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The Skinny: Isles 4, Buffalo 3

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

Sunday, June 20, 2021

The Skinny: Isles 3, Tampa Bay 2

"The Skinny"  

By Eric Hornick

Semi-Finals Game 4
Isles 3, Tampa Bay 2
Best-of-7 series tied, 2-2
The Islanders built a 3-0 lead in the second period but needed a sliding save from Ryan Pulock just before the final horn to preserve a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of their semi-final series before a crowd of 12,978 at the Nassau Coliseum. 

Pulock's heroics made Matt Martin's second period goal the game-winner that tied the series 2-2. Martin, whose brother-in-law Gunnar Esiason was married on Saturday, recorded his first career playoff winner.

Game Five will be on Monday in Tampa; the series will return to the Nassau Coliseum for Game 6 on Wednesday.

The Scoring: 
1st Period
No Goals

2nd Period
Josh Bailey (6) Brock Nelson (5), Anthony Beauvillier (8) 05:30 TBL 0,NYI 1
Mathew Barzal (6) Cal Clutterbuck (2), Adam Pelech (2) 13:46 TBL 0,NYI 2
Matt Martin (1) Cal Clutterbuck (3), Adam Pelech (3) 17:57 TBL 0,NYI 3

3rd Period
Brayden Point (12) Ondrej Palat (4), Erik Cernak (8) 03:45 TBL 1,NYI 3
Tyler Johnson (2) Nikita Kucherov (19), Ryan McDonagh (5) 06:43 TBL 2,NYI 3

The Series (Series tied, 2-2)
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: Monday at Tampa Bay 8:00pm 
Game 6: Wednesday at Isles 8:00pm
Game 7: Friday at Tampa Bay (if needed) 8:00pm

The Skinny 
The Isles are 6-3 in game 4's under Barry Trotz, including 3-0 this season …The Isles have played 46 playoff games under Barry Trotz; only Boston (48) has played more in that span… The Isles have outscored opponents 23-10 in the second period…The Isles lead the playoffs with 51 goals and are 2nd to Colorado in goals per game (3.19 to 3.80); the other three teams remaining in the playoffs all have a lower goals against per game average that the Isles' 2.63… 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 37-30 in 5-on-5 play…Mathew Barzal is 6-2-8 in his last eight games...Brayden Point extended his goal streak to seven games with his league-leading 12th goal; Reggie Leach is the only player in Stanley Cup history to have a longer goal-scoring streak (10 games)…Nikita Kucherov extended his assist streak to seven games, with his 19th assist of 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…The Lightning were held without a shot on their only power play of the game…Thirteen Islanders were on the ice for at least one goal…Adam Pelech and Cal Clutterbuck each had two assists in the second period; they each had only one in the previous 15 games in this year's playoffs and neither had ever had a two-assist game in their playoff career…With 13 points, Josh Bailey is now tied for 7th in the NHL in playoff scoring with (among others) JG Pageau; three other Islanders have 12 points….Scott Mayfield and JG Pageau were both "EVEN"; they remain 1-2 in +/- in the playoffs (+12/+11)…The Isles have scored three goals in a period seven times in this year's playoffs, including five times in the second period alone…With the Nets being eliminated tonight, the Isles have gone further than the other four winter teams in the NY-area for the third straight season…Casey Cizikas continues to lead the Stanley Cup playoffs in face-off percentage, winning 61.8%; he has had a losing record in draws only once so far in this year's playoffs…The Isles are within six wins 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...Semyon Varlamov recorded his 17th playoff win for the Isles, matching Chico Resch for second place on the club's list, behind Billy Smith's 88.

First Time in a Long Time
Brayden Point is the first player to score in seven consecutive playoff games since Claude Lemieux did so for Colorado in 1997.
The win guarantees that the Coliseum will host a third game in the semifinals for the first time since 1984.
The Isles are 3-0 in Game 4's for the first time since 1993 (also 3-0).

First Time for Everything 
Matt Martin's goal was his first career game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Isles had gone 0-5 (not including games in The Bubble) in previous home games against Tampa Bay.
Nikita Kucherov has a 7-game playoff point streak (and playoff assist streak) for the first time.

For the History Books
The Isles are the first team in Stanley Cup history to go sixteen consecutive games in one season 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.

All Helpers Are Not Equal
All eight of Clutterbuck's career playoff helpers have been primary assists, including all seven with the Isles. Ray Ferraro also has seven primary and no secondary helpers. The all-time club leader for primary assists with no secondary is eight, held by Anders Lee.

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 16 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 78 hits, while Matt Martin is second with 77; Ryan Pulock is fourth with 65 hits and Leo Komarov is fifth with 60 hits.  The Isles lead all teams with 656 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
Series: Led: 61:58, Tied: 99:29, Trailed: 78:33
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: 455:34, Trailed: 330:34

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles improve to 171-139 in 310 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 76-86 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 5-3 at home and 5-3 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 159 playoff games (82-77). His 159 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  159
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 46
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 5-5 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots
Isles          4-17-9=30   
Tampa Bay  11-9-10=30

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
Series: Isles 115, Tampa Bay 119
Vs. Boston: Isles 172, Boston 221
Vs: Pittsburgh: Isles 188, Pittsburgh 231
Total Isles 475, Opponents 571

The Isles are 2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 2-0 when the shots are even and 6-4 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves and improves to 6-5 in the 2021 playoffs and 30-25 in his playoff career. 

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves but falls to 10-5 in this year's playoffs and 43-27 in his career. 
 
Power Plays
The Isles were 0-3 on the power play in 5:12 of PP time; Tampa Bay was 0-1 on the power play in 2:00 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)
Series: Isles 1-11 (19:32, 17 shots), Tampa Bay 2-9 (15:52, 13 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: Isles 10-43 (74:11, 55 shots), Opponents 12-35 (54:30, 60 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 1-5 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: Adam Pelech (24:52);  Tampa Bay: Victor Hedman (25:02)
Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 20:03 of ice-time 
Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (4-0), Nick Leddy (2-4), Ryan Pulock (2-2), Scott Mayfield (2-0)

Face-offs
Isles 27, Tampa Bay 21 (56%)  

Casey Cizikas won 7 of 9 for the Isles; Tyler Johnson won 4 of 7 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%)
Series: Isles 105, Tampa Bay 89 (54%)
Vs. Boston: Isles 165, Boston 168 (49%)
Vs. Pittsburgh: Isles 181, Pittsburgh 164 (52%)
Total: Isles 451, Opponents 421 (52%)

Hit Count
Isles 36 (JG Pageau -5)
Tampa Bay 42 (Four with 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
Series: Isles 152, Tampa Bay 141
Vs. Boston Isles 231, Boston 221
Vs: Pittsburgh: Isles 273, Pittsburgh 224
Total: Isles 656, Opponents 586

Blocked Shots
Isles 17 (Adam Pelech-4)
Tampa Bay 10 (Two with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 52, Tampa Bay 61 
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 44, Tampa Bay 53

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Matt Martin +6
Tampa Bay: Barclay Goodrow +10

High Danger Chances:
All situations: Isles 10, Tampa Bay 9
5-on-5: Isles 7, Tampa Bay 8

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
Series: (All) Isles 203, Tampa Bay 215; (5-on-5) Isles 164, Tampa Bay 176
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 818, Opponents 1,040;  (5-on-5) Isles 685, Opponents 898

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 3: (All) Isles 10, Tampa Bay 9; (5-on-5) Isles 7, Tampa Bay 8
Series: (All) Isles 47, Tampa Bay 43;  (5-on-5) Isles 38, Tampa Bay 28
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 168, Opponents 187;  (5-on-5) Isles 132, Opponents 137

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: 27

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 vs. 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 70
Josh Bailey 68
Casey Cizikas 66
Nick Leddy 64
Brock Nelson 64

Consecutive Games
Matt Martin 70
Nick Leddy 64
Brock Nelson 59

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 90
Cal Clutterbuck 66
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 17-12  2.28 GAA, .922 save percentage
Ilya Sorokin 4-1 2.28 GAA, .936 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 the best save percentage in club history.)

UP NEXT
MONDAY, JUNE 21st  – 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+]
Monday is the first full day of summer, and the Isles will look to move the closest they have been to the Stanley Cup since 1984 with a Game 5 win in Tampa Bay.

The Isles are 7-6 in 13 previous series that are tied 2-2 (2-0 this season), while Tampa Bay is 5-6 in 11 previous series that were tied 2-2.

With Kenny Albert attending his daughter's graduation, Islander voice Brendan Burke will have the call on NBCSN on Monday night.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources. Follow Eric @ehornick on Twitter & on his blog www.nyiskinny.com.



Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

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