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The Skinny: Isles 4, Buffalo 3

"The Skinny" By Eric Hornick Game 11 Isles 4, Buffalo 3 Bo Horvat and Maxim Tsyplakov each scored a goal and added an assist, and ...

Monday, September 07, 2020

The Skinny: Tampa Bay 8, Isles 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Final Game 1
Tampa Bay 8, Isles 2
Tampa Bay leads best-of-7 series, 1-0
Brayden Point scored two goals and added three assists while Nikita Kucherov scored a goal and added four assists as Tampa Bay took a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Final with an 8-2 win over the Islanders at Rogers Place in Edmonton.  

After allowing the opening goal just 74 seconds into play, Jordan Eberle knotted the scored with a power play tally at the 4:33 mark.  However, the Lightning scored two goals in the next 6:13 to chase Thomas Greiss and added two more goals in the second period to make the game a one-sided affair.
 
Game 2 is scheduled for 8:00 Eastern Time on Wednesday.

The Scoring: 
1st Period
Brayden Point (7) Blake Coleman (5), Luke Schenn (1) 01:14 NYI 0,TBL 1
Jordan Eberle (4) Anders Lee (1), Mathew Barzal (9) 04:33 NYI 1,TBL 1 PPG
Victor Hedman (6) Brayden Point (13), Nikita Kucherov (13) 08:12 NYI 1,TBL 2 PPG
Ryan McDonagh (1) Nikita Kucherov (14), Mikhail Sergachev (4) 10:46 NYI 1,TBL 3

2nd Period
Yanni Gourde (4) Pat Maroon (3), Kevin Shattenkirk (6) 04:03 NYI 1,TBL 4
Brayden Point (8) Victor Hedman (5), Nikita Kucherov (15) 13:18 NYI 1,TBL 5 PPG

3rd Period
Nikita Kucherov (5) Brayden Point (14), Kevin Shattenkirk (7) 05:51 NYI 1,TBL 6
Nick Leddy (3)  Anders Lee (2), Jordan Eberle (9) 08:46 NYI 2,TBL 6
Ondrej Palat (6) Brayden Point (15), Nikita Kucherov (16) 09:31 NYI 2,TBL 7
Yanni Gourde (5) Kevin Shattenkirk (8), Victor Hedman (6) 13:15 NYI 2,TBL 8 PPG

The Series (Tampa Bay leads, 1-0)
Game 1: Tampa Bay 8, Isles 2
Game 2: Wednesday 8pm (NBCSN)
Game 3: Friday 8pm (USA Network)
Game 4: Sunday 3pm (NBC)
Game 5: (if needed) Tuesday, September 15th  8pm (NBCSN)
Game 6: (if needed) Thursday, September 17th  8pm (NBCSN)
Game 7: (if needed) Saturday, September 19th  7:30pm (NBC)

The Skinny 
The five points by Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point established club records both for the Lightning and against the Isles; Kucherov's four assists tied similar club records for both teams … Point and Kucherov are the first teammates to have five-point games in the conference finals since Paul Coffey and Jari Kurri did so for Edmonton in 1985 against Chicago…The eight goals matched the Lightning playoff record for goals scored and the Isles record for goals allowed…The Isles were outscored 3-1 in the third period; the Isles have allowed only two third period goals in their eleven wins this post-season and lead the NHL with 23 third period goals in this year's playoffs… The Isles extended their streak of scoring at least two goals in every game in The Bubble…Nick Leddy played his 43rd playoff game as an Islander without being penalized, extending his own club record; he became the first Islander defenseman since Vladimir Malakhov (1993) to score three goals in a playoff year…The Lightning scored three power play goals, snapping the Isles club-record (playoffs) 8-game streak of not allowing a power play goal…Brayden Point has a point in seven straight games (4-12-16); Ondrej Palat scored for the fifth straight game…Barry Trotz coached his 25th playoff game for the Isles, passing Jack Capuano for 2nd place on the team list; the Isles allowed 8 goals for only the second time under Trotz (12/17/2019 vs. Nashville)…Tampa Bay had 12 shots on the PP; that's one more than the Isles allowed Philadelphia in their seven-game series…The Lightning missed the net on only one of their 47 attempts (Cedric Paquette at 18:53 of the third)…Anders Lee recorded his first two playoff assists while Jordan Eberle extended his point streak to four games with his first goal since game 1 vs. Washington…This is the first time the Isles have trailed in a series in 2020.

The Injury
Cal Clutterbuck suffered an injury in the second period blocking a shot; he returned to the bench briefly in the third period but left the bench without returning to the game.

A Special Summer
The Isles have won 11 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 -11

This was the 17th game the Isles have played this summer, ranking tied-7th on the list of Games Played in a playoff year:

1980 – 21
1984 – 21
1983 – 20
1982 – 19
1981 – 19
1993 - 18 
2020 - 17
1975 – 17 

Pageau, Pageau, JG Pageau
JG Pageau has 19 goals in 52 career Stanley Cup games. Among active players who have played 52 or fewer games, only Jake Guentzel, Nathan MacKinnon and David Pastrnak have scored more goals:
Jake Guentzel 25 goals in 45 games
Nathan MacKinnon 20 goals in 40 games
David Pastrnak 20 goals in 52 games
JG Pageau 19 goals in 52 games
Bobby Ryan 19 goals in 50 games
Mark Stone 17 goals in 50 games
Mark Schiefele 16 goals in 28 games 
Jamie Benn 16 goals in 49 games

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)

11 Alive
JG Pageau was even and remains +11; Scott Mayfield was even and is now +11.

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.

Pageau and Mayfield are two of only eight players in NHL +11 or better (Victor Hedman +14, Nathan McKinnon +13, Alec Martinez +12, Cole Makar +12, Mikko Rantanen +11, Ondrej Palat +11)

The Great 8
Anthony Beauvillier has eight goals this summer, leaving him tied-third in goals by an Islander in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Ray Ferraro 13 (1993)
Steve Thomas 9 (1993)
Anthony Beauvillier 8 (2020)
Bryan Trottier 8 (1987)
Anders Lee 7 (2020)
JG Pageau 7 (2020)
Brock Nelson 7 (2020)

Hey, Josh Bailey
Josh Bailey now has fifteen assists this summer, the most assists by an Islander in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era (and the most since Bob Bourne had 20 in 1983).
Josh Bailey 15 (2020) 
Derek King 11 (1993)
Mathew Barzal 9 (2020)
Jordan Eberle 9 (2020)
Brock Nelson 8 (2020)
Steve Thomas 8 (1993)
Pat LaFontaine 8 (1987)
John Tonelli 8 (1985)

Bailey is the only Isle to have five multi-assist games in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era and joins Bryan Trottier (2x), Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin and Bob Bourne as the only Isles to ever have at least five multi-assist games in one post-season.  (Bryan Trottier had 7 of them in 1982).

Hey, Josh Bailey II
Bailey now has 17 points this summer, matching Steve Thomas for the second-highest total by an Islander in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Ray Ferraro 20 (1993)
Steve Thomas 17 (1993)
Josh Bailey 17 (2020) 
Brock Nelson 15 (2020) 
Mathew Barzal 14 (2020)
Derek King 14 (1993)

Thanks for the Help
Devon Toews and Ryan Pulock each have seven assists this summer, the most by an Islander defenseman in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Devon Toews 7 (2020)
Ryan Pulock 7 (2020)
Roman Hamrlik 6 (2002)
Dennis Vaske 6 (1993)
Vladimir Malakhov 6 (1993)

Brock Best
Brock Nelson now has 14 playoff goals for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:
Brock Nelson 14 
John Tavares 11
Josh Bailey 10

Final Four!
The Isles have advanced to the conference final for the first time since 1993.  This ends the longest gap between conference final appearances in NHL history.

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).

Facing Tampa
This is the 3rd meeting of the Isles and Tampa Bay in the playoffs; the Lightning have won the two previous series (2004 Conference Quarter-Final and 2016 Round 2), each in five games.  

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 29 playoff series as a General Manager, passing Bill Torrey for second place on the all-time list. Glen Sather has 41 wins.

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 35-20 (.636) all-time in overtime, including 19-11 (.633) at home. Both percentages are 2nd-best (to Tampa Bay) in NHL history. The Isles are 1-3 in overtime this season; they have gone 6-7 in thirteen overtime games since 2015.

Overtime vs. Tampa Bay
The Isles are 0-3 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Tampa Bay:

04/16/04 @ Martin St. Louis L TB 00:04:07
05/03/16 Vs Brian Boyle L TB 00:02:48 (Brooklyn)
05/06/16 Vs Jason Garrison L TB 00:01:34 (Brooklyn)

Lead/Tie/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 0:00, Tied: 55:07, Trailed: 4:53 
Series:   Led: 0:00, Tied: 55:07, Trailed: 4:53

Vs Florida:  Led: 120:01, Tied: 58:56,  Trailed 61:03
Vs. Washington  Led  130:12, Tied 120:32, Trailed: 53:44
Vs. Philadelphia:   Led: 180:45, Tied: 190:22,  Trailed: 98:57 

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles fall to 159-130 in 289 all-time playoff games.  They are 89-48 at home (including 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto and 0-0 in Edmonton) and 70-82 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 5-2 when they are the home team (5-2 in Toronto and 0-0 in Edmonton) and 6-4 when they are the road team (6-3 in Toronto and 0-1 in Edmonton).

A Winning Summer
With a record of 11-6 in the playoffs, the Isles are guaranteed to win more games than they lost for the first time in the post-Cup era.  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 138 playoff games (70-68).  His 138 games are 13th (5 behind Peter Laviolette) while his 70 wins are 15th all time (5 behind Laviolette).  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 15
Jack Capuano 10
Terry Simpson 9
Peter Laviolette 4
Ted Nolan 1
Steve Stirling 1

Most playoff games coached (Islanders):
Al Arbour 198
Barry Trotz 25
Jack Capuano 24
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 (2-4)
Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)
Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)

Most game 7 wins/game seven record)
Al Arbour 4 (2-2)
Terry Simpson 2 (1-1)
Barry Trotz 1 (1-0)
Jack Capuano 1 (0-1)
Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)

Most playoff series wins:
Al Arbour 29
Barry Trotz 4
Jack Capuano 1
Terry Simpson 1

First Things First
The Isles are 7-2 when scoring first and are 4-4 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots
Isles         6-11-8=25
Tampa Bay 10-8-16=34

Shots by Game
Game 1: Isles 25, Tampa Bay 34
Series:  Isles 25, Tampa Bay 34
Vs. Florida: Isles 122, Florida 103
Vs. Washington: Isles 136, Washington 124
Vs. Philadelphia: Isles 236, Philadelphia 204
Playoffs: Isles 519, Opponents 465

The Isles are 7-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 2-2 when the shots are even and 2-2 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets
Thomas Greiss made six saves before being replaced after Tampa Bay's third goal.  He falls to 2-2 in this year's playoffs and 7-8 in his career.  Semyon Varlamov made 20 saves in relief.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves to improve to 11-3 in this year's playoffs and 26-18 in his career.

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

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 1-5 (9:44, 10 shots), Tampa Bay 3-6 (7:07,12 shots)
Series: Isles 1-5 (9:44, 10 shots), Tampa Bay 3-6 (7:07,12 shots)
Vs. Florida: Isles 4-16 (23:55; 15 shots), Florida 4-14 (16:51, 21 shots)
Vs. Washington: Isles 2-22 (34:26, 29 shots), Washington 4-18 (24:57, 20 shots)
Vs. Philadelphia: Isles 4-21 (37:06, 33 shots), Philadelphia 0-13 (24:09, 11 shots)
Playoffs:  Power Play: 11-64 (107:11, 87 shots), Penalty Kill 11-51 (73:04, 64 shots)

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 9-3 in the playoffs (9-0 in regulation and 0-3 in overtime) when they score at least three goals and 2-2 when they do not. 

Shutting the Door
The Isles are 11-0 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 3-5 in the playoffs in one-goal games (2-2 in regulation and 1-3 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: Ryan Pulock (21:32);  Tampa Bay: Ryan McDonagh (22:21)
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 20:07 of ice-time 
Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (6-1), Mathew Barzal (2-1), Nick Leddy (1-1), Ryan Pulock (1-2), Scott Mayfield (1-0),  Devon Toews (0-1).

Face-offs
Isles 28, Tampa Bay 26 (52%).

JG Pageau won 8 of 13 for the Isles; Brayden Point won 8 of 14 for Tampa Bay.  

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 26 (52%)
Series: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 26 (52%)
Vs. Florida:  Isles 106, Florida 127 (45%)
Vs. Washington: Isles 156, Washington 122 (56%)
Vs. Tampa Bay: Isles 198, Philadelphia 216 (48%)
Playoffs: Isles 486, Opponents 491 (50%)

Hit Count
Isles 44 (Matt Martin -6)
Tampa Bay 34 (Ondrej Palat -6)

Hits Game by Game:
Game 1: Isles 44, Tampa Bay 34
Series: Isles 44, Tampa Bay 34
Vs. Florida:  Isles 128, Florida 124
Vs. Washington: Isles 194, Washington 177
Vs. Philadelphia: Isles 310, Philadelphia 290
Playoffs: Isles 676, Opponents 625

Fights
There were no fights. Playoff total -2  (Lee -1, Pageau -1)

Blocked Shots
Isles 12 (Three with 2)
Tampa Bay 13 (Two with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 43, Tampa Bay 47 
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 24, Tampa Bay 28

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Ross Johnston +5
Tampa Bay: Ryan McDonagh +6

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1 (All) Isles 43, Tampa Bay 47;  (5-on-5) Isles 24, Tampa Bay 28
Series: (All) Isles 43, Tampa Bay 47;  (5-on-5) Isles 24, Tampa Bay 28
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
Series: (All) Isles 453, Philadelphia 454;  (5-on-5) Isles 382, Philadelphia 412
Playoffs (All)  Isles 982, Opponent 1017; (5-on-5) Isles 770, Opponent 820

Scratches
Michael Dal Colle, Leo Komorov, 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
Scott Laughton – Game 5 vs. Philadelphia (9/1/20) – 12:20 of OT
Ivan Provorov – Game 6 vs. Philadelphia (9/3/20) – 35:03 of OT

Playoff Challenges
None

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games:
Casey Cizikas 49
Matt Martin 49
Josh Bailey 47
Nick Leddy 43
Brock Nelson 43

Goals:
Brock Nelson 14
Josh Bailey 10
Anthony Beauvillier 9
Anders Lee 8
Jordan Eberle 8
JG Pageau 7
Mathew Barzal 7
Cal Clutterbuck 5
Matt Martin 5
Nick Leddy 5

Assists:
Josh Bailey 24
Mathew Barzal 14
Jordan Eberle 14
Brock Nelson 12
Devon Toews 11
Ryan Pulock 10
Nick Leddy 10

Points:
Josh Bailey 34
Brock Nelson 26
Jordan Eberle 22
Mathew Barzal 21
Nick Leddy 15 
Anthony Beauvillier 14
Anders Lee 14

Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 52
Cal Clutterbuck 44
Casey Cizikas 42

PP Goals
Mathew Barzal 3
Anders Lee 3
Josh Bailey 2
Anthony Beauvillier 2
Jordan Eberle 2
Brock Nelson 2 
Ryan Pulock 2
Devon Toews 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
Leo Komarov 1
Andy Greene 1
Scott Mayfield 1

OT Goals 
Josh Bailey 1
Mathew Barzal 1
Thomas Hickey 1

Goaltending
Thomas Greiss  7-8  2.41 GAA, .921 save percentage
Semyon Varlamov 9-4 2.22 GAA, .913 save percentage

Up Next
CONFERENCE FINALS - GAME 2 – WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9th – 8:00pm 
ISLANDERS VS.  TAMPA BAY (AT EDMONTON)  
[NBC, 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-Radio; 30-minute pre-game and expanded post-game on MSG+]

The Islanders will look to even the series as they play game 2 in Edmonton.

Tonight is only the third time in club history that the Isles allowed eight goals in a playoff game; the Isles responded with a win in the following game each of the first two times  (Games 2-3 vs. NYR (1975); Games 2-3 vs Philadelphia (1980)).

The Lightning are 8-2 all-time when winning game 1; the Isles are 7-15 all-time when dropping game 1.  The last Islander series win when dropping game 1 was in 1993 vs. Washington (0-7 since then).

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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