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The Skinny: Rangers 5, Isles 2

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

Monday, April 17, 2023

The Skinny: Carolina 2, Isles 1. (Carolina leads series 1-0)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Round 1, Game 1
Carolina 2, Isles 1.   
Carolina Leads Series 1-0

Sebastian Aho and Stefan Noesen scored power play goals in the first 22:27 and that was all the Carolina Hurricanes needed to defeat the Islanders 2-1 in Game 1 of their series before a sellout crowd of 18,680 at PNC Arena.  

Ryan Pulock got the Islanders within one goal 24 seconds after Noesen scored but the Isles could not get even.

Game 2 of this series will be in Raleigh on Wednesday before UBS Arena hosts the first playoff game in the building's history on Friday.

The Scoring:
1st Period
Sebastian Aho (1) Brent Burns (1), Martin Necas (1) 03:47  NYI 0,CAR 1 PPG

2nd Period
Stefan Noesen (1) Brent Burns (2), Martin Necas (2) 02:27  NYI 0,CAR 2 PPG
Ryan Pulock (1) 02:51 NYI 1,CAR 2

3rd Period
No Goals

The Series 
Game 1: Carolina 2, ISLES 1
Game 2: Wednesday at Carolina 7:00
Game 3: Friday at UBS Arena 7:00
Game 4: Sunday at UBS Arena 1:00
Game 5: (if needed) Tuesday, April 25 at Carolina
Game 6: (if needed) Friday, April 28 at UBS Arena
Game 7: (if needed) Sunday, April 30 at Carolina

The Skinny    
Ryan Pulock scored for the 8th time in 56 playoff games; he scores once every 8 games in playoffs vs once every 10 games in the regular season… Pulock also had nine hits; it was the most hits he has ever had in an NHL game, regular season or playoffs… Martin Necas matched a career playoff high with two assists and two points…Sebastian Aho tied Eric Staal for the all-time lead in Hurricanes playoff goals (19), breaking a tie with his coach (Rod Brind'Amour -18)…The Isles have lost four straight road playoff games since winning game 1 in Tampa Bay in 2021…Bo Horvat took 28 faceoffs in his Islander playoff debut (most in a  playoff game ending in regulation since Michael Peca (4-10-2004 at Tampa Bay)…Mathew Barzal, playing his first game in nearly two months, skated 21:12.

Pulock the Playoff Scorer
Ryan Pulock moved into 5th place among Islander defensemen in career playoff goals:
1. Denis Potvin 56 
2. Ken Morrow 11
3. Mike McEwen 9 
        Tomas Jonsson 9
5. Ryan Pulock 8
The four players ahead of him share 14 Stanley Cup rings with the Islanders.

Pulock the Playoff Hitter
In regular season play, Ryan Pulock averages 1.6 hits (703 hits in 428 games).  In the playoffs, Pulock has 159 hits in 56 games (2.8 per game), and he holds the Isles career record (real-time era) for playoff hits.

Most Hits by an Isles Defenseman (Playoffs, since 2007)
Johnny Boychuk  10  4/23/2015 @ WSH
Ryan Pulock 9 4/17/2023 @ CAR
Ryan Pulock 8 5/16/2021 @ PIT
Ryan Pulock 8 5/20/2021 vs PIT

Going Wild
Wild Card teams are 10-18 in 28 previous series against division champions. This is the second time that the Isles have qualified as a Wild Card; they defeated Florida in six games in 2016 for their first playoff series win in 23 years. (The Wild Card has existed since 2014, but it was not used in 2020 or 2021).

The Goals (Series)
Isles      0-1-0=1
Carolina 1-1-0=2

The Shots (Series)
Isles      10-7-8=25
Carolina 14-15-8=37

Led/Tied/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 0:00, Tied: 4:11, Trailed: 55:49
Series:   Led: 0:00, Tied: 4:11, Trailed: 55:49

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles fall to 172-142 in 314 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 76-89 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 0-0 at home and 0-1 on the road.

Offense from Defense
Today:  1-0-1
Playoffs 1-0-1

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 82 regular season games at UBS Arena and recorded 60 sellouts of 17,255. 

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 40-22 (.645) all-time in overtime, including 20-13 at home. The Isles went 4-1 in overtime in 2021; they have gone 11-9 in 20 overtime games since 2015. The Isles are the best overtime team in Stanley Cup history: 
Isles 40-22 .645
Anaheim 24-15 .615
Carolina 27-17 .614
Tampa Bay 23-16 .590
Colorado 46-33  .582

The Isles are also the best team on the road in Stanley Cup history:
Isles 20-9 .690
Tampa Bay 14-7 .667
Anaheim 15-8 .652
Colorado 26-14 .650
Carolina 13-9 .591

The Isles' winning percentage is tied-3rd at home in overtime games (teams playing at least 5 home games)
Carolina 14-8 .636
Chicago 30-18-1 .612
Isles 20-13 .606
Buffalo 20-13 .606
Montreal 46-29-1 .605

Overtime vs. Carolina
The Isles are 0-1 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Carolina:
04/26/19 Vs Jordan Staal L (0-1) 04:04  (Brooklyn*)
*It was the last overtime game and penultimate playoff game at Barclays Center.

Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest post-season win total for any general manager in NHL history:
1. Glen Sather 187-137
2. Lou Lamoriello 169-146

Sather (324) is also the only GM with more playoff games than Lamoriello (315).

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

The Shots
Isles       10-7-8=25
Carolina  14-15-8=37

Shots by Game
Game 1:  Isles 25, Carolina 37
Series:    Isles 25, Carolina 37

The Isles are 0-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0 when the shots are even and 0-1 when they are out-shot.

In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 35 saves; he is 0-1 this year and 4-2 in his playoff career.   
Antti Raanta made 24 saves; he is 1-0 this year and 7-6 in his playoff career.

Special Teams
The Isles were 0-4 on the power play (8:00); Carolina was 2-4 on the power play (4:52).

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 0-4 (8:00, 4 shots), Carolina 2-4 (4:52, 5 shots)
Series: Isles 0-4 (8:00, 4 shots), Carolina 2-4 (4:52, 5 shots)

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

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 0-0 when they score at least three goals and are 0-1 when they do not.

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

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Noah Dobson (23:45);  Carolina: Jaccob Slavin (23:25)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards with 21:54 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Noah Dobson (0-1).

Face-offs
Isles 35, Carolina 37 (48%)
Bo Horvat won 16 of 28 for the Isles; Jesperi Kotkaniemi won 7 of 9 for Carolina. 

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 35, Carolina 37 (48%)
Series  : Isles 35, Carolina 37 (48%)

Hit Count
Isles 43 (Ryan Pulock -9)
Carolina 39 (Stefan Noesen -6)

Hits by Game
Game 1: Isles 43, Carolina 39
Series   : Isles 43, Carolina 39

Fights 
None. Playoff total: 0

Blocked Shots
Isles 17 (Scott Mayfield  -4)
Carolina 16 (Jaccob Slavin -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 57, Carolina 73
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 42, Carolina 62

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 57, Carolina 73; (5-on-5) Isles 42, Carolina 62
Series: (All) Isles 57, Carolina 73; (5-on-5) Isles 42, Carolina 62

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Samuel Bolduc and Bo Horvat +2
Carolina: Two with +10

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 16, Carolina 13
5-on-5: Isles 10, Carolina 11

High-Danger Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 16, Carolina 13; (5-on-5) Isles 10, Carolina 11
Series: (All) Isles 16, Carolina 13; (5-on-5) Isles 10, Carolina 11

Scratches
Oliver Wahlstrom-IR), (Alexander Romanov- INJ), Parker Wotherspoon, Ross Johnston, Simon Holmstrom, Jakub Skarek
Playoff Games Lost: 2

The Ironman (Playoffs)
Matt Martin played in his 74th consecutive Islander playoff game; he has played in every Islander playoff game since 2013.

Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures  

Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures

League reviews: 0  

Quickies
The Isles have not scored two goals in under a minute during this postseason.   They did so seven times in the regular season. 

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
There has not been a multi-goal third period comeback in this year's playoffs.
The Isles came from two goals behind after two periods to win four times and allowed the opposition to do so once in the regular season.
 
Last Minute Heroes:
There has not been a tying or winning goal in the final three minutes of the third period in the playoffs,
In the regular season, the Isles scored four goals and allowed one goal in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime. 

Overtime Winners
Playoffs:  For 0, Vs. 0
Regular Season: For 5, Vs. 4

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games: 
Matt Martin 74
Josh Bailey 71
Casey Cizikas 70
Brock Nelson 68
Cal Clutterbuck 66
Ryan Pulock 56
Scott Mayfield 52

Consecutive Games:
Matt Martin 74  (every game since start of 2013 playoffs)
Brock Nelson 63
Ryan Pulock 52
Mathew Barzal 50
Scott Mayfield 50

Goals:
Brock Nelson 23
Josh Bailey 16
Mathew Barzal 13
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 11
Cal Clutterbuck 10
Anders Lee 8
Ryan Pulock 8
Kyle Palmieri 7
Matt Martin 7
Casey Cizikas 5

Assists:
Josh Bailey 34
Mathew Barzal 25
Brock Nelson 18
Ryan Pulock 13
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 13
Adam Pelech 10
Scott Mayfield 10
Casey Cizikas 10

Points:
Josh Bailey 50
Brock Nelson 41
Mathew Barzal 38
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 24
Ryan Pulock 21
Cal Clutterbuck 17
Anders Lee 16
Casey Cizikas 15

Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 109
Cal Clutterbuck 70
Scott Mayfield 45
Casey Cizikas 44
Mathew Barzal 37
Anders Lee 30

+/-
Scott Mayfield +22
Jean-Gabriel Pageau +19
Kyle Palmieri +6
Adam Pelech +6
Cal Clutterbuck +5
Mathew Barzal +4

PP Goals
Mathew Barzal 4
Ryan Pulock 3
Josh Bailey 3
Anders Lee 3
Brock Nelson 3 
Oliver Wahlstrom 1
Kyle Palmieri 1

SH Goals
Josh Bailey 1
 
GW Goals
Brock Nelson 7
Ryan Pulock 3
Josh Bailey 3
Mathew Barzal 2
Scott Mayfield 1
Kyle Palmieri 1
Casey Cizikas 1
Matt Martin 1

OT Goals 
Josh Bailey 2
Mathew Barzal 1
Kyle Palmieri 1
Casey Cizikas 1

Goaltending
Ilya Sorokin 4-2 2.69 GAA, .925 save percentage.
Semyon Varlamov 18-14  2.30 GAA, .922 save percentage.

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

Series Stats
Carolina leads the series, 1 game to 0.  

The Isles are 0-5 all-time in playoff games against Carolina.

The Isles are 8-16 in best-of-7 playoff series when they drop Game 1; they had lost the last eight series that they trailed 0-1 before beating Boston in six games in 2021.

UP NEXT
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19th  -  ISLANDERS AT CAROLINA 7:00pm
[MSG & MSGSN (Pre-game at 6:30), ESPN 2, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]
The Isles will look to get even in Game 2. The Isles are 11-13 in game 2s of best-of-7's after losing game 1.  The last time they faced this situation was in 2021 vs. Boston; Casey Cizikas scored in overtime to even the series.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 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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