The Skinny: Isles 3, Pittsburgh 2 (SO)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 12

Isles 3, Pittsburgh 2

Thomas Greiss made 29 saves, including an overtime poke check on Sidney Crosby, and Josh Bailey scored shorthanded during the game and added the winning goal in the shootout as the Isles defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 before a crowd of 10,910 at Barclays Center.

The Isles have won four straight games, all against divisional foes.  The Isles are 5-0-0 on the season against their Metro rivals.  It's their best start against Metro foes since the division was created in 2012-13 and the first time they have won their first four divisional games since they opened 6-0-0 in 1982-83.

The Isles have earned points in five straight games (4-0-1) and join the Penguins at the top of the Metro standings with 15 points (Pittsburgh has played one fewer game.)

The Scoring: 

1st Period 

Dominik Simon (3) Jake Guentzel, Olli Maatta 06:20 PIT 1,NYI 0 PPG

2nd Period

Josh Bailey (3) Casey Cizikas 14:46 PIT 1,NYI 1 SHG

3rd Period

Anders Lee (5) Thomas Hickey, Brock Nelson 10:11 PIT 1,NYI 2

Evgeni Malkin (7) Kris Letang, Phil Kessel 12:02 PIT 2,NYI 2 PPG

OT

No Goals

The Shootout

NYI Jordan Eberle- no goal

PIT Evgeni Malkin- no goal

NYI Brock Nelson- no goal

PIT Sidney Crosby- no goal

NYI Josh Bailey -goal/GDG

PIT Kris Letang- no goal

The Skinny  

Josh Bailey extended his point streak to seven games with his fifth career shorthanded goal; his assist streak ended at five.…Mathew Barzal was held without a point, leaving him with 97 points in 96 career NHL games.  Connor McDavid is the only NHL player in the last decade to record 100 points in his first 100 NHL games... Thru 12 games, the Isles have the same record as last season (7-4-1) but have allowed eight fewer goals…The Isles have won their last seven Metro games (going back to last season) … Evgeni Malkin extended his point streak to nine games (6-11-17) with his third period goal but the Isles stopped Sidney Crosby's goal streak at four; it's only the 2nd time in the last 16 meetings that the Isles held Crosby without a point.…The Isles have outscored their opponents 15-7 in the second period… The Isles finished with 26 shots; it's the sixth straight game they finished with 26 or fewer (5-0-1)…This was the Isles first win after allowing the first goal (1-4-0) and their first win after trailing in the first intermission (1-3-0); it was also the first game this season to be tied after 40 minutes…Casey Cizikas has earned assists in consecutive games…The Isles have scored three shorthanded goals this season (Bailey, Cizikas, Filppula)…Bailey's shootout goal was his 7th in 19 attempts (36.8%); five of the seven have been game-deciding goals…Ryan Pulock played 26:51 to match his career high (4/8/18 @ Detroit); it was also the most ice-time for any Islander this season…The Isles lowered their team GAA to 2.50, which is 5th -best in the NHL…This was the third time since 2012 that the Isles and Pens have played a home-and-home series; the Isles have won all six games in the three series.

The NHL Record (Tied)

The Isles' shootout win was their 75th all-time, tying the Penguins for the most in NHL history.  The Isles are 75-59 while Pittsburgh is 75-52.   It was the 14th shootout between the teams, with the Isles winning nine of them.

It's Been a Long Time Coming

Josh Bailey's shorthanded goal was the 5th of his career but his first since March 29, 2012 (also vs. Pittsburgh).   It was Bailey's 127th career goal, matching Jason Blake's total in an Islander uniform (19th place).

Metro Men

The Isles are playing five straight games against Metro opponents.  The Isles are 4-0-0 in this stretch:

10/27 W 6-1 @ Phi Flyers

10/28 W 2-1 @ Car Hurricanes

10/30 W 6-3 @ Pitt Penguins

11/1  W 3-2 (SO) vs. Pitt Penguins 

11/3 Vs. NJ Devils

It's only the 2nd time that the Isles have ever played at least five consecutive games against Metro opponents.  The Isles went 5-1-0 in a six-game stretch of Metro opponents in November 2014.

 

This Season vs. Last Season

This Season: 7-4-1 (15 points), with 39 goals scored and 30 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 7-4-1 (15 points), with 45 goals scored and 38 goals allowed  (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 6-0-1 when scoring first and 1-4-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles         10-8-6-2=26

Pittsburgh 9-13-6-3=31

The Isles are 0-2-0 when they outshoot their opponents and are 7-2-1 when they are outshot. 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 7-4-1 overall; 2-1-1 at home (all in Brooklyn) and 5-3-0 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Pittsburgh is 6-2-3 overall; 2-2-1 at home and 4-0-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 5-0-0 in Division games and 2-4-1 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 5-0-1 against the East and 2-4-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made  29 saves  (plus three more in the shootout) to improve to 3-2-0 on the season and 4-1-0 in his career against Pittsburgh.  He is now 9-8 all-time in shootouts.

Matt Murray allowed four goals on the first nine Islander shots; he falls to 4-2-1 on the season and 2-3-1 in his career against the Isles. He is 5-5 all-time in shootouts.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play in 2:14 of PP time; Pittsburgh was 2-4 on the power play in 4:51 of PP time but allowed a shorthanded goal.

The Isles are 6-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 1-3-0 when they do not.  The Isles are 1-2-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-2-0 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 5-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-3-1 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 3-1-1 in games decided by a single goal including 1-1 in regulation. They are 1-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-0 in shootouts.  The Isles are 0-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs 

The Isles are 1-1-0 in the front half and 2-0-0 in the back half. The next back-to-back is on Thanksgiving weekend: Black Friday in New Jersey and at home vs. Pittsburgh on November 23-24. 

 

Tired vs. Rested

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

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

• The Isles are 2-0-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 5-4-0 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (26:51); Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (26:01)

Anders Lee led Isles forwards with 20:14 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (5-1-1), Nick Leddy (2-3-0).

Face-offs

Isles 31, Pittsburgh 33 (48%).

Valtteri Filppula won 12 of 22 for the Isles ;Sidney Crosby won 17 of 32 for Pittsburgh. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period 11/23; 2nd period 8/18; 3rd period 12/21; Overtime 0/2.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 29/56, Power play 1/3, Penalty kill 1/5

Hit Count

Isles 27 (Matt Martin -4)  

Pittsburgh 27 (Jamie Oleksiak-4)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 3 (Mayfield -2, Lee).  

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 11 shots (Matt Martin and Scott Mayfield -2).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 51, Pittsburgh 53 

5-on-5 Isles 42, Pittsburgh 49

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Nick Leddy +7

Pittsburgh: Jamie Oleksiak +7

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 5-4-1 in night games and 2-0-0 in matinees. The next matinee is November 18th vs. Dallas.  

Ironmen

Anders Lee 130, Brock Nelson 107, Mathew Barzal 94

Scratches

(Robin Lehner -injured), Luca Sbisa, Ross Johnston 

Total games lost: 8

Late Heroes

The Isles have not yet scored in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or take the lead:

Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have allowed a goal one time in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or win a game:

10/4 – CAR Hurricanes – Jordan Staal tied game (18:25), but Isles won in overtime.

Offside Challenges

The Isles have not challenged a goal due to an offside this season. 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 

…

6. Mike Bossy 752 *** 7. Josh Bailey 727

Goals

1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …

17. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 18. Anders Lee 129 ***19. Jason Blake and Josh Bailey 127 

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553…

13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 263

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052…

13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 390

Games Played (Goalies)

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 …

10. Garth Snow 127 *** 11.  Thomas Greiss 126

Wins (Goalie)

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130…

6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Glenn Healy 66 *** 8.  Thomas Greiss 65

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series two games to none (and 4 points to 1).  The teams will meet twice in a 5-day period in early December to complete their season series. 

The Isles have earned points in eight of their last nine games vs. Pittsburgh (5-1-3) and are 6-1-1 in their last eight home games against the Pens.

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 4-4-1-0 heading into a 3-in-3 set this weekend that begins on Friday in Springfield.  Saturday's rematch begins a 5-game homestand that continues Sunday afternoon vs. Lehigh Valley.

Leaders:  Goals: Bernier 5; Assists: Aho 6; Points: Dal Colle 8

Up Next

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3rd  — NEW JERSEY AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30pm), WRCN 103.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, Radio.com] 

  

The Isles look for their fifth straight win as they host the New Jersey Devils in the second game of a three game homestand.

It's the first meeting of the season between the teams; last season the Isles won the opening meeting in a shootout before the Devils won the final three matchups to take the season series.  

In the Devils' most recent trip to Brooklyn they defeated the Isles 4-1, ending an 8-game Islander home win streak against the Devs.

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 Mastering the Metro

The Isles have opened 2018-19 with 4 straight divisional wins (Two with Carolina, one with Philly and Pittsburgh).

It's only the fourth time in club history that they have opened the season 4-0-0 in their division

1982-83 Patrick - Won first 6

1981-82 Patrick - Won first 4

1975-76 Patrick - Won first 4  (and went 6-0-1 in first 7)

However, all four of these games have been on the road.

Peter Laviolette's 2001-02 team won their first three divisional road games, went 4-0-1-0 before suffering an OT loss in game 6, and earned points in their first nine games (7-0-1-1)

Al Arbour's 1977-78 team tied their first divisional road game, then won three straight divisional games before tying two more for a 3-0-3 road start in divisional games.

Barry Trotz' 2017-18 squad is the FIRST TEAM IN ISLANDER HISTORY TO WIN THEIR FIRST FOUR DIVISIONAL ROAD GAMES.

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: Isles 6, Pittsburgh 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 11

Isles 6, Pittsburgh 3

The Isles scored five times on their first ten shots and scored six goals in Pittsburgh for the first time since 2003 as they defeated the Penguins 6-3 before a sellout crowd of 18,509 at PPG Paints Arena.

The Isles have won three straight games, as they sweep their road trip (all against divisional foes).  The Isles are 4-0-0 against their Metro rivals.  It's their best start against Metro foes since the division was created in 2012-13 and the first time they have won their first four divisional games since 1982-83.

The Isles have earned points in four straight games (3-0-1) and finish October with a 6-4-1 record despite playing eight out of their first 11 games on the road.

The Scoring: 

1st Period 

Andrew Ladd (3) Valtteri Filppula, Ryan Pulock 10:43 NYI 1,PIT 0

Brock Nelson (6) Josh Bailey, Matt Martin 12:28 NYI 2,PIT 0

Dominik Simon (2) Sidney Crosby, Brian Dumoulin 14:24 NYI 2,PIT 1

Sidney Crosby (6) Jamie Oleksiak 17:41 NYI 2,PIT 2

2nd Period

Matt Martin (3) Casey Cizikas 09:32 NYI 3,PIT 2

Jordan Eberle (2) Mathew Barzal, Nick Leddy 11:56 NYI 4,PIT 2 PPG

Jordan Eberle (3) Mathew Barzal, Adam Pelech 13:49 NYI 5,PIT 2

3rd Period

Evgeni Malkin (6) Phil Kessel, Jamie Oleksiak 01:23 NYI 5,PIT 3

Tom Kuhnhackl (1) Nick Leddy, Ryan Pulock 09:44 NYI 6,PIT 3

The Skinny  

The Isles killed all three Penguin power plays; they went 9-9 on the PK on the road trip…Josh Bailey extended his point streak to six games and his assist streak to five games while Anders Lee saw his point streak end at 4.…Mathew Barzal had two assists, giving him 97 points in 95 career NHL games.  Connor McDavid is the only NHL player in the last decade to record 100 points in his first 100 NHL games...Tom Kuhnhackl is the 371st Islander to score a goal.  It was his first goal since January 2nd…Andrew Ladd has 3 goals in eight games after scoring only three goals after Christmas last season…The Isles' six wins have come by a combined score of 27-8; they have scored at least six goals in three of these wins (all on the road, matching the number of times they scored 6 goals in a road game all last season)…Thomas Greiss appeared in his 125th game as an Isle, in relief of Robin Lehner; it's the 2nd time this season that Greiss has replaced Lehner in the 3rd period of an Isles win …Thru 11 games, the Isles have the same record as last season (6-4-1) but have allowed seven fewer goals…The Isles have won five of their first eight road games and have won five October road games for the first time since 2001-02 (6-0-0)…The Isles have won their last six Metro games (going back to last season) …With the win, the Isles hand the Penguins their first regulation loss since October 6th and move within one point of Pittsburgh for the divisional lead…Evgeni Malkin extended his point streak to eight with his third period goal while Sidney Crosby scored for the 4th straight game; the Isles ended Malkin's assist streak at seven games…The Isles scored six goals in Pittsburgh for the first time since December 31, 2003 (at Mellon Arena)..Nick Leddy had two assists after recording only one in the first ten games… Brock Nelson scored again, giving him five goals in the last five games; 23 of his 105 career goals have come in the 59 games he has played in October.  His 105 goals as an Islander matches Ed Westfall's total in an Isles uniform (29th in Isles history)...The Isles have outscored their opponents 14-7 in the second period… The Isles defense contributed five assists…Jordan Eberle was named the game's 1st star for his two goals; an Isle has been named the star of the game six times this season, and a different player has earned the honor in each game…The Isles finished with 25 shots; it's the fifth straight game they finished with 25 or fewer (4-0-1).

The Injury:

Thomas Greiss replaced Robin Lehner to start the third period.  

Road Warriors

This was the final game of a three-game road trip, and the eighth road game in the first 11 games. 

It's the first time in Isles history they have opened with 8 of 11 on the road.

The Isles now return home for three straight games.  That starts a stretch of 38 of 71 at home, because it all equals out in the end!

Metro Men

The Isles are playing five straight games against Metro opponents.  The Isles are 3-0-0 in this stretch:

10/27 W 6-1 @ Phi Flyers

10/28 W 2-1 @ Car Hurricanes

10/30 W 6-3 @ Pitt Penguins

11/1 Vs. Pitt Penguins 

11/3 Vs. NJ Devils

It's only the 2nd time that the Isles have ever played at least five consecutive games against Metro opponents.  The Isles went 5-1-0 in a six-game stretch of Metro opponents in November 2014.

 

This Season vs. Last Season

This Season: 6-4-1 (13 points), with 36 goals scored and 28 goals allowed

Last Season: 6-4-1 (13 points), with 39 goals scored and 35 goals allowed  (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 6-0-1 when scoring first and 0-4-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles          6-11-8=25

Pittsburgh 15-10-13=38

The Isles are 0-2-0 when they outshoot their opponents and are 6-2-1 when they are outshot. 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 6-4-1 overall; 1-1-1 at home (all in Brooklyn) and 5-3-0 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Pittsburgh is 6-2-2 overall; 2-2-1 at home and 4-0-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 4-0-0 in Division games and 2-4-1 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 4-0-1 against the East and 2-4-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Robin Lehner made 23 saves over the first two periods before being replaced due to injury.  Lehner improved to 4-2-1 this season and 2-3-3 in his career against the Penguins.

Thomas Greiss made 12 saves to earn the "save". 

Matt Murray allowed four goals on the first nine Islander shots; he falls to 4-2-0 on the season and 2-3-0 in his career against the Isles.

Casey Smith allowed two goals on the remaining 16 Islander shots. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-4 on the power play in 7:09 of PP time; Pittsburgh was 0-3 on the power play in 6:00 of PP time.

The Isles are 6-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 0-3-0 when they do not.  The Isles are 1-2-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-2-0 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 4-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-3-1 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 2-1-1 in games decided by a single goal including 1-1 in regulation. They are 1-1 in games decided in overtime and are 0-0 in shootouts.  The Isles are 0-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs 

The Isles are 1-1-0 in the front half and 2-0-0 in the back half. The next back-to-back is on Thanksgiving weekend: Black Friday in New Jersey and at home vs. Pittsburgh on November 23-24. 

 

Tired vs. Rested

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

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

• The Isles are 2-0-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 4-4-0 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (21:47); Pittsburgh: Olli Maatta  (21:29)  

Anders Lee led Isles forwards with 17:16 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (4-1-1), Nick Leddy (2-3-0).

Face-offs

Isles 25, Pittsburgh 28 (47%).

Casey Cizikas won 5 of 8 for the Isles ;Sidney Crosby won 13 of 21 for Pittsburgh. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period 7/17; 2nd period 14/25; 3rd period 4/11.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 22/41, Power play 3/7, Penalty kill 0/5

Hit Count

Isles 27 (Tom Kuhnhackl-6)  

Pittsburgh 33 (Two with 5)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 3 (Mayfield -2, Lee).  

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 20 shots (Adam Pelech and Johnny Boychuk -4).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 40, Pittsburgh 72 

5-on-5 Isles 33, Pittsburgh 55

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Casey Cizikas +1

Pittsburgh: Dominik Simon +21

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 4-4-1 in night games and 2-0-0 in matinees. The next matinee is November 18th vs. Dallas.  

Ironmen

Anders Lee 129, Brock Nelson 106, Mathew Barzal 93

Scratches

(Cal Clutterbuck-upper body), Luca Sbisa, Ross Johnston 

Total games lost: 7

Late Heroes

The Isles have not yet scored in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or take the lead:

Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have allowed a goal one time in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or win a game:

10/4 – CAR Hurricanes – Jordan Staal tied game (18:25), but Isles won in overtime.

Offside Challenges

The Isles have not challenged a goal due to an offside this season. 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 

…

6. Mike Bossy 752 *** 7. Josh Bailey 726

Goals

1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …

17. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 18. Anders Lee 128 ***19. Jason Blake 127 *** 20. Josh Bailey 126 

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553…

13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 263

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052…

13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 389

Games Played (Goalies)

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 …

10. Garth Snow 127 *** 11.  Thomas Greiss 125

Wins (Goalie)

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130…

6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Glenn Healy 66 *** 8.  Thomas Greiss 64

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series one game to none (and 2 points to 0).  This was the front-end of a home-and-home; the team will resume their season series in Brooklyn on Thursday. . 

The Isles are 4-2-3 in their last nine trips to Pittsburgh.

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 4-4-1-0 heading into a 3-in-3 set this weekend.

On Saturday, Travis St. Denis and Steve Bernier scored third period goals as Bridgeport rallied from a 4-3 deficit to win in regulation; Sebastian Aho had three assists.  Seth Helgeson had the Sound Tigers' only goal on Sunday.  Michael Dal Colle missed the weekend with an injury.

Leaders:  Goals: Bernier 5; Assists: Aho 6; Points: Dal Colle 8

Bridgeport begins a home-and-home series on Friday vs. Springfield.  Saturday's rematch begins a five game homestand.

 

Up Next

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1st — PITTSBURGH AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30pm), WRCN 103.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, Radio.com] 

  

The Isles look for their fourth straight win and to complete a sweep of the home-and-home series as they welcome the Penguins to Brooklyn in the first game of a three game homestand.

The Isles have earned points in seven of their last eight games vs. Pittsburgh (4-1-3) and are 5-1-1 in their last seven home games against the Pens.

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 Allowing Fewer Goals

The Isles swept a set of back-to-backs on the road this weekend, and allowed only 1 goal in each game.

It's the first time since 12/31/03 (6-1 W in Pit) & 1/1/04 (0-1 L in Ott) that the Isles have allowed 1 goal or less in each half of a road back-to-back set.  The Isles also allowed 1 goal in back-to-back nights on the road on Apr 3-4, 2002 (1-1 T in Buf; 2-1 W in Bos) but only came up with three points.

To find two road games where the Isles won both games and allowed 1 goal or fewer in each, you have to go back to November 17-18, 1993, when the Isles beat Ottawa and Montreal on consecutive nights, 8-1 and 5-1.  However, even that set has an asterisk as the second game was played in Hamilton ONT as this was one of two seasons that the NHL played two neutral site games.

So to find two games when the Isles went into the other team's building and won on consecutive days, allowing 1 goal or less in each game, you have to go back to March 20-21, 1988.  The Isles won 6-0 in Winnipeg (against the original Jets) and 5-1 in Minnesota (against the North Stars).  The shutout in Winnipeg was the final one of Billy Smith's career.

The Isles have allowed only five goals in their five wins this season.  So what, you say?  It's the first time in over 40 years that has happened:

Fewest Goals Allowed by Isles in First Five Wins

4- 1975-76

5- 1976-77

5- 2018-19

The Isles have allowed one goal or fewer four times in the first ten games. 

Most Times Isles Have Allowed One Goal or Fewer in First Ten Games

5- 1974-75 (4-0-1) 

5- 1975-76 (4-0-1)

4- 1976-77 (4-0-0)

4- 1987-88 (4-0-0)

4- 2018-19 (4-0-0)

Over the first 10 games of the last four seasons (40 games total), the Isles allowed one goal/fewer only four times.

On the season, the Isles have allowed 8 fewer goals in the first ten games than they allowed last season.  If they keep up that pace, the Isles would allow 65 fewer goals than they did last season, which would match the 1996-97 team for the second biggest decrease (315 in 1995-96, 250 in 1996-97).  

The only team with a bigger year-to-year decrease was the 1973-74 squad (Al Arbour's first), which allowed 100 fewer goals than they did in the franchise's first year.

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: Isles 2, Carolina 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 10

Isles 2, Carolina 1

Thomas Greiss made 38 saves for his 100th career win and Ryan Pulock's first goal of the season was the game-winner as the Islanders completed a sweep of a weekend set of back-to-backs with a 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes before a crowd of 10,367 at PNC Arena.

The Isles, who have earned points in three straight games (2-0-1), also completed a sweep of the Hurricanes in Carolina, and improve to 3-0-0 in Metro Division matchups this season

Both Islander wins in Carolina were by 2-1 scores; it's the first time in Islander history that they have won two 2-1 road games against the same opponent in one season.

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Anders Lee (4) Josh Bailey, Nick Leddy 03:39 NYI 1,CAR 0 PPG

2nd Period

Teuvo Teravainen (3) Sebastian Aho, Trevor van Riemsdyk 01:16 NYI 1,CAR 1

Ryan Pulock (1) Anders Lee, Josh Bailey 14:35 NYI 2,CAR 1

3rd Period

No Scoring

The Skinny  

Anders Lee scored for the second straight game; he has points on the last six Isles goals…Nick Leddy earned his first point on Lee's goal, which came just eight seconds into a power play…. Lee now has seven assists on the season; he finished with a career-high 22 helpers last year.  The Isles killed all three Hurricane power plays; they went 6-6 on the PK this weekend…Josh Bailey extended his point streak to five games with his third multi-point game of the season… The Isles now own two wins by a 2-1 score over Carolina; the other three Isles wins have come by a combined score of 17-3… Lee's goal was the 128th of his career, breaking a tie with Jason Blake for 18th place on the all-time list…Thomas Greiss appeared in his 124th game as an Isle, breaking a tie with Evgeni Nabokov for 11th place all-time…Thru 10 games, the Isles have the same record as last season (5-4-1) but have allowed eight fewer goals…The Isles have won four of their first seven road games for the first time since 2014-15 and have won four October road games for the first time since 2001-02 (6-0-0)…The Isles have won their last five Metro games (going back to last season) and are 3-0-0 in divisional play to start a season for the first time since 2014-15…With the win, the Isles moved within one point of Columbus/Washington for the final playoff spot.

More First Times in a Long Time

It's the first time since 2014-15 (Calgary) that the Isles have recorded two 2-1 wins over the same opponent in one season

It's the first time since January 9-10, 2015 that the Isles have swept a back-to-back set against divisional opponents on the road.

Road Warriors

This was the middle game of a three-game road trip, and the seventh road game in the first ten games. 

It's the first time in Isles history that they have played 7 of the first 10 on the road; the game in Pittsburgh on Tuesday will mark the first time they've opened with 8 of 11 on the road.

The following three games are at home.  That starts a stretch of 38 of 71 at home, because it all equals out in the end!

Metro Men

The Isles are playing five straight games against Metro opponents.  The Isles are 2-0-0 in this stretch:

10/27 W 6-1 @ Phi Flyers

10/28 W 2-1 @ Car Hurricanes

10/30 @ Pitt Penguins

11/1 Vs. Pitt Penguins 

11/3 Vs, NJ Devils

It's only the 2nd time that the Isles have ever played at least five consecutive games against Metro opponents.  The Isles went 5-1-0 in a six-game stretch of Metro opponents in November 2014.

 

This Season vs. Last Season

This Season: 5-4-1 (11 points), with 30 goals scored and 25 goals allowed

Last Season: 5-4-1 (11 points), with 33 goals scored and 33 goals allowed  (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 5-0-1 when scoring first and 0-4-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles          5-9-6=20

Carolina   12-19-8=39

The Isles are 0-2-0 when they outshoot their opponents and are 5-2-1 when they are outshot. 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 5-4-1 overall; 1-1-1 at home (all in Brooklyn) and 4-3-0 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Carolina is 6-4-1 overall; 3-2-1 at home and 3-2-0 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 3-0-0 in Division games and 2-4-1 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 3-0-1 against the East and 2-4-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 22 saves to improve to 2-2-0 on the season and 7-3-1 in his career against Carolina.  

Petr Mrazek made 18 saves but falls to 3-3-1 on the season; he is 6-5-2 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-4 on the power play in 6:09 of PP time; Carolina was 0-3 on the power play in 6:00 of PP time.

The Isles are 5-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 0-3-0 when they do not.  The Isles are 1-2-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 4-2-0 when they do not.    

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 3-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-3-1 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 2-1-1 in games decided by a single goal including 1-1 in regulation. They are 1-1 in games decided in overtime and are 0-0 in shootouts.  The Isles are 0-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs 

Including today, the Isles are 1-1-0 in the front half and 2-0-0 in the back half. 

The next back-to-back is on Thanksgiving weekend: Black Friday in New Jersey and at home vs. Carolina on November 23-24. 

 

Tired vs. Rested

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

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

• The Isles are 2-0-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 3-4-0 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (21:58); Carolina: Sebastian Aho (22:13)  

Valtteri Filppula led Isles forwards with 17:23 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (4-1-1), Nick Leddy (1-3-0).

Face-offs

Isles 24, Carolina 36 (40%).

Valtteri Filppula won 13 of 21 for the Isles but his teammates won only 11 of the other 39; Jordan Staal won 12 of 16 for Carolina. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period 8/19; 2nd period 8/24; 3rd period 8/17.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 16/43, Power play 5/9, Penalty kill 3/8

Hit Count

Isles 31 (Leo Komarov -7 )  

Carolina 36 (Jordan Staal -5)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 3 (Mayfield -2, Lee).  

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 20 shots (Ryan Pulock -3).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 39, Carolina 74 

5-on-5 Isles 36, Carolina 57

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Mathew Barzal/Jordan Eberle +2

Carolina: Dougie Hamilton +17

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 3-4-1 in night games and 2-0-0 in matinees. The next matinee is November 18th vs. Dallas.  (This was a night game under NHL accounting because it started at 5:00 or later).

Ironmen

Anders Lee 128, Brock Nelson 105, Mathew Barzal 92

Scratches

(Cal Clutterbuck-upper body), Luca Sbisa, Ross Johnston 

Total games lost: 6

Late Heroes

The Isles have not yet scored in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or take the lead:

Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have allowed a goal one time in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or win a game:

10/4 – CAR Hurricanes – Jordan Staal tied game (18:25), but Isles won in overtime.

Offside Challenges

The Isles have not challenged a goal due to an offside this season. 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 

…

6. Mike Bossy 752 *** 7. Josh Bailey 725

Goals

1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …

17. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 18. Anders Lee 128 ***19. Jason Blake 127 *** 20. Josh Bailey 126 

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553…

13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 262

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052…

13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 388

Games Played (Goalies)

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 …

10. Garth Snow 127 *** 11.  Thomas Greiss 124

Wins (Goalie)

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130…

6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Glenn Healy 66 *** 8.  Thomas Greiss 64

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series two games to none (and 4 points to 1).  The remaining meetings of the season series will be in New York, on November 24th and January 8th. 

The Isles have won 9 of their 12 games in Raleigh.

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 4-4-1-0 following a split of their weekend games.  The Sound Tigers won 5-4 in Hartford on Saturday but dropped a 6-1 decision in Providence on Sunday.   

On Saturday, Travis St. Denis and Steve Bernier scored third period goals as Bridgeport rallied from a 4-3 deficit to win in regulation; Sebastian Aho had three assists.  Seth Helgeson had the Sound Tigers' only goal on Sunday.  Michael Dal Colle missed the weekend with an injury.

Leaders:  Goals: Bernier 5; Assists: Aho 6; Points: Dal Colle 8

Bridgeport begins a home-and-home series on Friday vs. Springfield.  Saturday's rematch begins a five game homestand.

 

Up Next

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30th— ISLANDERS AT PITTSBURGH 7:00PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30pm), WRCN 103.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, Radio.com] 

  

The Isles look to complete a sweep of the road trip and finish October with a winning record as they face the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

The Isles have won only once in their last six trips to Pittsburgh (1-2-3) but are 3-2-3 in their last eight visits to the Steel City.

This is the front-end of a home-and-home series that concludes on Thursday in Brooklyn.

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: Isles 6, Philadelphia 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 9

Isles 6, Philadelphia 1

Brock Nelson scored twice and Anders Lee earned points on the final four Islander goals for his 2nd career 4-point game as the Islanders earned a one-sided 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers before a sellout crowd of 19,247 at Wells Fargo Center.

It's only the second time that the Isles have ever won a game in Philadelphia by at least five goals (6-0 on 10/15/1987).

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Leo Komarov (2) Adam Pelech, Johnny Boychuk 11:38 NYI 1, PHI 0

Anthony Beauvillier (1)  Jordan Eberle, Mathew Barzal 13:20 NYI 2, PHI 0

2nd Period

Brock Nelson (4) Joshua Bailey, Anders Lee 4:58 NYI 3, PHI 0

Jori Lehtera (1) Unassisted 6:28 NYI 3, PHI 1

3rd Period

Adam Pelech (1) Anders Lee 8:17 NYI 4, PHI 1

Brock Nelson (5) Anders Lee 8:58 NYI 5, PHI 1

Anders Lee (3) Joshua Bailey, Mathew Barzal NYI 6, PHI 1 PPG 

The Skinny  

Brock Nelson scored twice, giving him four goals in the last three games; 22 of his 104 career goals have come in the 57 games he has played in October…Anders Lee matched a career-high with 4 points; he had a four-assist game in 2015 vs. Columbus…Lee now has six assists on the season; he finished with a career-high 22 helpers last year.  The Isles killed all three Flyer power plays (surrendering 0 shots on goal in 6:00) after allowing six power play goals in the last five games… Jori Lehtera's goal ended the Isles' matinee shutout streak at 86:28; it was the first goal allowed by the Isles in two matinee games this season…Josh Bailey extended his point streak to four; his two assists give him 260 as an Islander, passing Billy Harris for 14th place in club history… Mathew Barzal has ten points in nine games this season…Adam Pelech scored a goal and added an assist; it was the first time in his career he had a goal and an assist in the same game... Pelech and Johnny Boychuk assisted on the opening goal; it was the first time this season that two Isles defensemen had points on the same goal…The last three Isles wins have come by a combined score of 17-3…Anders Lee regained the all-time scoring lead among current Isles with his 127th goal, tying Jason Blake for 18th place on the all-time list.  (Bailey has 126)

The Injury:

Cal Clutterbuck missed the final 33:44 of the game with an upper body injury following a hit from Radko Gudas.

First Times in a Ridiculously Long Time

Each of the last two Islander wins have been on the road, each by five goals.  

It's only the 2nd time in Isles history (and the first time since 1987-88) that the Isles have recorded two wins by at least five goals in their first six road games and the first time since 1987-88 that they have won two October road games by at least five goals.

The second of those two wins in October 1987 was in Philadelphia by a 6-0 score; that's the only other game the Isles have won in Philadelphia by at least five goals, making today's win their most one-sided victory ever at Wells Fargo Center.

The Isles won only one road game by 5+ goals in the last 12 seasons (1/13/2018 at MSG), but have already won two this season.

Road Warriors

The Isles began a three-game road trip, with their sixth road game in the first nine -- that's not terribly unusual as it happened most recently in 2010-11.

However, Sunday in Carolina will make it seven in the first ten and Tuesday in Pittsburgh will make it eight in the first eleven.

It's the first time in Isles history that they have played 7 of the first 10 on the road; that also makes it the first time they've opened with 8 of 11 on the road.

The following three games are at home.  That starts a stretch of 38 of 71 at home, because it all equals out in the end!

Metro Men

The Isles had faced only one Metro opponent (Carolina on Opening Night) before today.  This is the start of five straight games against Metro opponents.  The Isles are 1-0-0 in this stretch:

10/27 W 6-1 @ Phi Flyers

10/28 @ Car Hurricanes

10/30 @ Pitt Penguins

11/1 Vs. Pitt Penguins 

11/3 Vs, NJ Devils

It's only the 2nd time that the Isles have ever played at least five consecutive games against Metro opponents.  The Isles went 5-1-0 in a six-game stretch of Metro opponents in November 2014.

 

This Season vs. Last Season

This Season: 4-4-1 (9 points), with 28 goals scored and 24 goals allowed

Last Season: 5-3-1 (11 points), with 29 goals scored and 27 goals allowed  (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 4-0-1 when scoring first and 0-4-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles               7-9-6=22

Philadelphia   8-7-8=23

The Isles are 0-2-0 when they outshoot their opponents and are 4-2-1 when they are outshot. 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 4-4-1 overall; 1-1-1 at home (all in Brooklyn) and 3-3-0 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Philadelphia is 4-7-0 overall; 2-4-0 at home and 2-3-0 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 2-0-0 in Division games and 2-4-1 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 2-0-1 against the East and 2-4-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Robin Lehner made 22 saves to improve to 3-2-1 on the season and 3-5-0 in his career against Philadelphia.  

Michael Neuvirth made 16 saves in his season debut; he is 7-3-1 in his career against the Isles.  

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play in 4:32 of PP time; Philadelphia was 0-3 on the power play in 6:00 of PP time.

The Isles are 4-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 0-3-0 when they do not.  The Isles are 1-2-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 3-2-0 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 3-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-3-1 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 1-1-1 in games decided by a single goal including 0-1 in regulation. They are 1-1 in games decided in overtime and are 0-0 in shootouts.  The Isles are 0-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs 

Including today, the Isles are 1-1-0 in the front half and 1-0-0 in the back half. This back-to-back concludes on Sunday in Carolina. 

The next back-to-back is on Thanksgiving weekend: Black Friday in New Jersey and at home vs. Carolina on November 23-24. 

 

Tired vs. Rested

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

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

• The Isles are 1-0-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 3-4-0 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (21:23); Philadelphia: Ivan Provorov (23:10)  

Josh Bailey led Isles forwards with 18:58 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Pulock (3-1-1), Leddy (1-3-0).

Face-offs

Isles 21, Philadelphia 36 (37%).

Casey Cizikas won 5 of 9  for the Isles; Nolan Patrick won 8 of 10  for Philadelphia. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period 9/20; 2nd period 7/19; 3rd period 5/18.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 18/45, Power play 2/8, Penalty kill 1/4

Hit Count

Isles 27 (Matt Martin -7)  

Philadelphia 31 (Christian Folin -8)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 3 (Mayfield -2, Lee).  

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 20 shots (Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield -4).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 47, Philadelphia 52 

5-on-5 Isles 38, Philadelphia 48

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Josh Bailey +6

Philadelphia: Ivan Provorov +12

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 2-4-1 in night games and 2-0-0 in matinees. The next matinee is November 18th vs. Dallas.  (Tomorrow's game is a night game under NHL accounting because it starts at 5:00 or later).

Ironmen

Anders Lee 127, Brock Nelson 104, Mathew Barzal 91

Scratches

Tom Kuhnhackl, Luca Sbisa, Ross Johnston 

Total games lost: 5

Late Heroes

The Isles have not yet scored in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or take the lead:

Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have allowed a goal one time in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or win a game:

10/4 – CAR Hurricanes – Jordan Staal tied game (18:25), but Isles won in overtime.

Offside Challenges

The Isles have not challenged a goal due to an offside this season. 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 

…

6. Mike Bossy 752 *** 7. Josh Bailey 724

Goals

1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …

17. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 18. Jason Blake and. Anders Lee 127 *** 20. Josh Bailey 126 

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553…

13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 260

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052…

13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 386

Games Played (Goalies)

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 …

10. Garth Snow 127 *** 11.  Evgeni Nabokov 123 &. Thomas Greiss 123

Wins (Goalie)

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130…

6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Glenn Healy 66 *** 8.  Thomas Greiss 63

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series one game to none (and 2 points to 0).  The remaining three meetings of the season series will all be in March, beginning on March 3rd at the Coliseum. 

The Isles are 5-2-2 in their last nine games against Philadelphia and have won at least one game at Wells Fargo Center for the fifth straight season.

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 3-3-1-0 heading into their Saturday night game in Hartford.

Leaders:  Goals: Bernier 4; Assists: Dal Colle/Devon Toews 5; Points: Dal Colle 8

Bridgeport has a Sunday matinee in Providence to complete their weekend.

 

Up Next

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28th— ISLANDERS AT CAROLINA 5:00PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 4:30pm), WRCN 103.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, Radio.com] 

  

The Isles have only played three games at home, but on Sunday they will visit Carolina for the second (and final) time this year as they face the Canes.

The Canes are off to a great start, going 6-3-1 in their first ten.  The "1" was their 2-1 overtime loss to the Isles on Opening Night. Their 13 points leads the Metro (pending the outcome of the Penguins game in Vancouver Saturday night).

The Isles have done well in Carolina in recent years, earning eight wins in their last 11 trips.

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 All of These Road Games (and All These Metro Opponents)

The Isles begin a three-game road trip, and a set of 5 straight games against Metro opponents on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.

Saturday will be the Isles' 6th road game in the first 9 -- that's not terribly unusual as it happened most recently in 2010-11.

However, Sunday (Carolina) will make it 7 in the first 10 and Tuesday in Pittsburgh will make it 8 in the first 11.

It's the first time in Isles history that they have played 7 of the first 10 on the road; that also makes it the first time they've opened with 8 of 11 on the road.

The following three games are at home.  That starts a stretch of 38 of 71 at home, because it all equals out in the end.

As for the Metro opponents, the Isles have faced at least five Metro opponents in a row only once before, in November 2014.

The Isles won the first four of that stretch, to improve to 16-6, before splitting a home/home with Washington to end the stretch with a 5-1-0 record.

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