, and 39 out of 40 games in the Dynasty era allowing two or fewer goals in a playoff game)

One Goal Games
The Isles are 3-3 in the playoffs in one-goal games (2-2 in regulation and 1-1 in overtime). The Isles are 0-0  in playoff games where an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Adam Pelech (23:02);  Philadelphia: Ivan Provorov (23:55)
Josh Bailey led Isles forwards with 18:00 of ice-time 
Isles record by ice-time leader: Scott Mayfield (1-0), Adam Pelech (6-0), Mathew Barzal (2-1), Nick Leddy (1-1), Devon Toews (0-1)

Face-offs
Isles 31, Philadelphia 25 (55%).

Mathew Barzal won 7 of 8 for the Isles; Nate Thompson won 5 of 9 for Philadelphia.  

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 28, Philadelphia 30 (48%)
Game 2: Isles 31, Philadelphia 27 (53%)
Game 3: Isles 25, Philadelphia 26 (49%)
Game 4: Isles 31, Philadelphia 25 (55%)
Series: Isles 115, Philadelphia 108 (50%)
Vs. Florida:  Isles 106, Florida 127 (45%)
Vs. Washington: Isles 156, Washington 122 (56%)
Playoffs: Isles 377, Opponents 357 (51%)

Hit Count
Isles 35 (Leo Komarov -6)
Philadelphia 39 (Three with 5)

Hits Game by Game:
Game 1: Isles 34, Philadelphia 29
Game 2: Isles 39, Philadelphia 31
Game 3: Isles 36, Philadelphia 33 
Game 4: Isles 35, Philadelphia 39
Series: Isles 144, Philadelphia 132
Vs. Florida:  Isles 128, Florida 124
Series: Isles 194, Washington 177
Playoffs: Isles 466, Opponents 433

Fights
There were no fights. Playoff total -1  (Lee -1)

Blocked Shots
Isles 19 (Ryan Pulock -4)
Philadelphia 7 (Two with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 52, Philadelphia 68 (including 31-8 Philly in the 2nd period)
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 38, Philadelphia 63

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle +5
Philadelphia: Jakub Voracek +20

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1 (All) Isles 51, Philadelphia 67;  (5-on-5) Isles 47, Philadelphia 63
Game 2 (All) Isles 71, Philadelphia 53;  (5-on-5) Isles 63, Philadelphia 48
Game 3 (All) Isles 57, Philadelphia 63;  (5-on-5) Isles 54, Philadelphia 56
Game 4 (All) Isles 52, Philadelphia 68;  (5-on-5) Isles 38, Philadelphia 63
Series: (All) Isles 231, Philadelphia 251;  (5-on-5) Isles 202, Philadelphia 230
Vs Florida (All) Isles 226, Florida 224;  (5-on-5) Isles 174, Florida 168
Vs Washington: (All) Isles 260, Washington 294; (5-on-5) Isles 190, Washington 212
Playoffs (All)  Isles 717, Opponent 769; (5-on-5) Isles 566, Opponent 610

Scratches
Michael DalColle, Ross Johnston, Johnny Boychuk, Tom Kuhnhackl, Noah Dobson, Andrew Ladd, Otto Koivula, Thomas Hickey, Sebastian Aho, Christopher Gibson
Playoff games lost: 5. 

Post-Season Late Heroes (Final Two Minutes of Regulation, or Overtime)
Mathew Barzal – Game 3 vs. Washington (8/18/20) – 4:28 of OT

Post-Season Late Goals Allowed
Philippe Myers – Game 2 vs. Philadelphia (8/26/20) – 2:41 of OT

Playoff Challenges
None

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games:
Casey Cizikas 45
Matt Martin 45
Josh Bailey 43

Goals:
Brock Nelson 12 
Josh Bailey 10 
Anthony Beauvillier 8
Anders Lee 7
Jordan Eberle 7
JG Pageau 7
Mathew Barzal 5
Cal Clutterbuck 5

Assists:
Josh Bailey 20
Mathew Barzal 12
Nick Leddy 10
Jordan Eberle 10
Brock Nelson 9
Ryan Pulock 9
Devon Toews 8

Points:
Josh Bailey 28
Brock Nelson 19
Mathew Barzal 17
Jordan Eberle 17
Nick Leddy 14

Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 46
Cal Clutterbuck 44
Casey Cizikas 40

PP Goals
Mathew Barzal 2
Josh Bailey 2 
Anthony Beauvillier 2
Brock Nelson 2 
Ryan Pulock 2
Anders Lee 2
Devon Toews 1
Jordan Eberle 1
Nick Leddy 1

SH Goals
Josh Bailey 1
 
GW Goals
Brock Nelson 4
Anthony Beauvillier 3
Jordan Eberle 2
Josh Bailey 2
Thomas Hickey 1
Mathew Barzal 1
Andy Greene 1
Leo Komarov 1

OT Goals 
Josh Bailey 1
Mathew Barzal 1
Thomas Hickey 1

Goaltending
Thomas Greiss  6-7  2.39 GAA, .923 save percentage
Semyon Varlamov 9-2 1.69 GAA, .935 save percentage

Up Next
ROUND 2- GAME 5 – TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1st – 7:00PM 
ISLANDERS VS.  PHILADELPHIA (AT TORONTO)  
[NBCSN, 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-Radio; 30-minute pre-game and expanded post-game on MSG+]

The Isles have been in the Toronto bubble for over five weeks. They look to eliminate the Flyers and head to Edmonton for the Conference Finals with a win on Tuesday. The Isles are 10-0 all-time when they lead a series 3-1, while the Flyers are 1-17 when they trail 3-1 (with their win coming after trailing Boston 3-0 in 2010).

Anthony Beauvillier had the game-winning goal in the clinchers against both Florida and Washington, joining Mike Bossy (1981 and 1983) as the only Isle to do so twice in one year. Martin Gelinas (2004) and Ken Linseman (1984) and the only NHLers to ever do it in three series in one year.

This will be the first (non-preseason) September game in Islander history,

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

Sunday, August 30, 2020

The Skinny: Isles 3, Philadelphia 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Round 2 Game 3
Isles 3, Philadelphia 1  
Isles lead best-of-7 series, 2-1
Leo Komarov broke a 1-1 tie with a back-breaking goal at 19:54 of the second period and Anders Lee scored a power play goal in the third period as the Isles grabbed a 2-1 lead in their second round series with a 3-1 victory at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.  

Semyon Varlamov allowed only a first period goal from Tyler Pitlick and finished with 26 saves.  Matt Martin scored his third playoff goal to even the score 7:12 into the second period.

The win is the Isles' 9th in the bubble, matching the 1993 team for most playoff wins in the Post-Cup era.  The Isles are now 10 wins away from the Stanley Cup; they are now closer to the Cup than they have been in any year since 1993.

The Isles lead the series 2-1; game 4 will be on Sunday at 8pm.  

The Scoring: 
1st Period
Tyler Pitlick (2) Scott Laughton (3), Matt Niskanen (1) 14:18 PHI 1,NYI 0

2nd Period
Matt Martin (3) Mathew Barzal (7), Jordan Eberle (1) 07:12 PHI 1,NYI 1
Leo Komarov (1) Derick Brassard (1) 19:54 PHI 1,NYI 2

3rd Period
Anders Lee (6) Jordan Eberle (2), Ryan Pulock (6) 03:41 PHI 1,NYI 3 PPG

The Series (Isles lead 2-1)
Game 1: Isles 4 Philadelphia 0
Game 2: Philadelphia 4 Isles 3 (OT)
Game 3: Isles 3 Philadelphia 1
Game 4: Sunday 8pm
Game 5: Tuesday 7pm
Game 6: (if needed) Thursday September 3rd 
Game 7: (if needed) Saturday, September 5th

Tuesday's will be the first Isles game to ever be played in September (except pre-season).

The Skinny
The Isles have outscored the Flyers 6-0 in the third period after outscoring the Caps 7-1 in the third period; the Isles have allowed only one third period goal in their nine wins this post-season; the Isles lead the NHL with 17 third period goals in this year's playoffs…The Isles have allowed four first period goals in the last two games after allowing only three in their first 10 post-season games.. Nick Leddy played his 38th playoff game as an Islander without being penalized, extending his own club record...The Isles held the Flyers to 27 shots; they have allowed fewer than 30 in regulation time in all 12 playoff games.…Anders Lee recorded his second career playoff power play goal (in as many games)  to go along with 50 he has scored in regular season play; Lee now has six goals in the last eight games… The Flyers had won all eight previous games that they scored first…Anders Lee has 6 goals and no assists; only two players in Stanley Cup history have finished a playoff year with more goals and no assists (Chris Kontos 9-0 in 1989 for Los Angeles; James van Riemsdyk 7-0 in 2010 for Philadelphia)…The Isles have been shorthanded only four times in the first three games of this series; that's two fewer than any other series through three games (records date to 1978). The previous record was 6, set in 2015 vs. Washington.

First Times in a Long Time (Playoff Only)
Anders Lee is the first Islander to score PP goals in consecutive playoff games since Adrian Aucoin (games 5 and 6 vs. Toronto in 2002).  The last Isles forward to do so was Kip Miller, in games 4 and 5 of that series.
The Isles have won a second games in Round 2 for the first time since advancing to the Conference Finals in 1993.

Play to the Buzzer
Leo Komarov's goal was only the 5th in Isles playoff history to be scored in the final six seconds of a period (excluding empty nets):
5/2/1981 NYI @ NYR W Bob Nystrom (19:55 of 2nd)
5/8/1982 NYI VAN W OT Mike Bossy (19:58 of OT)
4/22/1987 NYI @ PHI W Mikko Makela (19:57 of 3rd- GWG)
4/27/2016 NYI @ TBL W Shane Prince (19:57 of 1st)

The Isles are 5-0 in those games, with the late goal being the eventual winner three times (Bossy, Makela, Komarov)

Pageau, Pageau, JG Pageau
JG Pageau has 18 goals in 47 career Stanley Cup games. Among active players who have played 47 or fewer games, only Jake Guentzel has scored more goals:

Jake Guentzel 25 goals in 45 games
Nathan MacKinnon 18 goals in 36 games
JG Pageau 18 goals in 47 games
Mark Schiefele 16 goals in 28 games
*Mark Stone 16 goals in 44 games
* Not including Vegas-Vancouver on Saturday night

Plus, Plus, Plus
The Isles now have three players +10 or better:
JG Pageau +12 (Leads NHL)(*)
Josh Bailey +10
Nick Leddy +10

No Isle has finished a playoff year higher than +6 (Benoit Hogue in 1993) in the Post-Cup era. Denis Potvin (team-leading +20) was one of five Isles +16 or better in 1983.

They are three of only 6 players in NHL +10 or better (Cole Makar +11, Alec Martinez +10(*), Jamie Oleksiak +10),
* Not including Vegas-Vancouver on Saturday night

Beau Knows Goal
Anthony Beauvillier now has seven goals this summer, leaving him fourth in goals by an Islander in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Ray Ferraro 13 (1993)
Steve Thomas 9 (1993)
Bryan Trottier 8 (1987)
Anthony Beauvillier 7 (2020)

Hey, Josh Bailey
Josh Bailey now has nine assists this summer, leaving him second in assists by an Islander in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Derek King 11 (1993)
Josh Bailey 9 (2020)
Steve Thomas 8 (1993)
Pat LaFontaine 8 (1987)
John Tonelli 8 (1985)

Thanks for the Help
Ryan Pulock now has six assists this summer, matching the most by an Islander defenseman in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Ryan Pulock 6 (2020)
Roman Hamrlik 6 (2002)
Dennis Vaske 6 (1993)
Vladimir Malakhov 6 (19930

Elite Eight Again!
The Isles are in Round 2 for the second straight season and third time in the last five years.  In those five years, no Eastern Conference team has advanced to Round 2 more than the Isles.  Tampa Bay, Boston, Pittsburgh, and Washington have also appeared in the Elite 8 three times.

Longest Playoff Shutout Streaks by a Goalie:
Semyon Varlamov 138:17 (8/20-8/26/2020)
Billy Smith  136:59 (4/11-4/16/1980)
Robin Lehner 123:29 (4/16-4/26/2019)

The Isles' team shutout record in post-season play is 182:50, set in April 1979 (all vs. Chicago).

Joining Smitty
Semyon Varlamov has won 9 of his 11 decisions this summer. Billy Smith (10-1 in 1980 and 9-2 in 1981) is the only other goalie in Isles history to start a playoff year that way.

Familiar Foes
This is the 5th meeting of the Isles and Philadelphia in the playoffs (Isles are 1-3 and have won 13 of 28 games):
1975 Semi-Finals  Flyers won series 4-3
1980 STANLEY CUP FINAL  Isles won series, and Stanley Cup  4-2
1985 Patrick Division Finals  Flyers won series 4-1
1987 Patrick Division Finals  Flyers won series 4-3
2020 Eastern Conference First Round  Isles lead series 2-1

2020 is the third straight playoff meeting between the teams that followed the Isles eliminating Washington; the winner of each previous Islander-Flyer series between the teams has at least reached the Stanley Cup Final.

Barry and Al
Barry Trotz is only the 2nd coach to lead the Isles to multiple series wins, joining Al Arbour.  Terry Simpson and Jack Capuano are the only other coaches to lead the Isles to a playoff series victory.

Lou and Bill
Lou Lamoriello has won 28 playoff series as a General Manager, tying Bill Torrey for second place on the all-time list. Glen Sather has 41 wins.

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 35-18 (.660) all-time in overtime, including 19-10 (.655) at home. The .660 overall percentage is 2nd to Tampa Bay (18-8 .692) while the .655 home percentages is the best in NHL history. The Isles are 1-1 in overtime this season; they have gone 6-5 in eleven overtime games since 2015.

Overtime is Our Time vs. Philadelphia
The Isles are 3-2 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Philadelphia:
05/01/75 @ Bob Clarke L Phil 2:56 
05/07/75 Vs Jude Drouin W Phil 1:53 
05/13/80 @ Denis Potvin W Phil 4:07 
05/24/80 Vs Bobby Nystrom W Phil 7:11
08/26/20 @(Tor) Philippe Myers  L            Phil       2:41

Lead/Tie/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 53:54, Tied: 6:06,  Trailed: 0:00 
Game 2: Led:  0:00. Tied 6:47, Trailed: 55:54
Game 3: Led 20:06, Tied 27:00, Trailed 12:54
Series:   Led  74:00, Tied: 39:53,  Trailed: 68:48 

Vs Florida:  Led: 120:01, Tied: 58:56,  Trailed 61:03
Vs. Washington  Led  130:12, Tied 120:32, Trailed: 53:44

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles improve to 157-127 in 284 all-time playoff games.  They are 88-47 at home (including 2-5 at Barclays and 4-1 in Toronto) and 69-80 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 4-1 when they are the home team and 5-2 when they are the road team.

A Winning Summer
With a record of 9-3 in the playoffs, the Isles are guaranteed a winning record for this year's playoffs.  It is the first time in the post-Cup era that the Isles have won more games than they lost.  It is the most games the Isles have won in the playoffs since 1993, when they also won 9.

Coach Trotz
Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 845-618-60-151 in 1,674 games and will begin next season just five 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  925
3. Ken Hitchcock    849
4. Barry Trotz    845
5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,705
3. Barry Trotz        1,674
4. Al Arbour 1,607 

Coach Trotz (Playoffs)
Barry Trotz has now coached 133 playoff games (68-65).  His 68 wins have tied Claude Julien for 15th place.  Trotz won the Stanley Cup with Washington in 2018; Joel Quenneville (3) and Mike Sullivan (2) are the only active coaches with multiple Stanley Cups.

Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:
Al Arbour 119
Barry Trotz 13
Jack Capuano 10
Terry Simpson 9
Peter Laviolette 4
Ted Nolan 1
Steve Stirling 1

Most playoff games coached (Islanders):
Al Arbour 198
Jack Capuano 24
Barry Trotz 20
Terry Simpson 20
Peter Laviolette 12
Steve Stirling 5
Ted Nolan 5

Most overtime wins/overtime record:
Al Arbour 26 (26-9)
Jack Capuano 4 (4-5)
Terry Simpson 3 (3-0)
Barry Trotz 2 (2-2)
Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)
Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)

Most playoff series wins:
Al Arbour 29
Barry Trotz 3
Jack Capuano 1
Terry Simpson 1

First Things First
The Isles are 5-1 when scoring first and are 4-2 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots
Isles       10-15-4=29
Philadelphia  9-6-12=27

Shots by Game
Game 1: Isles 29, Philadelphia 29
Game 2: Isles 34, Philadelphia 31
Game 3: Isles 29, Philadelphia 27
Series: Isles 92, Philadelphia 87
Vs. Florida: Isles 122, Florida 103
Vs. Washington: Isles 136, Washington 124
Playoffs: Isles 350, Opponents 314

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

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves to improve to 9-2 in this year's playoffs and 22-15 in his career.
Carter Hart made 26 saves but falls to 7-4 in the playoffs (all this year).

Power Plays
The Isles were 1-2 on the power play in 3:13 of PP time; Philadelphia was 0-1 on the power play in 2:00 of PP time.

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 0-1 (2:00, 0 shots), Philadelphia 0-1 (2:00, 1 shot)
Game 2: Isles 1-3 (4:17, 5 shots), Philadelphia 0-2 (4:00, 2 shots)
Game 3: Isles 1-2 (3:13, 1 shot), Philadelphia 0-1 (2:00, 4 shots)
Series: Isles 2-6 (9:30, 6 shots), Philadelphia 0-4 (8:00, 7 shots)
Vs. Florida: Isles 4-13 (23:55; 15 shots), Florida 4-14 (16:51, 21 shots)
Series: Isles 2-22 (34:26, 29 shots), Washington 4-18 (24:57, 20 shots)
Playoffs:  Power Play: 8-41 (69:51, 50 shots), Penalty Kill 8-36 (49:48, 48 shots)

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 7-1 in the playoffs (7-0 in regulation and 0-1 in overtime) when they score at least three goals and 2-2 when they do not.  Last season the Isles scored at least three goals in each of their four wins and two or fewer in each of their four losses.

Shutting the Door
The Isles are 9-0 when allowing two or fewer goals in this year's playoffs.  (The Isles won 25 straight, and 39 out of 40 games in the Dynasty era allowing two or fewer goals in a playoff game)

One Goal Games
The Isles are 2-3 in the playoffs in one-goal games (1-2 in regulation and 1-1 in overtime). The Isles are 0-0  in playoff games where an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Adam Pelech (23:14);  Philadelphia: Ivan Provorov (24:42)
Josh Bailey led Isles forwards with 18:07 of ice-time 
Isles record by ice-time leader: Scott Mayfield (1-0), Adam Pelech (5-0), Mathew Barzal (2-1), Nick Leddy (1-1), Devon Toews (0-1)

Face-offs
Isles 25, Philadelphia 26 (49%).

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 8 of 14 for the Isles; Nate Thompson won 6 of 8 for Philadelphia.  

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 28, Philadelphia 30 (48%)
Game 2: Isles 31, Philadelphia 27 (53%)
Game 3: Isles 25, Philadelphia 26 (49%)
Series: Isles 84, Philadelphia 83 (50%)
Vs. Florida:  Isles 106, Florida 127 (45%)
Vs. Washington: Isles 156, Washington 122 (56%)
Playoffs: Isles 346, Opponents 332 (51%)

Hit Count
Isles 36 (Jean-Gabriel Pageau -5)
Philadelphia 33 (Nicolas Aube-Kubel-6)

Hits Game by Game:
Game 1: Isles 34, Philadelphia 29
Game 2: Isles 39, Philadelphia 31
Game 3: Isles 36, Philadelphia 33
Series: Isles 109, Philadelphia 93
Vs. Florida:  Isles 128, Florida 124
Series: Isles 194, Washington 177
Playoffs: Isles 431, Opponents 394

Fights
There were no fights. Playoff total -1  (Lee -1)

Blocked Shots
Isles 18 (Three with 3)
Philadelphia 14 (Tyler Pitlick -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 57, Philadelphia 63
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 54, Philadelphia 56

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Mathew Barzal +8
Philadelphia: Sean Couturier +9

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1 (All) Isles 51, Philadelphia 67;  (5-on-5) Isles 47, Philadelphia 63
Game 2 (All) Isles 71, Philadelphia 53;  (5-on-5) Isles 63, Philadelphia 48
Game 3 (All) Isles 57, Philadelphia 63;  (5-on-5) Isles 54, Philadelphia 56
Series: (All) Isles 179, Philadelphia 183;  (5-on-5) Isles 164, Philadelphia 167
Vs Florida (All) Isles 226, Florida 224;  (5-on-5) Isles 174, Florida 168
Vs Washington: (All) Isles 260, Washington 294; (5-on-5) Isles 190, Washington 212
Playoffs (All)  Isles 665, Opponent 701; (5-on-5) Isles 528, Opponent 547

Scratches
Michael DalColle, Ross Johnston, Johnny Boychuk, Tom Kuhnhackl, Noah Dobson, Andrew Ladd, Otto Koivula, Thomas Hickey, Sebastian Aho, Christopher Gibson
Playoff games lost: 5. 

Post-Season Late Heroes (Final Two Minutes of Regulation, or Overtime)
Mathew Barzal – Game 3 vs. Washington (8/18/20) – 4:28 of OT

Post-Season Late Goals Allowed
Philippe Myers – Game 2 vs. Philadelphia (8/26/20) – 2:41 of OT

Playoff Challenges
None

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games:
Casey Cizikas 44
Matt Martin 44
Josh Bailey 42

Goals:
Brock Nelson 10 
Josh Bailey 10 
Anthony Beauvillier 8
Anders Lee 7
Jordan Eberle 7
JG Pageau 6
Mathew Barzal 5
Cal Clutterbuck 5

Assists:
Josh Bailey 18
Mathew Barzal 12
Nick Leddy 10
Jordan Eberle 10
Brock Nelson 9
Ryan Pulock 9
Devon Toews 8

Points:
Josh Bailey 28
Brock Nelson 19
Mathew Barzal 17
Jordan Eberle 17
Nick Leddy 14

Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 46
Cal Clutterbuck 42
Casey Cizikas 38

PP Goals
Mathew Barzal 2
Josh Bailey 2 
Anthony Beauvillier 2
Brock Nelson 2 
Ryan Pulock 2
Anders Lee 2
Devon Toews 1
Jordan Eberle 1
Nick Leddy 1

SH Goals
Josh Bailey 1
 
GW Goals
Brock Nelson 3
Anthony Beauvillier 3
Jordan Eberle 2
Josh Bailey 2
Thomas Hickey 1
Mathew Barzal 1
Andy Greene 1
Leo Komarov 1

OT Goals 
Josh Bailey 1
Mathew Barzal 1
Thomas Hickey 1

Goaltending
Thomas Greiss  5-7  2.42 GAA, .921 save percentage
Semyon Varlamov 9-2 1.69 GAA, .935 save percentage

Up Next
ROUND 2- GAME 4 – SUNDAY, AUGUST 30th – 8:00PM 
ISLANDERS VS PHILADELPHIA (AT TORONTO)  
[NBC-Channel 4, 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-1050; 30-minute pre-game and expanded post-game on MSG+]

It will be a quick turn-around as the teams meet again at 8pm on Sunday.  Believe it or not, it will be the first-ever Isles appearance in prime-time on a broadcast network (NBC, ABC, Fox, and CBS).

This is the second time in the post-season the Isles have played back-to-back (games 2 and 3 vs. Florida) and the second time the Flyers have done so (games 4 and 5 vs. Montreal).

The Isles will look to take a 3-1 lead in the series. The Isles are 8-2 all-time when they lead a series 2-1, while the Flyers are 7-22 when they trail 2-1.

Game 5 of the series will be played Tuesday at 7pm.

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


Wednesday, August 26, 2020

The Skinny: Philadelphia 4, Isles 3 (OT)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Round 2 Game 2
Philadelphia 4, Isles 3 (OT)
Best-of-7 series tied, 1-1
Philippe Myers scored 2:40 into overtime as the Philadelphia overcame an Islander comeback and evened the second round series with a 4-3 victory at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.  

Semyon Varlamov set the club record for longest scoreless in the first minute of the game but was removed from the game after the Flyers scored three times in the first 15:09.  Thomas Greiss made his longest playoff appearance since 2016 and was perfect until the overtime tally.

The Isles forced overtime on a second period goal by Anders Lee and a pair of goals in the final nine minutes of regulation.

The series is tied 1-1; game 3 will be on Thursday at 7pm.

The Scoring: 
1st Period
Kevin Hayes (2) Travis Konecny (4), Justin Braun (1) 01:57 NYI 0,PHI 1
Kevin Hayes (3) Joel Farabee (2) 09:43 NYI 0,PHI 2
Sean Couturier (1) Claude Giroux (5), Travis Sanheim (4) 15:09 NYI 0,PHI 3

2nd Period
Anders Lee (5) Mathew Barzal (6), Nick Leddy (2) 11:45 NYI 1,PHI 3 PPG

3rd Period
Anthony Beauvillier (7) Josh Bailey (9) 11:11 NYI 2,PHI 3
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (6)Adam Pelech (4) 17:51 NYI 3,PHI 3

OT
Philippe Myers (3) Sean Couturier (6) 02:40 NYI 3,PHI 4

The Series (Series tied 1-1)
Game 1: Isles 4 Philadelphia 0
Game 2: Philadelphia 4 Isles 3 (OT)
Game 3: Thursday 7pm
Game 4: Saturday Noon
Game 5: Monday, August 31st
Game 6: (if needed) Wednesday, September 2nd
Game 7: (if needed) Thursday September 3rd 

The Skinny
The Isles have outscored the Flyers 5-0 in the third period after outscoring the Caps 7-1 in the third period; the Isles have allowed only one third period goal in their eight wins this post-season…The three Flyer goals in the first period matched the goals allowed by the Isles in their first 10 post-season games.. Nick Leddy played his 37th playoff game as an Islander without being penalized, extending his own club record...The Isles held the Flyers to 28 shots in regulation, but three shots in overtime ended the club record streak of allowing fewer than 30.… Fifteen Islanders (all but the Pageau line) were on-ice for a first period Flyer goal… JG Pageau has 18 goals in 46 career playoff games, including six goals in eleven playoff games with the Isles; he has scored three goals in the last four games.…Anders Lee recorded his first career playoff power play goal to go along with 50 he has scored in regular season play; Lee now has five goals in the last seven games… Philippe Myers scored the OT winner in his first career overtime game…Kevin Hayes recorded his first career multigoal playoff game…The Isles had allowed only six goals at 5-on-5 entering play; all four Flyer goals were scored at 5-on-5…The Isles forced overtime, but are 2-62 in playoffs when they entered the third period with a multi-goal deficit…The Isles are 2-2 in overtime under Barry Trotz (2-0 in Round 1, 0-2 in Round 2).

First Times in a Long Time (Playoff Only)
The Isles allowed three goals in the first period for the first time since May 5, 2013 (game 3) vs. Pittsburgh.  The Isles also lost that game in overtime (Chris Kunitz)
The Isles rallied to force overtime after trailing 3-0 for the third time in club history (4/10/1988 at New Jersey, 4/24/1993 vs. Washington), however the Isles won those two games in extra time.
Anthony Beauvillier is the first Isle to score 7 goals in a playoff year since Ray Ferraro (13) and Steve Thomas (9) did so in 1993.
This was the first overtime game between the teams since Bob Nystrom won the Stanley Cup for the Isles in 1980.
Thomas Greiss is the first NHL goalie to allow 0 goals in regulation and lose in overtime of a relief appearance since Braden Holtby for Washington (4-15-2018 vs. Columbus). Holtby regained his starting role and eventually won the Stanley Cup.  
Greiss is the second Isles goalie to allow 1 goal in relief and be charged with the loss (Glenn Healy 4-13-1990 vs. NYR).  Healy entered that game with a 5-2 deficit and the Isles lost 6-5.

Longest Playoff Shutout Streaks by a Goalie:
Semyon Varlamov 138:17 (8/20-8/26/2020)
Billy Smith  136:59 (4/11-4/16/1980)
Robin Lehner 123:29 (4/16-4/26/2019)

The Isles' team shutout record in post-season play is 182:50, set in April 1979 (all vs. Chicago).

Pageau, Pageau, JG Pageau
JG Pageau has 18 goals in 46 career Stanley Cup games. Among active players who have played 46 or fewer games, only Jake Guentzel has scored more goals:

Jake Guentzel 25 goals in 45 games
*Nathan MacKinnon 18 goals in 35 games
JG Pageau 18 goals in 46 games
Mark Schiefele 16 goals in 28 games
Mark Stone 16 goals in 44 games
*Entering play Wednesday night

Hey, Josh Bailey
Josh Bailey now has nine assists this summer, leaving him second in assists by an Islander in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Derek King 11 (1993)
Josh Bailey 9 (2020)
Steve Thomas 8 (1993)
Pat LaFontaine 8 (1987)
John Tonelli 8 (1985)

Beau Knows Goals
Anthony Beauvillier now has seven goals this summer, leaving him fourth in assists by an Islander in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Ray Ferraro 13 (1993)
Steve Thomas 9 (1993)
Bryan Trottier 8 (1987)
Anthony Beauvillier 7 (2020)

Elite Eight Again!
The Isles are in Round 2 for the second straight season and third time in the last five years.  In those five years, no Eastern Conference team has advanced to Round 2 more than the Isles.  Tampa Bay, Boston, Pittsburgh, and Washington have also appeared in the Elite 8 three times.

Familiar Foes
This is the 5th meeting of the Isles and Philadelphia in the playoffs (Isles are 1-3 and have won 12 of 27 games):
1975 Semi-Finals  Flyers won series 4-3
1980 STANLEY CUP FINAL  Isles won series, and Stanley Cup  4-2
1985 Patrick Division Finals  Flyers won series 4-1
1987 Patrick Division Finals  Flyers won series 4-3
2020 Eastern Conference First Round  Series tied 1-1

2020 is the third straight playoff meeting between the teams that followed the Isles eliminating Washington; the winner of each previous Islander-Flyer series between the teams has at least reached the Stanley Cup Final.

Barry and Al
Barry Trotz is only the 2nd coach to lead the Isles to multiple series wins, joining Al Arbour.  Terry Simpson and Jack Capuano are the only other coaches to lead the Isles to a playoff series victory.

Lou and Bill
Lou Lamoriello has won 28 playoff series as a General Manager, tying Bill Torrey for second place on the all-time list. Glen Sather has 41 wins.

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 35-18 (.660) all-time in overtime, including 19-101 (.655) at home. The .660 overall percentage is 2nd to Tampa Bay (18-8 .692) while the .655 home percentages is the best in NHL history. The Isles are 1-1 in overtime this season; they have gone 6-5 in eleven overtime games since 2015.

Overtime is Our Time vs. Philadelphia
The Isles are 3-2 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Philadelphia:
05/01/75 @ Bob Clarke         L Phl 2:56 
05/07/75 Vs Jude Drouin W Phl 1:53 
05/13/80 @ Denis Potvin W Phl 4:07 
05/24/80 Vs Bobby Nystrom W Phl 7:11
08/26/20 @(Tor) Philippe Myers  L     Phl    2:41

Lead/Tie/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 53:54, Tied: 6:06,  Trailed: 0:00 
Game 2: Led:  0:00. Tied 6:47, Trailed: 55:54
Series:   Led  53:54, Tied: 12:53,  Trailed: 55:54 

Vs Florida:  Led: 120:01, Tied: 58:56,  Trailed 61:03
Vs. Washington  Led  130:12, Tied 120:32, Trailed: 53:44

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles fall to 156-127 in 283 all-time playoff games.  They are 87-47 at home (including 2-5 at Barclays and 3-1 in Toronto) and 69-80 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 3-1 when they are the home team and 5-2 when they are the road team.

A Winning Summer
With a record of 8-3 in the playoffs, the Isles are guaranteed a winning record for this year's playoffs.  It is the first time in the post-Cup era that the Isles have won more games than they lost.  It is the most games the Isles have won in the playoffs since 1993, when they won 9.

Coach Trotz
Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 845-618-60-151 in 1,674 games and will begin next season just five 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  925
3. Ken Hitchcock    849
4. Barry Trotz    845
5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,705
3. Barry Trotz        1,674
4. Al Arbour 1,607 

Coach Trotz (Playoffs)
Barry Trotz has now coached 132 playoff games (67-65).  His 67 wins are one behind Claude Julien for 15th place.  Trotz won the Stanley Cup with Washington in 2018; Joel Quenneville (3) and Mike Sullivan (2) are the only active coaches with multiple Stanley Cups.

Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:
Al Arbour 119
Barry Trotz 12
Jack Capuano 10
Terry Simpson 9
Peter Laviolette 4
Ted Nolan 1
Steve Stirling 1

Most playoff games coached (Islanders):
Al Arbour 198
Jack Capuano 24
Terry Simpson 20
Barry Trotz 19
Peter Laviolette 12
Steve Stirling 5
Ted Nolan 5

Most overtime wins/overtime record:
Al Arbour 26 (26-9)
Jack Capuano 4 (4-5)
Terry Simpson 3 (3-0)
Barry Trotz 2 (2-2)
Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)
Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)

Most playoff series wins:
Al Arbour 29
Barry Trotz 3
Jack Capuano 1
Terry Simpson 1

First Things First
The Isles are 5-1 when scoring first and are 3-2 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots
Isles          7-11-15-1=34
Philadelphia  11-9-8-3=31

Shots by Game
Game 1: Isles 29, Philadelphia 29
Game 2: Isles 34, Philadelphia 31
Series: Isles 63, Philadelphia 60
Vs. Florida: Isles 122, Florida 103
Vs. Washington: Isles 136, Washington 124
Playoffs: Isles 321, Opponents 287

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

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 7 saves before being replaced after Philadelphia's third goal.  
Thomas Greiss made 20 saves in relief but is charged with the loss. He is 5-7 all-time, including 3-3 in overtime.
Carter Hart made 31 saves and improves to 7-3 in the playoffs (all this year).

Power Plays
The Isles were 1-3 on the power play in 4:17 of PP time; Philadelphia was 0-2 on the power play in 4:00 of PP time.

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 0-1 (2:00, 0 shots), Philadelphia 0-1 (2:00, 1 shot)
Game 2: Isles 1-3 (4:17, 5 shots), Philadelphia 0-2 (4:00, 2 shots)
Series: Isles 1-4 (6:17, 5 shots), Philadelphia 0-3 (6:00, 3 shots)
Vs. Florida: Isles 4-13 (23:55; 15 shots), Florida 4-14 (16:51, 21 shots)
Series: Isles 2-22 (34:26, 29 shots), Washington 4-18 (24:57, 20 shots)
Playoffs:  Power Play: 7-39 (66:38, 49 shots), Penalty Kill 8-35 (47:48, 44 shots)

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 6-1 in the playoffs when they score at least three goals and 2-2 when they do not.  Last season the Isles scored at least three goals in each of their four wins and two or fewer in each of their four losses.

One Goal Games
The Isles are 2-3 in the playoffs in one-goal games (1-2 in regulation and 1-1 in overtime). The Isles are 0-0  in playoff games where an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Mathew Barzal (22:22);  Philadelphia: Ivan Provorov (25:40)
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 22:22 of ice-time 
Isles record by ice-time leader: Scott Mayfield (1-0), Adam Pelech (4-0), Mathew Barzal (2-1), Nick Leddy (1-1), Devon Toews (0-1)

Face-offs
Isles 31, Philadelphia 27 (53%).

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 11 of 16 for the Isles; Claude Giroux won 8 of 13 for Philadelphia.  

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 28, Philadelphia 30 (48%)
Game 2: Isles 31, Philadelphia 27 (53%)
Series: Isles 59, Philadelphia 57 (51%)
Vs. Florida:  Isles 106, Florida 127 (45%)
Vs. Washington: Isles 156, Washington 122 (56%)
Playoffs: Isles 321, Opponents 306 (51%)

Hit Count
Isles 39 (Matt Martin -5)
Philadelphia 31 (Robert Hagg-5)

Hits Game by Game:
Game 1: Isles 34, Philadelphia 29
Game 2: Isles 39, Philadelphia 31
Series: Isles 73, Philadelphia 60
Vs. Florida:  Isles 128, Florida 124
Series: Isles 194, Washington 177
Playoffs: Isles 395, Opponents 361

Fights
There were no fights. Playoff total -1  (Lee -1)

Blocked Shots
Isles 13 (Scott Mayfield and Devon Toews -3)
Philadelphia 17 (Travis Sanheim -5)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 71, Philadelphia 53
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 63, Philadelphia 48

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Adam Pelech +15
Philadelphia: Jakub Voracek +12

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1 (All) Isles 51, Philadelphia 67;  (5-on-5) Isles 47, Philadelphia 63
Game 1 (All) Isles 71, Philadelphia 53;  (5-on-5) Isles 63, Philadelphia 48
Series: (All) Isles 122, Philadelphia 120;  (5-on-5) Isles 110, Philadelphia 111
Vs Florida (All) Isles 226, Florida 224;  (5-on-5) Isles 174, Florida 168
Vs Washington: (All) Isles 260, Washington 294; (5-on-5) Isles 190, Washington 212
Playoffs (All)  Isles 608, Opponent 638; (5-on-5) Isles 474, Opponent 491

Scratches
Michael DalColle, Derek Brassard, Johnny Boychuk, Tom Kuhnhackl, Noah Dobson, Andrew Ladd, Otto Koivula, Thomas Hickey, Sebastian Aho, Christopher Gibson
Playoff games lost: 5. 

Post-Season Late Heroes (Final Two Minutes of Regulation, or Overtime)
None

Post-Season Late Goals Allowed
None

Playoff Challenges
None

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games:
Casey Cizikas 43
Matt Martin 43
Josh Bailey 41

Goals:
Brock Nelson 10 
Josh Bailey 10 
Anthony Beauvillier 8
Jordan Eberle 7
JG Pageau 6
Anders Lee 6
Mathew Barzal 5
Cal Clutterbuck 5

Assists:
Josh Bailey 18
Mathew Barzal 11
Nick Leddy 10
Brock Nelson 9
Devon Toews 8
Ryan Pulock 8
Jordan Eberle 8

Points:
Josh Bailey 28
Brock Nelson 19
Mathew Barzal 16
Jordan Eberle 15
Nick Leddy 14

Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 46
Cal Clutterbuck 42
Casey Cizikas 38

PP Goals
Mathew Barzal 2
Josh Bailey 2 
Anthony Beauvillier 2
Brock Nelson 2 
Ryan Pulock 2
Anders Lee 1
Devon Toews 1
Jordan Eberle 1
Nick Leddy 1

SH Goals
Josh Bailey 1
 
GW Goals
Brock Nelson 3
Anthony Beauvillier 3
Jordan Eberle 2
Josh Bailey 2
Thomas Hickey 1
Mathew Barzal 1
Andy Greene 1

OT Goals 
Josh Bailey 1
Mathew Barzal 1
Thomas Hickey 1

Goaltending
Thomas Greiss  5-7  2.42 GAA, .921 save percentage
Semyon Varlamov 8-2 1.76 GAA, .932 save percentage

Up Next
ROUND 2- GAME 3 – THURSDAY, AUGUST 27th – 7:00PM 
ISLANDERS VS PHILADELPHIA (AT TORONTO)  
[NBCSN, 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-1050; 30-minute pre-game and expanded post-game on MSG+]

It will be a quick turn-around as the teams meet again at 7pm on Thursday.

This is the second time in the post-season the Isles have played back-to-back (games 3 and 4 vs. Florida) and the second time the Flyers have done so (games 4 and 5 vs. Montreal).

The Isles will look to take a 2-1 lead in the series. The Isles are 8-10 all-time when they split the first two games, while the Flyers are 18-18 when they do so.

Game 4 of the series will be played on at noon on Saturday.

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

Monday, August 24, 2020

The Skinny: Isles 4, Philadelphia 0

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Round 2 Game 1
Isles 4, Philadelphia 0
Isles lead best-of-7 series 1-0
Andy Greene's first playoff goal in over 10 years became the earliest game-winning goal of the post-Cup era as Semyon Varlamov made 29 saves for his 2nd career playoff shutout and the Islanders blanked the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.  

Jean-Gabriel Pageau doubled the Islander advantage 2:54 into the third and Anders Lee scored for the 4th time in the last six games to make it 3-0.  Devon Toews cemented matters from 185 feet with the earliest empty-net goal in Islander history (regular season or playoffs, not including Billy Smith's goal) .

The Isles lead the series 1-0; game 2 will be on Wednesday afternoon.

The Scoring: 
1st Period
Andy Greene (1) Brock Nelson (5) 06:06 NYI 1,PHI 0 

2nd Period
No Goals

3rd Period
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (5) Leo Komarov (2), Adam Pelech (3) 02:54 NYI 2,PHI 0
Anders Lee (4) Mathew Barzal (5), Jordan Eberle (3) 08:50 NYI 3,PHI 0
Devon Toews (1)EN 12:21 NYI 4,PHI 0 

The Series (Isles lead 1-0)
Game 1: Isles 4 Philadelphia 0
Game 2: Wednesday 3pm
Game 3: Thursday 7pm
Game 4: Saturday Noon
Game 5: (if needed) Monday, August 31st
Game 6: (if needed) Wednesday, September 2nd
Game 7: (if needed) Thursday September 3rd 

The Skinny
Andy Greene's goal was the 900th playoff goal in Isles history…The Isles outscored the Flyers 3-0 in the third period after outscoring the Caps 8-1 in the third period and overtime; the Isles have allowed only one third period goal in their eight wins this post-season… Nick Leddy played his 36th playoff game as an Islander without being penalized, extending his own club record...The Isles held the Flyers to 29 shots; the 10 games this year sets a new club record, while the 11 games over two years extends the club record…Semyon Varlamov now has the second-longest shutout streak (136:20) in Isles history, passing Robin Lehner's 123:29 streak from last season. He has tied Billy Smith's club record for shutouts in a playoff year (2)… Nine Islanders had points and 15 players (all but the Cizikas line) were on-ice for an Islander goal…The Flyers scored only 11 goals in six games vs. Montreal and none tonight; the losing team has scored 0 or 1 goals in eight of Philadelphia's ten games this summer…It's the first time the Isles have ever shutout the Flyers in a playoff game…JG Pageau has 17 goals in 44 career playoff games, including five goals in ten playoff games with the Isles…Andy Greene joins Alex McKendry as the only players in Islander history to score a playoff goal but not a regular season goal; McKendry scored twice in 1980.

First Times in a Long Time (Playoff Only)
The Isles recorded consecutive team shutouts for the first time since April 18-20, 1979 (Billy Smith and Chico Resch)
The Isles have recorded two shutouts in a playoff year for the first time since 1983 (Billy Smith vs. NYR and EDM)
Andy Greene (37 years, 299 days) is the oldest Isle to score a playoff goal since Ed Westfall (38 years, 215 days).
Andy Greene's goal is his first playoff goal in 10 years, 130 days – it is the sixth-longest gap between goals in Stanley Cup history.  (Both goals were game-winners)
Greene’s goal is the earliest game-winner in a playoff game since Greg Gilbert scored 5:48 into game 2 vs. Edmonton on May 12, 1984 (the  final winning goal of the Dynasty era).
The Isles are 5-1 when they are the road team. It is the first time since 1987 that they have won five road games in a playoff year.
The Isles' win snapped an 8-game losing streak in Round 2 games (Games 2-5 vs. Tampa Bay in 2016, games 1-4 vs. Carolina in 2019).  With one win in Round 2, the Isles match the 2016 team for being the closest the Isles have been to the Stanley Cup since 1993.
The Isles have scored eight consecutive goals since Alex Ovechkin scored for Washington to win Game 4.  It is the first time that the Isles have scored eight consecutive playoff goals since April 1983, when they had a streak of ten straight goals.  The 10 goals is the franchise record, set in 1979, and matched in 1980, 1981 and 1983.

Longest Playoff Shutout Streaks by a Goalie:
Billy Smith  136:59 (4/11-4/16/1980)
Semyon Varlamov 136:20 (CURRENT)
Robin Lehner 123:29 (4/16-4/26/2019)

The Isles' team shutout record in post-season play is 182:50, set in April 1979 (all vs. Chicago).

Top of the Heap
Semyon Varlamov leads all goalies this summer in wins (8), goals against average (1.50) and save percentage (.9414, just ahead of Joonas Korpisalo's .9406)

Great 8 to Elite 8
The Isles are in Round 2 for the second straight season and third time in the last five years.  In those five years, no Eastern Conference team has advanced to Round 2 more than the Isles.  Tampa Bay, Boston, Pittsburgh, and Washington have also appeared in the Elite 8 three times.

Familiar Foes
This is the 5th meeting of the Isles and Philadelphia in the playoffs (Isles are 1-3 and have won 12 of 26 games):
1975 Semi-Finals  Flyers won series 4-3
1980 STANLEY CUP FINAL  Isles won series, and Stanley Cup  4-2
1985 Patrick Division Finals  Flyers won series 4-1
1987 Patrick Division Finals  Flyers won series 4-3
2020 Eastern Conference First Round  Isles lead series 1-0

2020 is the third straight playoff meeting between the teams that followed an Isles' victory over Washington; the winner of each previous series between the teams has at least reached the Stanley Cup Final.

Barry and Al
Barry Trotz is only the 2nd coach to lead the Isles to multiple series wins, joining Al Arbour.  Terry Simpson and Jack Capuano are the only other coaches to lead the Isles to a playoff series victory.

Lou and Bill
Lou Lamoriello has won 28 playoff series as a General Manager, tying Bill Torrey for second place on the all-time list. Glen Sather has 41 wins.

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 35-17 (.673) all-time in overtime, including 19-10 (.655) at home. The .673 overall percentage is 2nd to Tampa Bay (17-8 .680) while the .655 home percentages is the best in NHL history. The Isles are 1-0 in overtime this season; they have gone 6-4 in ten overtime games since 2015.

Overtime is Our Time vs. Philadelphia
The Isles are 3-1 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Philadelphia:
05/01/75 @ Bob Clarke         L Phl 2:56 
05/07/75 Vs Jude Drouin W Phl 1:53 
05/13/80 @ Denis Potvin W Phl 4:07 
05/24/80 Vs Bobby Nystrom W Phl 7:11

Lead/Tie/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 53:54, Tied: 6:06,  Trailed: 0:00 
Series:   Led  53:54, Tied: 6:06,  Trailed: 0:00 

Vs Florida:  Led: 120:01, Tied: 58:56,  Trailed 61:03
Vs. Washington  Led  130:12, Tied 120:32, Trailed: 53:44

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles improve to 156-126 in 282 all-time playoff games.  They are 87-47 at home (including 2-5 at Barclays and 3-1 in Toronto) and 69-79 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 3-1 when they are the home team and 5-1 when they are the road team.

A Winning Summer
With a record of 8-2 in the playoffs, the Isles are guaranteed a winning record for this year's playoffs.  It is the first time in the post-Cup era that the Isles have won more games than they lost.  It's the most games the Isles have won in the playoffs since 1993, when they won 9.

Coach Trotz
Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 845-618-60-151 in 1,674 games and will begin next season just five 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  925
3. Ken Hitchcock    849
4. Barry Trotz    845
5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,705
3. Barry Trotz        1,674
4. Al Arbour 1,607 

Coach Trotz (Playoffs)
Barry Trotz has now coached 131 playoff games (67-64).  His 67 wins are one behind Claude Julien for 15th place.  Trotz won the Stanley Cup with Washington in 2018; Joel Quenneville (3) and Mike Sullivan (2) are the only active coaches with multiple Stanley Cups.

Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:
Al Arbour 119
Barry Trotz 12
Jack Capuano 10
Terry Simpson 9
Peter Laviolette 4
Ted Nolan 1
Steve Stirling 1

Most playoff games coached (Islanders):
Al Arbour 198
Jack Capuano 24
Terry Simpson 20
Barry Trotz 18
Peter Laviolette 12
Steve Stirling 5
Ted Nolan 5

Most overtime wins/overtime record:
Al Arbour 26 (26-9)
Jack Capuano 4 (4-5)
Terry Simpson 3 (3-0)
Barry Trotz 2 (2-1)
Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)
Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)

Most playoff series wins:
Al Arbour 29
Barry Trotz 3
Jack Capuano 1
Terry Simpson 1

First Things First
The Isles are 5-1 when scoring first and are 3-1 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots
Isles             15-7-7=29
Philadelphia  4-15-10=29

Shots by Game
Game 1: Isles 29, Philadelphia 29
Series: Isles 29, Philadelphia 29
Vs. Florida: Isles 122, Florida 103
Vs. Washington: Isles 136, Washington 124
Playoffs: Isles 287, Opponents 256

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

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 29 saves to improve to 8-2 this summer and 21-15 all-time in the playoffs.  
Carter Hart made 25 saves but falls to 6-3 in the playoffs (all this year).

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

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 0-1 (2:00, 0 shots), Philadelphia 0-1 (2:00, 1 shot)
Series: Isles 0-1 (2:00, 0 shots), Philadelphia 0-1 (2:00, 1 shot)
Vs. Florida: Isles 4-13 (23:55; 15 shots), Florida 4-14 (16:51, 21 shots)
Series: Isles 2-22 (34:26, 29 shots), Washington 4-18 (24:57, 20 shots)
Playoffs:  Power Play: 6-36 (60:21, 44 shots), Penalty Kill 8-33 (43:48, 42 shots)

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 6-0 in the playoffs when they score at least three goals and 2-2 when they do not.  Last season the Isles scored at least three goals in each of their four wins and two or fewer in each of their four losses.

One Goal Games
The Isles are 2-2 in the playoffs in one-goal games (1-2 in regulation and 1-0 in overtime). The Isles are 0-0  in playoff games where an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Adam Pelech (21:42);  Philadelphia: Ivan Provorov (22:18)
Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 17:43 of ice-time 
Isles record by ice-time leader: Scott Mayfield (1-0), Adam Pelech (4-0), Mathew Barzal (2-0), Nick Leddy (1-1), Devon Toews (0-1)

Face-offs
Isles 28, Philadelphia 30 (48%).

Brock Nelson won 12 of 18 for the Isles; Kevin Hayes won 7 of 12 for Philadelphia.  

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 28, Philadelphia 30 (48%).  
Series: Isles 28, Philadelphia 30 (48%).
Vs. Florida:  Isles 106, Florida 127 (45%)
Vs. Washington: Isles 156, Washington 122 (56%)
Playoffs: Isles 290, Opponents 279 (51%)

Hit Count
Isles 34 (Ross Johnston -10)
Philadelphia 29 (Two with 4)

Hits Game by Game:
Game 1: Isles 34, Philadelphia 29
Series: Isles 34, Philadelphia 29
Vs. Florida:  Isles 128, Florida 124
Series: Isles 194, Washington 177
Playoffs: Isles 356, Opponents 330

Fights
There were no fights. Playoff total -1  (Lee -1)

Blocked Shots
Isles 22 (Andy Greene -4)
Philadelphia 10 (Philippe Myers -3)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 51, Philadelphia 67
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 47, Philadelphia 63

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Josh Bailey +6
Philadelphia: Three with +12

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1 (All) Isles 51, Philadelphia 67;  (5-on-5) Isles 47, Philadelphia 63
Series: (All) Isles 51, Philadelphia 67;  (5-on-5) Isles 47, Philadelphia 63
Vs Florida (All) Isles 226, Florida 224;  (5-on-5) Isles 174, Florida 168
Vs Washington: (All) Isles 260, Washington 294; (5-on-5) Isles 190, Washington 212
Playoffs (All)  Isles 537, Opponent 585; (5-on-5) Isles 411, Opponent 443

Scratches
Michael DalColle, Derek Brassard, Johnny Boychuk, Tom Kuhnhackl, Noah Dobson, Andrew Ladd, Otto Koivula, Thomas Hickey, Sebastian Aho, Christopher Gibson
Playoff games lost: 5. 

Post-Season Late Heroes (Final Two Minutes of Regulation, or Overtime)
None

Post-Season Late Goals Allowed
None

Playoff Challenges
None

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games:
Casey Cizikas 42
Matt Martin 42
Josh Bailey 40

Goals:
Brock Nelson 10 
Josh Bailey 10 
Jordan Eberle 7
Anthony Beauvillier 7
Mathew Barzal 5
Cal Clutterbuck 5
JG Pageau 5
Anders Lee 5

Assists:
Josh Bailey 17
Mathew Barzal 10
Brock Nelson 9
Nick Leddy 9
Devon Toews 8
Ryan Pulock 8
Jordan Eberle 8

Points:
Josh Bailey 27
Brock Nelson 19
Jordan Eberle 15
Mathew Barzal 15
Nick Leddy 13

Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 46
Cal Clutterbuck 42
Casey Cizikas 38

PP Goals
Mathew Barzal 2
Josh Bailey 2 
Anthony Beauvillier 2
Brock Nelson 2 
Ryan Pulock 2
Devon Toews 1
Jordan Eberle 1
Nick Leddy 1

SH Goals
Josh Bailey 1
 
GW Goals
Brock Nelson 3
Anthony Beauvillier 3
Jordan Eberle 2
Josh Bailey 2
Thomas Hickey 1
Mathew Barzal 1
Andy Greene 1

OT Goals 
Josh Bailey 1
Mathew Barzal 1
Thomas Hickey 1

Goaltending
Thomas Greiss  5-6  2.49 GAA, .920 save percentage
Semyon Varlamov 8-2 1.50 GAA, .941 save percentage

Up Next
ROUND 2- GAME 2 – WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26th – 3:00PM 
ISLANDERS VS PHILADELPHIA (AT TORONTO)  
[NBCSN, 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-1050; 30-minute pre-game and expanded post-game on MSG+]

The Isles will look to take a 2-0 lead in the series as they face the Flyers in the front-end of a back-to-back. The Isles are 17-5 all-time when they win Game 1, while the Flyers are 15-24 when they drop game 1.

Game 3 of the series will be played on Thursday night.

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