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The Skinny: Isles 5, Chicago 4

"The Skinny"  By Eric Hornick Game 31 Isles 5, Chicago 4 Simon Holmstrom scored a goal and added two assists, while Jean-Gabriel P...

Wednesday, February 02, 2022

The Skinny: Isles 4, Ottawa 1

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 38
Isles 4, Ottawa 1         
Oliver Wahlstrom and Mathew Barzal each scored their 10th goal of the season in the second period as the Isles rallied from a 1-0 deficit for a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators before a crowd of 15,258 at UBS Arena.

The offense was helped by the defense as the Isles registered a season-high five points from the back line, including two primary assists from Scott Mayfield. The Isles are 8-4-0 in their last twelve games and 11-6-1 in their last 18 games as they once again reach NHL-.500 (16-16-6).   

The Scoring:
1st Period
Nick Holden (2) Tyler Ennis (13), Brady Tkachuk (18) 01:56 OTT 1,NYI 0
Anthony Beauvillier (7) Zach Parise (10), Brock Nelson (8) 18:07 OTT 1,NYI 1 PPG

2nd Period
Oliver Wahlstrom (10) Zdeno Chara (4), Noah Dobson (11) 08:42 OTT 1,NYI 2
Mathew Barzal (10) Scott Mayfield (9) 15:50 OTT 1,NYI 3

3rd Period
Adam Pelech (2) Scott Mayfield (10), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (7) 07:44 OTT 1,NYI 4

The Skinny         
The Isles have allowed only 25 goals in their last twelve games; their 2.08 goals against average is the lowest in the NHL in that span, dating back to December 30th… Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves to improve to 6-1-0 in his last seven games (.919, 1.85 GAA).  Among goalies who have played at least five games in that span, only Ville Husso (1.37) has a lower goals against average… Sorokin now has thirteen wins, matching his rookie season total…After starting the season with a 13-game road trip, the Isles have now played 21 of their 38 games this season on home ice…  The Isles have allowed the opening goal in the last five games; this was the first time in those five games that they did not trail by two goals at some point … The Isles power play connected for the third time in the last four games. …Brock Nelson's first period assist was his 350th career point, passing Frans Nielsen for 17th place in club history; he now has a four-game point streak (1-4-5)... Ryan Pulock returned to the lineup for the first time since being injured on November 15th – the night he broke Denis Potvin's club record for consecutive games played by a defenseman... Nick Holden has two goals this season and both of them are against the Isles…Adam Pelech has six points in the last eight games after contributing six points in his first 26 games…Oliver Wahlstrom scored for the second straight game; the 21-year-old now has 22 goals in 88 NHL games.  Michael Bunting (24 goals in 68 games) is the only active player with at least 22 goals in 88 or fewer games.

Lots of Home Cooking
Beginning with their return from their most recent pause, the Isles are playing ten games out of eleven games at home to get them to the All-Star  Break. The Isles are 6-4-0 in that stretch, and have outscored opponents 30-21 (including SO winner):
1/13 vs. New Jersey W 3-2
1/15 vs. Washington L 0-2
1/17 vs. Philadelphia W 4-1
1/18 @ Philadelphia W 4-3 (SO)
1/21 vs. Arizona W 4-0
1/22 vs. Toronto L 1-3
1/25 vs. Philadelphia W 4-3
1/27 vs. Los Angeles L 2-3
1/30 vs. Minnesota L 3-4
2/1 vs. Ottawa W 4-1
2/2 vs. Seattle 

Including the seven games played between December 9th and January 1st, the Isles are playing 16 of 18 at home; they are 10-6-1 in that stretch, with one game remaining.  The schedule will flip after the All-Star break, with the Isles playing nine of their next 11 on the road.

Wednesday marks the end of a stretch of 14 out of 15 at home, consisting of two franchise record-matching seven-game homestands, separated by a road game in Philadelphia.

Histor-Z
Zdeno Chara played in his 1,643rd NHL game;  Chara is just eight games behind Chris Chelios' record for NHL defensemen.

All-time Games:
7. Mark Recchi 1,652
8. Chris Chelios 1,651  
9. Zdeno Chara 1,643

Home and Road
The Isles are 16-16-6 overall; they are 9-9-3 at home and 7-7-3 on the road.
Ottawa is 14-22-4 overall; they are 7-11-1 at home and 7-11-3 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 21 home games and sold out 19 of them. They are the nineteen largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home.  

Leader of the Pack
Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 893-651-60-164 in 1,768 games.

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville  970
3. Barry Trotz    893

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,769
3. Barry Trotz        1,768

Trotz is scheduled to tie Quenneville on Wednesday vs. Seattle and pass him the following Wednesday in Vancouver.

Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:
1. David Poile 1,474
2. Lou Lamoriello 1,342
3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top
Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,235 wins between them. They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together). Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together. 

First Things First
The Isles are 12-4-4 when scoring first and are 4-12-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots
Isles    14-9-7=30
Ottawa    8-8-11=27
The Isles are 6-5-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 10-10-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 75-46-17 when outshot.

In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves; he is 13-8-5 on the season and 2-0-0 vs. Ottawa. 

Anton Forsberg made 26 saves; he is 7-8-1 on the season and 2-4-0 vs. the Isles.   

Special Teams
The Isles were 1-2 on the power play (3:58); Ottawa was 0-2 on the power play (2:00).

The Isles are 8-4-4 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-12-2 when they do not. The Isles are 5-6-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 11-10-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 14-3-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-13-4 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 102-12-13 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 4-5-6 in games decided by a single goal including 2-5 in regulation. They are 1-3 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-4 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game (including one game the Isles scored after allowing an empty-netter).

Back-to-Backs
Including tonight, the Isles are 5-2-1 in the front end and 2-4-1 in the back end. This back-to-back concludes on Wednesday vs. Seattle. The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 11th in Edmonton and February 12th in Calgary.
 
Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 23-8-5 (.708) in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles
The Isles are 1-1-2 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on February 20th against Montreal. The Isles are scheduled to play thirteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Adam Pelech (22:32); Ottawa: Thomas Chabot (27:26)
Cal Clutterbuck led Isles forwards with 16:54 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-1-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), Adam Pelech (5-3-2), Zdeno Chara (2-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-2-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-1-0), Noah Dobson (6-5-2).

Face-offs
Isles 25, Ottawa 21 (54%)
Brock Nelson won 8 of 13 for the Isles; Marc Kastelic won 8 of 10 for Ottawa. 

The Isles are 9-10-4 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-0-1 when face-offs are even, and 5-8-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count
Isles 25 (Anders Lee -6)
Ottawa 35 (Marc Kastelic -6)
Fights 
There were no fights. Season total: 14 (Chara 4, Martin 4, Bellows 1, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Pageau 1, Wahlstrom 1)
 
Blocked Shots
Isles 12 (Ryan Pulock -3)
Ottawa 10 (Thomas Chabot -2)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 50, Ottawa 49
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 4`, Ottawa 39

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Three with +4
Ottawa: Artem Zub +9

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 10, Ottawa 9
5-on-5: Isles 5, Ottawa 7

Scratches
(Austin Czarnik -IR), Kieffer Bellows, Sebastian Aho, Ross Johnston
Games Lost: 105 (60 to injuries and 45 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man
Scott Mayfield played in his 127th consecutive game. Only two other Islanders (Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck) have played in every game this season.

Challenges
Isles: 1 successful, 1 failure
The Isles are 1-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR, offside 1/18 @PHI)

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

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

All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 952…
10. John Tavares 669 *** 11. Matt Martin 644  *** 12. Derek King 638 *** 13. Brock Nelson 633 *** 14. Billy Harris 623*** 15. Stefan Persson 622 *** 16. Casey Cizikas 621 … 
20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 566 *** 22. Anders Lee 554

Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 195 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 182 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 165

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 366…
17. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 19. Nick Leddy 198 *** 20. Mathew Barzal 194 *** 21. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 22. Ed Westfall 181 *** 23. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 24. Duane Sutter and Alexi Yashin 171 *** 26. Brock Nelson 167

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
8. John Tonelli 544 *** 9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 531 …
15. Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson 369 *** 17. Brock Nelson 350 *** 18. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 19. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 20. Anders Lee 334…
24. Duane Sutter 292 *** 25. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 26. Ed Westfall 286 *** 27. Mathew Barzal 280

+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
20. Jude Drouin +58 *** 21. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 22. Greg Gilbert and Adam Pelech +54 *** 24. Gord Lane +48 *** 25. Adrian Aucoin +47

Games Coached 
1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 244
 
Coaching Wins
1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 131

On the Farm
Bridgeport is 15-18-4-4 on the season. The Baby Isles earned points in nine of eleven games in January and are 5-2-2-2 in 2022; Jakub Skarek was named the AHL goalie of the month after going 5-0-2 in January.

Bridgeport hosts Lehigh Valley for a School Day Matinee (10:30) on Wednesday. 

Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 0).   

The Isles have won eight of the last nine games between the teams.

UP NEXT
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2nd–SEATTLE AT ISLANDERS 7:00 PM 
[MSG+ (pre-game at 6:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]
The homestand concludes as the Isles face the expansion Seattle Kraken for the first time in a make-up of Saturday's snow-out.

The teams will also meet on February 22nd in Seattle to make up last month's COVID-related postponement. 

With Brendan Burke on assignment, Hall of Fame broadcaster Jiggs McDonald will call the game with Butch Goring on MSG+.  This will mean Jiggs will have called Islander games in five decades and NHL games in seven decades! 

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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