The Skinny: Isles 6, San Jose 3

"The Skinny"  

By Eric Hornick

 

Game 5

Isles 6, San Jose 3

Frans Nielsen assisted on a Josh Bailey 2^nd period goal for his 200^th career assist and later scored his 100^th goal (and 300^th point) into an empty net as the Isles rallied from 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 deficits for a come-from-behind 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks before a crowd of 11,577 at Barclays Center.  The Isles, who moved into first place in the Metropolitan Division, have won three straight games and have earned points in all four games (3-0-1) in their new home.

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

13:04    SJS      Joe Pavelski (2) ASST: Justin Braun (1), Joe Thornton (2)            1 - 0 SJS         

 

2ND PERIOD

00:21    NYI       Johnny Boychuk (1) ASST: Ryan Strome (2), John Tavares (4)     1 - 1 Tie           

00:41    SJS      Nikolay Goldobin (1) ASST: Joe Thornton (3), Justin Braun (2)     2 - 1 SJS         

02:27    NYI       PPG - Anders Lee (2) ASST: Ryan Strome (3), John Tavares (5)   2 - 2 Tie           

09:20    SJS      Joel Ward (1) ASST: Matt Nieto (2), Alex Stalock (1)       3 - 2 SJS         

13:58    NYI       Josh Bailey (2) ASST: Frans Nielsen (2), Kyle Okposo (3)            3 - 3 Tie           

 

3RD PERIOD

04:18    NYI       Kyle Okposo (2) ASST: Josh Bailey (1)  4 - 3 NYI          

11:10    NYI       Brock Nelson (2) ASST: Mikhail Grabovski (3), Nikolay Kulemin (2)          5 - 3 NYI          

17:02    NYI       EN - Frans Nielsen (1) ASST: Kyle Okposo (4), Calvin de Haan (1)           6 - 3 NYI

           

The Skinny

John Tavares now has three straight multi-point games… Kyle Okposo moved into 20^th place on the all-time Isles goal list (passing Steve Thomas, Matt Moulson and Mark Parrish) with his 119^th career goal…The Isles have now outscored their opponents 8-3 in the third period this season…Johnny Boychuk's goal was the first allowed by San Jose in the second period this season (80:21)…Cal Clutterbuck played in his 500^th NHL game.

The Penalty Shot

Mikhail Grabovski was awarded a penalty shot with 2:13 to play in the first period after he was hooked by Brenden Dillon but he was stopped by Alex Stalock.  It was the Isles' 2^nd penalty shot of the season (Tavares on Monday vs. Winnipeg) and the sixth in the NHL.  All 6 have been stopped.

It was the 59^th penalty shot in Isles history; only 15 have been converted successfully.

Put It in the Books

Frans Nielsen is the 28th Islander to score 100 goals, the 16th Islander to have 200 assists and the 19th Islander to record 300 points.

The Shots:

Isles           10-12-12=34

San Jose     10-8-7=25

 

First Times in a Long Time

The Isles scored six goal for the first time since February 14^th vs Columbus (6-3 win) as they extended a winning streak to three games for the first time since a 4-game streak in February.

 

The Isles had goals from six different players for the first time since January 19^th vs. Philadelphia (in a 7-4 win).

 

First Time in a Ridiculously Long Time

Isles are 3-0-1 on Barclays Center ice.  It's their best start at home since 1984-85 (4-0-0).

 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 3-1-1 overall; 3-0-1 at home and 0-1-0 on the road.  

San Jose is 4-1-0 overall; 1-0-0 at home and 3-1-0 on the road.  The Sharks had opened 4-0-0 for the third time in the last four seasons.

By Division

The Isles are 0-0-0 in Division games and are 3-1-1 in games against other divisions. They are 0-0-0 vs. the Atlantic Division, 2-1-1 vs. Central Division, and 1-0-0 vs. the Pacific Division. 

The Isles finished last season 21-6-3 against the Met and 26-22-4 against other Divisions. 

In the Nets

Jaroslav Halak made 22 saves in his season debut.  He is 6-5-0 in his career against San Jose.

Alex Stalock made 28 saves in his season debut.  He is 0-1-1 in his career against the Isles.

Power Plays

The Islanders were 1-3 on the power play, while San Jose was 0-2. 

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

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 3-0-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-1-1 when they do not.  The Isles were 40-8-4 when they scored at least goals (including SO winners) last season.

One Goal Games

The Isles are 1-0-1 in games decided by a single goal including 1-0-0 in regulation. They are 0-1 in games decided in overtime and are 0-0 in shootouts.  The Isles are 1-0 in games in which an empty-net goal is scored.

First Goal

The Isles are 1-0-0 when they score first and are 2-1-1 when they allow the opening goal.   

Second to The One

Jack Capuano is the 2^nd winningest coach in Islander history. Capuano is 168-149-47 behind the Islander bench. Among the 9 New York teams, only the Giants' Tom Coughlin and the Yankees' Joe Girardi have led their respective teams longer than Capuano.

Most games coached (Islanders):

1.     Al Arbour 1,500

2.     Jack Capuano 364

3.     Mike Milbury 191

4.     Terry Simpson 187

5.     Scott Gordon 181

 

Most wins by Islander coaches:

1.     Al Arbour 740

2.     Jack Capuano 168

3.     Terry Simpson 81

4.     Peter Laviolette 77

5.     Ted Nolan 74

They Tweeted It

@GreenLanternJet Winnipeg, Nashville and San Jose are a combined 12-3. 0-3 vs. #Isles

@kupkrazy The New York Islanders, Destroyer of Perfect Records.  #Isles

@CJGib13 Everything coming up roses for the New York orange and blue teams tonight #Isles #LGM

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 0-0-1 in the front-end and 0-1-0 on the back end of back-to-backs this season.  Their next back-to-back will be on October 23^rd (home vs. Boston) and 24^th (at St. Louis).

Tired vs. Rested

·         The Isles are 0-1-0 when both teams played the night before.

·         The Isles are 1-0-0 when they are rested and their opponents are not.

·         The Isles are 0-0-0 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Travis Hamonic (22:47); San Jose: Brenden Dillon (26:46).

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (2-1-1), Johnny Boychuk (1-0-0).

Ryan Strome led Isles forwards with 18:45 of ice-time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (1-0-1), Ryan Strome (2-0-0), Tied (0-1-0). 

Face-offs

Isles 37, San Jose 28 (57%)

Casey Cizikas won 9 of 13; Joe Pavelski won 10 of 16.  

The Isles won at least 56% of the draws in each period. The Isles won 2 of 5 on the power play and 3 of 3 on the penalty kill.

Heavy Hitters

Isles 39, San Jose 17.  Matt Martin led the Isles with five hits.

Fights

None.  Season total - 0

Blocked Shots

The Isles were credited with 12 blocked shots; Johnny Boychuk and Thomas Hickey each had 2.

For the Corsi Crowd

All situations:  Isles 58, San Jose 49

Even-Strength: Isles 48, San Jose 45. The Corsi stat measures shots attempted, both for and against (including blocks). 

Marek Zidlicky led the Isles with a +9 even-strength Corsi rating and a team-leading 68% of Corsi For events. Joe Pavelski led San Jose with a +10 rating.

Ironmen

·         Nikolay Kulemin -155 (68 for Toronto and 87 for the Isles)

·         Brock Nelson  -140 (all for Isles)

·         Marek ZIdlicky -140 (114 for New Jersey, 21 for Detroit and 5 for Isles)

Missing Men

Thomas Hickey was activated from injured reserve and Jaroslav Halak also returned from injury.  Eric Boulton is on injured reserve; Thomas Greiss, Brian Strait and Steve Bernier were scratched.

The Isles have lost 9 games this season due to injury/illness.

All-time Islander Leader Board:

John Tavares has:

·         177 goals (12^th all-time,7 behind Billy Harris and 29 behind John Tonelli)

·         232 assists (15th all-time, 17 behind Tomas Jonsson and 27 behind Billy Harris)

·         409 points (13^th all-time and 34 behind Billy Harris)

·         437 games played (33rd among Islander skaters all-time, and 14 behind Scott Lachance)

Kyle Okposo has:

·         119 goals (tied-19th all-time with Alexei Yashin and 2 behind Duane Sutter)

·         192 assists (18^th all-time, 1 behind Pierre Turgeon and 8 behind Frans Nielsen)

·         311 points (18^th all-time, 20 behind Ziggy Palffy and 22 behind Tomas Jonsson)

·         455 games played (31^st among Islander skaters all-time, 4 behind Trent Hunter and 13 behind Mariusz Czerkawski)

Frans Nielsen has:

·         100 goals (28th all-time, 1 behind Anders Kallur and 5 behind Ed Westfall)

·         200 assists (16th all-time and 32 behind John Tavares)

·         300 points (19th all-time and 11 behind Kyle Okposo)

·         530 games played (tied-20^th among Islander skaters all-time with Pat LaFontaine, 2 behind Tomas Jonsson and 5 behind Claude Lapointe)

 Josh Bailey has:

·         138 assists (tied-31^st all-time with Greg Gilbert, 1 behind Mark Streit, 2 behind Steve Thomas and 7 behind Travis Green)

·         221 points (34th all-time and 2 behind Matt Moulson and 8 behind Trent Hunter and Benoit Hogue)

·         481 games played (26^th among Islander skaters, 12 behind Ed Westfall and 28 behind Mick Vukota and Rich Pilon)

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 1 game to 0 and 2 points to 0.  The series will conclude on November 10^th in San Jose.

The Isles are 3-2-2 in their last seven games vs. San Jose.

On The Farm

The Sound Tigers are an AHL-best 5-0-0-0 after wins over Springfield on Friday and Providence on Saturday.  Defensemen Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech both scored goals in Saturday's win.

Bracken Kearns and Joe Whitney are each 3-3-6, while Pelech and Taylor Beck are both +9.  Bridgeport host Wilkes-Barre - Scranton at 5pm on Sunday.

Up Next

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20th –ISLANDERS AT COLUMBUS 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Pre-game at 6:30), 91.5 WNYE-FM. 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]

After opening the season with five games against the Western Conference, the Isles will play their first of 30 divisional games as they visit Columbus.

The Isles went 2-0-2 vs. Columbus last season, dropping a pair of shootouts in April, including the final regular season game at Nassau Coliseum. 

This is the first of three trips to Columbus for the Isles, one of two teams that the Isles will face five times this season. (The Isles will host Philadelphia three times)

The Blue Jackets are 0-6-0 and are the only pointless team in the NHL.

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

Making a Wish Come True

You bought a shirt ... you helped raise over $33,000.  Now 60 Minutes is showing where your money goes -- and how a wish comes true.
Tune into 60 Minutes on your local CBS station this Sunday, October 18, to catch a rare glimpse of how wishes come together, from start to finish. During the Make-A-Wish® segment this Sunday, you’ll follow along on the entire wish process and meet some incredible wish granters along the way. It takes a lot of caring individuals – doctors, nurses, social workers, sponsors, donors and more than 27,000 volunteers – to make wishes come true. It takes people like Kendra – one of the wish granters featured on 60 Minutes and a former wish child. Since Kendra became a Make-A-Wish volunteer in 2005, she has granted 28 wishes. This Sunday, experience the joy of a wish come true and the power of a community coming together. We invite you to learn more about the Make-A-Wish mission and hear the stories of the incredible people who make wishes possible on Sunday’s broadcast.

The Skinny: Isles 4, Nashville 3

"The Skinny"  

By Eric Hornick

 

Game 4

Isles 4, Nashville 3

Nikolay Kulemin broke a 2-2 tie in the third period with his 100^th career goal and the Islanders overcame a slow start for a come-from-behind 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators before a crowd of 10,542 at Barclays Center.  The Isles have won two straight games and have earned points in all three games (2-0-1) in their new home. Thomas Greiss made a career-high 44 saves to improve to 2-0-1 on the season.

The Scoring:

1st Period

02:14    NSH     Austin Watson (1) ASST: NONE             1 - 0 NSH         

 

2nd Period

04:22    NSH     Filip Forsberg (2) ASST: James Neal (1) 2 - 0 NSH         

05:02    NYI       Anders Lee (1) ASST: John Tavares (3), Ryan Strome (1) 2 - 1 NSH         

11:56    NYI       Kyle Okposo (1) ASST: Mikhail Grabovski (1)       2 - 2 Tie           

 

3rd Period

06:42    NYI       Nikolay Kulemin (1) ASST: Brock Nelson (2), Mikhail Grabovski (2)            3 - 2 NYI          

11:49    NYI       John Tavares (3) ASST: Anders Lee (2), Travis Hamonic (1)           4 - 2 NYI          

14:36    NSH     James Neal (1) ASST: Filip Forsberg (2), Roman Josi (1)   4 - 3 NYI

The Skinny

John Tavares now has goals in six straight games vs. Nashville… Kyle Okposo moved into a tie for 20^th on the all-time Isles goal list (with Steve Thomas, Matt Moulson and Mark Parrish) with his 118^th career goal…It's the most shots the Predators have ever had in a game vs. the Isles…The Isles have now outscored their opponents 5-3 in the third period this season…John Tavares picked up a minor penalty, raising his team leading penalty total to 16 minutes…Anders Lee's goal was the first allowed by Nashville in the first two periods this season (145:02); Nashville had scored six times… Devin Berg made his NHL officiating debut in this game…The Isles had three players with multiple points…Dynasty child Eric Nystrom played 9:17 for Nashville…Mike Fisher played in his 950^th NHL game.

Put It in the Books

John Tavares scored the game-winning goal for the second straight game.  It's his 10^th game-winning goal since the start of last season, and the 33^rd of his career. Since the start of the 2011-12 season, only Claude Giroux (302) has more points than Tavares (286, tied with Evgeni Malkin).

The Shots:

Isles                7-13-8=28

Nashville     17-17-13=47

 

First Times in a Long Time

 

It's the most shots the Isles have allowed since December 10, 2013 in San Jose (48) and the most that they have allowed at home since January 11, 2011 vs. Vancouver (51).

 

It's the first time that the Isles have been outshot by at least 19 shots since that 2013 game in San Jose (48-28) and the first time it's happened at home since March 24, 2011 when Atlanta outshot them 34-15.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 2-1-1 overall; 2-0-1 at home and 0-1-0 on the road.  

Nashville is 3-1-0 overall; 2-0-0 at home and 1-1-0 on the road. 

By Division

The Isles are 0-0-0 in Division games and are 2-1-1 in games against other divisions. They are 0-0-0 vs. the Atlantic Division, 2-1-1 vs. Central Division, and 0-0-0 vs. the Pacific Division. 

The Isles finished last season 21-6-3 against the Met and 26-22-4 against other Divisions. 

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 44 saves to improve to 2-0-1.  He is 3-2-0 in his career against Nashville.

Pekka Rinne made 24 saves but falls to 3-1-0.  He is 3-3-1 in his career against the Isles.

Power Plays

The Islanders were 0-2 on the power play, while Nashville was also 0-2. 

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

Three is a Magic Number

Last season, the Isles went 40-8-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and 7-20-3 when they do not. 

This year, the Isles are 2-0-0 when they score at least three goals (including SO winners) and are 0-1-1 when they do not.

One Goal Games

The Isles are 1-0-1 in games decided by a single goal including 1-0-0 in regulation. They are 0-1 in games decided in overtime and are 0-0 in shootouts.  The Isles are 1-0 in games in which an empty-net goal is scored.

First Goal

The Isles are 1-0-0 when they score first and are 1-1-1 when they allow the opening goal.   

Second to The One

Jack Capuano is the 2^nd winningest coach in Islander history. Capuano is 167-149-47 behind the Islander bench. Among the 9 New York teams, only the Giants' Tom Coughlin and the Yankees' Joe Girardi have led their respective teams longer than Capuano.

Most games coached (Islanders):

1.     Al Arbour 1,500

2.     Jack Capuano 363

3.     Mike Milbury 191

4.     Terry Simpson 187

5.     Scott Gordon 181

 

Most wins by Islander coaches:

1.     Al Arbour 740

2.     Jack Capuano 167

3.     Terry Simpson 81

4.     Peter Laviolette 77

5.     Ted Nolan 74

They Tweeted It

@IslesWild #isles haven't hit their stride yet, still beating good teams with some help from Greiss. Good sign!

@SNstats #Isles John Tavares has recorded a multi-point game in each of his last 4 meetings vs the #Preds.

@heyyitsnickyy Isles beat the Predators and stopped their winning streak 😊 great night to be an Islanders fan 💙 @NYIslanders #nyisles #isles #yesyesyes

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 0-0-1 in the front-end and 0-1-0 on the back end of back-to-backs this season.  Their next back-to-back will be on October 23^rd (home vs. Boston) and 24^th (at St. Louis).

Tired vs. Rested

·         The Isles are 0-1-0 when both teams played the night before.

·         The Isles are 0-0-0 when they are rested and their opponents are not.

·         The Isles are 0-0-0 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Johnny Boychuk 25:01; Nashville: Roman Josi 25:59

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (1-1-1), Johnny Boychuk (1-0-0).

Ryan Strome led Isles forwards with 18:17 of ice-time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (1-0-1), Ryan Strome (1-0-0), Tied (0-1-0). 

Face-offs

Isles 31, Nashville 31 (50%)

John Tavares won 7 of 12; Paul Gaustad won 12 of 15.  

The Isles won 15 of 25 in the 2^nd period but only 16 of 37 in the other two periods. The Isles won 3 of 5 on the power play and 0 of 2 on the penalty kill.

Heavy Hitters

Isles 43, Nashville 33.  Brian Strait and Casey Cizikas led the Isles with six hits.

Fights

None.  Season total - 0

Blocked Shots

The Isles were credited with 12 blocked shots; Calvin deHaan had 3.

For the Corsi Crowd

All situations:  Isles 48, Nashville 76

Even-Strength: Isles 40, Nashville 64. The Corsi stat measures shots attempted, both for and against (including blocks). 

Brock Nelson, celebrating his 24^th birthday, led the Isles with a +3 even-strength Corsi rating and a team-leading 59% of Corsi For events. Craig Smith and Colin Wilson led Nashville with a +13 rating.

Ironmen

·         Nikolay Kulemin -154 (68 for Toronto and 86 for the Isles)

·         Brock Nelson  -139 (all for Isles)

·         Marek ZIdlicky -139 (114 for New Jersey, 21 for Detroit and 4 for Isles)

Missing Men

Thomas Hickey is on injured reserve. Jaroslav Halak missed the game with an injury.  Eric Boulton and Steve Bernier were scratched as the Isles used the same roster for the fourth straight game.

The Isles have lost 8 games this season due to injury/illness.

All-time Islander Leader Board:

John Tavares has:

·         177 goals (12^th all-time and 7 behind Billy Harris)

·         230 assists (15th all-time, 19 behind Tomas Jonsson and 29 behind Billy Harris)

·         407 points (13^th all-time and 36 behind Billy Harris)

·         436 games played (33rd among Islander skaters all-time, and 15 behind Scott Lachance)

Kyle Okposo has:

·         118 goals (Tied-20th all-time with Steve Thomas, Matt Moulson and Mark Parrish)

·         190 assists (18^th all-time, 3 behind Pierre Turgeon and 9 behind Frans Nielsen)

·         308 points (18^th all-time, 23 behind Ziggy Palffy and 25 behind Tomas Jonsson)

·         454 games played (31^st among Islander skaters all-time and 5 behind Trent Hunter)

Frans Nielsen has:

·         99 goals (tied-28th all-time with Trent Hunter and 2 behind Anders Kallur)

·         199 assists (16th all-time and 31 behind John Tavares)

·         298 points (19th all-time and 10 behind Kyle Okposo)

·         529 games played (21^st among Islander skaters all-time, 1 behind Pat LaFontaine and 3 behind Tomas Jonsson)

 Josh Bailey has:

·         137 assists (32^nd all-time, 1 behind Greg Gilbert, 2 behind Mark Streit, and 3 behind Steve Thomas)

·         219 points (tied-34th all-time with Mikko Makela and 5 behind Matt Moulson)

·         480 games played (26^th among Islander skaters and 13 behind Ed Westfall)

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 1 game to 0 and 2 points to 0.  The series will conclude on March 17^th in Nashville.

The Isles have won four straight from Nashville for the first time ever.

On The Farm

The Sound Tigers are 3-0-0-0 after a win over Springfield on Tuesday.  Bracken Kearns has led the offense with five points. Bridgeport travels to Providence on Friday.

Up Next

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17th –SAN JOSE AT ISLANDERS 7:30PM
[MSG+ (Pre-game at 7:00), 91.5 WNYE-FM. 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]

The Isles entertain the Sharks in the final game of their three-game homestand.  The teams split a pair of games last season, with the Isles winning in a shootout in October on Long Island and dropping a 3-1 decision in San Jose on November 1^st.

The Sharks are off to a 3-0-0 start for new coach Peter DeBoer; the Isles will catch San Jose on the back-end of back-to-backs as the Sharks play in New Jersey on Friday.

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

The Skinny on: Ducks make a young fan's @Wish come true

I spent several months last season talking about Make-A-Wish(R) as they were the beneficiary from the over $33,000 we raised from the #ItHappenedattheColiseum shirts. 

If you have a minute, and a tissue, check out what happened in SoCal last night for one of the Wish kids..

http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?hdpid=49&id=845417&navid=nhl:topheads

The next time you wear your It Happened garb, remember that you helped make 4 wishes come true!  I'll never forget it.