"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 44
Philadelphia 5, Isles 3
Sean Couturier scored his 199th NHL goal and Travis Konecny added three assists as the Flyers overcame the first two Islander power play goals in the last fifteen games for a 5-3 win over the Isles before a crowd of 15,761 at UBS Arena.
Bo Horvat scored a first period power play goal and Anders Lee reached the 20-goal mark by deflecting Horvat's shot for a late 6-on-4 goal, but it was not enough as the Isles fell to 0-2-0 on the homestand and lost for the third straight time on home ice.
The Isles are four games under NHL-.500 at home (7-11-2) this late in the season for the first time since 2013-14. Game three of the seven-game homestand is Saturday against San Jose.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Bo Horvat (14) Brock Nelson (14) 09:21 PHI 0,NYI 1 PPG
2nd Period
Sean Couturier (8) Joel Farabee (9), Matvei Michkov (19) 05:15 PHI 1,NYI 1
Garnet Hathaway (6) Travis Konecny (31), Travis Sanheim (18) 09:29 PHI 2,NYI 1 SHG
Morgan Frost (11) Owen Tippett (15), Travis Konecny (32) 13:41 PHI 3,NYI 1
3rd Period
Mathew Barzal (5) Noah Dobson (17) 00:30 PHI 3,NYI 2
Cam York (4) Joel Farabee (10), Sean Couturier (14) 05:16 PHI 4,NYI 2
Anders Lee (20) Bo Horvat (18), Kyle Palmieri (16) 17:16 PHI 4,NYI 3 PPG
Noah Cates (10)EN Travis Konecny (33) 18:48 PHI 5,NYI 3
The Skinny
The Isles scored the opening goal for the 4th time in the last 19 games…The Isles have been outscored 63-44 in the third period and overtime…The Isles have scored 83 goals and allowed 79 goals at 5-on-5 but have been outscored 56-32 in all other situations… The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 24 of the last 32 games… The Isles have outscored the opposition 41-38 in the second period this season; they were outscored 107-83 in the second period a season ago… The Isles killed all four Flyer power plays, improving to a perfect 9-for-9 in the last five games; it is the first time since April 2-12, 2023, that they have been perfect in five straight games on the PK in a single season… The Isles ended the longest streak of consecutive games without a power play goal by scoring twice; they had been 0-25 over the last fourteen games. … Over the last fifteen games, the Isles have been outscored 9-2 on the power play… Anders Lee reached the 20-goal mark for the ninth time in his career; in the last nine seasons he has finished with fewer than 20 goals only once (2020-21, when he played only 27 games)…The Flyers earned their ninth comeback win, but their first where the comeback was completed prior to the third period…Ilya Sorokin's season-high shutout streak ended at 95:41; Bo Horvat's power play goal was the Isles' first goal in 70:46.
The Injury
Ryan Poehling left the game after a check from Max Tsyplakov; he did not return. On Friday, Tsyplakov was suspended three games by the NHL.
Most Consecutive Games Without a Power Play Goal (Isles History, one season)
14 - 12/10/24-1/14/2025
12 - 11/10-12/9/2010
12 - 11/26-12/20/1972
Most Consecutive Games Without a Power Play Goal (NHL History, one season, expansion era)
16 – CLE: 2/4/78-3/11/78
15 – BUF: 2/27/21-3/25/21
14 - NYI: 12/10/24-1/14/25
14 – OTT 3/3/16-3/31/16
14 – TOR 12/2/97-12/31/97
Look at Me, I'm Anders Lee
Lee is 7-2-9 in nine games since Christmas. At 20-16-36, Lee is on pace to set career highs in assists (23 - twice) and points (62 in 2017-18). Lee is the last Islander to score 40 goals (2017-18) and only Brock Nelson (3x), Bo Horvat (2023-24) and Kyle Palmieri (2023-24) have reached 30 goals in the interim.
First Times in a Long Time
• The Isles are playing seven consecutive home games for the first time since 2021-22 (twice) but that reflected games rescheduled due to COVID. The Isles all played seven straight at home in 2013 (lockout season), but this is the first time since February-March 2007 that seven straight were scheduled at home in an original schedule.
• The Isles scored a power play goal for the first time since December 7th.
• The Flyers won in regulation on Long Island for the first time since March 18, 2021.
Quite the Numbers
Marcus Hogberg has now played 212 minutes for the Isles, allowing five goals on 106 shots for a 1.41 GAA and a .953 save percentage. Both the GAA and save percentage are the best in Islander history for any goalie who played multiple games. He is the 52nd goalie to win a game for the Isles (and is one of nine to win exactly one).
Weekend Warriors
The Islanders have won six straight Saturday games (four at home and two on the road). The Isles are 10-13-3 in their last 26 games (6-0-0 on Saturday; 4-13-3 on other days). Eight of their last ten wins have come on Saturday or Sunday.
Milestone Men
• Anders Lee recorded his 489th point, passing Patrick Flatley for 14th place in club history.
• Noah Dobson's recorded his 169th assist, passing Jean Potvin for 6th place on the club's assist list among defensemen. It was his 213th point, tying those player for 6th on the club's defensemen point list.
• Brock Nelson has 287 goals, matching Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter for 5th place in club history as well as the most of any player without four Stanley Cups.
• Mathew Barzal has 323 assists, tying Brent Sutter for 9th place in club history.
• Anthony Duclair's next goal will be his 150th career goal.
Third Periods
Goals: Isles 42, Opponents 57
Tying Goals: Isles 5, Opponents 11 (in 10 games)
Go Ahead Goals: Isles 7 (in 6 games), Opponents 9
Empty Net Goals: Isles 9, Opponents 14
The Isles have either been ahead or tied after two periods in 29 of their 44 games. In the 15 games that they have trailed through 40 minutes (2-12-1), they have been within one goal at some point in all but four of them (10/12 @ DAL, 12/5 vs SEA, 12/17 @ CAR, 12/23 vs BUF, 12/31 @TOR)
Did Somebody Say Comeback?
The Isles have eight come-from behind wins this season, including two when they trailed in the third period. The opponents have come-from-behind to win nine times this season, including seven times in the third period.
Overtime
Ten of the first 26 Islanders games went to overtime; 16 of the last 17 have been decided in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided by an overtime goal, and they are 2-1 in shootouts. Ilya Sorokin is 2-4 in overtime and 1-0 in shootouts, while Semyon Varlamov is 0-2 in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts.
Sorokin has 34 OT/SO losses, extending his club record (Rick DiPietro had 28).
Empty Netters
The Isles have scored 9 empty-net goals and allowed 14.
Building on a Lead
The Islanders have had a two-goal lead 29 times this season:
• Score the next goal: 11 times
• Allowed the next goal: 15 times
• Game ended with 2-goal difference: 3 times
Last Year vs. This Year
• 2024-25 17-20-7 for 41 points in 44 games
• 2023-24 19-15-10 for 48 points in 44 games (the penultimate game under Lane Lambert)
Offense from Defense
• Today: 0-1-1
• Season: 13-62-75
• Last Season (Final) 33-137-170
Varly, Varly
Semyon Varlamov has 41 career shutouts and 289 career wins. Among active NHL goalies (and excluding Carey Price, who is technically still active), Varlamov is seventh in wins and fourth in shutouts.
All-time Goalie Wins
47. Mike Liut 293
48. Ed Giacomin 290
49. Semyon Varlamov 289
Oh Canada
The Isles are playing 17 games against Canadian-based teams this season; they are 5-3-3 so far (1-1-0 at home and 4-1-3 on the road). After opening with a home shootout win over Montreal, the Isles played eight straight road games in November/December going 4-1-3. They went 0-1-0 in January; five of the six remaining games will be at home.
Going back to last season the Isles are 8-3-3 in the last 14 games against Canadian teams; the next Canadian opponent will be Winnipeg on February 7th in the Isles' final game in Canada this season.
Home and Road
The Isles are 17-20-7 overall; they are 7-11-2 at home and 10-9-5 on the road.
Philadelphia is 20-20-6 overall; they are 10-11-1 at home and 10-9-5 on the road.
East and West
The Isles are 11-14-3 against the East (4-5-2 vs. Metropolitan and 7-9-1 vs. Atlantic) and 6-6-4 against the West (4-2-2 vs. Central and 2-4-2 vs. Pacific).
Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:
1. David Poile 1,531
2. Lou Lamoriello 1,461
3. Glen Sather 1,319
Leaders of the Pack
Lou Lamoriello (1,461) and Patrick Roy (167) have combined for 1,628 career wins as general manager and coach. That is the highest in the NHL among active combinations by a wide margin.
First Things First
The Isles are 8-4-4 when scoring first and are 9-16-3 when allowing the opening goal.
The Shots
Isles 8-6-15=29
Philadelphia 8-11-5=24
The Isles are 9-12-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 8-7-4 when the opposition has more shots.
In the Nets
Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves; he is 14-13-4 this season and 9-3-2 vs. Philadelphia.
Samuel Ersson made 26 saves; he is 12-7-2 this season and 2-0-0 vs the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 2-4 (6:51) but allowed a shorthanded goal; Philadelphia was 0-4 (8:00).
The Isles are 8-2-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 9-18-6 when they do not. The Isles are 9-10-6 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-10-1 when they do not.
Three is (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles are 16-4-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-16-3 when they do not.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 8-5-7 in games decided by a single goal including 4-5 in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-8 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 3-1-1 on the front end and 2-3-0 on the back end this season. The next back-to-back will be January 24th-25th when they host division foes Philadelphia and Carolina.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Noah Dobson (25:08); Philadelphia: Travis Sanheim (26:34)
Bo Horvat led Isles forwards (22;23).
Face-offs
Isles 27, Philadelphia 30 (47%)
Bo Horvat won 11 of 22 for the Isles; Morgan Frost won 10 of 16 for Philadelphia.
Hit Count
Isles 14 (Maxim Tsyplakov -3)
Philadelphia 27 (Garnet Hathaway-6)
Fights
None. Season total: 4 (Mayfield, Wahlstrom, Martin-2)
Blocked Shots
Isles 13 (Noah Dobson and Casey Cizikas -3)
Philadelphia 24 (Two with 3)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 71, Philadelphia 54
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 55, Philadelphia 35
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Mathew Barzal +19
Philadelphia: Matvei Michkov +4
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 11, Philadelphia 14
5-on-5: Isles 5, Philadelphia 9
Scratches
(Mike Reilly-IR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Hudson Fasching-INJ), (Simon Holmstrom – IR), (Alex Romanov-INJ)
Games Lost to injury: 153. (Last season's total: 181)
The Ironmen
Brock Nelson is the Islanders' ironman, having played 210 consecutive games. Kyle Palmieri (160) has also played every game since the start of last season.
Most Overtime Goals, Career (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 11
2. Brock Nelson 8
3. Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey 6
5. Bo Horvat, Mathew Barzal, Thomas Hickey, and Anthony Beauvillier 5
Most Overtime Assists, Career (Islanders)
1. Mathew Barzal 16
2. John Tavares 12
Most Overtime Points, Career (Islanders)
1. John Tavares 23
2. Mathew Barzal 21
3. Brock Nelson 18
Barzal has a point on 21 of the 41 overtime goals that the Isles have scored since he became a regular in 2016-17.
National TV Games
The Isles are 0-3-0 in games that air on one of the NHL's US national broadcast partners, with seven games remaining. The next national games will stream on January 28th on ESPN+/Hulu, as the Isles host the Avs and January 30th on ESPN+/Hulu as the Isles visit the Flyers. The remaining five national telecasts are all scheduled in April.
Matinee Isles
The Isles are 0-4-1 in matinee games this season, with six games remaining. The next matinee will be on March 1st vs Nashville. The NHL considers games that start before 5:00 local time to be afternoon contests. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Isles are 13-16-11 in matinees.
Challenges
Isles: 4 successful, 3 failures (No offsides -PIT 11/5, No goalie interference – SEA 11/16, Goalie Interference 11/29, goalie interference – TOR 12/31, no goalie interference – BOS 1/5, offsides-VEG 1/9, goalie interference – OTT 1/14)
Opponents: 5 successful, 2 failures (No Goalie Interference -UTA 10/10, Offside-VAN 11/14, Goalie Interference-STL 11/23, Offside -BUF 11/30, No Goalie Interference-CHI 12/15, Goalie Interference – PIT 12/28. Offside 12/31)
Quickies (Two goals in under a minute)
For (1): CHI 12/12
Vs (1): CHI 12/15
Quick Responses (One team scoring within a minute of other team)
Isles responses (3): BUF 11/1, CAR 12/7, BOS 1/5
Opponent responses (6): UTA 10/10 (2), SEA 11/16, CHI 12/15, TOR 12/31, BOS 1/5
Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins
For (1): Vs. PIT 11/5 (Trailed 3-1, won 4-3 (SO))
Vs (2): Vs. NJ 11/9 (Led 3-1, Lost 4-3 (OT)), WSH 11/29 Led 4-2, Lost 5-4 (SO))
Last Minute Heroes (Tying or go-ahead goals in the final three minutes of the third period):
For (3): Maxim Tsyplakov 10/10 vs. UTA (17:53, GAG but lost in OT); Anders Lee 11/12 @ EDM (17:20-GTG; EDM won in OT); Mathew Barzal 1/11 vs UTA (18:35-GAG)
Vs (7): Josh Doan 10/10 vs. UTA (18:06- GTG; UTA won in OT); Cole Caufield 10/19 vs MTL (17:50-GTG; NYI won in SO); Jesper Bratt 10/25 at NJD (18:31-GTG; NYI won in OT); Stefan Noesen 11/9 vs NJ (19:10-GTG; NJD won in OT); Lucas Raymond 11/21 at DET (19:09-GAG); 12/15 Connor Bedard at CHI (19:06-GAG); Bobby McMann 1/2 vs. TOR (17:01- GAG)
OT Winners
For (2): Bo Horvat 10/25 at NJD (1:09), Bo Horvat 1/5 @ BOS (3:10)
Vs (6): Dylan Guenther 10/10 vs. UTA (2:18); Jake Neighbours 10/17 @ STL (2:04); Jack Hughes 11/9 vs NJD (2:35); Leon Draisaitl 11/12 @ EDM (1:52); Jakub Chychrun 11/29 @ WAS (1:20); Nick Suzuki 12/3 @ MTL (2:39)
Shootout Winners
For (2): Noah Dobson 10/19 vs MTL, Bo Horvat 11/5 vs PIT
Vs (1): Andrei Kuzmenko 11/19 @ CGY
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,057 ***
4. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 5. Brock Nelson 884 *** 6. Clark Gillies 872 *** 7. Casey Cizikas 859 *** 8. Matt Martin 848 *** 9. Bob Bourne 814 *** 10. Anders Lee 803 …
26. Claude Lapointe 535 *** 27. Tomas Jonsson 532 *** i28. Pat LaFontaine and Ryan Pulock 530 *** 30. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 31. Adam Pelech 524 *** 32. Mathew Barzal 523 *** 33. Nick Leddy 518 *** 34. Dave Lewis 514 *** 35. Scott Mayfield 511
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 ***
4. Clark Gillies 304 *** 5. Pat LaFontaine, Brent Sutter, and Brock Nelson 287 *** 8. Anders Lee 280 …
20. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 133…
29. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 111
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 …
8. Patrick Flatley 328 *** 9. Brent Sutter and Mathew Barzal 323…
14. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 15. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 16. Brock Nelson 269…
19. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 21. Anders Lee 209…
25. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 26. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 28. Noah Dobson 168 *** 29. Jean Potvin 167 *** 30. Jeff Norton 166 *** 31. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 32. Ryan Pulock 157…
35. Travis Green 145 *** 36. Mark Streit and Casey Cizikas 139
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
7. Josh Bailey 580 *** 8. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 9. Brock Nelson 556 …
13. Derek King 499 *** 14. Anders Lee 489 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 16. Mathew Barzal 456…
28. Jason Blake and Steve Thomas 258 *** 30. Casey Cizikas 250
+/-
1. Bryan Trottier +467 ***2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…
15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 16. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 17. Adam Pelech +75 *** 18. Garry Howatt +75 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Ryan Pulock +58 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 23. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 24. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 25. Gord Lane +48
Defense Goals
1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** 3. Kenny Jonsson 57 ***
4. Stefan Persson 52 *** 5. Ryan Pulock 50 *** 6. Jean Potvin 46 *** 7. Nick Leddy and Noah Dobson 45…
14. Vladimir Malakhov and Scott Mayfield 27 *** 16. Adam Pelech and four others 26
Defense Assists
1. Denis Potvin 742*** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…
5. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 6. Noah Dobson 168 *** 7. Jean Potvin 167 *** 8. Jeff Norton 166 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 156 ***10. Mark Streit 139 *** 11. Adam Pelech 121…
17. Bryan Berard 100 *** 18. Vladimir Malakhov 98 *** 19. Johnny Boychuk and Scott Mayfield 96
Defense Points
1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…
5. Kenny Jonsson 232 *** 6. Jean Potvin and Noah Dobson 213 *** 8. Ryan Pulock 206…
10. Mark Streit 179 *** 11. Roman Hamrlik 153 *** 12. Adam Pelech 147…
18. Gerry Hart 128 *** 19. Vladimir Malakhov 125 *** 20. Scott Mayfield 123
Goalie Games
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 ***
4. Kelly Hrudey 241 *** 5. Ilya Sorokin 223 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 193 *** 7. Tommy Salo 187 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 177*** 9. Glenn Healy 176 *** 10. Semyon Varlamov 173
Wins
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130 ***
4. Ilya Sorokin 108 …
7. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 8. Roland Melanson 77 *** 9. Semyon Varlamov 76
Shutouts
1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Ilya Sorokin 20 ***
4. Rick DiPietro and Semyon Varlamov 16
On the Farm
Bridgeport is 8-23-2-2 following a 4-0 loss to Springfield on Wednesday.
Brian Pinho, the team's All-Star selection, leads the team with 17 goals. Chris Terry's 22 assists and 29 points pace the Baby Isles in those categories.
The homestand concludes with games Friday against Syracuse and Saturday against Springfield.
Season Series Stats
Philadelphia leads the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The next meeting will be on January 24th at UBS Arena.
This was the Flyers' second straight win at UBS Arena, but their first regulation win in their last ten games on Long Island.
UP NEXT
SATURDAY, JANUARY 18th –SAN JOSE AT ISLES 7:30pm
[MSGSN (pre-game at 7:00), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, Isles + UBS Arena App]
The Isles will face their third straight opponent that they have had a lot of recent success on Saturday as they entertain San Jose.
The Isles are 4-0-4 in their last eight games overall and 4-0-2 in their last six home games with the Sharks.
Brent Sutter will enter the Islanders' Hall of Fame prior to the contest.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment