Featured Post

The Skinny: Rangers 5, Isles 2

"The Skinny" By Eric Hornick Game 68 Rangers 5, Isles 2 Johnny Brodzinski broke a 2-2 tie with 4:59 left in the middle period and ...

Friday, December 31, 2021

The Skinny: Isles 4, Buffalo 1

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 27
Isles 4, Buffalo 1
Mathew Barzal scored a goal and added two assists while Noah Dobson had two points and was on-ice for all four Islander goals as the Isles defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 4-1, before another sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Semyon Varlamov made 36 saves for his second straight win as the Isles stretched their home-ice dominance of the Sabres to ten straight games.  The Isles end December with a 4-2-4 record and will carry a three-game point streak into 2022.

The Scoring:
1st Period
Mathew Barzal (6) Josh Bailey (10), Noah Dobson (8) 12:35 BUF 0,NYI 1
Kyle Okposo (7) Brett Murray (3), Victor Olofsson (14) 19:00 BUF 1,NYI 1 PPG

2nd Period
Kieffer Bellows (3) Andy Greene (4) 06:45 BUF 1,NYI 2
Anders Lee (9) Kieffer Bellows (4), Mathew Barzal (13) 11:25  BUF 1,NYI 3 PPG

3rd Period
Noah Dobson (4) Josh Bailey (11), Mathew Barzal (14) 11:43 BUF 1,NYI 4

The Skinny         
The Isles have scored 28 goals in the last nine games after scoring only 33 goals in their first eighteen games…Anders Lee extended his point streak to four games…Mathew Barzal played seven games in October and has points in all of them (2-10-12, including four multiple-assist games)…Josh Bailey had his first multiple-assist game of the season…Kieffer Bellows had a goal and an assist, giving him six points in his last six games…Noah Dobson is 4-4-8 in his last eight games; his four goals are all at home; he leads all players in goals on UBS ice…Kyle Okposo, who scored 139 goals with the Isles, had the Sabre goal. It was his third goal against his former team…Semyon Varlamov earned his second straight win, stopping 76 of 78 shots in the two games; Varly has allowed only eight goals in the last four games (2-1-1)…In the fifteen games that the Isles have earned points, their power play is 10-38 (26.3%); the Islander power play is 3-35 (8.6%) in their 12 regulation losses…The Isles are 3-0-1 in their last four games at home after going 0-5-2 to open UBS Arena.

The COVID List!
Mathew Barzal, Robin Salo and Matt Martin all returned to the lineup after missing games with COVID; Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck both were on the list but returned without missing a game.  Brock Nelson, Oliver Wahlstrom, Sebastian Aho and Anthony Beauvillier are on the COVID protocol list; fifteen Islanders have missed games due to COVID. Ryan Pulock (LTIR) and Kyle Palmieri (IR) missed the game with injuries.

Hey Josh Bailey!
Josh Bailey had two assists to first tie and then pass Clark Gillies for fourth place on the all-time Isles list.

1. Bryan Trottier 853 
2. Denis Potvin 742 
3. Mike Bossy 553 
4. Josh Bailey 360
5. Clark Gillies 359

Gillies had been fourth on this list since Mike Bossy passed him during the 1982-83 season.  No other Islander had been in the top four of assists since Bossy passed Billy Harris on March 2, 1982!

Dobson's in Good Company
Noah Dobson is tied for the NHL lead in goals by a defenseman in December (4).  Erik Karlsson, Viktor Hedman, Cale Makar, and Evan Bouchard have all scored four goals this month; Hedman and Dobson are the only players to scored them all at home.

Lots of Home Cooking
The Isles are in a stretch where they are playing six out of seven games at home.  The Isles are 3-2-1 in this stretch:
12/9 vs. Nashville L 3-4
12/11 vs. New Jersey W 4-2
12/14 @ Detroit L 1-2
12/16 vs. Boston W 3-1
12/19 vs. Vegas L 3-4 (SO)
12/30 vs. Buffalo W 4-1
1/1/2022 vs. Edmonton

Four games that were originally in this stretch (home games with Montreal, Washington, and Detroit as well as a game in Buffalo) have been postponed.

The Schedule
This was only the 8th time Isles have had at least 10 days off during a regular season.

Five of the other seven were due to Olympics (ranging from 13 to 18 off-days).  In 1992 a player strike led to 13 consecutive off-days.  The only "normal" break of this kind occurred in early 2020, when the Isles had ten consecutive off-days around the all-star break. 

The Isles just ended their third break of at least five consecutive off-days (no games Oct 25-29, Nov 27-Dec 1, and Dec 20-29); that's happened only once before - in 2006-07.  It happened once last season - when Buffalo's COVID outbreak postponed games in early February.

The Isles reach New Year's having played only 27 games; prior to this season the latest the Isles played game 27 was on Dec 14.  The Isles will have completed one-third of their 82-game schedule after the first period on Saturday.

Histor-Z
Zdeno Chara played in his 1,632nd NHL game. Chara is 3rd among defensemen in games played:
Chris Chelios 1,651  
Scott Stevens 1,635
Zdeno Chara 1,632

Chelios is 8th among all players in games played, Stevens is 10th and Chara is 11th.

Home and Road
The Isles are 9-12-6 overall; they are 3-5-3 at home and 6-7-3 on the road.
Buffalo is 10-17-5 overall; they are 6-9-2 at home and 4-8-3 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played eleven home games and sold out all of them. They are the eleven largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home.

Leader of the Pack
Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 886-647-60-164 in 1,757 games. 

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville  969
3. Barry Trotz    886

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,768
3. Barry Trotz        1,757

Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:
1. David Poile 1,464
2. Lou Lamoriello 1,335
3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top
Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,221 wins between them. They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together). Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together. 

First Things First
The Isles are 8-4-4 when scoring first and are 1-8-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots
Isles    9-12-11=32
Buffalo    14-9-14=37
The Isles are 1-3-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 8-8-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 72-44-17 when outshot.

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 36 saves; he is 9-12-6 on the season and 13-3-1 vs. Buffalo. 

Malcolm Subban made 28 saves; he is 0-2-1 on the season and 0-1-1 vs. the Isles.   

Special Teams
The Isles were 1-2 on the power play (2:46); Buffalo was 1-2 on the power play (2:42).

The Isles are 4-3-4 when they score at least one power play goal and 5-9-2 when they do not. The Isles are 3-6-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-6-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 7-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-10-4 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 95-11-13 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 0-3-6 in games decided by a single goal including 0-3 in regulation. They are 0-3 in games decided in overtime and are 0-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 2-2-1 in the front end and 1-3-1 in the back end. The next back-to-back is scheduled for January 4th in Seattle and January 5th in Vancouver.
 
Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 22-7-5 (.727) in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-0-2 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on January 1st against Edmonton. The Isles will play a total of fourteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Zdeno Chara (22:11); Buffalo: Rasmus Dahlin (27:04)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau led Isles forwards with a season-high 17:59 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-1-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), Adam Pelech (4-2-2), Zdeno Chara (2-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-2-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-1-0), Noah Dobson (1-1-2).

Face-offs
Isles 31, Buffalo 16 (66%)
Casey Cizikas won 9 of 13 for the Isles; no Sabre won more than he lost. 

The Isles are 6-8-4 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-0-1 when face-offs are even, and 3-4-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count
Isles 24 (Matt Martin -5)
Buffalo 12 (Two with 3)
Fights 
There were no fights. Season total: 12 (Chara 3, Martin 3, Bellows 1, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Pageau 1, Wahlstrom 1)
 
Blocked Shots
Isles 11 (Zdeno Chara -3)
Buffalo 10 (Mark Pysyk -3)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 50, Buffalo 53
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 45, Buffalo 42

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Adam Pelech +14
Buffalo: Rasmus Asplund +4

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 9, Buffalo 8
5-on-5: Isles 8, Buffalo 5

Scratches
(Ryan Pulock -LTIR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), Cole Bardreau, (Brock Nelson, Oliver Wahlstrom, Sebastian Aho and Anthony Beauvillier – COVID)
Games Lost: 79 (38 to injuries and 41 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man
Scott Mayfield played in his 116th consecutive game.

Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure
The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR)

Opponents: 3 successful, 0 failures  
The Isles are 1-1-1 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 0-0-0 in games where challenges go the Isles' way. (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA and 10/23 @ARI; offside 12/19 vs VGK)

Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have scored one goal and allowed two goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:
For: 1  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO)
Vs:  2 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH; GWG, Shea Theodore 19:12 – 12/19/21 vs NSH; Isles lost in SO)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 941…
11. Derek King 638 *** 12. Matt Martin 634 *** 13. Billy Harris and Brock Nelson 623 *** 14. Stefan Persson 622 *** 16. Casey Cizikas 611 … 
20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 555 *** 22. Ken Morrow  550 ***  23. Duane Sutter 547 *** 24. Lorne Henning and Anders Lee 543

Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 193 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 178 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 163

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 360…
20. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 189…
26. Jean Potvin 167 *** 27. Jeff Norton 166 *** 28. Ziggy Palffy and Brock Nelson 163

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 523 …
17. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 18. Brock Nelson 341 *** 19. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 20. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 21. Ziggy Palffy and Anders Lee 331…
26. Ed Westfall 286 *** 27. Mathew Barzal 272

Games Coached 
1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 233
 
Coaching Wins
1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 124

On the Farm
Bridgeport dropped a 3-2 decision to Hartford on Wednesday to end 2021 with a 10-16-1-3 record; they will open 2022 with a New Year's Day game in Lehigh Valley and a Sunday game in Hershey. 

Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0).  

The Isles have won ten straight home games against Buffalo (three in Brooklyn, six at the Coliseum and one at UBS Arena).  

UP NEXT
SATURDAY, JANUARY 1st– EDMONTON AT ISLANDERS 2:00pm 
[MSG+ (pre-game begins at 1:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]
The Isles often play (and win) on New Year's Eve, having gone 12-1-1 in their last 14 games on New Year's Eve. However, on Saturday the Isles will play their first New Year's Day game since 2007 as they face the Edmonton Oilers.

It will be the first meeting of the teams since a 5-2 Oiler win at the Coliseum on October 8, 2019.  That defeat snapped a six-game Isles point streak vs. Edmonton and left New York with a 2-1-4 record in their last seven games against the Oil.

Edmonton struggled into the holiday break going 3-7-0 in their last ten games after a 15-5-0 start.  The Oilers will be in New Jersey on Friday afternoon before heading to Long Island. 

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

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    

 

Sunday, December 19, 2021

The Skinny: Vegas 4, Isles 3 (SO)

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 26
Vegas 4, Isles 3 (SO)
Shea Theodore scored twice in the third period and then added the deciding goal in the shootout as the Vegas Golden Knights rallied from a last-minute 3-2 deficit for a 4-3 victory over the Islanders before another sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Robin Lehner made seven saves in the overtime and two more in the shootout to earn the victory in his return to Long Island.

The Scoring:
1st Period
Jonathan Marchessault (14) Zach Whitecloud (2), Reilly Smith (14) 06:56 VGK 1,NYI 0
Brock Nelson (10) Noah Dobson (7), Oliver Wahlstrom (6) 11:08 VGK 1,NYI 1 PPG

2nd Period
No Goals

3rd Period
Shea Theodore (5) Chandler Stephenson (21), Max Pacioretty (8) 05:46 VGK 2,NYI 1 PPG
Kieffer Bellows (2) Zach Parise (5) 14:19 VGK 2,NYI 2
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (5) Oliver Wahlstrom (7), Anders Lee (2) 17:40 VGK 2,NYI 3
Shea Theodore (6) Alex Pietrangelo (17) 19:12 VGK 3,NYI 3

OT
No Goals

The Shootout
Shea Theodore (G/GDG) - Anthony Beauvillier (NG)
Jonathan Marchessault (NG) - Oliver Wahlstrom (NG)
Nicolas Roy (G)

This was the first shootout ever between the teams…The Isles have lost five straight shootouts after winning the four before that; it is only the second time that they have lost at least five consecutive shootouts (seven in 2015)… Shea Theodore is now 7-13 in shootouts, with four game-deciding goals.  He is one of three defensemen in NHL history to score on over 50% of his attempts (minimum 10); Petteri Nummelin (8-10) and Adrian Aucoin (6-11) are the others…The Isles have not scored a shootout goal this season (0-7).

The Skinny         
The Isles have scored 24 goals in the last eight games after scoring only 33 goals in their first eighteen games…Anders Lee extended his point streak to three games…Zdeno Chara (57 penalty minutes) tied Liam O'Brien for the NHL lead; he was in the box for Theodore's power play goal…Oliver Wahlstrom had three shots on goal and four attempts; Wahlstrom leads the Isles with 65 shots on goal…Wahlstrom also had two assists for his fourth multi-point game in the last six games; he leads the Isles with 10 points (3-7-10) in December…Josh Bailey played 21:57 – the most he has played in a game since December 15, 2018 vs. Detroit (22:35)…. Cal Clutterbuck had a goal overturned in the third period; Clutterbuck was playing in his 900th NHL game, meaning the Isles played a game with five players having at least 900 games of experience for the first time in their history…Andy Greene was honored before the game for playing in his 1,000th game last month…The Isles had seven shots in overtime; they had been outshot 13-5 in their first five overtime games…The Isles have lost nine consecutive games that have gone beyond sixty minutes for the first time in club history; they had several longer winless streaks past sixty minutes in the pre-shootout era.

The COVID List!
Robin Salo and Matt Martin were added to the COVID protocol list, joining Mathew Barzal; eleven Islanders have missed games due to COVID. Ryan Pulock (LTIR) and Kyle Palmieri missed the game with injuries.

First Times in a Long Time
Shea Theodore is the first opposing defenseman to score two goals in the third period against the Isles since Matt Niskanen did so for Washington (and Barry Trotz) on December 13, 2016, at Barclays Center. No opposing d-man had ever scored two goals in the third period and then the deciding goal in the shootout against the Isles.

The Isles are the first team since Anaheim (April 7, 2018) to have at least five players who had played at least 900 NHL games.

Join The Club
Brock Nelson scored his team-leading tenth goal of the season.  He is the fifth player in club history to tally at least ten goals in each of his first nine seasons, joining Bryan Trottier (15 seasons), Clark Gillies (11), Mike Bossy (10) and John Tavares (9).

Staying Close to Home
The Isles will not leave the Eastern Time Zone until January 4th in Seattle. The Islanders will not spend consecutive nights on the road at any point. Barring any other postponements, the Isles will hit the Olympic/All-Star Break having played 24 of their 46 games at home.

Lots of Home Cooking
The Isles are in a stretch where they are playing eight out of ten games at home.  The Isles are 2-2-1 in this stretch:
12/9 vs. Nashville L 3-4
12/11 vs. New Jersey W 4-2
12/14 @ Detroit L 1-2
12/16 vs. Boston W 3-1
12/19 vs. Vegas L 3-4 (SO)
12/23 vs. Washington
12/27 @ Buffalo
12/29 vs. Detroit
12/30 vs. Buffalo
1/1/2022 vs. Edmonton

The December 20th game with Montreal was postponed.

Histor-Z
Zdeno Chara played in his 1,631st NHL game. Chara is 3rd among defensemen in games played:
Chris Chelios 1,651  
Scott Stevens 1,635
Zdeno Chara 1,631

Chelios is 8th among all players in games played, Stevens is 10th and Chara is 11th.

Home and Road
The Isles are 8-12-6 overall; they are 2-5-3 at home and 6-7-3 on the road.
Vegas is 20-11-0 overall; they are 10-6-0 at home and 10-5-0 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played ten home games and sold out all of them. They are the ten largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home.

Leader of the Pack
Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 885-647-60-164 in 1,756 games. 

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville  969
3. Barry Trotz    885

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,768
3. Barry Trotz        1,756

Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:
1. David Poile 1,464
2. Lou Lamoriello 1,334
3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top
Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,219 wins between them. They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together). Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together. 

First Things First
The Isles are 7-4-4 when scoring first and are 1-8-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots
Isles    7-9-9-7=32
Vegas    12-10-11-1=34
The Isles are 1-3-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 7-8-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 71-44-17 when outshot.

In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 31 saves; he is 7-7-5 on the season and 1-0-1 vs. Vegas. Sorokin is 3-3 in shootouts.

Robin Lehner made 29 saves to improve to 14-9-0 on the season and 6-4-3 vs. the Isles.  He is 12-25 in shootouts.

Special Teams
The Isles were 1-3 on the power play (5:11); Vegas was 1-1 on the power play (1:12).

The Isles are 3-3-4 when they score at least one power play goal and 5-9-2 when they do not. The Isles are 2-6-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-6-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 6-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-10-4 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 94-11-13 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 0-3-6 in games decided by a single goal including 0-3 in regulation. They are 0-3 in games decided in overtime and are 0-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 2-2-1 in the front end and 1-3-1 in the back end. With tomorrow's game postponed, this is no longer a back-to-back. The next back-to-back will be December 29th vs. Detroit and December 30th vs. Buffalo.
 
Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 22-7-5 (.727) in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-0-2 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on January 1st against Edmonton. The Isles will play a total of fourteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Adam Pelech (24:33); Vegas: Alex Pietrangelo (29:50)
Josh Bailey led Isles forwards with a season-high 21:57 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-1-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), Adam Pelech (4-2-2), Zdeno Chara (1-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-2-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-1-0), Noah Dobson (1-1-2).

Face-offs
Isles 32, Vegas 27 (54%)
Casey Cizikas won 12 of 16 for the Isles; William Karlsson won 16 of 29 for Vegas. 

The Isles are 5-8-4 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-0-1 when face-offs are even, and 3-4-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count
Isles 26 (Ross Johnston -4)
Vegas 14 (Brett Howden -3)
Fights 
Kieffer Bellows fought Max Pacioretty in the second period. Season total: 12 (Chara 3, Martin 3, Bellows 1, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Pageau 1, Wahlstrom 1)
 
Blocked Shots
Isles 11 (Adam Pelech -3)
Vegas 11 (Brayden McNabb -3)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 48, Vegas 53
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 31, Vegas 45

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Zach Parise +2
Vegas: Alex Pietrangelo +14

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 14, Vegas 10
5-on-5: Isles 9, Vegas 9

Scratches
(Ryan Pulock -LTIR), (Mathew Barzal, Robin Salo, Matt Martin – COVID)
Games Lost: 69 (32 to injuries and 37 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man
Scott Mayfield played in his 115th consecutive game.

Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure
The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR)

Opponents: 3 successful, 0 failures  
The Isles are 1-1-1 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 0-0-0 in games where challenges go the Isles' way. (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA and 10/23 @ARI; offside 12/19 vs VGK)

Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have scored one goal and allowed two goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:
For: 1  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO)
Vs:  2 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH; GWG, Shea Theodore 19:12 – 12/19/21 vs NSH; Isles lost in SO)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 940…
11. Derek King 638 *** 12. Matt Martin 633 *** 13. Billy Harris and Brock Nelson 623 *** 14. Stefan Persson 622 *** 16. Casey Cizikas 610 … 
20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 554 *** 22. Ken Morrow  550 ***  23. Duane Sutter 547 *** 24. Lorne Henning 543 *** 25. Anders Lee 542

Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 192 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 178 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 163

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***
4. Clark Gillies 359 *** 5. Josh Bailey 358…
20. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 187…
26. Jean Potvin 167 *** 27. Jeff Norton 166 *** 28. Ziggy Palffy and Brock Nelson 163

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 521 …
17. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 18. Brock Nelson 341 *** 19. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 20. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 21. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 22. Anders Lee 330…
26. Ed Westfall 286 *** 27. Mathew Barzal 269

Games Coached 
1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 232
 
Coaching Wins
1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 123

On the Farm
Bridgeport split a pair of games in Charlotte this weekend, winning 5-1 on Saturday and losing 3-1 on Sunday. Cole Bardreau scored a goal in each game. The Isles are 9-14-1-3 on the season; they will host Hartford in the final game before the Christmas break on Wednesday. 

Season Series Stats
The teams split the season series 1 game to 1 (the Isles earned 3 points to Vegas' 2).  

The Isles are 4-3-1 all-time against Vegas, including 2-1-1 on home ice (twice in Brooklyn, once at the Coliseum and once at UBS Arena.  

UP NEXT
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23rd– WASHINGTON AT ISLANDERS 7:30pm 
[MSG+ (pre-game begins at 7:00), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]
With Monday's game vs. Montreal postponed, the Isles are now off until Thursday when they face the Capitals for the first time this season.

The Isles went 2-5-1 against Washington last season.  Barry Trotz is 6-9-1 against the Caps since becoming the Islander coach.

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

Friday, December 17, 2021

The Skinny: Isles 3, Boston 1

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 25
Isles 3, Boston 1
Cal Clutterbuck scored twice and then hit the post on a hat trick attempt as the Islanders earned their second straight home victory with a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.
 
Mike Reilly's last-minute shot deflected past Semyon Varlamov for Boston's lone tally; that goal made Anthony Beauvillier's power play tally, his first goal since October 30th, the game winner. 

The Scoring:
1st Period
Cal Clutterbuck (4) 11:47 BOS 0,NYI 1

2nd Period
Anthony Beauvillier (4) Robin Salo (1), Josh Bailey (9) 01:44 BOS 0,NYI 2 PPG

3rd Period
Cal Clutterbuck (5)EN Anders Lee (1) 17:43 BOS 0,NYI 3
Mike Reilly (3) Brandon Carlo (3), Linus Ullmark (1) 19:06 BOS 1,NYI 3

The Skinny         
Cal Clutterbuck recorded his 7th career multi-goal game (5th as an Islanders) in his 899th NHL game…The Isles have scored 21 goals in the last seven games after scoring only ten goals in the prior ten games…Anders Lee earned his first assist since March 11th on the empty-net tally…Robin Salo was credited with his first career assist…Linus Ullmark's assist was the second of his career… The Bruins played without seven players due to COVID, including Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron…The Bruins are 0-6-0 since 2010-11 in games that neither player has played…Zdeno Chara (55 penalty minutes) remained one minute behind Brady Tkachuk after both players were penalized tonight…Semyon Varlamov recorded his 252nd career win and his first since game six vs. Tampa Bay.  His last regular season win was against the Rangers on May 1st…The Isles allowed 21 shots in the second period…Oliver Wahlstrom had three shots on goal and six attempts; Wahlstrom leads the Isles with 62 shots on goal.

The Injury
Kyle Palmieri suffered a lower-body injury in the second period; he was listed as "day-to-day" by Coach Trotz after the game.

The COVID List!
Mathew Barzal missed his 2nd game since becoming the ninth Islander to miss games due to COVID. Ryan Pulock is the lone Islander on the injured list. 

Just a Post Away
Cal Clutterbuck hit the post in the final minute in an attempt for his first NHL hat trick.  Only nineteen players in NHL history have scored two empty-net goals in a game; the Isles have played 3,813 games without a player scoring two empty-netters (either for or against).

Staying Close to Home
The Isles will not leave the Eastern Time Zone until January 4th in Seattle. The Islanders will not spend consecutive nights on the road at any point. By the time the Isles hit the Olympic/All-Star Break, they will have played 25 of their 47 games at home.

Lots of Home Cooking
The Isles are in a stretch where they are playing nine out of eleven games at home.  The Isles are 2-2-0 in this stretch:
12/9 vs. Nashville L 3-4
12/11 vs. New Jersey W 4-2
12/14 @ Detroit L 1-2
12/16 vs. Boston W 3-1
12/19 vs. Vegas
12/20 vs. Montreal
12/23 vs. Washington
12/27 @ Buffalo
12/29 vs. Detroit
12/30 vs. Buffalo
1/1/2022 vs. Edmonton

Histor-Z
Zdeno Chara played in his 1,630th NHL game. Chara is 3rd among defensemen in games played:
Chris Chelios 1,651  
Scott Stevens 1,635
Zdeno Chara 1,630

Chelios is 8th among all players in games played, Stevens is 10th and Chara is 11th.

Home and Road
The Isles are 8-12-5 overall; they are 2-5-2 at home and 6-7-3 on the road.
Boston is 14-10-2 overall; they are 7-5-1 at home and 7-5-1 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played nine home games and sold out all of them. They are the nine largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home.

Leader of the Pack
Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 885-647-60-163 in 1,755 games. 

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville  969
3. Barry Trotz    885

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,768
3. Barry Trotz        1,755

Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:
1. David Poile 1,463
2. Lou Lamoriello 1,334
3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top
Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,219 wins between them. They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together). Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together. 

First Things First
The Isles are 7-4-4 when scoring first and are 1-8-1 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots
Isles  10-12-6=28
Boston    8-21-12=41
The Isles are 1-3-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 7-8-3 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 71-44-16 when outshot.

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 40 saves to improve to 1-5-1 on the season and 12-6-3 vs. Boston.

Linus Ullmark made 25 saves but falls to 7-5-0 on the season and 3-4-0 vs. the Isles.

Special Teams
The Isles were 1-5 on the power play (7:40); Boston was 0-3 on the power play (4:02).

The Isles are 3-3-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 5-9-2 when they do not. The Isles are 2-6-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-6-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 6-2-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-10-4 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 94-11-12 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 0-3-5 in games decided by a single goal including 0-3 in regulation. They are 0-3 in games decided in overtime and are 0-2 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 2-2-1 in the front end and 1-3-1 in the back end. The next back-to-back will be December 19th vs. Vegas and December 20th vs. Montreal.
 
Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 22-7-5 (.727) in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-0-1 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on December 19th against Vegas. The Isles will play a total of fourteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Noah Dobson (22:01); Boston: Charlie McAvoy (27:30)
Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 19:20 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-1-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), Adam Pelech (4-2-1), Zdeno Chara (1-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-2-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-1-0), Noah Dobson (1-1-2).

Face-offs
Isles 30, Boston 22 (58%)
Casey Cizikas won 12 of 17 for the Isles; Tomas Nosek won 7 of 12 for Boston. 

The Isles are 5-8-3 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-0-1 when face-offs are even, and 3-4-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count
Isles 22 (Casey Cizikas -4)
Boston 26 (Two with 4)
Fights 
Matt Martin fought Nick Foligno in the second period. Season total: 11 (Chara 3, Martin 3, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Pageau 1, Wahlstrom 1)
 
Blocked Shots
Isles 11 (Zdeno Chara -3)
Boston 13 (Mike Reilly -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 51, Boston 62
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 30, Boston 54

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Brock Nelson +3
Boston: Connor Clifton +15

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 14, Boston 13
5-on-5: Isles 8, Boston 11

Scratches
(Ryan Pulock -LTIR), (Mathew Barzal – COVID), Ross Johnson, Sebastian Aho
Games Lost: 65 (31 to injuries and 34 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man
Scott Mayfield played in his 114th consecutive game.

Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure
The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR)

Opponents: 2 successful, 0 failures  
The Isles are 1-1-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 0-0-0 in games where challenges go the Isles' way. (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA and 10/23 @ARI)

Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have scored one goal and allowed one goal in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:
For: 1  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO)
Vs:  1 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH; GWG)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 939…
11. Derek King 638 *** 12. Matt Martin 633 *** 13. Billy Harris 623 *** 14. Stefan Persson and Brock Nelson 622 *** 16. Casey Cizikas 609 … 
20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 553 *** 22. Ken Morrow  550 ***  23. Duane Sutter 547 *** 24. Lorne Henning 543 *** 25. Anders Lee 541

Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 192 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 177 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 163

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***
4. Clark Gillies 359 *** 5. Josh Bailey 358…
20. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 187…
26. Jean Potvin 167 *** 27. Jeff Norton 166 *** 28. Ziggy Palffy and Brock Nelson 163

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 521 …
17. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 18. Pierre Turgeon and Brock Nelson 340 *** 20. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 21. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 22. Anders Lee 329…
26. Ed Westfall 286 *** 27. Mathew Barzal 269

Games Coached 
1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 231
 
Coaching Wins
1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 123

On the Farm
Bridgeport is 8-13-1-3 on the season following a 2-1 shootout loss to Providence on Sunday. Cole Bardreau scored the Isles' only goal; Cory Schneider made 29 saves. The Isles head to Charlotte for games on Saturday and Sunday.

Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0).  

The Isles are 6-2-1 in their last nine regular season games with the Bruins, including five straight wins on home ice. 

The Isles have tied the club record for consecutive home wins against the Bruins, having won five straight only once before (Nov 1, 2005 – Nov 24, 2007).

UP NEXT
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19th– VEGAS AT ISLANDERS 2:00pm 
[MSG+ (pre-game begins at 1:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]
The homestand continues as the Isles look to sweep the season series with Vegas.  Ilya Sorokin made 42 stops for a shutout win on the Strip in October.

The Isles are 4-3-0 all-time against Vegas, including 2-1-0 on home ice (twice in Brooklyn and once at the Coliseum).  The Golden Knights are hot, having won three straight and six out of seven heading into Friday's game at The Garden.   

This is the first of eight matinees scheduled to be played at UBS Arena this season.

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

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

The Skinny: Detroit 2, Isles 1

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 24
Detroit 2, Isles 1
Michael Rasmussen's goal with 7:05 to play turned out to be the winner as the Detroit Red Wings held off a late Islander rally for a 2-1 win over the Isles before a crowd of 16,884 at Little Caesars Arena.
 
Anders Lee brought the Islanders within one goal when he deflected home Noah Dobson's shot with a 6th attacker on the ice, but the Isles could not get even as they fell five games below NHL-.500.

The Scoring:
1st Period
No Goals

2nd Period
Dylan Larkin (11) Moritz Seider (17), Lucas Raymond (15) 10:32 NYI 0,DET 1 PPG

3rd Period
Michael Rasmussen (3) Adam Erne (6) 12:55 NYI 0,DET 2
Anders Lee (8) Noah Dobson (6), Brock Nelson (3) 17:27 NYI 1,DET 2

The Skinny         
Oliver Wahlstrom had five shots and eight attempts in 15:14 of ice-time; it was his 3rd-highest ice-time of the season…Noah Dobson has five points in the last six games (3-2-5); he leads all Islander defensemen in goals, assists and points (3-6-9)… The Isles had scored 17 goals in the last five games but managed only one goal tonight… Detroit is 10-0-2 when leading after two periods; the Isles are 0-10-2 when trailing after 40 minutes… Detroit has 49 points from rookies – most of any NHL team.

The Return of the COVID List!
Mathew Barzal missed the game after becoming the ninth Islander to miss games due to COVID. Barzal had gone 1-8-9 in the last six games before missing this game.  Ryan Pulock is the lone Islander on the injured list. 

Dobson Hot at Home
Noah Dobson has three goals in the last four games after scoring only four times in his first 97 games.  Dobson is the first Islander defenseman since Nick Leddy (2018) to score in three consecutive home games.  Prior to Leddy, Mark Streit (four game streak in 2008) and Bryan Berard (1998) were the last Islander d-men to do so.  Streit and Denis Potvin (five games in 1978, four games in 1988) are the only Isle defensemen to score in at least four straight home games.

Staying Close to Home
The Isles will not leave the Eastern Time Zone until January 4th in Seattle. The Islanders will not spend consecutive nights on the road at any point. By the time the Isles hit the Olympic/All-Star Break, they will have played 25 of their 47 games at home.

Lots of Home Cooking
The Isles are in a stretch where they are playing nine out of eleven games at home.  The Isles are 1-2-0 in this stretch:
12/9 vs. Nashville L 3-4
12/11 vs. New Jersey W 4-2
12/14 @ Detroit L 1-2
12/16 vs. Boston
12/19 vs. Vegas
12/20 vs. Montreal
12/23 vs. Washington
12/27 @ Buffalo
12/29 vs. Detroit
12/30 vs. Buffalo
1/1/2022 vs. Edmonton

Histor-Z
Zdeno Chara played in his 1,629th NHL game. Chara is 3rd among defensemen in games played:
Chris Chelios 1,651  
Scott Stevens 1,635
Zdeno Chara 1,629

Chelios is 8th among all players in games played, Stevens is 10th and Chara is 11th.

Home and Road
The Isles are 7-12-5 overall; they are 1-5-2 at home and 6-7-3 on the road.
Detroit is 14-12-3 overall; they are 10-3-2 at home and 4-9-1 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played eight home games and sold out all of them. They are the eight largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home.

Leader of the Pack
Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 884-647-60-163 in 1,754 games. 

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville    969
3. Barry Trotz    884

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville  1,768
3. Barry Trotz         1,754

Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:
1. David Poile 1,462
2. Lou Lamoriello 1,333
3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top
Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,217 wins between them. They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together). Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together. 

First Things First
The Isles are 6-4-4 when scoring first and are 1-8-1 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots
Isles    10-9-15=34
Detroit    14-18-7=39
The Isles are 1-3-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 6-8-3 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 70-44-16 when outshot.

In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 37 saves but falls to 7-7-4 on the season and 4-2-0 vs. Detroit.

Alex Nedeljkovic made 33 saves to improve to 9-6-3 on the season and 2-0-0 vs. the Isles.

Special Teams
The Isles were 0-1 on the power play (2:00); Detroit was 1-3 on the power play (4:54).

The Isles are 2-3-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 5-9-2 when they do not. The Isles are 2-6-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-6-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 5-2-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-10-4 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 94-11-12 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 0-3-5 in games decided by a single goal including 0-3 in regulation. They are 0-3 in games decided in overtime and are 0-2 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 2-2-1 in the front end and 1-3-1 in the back end. The next back-to-back will be December 19th vs. Vegas and December 20th vs. Montreal.
 
Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 22-7-5 (.727) in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-0-1 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on December 19th against Vegas. The Isles will play a total of fourteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Noah Dobson (23:11); Detroit: Nick Leddy and Filip Hronek (22:48)
Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 20:48 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-1-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), Adam Pelech (4-2-1), Zdeno Chara (1-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-2-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-1-0), Noah Dobson (0-1-2).

Face-offs
Isles 25, Detroit 26 (49%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 7 of 12 for the Isles; Dylan Larkin won 13 of 17 for Detroit. 

The Isles are 4-8-3 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-0-1 when face-offs are even, and 3-4-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count
Isles 15 (Zdeno Chara -3)
Detroit 8 (Adam Erne -2)
Fights 
There were no fights. Season total: 10 (Chara 3, Martin 2, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Pageau 1, Wahlstrom 1)
 
Blocked Shots
Isles 13 (Three with 3)
Detroit 15 (Carter Rowney -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 59, Detroit 62
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 52, Detroit 50

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Zach Parise and Robin Salo +9
Detroit: Gustav Lindstrom +6

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 14, Detroit 15
5-on-5: Isles 11, Detroit 12

Scratches
(Ryan Pulock -LTIR), (Mathew Barzal – COVID), Ross Johnson, Sebastian Aho
Games Lost: 63 (30 to injuries and 33 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man
Scott Mayfield played in his 113th consecutive game.

Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure
The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR)

Opponents: 2 successful, 0 failures  
The Isles are 1-1-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 0-0-0 in games where challenges go the Isles' way. (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA and 10/23 @ARI)

Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have scored one goal and allowed one goal in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:
For: 1  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO)
Vs:  1 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH; GWG)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 938…
11. Derek King 638 *** 12. Matt Martin 632 *** 13. Billy Harris 623 *** 14. Stefan Persson 622 *** 15. Brock Nelson 621 *** 16. Casey Cizikas 608 … 
20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 552 *** 22. Ken Morrow  550 ***  23. Duane Sutter 547 *** 24. Lorne Henning 543 *** 25. Anders Lee 540

Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 192 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 177 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 163

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***
4. Clark Gillies 359 *** 5. Josh Bailey 357…
20. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 187…
26. Jean Potvin 167 *** 27. Jeff Norton 166 *** 28. Ziggy Palffy and Brock Nelson 163

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 520 …
17. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 18. Pierre Turgeon and Brock Nelson 340 *** 20. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 21. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 22. Anders Lee 328…
26. Ed Westfall 286 *** 27. Mathew Barzal 269

Games Coached 
1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 230
 
Coaching Wins
1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 122

On the Farm
Bridgeport is 8-13-1-2 on the season following a 3-2 loss to Belleville on Sunday. Otto Koivula and Grant Hutton scored for Bridgeport. The Isles host Providence on Wednesday.

Season Series Stats
Detroit leads the season series 2 games to 1 (and 4 points to 1).  

Despite the two losses, the Isles are 7-2-1 in their last ten games with Detroit.

UP NEXT
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16th– BOSTON AT ISLANDERS 7:30pm 
[MSG+2 (pre-game begins at 7:00), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]
The Isles head back home for four straight games, beginning on Thursday with Boston. 

It is the first meeting of the teams since the Isles eliminated Boston in six games in the 2021 playoffs.

The Isles went 5-2-1 in regular season play last season with the Bruins, including four straight wins on home ice. 

The Isles will look to tie the club record for consecutive home wins against the Bruins having won five straight only once (Nov 1, 2005 – Nov 24, 2007).

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, December 12, 2021

The Skinny: Isles 4, New Jersey 2

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 23
Isles 4, New Jersey 2
Zach Parise's first goal as an Islander was a shorthanded, game winning tally as the Isles rewarded their eighth consecutive sellout crowd with the first victory at UBS Arena, defeating the New Jersey Devils 4-2 before the now customary sellout crowd of 17,255.
 
Jean-Gabriel Pageau set up the winning tally and then scored an insurance goal in the third period as the Isles improved to 2-1-3 in their last six games.

The Scoring:
1st Period
Jesper Bratt (8) Jonas Siegenthaler (6) 17:01 NJD 1,NYI 0
Noah Dobson (3) Mathew Barzal (11), Oliver Wahlstrom (4) 17:45 NJD 1,NYI 1 PPG
Jack Hughes (4) Pavel Zacha (6) 18:25 NJD 2,NYI 1

2nd Period
Andy Greene (1) Mathew Barzal (12), Josh Bailey (8) 08:33 NJD 2,NYI 2
Zach Parise (1) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (5), Scott Mayfield (4) 16:33 NJD 2,NYI 3 SHG

3rd Period
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (4) Oliver Wahlstrom (5) 09:37 NJD 2,NYI 4

The Skinny         
Oliver Wahlstrom had a pair of assists for his third consecutive multi-point game…Mathew Barzal extended his point streak to six games (1-8-9) and his assist streak to five games (eight assists)…Noah Dobson scored his third goal in the last four games as he became the only third Islander defenseman in the last 23 years to score in three consecutive home games…The Isles ended their home winless streak at seven games (0-5-2)…Zdeno Chara got in a fight for the second straight game; it was his 74th NHL fight…Chara now has a team-leading 53 penalty minutes to go along with his three fights…Josh Bailey had a season-high four shots…Zach Parise recorded his 8th career shorthanded goal; it was the best game-winning shorty of his career and the first shorthanded game winner by an Islander since Bailey did so in Tampa Bay on December 9, 2019…The Isles have scored 17 goals in the last five games after scoring only ten times in the prior ten games…The Devils played without Nico Hischier and Ryan Graves, who both entered COVID protocol…The Islander defense combined for three points (2-1-3); the defense has scored four goals in the last four games (Dobson 3, Greene) after scoring only one (Mayfield) in the first 19 games…The Isles won despite allowing the first goal and trailing after one period; it was the first time this season that either has happened…The Isles' power play improved to 5-13 (38.5%) in the last five games, after going 5-49 in the first eighteen games. It is the first time since December 12-19, 2019, that the Isles have scored five power play goals in a five game span.

The Healthy!
Casey Cizikas and Brock Nelson both returned to the lineup.  Ryan Pulock is the lone Islander on the injured list. 

Lots of Firsts
The Isles played their first game without a player missing due to COVID for the first time since November 16th
Zach Parise scored his first goal as an Islander (394th of his NHL career)
Andy Greene scored his first goal against the Devils
The Isles scored two goals in a period at UBS
The Isles held a two-goal lead at UBS

It all adds up to the most important first: the first win in this beautiful new arena!

For the History Books
First win at Nassau Coliseum – October 12, 1972 (Los Angeles)
First win at Barclays Center - October 12, 2015 (Winnipeg)
First win at UBS Arena – December 11, 2021 (New Jersey)

First Time in a Long Time
The Isles beat a starting goalie who was making his NHL debut for the first time since defeating Buffalo's Andrey Makarov (4-4-2015) in his only NHL game.  Since then, Aaron Dell, Ilya Samsonov and Michael Hauser have beaten the Isles in their NHL debut.

Dobson Hot at Home
Noah Dobson has three goals in the last four games after scoring only four times in his first 97 games.  Dobson is the first Islander defenseman since Nick Leddy (2018) to score in three consecutive home games.  Prior to Leddy, Mark Streit (four game streak in 2008) and Bryan Berard (1998) were the last Islander d-men to do so.  Streit and Denis Potvin (five games in 1978, four games in 1988) are the only Isle defensemen to score in at least four straight home games.

Nice Company
Zach Parise recorded his 77th career game-wining goal; among active players only Alex Ovechkin (118) and Jeff Carter have more.

Ilya Sorokin recorded his 20th win in his 39th game with the Islanders; among players to debut with the Isles, only Roland Melanson (34) and Chico Resch (38) did it faster.

Staying Close to Home
The Isles will not leave the Eastern Time Zone until January 4th in Seattle. The Islanders will not spend consecutive nights on the road at any point. By the time the Isles hit the Olympic/All-Star Break, they will have played 25 of their 47 games at home.

Lots of Home Cooking
The Isles are in a stretch where they are playing nine out of eleven games at home.  The Isles are 1-1-0 in this stretch:
12/9 vs. Nashville L 3-4
12/11 vs. New Jersey W 4-2
12/14 @ Detroit
12/16 vs. Boston
12/19 vs. Vegas
12/20 vs. Montreal
12/23 vs. Washington
12/27 @ Buffalo
12/29 vs. Detroit
12/30 vs. Buffalo
1/1/2022 vs. Edmonton

Histor-Z
Zdeno Chara played in his 1,628th NHL game. Chara is 3rd among defensemen in games played:
Chris Chelios 1,651  
Scott Stevens 1,635
Zdeno Chara 1,628

Chelios is 8th among all players in games played, Stevens is 10th and Chara is 11th.

Home and Road
The Isles are 7-11-5 overall; they are 1-5-2 at home and 6-6-3 on the road.
New Jersey is 10-11-5 overall; they are 7-5-3 at home and 3-6-2 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played eight home games and sold out all of them. They are the eight largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home.

Leader of the Pack
Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 884-646-60-163 in 1,753 games. 

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville  969
3. Barry Trotz    884

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,768
3. Barry Trotz        1,753

Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:
1. David Poile 1,462
2. Lou Lamoriello 1,333
3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top
Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,217 wins between them. They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together). Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together. 

First Things First
The Isles are 6-4-4 when scoring first and are 1-7-1 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots
Isles    10-7-12=29
New Jersey    10-9-13=32
The Isles are 1-3-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 6-7-3 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 70-43-16 when outshot.

In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves to improve to 7-6-4 on the season and 4-2-0 vs. New Jersey.

Akira Schmid made 25 saves in his NHL debut.  

Special Teams
The Isles were 1-2 on the power play (2:07); New Jersey was 0-3 on the power play (4:54) and allowed a shorthanded goal.

The Isles are 2-3-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 5-8-2 when they do not. The Isles are 2-5-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-6-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 5-2-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-9-4 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 94-11-12 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 0-2-5 in games decided by a single goal including 0-2 in regulation. They are 0-3 in games decided in overtime and are 0-2 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 2-2-1 in the front end and 1-3-1 in the back end. The next back-to-back will be December 19th vs. Vegas and December 20th vs. Montreal.
 
Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 22-7-5 (.727) in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-0-1 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on December 19th against Vegas. The Isles will play a total of fourteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Adam Pelech (24:48); New Jersey: Damon Severson (26:00)
Anders Lee led Isles forwards with 18:21 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-1-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), Adam Pelech (4-2-1), Zdeno Chara (1-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-2-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-1-0), Noah Dobson (0-0-2).

Face-offs
Isles 38, New Jersey 24 (61%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 12 of 14 for the Isles; Michael McLeod won 11 of 15 for New Jersey. 

The Isles are 4-8-3 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-0-1 when face-offs are even, and 3-3-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count
Isles 21 (Cal Clutterbuck -5)
New Jersey 15 (Two with 3)
Fights 
Zdeno Chara fought Mason Geersten in the first period. Season total: 10 (Chara 3, Martin 2, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Pageau 1, Wahlstrom 1)
 
Blocked Shots
Isles 18 (Brock Nelson and Zach Parise -3)
New Jersey 12 (Dawson Mercer -3)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 55, New Jersey 59
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 44, New Jersey 47

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Mathew Barzal +14
New Jersey: Jesper Bratt +11

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 11, New Jersey 7
5-on-5: Isles 9, New Jersey 6

Scratches
(Ryan Pulock -LTIR), Anthony Beauvillier, Matt Martin, Sebastian Aho
Games Lost: 62 (29 to injuries and 32 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man
Scott Mayfield played in his 112th consecutive game.

Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure
The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR)

Opponents: 2 successful, 0 failures  
The Isles are 1-1-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 0-0-0 in games where challenges go the Isles' way. (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA and 10/23 @ARI)

Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have scored one goal and allowed one goal in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:
For: 1  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO)
Vs:  1 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH; GWG)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 937…
11. Derek King 638 *** 12. Matt Martin 631 *** 13. Billy Harris 623 *** 14. Stefan Persson 622 *** 15. Brock Nelson 620 *** 16. Casey Cizikas 607 … 
20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 551 *** 22. Ken Morrow  550 ***  23. Duane Sutter 547 *** 24. Lorne Henning 543 *** 25. Anders Lee 539

Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 191 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 177 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 163

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***
4. Clark Gillies 359 *** 5. Josh Bailey 357…
20. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 187…
26. Jean Potvin 167 *** 27. Jeff Norton 166 *** 28. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 29. Brock Nelson 162

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 520 …
17. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 18. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 19 Brock Nelson 339 *** 20. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 21. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 22. Anders Lee 329…
26. Ed Westfall 286 *** 27. Mathew Barzal 269

Games Coached 
1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 229
 
Coaching Wins
1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 122

On the Farm
Bridgeport is 8-12-1-2 on the season following a come-from-behind 5-4 win over Toronto on Saturday night. Andy Andreoff and Otto Koivula scored 77 seconds apart to give the Isles the win; Austin Czarnik chipped in with three points (1-2-3).  The Isles host the Belleville Senators on Sunday afternoon.

Season Series Stats
The season series is tied 1 game to 1 (and 2 points to 2).  

The Isles are 8-3-0 in the last eleven games against the Devils.

UP NEXT
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14th– ISLANDERS AT DETROIT 7:30pm 
[MSG+ (pre-game begins at 7:00), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]
The Isles head back to Detroit for the second time in ten days as they once again face the Red Wings.

Detroit beat the Isles 3-2 in overtime back on December 4th, however the Isles are 7-1-1 in their last nine games against the Red Wings, with both losses by a single goal.

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

Friday, December 10, 2021

The Skinny: Nashville 4, Isles 3

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 22
Nashville 4, Isles 3
Eeli Tolvanen deflected home Roman Josi's shot for the winning goal with 11.5 seconds to play as the Nashville Predators overcame a third period Islander lead and defeated the Isles 4-3 before another sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Noah Dobson had put the Islanders ahead early in the third period, but Yakov Trenin deadlocked the game with 7:29 remaining; the Isles appeared like they were heading to their fourth overtime in five games but instead allowed the latest game-winning goal in any home game in their history.

The Isles are 0-5-2 at UBS Arena, extending their own NHL record for most games without a win in a new venue, and are 1-9-3 in their last 13 games overall.

The Scoring:
1st Period
Austin Czarnik (1) Oliver Wahlstrom (2), Kieffer Bellows (3) 06:48 NSH 0,NYI 1
Ryan Johansen (8) Luke Kunin (6) 17:28 NSH 1,NYI 1
Colton Sissons (3) Tanner Jeannot (6), Matt Benning (4) 18:52 NSH 2,NYI 1

2nd Period
Anders Lee (7) Mathew Barzal (10), Oliver Wahlstrom (3) 01:56 NSH 2,NYI 2 PPG

3rd Period
Noah Dobson (2) Andy Greene (3), Ross Johnston (1) 05:08 NSH 2,NYI 3
Yakov Trenin (4) Tanner Jeannot (7), Colton Sissons (6) 12:31 NSH 3,NYI 3
Eeli Tolvanen (4) Roman Josi (17), Ryan Johansen (16) 19:48 NSH 4,NYI 3

The Skinny         
The Isles have been outshot 86-49 in the first period of their last eight games…Oliver Wahlstrom had a pair of assists for his second consecutive multi-point game…Mathew Barzal extended his point streak to five games (1-6-7) and his assist streak to four games (six assists)…Noah Dobson, playing in his 100th NHL game, scored his second goal in the last three games; Scott Mayfield is the only other Islander defenseman to score a goal. …Austin Czarnik scored his first goal since October 24, 2019… Tanner Jeannot and Colton Sissons each had two points; they also had two points in the October 30 meeting in Nashville…It's the first time in club history that the Isles have opened a season winless in seven home games, and only the tenth time in club history that the Isles have gone winless in at least seven home games at any point in a season…The seven-game winless streak is the longest for any NHL team at the start of a home season since the Sabres went winless in nine games to open the 2013-14 campaign…David Rittich earned the win in his second appearance against the Isles; his previous appearance was for 1.1 seconds in relief of an ailing Mike Smith at the end of a Calgary win over the Isles in 2018.

Last Second Losses
This was the third-latest game-winning goal allowed by the Islanders in their history (and the latest on home-ice).

1/27/1988 at Minnesota  (Brian MacLellan 19:59) 
4/7/2015 at Philadelphia (Brayden Schenn 19:57)
12/9/2021 vs. Nashville (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48) 

Prior to tonight, the latest game-winning goal allowed by the Isles was to Philadelphia's Brian Dobbin on October 17, 1987  (19:38).

The COVID List
Casey Cizikas has exited protocol and skated with the team this morning, as did Brock Nelson. Ryan Pulock also is still on the injured list.

Staying Close to Home
The Isles will not leave the Eastern Time Zone until January 4th in Seattle. The Islanders will not spend consecutive nights on the road at any point. By the time the Isles hit the Olympic/All-Star Break, they will have played 25 of their 47 games at home.

Lots of Home Cooking
The Isles are in a stretch where they are playing nine out of eleven games at home.  The Isles are 0-1-0 in this stretch:
12/9 vs. Nashville L 3-4
12/11 vs. New Jersey
12/14 @ Detroit
12/16 vs. Boston
12/19 vs. Vegas
12/20 vs. Montreal
12/23 vs. Washington
12/27 @ Buffalo
12/29 vs. Detroit
12/30 vs. Buffalo
1/1/2022 vs. Edmonton

Histor-Z
Zdeno Chara played in his 1,627th NHL game. Chara is 3rd among defensemen in games played:
Chris Chelios 1,651  
Scott Stevens 1,635
Zdeno Chara 1,627

Chelios is 8th among all players in games played, Stevens is 10th and Chara is 11th.

Home and Road
The Isles are 6-11-5 overall; they are 0-5-2 at home and 6-6-3 on the road.
Nashville is 15-10-1 overall; they are 8-5-0 at home and 7=5-1 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played seven home games and sold out all of them. They are the seven largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home.

Leader of the Pack
Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 883-646-60-163 in 1,752 games. 

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville  969
3. Barry Trotz    883

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,768
3. Barry Trotz        1,752

Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:
1. David Poile 1,461
2. Lou Lamoriello 1,332
3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top
Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,215 wins between them. They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together). Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together. 

First Things First
The Isles are 6-4-4 when scoring first and are 0-7-1 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots
Isles    6-8-7=21
Nashville    11-8-10=29
The Isles are 1-3-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 5-7-3 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 69-43-16 when outshot.

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 25 saves but falls to 0-5-1 on the season and 12-14-2 vs. Nashville.

David Rittich made 18 saves and improves to 3-1-0 on the season and 1-0-0 vs. the Isles.  

Special Teams
The Isles were 1-2 on the power play (2:17); Nashville was 0-1 on the power play (2:00).

The Isles are 1-3-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 5-8-2 when they do not. The Isles are 2-5-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 4-6-3 when they do not.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles are 4-2-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-9-4 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 93-11-12 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 0-2-5 in games decided by a single goal including 0-2 in regulation. They are 0-3 in games decided in overtime and are 0-2 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 2-2-1 in the front end and 1-3-1 in the back end. The next back-to-back will be December 19th vs. Vegas and December 20th vs. Montreal.
 
Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 22-7-5 (.727) in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-0-1 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on December 19th against Vegas. The Isles will play a total of fourteen matinees this season, after playing only two in the shortened campaign last year.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Scott Mayfield (23:37); Nashville: Roman Josi (25:38)
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 20:38 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-1-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), Adam Pelech (3-2-1), Zdeno Chara (1-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-2-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-1-0), Noah Dobson (0-0-2).

Face-offs
Isles 23, Nashville 31 (43%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 10 of 18 for the Isles; Ryan Johansen won 11 of 19 for Nashville. 

The Isles are 3-8-3 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-0-1 when face-offs are even, and 3-3-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count
Isles 29 (Ross Johnston -8)
Nashville 32 (Mark Borowiecki -8)
Fights 
Zdeno Chara fought Yakov Trenin in the first period. Season total: 9 (Martin 2, Chara 2, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Pageau 1, Wahlstrom 1)
 
Blocked Shots
Isles 14 (Adam Pelech -3)
Nashville 13 (Alexandre Carrier -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 42, Nashville 54
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 38, Nashville 48

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal +5
Nashville: Nick Cousins +11

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 10, Nashville 10
5-on-5: Isles 9, Nashville 8

Scratches
(Ryan Pulock -LTIR, Brock Nelson -INJ) Casey Cizikas, Robin Salo, Matt Martin, Otto Koivula
Games Lost: 61 (29 to injuries and 32 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man
Scott Mayfield played his 111th consecutive game tonight.

Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure
The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR)

Opponents: 2 successful, 0 failures  
The Isles are 1-1-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 0-0-0 in games where challenges go the Isles' way. (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA and 10/23 @ARI)

Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have scored one goal and allowed one goal in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:
For: 1  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO)
Vs:  1 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH; GWG)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 936…
11. Derek King 638 *** 12. Matt Martin 631 *** 13. Billy Harris 623 *** 14. Stefan Persson 622 *** 15. Brock Nelson 619 *** 16. Frans Nielsen and Casey Cizikas 606 … 
21. Ken Morrow and Cal Clutterbuck 550 ***  23. Duane Sutter 547 *** 24. Lorne Henning 543 *** 25. Anders Lee 537

Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 191 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 177 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 163

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***
4. Clark Gillies 359 *** 5. Josh Bailey 356…
20. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 185…
26. Jean Potvin 167 *** 27. Jeff Norton 166 *** 28. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 29. Brock Nelson 162

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 519 …
17. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 18. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 19 Brock Nelson 339 *** 20. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 21. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 22. Anders Lee 329…
26. Ed Westfall 286 *** 27. Mathew Barzal 267

Games Coached 
1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 228
 
Coaching Wins
1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 121

On the Farm
Bridgeport is 7-12-1-2 on the season; they are off until Saturday, when they host Toronto. 

Season Series Stats
Nashville wins the season series 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 1).  

The Isles are 0-5-2 in the last seven games against the Preds and are one of two teams (Calgary) that Barry Trotz has not beaten as Islander coach.

UP NEXT
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11th–NEW JERSEY AT ISLANDERS 7:30pm 
[MSG+ (pre-game begins at 7:00), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]
The Isles will once again look for their first win on UBS Arena ice on Saturday when they welcome the New Jersey Devils.

The Devs blanked the Isles at Prudential Center, 4-0, back on November 11th; however, the Isles are 7-3-0 in their last ten games against New Jersey.

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