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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 ...

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

The Skinny: Isles 3, Carolina 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Round 1, Game 5
Isles 3, Carolina 2
Carolina Leads Series 3-2
Pierre Engvall and Brock Nelson each scored a goal and had a primary assist as the Islanders extended their season with a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes before a sellout crowd of 18,680 at PNC Arena. 

Mathew Barzal converted a 2-on-1 late in the second period to give the Isles a 3-1 lead and Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves to protect the lead and force Game 6 at UBS Arena on Friday. 

Paul Stastny and Sebastian Aho scored for Carolina as the Canes failed to close out a series that they led 3-1 in game 5 for the first time in their history (4-1).

The Scoring:
1st Period
Pierre Engvall (1) Brock Nelson (3) 10:27 NYI 1,CAR 0

2nd Period
Brock Nelson (2) Pierre Engvall (1), Kyle Palmieri (3) 03:16 NYI 2,CAR 0
Paul Stastny (2) Jalen Chatfield (1), Jesse Puljujarvi (1) 13:10 NYI 2,CAR 1
Mathew Barzal (2) Bo Horvat (1) 18:05 NYI 3,CAR 1

3rd Period
Sebastian Aho (3) Seth Jarvis (2), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (1) 10:28 NYI 3,CAR 2

The Series 
Game 1: Carolina 2, ISLES 1
Game 2: Carolina 4, ISLES 3 (OT)
Game 3: ISLES 5, Carolina 1
Game 4: Carolina 5, ISLES 2
Game 5: ISLES 3, Carolina 2
Game 6: Friday at UBS Arena
Game 7: (if needed) Sunday at Carolina

The Skinny    
The Isles led 1-0 after the first period, ending their streak at 24 consecutive playoff game that the Isles had not led after the first session. That is the longest such streak since Montreal Maroons had a 26-game streak from 1928-1935…The first period goal that the Isles scored was their first in their last ten playoff games…Antti Raanta suffered his first loss (8-1) in nine home playoff games for Carolina… Ryan Pulock had 1 shots, 3 hits and two blocks; he leads the team in both hits (26) and blocks (13) …Sebastian Aho recorded his 21th career playoff goal to extend his franchise record; he also holds the record for both assists and points…Each team has scored 14 goals in the series…With the Isles' win tonight, every team in this year's playoffs has won at least once on the road (also in 2012)…Casey Cizikas led Isles forwards with 19:04 of ice-time; it is the most ice-time for Cizikas in his career (regular-season or playoffs) except for four playoff games that went to overtime…It was Engvall's first career playoff goal, in 22 games…Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri now has five points in the series to lead the Isles; Sebastian Aho leads Carolina with six points…Both Aho's spent time in the penalty box at the same time in the third period…It is the fourth time in the series that the team that scored first also scored second to take a 2-0 lead (all but game 3)…Brent Burns played in his 99th career playoff game; 395 skaters have reached 100 games…The Isles improved to 18-8 when scoring first in a game they faced elimination; they also avoided challenging Carolina's perfect record (7-0) when scoring first in a potential clinching game…Rod Brind'Amour was behind the bench for his 53rd game, tying Paul Maurice's club record.

First Times in a Long Time
The Isles led after one period for the first time since Game 5 against Tampa Bay in 2020.
The Isles scored a first period goal for the first time since Game 2 against Tampa Bay in 2021. 

61*
The Isles have won 61 straight playoff games when leading by multiple goals after two periods.

Down But Not Out
Three teams have erased 3-1 deficits in the last four playoffs:
2019 – San Jose vs. Vegas
2021 – Montreal vs Toronto
2022 – NY Rangers vs Pittsburgh

Florida, Tampa Bay, and Winnipeg also trail their series 3 games to 1.

Parise to Pulock to Cizikas
Casey Cizikas scored the first Islander playoff goal at UBS Arena on Friday; JP Parise had done so at Nassau Coliseum while Ryan Pulock did it at Barclays Center.

Pulock the Playoff Scorer
Ryan Pulock is 5th 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 176 hits in 60 games (2.9 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 5/20/2021vs PIT

Whoa Nellie (with Apologies to Chris King)
Brock Nelson is the fifth player in club history to score 25 career playoff goals in 75 games or fewer. The others have 16 Stanley Cups and four retired jerseys:
Mike Bossy (41 GP), 
Butch Goring (68 GP) 
Bryan Trottier (70 GP)
Brock Nelson (72 GP)
Denis Potvin (75 GP) 

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        1-6-7-0=14
Carolina  3-6-4-1=14

The Shots (Series)
Isles       39-49-49-3=140
Carolina 59-58-48-4=169

Led/Tied/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 0:00, Tied: 4:11, Trailed: 55:49
Game 2: Led: 3:01, Tied:28:12,  Trailed 33:50
Game 3: Led 7:58, Tied 52:02. Trailed 0:00
Game 4: Led: 0:00, Tied: 4:05, Trailed: 55:55
Game 5: Led: 49:33, Tied: 10:27, Trailed: 0:00
Series:   Led: 60:32, Tied: 98:57, Trailed: 145:34

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles improve to 174-144 in 318 all-time playoff games. They are 97-54 at home (88-44 at the Coliseum, 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto, 1-2 in Edmonton and 1-1 at UBS Arena) and 77-90 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 1-1 at home and 1-2 on the road.

Offense from Defense
Today:  0-0-0
Playoffs 3-8-11

After tallying a point on the first 11 goals the team scored in the playoffs, the defense did not have a point in this game.

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 82 regular season games at UBS Arena and recorded 60 sellouts of 17,255.  The Isles have sold out 2 playoff games as well. 

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 40-23 (.635) all-time in overtime, including 20-13 at home. The Isles are 0-1 in overtime in 2023 and have gone 11-10 in 21 overtime games since 2015. The Isles are the best overtime team in Stanley Cup history: 
Isles 40-23 .635 (0-1 this year)
Carolina 28-17 .622 (1-0 this year)
Anaheim 24-15 .615
Colorado 46-34  .575 (0-1 this year)
Tampa Bay 23-18 .561 (0-2 this year)

The Isles are tied for the best road percentage in Stanley Cup history:
Isles 20-10 .667  (0-1 this year)
Tampa Bay 14-7 .667
Anaheim 15-8 .652
Colorado 26-15 .634 (0-1 this year)
Carolina 13-9 .591

The Isles' winning percentage is tied-3rd at home in overtime games (teams playing at least 5 home games)
Carolina 15-8 .652  (1-0 this year)
Chicago 30-18-1 .612
Isles 20-13 .606
Buffalo 20-13 .606
Montreal 46-29-1 .605

Overtime vs. Carolina
The Isles are 0-2 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Carolina:
4/26/19 Vs Jordan Staal L (0-1)  04:04  (Brooklyn*)
4/19/23 @ Jesper Fast L (3-4)  05:03
*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 171-148

Sather (324) is also the only GM with more playoff games than Lamoriello (319).

First Things First
The Isles are 2-0 when scoring first and are 0-3 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots
Isles   5-12-5=22
Carolina  11-13-12=36

Shots by Game
Game 1:  Isles 26, Carolina 37
Game 2:  Isles 26, Carolina 36
Game 3:  Isles 37, Carolina 31
Game 4: Isles 29, Carolina 29
Game 5: Isles 22, Carolina 36
Series:    Isles 140, Carolina 169

The Isles are 1-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1 when the shots are even and 1-2 when they are out-shot.

In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves; he is 2-3 this year and 6-4 in his playoff career.   
Antti Raanta made 19 saves; he is 3-2 this year and 9-8 in his playoff career.

Special Teams
The Isles were 0-3 on the power play (3:38); Carolina was 0-4 on the power play (5:38). 

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 0-4 (8:00, 4 shots), Carolina 2-4 (4:52, 5 shots)
Game 2: Isles 0-0 (0:00, 0 shots), Carolina 1-6 (9:18, 8 shots)
Game 3: Isles 1-5 (9:59, 10 shots), Carolina 0-4 (6:02, 3 shots)
Game 4: Isles 0-3 (5:40, 2 shots),Carolina 2-5 (7:44, 4 shots)
Game 5: Isles 0-3 (3:38, 0 shots),Carolina 0-4 (5;38, 5 shots)
Series: Isles 1-15 (27:27, 16 shots), Carolina 5-23 (33:34, 25 shots)

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

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 2-1 when they score at least three goals and are 0-2 when they do not.

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 1-2 in games decided by a single goal (1-1 in regulation and 0-1 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: Ryan Pulock (24:06);  Carolina: Brent Burns (24:42) 
Casey Cizikas led Isles forwards with 19:04 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Noah Dobson (0-1), Scott Mayfield (0-1), Adam Pelech (1-0), Ryan Pulock (1-1)

Face-offs
Isles 32, Carolina 36 (47%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 8 of 15 for the Isles; Jordan Staal won 11 of 16 for Carolina. 

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 35, Carolina 37 (48%)
Game 2: Isles 30, Carolina 26 (54%) 
Game 3: Isles 31, Carolina 32 (49%)
Game 4: Isles 32, Carolina 28 (53%)
Game 5: Isles 32, Carolina 36 (47%)
Series  : Isles 160, Carolina 159 (50%)

Hit Count
Isles 33 (Cal Clutterbuck -6)
Carolina 27 (Seth Jarvis -6)

Hits by Game
Game 1: Isles 44, Carolina 39
Game 2: Isles 54. Carolina 28
Game 3: Isles 43, Carolina 28
Game 4: Isles 32, Carolina 42
Game 5: Isles 33, Carolina 27
Series   : Isles 206, Carolina 164

Fights 
None. Playoff total: 0

Blocked Shots
Isles 21 (Zach Parise -4)
Carolina 4 (Jaccob Slavin -2)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 41, Carolina 77
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 34, Carolina 58

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 57, Carolina 73; (5-on-5) Isles 42, Carolina 62
Game 2: (All) Isles 58, Carolina 73; (5-on-5) Isles 55, Carolina 53
Game 3; (All) Isles 66, Carolina 55; (5-on-5) Isles 46, Carolina 45
Game 4: (All) Isles 57, Carolina 57; (5-on-5) Isles 46, Carolina 52
Game 5: (All) Isles 41, Carolina 77; (5-on-5) Isles 34, Carolina 58
Series: (All) Isles 279, Carolina 335; (5-on-5) Isles 223, Carolina 270

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Mathew Barzal +1
Carolina: Jesse Puljujarvi +16

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

High-Danger Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 17, Carolina 13; (5-on-5) Isles 10, Carolina 11
Game 2: (All) Isles 14, Carolina 7; (5-on-5) Isles 14, Carolina 5
Game 3: (All) Isles 20, Carolina 15; (5-on-5) Isles 13, Carolina 11
Game 4: (All) Isles 12, Carolina 13; (5-on-5) Isles 9, Carolina 9
Game 5: (All) Isles 11, Carolina 16; (5-on-5) Isles 10, Carolina 10
Series: (All) Isles 74, Carolina 64; (5-on-5) Isles 56, Carolina 46

Scratches
Oliver Wahlstrom-IR), Samuel Bolduc, Parker Wotherspoon, Ross Johnston, Simon Holmstrom, Jakub Skarek
Playoff Games Lost: 7

The Ironman (Playoffs)
Matt Martin played in his 78th consecutive Islander playoff game; he has played in every Islander playoff game since 2013.

Challenges
Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures  -  R1G4 – CAR offside.

Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures

League reviews: 0  

Quickies
The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute twice during this postseason.   They did so seven times in the regular season. 
:44 – Game 3 vs. CAR  (Kyle Palmieri and Matt Martin)
:16 – Game 3 vs. CAR (Scott Mayfield (EN) and Anders Lee)

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. 1.   (Jesper Fast R1G2 vs CAR 5:03)
Regular Season: For 5, Vs. 4

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games: 
Matt Martin 78
Casey Cizikas 74
Brock Nelson 72
Josh Bailey 71
Cal Clutterbuck 70
Ryan Pulock 60
Scott Mayfield 56

Consecutive Games:
Matt Martin 78 (every game since start of 2013 playoffs)
Brock Nelson 67
Ryan Pulock 56
Mathew Barzal 54
Scott Mayfield 54

Goals:
Brock Nelson 25
Josh Bailey 16
Mathew Barzal 15
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 11
Cal Clutterbuck 10
Anders Lee 9
Kyle Palmieri 9
Ryan Pulock 8
Matt Martin 8
Casey Cizikas 6

Assists:
Josh Bailey 34
Mathew Barzal 25
Brock Nelson 21
Ryan Pulock 15
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 14
Scott Mayfield 12
Adam Pelech 11
Casey Cizikas 11
Noah Dobson 9

Points:
Josh Bailey 50
Brock Nelson 46
Mathew Barzal 40
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 25
Ryan Pulock 23
Cal Clutterbuck 17
Anders Lee 17
Casey Cizikas 17

Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 125
Cal Clutterbuck 84
Casey Cizikas 60
Scott Mayfield 47
Anders Lee 40
Mathew Barzal 39

+/-
Scott Mayfield +24
Jean-Gabriel Pageau +18
Kyle Palmieri +10
Adam Pelech +8

PP Goals
Mathew Barzal 4
Ryan Pulock 3
Josh Bailey 3
Anders Lee 3
Brock Nelson 3 
Kyle Palmieri 2
Oliver Wahlstrom 1

SH Goals
Josh Bailey 1
Bo Horvat 1
 
GW Goals
Brock Nelson 7

Mathew Barzal 3
Ryan Pulock 3
Josh Bailey 3
Kyle Palmieri 2
Scott Mayfield 1
Casey Cizikas 1
Matt Martin 1

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

Goaltending
Ilya Sorokin 6-4 2.78 GAA, .922 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 is tied with Sorokin for the best save percentage in club history.)

Series Stats
Carolina leads the series, 3 games to 2.

The Isles are 2-7 all-time in playoff games against Carolina, including 1-4 on the road.  The Isles improve to 31-23 when facing elimination and are now 7-9 when facing elimination in game 5 (with all seven wins coming on the road).

The Isles are 3-10 in best-of-7 playoff series when they trail a series 3-2, with the wins coming in 1975 vs. Pittsburgh (trailed 3-0), 1987 vs. Washington (trailed 3-1), and 1993 vs. Pittsburgh (trailed 3-2).

UP NEXT
FRIDAY, APRIL 28th  -  CAROLINA AT ISLES  Time TBA
[MSGSN (30-minute Pre-game), TBS or TNT, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]
The Isles will look to even the series as they host the Canes in Game 6.

The Isles went 3-0 in Game 6 in 2021, eliminating Pittsburgh and Boston and forcing a Game 7 in Tampa Bay.  All three of the Game 6 wins were at home.  The Isles are 20-7 in Game 6s all-time, including 17-4 in "home games".  However, two of the "home' losses were in  The Bubble as the Isles are 16-2 at the Coliseum and 1-0 in Brooklyn in Game 6.

Brendan Burke, Butch Goring and Thomas Hickey will have the Isles broadcast on MSGSN.  The game will also air nationally on TNT/TBS with Kenny Albert and Keith Jones.

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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