The Skinny: Florida 4, Isles 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick 

Game 16

Florida 4, Isles 2

Aleksander Barkov scored the winning goal midway through the third period as the Florida Panthers recorded their third straight victory and extended the Isles winless streak to three games with a 4-2 victory over the Isles before a crowd of 11,947 at BB&T Center in Sunrise.

Mathew Barzal scored a goal for the first time since the home opener but finishes his 100^th NHL game with 99 points.

The Scoring:          

1^st Period

Denis Malgin (1) Jared McCann, Nick Bjugstad 06:18 NYI 0,FLA 1

Mathew Barzal (2) Anders Lee 07:28 NYI 1,FLA 1

 

2nd Period

Brock Nelson (8) Scott Mayfield, Tom Kuhnhackl 08:10 NYI 2,FLA 1

Mike Hoffman (7) Evgenii Dadonov, Mike Matheson 19:14 NYI 2,FLA 2

 

3rd Period

Aleksander Barkov (3) Keith Yandle 04:43 NYI 2,FLA 3 PPG

Troy Brouwer (2) Jonathan Huberdeau 19:59 NYI 2,FLA 4 ENG

 

The Skinny  

Thru 16 games, the Isles have the same record as last season (8-6-2) but have allowed eleven fewer goals …Tom Kuhnhackl's assist was his first as an Islander…  Keith Yandle played his 728^th consecutive game (11^th all-time)..Mike Hoffman extended his point streak to 11 games while Evgenii Dadonov extended his to 10 games…Brock Nelson's goal was his 199^th career point; he now leads the Isles in goals with 8…Nelson is 3-2-5 in the last 6 games and 7-2-9 in the last 10 games…The Isles have had 68 shots on goal in the last two games (season-high).

Century Mark

Both Mathew Barzal and Ryan Pulock appeared in their 100^th NHL games. Evgenii Dadonov recorded his 100^th point.

Time to Go Home

The Isles' next seven games will all be in the New York area:

·        Nov 13 vs Van Canucks

·        Nov 15 vs NY Rangers

·        Nov 18 vs Dallas

·        Nov 21 @ NY Rangers

·        Nov 23 @ NJ Devils

·        Nov 24 vs Car Hurricanes

·        Nov 26 vs Was Capitals

The only remaining game this month out of the metro area will be in Boston on November 29^th.  That will be the final game before the Isles return to the Coliseum for the first time (in a regular season game) since April 2015.

Coach Trotz

When the Blackhawks relieved Joel Quenneville of his duties on November 6^th, that made Barry Trotz both the winningest and most experienced active NHL coach.  Trotz' NHL record is 770-574-60-136 in 1540 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1.      Scotty Bowman  1244

2.      Joel Quenneville  890

3.      Ken Hitchcock     823

4.      Al Arbour           782

5.      Barry Trotz        770

Most Games Coached

1.      Scotty Bowman  2141

2.      Joel Quenneville 1636

3.      Al Arbour           1607

4.      Barry Trotz        1540

5.      Ken Hitchcock    1536

Trotz, who passed Hitchcock in games coached on November 3^rd vs the Devils, will catch Al Arbour on Opening Night next season. If Quenneville doesn't return to coaching Trotz would pass him sometime in November 2019.

This Season vs. Last Season

This Season: 8-6-2 (18 points), with 49 goals scored and 42 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 8-6-2 (18 points), with 55 goals scored and 53 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First                                                                                   

The Isles are 7-1-2 when scoring first and 1-5-0 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles     13-13-5=31

Florida  6-14-11=31

The Isles are 0-3-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 8-2-2 when they are outshot.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 8-6-2 overall; 3-1-2 at home (all in Brooklyn) and 5-5-0 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Florida is 5-5-3 overall; 2-3-1 at home and 3-2-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 6-0-0 in Division games and 2-6-2 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 6-2-2 against the East and 2-4-0 against the West. 

In the Nets

Robin Lehner made 27 saves but falls to 4-4-1 on the season and 2-5-3 in his career against Florida. 

Roberto Luongo made 29 saves as he improves to 3-0-0 on the season and 13-12-3 in his career against the Isles.

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-4 on the power play in 6:38 of PP time; Florida was 1-5 on the power play in 6:47 of PP time.

The Isles are 7-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 1-5-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 1-3-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-3-0 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 6-1-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-5-1 when they do not. 

One Goal Games

The Isles are 3-1-2 in games decided by a single goal including 1-1 in regulation. They are 1-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 0-2 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. 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 6-6-1 when both teams are rested.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:04); Florida: Keith Yandle (24:12)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 21:12 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (6-2-2), Nick Leddy (2-4-0).

Face-offs

Isles 30 Florida 28 (52%).

Casey Cizikas won 9 of 15 for the Isles; Vincent Trocheck won 9 of 14 for Florida.

Face-offs by period: 1^st period  7/15; 2^nd period 13/22; 3^rd period 10/21.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 24/47, Power play 3/5, Penalty kill 3/6

Hit Count

Isles 16 (Johnny Boychuk-5) 

Florida 7 (Two with 2)

Fights

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

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 9 shots (Ryan Pulock - 2). 

For the Corsi Crowd

All situations: Isles 52, Florida 49

5-on-5 Isles 36, Florida 34

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Tom Kuhnhackl +10

Florida: Colton Sceviour +5

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 6-6-2 in night games and 2-0-0 in matinees. The next matinee is November 18^th vs. Dallas. 

Ironmen

Anders Lee 134, Brock Nelson 111, Mathew Barzal 98

Scratches

(Matt Martin -injured), Luca Sbisa, Ross Johnston

Total games lost: 12

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.

11/8 – TB Lightning – Tyler Johnson scored the winning goal (18:34)

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 731

 

Goals

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

17. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 18. Anders Lee and Josh Bailey 129

 

Assists

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

13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 265

 

Points

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

13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 394

 

Games Played (Goalies)

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

8. Roland Melanson 136 *** 9. Mark Fitzpatrick 129 *** 10. Thomas Greiss 128

 

Wins (Goalie)

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

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

Season Series Stats

Florida leads the season series two games to none (and 4 points to 0).  The teams will again meet in Sunrise on April 4^th to complete the season series.

This was the Isles' first regulation loss in their last seven regular season games against the Panthers in Florida (3-1-3).

On the Farm

Travis St. Denis scored the overtime winner as Bridgeport extended their winning streak to four games and their home winning streak to six games with a 5-4 victory over the Providence Bruins.

Devon Toews had a first period power play goal and assisted on the winning tally as he tied Joshua Ho-Sang and Michael Dal Colle for the club scoring lead.

Bridgeport is now 8-5-1-0 and will look to sweep their five game homestand when they host Charlotte on Sunday afternoon.

Leaders:  Goals: Michael Dal Colle 7; Assists: Joshua Ho-Sang 13; Points: Ho-Sang/Dal Colle/Devon Toews 14

Up Next

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13th – VANCOUVER AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30pm), WRCN 103.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, Radio.com]

The Isles return home to begin a three-game homestand as they welcome the Vancouver Canucks to Brooklyn.

The Isles have earned points in their last six games against the Canucks (4-0-2); they had won four straight games vs. Vancouver before losing in overtime in the Pacific Northwest in March.

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: Tampa Bay 4, Isles 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 15

Tampa Bay 4, Isles 2

Tyler Johnson scored the winning goal with 1:26 to play to break a 2-2 tie and Steven Stamkos completed matters with an empty netter as the Tampa Bay Lightning overcame two goals by Josh Bailey to defeat the Islanders 4-2 before a crowd of 19,092 at Amalie Arena.

The loss snaps the Isles' seven-game (5-0-2) point streak and their three-game road winning streak.

The Scoring:

1st Period 

Josh Bailey (4) Brock Nelson 03:40 NYI 1,TBL 0

2nd Period

Mathieu Joseph (2) Alex Killorn, Anton Stralman 05:58 NYI 1,TBL 1

J.T. Miller (5) Mikhail Sergachev, Steven Stamkos 11:12 NYI 1,TBL 2

3rd Period

Josh Bailey (5) Adam Pelech, Mathew Barzal 08:43 NYI 2,TBL 2

Tyler Johnson (6) Nikita Kucherov, Yanni Gourde 18:34 NYI 2,TBL 3

Steven Stamkos (6)EN J.T. Miller, Ryan McDonagh 19:50 NYI 2,TBL 4

The Skinny  

Josh Bailey now has at least a point in nine of the last ten games; his first period goal was his 128th, breaking a tie with Jason Blake for 19th place on the all-time Isles list while his third period goal tied him with Anders Lee for the active club lead. … Thru 15 games, the Isles have the same record as last season (8-5-2) but have allowed ten fewer goals … Mathew Barzal assisted on Bailey's second goal, giving him 98 points in 99 career NHL games.  Connor McDavid is the only NHL player in the last decade to record 100 points in his first 100 NHL games…The Isles lost for the first time this season when scoring first (7-1-2)…Casey Cizikas was on-ice for 16 Isles attempts at 5-on-5 and only one Tampa Bay attempts…The Lightning have outscored their opponents 23-16 in the third period…Former Rangers combined for a goal and three assists for Tampa Bay, including both assists on the empty net goal.. . Tampa Bay has won four straight games and is 8-0-0 vs. the East this season…Mathieu Joseph's goal was the first allowed to Tampa Bay by a Barry Trotz coached team in 185:23, dating back to last year's playoffs…The Isles scored first for the 10th time in 15 games.

Season Highs

The Isles set season highs in shots in both a period (16 in the 1st) and game (37); they also had five power plays for the first time this season.

Coach Trotz

When the Blackhawks relieved Joel Quenneville of his duties on November 6th, that made Barry Trotz both the winningest and most experienced active NHL coach.  Trotz' NHL record is 770-573-60-136 in 1539 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1244

2. Joel Quenneville  890

3. Ken Hitchcock    823

4. Al Arbour   782

5. Barry Trotz   770

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2141

2. Joel Quenneville 1636

3. Al Arbour   1607

4. Barry Trotz   1539

5. Ken Hitchcock   1536

Trotz, who passed Hitchcock in games coached on November 3rd vs the Devils, will catch Al Arbour on Opening Night next season. If Quenneville doesn't return to coaching Trotz would pass him sometime in November 2019.

This Season vs. Last Season

This Season: 8-5-2 (18 points), with 47 goals scored and 38 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 8-5-2 (18 points), with 55 goals scored and 48 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 7-1-2 when scoring first and 1-4-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles           16-10-11=37

Tampa Bay  7-11-9=27

The Isles are 0-3-0 when they outshoot their opponents and are 8-2-2 when they are outshot. 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 8-5-2 overall; 3-1-2 at home (all in Brooklyn) and 5-4-0 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Tampa Bay is an NHL-best 12-3-1 overall; 7-2-0 at home and 6-1-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 6-0-0 in Division games and 2-5-2 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 6-1-2 against the East and 2-4-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Robin Lehner made 26 saves but falls to 4-3-1 on the season and 3-7-1 in his career against Tampa Bay.  

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 37 saves as he improves to 9-2-1 on the season and 5-2-0 in his career against the Isles.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-5 on the power play in 8:22 of PP time  (including a :47 5-on-3 to start the third period); Tampa Bay was 0-4 on the power play in 6:59 of PP time.

The Isles are 7-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 1-4-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 1-2-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-3-0 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 6-1-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-4-1 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 3-1-2 in games decided by a single goal including 1-1 in regulation. They are 1-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 0-1 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. 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 6-5-1 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy  (26:18); Tampa Bay: Ryan McDonagh (24:44)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 19:26 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (6-1-2), Nick Leddy (2-4-0).

Face-offs

Isles 22 Tampa Bay 30 (42%).

Anders Lee won 3 of 5 for the Isles; Brayden Point won 8 of 12 for Tampa Bay. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period  6/16; 2nd period 8/18; 3rd period 8/18.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 18/40, Power play 1/6, Penalty kill 3/6

Hit Count

Isles 24 (Thomas Hickey-4)  

Tampa Bay 21 (Adam Erne -5)

Fights

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

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 12 shots (3 with 2).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 62, Tampa Bay 45 

5-on-5 Isles 43, Tampa Bay 28

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Johnny Boychuk +16

Tampa Bay: Tyler Johnson +4

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 6-5-2 in night games and 2-0-0 in matinees. The next matinee is November 18th vs. Dallas.  

Ironmen

Anders Lee 133, Brock Nelson 110, Mathew Barzal 97

Scratches

(Matt Martin -injured), Luca Sbisa, Ross Johnston

Total games lost: 11

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.

11/8 – TB Lightning – Tyler Johnson scored the winning goal (18:34)

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 730

Goals

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

17. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 18. Anders Lee and Josh Bailey 129 

Assists

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

13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 265

Points

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

13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 394

Games Played (Goalies)

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

8. Roland Melanson 136 *** 9. Mark Fitzpatrick 129 *** 10. Thomas Greiss 128

Wins (Goalie)

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

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

Season Series Stats

Tampa Bay leads the season series one game to none (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will next meet at Barclays on January 13th before completing season series as the Coliseum on February 1st.

Tampa Bay has won six of the last seven games from the Isles, outscoring New York 34-17.

On the Farm

On Wednesday, Travis St. Denis scored twice while Devon Toews and Joshua Ho-Sang each had a pair of assists as Bridgeport scored four times on the power play and cruised to a 7-3 School Day matinee win over the Binghamton Devils.

Ho-Sang, who now has 10 points in the last four games, including four consecutive multi-point games, leads all AHL forwards with 13 assists.

Bridgeport is now 7-5-1-0 with three straight wins to start their homestand, which concludes with games on Saturday vs. Providence and Sunday vs. Charlotte.

Leaders:  Goals: Michael Dal Colle 7; Assists: Joshua Ho-Sang 13; Points: Ho-Sang/Dal Colle 14

Up Next

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10th – ISLANDERS AT FLORIDA 7:00PM 

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

The Isles head to Sunrise, Florida to face the Panthers on Saturday night. 

The Panthers will be honoring Bill Torrey as part of their Legacy Night series as the franchise is celebrating their 25th anniversary. 

It's the second meeting of the season between the teams; the Panthers rallied for a 3-2 overtime win in Brooklyn 2 ½ weeks ago.

The Isles have had more (regular season) success against the Panthers in Florida in recent years, earning points in six straight games (3-0-3)  The Isles are 6-2-3 in their last 11 regular season games in South Florida.

 

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

Moving On Up: The Skinny on Coach Trotz

When the Blackhawks relieved Joel Quenneville of his duties on November 6th, that made Barry Trotz both the winningest and most experienced active NHL coach.  Trotz' NHL record is 770-572-60-136 in 1538 games.

When Trotz coaches the Isles on Thursday, it will be 1st time since March 31, 1991* (the last game of the 1990-91 season) that the winningest active coach will be Islander; after a brief "retirement" Scotty Bowman returned to coach Pittsburgh in the 1991-92 season and he had more wins than Al Arbour at the time. 

Arbour had coached the most games of any active coach for each of his last 331 gms behind the Islander bench, having passed Bowman on March 28, 1990.   

*When Arbour returned to coach game 1,500 on November 3, 2007 he was the active leader in both categories for that one game as well.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1244

2. Joel Quenneville  890

3. Ken Hitchcock    823

4. Al Arbour   782

5. Barry Trotz   770

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2141

2. Joel Quenneville 1636

3. Al Arbour   1607

4. Barry Trotz   1538

5. Ken Hitchcock   1536

Trotz, who passed Hitchcock in games coached on November 3rd vs the Devils, will catch Al Arbour on Opening Night next season. If Quenneville doesn't return to coaching, Trotz would pass him sometime in November 2019.

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: Montreal 4, Isles 3 (SO)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 14

Montreal 4, Isles 3 (SO)

Joel Armia scored the only goal in a five-round shootout as Montreal rallied from a 3-1 deficit for a 4-3 victory over the Islanders before a crowd of 9,402 at Barclays Center.

The shootout loss snaps the Isles' five-game winning streak; the Isles have, however, earned points in seven straight games (5-0-2) as they extend their lead in the Metro Division to three points.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Casey Cizikas (4) Adam Pelech, Ross Johnston 04:04 MTL 0,NYI 1

Jonathan Drouin (4) Max Domi, Noah Juulsen 05:59 MTL 1,NYI 1

Valtteri Filppula (5) Leo Komarov 07:44 MTL 1,NYI 2

Casey Cizikas (5) Cal Clutterbuck 14:58 MTL 1,NYI 3

2nd Period

Max Domi (8) Jonathan Drouin, Joel Armia 15:36 MTL 2,NYI 3 PPG

3rd Period

Artturi Lehkonen (2) Noah Juulsen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi 07:43 MTL 3,NYI 3

OT

No Goals

The Shootout

NYI  Jordan Eberle (no goal)

MTL Tomas Tatar (no goal)

NYI Brock Nelson (no goal)

MTL Jonathan Drouin (no goal)

NYI Josh Bailey (no goal)

MTL Max Domi (no goal)

NYI Mathew Barza l(no goal)

MTL Jesperi Kotkaniemi (no goal)

NYI Valtteri Filppula (no goal)

MTL Joel Armia (goal/game deciding goal)

The Skinny  

All three of the Isles goals were scored by "bottom 6" forwards; Josh Bailey's point streak ended at eight… Casey Cizikas recorded his second career 2-goal game (10/7/17 vs BUF); he now has 49 career goals… Thru 14 games, the Isles are one poins ahead of last season (8-4-2 to 8-5-1) but have allowed twelve fewer goals; the 18 points in the first 14 games match the most points an Islander team has had since the 2001-02 squad opened 11-1-1-1 in the first 14. … Mathew Barzal was held without a point for the second straight game, leaving him with 97 points in 98 career NHL games.  Connor McDavid is the only NHL player in the last decade to record 100 points in his first 100 NHL games… Ryan Pulock played a career-high 29:00; Nick Leddy is the only Isle to have played more in a game over the last two seasons – he did it twice…The Isles have earned a point in seven straight games for the first time since January 2017 when they did so in Jack Capuano's final game and Doug Weight's first six games behind the bench…Max Domi's power play goal ended an 0-16 skein for the Habs' power play…Ross Johnston has two assists in his three appearances this season…Valtteri Filppula has scored his five goals on twelve shots…The Isles fall to 1-1 in the shootout; their 75 all-time wins remain tied with Pittsburgh for the most in NHL history.

Greiss the Great

Thomas Greiss has stopped 134 of 140 shots over his last four starts (95.7 save percentage, 1.44 GAA) 

Greiss appeared in his 128th game, passing Garth Snow for 10th place among Islander goalkeepers.  

This Season vs. Last Season

This Season: 8-4-2 (18 points), with 45 goals scored and 34 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 8-5-1 (17 points), with 54 goals scored and 46 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 7-0-2 when scoring first and 1-4-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles        8-6-7-3=24

Montreal  8-15-10-2=35

The Isles are 0-2-0 when they outshoot their opponents and are 8-2-2 when they are outshot. 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 8-4-2 overall; 3-1-2 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.

Montreal is 8-4-2 overall; 5-3-0 at home and 3-1-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 6-0-0 in Division games and 2-4-2 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 6-0-2 against the East and 2-4-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 32 saves; he is 4-2-1 on the season and 3-3-1 in his career against Montreal.  

Antti Niemi made 21 saves  and improves to 3-1-0 on the season and 4-1-1 in his career against the Isles.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-4 on the power play in 8:00 of PP time; Montreal was 1-3 on the power play in 4:20 of PP time.

The Isles are 7-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 1-3-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 1-2-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-2-0 when they do not.    

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 6-1-1 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 3-1-2 in games decided by a single goal including 1-1 in regulation. They are 1-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 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 Montreal and at home vs. Montreal 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 6-4-1 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (Career High 29:00); Montreal: Jeff Petry (28:41)

Anders Lee led Isles forwards with 20:25 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (6-1-2), Nick Leddy (2-3-0).

Face-offs

Isles 28 Montreal 26 (52%).

Casey Cizikas won 9 of 10 for the Isles; Philip Danault won 14 of 24 for Montreal. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period  9/17; 2nd period 8/17; 3rd period 10/18; Overtime ½.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 23/42, Power play 4/8, Penalty kill 1/4

Hit Count

Isles 23 (Johnny Boychuk-5)  

Montreal 29 (Noah Juulsen -5)

Fights

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

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 23 shots (Scott Mayfield -5).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 50, Montreal 70 

5-on-5 Isles 35, Montreal 55

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Valtteri Filppula +4

Montreal: Tomas Tatar +14

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 6-4-2 in night games and 2-0-0 in matinees. The next matinee is November 18th vs. Dallas.  

Ironmen

Anders Lee 132, Brock Nelson 109, Mathew Barzal 96

Scratches

(Matt Martin -injured), Luca Sbisa, Tom Kuhnhackl

Total games lost: 10

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 729

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 265

Points

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

13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 392

Games Played (Goalies)

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

10. Thomas Greiss 128

Wins (Goalie)

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

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

Season Series Stats

Montreal leads the season series one game to none (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will next meet at the Coliseum on March 14th before playing on March 21st at the Bell Centre.

The Isles are 4-11-2 in their last 17 games against Les Habitants.

On the Farm

Michael Dal Colle and Kieffer Bellows each scored twice and Joshua Ho Sang added four assists as Bridgeport built an 8-2 lead enroute to an 8-5 victory over the Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins.

The four-point outing concluded an eight-point weekend for Ho Sang as the Sound Tigers went over AHL-.500 with the victory.

Bridgeport is now 6-5-1-0; the third game of their five-game homestand is on Wednesday morning (10:30AM) vs. Binghamton.

Leaders:  Goals: Steve Bernier/Michael Dal Colle 6; Assists: Joshua Ho-Sang 11; Points: MIchael Dal Colle 13

Up Next

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8th – ISLANDERS AT TAMPA BAY 7:30PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 7:00pm), WRCN 103.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, Radio.com] 

The Isles head to Florida for a pair of games in the Sunshine State, as they face the Lightning for the first time this season.

Tampa Bay won two of three for the Isles last season and have taken five of six games from the Isles over the last two seasons, outscoring the Isles 30-15.

The road trip concludes on Saturday in Sunrise, Florida against the Panthers.

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 3, New Jersey 0

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 13

Isles 3, New Jersey 0

Thomas Greiss made 35 saves for his 9th career shutout and the Isles got goals from Jordan Eberle, Brock Nelson and a shorthanded empty net tally from Scott Mayfield to defeat the New Jersey Devils 3-0 before a crowd of 11,901 at Barclays Center.

The Isles have won five straight games, all against divisional foes.  The Isles are 6-0-0 on the season against their Metro rivals, matching their best-ever start in their own division (6-0-0 vs. Patrick in 1982-83). It's the first time since November 3-December 15, 2015 that the Isles have won six straight divisional games at any point in a single season.

The Isles have earned points in six straight games (5-0-1) and take over sole possession of first place in the Metro Division.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Jordan Eberle (4) Anders Lee, Josh Bailey 07:43 NJD 0,NYI 1 PPG

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

Brock Nelson (7) Josh Bailey 15:06 NJD 0,NYI 2

Scott Mayfield (2) EN 19:46 NJD 0,NYI 3  SHG

The Skinny  

Three of Jordan Eberle's goals have come on power plays.  Eberle was credited with his 2nd game-winner of the season.  Nine of his 29 goals as an Islander have been game-winners (8th in NHL in GWG's in that span); every other player in Isles history with at least 9 GW goals has scored at least 43 goals…Josh Bailey extended his point streak to eight games with two assists (2-9-11)… Brock Nelson scored his team leading 7th goal; it was his 106th career goal, breaking a tie with Ed Westfall and Benoit Hogue on the all-time Isles list…Thru 13 games, the Isles are two points ahead of last season (8-4-1 to 7-5-1) but have allowed twelve fewer goals; the 17 points in the first 13 games match the 2015-16 team for the most points thru 13 games since 2007-08 (9-4-0)…The Isles have won their last eight Metro games (going back to last season) … Taylor Hall's point streak ended at nine; he had earned a point in each Devils game played in North America this season… The Isles finished with 33 shots; it was their second-highest total of the season (35 in Anaheim) …The Isles have scored four shorthanded goals this season (Mayfield, Bailey, Cizikas, Filppula)…The Isles scored shorthanded for a second straight game (first time since January 16-19, 2017)… The Isles lowered their team GAA to 2.31… Mathew Barzal was held without a point for the second straight game, leaving him with 97 points in 97 career NHL games.  Connor McDavid is the only NHL player in the last decade to record 100 points in his first 100 NHL games

Fewest Goals Allowed Thru 13 Games

• 26- 2001-02 (11-0-1-1)

• 28- 1974-75 (7-3-3)

• 28- 1976-77 (9-2-2)

• 30- 1977-78 (6-4-3)

• 30- 2018-19 (8-4-1)

Greiss the Great

Thomas Greiss has stopped 102 of 105 shots over his last three starts (97.1 save percentage, 0.98 GAA) as he was named the game's #1 star for the second straight game.  His season numbers improved to a 1.85 GAA and a 94.1 save percentage).  He will be in the top five in the NHL in both categories when play concludes on Saturday.

Greiss picked up his 66th win as an Islander, tying Glenn Healy for 7th place on the Isles list.  He appeared in his 127th game, matching Garth Snow for 10th.  

It was Greiss' 6th shutout as an Islander and he has had at least one in each of his four seasons with the team.  He tied Chris Osgood and Kelly Hrudey for 7th place on the club's shutout list.

He has now shutout New Jersey twice in his career.(12/13/15), joining Rick DiPietro (3) and Jaroslav Halak (2) as Isles goalies who have blanked the Devs more than once.

You Can't Score on Us Here

The Isles improved to 3-1-1 in Brooklyn with their second shutout of the home season.  It's the first time since 1977 that the Isles have earned two shutouts in their first five home games  (0-0 vs. LA (Resch); 9-0 vs ATL (Smith/Hogosta)). The Isles also had two shutouts in their first five home games in 1975.

It's also the first time since 1977 that different Isles goalies have started shutouts in the first 13 games. However, Billy Smith was not credited for a shutout as Goran Hogosta played the final nine minutes.  Thus, it is the first time since 1975 (Resch -twice, Smith-once) that multiple Isles goalies have been credited with shutouts in the first 13 games.

A First for Mayfield

Scott Mayfield's shorthanded, empty net goal was the first shorty of his career. Mayfield is the first Islander defenseman to score shorthanded in just over a year (Johnny Boychuk vs. Arizona on 10/24/17).

600 Club

Johnny Boychuk played in his 600th NHL game, one game after Jordan Eberle did the same.

Metro Men

The Isles completed a perfect five game stretch against Metro opponents:

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 W 3-0 Vs. NJ Devils

The next Metro game is at home against the Rangers on November 15th.

This Season vs. Last Season

This Season: 8-4-1 (17 points), with 42 goals scored and 30 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 7-5-1 (15 points), with 48 goals scored and 42 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 7-0-1 when scoring first and 1-4-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles            9-13-11=33

New Jersey  16-8-11=35

The Isles are 0-2-0 when they outshoot their opponents and are 8-2-1 when they are outshot. 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 8-4-1 overall; 3-1-1 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.

New Jersey is 5-5-1 overall; 5-1-1 at home and 0-4-0 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 6-0-0 in Division games and 2-4-1 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 6-0-1 against the East and 2-4-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 35 saves to improve to 4-2-0 on the season and 3-4-0 in his career against New Jersey.  

Keith Kinkaid made 30 saves but falls to 5-4-1 on the season and 3-4-2 in his career against the Isles.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-4 on the power play in 6:50 of PP time; New Jersey was 0-4 on the power play in 7:48 of PP time but allowed an empty net,  shorthanded goal.

The Isles are 7-1-1 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 6-2-0 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 6-1-0 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. New Jersey 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 6-4-0 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (22:57); New Jersey: Nico Hischier (20:52)

Anders Lee led Isles forwards with 18:15 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (6-1-1), Nick Leddy (2-3-0).

Face-offs

Isles 25, New Jersey 31 (45%).

Three Isles won 50% of their draws ;Travis Zajac won 11 of 19 for New Jersey. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period 10/20; 2nd period 9/18; 3rd period 6/18.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 15/41, Power play 4/6, Penalty kill 6/9

Hit Count

Isles 21 (Four with 3)  

New Jersey 20 (Blake Coleman -6)

Fights

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

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 20 shots (Three with 4).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 58, New Jersey 71 

5-on-5 Isles 45, New Jersey 49

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Anders Lee +6

New Jersey: Marcus Johansson +14

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 6-4-1 in night games and 2-0-0 in matinees. The next matinee is November 18th vs. Dallas.  

Ironmen

Anders Lee 131, Brock Nelson 108, Mathew Barzal 95

Scratches

(Matt Martin -injured), Luca Sbisa 

Total games lost: 9

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 728

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 265

Points

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

13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 392

Games Played (Goalies)

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

10. Garth Snow and Thomas Greiss 127

Wins (Goalie)

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

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

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series one game to none (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will next meet at the Prudential Center on November 23rd (Black Friday) at 4pm.

The Isles snapped a three-game losing streak vs. the Devils and improve to 9-1-0 in their last ten at home vs. New Jersey.

On the Farm

Tom Kuhnhackl scored a goal and added two assists in his Sound Tiger debut as Bridgeport earned a split of a home-and-home with Springfield with a 5-2 home-ice win on Saturday.  The Sound Tigers had dropped a 3-2 decision in Massachusetts on Friday.  Joshua Ho-Sang had a goal and three assists (all on the power play) in the two games.

Bridgeport is now 5-5-1-0; their 5-game homestand continues Sunday afternoon vs. Lehigh Valley.

Leaders:  Goals: Steve Bernier 5; Assists: Sebastian Aho/Joshua Ho-Sang 7; Points: MIchael Dal Colle 10

Up Next

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5th   — MONTREAL AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM 

[MSG+2 (Islanders pre-game at 6:30pm), WRCN 103.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, Radio.com] 

  

The Isles look for their sixth straight win as they host the Montreal Canadiens in the final game of a three game homestand.

The Isles dropped two of three to the Habs last season, winning only in Montreal as Thomas Greiss made 52 saves in an overtime win.

Over the last four seasons, the Isles are 3-9-0 vs. the Habs. Thomas Greiss owns all three Islander wins in that span; six different Canadiens have won at least once against the Isles.

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 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