Featured Post

The Skinny: Montreal 2, Isles 1 (OT)

"The Skinny"  By Eric Hornick Game 26 Montreal 2, Isles 1 (OT) Nick Suzuki scored his third career overtime goal 2:39 into the ext...

Friday, February 12, 2021

The Skinny: Pittsburgh 4, Isles 3 (Shootout)

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 12
Pittsburgh 4, Isles 3 (SO) 
Evgeni Malkin scored the tying goal with 18 seconds to play and Sidney Crosby scored the only goal of the shootout as the Pittsburgh Penguins spoiled highlight reel goals by Casey Cizikas and Mathew Barzal for a 4-3 win over the Islanders at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Isles had three separate leads, but each time Pittsburgh drew even, before recording their NHL-record 83rd shootout win (one more than the Isles).

The Scoring:
1st Period
Casey Cizikas (3) Cal Clutterbuck (4), Ryan Pulock (4) 05:39 PIT 0,NYI 1
Bryan Rust (3) Jake Guentzel (5), Sidney Crosby (3) 11:47 PIT 1,NYI 1
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (2) Nick Leddy (5), Josh Bailey (3) 16:40 PIT 1,NYI 2 PPG

2nd Period
Zach Aston-Reese (1) Teddy Blueger (5), Brandon Tanev (2) 07:02 PIT 2,NYI 2

3rd Period
Mathew Barzal (5) 13:35 PIT 2,NYI 3
Evgeni Malkin (3) Kris Letang (5), Bryan Rust (7) 19:42 PIT 3,NYI 3

Overtime
No Goals

The Skinny        
The Isles have points in five straight (2-0-3).…Mathew Barzal has points on thirteen of the team's 28 goals this season, including 10 of 20 at even-strength; Barzal extended his point streak to seven games, matching his career-high, but saw his six-game assist streak end.…Casey Cizikas' opening goal was the 4th for the Isles' fourth line in a span of less than five periods (dating back to the third period on Saturday). …Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck extended their point streaks to three games, while Evgeni Malkin's power play goal extended his point streak to four games…Pittsburgh improves to 6-1-1 in one-goal games; only one of the six wins have come in regulation…The Isles have scored 13 goals in the first period, but only 15 goals in the second and third periods…The Isles were held to one power play for the third consecutive game (2-2 vs. Pittsburgh and 0-1 vs the Rangers); after having 20 power plays in their first four games, the Isles have had only 21 power plays in the last eight games….Sidney Crosby (115) and Malkin (80) have combined for 195 career points against the Isles; they are 1-2 among active players in points against the Isles…This was the 10th anniversary of the 2011 Brawl Game between the teams; only three players appeared in both games (Josh Bailey, Matt Martin and Kris Letang)…Pittsburgh has allowed at least three goals in 11 of their 12 games this season.

The Shootout
Jordan Eberle (NG)  / Jake Guentzel (NG)
Mathew Barzal (NG) / Sidney Crosby (G/GDG)
Josh Bailey (NG)

Semyon Varlamov still has the best save percentage of any active goalie who has faced 100 career shootout attempts  (.741)…Sidney Crosby's winning goal was his 40th in 99 career attempts. It was his 18th game-deciding goal (tied-5th all-time); former Islander Frans Nielsen has 23 deciding goals, which is three more than anyone else in NHL history.

Longest Home Win Streak to Open Season
7- 1982-83
4- 1984-85
3- 2020-21 
3- 2003-04
3- 1992-93
3- 1988-89

Home and Road
The Isles are 5-4-3 overall; they are 3-0-1 at home and 2-4-2 on the road.
Pittsburgh is 6-5-1 overall; they are 4-0-0 at home and 2-5-1 on the road.

Coach Trotz
Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 850-622-60-154 in 1,686 games, and he has passed Ken Hitchcock as the 3rd-winningest coach in NHL history.

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville    932
3. Barry Trotz    850

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,715
3. Barry Trotz        1,685

Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello is the third-winningest general manager in NHL history:
1. David Poile 1,420
2. Glen Sather 1,319
3. Lou Lamoriello 1,299

It All Starts at the Top
Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,149 wins between the two of 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 5-1-1 when scoring first and are 0-3-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots
Isles    10-6-8-5=29
Pittsburgh        10-14-9-2=35

The Isles are 4-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-2-1 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 55-27-11 when outshot; the 55 wins are the most in the NHL.

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves; he is  5-2-2 on the season and 6-2-3 against Pittsburgh. He is 32-18 all-time in shootouts.
Casey DeSmith made 26 saves to improve to 4-1-0 on the season and 3-0-0 in his career against the Isles. He is 3-1 all time in shootouts.

Special Teams
The Isles were 1-1 on the power play (1:32); Pittsburgh was 0-1 on the power play (2:00). 

The Isles are 3-1-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 2-3-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 0-4-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-0-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 3-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-3-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 70-6-9 when scoring three or more.

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

Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 0-0-1 in the front-half and 0-0-1 in the back-half.  The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 15th/16th in Buffalo.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 17-2-3 in back-ends.

Series
The recently-announced schedule changed mean that the Isles will play the same opponent in consecutive games nineteen times this season (including a three-game stretch vs. the Sabres in early March).  The Isles are 2-1-1 in the first game and 0-3-1 in the second game:
NYR (W/L); NJ (W/L); WAS (L/L); PHI (Lot/Lot)

Tired vs. Rested 
The Isles are 0-0-1 when both teams played the night before. 
The Isles are 0-0-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 
The Isles are 0-0-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.
The Isles are 5-4-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Ryan Pulock (24:47); Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (26:45)
Jordan Eberle led Isles forwards with a season-high 21:17 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (2-0-0), Ryan Pulock (3-2-2), Scott Mayfield (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-1)

Face-offs
Isles 32, Pittsburgh 25 (56%)
Brock Nelson won 9 of 12 for the Isles; Sidney Crosby won 15 of 21 for Pittsburgh.

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

Hit Count
Isles 23 (Matt Martin -5)
Pittsburgh 29 (Brandon Tanev -6)
Fights 
There were no fights.  Season total: 0
 
Blocked Shots
Isles 20 (Three with 3)
Pittsburgh 14 (Three with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 52, Pittsburgh 58
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 44, Pittsburgh 48

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Anders Lee +6
Pittsburgh: Chad Ruhwedel +3

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 17, Pittsburgh 10
5-on-5: Isles 12, Pittsburgh 7

Scratches
(Anthony Beauvillier-IR), Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Cory Schneider
Games Lost: 12

240 Game Club
The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 240 games, and they are three of just 17 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 280, Brock Nelson 257, Mathew Barzal 244, Ryan Pulock 207, Josh Bailey 165.  All five players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man
Anders Lee has the fourth-longest consecutive game streak while Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal have also moved into the top 10; it is the first time in club history that three different Isles have had concurrent streaks of at least 240 games:
1. Billy Harris 10/7/1972 -11/30/1979 576 (*)
2. Bobby Nystrom 1/7/1975 - 11/25/1978 301
3. Matt Moulson 10/3/2009 - 4/4/2013 284
4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 280
5. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975 - 1/17/1979 262
6. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 257
7. John Tavares 10/16/2010 - 12/23/2013 246
8. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 244
9.   J.P. Parise 1/7/1975 – 1/7/1978 240 (**)
10. Richard Park 10/5/2006 - 2/18/2009 221
 (*) Start of NHL career.
(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D
Ryan Pulock has become the third Islander defensemen to play in 200 consecutive games: 
1. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979 262
2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220 (*) (**)
3. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 207
 (*) Start of NHL career.
(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures 
The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.

Opponents: 1 successful, 0 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR)
The Isles are 0-0-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 1-0-0 in games that go the opponents' way.

Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have scored 1 goal and allowed 2 goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:
For: 1 [Anders Lee, 2/6/21 vs PIT (17:14) -winning goal]
Vs:  2 [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)-winning goal; Evgeni Malkin, 2/11/21 vs PIT (19:42) – tying goal/PIT won in OT]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Josh Bailey 877…
17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 572 *** 19. Brock Nelson 560 *** 20. Ken Morrow 550 *** 21. Duane Sutter 547 *** 22. Casey Cizikas 546 …
28. Dave Lewis 514. *** 29. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 31. Anders Lee 505 *** 32. Ed Westfall 493 *** 33. Cal Clutterbuck 490

Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 176 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 155 *** 17. Brock Nelson 152

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553…
6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Pat Flatley 328 *** 8. Josh Bailey 325 …
20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 22. Nick Leddy 173

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 480…
20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 307  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 299

Games Coached 
1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 …
6. Peter Laviolette 164 *** 7. Ted Nolan 163 *** 8. Barry Trotz 162
 
Coaching Wins
1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 88

On the Farm
Bridgeport is 0-2-0 on the season (0-1-0 vs. Hartford and 0-1-0 vs. Providence).  They will next play in Marlborough, MA against Providence on Sunday afternoon.   

Season Series Stats
The season series is tied 1 game to 1 (Pittsburgh has earned 3 points to the Isles'  2).

The Isles are 3-0-3 in the last six games with Pittsburgh at home and are 4-0-3 in the last seven games with Pittsburgh overall (with all seven decided by one goal, including six beyond regulation). 

The teams will meet again next Thursday and Saturday in Pittsburgh, before returning to the Coliseum for another pair of game the following week.

UP NEXT
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13th  –BOSTON AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm
[MSG+ (pre-game at 6:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 1050]
The Bruins are red-hot, and they return to the site of their only regulation loss this season – the Nassau Coliseum – as the teams meet for the second of their eight meetings.

Back on MLK Day, the Isles opened the home campaign with a 1-0 win behind a Semyon Varlamov shutout and a JG Pageau goal.   It was their first home win over Boston since November 2, 2013, ending an 0-8-1 streak.

The Isles will be looking to defeat Boston on Coliseum ice for a second time in a season for the first time since 2006-07.

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

No comments: