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The Skinny: Los Angeles 3, Isles 1

"The Skinny"  By Eric Hornick Game 30 Los Angeles 3, Isles 1 Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala scored to give Los Angeles a 2-0 lead an...

Saturday, June 26, 2021

The Skinny: Tampa Bay 1, Isles 0. Lightning win series in 7.

"The Skinny"  

By Eric Hornick

Semi-Finals Game 7
Tampa Bay 1, Isles 0
Tampa Bay wins best-of-7 series, 4-3

The Barn Doors are closed…again.

Yanni Gourde's shorthanded tally early in the second period is the only goal of the game as the Islanders dropped a 1-0 decision to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of their semi-final series before a crowd of 14,805 at AMALIE Arena. 

Gourde's goal came on the game's only power play.  Gourde becomes the first player in Stanley Cup history to score the only goal of a Game 7 while shorthanded.

Andrei Vaselevskiy made 18 saves to become the first player to record three shutouts in series-clinching wins in a single post-season.  The Isles did hold Brayden Point off the board, stopping his goal streak at nine straight games (one shy of Reggie Leach's Stanley Cup record).

Tampa Bay will look to retain the Stanley Cup in the Final against Montreal; that series will begin on Monday in Tampa.

The Scoring: 
1st Period
No Goals

2nd Period
Yanni Gourde (5) Anthony Cirelli (6), Alex Killorn (9) 01:49 NYI 0,TBL 1 SHG

3rd Period
No Goals
 
The Series (Tampa Bay wins, 4-3)
Game 1: Isles 2, Tampa Bay 1 
Game 2: Tampa Bay 4, Isles 2
Game 3: Tampa Bay 2, Isles 1 
Game 4: Isles 3, Tampa Bay 2 
Game 5: Tampa Bay 8, Isles 0
Game 6: Isles 3, Tampa Bay 2 (OT) 
Game 7: Tampa Bay 1, Isles 0

The Skinny 
The Isles are 1-1 in game 7's under Barry Trotz …The Isles have played 49 playoff games under Barry Trotz, most in the NHL in that span; only Tampa Bay (30) has more wins than the Isles (28).  The Lightning will pass the Isles in games played when they play Game 3 of the Final.… The Isles did not lead after the first period in any game in this year's playoffs …The team that scored first did not trail during regulation time in any game in this series…Casey Cizikas continues to lead the Stanley Cup playoffs in face-off percentage, winning 61.2%; he had a losing record in draws only once in this year's playoffs… The Isles are 30-23 when facing elimination, including 3-3 under Barry Trotz… The Isles were shut out in games 5 and 7; they did not score in the final 123:16 on the road in this series…Tampa Bay has not lost consecutive games in either the 2020 or 2021 playoffs…Exactly half of all Game 7s (92 of 184) have been decided by 1-goal; the Isles follow that pattern (5 of 10).

Game 7s
This was the 10th Game 7 in Islander history and the 9th to be contested on the road (including last year vs. Philadelphia as the "Road" team in The Bubble).  The Isles are 4-6 in Game 7s.  

This was the 9th Game 7 in Lightning history and the 6th to be contested at home.  Tampa Bay is 6-3 in Game 7s ( and 4-2 at home).   This will be the 6th time the Lightning will play a Game 7 with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final at stake; they are 3-3 in those six games.  Jon Cooper is 3-2 in Game 7s, but this was his first win with Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal.

School is Out
The Isles came within five wins of the Stanley Cup; they have not been closer since 1984, when they lost the Final in five games to end the Dynasty.

Closing The Barn
The Isles finish 88-44 all-time in playoff games at the Nassau Coliseum. Like in 2015, the Islanders won a Game 6 to keep the Barn doors open but dropped a 1-goal Game 7.

First Time in a Long Time
The Isles were eliminated in consecutive years by the same opponent for the first time since 1976 and 1977, when they lost in the semi-finals to Montreal.

First Time for Everything 
This is the first time that the Isles have ever been shutout in a Game 7 and the first Game 7 in Stanley Cup history where the only goal was scored shorthanded.  It was also the first time the Isles played Game 7's in consecutive seasons.

For the History Books
The Isles are the first team in Stanley Cup history to go 19 consecutive games in a single playoff year without leading after the first period. The last playoff game that the Isles led after 20 minutes was Game 5 vs. Tampa Bay last season.

Most Goals vs Isles in a Series
7 Dale Hunter 1993 (Wsh)
6 Al Iafrate 1993 (Wsh)
6 Rick MacLeish, 1975 (Phi)
6 Gilbert Perrault, 1980 (Buf)
6 Brayden Point, 2021 (TB)

Most Wins After Allowing the First Goal (Isles)
8 1980 
6 1977
6 1993
6 2021
5 1981 
5 1983 
5 1984

Brock Best
Brock Nelson has 23 playoff goals for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:
Brock Nelson 23
Josh Bailey 16
Anthony Beauvillier 15
Mathew Barzal 13
Jordan Eberle 13
J-G Pageau 11
John Tavares 11
Cal Clutterbuck 10

Nelson's 23 goals are ninth in Islander history, one ahead of Duane Sutter and one behind Brent Sutter. The nine players ahead of Nelson won a combined 34 Stanley Cup rings for the Isles. Nelson has scored more playoffs goals for the Isles than any other US-born player.

Hey, Josh Bailey!
Josh Bailey has 34 playoff assists for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:
Josh Bailey 34
Mathew Barzal 25
Jordan Eberle 21
Nick Leddy 18
Brock Nelson 18
Anthony Beauvillier 14
Ryan Pulock 13
JG Pageau 13

Bailey's 34 assists are good for 11th in Islander history and are one assist shy of Brent Sutter's 10th place total (35). The ten players ahead of Bailey won a combined 38 Stanley Cup rings for the Isles. 

Bailey also has 50 playoff points for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:
Josh Bailey 50
Brock Nelson 41
Mathew Barzal 38
Jordan Eberle 34
Anthony Beauvillier 29
J-G Pageau 24
Nick Leddy 23

Bailey's 50 points are 12th in Islander history and are two points shy of Duane Sutter's 11th place total (52). The eleven players ahead of Bailey won a combined 42 Stanley Cup rings for the Isles. 

Hometown Hero
Kyle Palmieri had seven goals in 19 games this spring. 

Only five players have scored more goals for the Isles in their first playoff run with the team:
Ray Ferraro 13 (1993)
Steve Thomas 9 (1993)
Patrick Flatley 9 (1984)
JG Pageau 8 (2020)
JP Parise 8 (1975)

Young Mr. Dobson
Noah Dobson is the second defenseman in Isles history to record at least seven playoff assists before his 22nd birthday. You may remember the other: Denis Potvin had nine assists in 17 games in 1975. 

With seven assists, Dobson is one behind Ryan Pulock and Devon Toews' total of eight assists last summer for the most by an Islander defenseman in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Ryan Pulock 8 (2020) 
Devon Toews 8 (2020)
Noah Dobson 7 (2021)
Roman Hamrlik 6 (2002)
Dennis Vaske 6 (1993)
Vladimir Malakhov 6 (1993)
Nick Leddy 6 (2021)

Pageau, Pageau, Pageau
JG Pageau had ten assists this spring; it is the fourth-highest total by an Islander in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Josh Bailey 18 (2020) 
Mathew Barzal 12 (2020) 
Derek King 11 (1993)
JG Pageau 10 (2021)

Familiar Foes
This was the fourth all-time playoff meeting between the teams:
2004- Conference Quarter-Finals. Tampa Bay won series 4 games to 1.
2016- 2nd Round. Tampa Bay won series 4 games to 1.
2020- Conference Finals. Tampa Bay won series 4 games to 2.
2021- Semi- Finals. Tampa Bay won series 4 games to 3.

Heavy Hitters
Cal Clutterbuck leads all players in this year's playoffs with 96 hits, Matt Martin is second with 90, Leo Komarov is third with 73 hits  and Ryan Pulock is tied-fourth with 70 hits.  The Isles lead all teams with 779 hits.

Barry and Al
Barry Trotz is only the second 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. Trotz has won a playoff series in seven consecutive years (four with Washington and three with the Isles). Arbour did that from 1979-1985 (all with Isles) – no one had done it since, until Trotz came along.

Lou and Bill
Lou Lamoriello's win vs. Boston was his 31st playoff series win as a General Manager, which is second all-time to Glen Sather (41). Bill Torrey is third with 28 playoff series wins.  Lamoriello was named the winner of the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award for the second straight season.

Led/Tied/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 27:28, Tied: 32:32, Trailed: 0:00
Game 2: Led: 0:00, Tied 28:43, Trailed 31:17
Game 3: Led: 0:00, Tied 12:44, Trailed 47:16
Game 4: Led: 34:30, Tied: 25:30, Trailed: 0:00
Game 5: Led: 0:00, Tied: 0:45, Trailed 59:15
Game 6: Led: 0:00. Tied: 25:54, Trailed 35:14
Game 7: Led: 0:00. Tied: 21:49, Trailed 38:11
Series: Led: 61:58, Tied: 147:57, Trailed: 211:13
Vs Boston:   Led:  105:51, Tied: 197:54, Trailed: 74:39
Vs. Pittsburgh Led: 66:48, Tied: 158:11, Trailed: 177:22
Total: Led: 233:37, Tied: 504:02, Trailed: 463:14

The Lightning did not trail in regulation time in five games in this series (2-3-5-6-7); in 2020 the Isles trailed for a total of 8.8 seconds in games 2-3-5-6 vs. Tampa Bay but lost the series.

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles fall to 172-141 in 313 all-time playoff games. They are 95-53 at home (88-44 at the Coliseum, 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto and 1-2 in Edmonton) and 76-88 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 6-3 at home and 5-5 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 877-635-60-158 in 1,730 games. 

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville  962
3. Barry Trotz          877

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,761
3. Barry Trotz        1,730

Coach Trotz (Playoffs)
Barry Trotz has now coached 162 playoff games (83-79). His 162 games is 10th all-time (Mike Babcock is 9th with 164) while his 83 wins pass are 11th (Ken Hitchcock is 10th with 86). 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 Coaching Wins (active coaches)
1. Joel Quenneville 121
2. Darryl Sutter 89
3. Barry Trotz  83
4. Alain Vigneault 78

Most Playoff Games Coached (active coaches)
1. Joel Quenneville 225
2. Darryl Sutter 170
3. Barry Trotz  162
4. Alain Vigneault 155

Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:
Al Arbour 119
Barry Trotz 28
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 49
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)
Barry Trotz 7 (7-6)
Jack Capuano 4 (4-5)
Terry Simpson 3 (3-0)
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 (1-1)
Jack Capuano 0 (0-1)
Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)

Most playoff series wins:
Al Arbour 29
Barry Trotz 6
Jack Capuano 1
Terry Simpson 1

First Things First
The Isles are 5-1 when scoring first and are 6-7 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots
Isles         5-6-7=18  
Tampa Bay  15-12-4=31

Shots by Game
Game 1: Isles 31, Tampa Bay 31
Game 2: Isles 26, Tampa Bay 33
Game 3: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 25
Game 4: Isles 30, Tampa Bay 30
Game 5: Isles 21, Tampa Bay 40
Game 6: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 24 
Game 7: Isles 18, Tampa Bay 31
Series: Isles 182, Tampa Bay 214
Vs. Boston: Isles 172, Boston 221
Vs: Pittsburgh: Isles 188, Pittsburgh 231
Total Isles 542, Opponents 666

The Isles are 3-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 2-0 when the shots are even, and 6-6 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 30 saves but falls to 7-7 in the 2021 playoffs and 31-27 in his playoff career. 

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 18 saves to improve to 12-6 in this year's playoffs and 45-28 in his career.   
 
Power Plays
The Isles were 0-1 on the power play in 2:00 of PP time (allowing a shorthanded goal); Tampa Bay did not have a power play. 

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 0-3 (6:00, 5 shots), Tampa Bay 1-2 (2:44, 4 shots)
Game 2: Isles 1-4 (6:20, 7 shots), Tampa Bay 1-5 (9:08, 8 shots)
Game 3: Isles 0-1 (2:00, 1 shot), Tampa Bay 0-1 (2:00, 1 shot)
Game 4: Isles 0-3 (5:12, 4 shots), Tampa Bay 0-1 (2:00, 0 shots)
Game 5: Isles 0-2 (3:19, 1 shot), Tampa Bay 3-6 (9:39, 9 shots)
Game 6: Isles 0-3 (4:00, 3 shots), Tampa Bay 0-2 (3:02, 5 shots) 
Game 7: Isles 0-1 (2:00, 3 shots), Tampa Bay 0-0 (0:00, 0 shots)
Series: Isles 1-17 (28:51, 24 shots), Tampa Bay 5-17 (28:33, 27 shots)
Vs. Boston: Isles 6-16 (27:39, 23 shots), Boston 7-14 (19:44, 28 shots)
Vs. Pittsburgh: Isles 3-16 (27:00, 15 shots), Pittsburgh 3-12 (18:54, 19 shots)
Total: Power Play 10-49 (83:30, 62 shots), Penalty Kill 15-43 (67:11, 74 shots)

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 10-1 in the playoffs (6-1 in regulation and 4-0 in overtime) when they score at least three goals and 1-7 when they do not. 

Shutting the Door
The Isles are 7-4 when allowing two or fewer goals in this year's playoffs. 

One Goal Games
The Isles are 7-5 in the playoffs in one-goal games (3-4 in regulation and 4-1 in overtime). The Isles are 1-0 in playoff games where an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Nick Leddy (23:53);  Tampa Bay: Victor Hedman (24:14)
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 21:08 of ice-time 
Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (5-0), Nick Leddy (2-6), Ryan Pulock (2-2), Scott Mayfield (2-0)

Face-offs
Isles 18, Tampa Bay 18 (50%)  

Brock Nelson won 6 of 9 for the Isles; Tyler Johnson won 4 of 5 for Tampa Bay. 

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 18 (61%)
Game 2: Isles 27, Tampa Bay 24 (53%)
Game 3: Isles 23, Tampa Bay 26 (47%)
Game 4: Isles 27, Tampa Bay 21 (56%)
Game 5: Isles 27, Tampa Bay 28 (49%)
Game 6: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 20 (58%)
Game 7: Isles 18, Tampa Bay 18 (50%)
Series: Isles 178, Tampa Bay 155 (53%)
Vs. Boston: Isles 165, Boston 168 (49%)
Vs. Pittsburgh: Isles 181, Pittsburgh 164 (52%)
Total: Isles 524, Opponents 487 (52%)

Hit Count
Isles 49 (Cal Clutterbuck-8)
Tampa Bay 48 (Two with 6)

Hits Game by Game:
Game 1: Isles 40, Tampa Bay 41 
Game 2: Isles 37, Tampa Bay 32
Game 3: Isles 39, Tampa Bay 26
Game 4: Isles 36, Tampa Bay 42
Game 5: Isles 40, Tampa Bay 41  
Game 6: Isles 34, Tampa Bay 25
Game 7: Isles 49, Tampa Bay 48  
Series: Isles 275, Tampa Bay 255
Vs. Boston Isles 231, Boston 221
Vs: Pittsburgh: Isles 273, Pittsburgh 224
Total: Isles 779, Opponents 700

Blocked Shots
Isles 8 (Matt Martin-3)
Tampa Bay 21 (Two with 5)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 50, Tampa Bay 47 
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 39, Tampa Bay 45

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Mathew Barzal +7
Tampa Bay: Blake Coleman +12

High Danger Chances:
All situations: Isles 6, Tampa Bay 11
5-on-5: Isles 5, Tampa Bay 10

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 45, Tampa Bay 55; (5-on-5) Isles 35, Tampa Bay 38
Game 2: (All) Isles 44, Tampa Bay 57; (5-on-5) Isles 29, Tampa Bay 38
Game 3: (All) Isles 62, Tampa Bay 42; (5-on-5) Isles 56, Tampa Bay 47
Game 4: (All) Isles 52, Tampa Bay 61; (5-on-5) Isles 44, Tampa Bay 53
Game 5: (All) Isles 44, Tampa Bay 56; (5-on-5) Isles 34, Tampa Bay 43
Game 6: (All) Isles 60, Tampa Bay 46; (5-on-5) Isles 49, Tampa Bay 40
Game 7: (All) Isles 50, Tampa Bay 47; (5-on-5) Isles 39, Tampa Bay 45
Series: (All) Isles 357, Tampa Bay 364; (5-on-5) Isles 286, Tampa Bay 304
Vs. Boston: (All) Isles 312, Boston 414;  (5-on-5) Isles 264, Boston 355
Vs. Pittsburgh: (All)  Isles 303, Pittsburgh 411;  (5-on-5) Isles 257, Pittsburgh 367
Total(All) Isles 972, Opponents 1,189;  (5-on-5) Isles 807, Opponents 1,026

High-Danger Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 10, Tampa Bay 14; (5-on-5) Isles 9, Tampa Bay 8
Game 2: (All) Isles 12, Tampa Bay 15; (5-on-5) Isles 8, Tampa Bay 7
Game 3: (All) Isles 15, Tampa Bay 6; (5-on-5) Isles 14, Tampa Bay 6
Game 4: (All) Isles 10, Tampa Bay 9; (5-on-5) Isles 7, Tampa Bay 8
Game 5: (All) Isles 12, Tampa Bay 14; (5-on-5) Isles 8, Tampa Bay 11
Game 6: (All) Isles 4, Tampa Bay 10; (5-on-5) Isles 2, Tampa Bay 7
Game 7: (All) Isles 6, Tampa Bay 11; (5-on-5) Isles 5, Tampa Bay 10
Series: (All) Isles 69, Tampa Bay 80;  (5-on-5) Isles 53, Tampa Bay 57
Vs. Boston: (All) Isles 55, Boston 72;  (5-on-5) Isles 42, Boston 54
Vs. Pittsburgh:(All)  Isles 66, Pittsburgh 72; (5-on-5) Isles 52, Pittsburgh 55
Total (All) Isles 190, Opponents 224;  (5-on-5) Isles 147, Opponents 166

Scratches
(Anders Lee), (Oliver Wahlstrom), Cory Schneider, Sebastian Aho, Braydon Coburn, Kieffer Bellows, Ross Johnston, Michael Dal Colle, Thomas Hickey, Austin Czarnik

Playoff games lost: 33

Post-Season Late Heroes (Final Two Minutes of Regulation, or Overtime)
Kyle Palmieri (16:30 of OT on 5/16 vs. Pittsburgh – Game 1)
Josh Bailey (20:51 of OT on 5/24 vs. Pittsburgh – Game 5)
Casey Cizikas (14:48 of OT on 5/31 vs. Boston – Game 2)
Anthony Beauvillier (1:08 of OT on 6/23 vs. Tampa Bay – Game 6)
Post-Season Late Goals Allowed
Brad Marchand (3:36 of OT on 6/3 vs. Boston – Game 3)

Playoff Challenges
Isles: Lost a goalie interference challenge (6/5 vs Boston; Bruins did not score on subsequent PP)
Opponents: Lost an offsides challenge (6/19 by Tampa: Isles did not score on subsequent PP)

Most OT Wins in a Year (Isles)
6 1980
4 1982
4 1993
4 2021

Most Overtime Wins in a Series
3 vs. Washington (1993)
3 vs. Florida (2016)
2 vs. Toronto (1978)
2 vs. Rangers (1979)
2 vs. Boston (1980)
2 vs. Philadelphia (1980)
2 vs. New Jersey (1988)
2 vs. Pittsburgh (2021)

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 40-22 (.645) all-time in overtime, including 20-13 at home. The Isles are 4-1 in overtime this season; they have gone 11-9 in 20 overtime games since 2015.  The Isles have re-gained their title as the best overtime team in Stanley Cup history after being passed by Tampa Bay last season. 

Overtime vs. Tampa Bay
The Isles are 2-4 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Tampa Bay; the goals by Martin St. Louis and Anthony Cirelli clinched series and the Lightning went on to win the Stanley Cup. 
 
04/16/04 @ Martin St. Louis L TB 00:04:07 Tampa
05/03/16 Vs Brian Boyle L TB 00:02:48 Brooklyn
05/06/16 Vs Jason Garrison L TB 00:01:34 Brooklyn
09/15/20 @ Jordan Eberle W TB 00:32:30 Edmonton
09/17/20 Vs Anthony Cirelli L TB 00:13:18 Edmonton
06/23/21 Vs Anthony Beauvillier W TB 00:01:08 Nassau Coliseum

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games:
Matt Martin 73
Josh Bailey 71
Casey Cizikas 69
Nick Leddy 67
Brock Nelson 67

Consecutive Games
Matt Martin 73
Nick Leddy 67
Brock Nelson 62

Goals:
Brock Nelson 23
Josh Bailey 16
Anthony Beauvillier 15
Mathew Barzal 13
Jordan Eberle 13
J-G Pageau 11
Cal Clutterbuck 10
Anders Lee 8
Kyle Palmieri 7
Ryan Pulock 7
Matt Martin 7

Assists:
Josh Bailey 34
Mathew Barzal 25
Jordan Eberle 21
Nick Leddy 18
Brock Nelson 18
Anthony Beauvillier 14
Ryan Pulock 13
J-G Pageau 13

Points:
Josh Bailey 50
Brock Nelson 41
Mathew Barzal 38
Jordan Eberle 34
Anthony Beauvillier 29
J-G Pageau 24
Nick Leddy 23
Ryan Pulock 20

Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 109
Cal Clutterbuck 70
Casey Cizikas 44

PP Goals
Anthony Beauvillier 4
Mathew Barzal 4
Jordan Eberle 4
Ryan Pulock 3
Josh Bailey 3
Anders Lee 3
Brock Nelson 3 
Nick Leddy 1
Oliver Wahlstrom 1
Nick Leddy 1
Kyle Palmieri 1

SH Goals
Josh Bailey 1
 
GW Goals
Brock Nelson 7
Anthony Beauvillier 4
Ryan Pulock 3
Jordan Eberle 3
Josh Bailey 3
Mathew Barzal 2
Thomas Hickey 1
Leo Komarov 1
Andy Greene 1
Scott Mayfield 1
Kyle Palmieri 1
Casey Cizikas 1
Matt Martin 1

OT Goals 
Josh Bailey 2
Mathew Barzal 1
Thomas Hickey 1
Jordan Eberle 1
Kyle Palmieri 1
Casey Cizikas 1
Anthony Beauvillier 1

Goaltending
Semyon Varlamov 18-14  2.30 GAA, .922 save percentage
Ilya Sorokin 4-1 2.94 GAA, .921 save percentage

(Varlamov's 18 wins leave him in second place in club history. Only Billy Smith (88) has more playoff wins. Among goalies who have played at least ten post-season games, Varly has the best goals against average and best save percentage in club history.)

UP NEXT
Expansion Draft (July 21st)
Entry Draft (July 23rd-24th )
It will be a short summer for the Islanders; NHL Opening Night is tentatively scheduled for October 12th – just 109 days from now.

AND FINALLY…
56 regular season and 19 playoff games makes 75 games in 5 months and 13 days. With everything that went on, one thing was consistent. All 75 games were followed by The Skinny, making yet another perfect season, at least in attendance.  The Skinny streak is 757 consecutive games (including playoffs).  I hope to hit the 800 mark just before I celebrate my 40th anniversary of Islander television on January 21st. 

Thanks to my very understanding family for their support and thanks to everyone for reading and commenting on The Skinny all year round!

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

Thursday, June 24, 2021

The Skinny: Isles 3, Tampa Bay 2 (OT)

"The Skinny"  

By Eric Hornick

Semi-Finals Game 6
Isles 3, Tampa Bay 2 (OT)
Best-of-7 series tied, 3-3

The Islanders are headed back to Tampa Bay with a chance to dethrone the Stanley Cup Champions!

Anthony Beauvillier scored an unassisted goal 68 seconds into overtime as the Islanders rallied from a 2-0 deficit to earn a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of their semi-final series before a crowd of 12,978 at Nassau Coliseum. 

Tampa Bay, playing almost the entire game without Nikita Kucherov, got goals from Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli to take a 2-0 lead. Point's goal made him the 2nd player in Stanley Cup history to score in nine straight games (Reggie Leach -10 in 1976).

However, Jordan Eberle made it a one-goal game again just 1:46 later and Scott Mayfield tied the game midway through the third period to force the brief extra session.

The series will be decided in Game 7 on Friday night in Tampa Bay.

The Scoring: 
1st Period
Brayden Point (14) Anthony Cirelli (5) 16:02 TBL 1,NYI 0

2nd Period
Anthony Cirelli (4) Ondrej Palat (5), Brayden Point (6) 12:36 TBL 2,NYI 0 
Jordan Eberle (4) Mathew Barzal (7), Andy Greene (1) 14:22 TBL 2,NYI 1

3rd Period
Scott Mayfield (2) Mathew Barzal (8), Adam Pelech (4) 11:16 TBL 2,NYI 2 

OT
Anthony Beauvillier (5) 01:08 TBL 2,NYI 3 
 
The Series (Series tied, 3-3)
Game 1: Isles 2, Tampa Bay 1 
Game 2: Tampa Bay 4, Isles 2
Game 3: Tampa Bay 2, Isles 1 
Game 4: Isles 3, Tampa Bay 2 
Game 5: Tampa Bay 8, Isles 0
Game 6: Isles 3, Tampa Bay 2 (OT) 
Game 7: Friday at Tampa Bay  8:00pm

The Skinny 
The Isles are 3-2 in game 6's under Barry Trotz, including 3-0 this season. It is the first time the Isles have ever won three game 6's in a single playoff year…The Isles have played 48 playoff games under Barry Trotz, matching Boston for the most in that span; only Tampa Bay (29) has more wins than the Isles (28)…Andrei Vasilevskiy had gone 114:25 of shutout hockey before yielding Eberle's tally.… The Isles have yet to have a lead after the first period in any game in this year's playoffs but rallied for their second win in seven games they have trailed after 20 minutes…The Isles have outscored their opponents 40-37 in 5-on-5 play…Nikita Kucherov's assist streak ended at eight games when he left the game with an injury…The team that has scored first has not trailed during regulation time in any game in this series…Casey Cizikas continues to lead the Stanley Cup playoffs in face-off percentage, winning 61.5%; he has had a losing record in draws only once so far in this year's playoffs…The Isles move within five wins of the Stanley Cup; they have not been closer since 1984, when they lost the Final in five games to end the Dynasty... The Isles have scored the last three goals, after allowing 12 straight goals…The Isles are 16-2 all-time in Game 6's on Coliseum ice…The Isles had the first seven shots of the third period, culminating with the tying goal…The Isles are 30-22 when facing elimination, including 3-2 under Barry Trotz…Anthony Beauvillier has now scored the winning goal in four playoff games (other three all in 2020, including two series-clinchers); it was his first playoff overtime goal…Each of the last three Islander OT goals have been unassisted (Bailey, Cizikas, Beauvillier)…Andy Greene's assist was his first point of this year's playoffs.

The Injuries
Nikita Kucherov was injured on his first shift and did not return. Both Matt Martin and Ross Colton left the game but later returned.

First Time in a Long Time
Brayden Point is the first player to score in nine consecutive playoff games since Reggie Leach scored in 10 straight in 1976.
The Isles allowed 12 straight goals for the first time since 1994 vs. the Rangers (15). 
The Isles avoided elimination by rallying from a multi-goal deficit for the first time since 1982, when they saved the Dynasty with a late comeback from a 3-1 deficit vs. Pittsburgh.
It was the earliest overtime goal for the Isles to avoid elimination since JP Parise won the first OT game in club history (:11 vs. NYR in 1975).

First Time for Everything 
Brayden Point is not only the first Lightning player to score in nine straight playoff games, he also is the first to have a point in nine straight Stanley Cup games. 
The Isles avoided elimination from a best-of-7 series by rallying from a multi-goal deficit for the first time .

For the History Books
The Isles are the first team in Stanley Cup history to go 18 consecutive games in a single playoff year without leading after the first period. The last playoff game that the Isles led after 20 minutes was Game 5 vs. Tampa Bay last season.
With their win tonight, the Isles re-take the title as best overtime team in Stanley Cup history.  The Isles improve to 40-22 (.645) while Tampa Bay falls to 22-13 (.629), including 0-3 this year.

Five Shortest Playoff OT Games in Isles History – all Islander wins
1. 04/11/75 @ JP Parise          W NYR 00:11 
2. 04/19/15 Vs John Tavares W Wsh 00:15
3. 04/16/80 @ Clark Gillies W Bos 01:02 
4. 06/23/21 Vs Anthony Beauvillier W TB 01:08
5. 04/17/80 @ Bob Bourne W Bos 01:24

Most OT Wins in a Year (Isles)
6 1980
4 1982
4 1993
4 2021

Most Overtime Wins in a Series
3 vs. Washington (1993)
3 vs. Florida (2016)
2 vs. Toronto (1978)
2 vs. Rangers (1979)
2 vs. Boston (1980)
2 vs. Philadelphia (1980)
2 vs. New Jersey (1988)
2 vs. Pittsburgh (2021)

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 40-22 (.645) all-time in overtime, including 20-13 at home. The Isles are 4-1 in overtime this season; they have gone 11-9 in 20 overtime games since 2015.  The Isles have re-gained their title as the best overtime team in Stanley Cup history after being passed by Tampa Bay last season. 

Overtime vs. Tampa Bay
The Isles are 2-4 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Tampa Bay; the goals by Martin St. Louis and Anthony Cirelli clinched series and the Lightning went on to win the Stanley Cup. 
 
04/16/04 @ Martin St. Louis     L TB 00:04:07 Tampa
05/03/16 Vs Brian Boyle     L TB 00:02:48 Brooklyn
05/06/16 Vs Jason Garrison     L TB 00:01:34 Brooklyn
09/15/20 @ Jordan Eberle     W TB 00:32:30 Edmonton
09/17/20 Vs Anthony Cirelli     L TB 00:13:18 Edmonton
06/23/21 Vs Anthony Beauvillier W TB 00:01:08 Nassau Coliseum

Most Goals vs Isles in a Series
7 Dale Hunter 1993 (Wsh)
6 Al Iafrate 1993 (Wsh)
6 Rick Mac Leish, 1975 (Phi)
6 Gilbert Perrault, 1980 (Buf)
6 Brayden Point, 2021 (TB)

Most Wins After Allowing the First Goal (Isles)
8 1980 
6 1977
6 1993
6 2021
5 1981 
5 1983 
5 1984

Brock Best
Brock Nelson has 23 playoff goals for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:
Brock Nelson 23
Josh Bailey 16
Anthony Beauvillier 15
Mathew Barzal 13
Jordan Eberle 13
J-G Pageau 11
John Tavares 11
Cal Clutterbuck 10

Nelson's 23 goals are ninth in Islander history, one ahead of Duane Sutter and one behind Brent Sutter. The nine players ahead of Nelson won a combined 34 Stanley Cup rings for the Isles. Nelson has scored more playoffs goals for the Isles than any other US-born player.

Hey, Josh Bailey!
Josh Bailey has 34 playoff assists for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:
Josh Bailey 34
Mathew Barzal 25
Jordan Eberle 21
Nick Leddy 18
Brock Nelson 18
Anthony Beauvillier 14
Ryan Pulock 13
JG Pageau 13

Bailey's 34 assists are good for 11th in Islander history and are one assist shy of Brent Sutter's 10th place total (35). The ten players ahead of Bailey won a combined 38 Stanley Cup rings for the Isles. 

Bailey also has 50 playoff points for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:
Josh Bailey 50
Brock Nelson 41
Mathew Barzal 38
Jordan Eberle 34
Anthony Beauvillier 29
J-G Pageau 24
Nick Leddy 23

Bailey's 50 points are 12th in Islander history and are two points shy of Duane Sutter's 11th place total (52). The eleven players ahead of Bailey won a combined 42 Stanley Cup rings for the Isles. 

Hometown Hero
Kyle Palmieri has seven goals in 17 games this spring. 

Only five players have scored more goals for the Isles in their first playoff run with the team:
Ray Ferraro 13 (1993)
Steve Thomas 9 (1993)
Patrick Flatley 9 (1984)
JG Pageau 8 (2020)
JP Parise 8 (1975)

Young Mr. Dobson
Noah Dobson is the second defenseman in Isles history to record at least seven playoff assists before his 22nd birthday. You may remember the other: Denis Potvin had nine assists in 17 games in 1975. 

With seven assists, Dobson is one behind Ryan Pulock and Devon Toews' total of eight assists last summer for the most by an Islander defenseman in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Ryan Pulock 8 (2020) 
Devon Toews 8 (2020)
Noah Dobson 7 (2021)
Roman Hamrlik 6 (2002)
Dennis Vaske 6 (1993)
Vladimir Malakhov 6 (1993)
        Nick Leddy 6 (2021)

Pageau, Pageau, Pageau
JG Pageau has ten assists this spring; it is the fourth-highest total by an Islander in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Josh Bailey 18 (2020) 
Mathew Barzal 12 (2020) 
Derek King 11 (1993)
JG Pageau 10 (2021)

Familiar Foes
This is the fourth all-time playoff meeting between the teams:
2004- Conference Quarter-Finals. Tampa Bay won series 4 games to 1.
2016- 2nd Round. Tampa Bay won series 4 games to 1.
2020- Conference Finals. Tampa Bay won series 4 games to 2.

Heavy Hitters
Cal Clutterbuck leads all players in this year's playoffs with 88 hits, while Matt Martin is second with 87; Ryan Pulock is fourth with 69 hits and Leo Komarov is tied-fifth with 66 hits.  The Isles lead all teams with 730 hits.

Barry and Al
Barry Trotz is only the second 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. Trotz has won a playoff series in seven consecutive years (four with Washington and three with the Isles). Arbour did that from 1979-1985 (all with Isles) – no one had done it since, until Trotz came along.

Lou and Bill
Lou Lamoriello's win vs. Boston was his 31st playoff series win as a General Manager, which is second all-time to Glen Sather (41). Bill Torrey is third with 28 playoff series wins.  Lamoriello was named the winner of the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award for the second straight season.

Led/Tied/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 27:28, Tied: 32:32, Trailed: 0:00
Game 2: Led: 0:00, Tied 28:43, Trailed 31:17
Game 3: Led: 0:00, Tied 12:44, Trailed 47:16
Game 4: Led: 34:30, Tied: 25:30, Trailed: 0:00
Game 5: Led: 0:00, Tied: 0:45, Trailed 59:15
Game 6: Led: 0:00. Tied: 25:54, Trailed 35:14
Series: Led: 61:58, Tied: 126:08, Trailed: 173:02
Vs Boston:   Led:  105:51, Tied: 197:54, Trailed: 74:39
Vs. Pittsburgh Led: 66:48, Tied: 158:11, Trailed: 177:22
Total: Led: 233:37, Tied: 482:13, Trailed: 425:03

The Lightning have not trailed in regulation time in four games in this series (2-3-5-6) but have not won the series; in 2020 the Isles trailed for a total of 8.8 seconds in games 2-3-5-6 vs. Tampa Bay but lost the series.

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles improved to 172-140 in 312 all-time playoff games. They are 95-53 at home (88-44 at the Coliseum, 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto and 1-2 in Edmonton) and 76-87 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 6-3 at home and 5-4 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 877-635-60-158 in 1,730 games. 

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville  962
3. Barry Trotz    877

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,761
3. Barry Trotz        1,730

Coach Trotz (Playoffs)
Barry Trotz has now coached 161 playoff games (83-78). His 161 games is 10th all-time (Mike Babcock is 9th with 164) while his 83 wins pass Toe Blake for 11th (Ken Hitchcock is 10th with 86). 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 Coaching Wins (active coaches)
1. Joel Quenneville 121
2. Darryl Sutter 89
3. Barry Trotz  83
4. Alain Vigneault 78

Most Playoff Games Coached (active coaches)
1. Joel Quenneville 225
2. Darryl Sutter 170
3. Barry Trotz  161
4. Alain Vigneault 155

Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:
Al Arbour 119
Barry Trotz 28
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 48
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)
Barry Trotz 7 (7-6)
Jack Capuano 4 (4-5)
Terry Simpson 3 (3-0)
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 0 (0-1)
Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)

Most playoff series wins:
Al Arbour 29
Barry Trotz 6
Jack Capuano 1
Terry Simpson 1

First Things First
The Isles are 5-1 when scoring first and are 6-6 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots
Isles         7-11-9-1=28  
Tampa Bay  6-9-9-0=24

Shots by Game
Game 1: Isles 31, Tampa Bay 31
Game 2: Isles 26, Tampa Bay 33
Game 3: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 25
Game 4: Isles 30, Tampa Bay 30
Game 5: Isles 21, Tampa Bay 40
Game 6: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 24 
Series: Isles 164, Tampa Bay 183
Vs. Boston: Isles 172, Boston 221
Vs: Pittsburgh: Isles 188, Pittsburgh 231
Total Isles 524, Opponents 635

The Isles are 3-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 2-0 when the shots are even, and 6-5 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 22 saves to improve to 7-6 in the 2021 playoffs and 31-26 in his playoff career. He is 8-8 in overtime.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves but falls to 11-6 in this year's playoffs and 44-28 in his career.  He is 9-6 in overtime.
 
Power Plays
The Isles were 0-3 on the power play in 4:00 of PP time (including 1:02 of 5-on-3 time); Tampa Bay was 0-2 on the power play in 3:02 of PP time. 

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 0-3 (6:00, 5 shots), Tampa Bay 1-2 (2:44, 4 shots)
Game 2: Isles 1-4 (6:20, 7 shots), Tampa Bay 1-5 (9:08, 8 shots)
Game 3: Isles 0-1 (2:00, 1 shot), Tampa Bay 0-1 (2:00, 1 shot)
Game 4: Isles 0-3 (5:12, 4 shots), Tampa Bay 0-1 (2:00, 0 shots)
Game 5: Isles 0-2 (3:19, 1 shot), Tampa Bay 3-6 (9:39, 9 shots)
Game 6: Isles 0-3 (4:00, 3 shots), Tampa Bay 0-2 (3:02, 5 shots)
Series: Isles 1-16 (26:51, 21 shots), Tampa Bay 5-17 (28:33, 27 shots)
Vs. Boston: Isles 6-16 (27:39, 23 shots), Boston 7-14 (19:44, 28 shots)
Vs. Pittsburgh: Isles 3-16 (27:00, 15 shots), Pittsburgh 3-12 (18:54, 19 shots)
Total: Power Play 10-48 (81:30, 59 shots), Penalty Kill 15-43 (67:11, 74 shots)

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 10-1 in the playoffs (6-1 in regulation and 4-0 in overtime) when they score at least three goals and 1-6 when they do not. 

Shutting the Door
The Isles are 7-3 when allowing two or fewer goals in this year's playoffs. 

One Goal Games
The Isles are 7-4 in the playoffs in one-goal games (3-3 in regulation and 4-1 in overtime). The Isles are 1-0 in playoff games where an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Adam Pelech (24:04);  Tampa Bay: Victor Hedman (26:58)
Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 17:23 of ice-time 
Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (5-0), Nick Leddy (2-5), Ryan Pulock (2-2), Scott Mayfield (2-0)

Face-offs
Isles 28, Tampa Bay 20 (58%)  

Brock Nelson won 13 of 20 for the Isles; Steven Stamkos won 5 of 9 for Tampa Bay. 

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 18 (61%)
Game 2: Isles 27, Tampa Bay 24 (53%)
Game 3: Isles 23, Tampa Bay 26 (47%)
Game 4: Isles 27, Tampa Bay 21 (56%)
Game 5: Isles 27, Tampa Bay 28 (49%)
Game 6: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 20 (58%)
Series: Isles 160, Tampa Bay 137 (54%)
Vs. Boston: Isles 165, Boston 168 (49%)
Vs. Pittsburgh: Isles 181, Pittsburgh 164 (52%)
Total: Isles 506, Opponents 469 (52%)

Hit Count
Isles 34 (Matt Martin -7)
Tampa Bay 25 (Luke Schenn -4)

Hits Game by Game:
Game 1: Isles 40, Tampa Bay 41 
Game 2: Isles 37, Tampa Bay 32
Game 3: Isles 39, Tampa Bay 26
Game 4: Isles 36, Tampa Bay 42
Game 5: Isles 40, Tampa Bay 41  
Game 6: Isles 34, Tampa Bay 25
Series: Isles 226, Tampa Bay 207
Vs. Boston Isles 231, Boston 221
Vs: Pittsburgh: Isles 273, Pittsburgh 224
Total: Isles 730, Opponents 652

Blocked Shots
Isles 13 (Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech -3)
Tampa Bay 19 (Two with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 60, Tampa Bay 46 
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 49, Tampa Bay 40

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Anthony Beauvillier +7
Tampa Bay: Ryan McDonagh +10

High Danger Chances:
All situations: Isles 4, Tampa Bay 10
5-on-5: Isles 2, Tampa Bay 7

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 45, Tampa Bay 55; (5-on-5) Isles 35, Tampa Bay 38
Game 2: (All) Isles 44, Tampa Bay 57; (5-on-5) Isles 29, Tampa Bay 38
Game 3: (All) Isles 62, Tampa Bay 42; (5-on-5) Isles 56, Tampa Bay 47
Game 4: (All) Isles 52, Tampa Bay 61; (5-on-5) Isles 44, Tampa Bay 53
Game 5: (All) Isles 44, Tampa Bay 56; (5-on-5) Isles 34, Tampa Bay 43
Game 6: (All) Isles 60, Tampa Bay 46; (5-on-5) Isles 49, Tampa Bay 40
Series: (All) Isles 307, Tampa Bay 317; (5-on-5) Isles 247, Tampa Bay 259
Vs. Boston: (All) Isles 312, Boston 414;  (5-on-5) Isles 264, Boston 355
Vs. Pittsburgh: (All)  Isles 303, Pittsburgh 411;  (5-on-5) Isles 257, Pittsburgh 367
Total(All) Isles 922, Opponents 1,142;  (5-on-5) Isles 768, Opponents 981

High-Danger Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 10, Tampa Bay 14; (5-on-5) Isles 9, Tampa Bay 8
Game 2: (All) Isles 12, Tampa Bay 15; (5-on-5) Isles 8, Tampa Bay 7
Game 3: (All) Isles 15, Tampa Bay 6; (5-on-5) Isles 14, Tampa Bay 6
Game 4: (All) Isles 10, Tampa Bay 9; (5-on-5) Isles 7, Tampa Bay 8
Game 5: (All) Isles 12, Tampa Bay 14; (5-on-5) Isles 8, Tampa Bay 11
Game 6: (All) Isles 4, Tampa Bay 10; (5-on-5) Isles 2, Tampa Bay 7
Series: (All) Isles 63, Tampa Bay 69;  (5-on-5) Isles 48, Tampa Bay 47
Vs. Boston: (All) Isles 55, Boston 72;  (5-on-5) Isles 42, Boston 54
Vs. Pittsburgh:(All)  Isles 66, Pittsburgh 72; (5-on-5) Isles 52, Pittsburgh 55
Total (All) Isles 184, Opponents 213;  (5-on-5) Isles 142, Opponents 156

Scratches
(Anders Lee), (Oliver Wahlstrom), Cory Schneider, Sebastian Aho, Braydon Coburn, Kieffer Bellows, Ross Johnston, Michael Dal Colle, Thomas Hickey, Austin Czarnik

Playoff games lost: 31

Post-Season Late Heroes (Final Two Minutes of Regulation, or Overtime)
Kyle Palmieri (16:30 of OT on 5/16 vs. Pittsburgh – Game 1)
Josh Bailey (20:51 of OT on 5/24 vs. Pittsburgh – Game 5)
Casey Cizikas (14:48 of OT on 5/31 vs. Boston – Game 2)
Anthony Beauvillier (1:08 of OT on 6/23 vs. Tampa Bay – Game 6)
Post-Season Late Goals Allowed
Brad Marchand (3:36 of OT on 6/3 vs. Boston – Game 3)

Playoff Challenges
Isles: Lost a goalie interference challenge (6/5 vs Boston; Bruins did not score on subsequent PP)
Opponents: Lost an offsides challenge (6/19 by Tampa: Isles did not score on subsequent PP)

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games:
Matt Martin 72
Josh Bailey 70
Casey Cizikas 68
Nick Leddy 66
Brock Nelson 66

Consecutive Games
Matt Martin 72
Nick Leddy 66
Brock Nelson 61

Goals:
Brock Nelson 23
Josh Bailey 16
Anthony Beauvillier 15
Mathew Barzal 13
Jordan Eberle 13
J-G Pageau 11
Cal Clutterbuck 10
Anders Lee 8
Kyle Palmieri 7
Ryan Pulock 7
Matt Martin 7

Assists:
Josh Bailey 34
Mathew Barzal 25
Jordan Eberle 21
Nick Leddy 18
Brock Nelson 18
Anthony Beauvillier 14
Ryan Pulock 13
J-G Pageau 13

Points:
Josh Bailey 50
Brock Nelson 41
Mathew Barzal 38
Jordan Eberle 34
Anthony Beauvillier 29
J-G Pageau 24
Nick Leddy 23
Ryan Pulock 20

Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 109
Cal Clutterbuck 70
Casey Cizikas 44

PP Goals
Anthony Beauvillier 4
Mathew Barzal 4
Jordan Eberle 4
Ryan Pulock 3
Josh Bailey 3
Anders Lee 3
Brock Nelson 3 
Nick Leddy 1
Oliver Wahlstrom 1
Nick Leddy 1
Kyle Palmieri 1

SH Goals
Josh Bailey 1
 
GW Goals
Brock Nelson 7
Anthony Beauvillier 4
Ryan Pulock 3
Jordan Eberle 3
Josh Bailey 3
Mathew Barzal 2
Thomas Hickey 1
Leo Komarov 1
Andy Greene 1
Scott Mayfield 1
Kyle Palmieri 1
Casey Cizikas 1
Matt Martin 1

OT Goals 
Josh Bailey 2
Mathew Barzal 1
Thomas Hickey 1
Jordan Eberle 1
Kyle Palmieri 1
Casey Cizikas 1
Anthony Beauvillier 1

Goaltending
Semyon Varlamov 18-13  2.34 GAA, .920 save percentage
Ilya Sorokin 4-1 2.94 GAA, .921 save percentage

(Varlamov's 18 wins break a tie for second place in club history with Chico Resch. Only Billy Smith (88) has more playoff wins. Among goalies who have played at least ten post-season games, Varly has the best goals against average and second-best save percentage in club history.)

UP NEXT
FRIDAY, JUNE 25th  – ISLANDERS AT TAMPA BAY - 8:00pm 
[NBCSN, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 98.7FM; Pre-Game and Post-Game coverage on MSG+]

Game 7.  

The Isle will look to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 37 years as they face the Lightning in the game that will decide the Prince of Wales Champion.

This will be the 10th Game 7 in Islander history and the 9th to be contested on the road (including last year vs. Philadelphia as the "Road" team in The Bubble).  The Isles are 4-5 in Game 7s, with four different goalies (Chico Resch, Kelly Hrudey, Glenn Healy, Thomas Greiss) earning victories; they are 2-1 in Game 7 overtimes.  Barry Trotz is 3-2 in Game 7s (1-0 with Isles and 1-0 vs. Tampa Bay); Semyon Varlamov is 1-3 in Game 7.

This will be the 9th Game 7 in Lightning history and the 6th to be contested at home.  Tampa Bay is 5-3 in Game 7s ( and 3-2 at home).   This will be the 6th time the Lightning will play a Game 7 with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final at stake; they are 2-3 in the prior five.  Jon Cooper is 2-2 in Game 7s, but he has lost both Game 7s with Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal.

The Isles are 3-9 in 12 previous series that they trailed 3-2; in all three series they won game six at home and game 7 on the road.  This is the eighth time that they have forced a Game 7, going 3-4 in the prior seven.

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, June 22, 2021

The Skinny on: Time to Stave

(Revised 6/23/2021)
According to Webster, "stave off" has been around for nearly four centuries. Funny, I didn't realize that there were playoffs then.

It seems like the only time I ever hear the word "stave" is when a sports team is one game away from elimination - the situation the Isles will find themselves on Wednesday against Tampa Bay.

The Islanders have successfully staved off elimination 29 times in 51 tries. Of course the other 22 times they've ended up on the wrong side of a handshake.

Six times in their history, the "Never-Say-Dielanders" have managed to stave off elimination at least two times in a single playoff year.

In 1975, the Isles beat the Rangers in the decisive Game 3, and then found themselves down 3-0 to both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The Isles won eight of the nine elimination games they played, setting an NHL-record for avoiding elimination.

In 1984, the Rangers were poised to end the Dynasty, after taking a 2-1 lead, but the Isles won Game 4 at MSG and then won the series in Game 5 on Ken Morrow's overtime goal. Two successful staves.

In 1985, their first playoff after being dethroned as Stanley Cup Champions, the Isles lost their first two playoff games, and looked like they were headed to an early spring, before rallying to beat the Caps three times, to stave off elimination each time. The Isles trailed the Flyers 3-0 in the second round and won game four before losing the series in five. Four successful staves.

Two years later the Caps and Flyers again became Islander victims. The Isles trailed both series 3-1; yet beat the Capitals on Easter morning, before losing to Philadelphia in seven. Five more successful staves.

In 1993, the Isles trailed Pittsburgh 3-2 before winning in 7 on David Volek's overtime goal. After Montreal used eight guys on the ice to score in OT in Game 3 of the Conference Finals to grab a 3-0 lead in the series, the Isles staved off elimination with a home-ice win in Game 4, only to fall to the eventual champs in Game 5. Three more staves.

In 2020, the Isles won Game 7 from Philadelphia to advance from the Toronto bubble and then beat Tampa Bay in double overtime of Game 5 before falling to the Bolts in overtime of Game 6 in Edmonton. Two more staves.

Five other seasons featured one successful stave. In 1976 and 1977, the Isles forced the eventual champion Canadiens to an extra game each year with their backs against the wall. In 1982, with their dynasty on the line, the Isles used an overtime goals to beat Pittsburgh to stave off elimination. In 2002, the Isles overcame the loss of Michael Peca and Kenny Jonsson in Game 5 in Toronto to win an emotional Game 6 at home.  In 2015, the Isles kept The Barn's doors open as they won the final home game in the first era of the Coliseum over Washington, only to drop Game 7 to Barry Trotz and the Caps in DC.

In games facing potential elimination, the Isles are 16-6 at home (including 0-1 in the Bubble) and 13-16 on the road (including 2-0 in the Bubble).

The Isles were eliminated at the Coliseum in 1977 by Montreal, in 1978 by Toronto, in 1986 by Washington, in 1994 by the Rangers and in 2013 by Pittsburgh. Technically, the 2020 elimination by Tampa Bay from the Bubble was also a home game.  

The Isles have been eliminated in the playoffs only 22 times. In eight of those seasons, the team that beat the Isles won the Stanley Cup [75-76-77-84-93-94-04-20] and in three other years, the team that beat the Isles lost in the Finals [79-85-87].

Wednesday will be the 132nd playoff game in Coliseum; the Isles will need two staves against Tampa Bay for there to be a 133rd.

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

The Skinny: Tampa Bay 8, Isles 0

"The Skinny"  

By Eric Hornick

Semi-Finals Game 5
Tampa Bay 8, Isles 0
Tampa Bay leads best-of-7 series, 3-2
Steven Stamkos, Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov each had 3 points as the Tampa Bay Lightning earned a 8-0 win over the Islanders in Game 5 of their semi-final series before a crowd of 14,791 at AMALIE Arena in Tampa. 

Brayden Point's third period goal made him the 2nd player in Stanley Cup history to score in eight straight games (Reggie Leach -10 in 1976).

It was the most one-sided victory in Lightning playoff history, and the most one-sided loss in Islander playoff history.

Game Six will be at the Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday as the Islanders will face elimination for the first time in this year's playoffs.

The Scoring: 
1st Period
Steven Stamkos (6) Alex Killorn (8), Anthony Cirelli (4) 00:45 NYI 0,TBL 1
Yanni Gourde (4) Blake Coleman (6) 11:04 NYI 0,TBL 2
Alex Killorn (7)David Savard (2) 15:27 NYI 0,TBL 3

2nd Period
Steven Stamkos (7) Victor Hedman (14), Nikita Kucherov (20) 05:42 NYI 0,TBL 4 PPG
Ondrej Palat (4) David Savard (3), Nikita Kucherov (21) 15:43 NYI 0,TBL 5  
Alex Killorn (8) Victor Hedman (15), Brayden Point (5) 17:53 NYI 0,TBL 6  PPG

3rd Period
Brayden Point (13) Nikita Kucherov (22), Steven Stamkos (10) 01:59 NYI 0,TBL 7 PPG
Luke Schenn (1) Pat Maroon (2), Ross Colton (2) 12:05 NYI 0,TBL 8

The Series (Tampa Bay leads, 3-2)
Game 1: Isles 2, Tampa Bay 1 
Game 2: Tampa Bay 4, Isles 2
Game 3: Tampa Bay 2, Isles 1 
Game 4: Isles 3, Tampa Bay 2 
Game 5: Tampa Bay 8, Isles 0
Game 6: Wednesday at Isles 8:00pm
Game 7: Friday at Tampa Bay (if needed) 8:00pm

The Skinny 
The Isles are 4-2 in game 5's under Barry Trotz, including 2-1 this season …The Isles have played 47 playoff games under Barry Trotz; only Boston (48) has played more in that span…Andrei Vasilevskiy made 21 saves for his fourth playoff shutout, and third this season… The Isles have yet to have a lead after the first period in any game in this year's playoffs but are 9-2-0 when tied after 20 minutes…The Isles have outscored their opponents 37-35 in 5-on-5 play…Nikita Kucherov extended his assist streak to eight games, and now has 22 assists in this year's playoffs.  Kucherov, who had a franchise-record 27 helpers in The Bubble, has more assists than any other NHL player has points.…The team that has scored first has not trailed in any game in this series…Every Lightning was a "+" in this game… The Lightning scored three goals in both the first and second periods; the Isles had allowed three goals in a period only once in their first 16 playoff games. Casey Cizikas continues to lead the Stanley Cup playoffs in face-off percentage, winning 61.5%; he has had a losing record in draws only once so far in this year's playoffs…The Isles remain six wins shy of the Stanley Cup for the second straight season; they have not been closer since 1984, when they lost the Final in five games to end the Dynasty... The Isles have allowed 10 straight goals and have been outscored 17-8 in this series…Matt Martin recorded 17 penalty minutes; he now has 107 career playoff minutes for the Isles (12th all-time)…There were 85 penalty minutes overall; Mathew Barzal totaled 15 of them when he received a major and game misconduct at the end of the second period…Steven Stamkos' early goal was the 5th scored in the first minute of a game in this year's playoffs.

First Time in a Long Time
Brayden Point is the first player to score in eight consecutive playoff games since Reggie Leach scored in 10 straight in 1976.
The Isles were assessed 57 penalty minutes; it is the most they have had in a playoff game since April 23, 2002 vs. Toronto (62 minutes).
This was the first time since 1985 that a conference final game was decided by 8+ goals (Edmonton 11, Chicago 2).

First Time for Everything 
Nikita Kucherov has an 8-game playoff point streak (and playoff assist streak) for the first time. He tied Victor Hedman's club record for the longest assist streak.

For the History Books
The Isles are the first team in Stanley Cup history to go 17 consecutive games  in a single playoff year without leading after the first period. The last playoff game that the Isles led after 20 minutes was Game 5 vs. Tampa Bay last season.

Most Wins After Allowing the First Goal (Isles)
8 1980 
6 1977
6 1993
5 2021
5 1981 
5 1983 
5 1984

Brock Best
Brock Nelson has 23 playoff goals for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:
Brock Nelson 23
Josh Bailey 16
Anthony Beauvillier 14
Mathew Barzal 13
Jordan Eberle 12
J-G Pageau 11
John Tavares 11
Cal Clutterbuck 10

Nelson's 23 goals are ninth in Islander history, one ahead of Duane Sutter and one behind Brent Sutter. The nine players ahead of Nelson won a combined 34 Stanley Cup rings for the Isles. Nelson has scored more playoffs goals for the Isles than any other US-born player.

Hey, Josh Bailey!
Josh Bailey has 34 playoff assists for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:
Josh Bailey 34
Mathew Barzal 23
Jordan Eberle 21
Nick Leddy 18
Brock Nelson 18
Anthony Beauvillier 14
Ryan Pulock 13
JG Pageau 13

Bailey's 34 assists are good for 11th in Islander history and are one assist shy of Brent Sutter's 10th place total (35). The ten players ahead of Bailey won a combined 38 Stanley Cup rings for the Isles. 

Bailey also has 50 playoff points for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:
Josh Bailey 50
Brock Nelson 41
Mathew Barzal 36
Jordan Eberle 33
Anthony Beauvillier 28
J-G Pageau 24
Nick Leddy 23
John Tavares 22

Bailey's 50 points are 12th in Islander history and are two points shy of Duane Sutter's 11th place total (52). The eleven players ahead of Bailey won a combined 42 Stanley Cup rings for the Isles. 

Hometown Hero
Kyle Palmieri has seven goals in 17 games this spring. 

Only five players have scored more goals for the Isles in their first playoff run with the team:
Ray Ferraro 13 (1993)
Steve Thomas 9 (1993)
Patrick Flatley 9 (1984)
JG Pageau 8 (2020)
JP Parise 8 (1975)

Young Mr. Dobson
Noah Dobson is the second defenseman in Isles history to record at least seven playoff assists before his 22nd birthday. You may remember the other: Denis Potvin had nine assists in 17 games in 1975. 

With seven assists, Dobson is one behind Ryan Pulock and Devon Toews' total of eight assists last summer for the most by an Islander defenseman in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Ryan Pulock 8 (2020) 
Devon Toews 8 (2020)
Noah Dobson 7 (2021)
Roman Hamrlik 6 (2002)
Dennis Vaske 6 (1993)
Vladimir Malakhov 6 (1993)

Pageau, Pageau, Pageau
JG Pageau has ten assists this spring; it is the fourth-highest total by an Islander in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.
Josh Bailey 18 (2020) 
Mathew Barzal 12 (2020) 
Derek King 11 (1993)
JG Pageau 10 (2021)

Familiar Foes
This is the fourth all-time playoff meeting between the teams:
2004- Conference Quarter-Finals. Tampa Bay won series 4 games to 1.
2016- 2nd Round. Tampa Bay won series 4 games to 1.
2020- Conference Finals. Tampa Bay won series 4 games to 2.

Heavy Hitters
Cal Clutterbuck leads all players in this year's playoffs with 82 hits, while Matt Martin is second with 80; Ryan Pulock is fourth with 67 hits and Leo Komarov is fifth with 63 hits.  The Isles lead all teams with 696 hits.

Barry and Al
Barry Trotz is only the second 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. Trotz has won a playoff series in seven consecutive years (four with Washington and three with the Isles). Arbour did that from 1979-1985 (all with Isles) – no one had done it since, until Trotz came along.

Lou and Bill
Lou Lamoriello's win vs. Boston was his 31st playoff series win as a General Manager, which is second all-time to Glen Sather (41). Bill Torrey is third with 28 playoff series wins. 

Led/Tied/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 27:28, Tied: 32:32, Trailed: 0:00
Game 2: Led: 0:00, Tied 28:43, Trailed 31:17
Game 3: Led: 0:00, Tied 12:44, Trailed 47:16
Game 4: Led: 34:30, Tied: 25:30, Trailed: 0:00
Game 5: Led: 0:00, Tied: 0:45, Trailed 59:15
Series: Led: 61:58, Tied: 100:14, Trailed: 137:48
Vs Boston:   Led:  105:51, Tied: 197:54, Trailed: 74:39
Vs. Pittsburgh Led: 66:48, Tied: 158:11, Trailed: 177:22
Total: Led: 233:37, Tied: 456:19, Trailed: 389:49

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles fall to 171-140 in 311 all-time playoff games. They are 94-53 at home (87-44 at the Coliseum, 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto and 1-2 in Edmonton) and 76-87 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 5-3 at home and 5-4 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 877-635-60-158 in 1,730 games. 

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville  962
3. Barry Trotz    877

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,761
3. Barry Trotz        1,730

Coach Trotz (Playoffs)
Barry Trotz has now coached 160 playoff games (82-78). His 160 games is 10th all-time (Mike Babcock is 9th with 164) while his 82 wins tie Toe Blake for 11th (Ken Hitchcock is 10th with 86). 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 Coaching Wins (active coaches)
1. Joel Quenneville 121
2. Darryl Sutter 89
3. Barry Trotz  82
4. Alain Vigneault 78

Most Playoff Games Coached (active coaches)
1. Joel Quenneville 225
2. Darryl Sutter 170
3. Barry Trotz  160
4. Alain Vigneault 155

Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:
Al Arbour 119
Barry Trotz 27
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 47
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)
Barry Trotz 6 (6-6)
Jack Capuano 4 (4-5)
Terry Simpson 3 (3-0)
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 0 (0-1)
Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)

Most playoff series wins:
Al Arbour 29
Barry Trotz 6
Jack Capuano 1
Terry Simpson 1

First Things First
The Isles are 5-1 when scoring first and are 5-6 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots
Isles      5-9-7=21   
Tampa Bay 19-14-7=40

Shots by Game
Game 1: Isles 31, Tampa Bay 31
Game 2: Isles 26, Tampa Bay 33
Game 3: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 25
Game 4: Isles 30, Tampa Bay 30
Game 5: Isles 21, Tampa Bay 40
Series: Isles 136, Tampa Bay 159
Vs. Boston: Isles 172, Boston 221
Vs: Pittsburgh: Isles 188, Pittsburgh 231
Total Isles 496, Opponents 611

The Isles are 2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 2-0 when the shots are even, and 6-5 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 13 saves before being replaced after Tampa Bay's 3rd goal. He falls to 6-6 in the 2021 playoffs and 30-26 in his playoff career. Ilya Sorokin made 18 saves in relief.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 21 saves and improves to 11-5 in this year's playoffs and 44-27 in his career. It was his fourth career playoff shutout, and third this season.
 
Power Plays
The Isles were 0-2 on the power play in 3:19 of PP time; Tampa Bay was 3-6 on the power play in 9:39 of PP time. 

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 0-3 (6:00, 5 shots), Tampa Bay 1-2 (2:44, 4 shots)
Game 2: Isles 1-4 (6:20, 7 shots), Tampa Bay 1-5 (9:08, 8 shots)
Game 3: Isles 0-1 (2:00, 1 shot), Tampa Bay 0-1 (2:00, 1 shot)
Game 4: Isles 0-3 (5:12, 4 shots), Tampa Bay 0-1 (2:00, 0 shots)
Game 5: Isles 0-2 (3:19, 1 shot), Tampa Bay 3-6 (9:39, 9 shots)
Series: Isles 1-13 (22:51, 18 shots), Tampa Bay 5-15 (25:31, 22 shots)
Vs. Boston: Isles 6-16 (27:39, 23 shots), Boston 7-14 (19:44, 28 shots)
Vs. Pittsburgh: Isles 3-16 (27:00, 15 shots), Pittsburgh 3-12 (18:54, 19 shots)
Total: Power Play 10-45 (77:30, 56 shots), Penalty Kill 15-41 (64:09, 69 shots)

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 9-1 in the playoffs (6-1 in regulation and 3-0 in overtime) when they score at least three goals and 1-6 when they do not. 

Shutting the Door
The Isles are 6-3 when allowing two or fewer goals in this year's playoffs. 

One Goal Games
The Isles are 6-4 in the playoffs in one-goal games (3-3 in regulation and 3-1 in overtime). The Isles are 1-0 in playoff games where an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Nick Leddy (22:02);  Tampa Bay: Mikhail Sergachev (24:00)
Anthony Beauvillier led Isles forwards with 16:43 of ice-time 
Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (4-0), Nick Leddy (2-5), Ryan Pulock (2-2), Scott Mayfield (2-0)

Face-offs
Isles 27, Tampa Bay 28 (49%)  

Casey Cizikas and JG Pageau each won 8 of 14 for the Isles; Steven Stamkos won 7 of 11 for Tampa Bay. 

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 18 (61%)
Game 2: Isles 27, Tampa Bay 24 (53%)
Game 3: Isles 23, Tampa Bay 26 (47%)
Game 4: Isles 27, Tampa Bay 21 (56%)
Game 5: Isles 27, Tampa Bay 28 (49%)
Series: Isles 132, Tampa Bay 117 (53%)
Vs. Boston: Isles 165, Boston 168 (49%)
Vs. Pittsburgh: Isles 181, Pittsburgh 164 (52%)
Total: Isles 478, Opponents 449 (52%)

Hit Count
Isles 40 (Four with 4)
Tampa Bay 41 (Mikael Sergachev -5)

Hits Game by Game:
Game 1: Isles 40, Tampa Bay 41 
Game 2: Isles 37, Tampa Bay 32
Game 3: Isles 39, Tampa Bay 26
Game 4: Isles 36, Tampa Bay 42
Game 5: Isles 40, Tampa Bay 41  
Series: Isles 192, Tampa Bay 182
Vs. Boston Isles 231, Boston 221
Vs: Pittsburgh: Isles 273, Pittsburgh 224
Total: Isles 696, Opponents 627

Blocked Shots
Isles 7 (J-G Pageau -2)
Tampa Bay 13 (Two with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 44, Tampa Bay 56 
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 34, Tampa Bay 43

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Anthony Beauvillier +7
Tampa Bay: Ryan McDonagh +10

High Danger Chances:
All situations: Isles 12, Tampa Bay 14
5-on-5: Isles 8, Tampa Bay 11

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 45, Tampa Bay 55; (5-on-5) Isles 35, Tampa Bay 38
Game 2: (All) Isles 44, Tampa Bay 57; (5-on-5) Isles 29, Tampa Bay 38
Game 3: (All) Isles 62, Tampa Bay 42; (5-on-5) Isles 56, Tampa Bay 47
Game 4: (All) Isles 52, Tampa Bay 61; (5-on-5) Isles 44, Tampa Bay 53
Game 5: (All) Isles 44, Tampa Bay 56; (5-on-5) Isles 34, Tampa Bay 43

Series: (All) Isles 247, Tampa Bay 271; (5-on-5) Isles 198, Tampa Bay 219
Vs. Boston: (All) Isles 312, Boston 414;  (5-on-5) Isles 264, Boston 355
Vs. Pittsburgh: (All)  Isles 303, Pittsburgh 411;  (5-on-5) Isles 257, Pittsburgh 367
Total(All) Isles 862, Opponents 1,096;  (5-on-5) Isles 719, Opponents 941

High-Danger Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 10, Tampa Bay 14; (5-on-5) Isles 9, Tampa Bay 8
Game 2: (All) Isles 12, Tampa Bay 15; (5-on-5) Isles 8, Tampa Bay 7
Game 3: (All) Isles 15, Tampa Bay 5; (5-on-5) Isles 14, Tampa Bay 5
Game 4: (All) Isles 10, Tampa Bay 9; (5-on-5) Isles 7, Tampa Bay 8
Game 5: (All) Isles 12, Tampa Bay 14; (5-on-5) Isles 8, Tampa Bay 11
Series: (All) Isles 59, Tampa Bay 57;  (5-on-5) Isles 46, Tampa Bay 39
Vs. Boston: (All) Isles 55, Boston 72;  (5-on-5) Isles 42, Boston 54
Vs. Pittsburgh:(All)  Isles 66, Pittsburgh 72; (5-on-5) Isles 52, Pittsburgh 55
Total (All) Isles 180, Opponents 201;  (5-on-5) Isles 140, Opponents 148

Scratches
(Anders Lee), (Oliver Wahlstrom), Cory Schneider, Sebastian Aho, Braydon Coburn, Kieffer Bellows, Ross Johnston, Michael Dal Colle, Thomas Hickey, Austin Czarnik

Playoff games lost: 29

Post-Season Late Heroes (Final Two Minutes of Regulation, or Overtime)
Kyle Palmieri (16:30 of OT on 5/16 vs. Pittsburgh – Game 1)
Josh Bailey (20:51 of OT on 5/24 vs. Pittsburgh – Game 5)
Casey Cizikas (14:48 of OT on 5/31 vs. Boston – Game 2)
Post-Season Late Goals Allowed
Brad Marchand (3:36 of OT on 6/3 vs. Boston – Game 3)

Playoff Challenges
Isles: Lost a goalie interference challenge (6/5 vs Boston; Bruins did not score on subsequent PP)
Opponents: Lost an offsides challenge (6/19 by Tampa: Isles did not score on subsequent PP)

Most Overtime Wins in a Series
3 vs. Washington (1993)
3 vs. Florida (2016)
2 vs. Toronto (1978)
2 vs. Rangers (1979)
2 vs. Boston (1980)
2 vs. Philadelphia (1980)
2 vs. New Jersey (1988)
2 vs. Pittsburgh (2021)

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 39-22 (.639) all-time in overtime, including 19-13 at home. The Isles are 3-1 in overtime this season; they have gone 10-9 in nineteen overtime games since 2015. 

Overtime vs. Tampa Bay
The Isles are 1-4 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Tampa Bay; the goals by Martin St. Louis and Anthony Cirelli clinched series and the Lightning went on to win the Stanley Cup. 
 
04/16/04 @ Martin St. Louis L TB 00:04:07 Tampa
05/03/16 Vs Brian Boyle L TB 00:02:48 Brooklyn
05/06/16 Vs Jason Garrison L TB 00:01:34 Brooklyn
09/15/20 @ Jordan Eberle W TB 00:32:30 Edmonton
09/17/20 Vs Anthony Cirelli L TB 00:13:18 Edmonton

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games:
Matt Martin 71
Josh Bailey 69
Casey Cizikas 67
Nick Leddy 65
Brock Nelson 65

Consecutive Games
Matt Martin 71
Nick Leddy 65
Brock Nelson 60

Goals:
Brock Nelson 23
Josh Bailey 16
Anthony Beauvillier 14
Mathew Barzal 13
Jordan Eberle 12
J-G Pageau 11
Cal Clutterbuck 10
Anders Lee 8
Kyle Palmieri 7
Ryan Pulock 7
Mat Martin 7

Assists:
Josh Bailey 34
Mathew Barzal 23
Jordan Eberle 21
Nick Leddy 18
Brock Nelson 18
Anthony Beauvillier 14
Ryan Pulock 13
J-G Pageau 13

Points:
Josh Bailey 50
Brock Nelson 41
Mathew Barzal 36
Jordan Eberle 33
Anthony Beauvillier 28
J-G Pageau 24
Nick Leddy 23
Ryan Pulock 20

Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 107
Cal Clutterbuck 68
Casey Cizikas 44

PP Goals
Anthony Beauvillier 4
Mathew Barzal 4
Jordan Eberle 4
Ryan Pulock 3
Josh Bailey 3
Anders Lee 3
Brock Nelson 3 
Nick Leddy 1
Oliver Wahlstrom 1
Nick Leddy 1
Kyle Palmieri 1

SH Goals
Josh Bailey 1
 
GW Goals
Brock Nelson 7
Ryan Pulock 3
Anthony Beauvillier 3
Jordan Eberle 3
Josh Bailey 3
Mathew Barzal 2
Thomas Hickey 1
Leo Komarov 1
Andy Greene 1
Scott Mayfield 1
Kyle Palmieri 1
Casey Cizikas 1
Matt Martin 1

OT Goals 
Josh Bailey 2
Mathew Barzal 1
Thomas Hickey 1
Jordan Eberle 1
Kyle Palmieri 1
Casey Cizikas 1

Goaltending
Semyon Varlamov 17-13  2.35 GAA, .920 save percentage
Ilya Sorokin 4-1 2.94 GAA, .921 save percentage

(Varlamov's 17 wins tied him for second place in club history with Chico Resch. Only Billy Smith (88) has more playoff wins. Among goalies who have played at least ten post-season games, Varly has the best goals against average and second-best save percentage in club history.)

UP NEXT
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23rd  – TAMPA BAY AT ISLANDERS - 8:00pm 
[NBCSN, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 98.7FM; Pre-Game and Post-Game coverage on MSG+]
The Isles will look to even the series with a Game 6 win on Coliseum ice.  The Coliseum has really been Fort Neverlose in Game 6's, with the Isles holding a 15-2 all-time record.

The Isles are 3-9 in 12 previous series that they trailed 3-2; in all three series they won game six at home and game 7 on the road. Tampa Bay is 7-2 in nine previous series that they led 3-2.

Overall, the Isles are 16-4 in 20 previous game 6's at home (15-2 at Coliseum, 1-0 in Brooklyn and 0-2 in Bubble).

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