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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...

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

The Skinny: Carolina 6, Isles 3 (Carolina wins series 4-1)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Round 1, Game 5
Carolina 6, Isles 3
Carolina Wins Series 4-1
School is out.

Jack Drury and Stefan Noesen scored goals eight seconds apart in the third period to break a 3-3 tie as the Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the Islanders with a 6-3 victory before a sellout crowd of 18,874 at PNC Arena. Carolina wins the series 4 games to 1.

The Isles trailed 2-0 just 3:13 into play and later allowed a penalty shot goal to Evgeny Kuznetsov but battled back on goals by Mike Reilly, Brock Nelson, and Casey Cizikas to earn a 3-3 tie after 40 minutes. 

However, the fastest two goals the Isles have ever allowed in a playoff game sealed their fate and ended the season.

The Scoring:
1st Period
Teuvo Teravainen (2) Seth Jarvis (3), Jaccob Slavin (1) 01:23 NYI 0,CAR 1
Andrei Svechnikov (1) Seth Jarvis (4), Brent Burns (1) 03:13 NYI 0,CAR 2 PPG
Mike Reilly (1) Mathew Barzal (2), Brock Nelson (2) 03:54 NYI 1,CAR 2 PPG
Evgeny Kuznetsov (2)PS 13:22 NYI 1,CAR 3

2nd Period
Brock Nelson (2) Kyle Palmieri (2), Ryan Pulock (2) 03:47 NYI 2,CAR 3
Casey Cizikas (1) Mathew Barzal (3), Ryan Pulock (3) 19:38 NYI 3,CAR 3

3rd Period
Jack Drury (1) Brady Skjei (4), Martin Necas (4) 04:36 NYI 3,CAR 4
Stefan Noesen (3) Brady Skjei (5), Evgeny Kuznetsov (2) 04:44 NYI 3,CAR 5
Seth Jarvis (3)EN 18:21 NYI 3,CAR 6

The Series 
Game 1: Carolina 3, Isles 1
Game 2: Carolina 5, Isles 3
Game 3: Carolina 3, Isles 2
Game 4: Isles 3, Carolina 2 (2-OT)
Game 5: Carolina 6, Isles 3

The Skinny    
The Isles have led after the first period only three times in their last 31 playoff games (2023 R1 games 5/6, 2024 R1G2)... The Isles were outscored 10-1 in the third period in the series, including three empty net goals…Ironically, it was the second period that was the Isles' best in the series, outscoring Carolina 6-2…Anders Lee's point streak ended at four games… The Isles are 7-10 in game 5 when trailing a series 3-1…Carolina is now 9-1 all-time when scoring first in a potential clinching game (the loss was in game 4) …The Isles played Carolina nearly even at 5-on-5 (outscored 9-8), but allowed three empty net goals, a sixth attacker goal, five power play goals, and a penalty shot…It was the second multi-assist playoff game for Ryan Pulock…Mike Reilly's goal was the only one scored by an Islander defenseman in the series….Jack Drury's goal gave the Canes twelve goal scorers in the series… The Canes scored power play goals in each game in Carolina, and a pair in game 3 at UBS Arena.

Series Leaders (by team)
Goals:  Seth Jarvis 3 and Stefan Noesen 3; Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson 2
Assists: Brady Skjei 5; Barzal and Ryan Pulock 3
Points: Seth Jarvis 7; Barzal 5
+/-: Jack Drury +5; Alexander Romanov +2
Penalty Minutes: Noesen 19; Matt Martin +16
Shots: Andrei Svechnikov 15; Bo Horvat 20
Ice-Time: Brent Burns 22:40; Pulock 24:35
Face-off %: Jack Drury 63.2%; Jean-Gabriel Pageau 55.7%

Goalies:
Frederik Andersen 4-1  2.25 GAA, .912; Semyon Varlamov 1-3  2.70 GAA, .914

The Penalty Shot
Evgeni Kuznetsov is the first player to convert a penalty shot against the Isles in the playoffs. Thomas Greiss stopped Aleksander Barkov (in overtime) in 2016 while Billy Smith and Chico Resch each stopped two. It was the second successful penalty shot in Carolina history (Jordan Martinook last year vs. New Jersey).

Lots of Shots Allowed
Carolina had 21 shots in the first period. It was the sixth time Isles have allowed at least 20 shots in a playoff period:
            Period Shots Opponent
4/15/1975     1 21     Pittsburgh
4/15/1977     1 22     Buffalo
5/5/1983      1 21      Boston
5/24/2021    2 20      Pittsburgh
6/3/2021      3 21      Boston
4/30/2024    1 21      Carolina

Milestone Men
Mike Reilly scored his first career playoff goal.
Brock Nelson recorded his 50th and 51st points, tying and then passing Josh Bailey for 12th on the club's playoff point list. The 11 players ahead of him all won multiple Stanley Cup rings with the Isles. 
 Lou Lamoriello served as General Manager for the 325th game, passing Glen Sather for the most all-time.

First Time in a Long Time
Three goals were scored within the first four minutes for the third time in Islander playoff history (5/11/1975 – outscored Philadelphia 2-1; 5/10/1993 -- trailed Pittsburgh 3-0)

The New Mr. Overtime
Islanders with Multiple OT Goals:
Bob Nystrom 4
Mike Bossy and Ken Morrow 3
Mathew Barzal, Ray Ferraro, Pat LaFontaine, John Tavares, Josh Bailey, and Denis Potvin 2

The Goals (Series)
Isles         4-6-1-1=12
Carolina   7-2-10-0=19

The Shots (Series)
Isles       40-41-46-10=137
Carolina 55-50-46-18=169

Led/Tied/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 0:00,   Tied: 36:49, Trailed: 23:01
Game 2: Led: 41:23, Tied: 16:31, Trailed: 2:06
Game 3: Led: 0:00,   Tied:   4:46, Trailed: 55:14
Game 4: Led: 12:30, Tied  46:44,  Trailed: 22:10
Game 5: Led:  0:00,  Tied    6:21,  Trailed: 53:39
Series:   Led: 53:53, Tied: 111:11, Trailed: 156:10

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles are 175-149 in 324 all-time playoff games. They are 98-56 at home (88-44 at the Coliseum, 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto, 1-2 in Edmonton and 2-3 at UBS Arena) and 77-93 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 1-1 at home and 0-3 on the road.

Offense from Defense
Today:  1-2-3
Playoffs 1-9-10

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 122 regular season games at UBS Arena and recorded 89 sellouts of 17,255. The Isles have sold out 5 playoff games as well. 

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 41-24 (.645) all-time in overtime, including 21-14 at home. The Isles are 1-0in overtime in 2024; they have gone 11-11 in 22 overtime games since 2015. 
(all stats below exclude Seattle)

The Isles are the best overtime team in Stanley Cup history: 
Isles 40-24 .631
Florida 13-8 .619
Anaheim 24-15 .615
Carolina 30-20 .600
Ottawa 22-16 .579
Colorado 46-34  .575

The Isles are also one of the best teams on the road in Stanley Cup history:
Florida 9-4 .692
Isles 20-10 .667
Anaheim 15-8 .652
Tampa Bay 14-8 .636
Colorado 26-15 .634

The Isles' winning percentage is 5th at home in overtime games  
Carolina 16-10 .615
Chicago 30-18-1 .612
Buffalo 20-13 .606
Montreal 46-29-1 .605
Isles 21-14 .600

Overtime vs. Carolina
The Isles are 1-3 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
4/28/23 Vs Paul Stastny L (1-2)  06:01
4/27/24 Vs Mathew Barzal  W(3-2)  21:24
*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 172-153

Most playoff games as GM
1. Lou Lamoriello 325
2. Glen Sather 324 

Pulock the Playoff Hitter
In regular season play, Ryan Pulock averages 1.7 hits (802 hits in 486 games). In the playoffs, Pulock has 190 hits in 66 games (2.9 per game), and he holds the Isles career record (real-time era) for playoff hits by a defenseman.

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

First Things First
The Isles are 0-1 when scoring first and are 1-3 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots
Isles 4-11-10=25
Carolina 21-9-8=38

Shots by Game
Game 1:  Isles 34, Carolina 26
Game 2:  Isles 12, Carolina 39
Game 3:  Isles 31, Carolina 22
Game 4:  Isles 35, Carolina 44
Game 5:  Isles 25, Carolina 38
Series:     Isles 137, Carolina 169

The Isles are 0-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0 when the shots are even and 1-1 when they are outshot.

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves; he is 1-3 this year and 32-30 in his playoff career. 
Frederik Andersen made 22 saves; he is 4-1 this year and 36-27 in his playoff career.

Special Teams
The Isles were 1-4 on the power play (6:11); Carolina was 1-1 on the power play (1:17). 

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 0-2 (3:59, 4 shots), Carolina 1-3 (4:12, 3 shots)
Game 2: Isles 1-1 (1:16, 1 shot),  Carolina 1-5 (7:18, 4 shots)
Game 3: Isles 0-2 (3:08, 2 shots), Carolina 0-2 (3:08, 2 shots)
Game 4: Isles 1-2 (3:38, 4 shots), Carolina 2-4 (5:20, 4 shots)
Game 5: Isles 1-4 (6:11, 6 shots), Carolina 1-1 (1:17, 4 shots)
Series:    Isles 3-11 (18:12, 17 shots), Carolina 5-15 (21:15, 17 shots)  
2023 Playoffs Isles 1-18 (32:02, 21 shots), Carolina 5-25 (36:09, 26 shots)

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

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

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

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Noah Dobson (25:35);  Carolina: Jaccob Slavin (23:02) 
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 22:05 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders:  Bo Horvat (0-1), Ryan Pulock (0-2), Noah Dobson (1-1)

Face-offs
Isles 28, Carolina 41 (59%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 12 of 23 for the Isles; Evgeny Kuznetsov won 9 of 12 for Carolina. 

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 24, Carolina 34 (41%)
Game 2: Isles 28, Carolina 41 (41%)
Game 3: Isles 29, Carolina 19 (60%)
Game 4: Isles 48, Carolina 23 (68%)
Game 5: Isles 28, Carolina 41 (41%)
Series   : Isles 157, Carolina 158 (50%)
The home team has won 193 of 315 face-offs (61%, winning at least 59 percent in each game)

Hit Count
Isles 14 (Cal Clutterbuck and Anders Lee -3)
Carolina 23 (Seth Jarvis -5)

Hits by Game
Game 1: Isles 17, Carolina 23
Game 2: Isles 27, Carolina 27
Game 3; Isles 40, Carolina 22
Game 4: Isles 40, Carolina 24
Game 5: Isles 14, Carolina 23
Series   : Isles 138, Carolina 119

Fights 
None. Playoff total: 1 (MacLean 1)

Blocked Shots
Isles 18 (Adam Pelech -3)
Carolina 14 (Jalen Chatfield -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 59, Carolina 72
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 43, Carolina 63

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 59, Carolina 74; (5-on-5) Isles 52, Carolina 65
Game 2: (All) Isles 28, Carolina 110; (5-on-5) Isles 20, Carolina 85
Game 3: (All) Isles 65, Carolina 62; (5-on-5) Isles 53, Carolina 55
Game 4: (All) Isles 78, Carolina 93; (5-on-5) Isles 69, Carolina 82
Game 5: (All) Isles 59, Carolina 72; (5-on-5) Isles 43, Carolina 63
Series:    (All) Isles 289, Carolina 411; (5-on-5) Isles 237, Carolina 350

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Casey Cizikas +2
Carolina: Sebastian Aho +15

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 9, Carolina 12
5-on-5: Isles 6, Carolina 9

High-Danger Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 8, Carolina 8; (5-on-5) Isles 7, Carolina 8
Game 2: (All) Isles 9, Carolina 23; (5-on-5) Isles 4, Carolina 15
Game 3: (All) Isles 9, Carolina 6; (5-on-5) Isles 9, Carolina 5
Game 4; (All) Isles 16, Carolina 18; (5-on-5) Isles 15, Carolina 14
Game 5: (All) Isles 9, Carolina 12; (5-on-5) Isles 6, Carolina 9
Series:    (All) Isles 51, Carolina 67; (5-on-5) Isles 41, Carolina 51
2023 Playoffs: (All) Isles 89, Carolina 83; (5-on-5) Isles 68, Carolina 65

Scratches
(Scott Mayfield- LTIR), (Matt Martin-upper body), Ruslan Iskhakov, Samuel Bolduc, Oliver Wahlstrom,  Sebastian Aho, Jacob Skarek, Robin Salo, Dennis Cholowski, Julien Gauthier, Karson Kuhlman, Brian Pinho.
Playoff Games Lost: 8

The Ironman (Playoffs)
Brock Nelson played in his 73rd consecutive Islander playoff game.

Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures  (Regular season 3 of 7, including 1 of 3 for Roy)

Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures (Regular season 5 of 8 were successful)

League reviews: 0  

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

The Isles allowed 2 goal in under a minutes twice in the postseason (CAR R1G2, :09 and CAR R1G5, :08); The Isles allowed two goals in under a minute nine times in the regular season.

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
The Isles have allowed one multi-goal third period comeback in this year's playoffs (CAR R1G2, led 3-1, lost 5-3).
The Isles came from two goals behind after two periods to win once and allowed the opposition to do so five times in the regular season.
 
Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have allowed one tying goal (Aho CAR R1G2 17:45) and one winning goal (Martinook CAR R1G2 17:54) in the final three minutes of the third period in the playoffs,
In the regular season, the Isles scored five goals and allowed eight goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime. 

Overtime Winners
Playoffs:  For 1, Vs. 0 (Barzal vs CAR R1G4 21:24)
Regular Season: For 9, Vs. 11

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games: 
Matt Martin 82
Casey Cizikas 80
Brock Nelson 78
Cal Clutterbuck 76
Ryan Pulock 66
Scott Mayfield 58

Consecutive Games:
Brock Nelson 73
Ryan Pulock 62
Mathew Barzal 60

Goals:
Brock Nelson 27
Mathew Barzal 17
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 12
Cal Clutterbuck 11
Anders Lee 10
Kyle Palmieri 10
Ryan Pulock 8
Matt Martin 8
Casey Cizikas 7

Assists:
Mathew Barzal 28
Brock Nelson 24
Ryan Pulock 19
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 15
Adam Pelech 13
Scott Mayfield 12
Casey Cizikas 12
Anders Lee 11
Noah Dobson 10

Points:
Brock Nelson 51
Mathew Barzal 45
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 27
Ryan Pulock 27
Anders Lee 21
Casey Cizikas 19
Cal Clutterbuck 18

Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 127
Cal Clutterbuck 86
Casey Cizikas 64
Anders Lee 48
Scott Mayfield 47
Mathew Barzal 43

+/-
Scott Mayfield +23
Jean-Gabriel Pageau +15
Kyle Palmieri +8
Adam Pelech +6

PP Goals
Mathew Barzal 4
Anders Lee 4
Ryan Pulock 3
Brock Nelson 3 
Kyle Palmieri 2
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 1
Mike Reilly 1
Oliver Wahlstrom 1

SH Goals
Bo Horvat 1
 
GW Goals
Brock Nelson 7
Mathew Barzal 4
Ryan Pulock 3
Kyle Palmieri 2
Scott Mayfield 1
Casey Cizikas 1
Matt Martin 1

OT Goals 
Mathew Barzal 2
Kyle Palmieri 1
Casey Cizikas 1

Goaltending
Semyon Varlamov 19-17,  2.35 GAA, .921 save percentage.
Ilya Sorokin 6-6, 2.83 GAA, .921 save percentage.

(Varlamov's 19 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, while Varlamov, Ilya Sorokin and Thomas Greiss share the best save percentage in club history.)

Coaching Numbers:
Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:
• Al Arbour 119
• Barry Trotz 28
• Jack Capuano 10
• Terry Simpson 9
• Peter Laviolette 4
• Lane Lambert 2
• Patrick Roy 1
• 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
• Lane Lambert 6
• Patrick Roy 5
• 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)
•  Patrick Roy 1 (1-0)
• Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)
• Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)
• Lane Lambert 0 (0-2)

Series Stats
Carolina wins the series, 4 game to 1. 

The Isles are 3-12 all-time in playoff games against Carolina, including 1-7 in Raleigh. 

The Isles fall to  2-15 in best-of-7 playoff series when they trail 3-1, with the wins coming in 1975 (vs. Pittsburgh) and 1987 (vs. Washington).

Carolina has won all seven best-of-7 series that they led by a 3-1 margin.

The Isles are 32-25 all-time in games where they face elimination.

UP NEXT
NHL Draft June 28-29 (Las Vegas). 
As of right now, the Isles have five picks: their own picks in Rounds 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6.

AND FINALLY...
The Isles qualified for the post-season for the fifth time in the last six season and gave the Hurricanes quite a battle. The season, like most seasons, had its ups and its downs. With everything that went on, one thing was consistent. The Skinny appeared after all 87 regular season and playoff games, making yet another perfect season, at least in attendance. The Skinny streak is 1,014 consecutive games (including playoffs). With a little luck, good health, and an Islander playoff berth, we will hit 1,100 games sometime next April. 

At UBS, we have a phenomenal spot to watch and bring you Islander hockey. It also gives us a chance to say hello to so many fans- thank you so much for your support and for reading and commenting on The Skinny all season long.

Finally, thanks to my first line – my wife Diane, and my sons Adam and Evan, for their continuous support – I hope I make you as proud as you make me. You all are the absolute best!

Have a great summer!
 
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

Saturday, April 27, 2024

The Skinny: Isles 3, Carolina 2 (2-OT) (Carolina leads series 3-1)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Round 1, Game 4
Isles 3, Carolina 2 (2-OT)
Carolina Leads Series 3-1
They're Alive! Mathew Barzal deflected Robert Bortuzzo's shot at 1:24 of the second overtime for his second goal of the game as the Islanders defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena. Carolina still leads the series 3 games to 1.

Both Carolina goals came on the power play, as did Jean-Gabriel Pageau's third period goal that gave the Isles a lead early in the third period.

Game five will be played at RBC Arena in Raleigh on Tuesday at 7:30pm. 

The Scoring:
1st Period
Seth Jarvis (2) Jake Guentzel (3) 08:00 CAR 1,NYI 0 PPG 

2nd Period
Mathew Barzal (1) Adam Pelech (2), Bo Horvat (1) 10:10 CAR 1,NYI 1

3rd Period
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1) Noah Dobson (1), Anders Lee (3) 01:38 CAR 1,NYI 2 PPG
Stefan Noesen (2) Teuvo Teravainen (2), Martin Necas (3) 14:08 CAR 2,NYI 2 PPG

OT
No Goals

2nd OT
Mathew Barzal (2) Robert Bortuzzo (1), Bo Horvat (2) 01:24 CAR 2,NYI 3 

The Series 
Game 1: Carolina 3, Isles 1
Game 2: Carolina 5, Isles 3
Game 3: Carolina 3, Isles 2
Game 4: Isles 3, Carolina 2 (2-OT)
Game 5: Tuesday at Carolina 7:30
Game 6: (if needed) Thursday at Isles
Game 7: (if needed) May 4 at Carolina

The Skinny    
The Isles have led after the first period only three times in their last 30 playoff games (2023 R1 games 5/6, 2024 R1G2)... Jean-Gabriel Pageau's goal was the first scored by the Isles in the third period; the Isles have been outscored 7-1 in the third period in the series, including two empty net goals…Sebastian Aho is now 8-6-14 in 14 playoff games against the Isles… Anders Lee is the only player on either team with points in all four games in the series; it is the first time in his career he has a point in four straight playoff games… The Isles are 6-2 in game 4 when trailing a series 3-0…Semyon Varlamov is 9-8 in playoff overtime while Frederik Andersen is 8-9… This was the 10th- longest game in club history…It was the 2nd overtime goal and third point for Mathew Barzal, the second overtime point (1-1-2) in only six OT games for Bo Horvat, and the first overtime point in nine games for Robert Bortuzzo… Bortuzzo also recorded his first point as an Islander (regular season or playoffs)…It was the first multi-goal playoff game for Barzal, who became the 10th player in club history to score both in regulation and in overtime in a playoff game; Barzal is now 4-4-8 in nine game played when Isles faced elimination...Horvat's two assists gives him five points (2-3-5) in ten playoff games as an Islander…It is the first time (8-1) Carolina has scored first in a potential clinching game and lost and the 13th come-from-behind win in a potential elimination game for the Isles…The Isles are 18-7 (.720) when facing elimination as the home team (best in NHL history); 18-6 in New York and 0-1 in Edmonton bubble.

First Time in a Long Time (Playoffs)
The Isles scored a power play goal in the first two minutes of the third period (with the 'fresh ice') for the 2nd time in club history, and the first time since May 11, 1982, vs. Vancouver (Bob Bourne)

The Isles won game 4 after trailing 3-0 for the first time since the 1993 Conference Finals against Montreal (with Patrick Roy in goal). 

Happy, Happy Birthday Varly 
Semyon Varlamov is the first Islander goalie to play (and win) a playoff game on his birthday; Al Montoya (2011) is the only one to play (and win) a regular season game in last 25 years.

It was the first time Varlamov has played a playoff game on his birthday. He played one previously in the regular season – in the final game of the 2013 season. The Avs lost to Minnesota 3-1 that night, in a game which Zach Parise scored the first goal and Cal Clutterbuck assisted on an empty-netter.

Birthday Playoff Wins (Age 36 or older)
Martin Brodeur (40)
Tony Esposito (39)
Ed Belfour (36 and 38)
Curtis Joseph (37)
Semyon Varlamov (36)
Belfour's win on his 38th birthday (4/21/2003) was the only other one to happen in overtime. 

Daylight Staving Time
Semyon Varlamov earned his third overtime win to stave off elimination, breaking Chico Resch's club record (2). It is the third time the Isles have won a multiple-overtime game to stave off elimination (1987 Game 7 vs Washington; 2020 Game 5 in Bubble vs. Tampa Bay).

The New Mr. Overtime
Islanders with Multiple OT Goals:
Bob Nystrom 4
Mike Bossy and Ken Morrow 3
Mathew Barzal, Ray Ferraro, Pat LaFontaine, John Tavares, Josh Bailey, and Denis Potvin 2

As Long as It Takes
This was the 10th-longest game in Islander history:
04/18/87 @ Pat LaFontaine W Washington 68:47 
04/22/16 @ Alan Quine W Florida 36:00 
09/03/20 Vs Ivan Provorov L Philadelphia 35:03 
04/20/93 @ Brian Mullen W Washington 34:50 
09/15/20 @ Jordan Eberle W Tampa Bay 32:30 
04/24/16 Vs John Tavares W Florida 30:41 
05/18/93 @ Stephan LeBeau L Montreal 26:21 
04/24/93 Vs Ray Ferraro W Washington 25:40 
04/14/03 Vs Todd White L Ottawa 22:25 
04/27/24 Vs Mathew Barzal W Carolina 21:24

Missing Marty
Matt Martin missed the game with an upper body injury, ending his streak of 82 consecutive Islander playoff games (both before and after his time in Toronto).  He had played every playoff game the team had played since he made it to the NHL. Prior to today, the last time that the Isles did not have Matt Martin in the lineup for a playoff game was April 20, 2007, in Buffalo; Martin was only 17 years old at the time.

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 1.7 hits (802 hits in 486 games). In the playoffs, Pulock has 189 hits in 65 games (2.9 per game), and he holds the Isles career record (real-time era) for playoff hits by a defenseman.

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

The Goals (Series)
Isles         3-4-1-1=9
Carolina   4-2-7-0=13

The Shots (Series)
Isles       36-30-36-11=113
Carolina 34-41-38-18=131

Led/Tied/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 0:00,   Tied: 36:49, Trailed: 23:01
Game 2: Led: 41:23, Tied: 16:31, Trailed: 2:06
Game 3: Led: 0:00,   Tied: 4:46,   Trailed: 55:14
Game 4: Led: 12:30, Tied  46:44  Trailed: 22:10
Series:   Led: 53:53, Tied: 104:50, Trailed: 102:31

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles are 175-148 in 323 all-time playoff games. They are 98-55 at home (88-44 at the Coliseum, 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto, 1-2 in Edmonton and 2-3 at UBS Arena) and 77-92 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 1-1 at home and 0-2 on the road.

Offense from Defense
Today:  0-3-3
Playoffs 0-7-7

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 122 regular season games at UBS Arena and recorded 89 sellouts of 17,255. The Isles have sold out 5 playoff games as well. 

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 41-24 (.645) all-time in overtime, including 21-14 at home. The Isles are 1-0in overtime in 2024; they have gone 11-11 in 22 overtime games since 2015. 
(all stats below exclude Seattle)

The Isles are the best overtime team in Stanley Cup history: 
Isles 40-24 .631
Florida 13-8 .619
Anaheim 24-15 .615
Carolina 30-20 .600
Ottawa 22-16 .579
Colorado 46-34  .575

The Isles are also one of the best teams on the road in Stanley Cup history:
Florida 9-4 .692
Isles 20-10 .667
Anaheim 15-8 .652
Tampa Bay 14-8 .636
Colorado 26-15 .634

The Isles' winning percentage is 5th at home in overtime games  
Carolina 16-10 .615
Chicago 30-18-1 .612
Buffalo 20-13 .606
Montreal 46-29-1 .605
Isles 21-14 .600

Overtime vs. Carolina
The Isles are 1-3 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
4/28/23 Vs Paul Stastny L (1-2)  06:01
4/27/24 Vs Mathew Barzal  W(3-2)  21:24
*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 172-152

Most playoff games as GM
Glen Sather (324) 
Lou Lamoriello (324)

Lamoriello will break Sather's record in game 5.

First Things First
The Isles are 0-1 when scoring first and are 1-2 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots
Isles 6-8-11-9-2=36
Carolina 8-13-5-17-1=44

Shots by Game
Game 1:  Isles 34, Carolina 25
Game 2:  Isles 12, Carolina 39
Game 3:  Isles 31, Carolina 22
Game 4:  Isles 36, Carolina 44
Series:     Isles 113, Carolina 130

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

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 42 saves; he is 1-2 this year and 32-29 in his playoff career. 
Frederik Andersen made 33 saves; he is 3-1 this year and 35-27 in his playoff career.

Special Teams
The Isles were 0-2 on the power play (3:08); Carolina was 0-2 on the power play (3:08). 

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 0-2 (3:59, 4 shots), Carolina 1-3 (4:12, 3 shots)
Game 2: Isles 1-1 (1:16, 1 shot),  Carolina 1-5 (7:18, 4 shots)
Game 3: Isles 0-2 (3:08, 2 shots), Carolina 0-2 (3:08, 2 shots)
Game 4: Isles 1-2 (3:38, 4 shots), Carolina 2-4 (5:20, 4 shots)
Series:    Isles 2-7 (12:01, 11 shots), Carolina 4-14 (19:58, 13 shots)  
2023 Playoffs Isles 1-18 (32:02, 21 shots), Carolina 5-25 (36:09, 26 shots)

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

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

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

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Noah Dobson (32:55);  Carolina: Dmitry Orlov (29:05) 
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards with 27:46 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders:  Bo Horvat (0-1), Ryan Pulock (0-2), Noah Dobson (1-0)

Face-offs
Isles 48, Carolina 23 (68%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 19 of 23 for the Isles; no Cane who too more than two face-offs won more than he lost. 

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 24, Carolina 34 (41%)
Game 2: Isles 28, Carolina 41 (41%)
Game 3: Isles 29, Carolina 19 (60%)
Game 4: Isles 48, Carolina 23 (68%)
Series   : Isles 129, Carolina 117 (52%)
The home team has won 152 of 246 face-offs (62%, winning at least 59 percent in each game)

Hit Count
Isles 40 (Adam Pelech -6)
Carolina 24 (Jordan Staal -5)

Hits by Game
Game 1: Isles 17, Carolina 23
Game 2: Isles 27, Carolina 27
Game 3; Isles 40, Carolina 22
Game 4: Isles 40, Carolina 24
Series   : Isles 124, Carolina 96

Fights 
None. Playoff total: 1 (MacLean 1)

Blocked Shots
Isles 22 (Adam Pelech -6)
Carolina 18 (Two with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 78, Carolina 93
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 69, Carolina 62

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 59, Carolina 74; (5-on-5) Isles 52, Carolina 65
Game 2: (All) Isles 28, Carolina 110; (5-on-5) Isles 20, Carolina 85
Game 3: (All) Isles 65, Carolina 62; (5-on-5) Isles 53, Carolina 55
Game 4: (All) Isles 78, Carolina 93; (5-on-5) Isles 69, Carolina 82
Series:    (All) Isles 230, Carolina 339; (5-on-5) Isles 194, Carolina 287

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Anders Lee +13
Carolina: Jalen Chatfield +18

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 16, Carolina 18
5-on-5: Isles 15, Carolina 14

High-Danger Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 8, Carolina 8; (5-on-5) Isles 7, Carolina 8
Game 2: (All) Isles 9, Carolina 23; (5-on-5) Isles 4, Carolina 15
Game 3: (All) Isles 9, Carolina 6; (5-on-5) Isles 9, Carolina 5
Game 4; (All) Isles 16, Carolina 18; (5-on-5) Isles 15, Carolina 14
Series:    (All) Isles 42, Carolina 55; (5-on-5) Isles 35, Carolina 42
2023 Playoffs: (All) Isles 89, Carolina 83; (5-on-5) Isles 68, Carolina 65

Scratches
(Scott Mayfield- LTIR), (Matt Martin-upper body), Simon Holmstrom, Samuel Bolduc, Oliver Wahlstrom,  Sebastian Aho, Jacob Skarek, Robin Salo, Dennis Cholowski, Julien Gauthier, Karson Kuhlman, Brian Pinho.
Playoff Games Lost: 6

The Ironman (Playoffs)
Brock Nelson is the new playoff ironman; he played in his 72nd consecutive Islander playoff game.

Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures  (Regular season 3 of 7, including 1 of 3 for Roy)

Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures (Regular season 5 of 8 were successful)

League reviews: 0  

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

The Isles allowed 2 goal in under a minutes once in the postseason (CAR R1G2, :09); The Isles allowed two goals in under a minute nine times in the regular season.

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
The Isles have allowed one multi-goal third period comeback in this year's playoffs (CAR R1G2, led 3-1, lost 5-3).
The Isles came from two goals behind after two periods to win once and allowed the opposition to do so five times in the regular season.
 
Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have allowed one tying goal (Aho CAR R1G2 17:45) and one winning goal (Martinook CAR R1G2 17:54) in the final three minutes of the third period in the playoffs,
In the regular season, the Isles scored five goals and allowed eight goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime. 

Overtime Winners
Playoffs:  For 1, Vs. 0 (Barzal vs CAR R1G4 21:24)
Regular Season: For 9, Vs. 11

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games: 
Matt Martin 82
Casey Cizikas 79
Brock Nelson 77
Cal Clutterbuck 75
Ryan Pulock 65
Scott Mayfield 58

Consecutive Games:
Brock Nelson 72
Ryan Pulock 61
Mathew Barzal 59

Goals:
Brock Nelson 26
Mathew Barzal 17
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 12
Cal Clutterbuck 11
Anders Lee 10
Kyle Palmieri 10
Ryan Pulock 8
Matt Martin 8
Casey Cizikas 6

Assists:
Mathew Barzal 26
Brock Nelson 23
Ryan Pulock 17
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 15
Adam Pelech 13
Scott Mayfield 12
Casey Cizikas 12
Anders Lee 11
Noah Dobson 10

Points:
Brock Nelson 49
Mathew Barzal 43
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 27
Ryan Pulock 25
Anders Lee 21
Cal Clutterbuck 18
Casey Cizikas 18

Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 127
Cal Clutterbuck 86
Casey Cizikas 64
Anders Lee 48
Scott Mayfield 47
Mathew Barzal 43

+/-
Scott Mayfield +23
Jean-Gabriel Pageau +16
Kyle Palmieri +8
Adam Pelech +6

PP Goals
Mathew Barzal 4
Anders Lee 4
Ryan Pulock 3
Brock Nelson 3 
Kyle Palmieri 2
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 1
Oliver Wahlstrom 1

SH Goals
Bo Horvat 1
 
GW Goals
Brock Nelson 7
Mathew Barzal 4
Ryan Pulock 3
Kyle Palmieri 2
Scott Mayfield 1
Casey Cizikas 1
Matt Martin 1

OT Goals 
Mathew Barzal 2
Kyle Palmieri 1
Casey Cizikas 1

Goaltending
Semyon Varlamov 19-16,  2.28 GAA, .923 save percentage.
Ilya Sorokin 6-6, 2.83 GAA, .921 save percentage.

(Varlamov's 19 wins is second in club history to Billy Smith's 88. Among goalies who have played at least ten post-season games, Varlamov has both the best goals against average and the best save percentage in club history.)

Coaching Numbers:
Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:
• Al Arbour 119
• Barry Trotz 28
• Jack Capuano 10
• Terry Simpson 9
• Peter Laviolette 4
• Lane Lambert 2
• Patrick Roy 1
• 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
• Lane Lambert 6
• Steve Stirling 5
• Ted Nolan 5
• Patrick Roy 4

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)
•  Patrick Roy 1 (1-0)
• Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)
• Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)
• Lane Lambert 0 (0-2)

Series Stats
Carolina leads the series, 3 game to 1.

The Isles are 3-11 all-time in playoff games against Carolina, including 2-5 at home. 

The Isles are 2-14 in best-of-7 playoff series when they trail 3-1, with the wins coming in 1975 (vs. Pittsburgh) and 1987 (vs. Washington).

Carolina is 6-0 when leading a best-of-7 by a 3-1 margin.

UP NEXT
TUESDAY, APRIL 30th –ISLANDERS AT CAROLINA – GAME 5– 7:30pm
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 7:00), TBS, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].

Last season, trailing 3 games to 1, the Isles won game 5 in Raleigh to return the series to Long Island. They will look to do so again in game 5 on Tuesday night,

The Isles are 31-24 all-time in games where they face elimination.

MSG Networks will continue to have game coverage in the first round of the playoffs. All Stanley Cup playoff games also air on either TNT/TBS or ESPN/ESPN2/ABC.
 
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

Friday, April 26, 2024

The Skinny: Carolina 3, Isles 2 (Carolina leads series 3-0)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Round 1, Game 3
Carolins 3, Isles 2
Carolina Leads Series 3-0
Sebastian Aho scored 7:14 into the second period to give Carolina a 3-1 lead and the Isles would never catch them, dropping a 3-2 decision to the Canes before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena. Carolina now leads the series 3 games to 0.

Pierre Engvall and Brock Nelson twice cut 2-goal deficits in half, but the Isles could never get even; Brett Burns and Dmitry Orlov scored in the first period for Carolina. 

Game four will be played at UBS Arena on Saturday at 2:00pm. 

The Scoring:
1st Period
Brent Burns (1) Martin Necas (2), Teuvo Teravainen (1) 04:46 CAR 1,NYI 0
Dmitry Orlov (1) Andrei Svechnikov (3), Jake Guentzel (2) 10:25 CAR 2,NYI 0

2nd Period
Pierre Engvall (1) Anders Lee (2), Adam Pelech (1) 02:48 CAR 2,NYI 1
Sebastian Aho (2) Andrei Svechnikov (4), Jalen Chatfield (1) 07:14 CAR 3,NYI 1
Brock Nelson (1) Kyle Palmieri (1), Ryan Pulock (1) 17:39 CAR 3,NYI 2

3rd Period
No Goals
 
The Series 
Game 1: Carolina 3, Isles 1
Game 2: Carolina 5, Isles 3
Game 3: Carolina 3, Isles 2
Game 4: Saturday at Isles 2:00
Game 5: (if needed) Tuesday at Carolina 7:30
Game 6: (if needed) May 2 at Isles
Game 7: (if needed) May 4 at Carolina

The Skinny    
The Isles have led after the first period only three times in their last 29 playoff games (2023 R1 games 5/6, 2024 R1G2)... Neither team scored in the third period; the Isles have been outscored 6-0 in the third period in the series, including two empty net goals…Sebastian Aho is now 8-5-13 in 13 playoff games against the Isles… Anders Lee is the only player on either team with points in all three games in the series; Andrei Svechnikov had a pair of assists to give him four in the series (only Connor McDavid has more assists)… It was the first time Ilya Sorokin had ever been pulled in a playoff game…Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck each had only one shift in the third period.

First Time in a Long Time (Playoffs)
Dmitry Orlov scored for the first time in 44 playoff games (5/17/2018 for Washington against Tampa Bay)
The Isles made a goaltender change for the first time since June 21, 2021, in Tampa Bay (Varlamov allowed three, Sorokin allowed five in relief)

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 1.7 hits (802 hits in 486 games). In the playoffs, Pulock has 185 hits in 64 games (2.9 per game), and he holds the Isles career record (real-time era) for playoff hits by a defenseman.

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

The Goals (Series)
Isles         3-3-0=6 
Carolina   3-2-6=11

The Shots (Series)
Isles       30-22-25=77
Carolina 26-28-33=87

Led/Tied/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 0:00,   Tied: 36:49, Trailed: 23:01
Game 2: Led: 41:23, Tied: 16:31, Trailed: 2:06
Game 3: Led: 0:00    Tied: 4:46    Trailed: 55:14
Series:   Led: 41:23, Tied: 58:06, Trailed: 80:21

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles are 174-148 in 322 all-time playoff games. They are 97-55 at home (88-44 at the Coliseum, 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto, 1-2 in Edmonton and 1-3 at UBS Arena) and 77-92 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 0-1 at home and 0-2 on the road.

Offense from Defense
Today:  0-2-2
Playoffs 0-4-4

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 122 regular season games at UBS Arena and recorded 89 sellouts of 17,255. The Isles have sold out 4 playoff games as well. 

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 40-24 (.645) all-time in overtime, including 20-14 at home. The Isles went 0-2 in overtime in 2023; they have gone 11-11 in 22 overtime games since 2015. 
(all stats below exclude Seattle)

The Isles are the best overtime team in Stanley Cup history: 
Isles 40-24 .625
Florida 13-8 .619
Anaheim 24-15 .615
Carolina 30-19 .612
Ottawa 22-16 .579
Colorado 46-34  .575

The Isles are also one of the best teams on the road in Stanley Cup history:
Florida 9-4 .692
Isles 20-10 .667
Anaheim 15-8 .652
Tampa Bay 14-8 .636
Colorado 26-15 .634
Carolina 14-9 .609

The Isles' winning percentage is tied-5th at home in overtime games  
Carolina 16-10 .615
Chicago 30-18-1 .612
Buffalo 20-13 .606
Montreal 46-29-1 .605
Isles 20-14 .588
Ottawa 10-7 .588

Overtime vs. Carolina
The Isles are 0-3 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
4/28/23 Vs Paul Stastny L (1-2)  06:01
*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 171-152

Sather (324) is also the only GM with more playoff games than Lamoriello (323). Lamoriello will tie Sather's record in game 4.

First Things First
The Isles are 0-1 when scoring first and are 0-2 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots
Isles 15-5-11=31
Carolina 9-10-3=22

Shots by Game
Game 1:  Isles 34, Carolina 25
Game 2:  Isles 12, Carolina 39
Game 3:  Isles 31, Carolina 22
Series:     Isles 77, Carolina 86

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

In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 11 saves before being replaced after Carolina's third goal; he is 0-1 this year and 6-6 in his playoff career. Semyon Varlamov stopped all eight shots he faced in relief.
Frederik Andersen made 29 saves; he is 3-0 this year and 35-26 in his playoff career.

Special Teams
The Isles were 0-2 on the power play (3:08); Carolina was 0-2 on the power play (3:08). 

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 0-2 (3:59, 4 shots), Carolina 1-3 (4:12, 3 shots)
Game 2: Isles 1-1 (1:16, 1 shot),  Carolina 1-5 (7:18, 4 shots)
Game 3: Isles 0-2 (3:08, 2 shots), Carolina 0-2 (3:08, 2 shots)
Series:    Isles 1-5 (8:23, 7 shots), Carolina 2-10 (14:38, 9 shots)  
2023 Playoffs Isles 1-18 (32:02, 21 shots), Carolina 5-25 (36:09, 26 shots)

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

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

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

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Ryan Pulock (24:38);  Carolina: Brent Burns (22:21) 
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards with 21:23 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders:  Bo Horvat (0-1), Ryan Pulock (0-2)

Face-offs
Isles 29, Carolina 19 (60%)
Bo Horvat won 14 of 20 for the Isles; no Cane won more than he lost. 

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 24, Carolina 34 (41%)
Game 2: Isles 28, Carolina 41 (41%)
Game 3: Isles 29, Carolina 19 (60%)
Series   : Isles 81, Carolina 94 (46%)

Hit Count
Isles 40 (Cal Clutterbuck and Adam Pelech -6)
Carolina 22 (Jordan Staal -4)

Hits by Game
Game 1: Isles 17, Carolina 23
Game 2: Isles 27, Carolina 27
Game 3; Isles 40, Carolina 22
Series   : Isles 84, Carolina 72

Fights 
None. Playoff total: 1 (MacLean 1)

Blocked Shots
Isles 21 (Brock Nelson -3)
Carolina 15 (Five with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 65, Carolina 62
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 53, Carolina 55

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 59, Carolina 74; (5-on-5) Isles 52, Carolina 65
Game 2: (All) Isles 28, Carolina 110; (5-on-5) Isles 20, Carolina 85
Game 3: (All) Isles 65, Carolina 62; (5-on-5) Isles 53, Carolina 55
Series:    (All) Isles 152, Carolina 246; (5-on-5) Isles 125, Carolina 205

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Bo Horvat +8
Carolina: Brent Burns +6

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 9, Carolina 6
5-on-5: Isles 9, Carolina 5

High-Danger Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 8, Carolina 8; (5-on-5) Isles 7, Carolina 8
Game 2: (All) Isles 9, Carolina 23; (5-on-5) Isles 4, Carolina 15
Game 3: (All) Isles 9, Carolina 6; (5-on-5) Isles 9, Carolina 5
Series:    (All) Isles 26, Carolina 37; (5-on-5) Isles 20, Carolina 28
2023 Playoffs: (All) Isles 89, Carolina 83; (5-on-5) Isles 68, Carolina 65

Scratches
(Scott Mayfield- LTIR), Simon Holmstrom, Samuel Bolduc, Oliver Wahlstrom, Ruslan Iskhakov, Sebastian Aho, Jacob Skarek, Robin Salo, Dennis Cholowski, Julien Gauthier, Karson Kuhlman, Brian Pinho.
Playoff Games Lost: 4

The Ironman (Playoffs)
Matt Martin played in his 82nd consecutive Islander playoff game; he has played in every Islander playoff game since 2013.

Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures  (Regular season 3 of 7, including 1 of 3 for Roy)

Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures (Regular season 5 of 8 were successful)

League reviews: 0  

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

The Isles allowed 2 goal in under a minutes once in the postseason (CAR R1G2, :09); The Isles allowed two goals in under a minute nine times in the regular season.

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
The Isles have allowed one multi-goal third period comeback in this year's playoffs (CAR R1G2, led 3-1, lost 5-3).
The Isles came from two goals behind after two periods to win once and allowed the opposition to do so five times in the regular season.
 
Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have allowed one tying goal (Aho CAR R1G2 17:45) and one winning goal (Martinook CAR R1G2 17:54) in the final three minutes of the third period in the playoffs,
In the regular season, the Isles scored five goals and allowed eight goals 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 9, Vs. 11

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games: 
Matt Martin 82
Casey Cizikas 78
Brock Nelson 76
Cal Clutterbuck 74
Ryan Pulock 64
Scott Mayfield 58

Consecutive Games:
Matt Martin 82 (every game since start of 2013 playoffs)
Brock Nelson 71
Ryan Pulock 60
Mathew Barzal 58

Goals:
Brock Nelson 26
Mathew Barzal 15
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 11
Cal Clutterbuck 11
Anders Lee 10
Kyle Palmieri 10
Ryan Pulock 8
Matt Martin 8
Casey Cizikas 6

Assists:
Mathew Barzal 26
Brock Nelson 23
Ryan Pulock 17
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 15
Scott Mayfield 12
Casey Cizikas 12
Adam Pelech 12
Anders Lee 10
Noah Dobson 9

Points:
Brock Nelson 49
Mathew Barzal 41
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 26
Ryan Pulock 25
Anders Lee 20
Cal Clutterbuck 18
Casey Cizikas 18

Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 127
Cal Clutterbuck 86
Casey Cizikas 64
Scott Mayfield 47
Anders Lee 44
Mathew Barzal 43

+/-
Scott Mayfield +23
Jean-Gabriel Pageau +16
Kyle Palmieri +8
Adam Pelech +6

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

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

OT Goals 
Mathew Barzal 1
Kyle Palmieri 1
Casey Cizikas 1

Goaltending
Ilya Sorokin 6-6, 2.83 GAA, .921 save percentage.
Semyon Varlamov 18-16,  2.31 GAA, .921 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 while Varlamov, Sorokin and Thomas Greiss share the best save percentage in club history.)

Series Stats
Carolina leads the series, 3 game to 0.

The Isles are 2-11 all-time in playoff games against Carolina, including 1-5 at home. 

The Isles are 1-6 in best-of-7 playoff series when they trail 3-0; they have lost the last six series that they trailed 0-3 since beating Pittsburgh in the 1975 Quarter-Finals.

Carolina is 2-0 when leading a best-of-7 by a 3-0 margin.

UP NEXT
SATURDAY, APRIL 25th–CAROLINA AT ISLANDERS – GAME 4– 2:00pm
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 1:30), TNT, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].

The lsles look to extend the series when they welcome Carolina to UBS Arena for Game 4. The Isles are 5-2 in game 4s of best-of-7's after losing games 1, 2 and 3.   The last time the Isles won game 4 in this situation was in the 1993 Conference Finals against Montreal (with Patrick Roy in goal). The two teams to sweep the Isles are the 1994 Rangers and 2019 Hurricanes.

The Isles are 30-24 all-time in games where they face elimination.

MSG Networks will continue to have game coverage in the first round of the playoffs. All Stanley Cup playoff games also air on either TNT/TBS or ESPN/ESPN2/ABC.
 
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

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

The Skinny: Carolina 5, Isles 3 (Carolina leads series 2-0)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Round 1, Game 2
Carolina 5, Isles 3
Carolina Leads Series 2-0
Sebastian Aho and Jordan Martinook scored the tying and lead goal in a nine-second span late in the third period and Jake Guentzel added an empty net goal as the Carolina Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead in their Round 1 playoff series with a 5-3 victory over the Isles before a sellout crowd of 18,905 at PNC Arena. 

The Isles had built a 3-0 lead with goals from Kyle Palmieri, Bo Horvat and Anders Lee in a 7:32 span straddling the first and second periods; Teuvo Teravainen scored midway through the 2nd period and Seth Jarvis scored midway through the 3rd period to set the stage for the Canes to tie and win the game late in the third period.

It is the first time in Islander history that they lost a playoff game after leading by three goals at any point (81-1).

The series shifts to Long Island for games Thursday night (7:30) and Saturday afternoon (2:00).

The Scoring:
1st Period
Kyle Palmieri (1) Mike Reilly (1), Brock Nelson (1) 16:22 NYI 1,CAR 0
Bo Horvat (1) Mathew Barzal (1), Casey Cizikas (1) 19:45 NYI 2,CAR 0

2nd Period
Anders Lee (1) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1), Pierre Engvall (1) 03:54 NYI 3,CAR 0 PPG
Teuvo Teravainen (1) Jake Guentzel (1), Seth Jarvis (1) 13:01 NYI 3,CAR 1 PPG

3rd Period
Seth Jarvis (1) Jordan Staal (1), Brady Skjei (3) 10:43 NYI 3,CAR 2
Sebastian Aho (1) Andrei Svechnikov (1), Seth Jarvis (2) 17:45 NYI 3,CAR 3
Jordan Martinook (1) Jack Drury (2) 17:54 NYI 3,CAR 4
Jake Guentzel (1)EN Sebastian Aho (1), Andrei Svechnikov (2) 19:04 NYI 3,CAR 5

The Series 
Game 1: Carolina 3, Isles 1
Game 2: Carolina 5, Isles 3
Game 3: Thursday at Isles 7:30
Game 4: Saturday at Isles 2:00
Game 5: (if needed) April 30 at Carolina
Game 6: (if needed) May 2 at Isles
Game 7: (if needed) May 4 at Carolina

The Skinny    
The Isles led after the first period for only the 3rd time in their last 28 playoff games (2023 R1 games 5/6)... Attempts ended 110-28…The Isles did not get a shot on goal until 13:22 was played; they had only one shot on goal in the final 34:57…The Isles have been outscored 6-0 in the third period in the series, including two empty net goals…Sebastian Aho is now 7-5-12 in 12 playoff games against the Isles…The game-winning goal was Jordan Martinook's first goal in ten playoff games against the Isles…Mathew Barzal's assist was his first in nine playoff games…Bo Horvat has 13 goals in 31 playoff games…Kyle MacLean had a potential goal waved off in the third period on a high-stick…Jake Guentzel received a misconduct late in the game for the first time in his career, regular season or playoffs… Brady Skjei now has nineteen career playoff points.

The Injury
Brett Pesce left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. 

Rewriting the Playoff Record Books
It is the first time that the Isles lost a game they had a three-goal lead at any point.
The 2 goals in :09 is the fastest in Canes history and matches the fastest two vs. the Isles (Montreal 1993). It was the fastest in any playoff game since 2018, when Pittsburgh scored twice in :05 in Game 3 vs. Philadelphia to tie the Stanley Cup record.
The 3 goals in 1:19 are the fastest for the Canes and the fastest against the Isles.
The Isles blocked a club record 36 shots (since 2001).
Alex Romanov blocked 8 shots, to tie Calvin de Haan's club record (4-22-2016 vs. Florida).
The Isles allowed four goals in the third period for only the 2nd time in club history – and they won the other game (5/8/1993 vs PIT; led 2-1 after 2 and won 6-5).
It is the 7th time in Stanley Cup history that a team has scored the tying and winning goals in the final three minutes of regulation; Carolina also did it to New Jersey in Game 7 in 2009.

First Time in a Long Time (Playoffs)
The Isles had only 12 shots on goal; it is their fewest since they had a club-record 11 in Game 7 in Washington in 2015.
The Isles allowed four goals in a period for the first time since April 18, 1994, at Rangers.
The Isles had 70 penalty minutes in the third period (68 in the final minute); it is the 2nd-most in club history (124 on4/17/1980 at Boston)
The Isles had 83 penalty minutes in the game. It is the third-highest in club history (1975 vs. NYR, 1980 at Boston).
Frederik Andersen is the first goaltender to be the only goalie for his team, make fewer than nine saves, and earn the win since Evgeni Nabokov did so for San Jose, on April 15, 2008, at Calgary.

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 1.7 hits (802 hits in 486 games). In the playoffs, Pulock has 180 hits in 63 games (2.9 per game), and he holds the Isles career record (real-time era) for playoff hits by a defenseman.

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

The Goals (Series)
Isles         3-1-0=4 
Carolina   1-1-6=8

The Shots (Series)
Isles       15-17-14=46
Carolina 17-18-30=65

Led/Tied/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 0:00, Tied: 36:49, Trailed: 23:01
Game 2: Led 41:23, Tied: 16:31, Trailed: 2:06
Series:   Led: 41:23, Tied: 53:20, Trailed: 25:07

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles are 174-147 in 321 all-time playoff games. They are 97-55 at home (88-44 at the Coliseum, 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto, 1-2 in Edmonton and 1-2 at UBS Arena) and 77-92 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 0-0 at home and 0-2 on the road.

Offense from Defense
Today:  0-2-2
Playoffs 0-2-2

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 122 regular season games at UBS Arena and recorded 89 sellouts of 17,255. The Isles have sold out 3 playoff games as well. 

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 40-24 (.645) all-time in overtime, including 20-14 at home. The Isles went 0-2 in overtime in 2023; they have gone 11-11 in 22 overtime games since 2015. 
(all stats below exclude Seattle)

The Isles are the best overtime team in Stanley Cup history: 
Isles 40-24 .625
Anaheim 24-15 .615
Carolina 30-19 .612
Florida 12-8 .600
Ottawa 22-16 .579
Colorado 46-34  .575

The Isles are also one of the best teams on the road in Stanley Cup history:
Florida 9-4 .692
Isles 20-10 .667
Tampa Bay 14-7 .667
Anaheim 15-8 .652
Colorado 26-15 .634
Carolina 14-9 .609

The Isles' winning percentage is tied-5th at home in overtime games  
Carolina 16-10 .615
Chicago 30-18-1 .612
Buffalo 20-13 .606
Montreal 46-29-1 .605
Isles 20-14 .588
Ottawa 10-7 .588

Overtime vs. Carolina
The Isles are 0-3 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
4/28/23 Vs Paul Stastny L (1-2)  06:01
*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 171-151

Sather (324) is also the only GM with more playoff games than Lamoriello (322). Lamoriello will tie Sather's record in game 4.

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

The Shots
Isles 7-4-1=12
Carolina 10-12-17=39

Shots by Game
Game 1:  Isles 34, Carolina 25
Game 2:  Isles 12, Carolina 39
Series:    Isles 46, Carolina 64

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

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves; he is 0-2 this year and 31-29 in his playoff career. 
Frederik Andersen made 9 saves; he is 2-0 this year and 34-26 in his playoff career.

Special Teams
The Isles were 1-1 on the power play (1:16); Carolina was 1-5 on the power play (7:18). 

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 0-2 (3:59, 4 shots), Carolina 1-3 (4:12, 3 shots)
Game 2: Isles 1-1 (1:16, 1 shot),  Carolina 1-5 (7:18, 4 shots)
Series:    Isles 1-3 (5:15, 5 shots), Carolina 2-8 (11:30, 7 shots)  
2023 Playoffs Isles 1-18 (32:02, 21 shots), Carolina 5-25 (36:09, 26 shots)

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

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

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

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:20);  Carolina: Sebastian Aho (23:44) 
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards with 19:24 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders:  Bo Horvat (0-1), Ryan Pulock (0-1)

Face-offs
Isles 28, Carolina 41 (41%)
Bo Horvat won 11 of 19 for the Isles; Jordan Staal won 13 of 17 for Carolina. 

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 24, Carolina 34 (41%)
Game 2: Isles 28, Carolina 41 (41%)
Series   : Isles 52, Carolina 75 (41%)

Hit Count
Isles 27 (Cal Clutterbuck -5)
Carolina 27 (Jordan Staal -4)

Hits by Game
Game 1: Isles 17, Carolina 23
Game 2: Isles 27, Carolina 27
Series   : Isles 44, Carolina 50

Fights 
Kyle MacLean fought Stefan Noesen in the first period. Playoff total: 1 (MacLean 1)

Blocked Shots
Isles 36 (Alex Romanov -8)
Carolina 8 (Brett Pesce -2)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 28, Carolina 110
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 20, Carolina 85

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 59, Carolina 74; (5-on-5) Isles 52, Carolina 65
Game 2: (All) Isles 28, Carolina 110: (5-on-5) Isles 20, Carolina 85
Series:    (All) Isles 87, Carolina 184; (5-on-5) Isles 72, Carolina 150

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  No Isles was a +
Carolina: Jaccob Slavin +40, Jordan Martinook +36, Jordan Staal +33

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 9, Carolina 23
5-on-5: Isles 4, Carolina 15

High-Danger Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 8, Carolina 8; (5-on-5) Isles 7, Carolina 8
Game 2: (All) Isles 9, Carolina 23; (5-on-5) Isles 4, Carolina 15
Series:    (All) Isles 17, Carolina 31; (5-on-5) Isles 11, Carolina 23
2023 Playoffs: (All) Isles 89, Carolina 83; (5-on-5) Isles 68, Carolina 65

Scratches
(Scott Mayfield- LTIR), Samuel Bolduc, Oliver Wahlstrom, Ruslan Iskhakov, Sebastian Aho, Hudson Fasching, Jacob Skarek 
Playoff Games Lost: 3

The Ironman (Playoffs)
Matt Martin played in his 81st consecutive Islander playoff game; he has played in every Islander playoff game since 2013.

Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures  (Regular season 3 of 7, including 1 of 3 for Roy)

Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures (Regular season 5 of 8 were successful)

League reviews: 0  

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

The Isles allowed 2 goal in under a minutes once in the postseason (CAR R1G2, :09); The Isles allowed two goals in under a minute nine times in the regular season.

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
The Isles have allowed one multi-goal third period comeback in this year's playoffs (CAR R1G2, led 3-1, lost 5-3).
The Isles came from two goals behind after two periods to win once and allowed the opposition to do so five times in the regular season.
 
Last Minute Heroes:
The Isles have allowed one tying goal (Aho CAR R1G2 17:45) and one winning goal (Martinook CAR R1G2 17:54) in the final three minutes of the third period in the playoffs,
In the regular season, the Isles scored five goals and allowed eight goals 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 9, Vs. 11

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games: 
Matt Martin 81
Casey Cizikas 77
Brock Nelson 75
Cal Clutterbuck 73
Ryan Pulock 63
Scott Mayfield 58

Consecutive Games:
Matt Martin 81 (every game since start of 2013 playoffs)
Brock Nelson 70
Ryan Pulock 59
Mathew Barzal 57

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

Assists:
Mathew Barzal 26
Brock Nelson 23
Ryan Pulock 16
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 15
Scott Mayfield 12
Casey Cizikas 12
Adam Pelech 11
Noah Dobson 9
Anders Lee 9

Points:
Josh Bailey 50
Brock Nelson 48
Mathew Barzal 41
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 26
Ryan Pulock 24
Anders Lee 19
Cal Clutterbuck 18
Casey Cizikas 18

Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 127
Cal Clutterbuck 86
Casey Cizikas 64
Scott Mayfield 47
Anders Lee 44
Mathew Barzal 43

+/-
Scott Mayfield +23
Jean-Gabriel Pageau +15
Kyle Palmieri +8
Adam Pelech +5

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

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

OT Goals 
Mathew Barzal 1
Kyle Palmieri 1
Casey Cizikas 1

Goaltending
Ilya Sorokin 6-5, 2.70 GAA, .925 save percentage.
Semyon Varlamov 18-16,  2.35 GAA, .921 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 while Sorokin has the best save percentage in club history.)

Series Stats
Carolina leads the series, 2 game to 0.

The Isles are 2-10 all-time in playoff games against Carolina, including 1-6 on the road. Carolina has won the first two games of each of the three series.

The Isles are 3-11 in best-of-7 playoff series when they drop Games 1 and 2; they have lost the last eight series that they trailed 0-2 since beating Montreal in the 1984 Conference Finals.

Carolina is 10-2 when leading a best-of-7 by a 2-0 margin.

UP NEXT
THURSDAY, APRIL 25th–CAROLINA AT ISLANDERS – GAME 2– 7:30pm
[MSGSN (Extended Pre-game at 6:30), ESPN2, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].

The lsles look to get back in the series when they welcome Carolina to UBS Arena for Game 3. The Isles are 7-7 in game 3s of best-of-7's after losing game 1 and 2. 

MSG Networks will continue to have game coverage in the first round of the playoffs. All Stanley Cup playoff games also air on either TNT/TBS or ESPN/ESPN2/ABC.
 
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

Monday, April 22, 2024

The Skinny on Passover

Tonight marks the 7th time in Islander history that they will play a playoff game on the first night of Passover.

The Isles are 4-2-0 in the six previous games, including a pair of double overtime wins:

  • Friday 21 April 1978 Lost  2-0 @Toronto  (Game 3)
  • Wednesday 7 April 1982 Beat Pittsburgh 8-1 (Game 1)
  • Monday 16 April 1984 Won 5-2 @Washington (Game 2) 
  • Monday 9 April 1990   Beat the Rangers 4-3 in 2OT on a Brent Sutter goal (Game 3)
  • Wednesday 16 April 2003  Lost to Ottawa 3-1 (Game 4)
  • Friday 22 April 2016 Beat Florida 2-1 in 2OT on an Alan Quine goal (Game 5)

  • Tuesday 22 April 2024 at Carolina Tonight


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

Sunday, April 21, 2024

The Skinny: Carolina 3, Isles 1 (Carolina leads series 1-0)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Round 1, Game 1
Carolina 3,Isles 1
Carolina Leads Series 1-0
Evgeny Kutznetsov scored an early power play and added an assist as the Carolina Hurricanes took the opening game of their Round 1 playoff series with  a 3-1 victory over the Isles before a sellout crowd of 18,825 at PNC Arena. 

Kyle MacLean, playing his first Stanley Cup Playoff Game scored the only goal for the Isles. Frederik Andersen made 33 saves for the victory. 

Game 2 of this series will be on Monday in Raleigh, before the series shifts to Long Island for games Thursday night and Saturday afternoon.

The Scoring:
1st Period
Evgeny Kuznetsov (1)Martin Necas (1), Brady Skjei (1) 01:35 NYI 0,CAR 1 PPG
Kyle MacLean (1) Anders Lee (1), Alexander Romanov (1) 08:20 NYI 1,CAR 1

2nd Period
No Goals

3rd Period
Stefan Noesen (1) Brady Skjei (2), Evgeny Kuznetsov (1) 03:44 NYI 1,CAR 2
Martin Necas (1)EN Brett Pesce (1), Jack Drury (1) 18:28 NYI 1,CAR 3

The Series 
Game 1: Carolina 3, Isles 1
Game 2: Monday at Carolina 7:30
Game 3: Thursday at Isles 7:30
Game 4: Saturday at Isles 2:00
Game 5: (if needed) April 30 at Carolina
Game 6: (if needed) May 2 at Isles
Game 7: (if needed) May 4 at Carolina

The Skinny    
The Isles have led after the first period in only two of their last 27 playoff games (2023 R1 games 5/6)... Scott Mayfield has not played since February 22nd, but tonight ended his playoff consecutive game streak at 55…Brady Skjei now has eighteen career playoff points, including four two-point games… Kyle MacLean is the first Islander to score a goal in his playoff debut since Ryan Strome in 2015…Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his 30th career playoff goal; six of those goals have come in thirteen games against the Isles…Matt Martin is the 17th player in Isles history to play in 80 playoff games; all players ahead of him won at least one Stanley Cup for the Isles.

Earliest Power Play Goal Allowed by the Isles (Playoffs):
0:41 Brian Mullen 4/11/1990 vs Rangers
1:35 Evgeny Kuznetsov 4/20/2024 at Carolina
1:48 Larry Murphy 5/10/1993 at Pittsburgh

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 1.7 hits (802 hits in 486 games). In the playoffs, Pulock has 177 hits in 62 games (2.9 per game), and he holds the Isles career record (real-time era) for playoff hits by a defenseman.

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 (73 GP)
Denis Potvin (75 GP) 

The Goals (Series)
Isles         1-0-0=1 
Carolina   1-0-2=3

The Shots (Series)
Isles       8-13-13=34
Carolina 7-6-13=26

Led/Tied/Trailed
Game 1: Led: 0:00, Tied: 36:49, Trailed: 23:01
Series:   Led: 0:00, Tied: 36:49, Trailed: 23:01

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles are 174-146 in 320 all-time playoff games. They are 97-55 at home (88-44 at the Coliseum, 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto, 1-2 in Edmonton and 1-2 at UBS Arena) and 77-91 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:  0-1-1
Playoffs 0-1-1

Home is Where the Fans Are
The Isles have played 122 regular season games at UBS Arena and recorded 89 sellouts of 17,255. The Isles have sold out 3 playoff games as well. 

Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 40-24 (.645) all-time in overtime, including 20-14 at home. The Isles went 0-2 in overtime in 2023; they have gone 11-11 in 22 overtime games since 2015. 
(all stats below exclude Seattle)

The Isles are the best overtime team in Stanley Cup history: 
Isles 40-24 .625
Anaheim 24-15 .615
Carolina 30-19 .612
Florida 12-8 .600
Ottawa 22-16 .579
Colorado 46-34  .575

The Isles are also one of the best teams on the road in Stanley Cup history:
Florida 9-4 .692
Isles 20-10 .667
Tampa Bay 14-7 .667
Anaheim 15-8 .652
Colorado 26-15 .634
Carolina 14-9 .609

The Isles' winning percentage is tied-5th at home in overtime games  
Carolina 16-10 .615
Chicago 30-18-1 .612
Buffalo 20-13 .606
Montreal 46-29-1 .605
Isles 20-14 .588
Ottawa 10-7 .588

Overtime vs. Carolina
The Isles are 0-3 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
4/28/23 Vs Paul Stastny L (1-2)  06:01
*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 171-150

Sather (324) is also the only GM with more playoff games than Lamoriello (321). Lamoriello will tie Sather's record in game 4.

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

The Shots
Isles      8-13-13=34
Carolina  7-6-12=25

Shots by Game
Game 1:  Isles 34, Carolina 25
Series:     Isles 34, Carolina 25

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

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 22 saves; he is 0-1 this year and 31-28 in his playoff career. 
Frederik Andersen made 33 saves; he is 1-0 this year and 33-26 in his playoff career.

Special Teams
The Isles were 0-2 on the power play (3:59); Carolina was 1-3 on the power play (4:12). 

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 0-2 (3:59, 4 shots), Carolina 1-3 (4:12, 3 shots)
Series:    Isles 0-2 (3:59, 4 shots), Carolina 1-3 (4:12, 3 shots)  
2023 Playoffs Isles 1-18 (32:02, 21 shots), Carolina 5-25 (36:09, 26 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 0-0 in games decided by a single goal (0-0 in regulation and 0-0 in overtime). The Isles are 0-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Bo Horvat (21:29);  Carolina: Seth Jarvis (20:38) 
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards with 21:29 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders:  Bo Horvat (0-1)

Face-offs
Isles 24, Carolina 34 (41%)
Brock Nelson won 9 of 16 for the Isles; Jordan Staal won 11 of 16 for Carolina. 

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 24, Carolina 34 (41%)
Series   : Isles 24, Carolina 34 (41%)

Hit Count
Isles 17 (Matt Martin and Bo Horvat -3)
Carolina 23 (Jordan Staal -7)

Hits by Game
Game 1: Isles 17, Carolina 23
Series   : Isles 17, Carolina 23

Fights 
None. Playoff total: 0

Blocked Shots
Isles 21 (Four with 4)
Carolina 13 (Brent Burns -3)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 59, Carolina 74
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 52, Carolina 65

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 59, Carolina 74; (5-on-5) Isles 52, Carolina 65
Series:    (All) Isles 59, Carolina 74; (5-on-5) Isles 52, Carolina 65

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Noah Dobson +9
Carolina: Jalen Chatfield +18

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 8, Carolina 8
5-on-5: Isles 7, Carolina 8

High-Danger Game by Game:
Game 1: (All) Isles 8, Carolina 8; (5-on-5) Isles 7, Carolina 8
Series:    (All) Isles 8, Carolina 8; (5-on-5) Isles 7, Carolina 8
2023 Playoffs: (All) Isles 89, Carolina 83; (5-on-5) Isles 68, Carolina 65

Scratches
(Scott Mayfield- LTIR), (JG Pageau- INJ), Samuel Bolduc, Oliver Wahlstrom, Ruslan Iskhakov, Sebastian Aho 
Playoff Games Lost: 2

The Ironman (Playoffs)
Matt Martin played in his 80th consecutive Islander playoff game; he has played in every Islander playoff game since 2013.

Challenges
Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures  (Regular season 3 of 7, including 1 of 3 for Roy)

Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures (Regular season 5 of 8 were successful)

League reviews: 0  

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

The Isles allowed two goals in under a minute nine 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 once and allowed the opposition to do so five times 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 five goals and allowed eight goals 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 9, Vs. 11

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games: 
Matt Martin 80
Casey Cizikas 76
Brock Nelson 74
Cal Clutterbuck 72
Ryan Pulock 62
Scott Mayfield 57

Consecutive Games:
Matt Martin 80 (every game since start of 2013 playoffs)
Brock Nelson 69
Ryan Pulock 58
Mathew Barzal 56

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

Assists:
Mathew Barzal 25
Brock Nelson 22
Ryan Pulock 16
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 14
Scott Mayfield 12
Adam Pelech 11
Casey Cizikas 11
Noah Dobson 9
Anders Lee 9

Points:
Josh Bailey 50
Brock Nelson 47
Mathew Barzal 40
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 25
Ryan Pulock 24
Cal Clutterbuck 18
Anders Lee 18
Casey Cizikas 17

Penalty Minutes:
Matt Martin 127
Cal Clutterbuck 86
Casey Cizikas 60
Scott Mayfield 47
Anders Lee 44
Mathew Barzal 39

+/-
Scott Mayfield +23
Jean-Gabriel Pageau +18
Kyle Palmieri +8
Adam Pelech +6

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

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

OT Goals 
Mathew Barzal 1
Kyle Palmieri 1
Casey Cizikas 1

Goaltending
Ilya Sorokin 6-5, 2.70 GAA, .925 save percentage.
Semyon Varlamov 18-15,  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 while Sorokin has the best save percentage in club history.)

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

The Isles are 2-9 all-time in playoff games against Carolina, including 1-5 on the road. 
The Isles are 8-17 in series where they lose the opening game and have lost nine of their last ten series.

UP NEXT
MONDAY, APRIL 22nd –ISLANDERS AT CAROLINA – GAME 2– 7:30pm
[MSGSN (Pre-game at 7:00), ESPN2, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].

The lsles look to even the series in Game 2 of the series. The Isles are 11-14 in game 2s of best-of-7's after losing game 1. The last time they faced this situation was in 2023 vs. Carolina; Jesper Fast scored the winning goal in overtime.
 
MSG Networks will continue to have game coverage in the first round of the playoffs. All Stanley Cup playoff games also air on either TNT/TBS or ESPN/ESPN2/ABC.
 
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