The Skinny: Isles 3, Detroit 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 28

Isles 3, Detroit 2

Matt Martin scored the game-winning goal early in the third period as the Isles rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 before a sellout crowd of 19,515 at Little Caesars Arena.

Casey Cizikas and Ryan Pulock scored 2:26 apart in the second period as the Isles erased the Red Wing lead.  Detroit also scored a 3rd goal at the 5:16 mark of the opening session, but it was erased on an Islander off-side challenge.

 

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Justin Abdelkader (5) Dylan Larkin, Gustav Nyquist 04:59  NYI 0,DET 1

Niklas Kronwall (1) Dylan Larkin 13:53 NYI 0,DET 2

2nd Period

Casey Cizikas (7) Ross Johnston 04:31 NYI 1,DET 2

Ryan Pulock (2) Josh Bailey, Mathew Barzal 06:57 NYI 2,DET 2 PPG

3rd Period

Matt Martin (4) Cal Clutterbuck, Nick Leddy 03:24 NYI 3,DET 2

The Skinny  

Matt Martin recorded his 10th career game-winning goal (out of 54 career goals); all ten of his GWG's have been for the Isles. Martin now has four goals after having only three all last season…10 of Martin's 46 goals as an Islander have been game-winners; of the 46 Isles with at least 10 game-winners, only Jordan Eberle (31) has fewer goals in an Islander uniform…This was the fourth time in the last five games that the Isles were tied after two periods…The Isles' power play went 1-4 and improved to 5-52 (9.6%) since November 1; the power play is 1-23 in the last 10 games.  The Isles are now 10-1-1 when they score a power play goal. …The Isles' fourth line combined for 2 goals, 1 assist and 11 hits; it's the fifth straight game since the trio was reunited that they have had at least 11; Cal Clutterbuck had six of the 11 hits … Mathew Barzal drew his 13th and 14th penalties, moving him into top-10 in the NHL in that category…Casey Cizikas matched last year's total with his 7th goal; Ross Johnston evened last year's total with his 3rd assist…This was the 63rd time this season that an NHL team has rallied to win from a 2-goal deficit (nearly 1 of every 7 games played this season), including five involving the Isles (h/t John Kreiser, NHL.com)…The Isles did not have a shot on goal in the final 9:31 and were outshot for the 13th time in their 14 wins; the 13 wins match Toronto for the most of any NHL team in games they were outshot…The Isles moved back into a playoff spot with their win and the Penguins' OT loss…Mathew Barzal assisted on Ryan Pulock's power play goal; Barzal is 0-9-9 (0-6-6 on PPs) with at least one point (and one power play point) in all four games against the Red Wings.

The Injury

Anders Lee, playing his club-leading 146th consecutive game, was injured in the first period on a hit from Nicklas Kromwell, but did return midway through the second period.

400

Josh Bailey's assist on Ryan Pulock made him only the 14th player in Islander history with 400 points; like the other 13, Bailey is an Isles draft pick.   

Comeback Kids

The Isles improve to 3-3-0 when trailing in a game by a 2-0 score, defeating NYR (11/15), CBJ (12/1) and DET (12/8); all three wins have been in regulation.

The Isles are 5-0-1 when scoring the game's first two goals.

One is Enough

The Isles improve to 6-1-3 in one-goal games.  Their .600 winning percentage (not points percentage) in 1-goal games is their best since 2014-15 (.605).  2014-15 is the only full season since 1992 that the Isles have won 60% of their one-goal games.  The Isles went 31-21-22 in 1-goal games over the last two seasons (winning just.41.9% of the games).

USA Hockey

Anders Lee has 135 career goals, leaving him four goals behind Kyle Okposo.  Okposo is 2nd on the Islander goal-scoring list among American-born players, trailing only Pat LaFontaine.

Chasing Al

Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz' NHL record is 776-579-60-137 in 1552 games and is now just seven wins behind Al Arbour on the all-time win list.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1244

2. Joel Quenneville  890

3. Ken Hitchcock    829

4. Al Arbour   782

5. Barry Trotz   776

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2141

2. Joel Quenneville 1636

3. Al Arbour   1607

4. Barry Trotz   1552

5. Ken Hitchcock   1545

Trotz will catch Al Arbour in games coached on Opening Night next season. If Quenneville doesn't return to coaching Trotz would pass him sometime in December 2019.

This Season vs. Last Season

This Season: 14-11-3 (31 points), with 82 goals scored and 82 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 16-9-3 (35 points), with 104 goals scored and 96 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 9-4-3 when scoring first and 5-7-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles   6-10-3=19

Detroit 7-8-10=25

The Isles are 1-7-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 13-3-3 when they are outshot. 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 14-11-3 overall; 7-4-2 at home (1-0-0 on Long Island and 6-4-2 in Brooklyn) and 7-7-1 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Detroit is 13-13-4 overall; 7-7-3 at home and 6-6-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 10-3-0 in Division games and 4-8-3 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 11-5-3 against the East and 3-6-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 23 saves to improve to 10-6-1 on the season and 4-2-1 in his career against Detroit.  

Jonathan Bernier made 22  saves but falls to 4-7-0 on the season and 4-5-3 in his career against the Isles.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-4 on the power play in 7:11 of PP time, including a 5-on-3 goal (:25 of 5-on-3); Detroit was 0-3 on the power play in 6:00 of PP time.

The Isles are 10-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-10-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 4-7-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 9-4-0 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 12-1-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-10-2 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 6-1-3 in games decided by a single goal including 3-1 in regulation. They are 2-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-2 in shootouts.  The Isles are 1-3 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs 

The Isles are 2-1-0 in the front half and 3-0-0 in the back half.  The next back-to-back is December 17th in Colorado and December 18 in Arizona. 

 

Tired vs. Rested

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

• The Isles are 1-0-1 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 10-11-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (21:50); Detroit: Mike Green (23:18)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 20:38 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (9-5-2), Nick Leddy (4-5-1), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 32, Detroit 28 (53%).

Valtteri Filppula won 6 of 10 for the Isles; Luke Glendenning won 12 of 20 for Detroit. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period  11/23; 2nd period 13/19; 3rd period 8/18.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 21/45, Power play 5/7, Penalty kill 6/8.

Hit Count

Isles 24 (Cal Clutterbuck -6)  

Detroit 23 (Luke Witkowski & Martin Frk-3)

Fights

Josh Bailey fought Dylan Larkin in the first period; Johnny Boychuk fought Justin Abdelkader in the second period. Season total –7 (Scott Mayfield -2, Ross Johnston-2, Josh Bailey, Johnny Boychuk, Anders Lee).  

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 11 shots (Three with 2).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 43, Detroit 47

5-on-5 Isles 33, Detroit 34

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Adam Pelech +9

Detroit: Frans Nielsen +6 

 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 11-10-3 in night games and 3-1-0 in matinees. The next matinee is on January 12th vs. the Rangers. 

Ironmen

Anders Lee 146, Brock Nelson 123, Mathew Barzal 110

`

Scratches

(Andrew Ladd – IR), (Tom Kuhnhackl-INJ), Christopher Gibson, Luca Sbisa. 

Total games lost: 38

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 three times 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)

11/23 – NJ Devils – Marcus Johansson tied game (19:49), but Isles won in overtime.

Offside Challenges

12/8 vs DET Red Wings – Red Wings goal overturned after successful Isles challenge.

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

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

5. Bob Bourne 814***6. Mike Bossy 752 *** 7. Josh Bailey 743

Goals

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

16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 18.  Anders Lee 135 ***19. Joshua Bailey 131…

24. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 27. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 28. Brock Nelson 109

Assists

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

12. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 269

Points

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

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 400

Games Played (Goalies)

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

7. Glenn Healy 176 *** 8. Thomas Greiss 138

Wins (Goalie)

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

5. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Thomas Greiss 72

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series one game to none (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will continue the season series at the Coliseum next Saturday.

 

The Isles are 8-3-0 in their last 11 visits to the Motor City and are 5-2-1 in their last 8 games between the teams.  

On the Farm 

Otto Koivula scored his fourth goal in the last three games, but the Bridgeport Sound Tigers dropped a 3-1 decision in Wilkes Barre/Scranton Saturday afternoon

Bridgeport is 14-8-3-1 and has earned points in 13 of their last 16 games (10-3-2-1). 

The Sound Tigers have hit a bit of a lull in their schedule as this was their only game between December 5th and December 14th.

 

Leaders:  Goals: Steve Bernier 10; Assists: Joshua Ho-Sang 20 (2nd in AHL); Points: Ho-Sang 22.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 7-5-1 (2.82 GAA); Christopher Gibson 7-3-3 (3.34 GAA)

Up Next

MONDAY, DECEMBER 9th – PITTSBURGH AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM 

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

It will only be the 29th game of the season but the Isles and Penguins will complete their season series as they meet at Nassau Coliseum for the first time since January 16, 2015; Kyle Okposo had four goals in that game as the Isles won 6-3.

 

The Isles have won two of three from Pittsburgh this season, sweeping a home/home in late-October/early-November before dropping a 6-2 decision on Thursday in Pittsburgh.

The Isles have 3-1-1 in their last five home games and 5-2-3 in their last ten overall games against Pittsburgh.

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; Pittsburgh 6, Isles 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 27

Pittsburgh 6, Isles 2

Phil Kessel scored two goals and added two assists while Kris Letang matched a career-high with two goals as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Isles 6-2, before a sellout crowd of 18,440 at PPG Paints Arena.

Brock Nelson scored his first career shorthanded goal for the Isles, temporarily tying him with Anders Lee for the team lead in goals.  Lee later scored (for the 4th straight game) to re-take the team lead; he has tallied four of the last seven Islander goals. 

 

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Kris Letang (6) Derick Brassard, Phil Kessel 08:34 NYI 0,PIT 1

Brock Nelson (10) Tom Kuhnhackl, Scott Mayfield 17:43 NYI 1,PIT 1 SHG

Kris Letang (7) Bryan Rust, Brian Dumoulin 19:31 NYI 1,PIT 2

2nd Period

Riley Sheahan (4) Evgeni Malkin, Jamie Oleksiak 07:21 NYI 1,PIT 3

Phil Kessel (11) Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel 12:09 NYI 1,PIT 4 PPG

Phil Kessel (12) Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel 17:37 NYI 1,PIT 5

3rd Period

Anders Lee (11) Ryan Pulock 04:23 NYI 2,PIT 5

Sidney Crosby (15) Phil Kessel, Jake Guentzel 13:00 NYI 2,PIT 6 

The Skinny  

The Isles remain pointless in games they trail after two periods … The Isles' power play went 0-2 and fell to 4-48 (8.3%) since November 1; the power play is 0-19 in the last nine games.  It's the longest Isles streak without a power play goal since they went 12 straight games in November/December 2010 (which tied the club record)…The Penguin trio of Phil Kessel, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel each had  points on the last three Pittsburgh goals; Guentzel extended his point streak to six games (4-6-10)…The Isles' fourth line combined for 14 hits; it's the fourth straight game since the trio was reunited that they have had at least 12; Matt Martin had eight of the 14 hits …Christopher Gibson made his season debut in the same way he made his NHL debut (on 1/2/2016): relieving Thomas Greiss in a one-sided game in Pittsburgh…Crosby now had 35 points in his last 20 home games against the Isles, while Kessel has points in eight straight against the Isles…Nick Leddy went -4…The Isles have scored shorthanded goals in consecutive games vs. Pittsburgh for the first time since 2003…Mathew Barzal drew his 12th penalty, leaving him just outside of the top-10 in the NHL in that category…The Penguins have sold-out 546 consecutive games, including playoffs.

Chasing 400

Josh Bailey is one point away from becoming only the 14th player in Islander history with 400 points; like the other 13, Bailey is an Isles draft pick.   

USA Hockey

Anders Lee recorded his 135th goal, leaving him four goals behind Kyle Okposo.  Okposo is 2nd on the Islander goal-scoring list among American-born players, trailing only Pat LaFontaine.

Chasing Al

Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz' NHL record is 775-579-60-137 in 1551 games and is now just seven wins behind Al Arbour on the all-time win list.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1244

2. Joel Quenneville  890

3. Ken Hitchcock    828

4. Al Arbour   782

5. Barry Trotz   775

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2141

2. Joel Quenneville 1636

3. Al Arbour   1607

4. Barry Trotz   1551

5. Ken Hitchcock   1544

Trotz will catch Al Arbour in games coached on Opening Night next season. If Quenneville doesn't return to coaching Trotz would pass him sometime in December 2019.

This Season vs. Last Season

This Season: 13-11-3 (29 points), with 79 goals scored and 80 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 16-9-2 (34 points), with 101 goals scored and 92 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 9-4-3 when scoring first and 4-7-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    7-4-10=21

Pittsburgh 8-13-7=28

The Isles are 1-7-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 12-3-3 when they are outshot. 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 13-11-3 overall; 7-4-2 at home (1-0-0 on Long Island and 6-4-2 in Brooklyn) and 6-7-1 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Pittsburgh is 12-10-5 overall; 7-6-2 at home and 5-4-3 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 10-3-0 in Division games and 3-8-3 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 10-5-3 against the East and 3-6-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 16 saves in the first two periods but falls to 9-6-1 on the season and 4-2-0 in his career against Pittsburgh.  Christopher Gibson made six saves in the third period; it was his NHL season debut.

Casey DeSmith made 19 saves and improves to 8-4-3 on the season and 1-0-0 in his career against the Isles.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play in 4:00 of PP time; Pittsburgh was 1-3 on the power play in 5:39 of PP time.

The Isles are 9-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-10-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 4-7-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-4-0 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 11-1-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-10-2 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 5-1-3 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 2-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-2 in shootouts.  The Isles are 1-3 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs 

The Isles are 2-1-0 in the front half and 3-0-0 in the back half.  The next back-to-back is December 17th in Colorado and December 18 in Arizona. 

 

Tired vs. Rested

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

• The Isles are 1-0-1 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 9-11-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:13); Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (26:22)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 18:38 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (8-5-2), Nick Leddy (4-5-1), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 25, Pittsburgh 32 (44%).

Brock Nelson won 8 of 13 for the Isles;  Sidney Crosby won 13 of 21 for Pittsburgh. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period  9/18; 2nd period 7/21; 3rd period 9/18.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 19/45, Power play 1/5, Penalty kill 5/7.

Hit Count

Isles 46 (Matt Martin-8)  

Pittsburgh 39 (Bryan Rust & Zach Aston-Reese-6)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total –5 (Scott Mayfield -2, Ross Johnston-2, Anders Lee).  

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 17 shots (Nick Leddy and Brock Nelson -3).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 47, Pittsburgh 48

5-on-5 Isles 37, Pittsburgh 42

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Four with +5

Pittsburgh: Brian Dumoulin and Bryan Rust +11 

 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 10-10-3 in night games and 3-1-0 in matinees. The next matinee is on January 12th vs. the Rangers. 

Ironmen

Anders Lee 145, Brock Nelson 122, Mathew Barzal 109

`

Scratches

(Andrew Ladd – IR), (Robin Lehner-INJ) Ross Johnston, Luca Sbisa. 

Total games lost: 36

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 three times 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)

11/23 – NJ Devils – Marcus Johansson tied game (19:49), 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 …

5. Bob Bourne 814***6. Mike Bossy 752 *** 7. Josh Bailey 742

Goals

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

16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 18.  Anders Lee 135 ***19. Joshua Bailey 131…

24. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 27. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 28. Brock Nelson 109

Assists

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

12. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 268

Points

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

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 399

Games Played (Goalies)

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

7. Glenn Healy 176 *** 8. Thomas Greiss 137

Wins (Goalie)

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

5. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Thomas Greiss 71

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series two games to one (and 4 points to 3).  The teams will finish the season series at the Coliseum on Monday.

 

This was the Isles' first regulation loss in their last five trips to Pittsburgh (2-1-2). Overall, the Isles are 3-1-1 in their last five games and 5-21-3 in their last 10 games against the Pens.

On the Farm 

Chris Bourque scored a power play goal midway through the third period to break a 1-1 tie as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers earned a 2-1 win in Hartford on Wednesday. 

Bridgeport is 14-7-3-1 and has earned points in 13 of their last 15 games (10-2-2-1). 

The Sound Tigers have hit a bit of a lull in their schedule as their Saturday afternoon game in Wilkes Barre-Scranton is their only game until December 14th.

 

Leaders:  Goals: Steve Bernier 10; Assists: Joshua Ho-Sang 20 (Tied – AHL lead); Points: Ho-Sang 22.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 7-4-1 (2.88 GAA); Christopher Gibson 7-3-3 (3.34 GAA)

Up Next

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7th – ISLANDERS AT DETROIT 7:00PM 

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

The Isles will visit Little Caesars Arena for only the 2nd time as they face the Red Wings for the first time this season. 

The Isles took two of three from Detroit last season, with both Islander wins coming in overtime (Brock Nelson/John Tavares).  All three games were high-scoring as the Isles outscored the Wings 15-14.

The Isles are 7-3-0 in their last 10 visit to the Motor City and are 4-2-1 in their last 7 games between the teams.  This is the first of consecutive Saturday night matchups between the team, who will play on Long Island next weekend.

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: Winnipeg 3, Isles 1

"The Skinny"

 By Eric Hornick    (Please excuse the formatting!)

 

Game 26

Winnipeg 3, Isles 1

 

Jacob Trouba and Adam Lowry scored 22 seconds apart in the third period as the Winnipeg Jets offset an Anders Lee goal earlier in the frame and defeated the Isles 3-1, before a Barclays Center crowd of 9,125.

 

Lee, who now leads the Isles in goals (10), scored the Isles' first goal for the third straight game.

 

The Scoring:

 

1^st Period

No Scoring

 

2^nd Period

No Scoring

3^rd Period

1:33      EV        NYI      27 A.LEE(10)    29 B.NELSON(10)         55 J.BOYCHUK(4)

3:39      PP        WPG    8 J.TROUBA(3) 26 B.WHEELER(31)      81 K.CONNOR(15)      

4:01      EV        WPG    17 A.LOWRY(5) 13 B.TANEV(6) 85 M.PERREAULT(6)

19:57    EV-EN  WPG    27 N.EHLERS(9)           unassisted                   

 

The Skinny  

For the third time in four games, the Isles scored the first goal and didn't score again… This was only the fifth Isles game to be tied after two periods (2-2-1), but the third straight (1-1-1)… The Isles' power play went 0-2 and fell to 4-46 (8.7%) since November 1; the power play is 0-17 in the last eight games.  It's the longest Isles streak without a power play goal since they went 12 straight games in November/December 2010 (which tied the club record)…The Isles' fourth line combined for 12 hits; it's third straight game since the trio was reunited that they have had at least 12; Matt Martin had eight of the 12 hits …The Isles held Winnipeg to just three shots in the first period and outshot the Jets 28-24; they have outshot the opposition in just one of their first 13 wins… Thomas Greiss started in goal for the 10^th consecutive home game…Brock Nelson's assist was the 99^th of his career…The Jets swept their three-game trip to the Metropolitan area, winning Saturday (OT) in New Jersey, Sunday in Manhattan (SO), and Tuesday in Brooklyn, and scoring a total of eight goals in the third period of the three games…Blake Wheeler recorded an assist for the 6^th straight game.

 

Chasing 400

Josh Bailey is one point away from becoming only the 14^th player in Islander history with 400 points; like the other 13, Bailey is an Isles draft pick.   

Chasing Al

Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2^nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz' NHL record is 775-578-60-137 in 1550 games and is now just seven wins behind Al Arbour on the all-time win list.

 

Most Coaching Wins

1.      Scotty Bowman  1244

2.      Joel Quenneville  890

3.      Ken Hitchcock     827

4.      Al Arbour           782

5.      Barry Trotz        775

 

Most Games Coached

1.      Scotty Bowman  2141

2.      Joel Quenneville 1636

3.      Al Arbour           1607

4.      Barry Trotz        1550

5.      Ken Hitchcock    1543

 

Trotz will catch Al Arbour in games coached on Opening Night next season. If Quenneville doesn't return to coaching Trotz would pass him sometime in December 2019.

 

This Season vs. Last Season

This Season: 13-10-3 (29 points), with 77 goals scored and 74 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 16-8-2 (34 points), with 99 goals scored and 86 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

(The Isles were eight games over NHL .500 after 26 games last year, but they would not reach that mark again, going 19-29-8 over the remainder of the season.)

 

First Things First                                                                                   

The Isles are 9-4-3 when scoring first and 4-6-0 when allowing the opening goal.

 

The Shots

Isles        8-12-8=28

Winnipeg 3-15-6=24

The Isles are 1-7-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 12-2-3 when they are outshot.

 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 13-10-3 overall; 7-4-2 at home (1-0-0 on Long Island and 6-4-2 in Brooklyn) and 6-6-1 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Winnipeg is 17-8-2 overall; 9-3-2 at home and 8-5-0 on the road.  

 

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 10-2-0 in Division games and 3-8-3 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 10-4-3 against the East and 3-6-0 against the West. 

 

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 21 saves but falls to 9-5-1 on the season and 4-2-1 in his career against Winnipeg.

 

Connor Hellebuyck made 27 saves and improves to 12-7-1 on the season and 3-1-0 in his career against the Isles.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play in 2:35 of PP time; Winnipeg was 1-3 on the power play in 4:16 of PP time.

The Isles are 9-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-9-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 4-6-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-4-0 when they do not.    

 

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 11-1-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-9-2 when they do not. 

 

One Goal Games

The Isles are 5-1-3 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 2-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-2 in shootouts.  The Isles are 1-3 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 2-1-0 in the front half and 3-0-0 in the back half.  The next back-to-back is December 17^th in Colorado and December 18 in Arizona.

 

Tired vs. Rested

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

·        The Isles are 1-0-1 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 9-10-2 when both teams are rested.

 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (21:49); Winnipeg: Jacob Trouba (28:01)

Jordan Eberle led Isles forwards with 17:53 of ice-time.

 

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (8-4-2), Nick Leddy (4-5-1), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0).

 

Face-offs

Isles 21, Winnipeg 32 (40%).

 

No Isle who took multiple face-offs won more than he lost: Mark Schiefele won 12 of 16 for Winnipeg.

Face-offs by period: 1^st period  8/15; 2^nd period 9/24; 3^rd period 4/14.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 19/46, Power play 1/3, Penalty kill 1/4.

 

Hit Count

Isles 24 (Matt Martin-8) 

Winnipeg 17 (Brendan Lemieux-3)

 

Fights

There were no fights. Season total –5 (Scott Mayfield -2, Ross Johnston-2, Anders Lee). 

 

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 16 shots (Tom Kuhnhackl -3). 

 

For the Corsi Crowd

All situations: Isles 58, Winnipeg 45 (including 22-12 in the Isles' favor in the 2^nd period)

5-on-5 Isles 50, Winnipeg 39

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Brock Nelson +12

Winnipeg: Mathieu Perreault +4

 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 10-9-3 in night games and 3-1-0 in matinees. The next matinee is on January 12^th vs. the Rangers.

 

Ironmen

Anders Lee 144, Brock Nelson 121, Mathew Barzal 108

 

Scratches

(Andrew Ladd – IR), (Robin Lehner-INJ) Ross Johnston, Luca Sbisa.

Total games lost: 34

 

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 three times 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)

11/23 – NJ Devils – Marcus Johansson tied game (19:49), 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 …

5. Bob Bourne 814***6. Mike Bossy 752 *** 7. Josh Bailey 741

 

Goals

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

16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 18.  Anders Lee 134 ***19. Joshua Bailey 131…

24. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 27. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 28. Brock Nelson 108

 

Assists

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

12. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 268

 

Points

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

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 399

 

Games Played (Goalies)

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

7. Glenn Healy 176 *** 8. Roland Melanson & Thomas Greiss 136

 

Wins (Goalie)

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

5. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Thomas Greiss 71

 

Season Series Stats

Winnipeg leads the season series one game to none (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will next meet in Winnipeg on March 28^th.

 

The Isles are 11-6-1 against the Jets since the franchise moved to Manitoba seven years ago.

 

On the Farm

Joshua Ho-Sang scored his second goal of the season 1:31 into overtime as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers earned a 5-4 win in Springfield on Sunday.  Ho-Sang also earned an assist earlier in the game, giving him four points in the two games on the weekend

 

Bridgeport is 13-7-3-1 and has earned points in 12 of their last 14 games (9-2-2-1).

 

The Sound Tigers head back to Springfield on Sunday and then face Hartford on Wednesday.

 

Leaders:  Goals: Steve Bernier 10; Assists: Joshua Ho-Sang 20 (Leads entire AHL); Points: Ho-Sang 22.  Goalies: Christopher Gibson 7-3-3 (3.34 GAA); Jeremy Smith 6-4-1 (3.04 GAA)

 

Up Next

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5th – ISLANDERS AT PITTSBURGH 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30pm), WRCN 103.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, Radio.com]
The Islanders begin a two-game road trip on Thursday as they face the Pittsburgh Penguins for the third time this season.

 

 

The Isles swept a home and home from Pittsburgh 10/30-11/1.  The Isles are 2-0-2 in their last four games in Pittsburgh; this marks the first time they have earned points in four straight games in Pittsburgh since a 12-game streak (7-0-3-2) between 2001 and 2006.  Overall, the Isles are 3-0-1 in their last four games and 5-1-3 in their last 9 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: Isles 3, Columbus 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 25

Isles 3, Columbus 2

You can go home again.

In their first meaningful game at Nassau Coliseum after an absence of 1,316 days, the Islanders rallied from a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, before a sellout crowd of 13,917. Casey Cizikas scored the only goal of the third period to give the Islanders, and their fans, a most memorable win. 

The Blue Jackets had taken a 2-0 lead after a pair of goals 1:47 apart in the second period.  Anders Lee scored the Isles' first goal in 84:42 after video review reversed an originally disallowed goal; Anthony Beauvillier tied the game has 3:25 after Lee's goal. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

Markus Hannikainen (4)  Seth Jones 06:46 CBJ 1,NYI 0

Pierre-Luc Dubois (13) Cam Atkinson 08:33 CBJ 2,NYI 0

Anders Lee (9) Jordan Eberle, Scott Mayfield 11:59 CBJ 2,NYI 1

Anthony Beauvillier (7) Josh Bailey, Scott Mayfield 15:24 CBJ 2,NYI 2

3rd Period

Casey Cizikas (6) Ryan Pulock, Jordan Eberle 07:09 CBJ 2,NYI 3

The Skinny  

Anders Lee's goal was his second in as many games, and the first scored by an Islander since Cal Clutterbuck's empty-netter sealed a game 6 win vs. Washington on April 25, 2015…Anthony Beauvillier improved to 6-2-8 in his last eight games…This was only the fourth Isles game to be tied after two periods (2-1-1)… The Isles' power play went 0-3 and fell to 4-44 (9.1%) since November 1; the power play is 0-15 in the last seven games…The Isles' fourth line combined for 13 hits for the second straight game, and this time had the winning goal.…This was the 12th  consecutive sellout at Nassau Coliseum (15th including playoffs)…It's the first time since March 14, 2016 (vs. Florida) that the Isles have rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win in regulation…The Isles won a home game on December 1st for the first time in club history (1-5-0)…The Isles were outshot 30-29; they have been outshot in 12 of their first 13 wins…With the win, the Isles regained a playoff position as the moved into 3rd place in the Metro…Thomas Greiss started in goal for the 9th consecutive home game…Cam Atkinson recorded his 300th point as he extended his point streak to 10 games (tied-2nd in Columbus history)…Scott Mayfield assisted on both second period goals; he is now 3-10-13 on the season and leads all Isles defenders in all three categories. He has tied his career high in assists and set a new career high in points...The Blue Jackets' top defensive pair (Seth Jones/Zach Werenski) combined for 22:00 of ice-time in the third period alone.

Chasing 400

Josh Bailey's assist on Beauvillier's goal was his 399th point.  He is one point away from becoming only the 14th player in Islander history with 400 points; like the other 13, Bailey is an Isles draft pick.  Bailey has now played in 740 games, matching the total of wins Al Arbour had behind the Isles bench.

Chasing Al

Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz' NHL record is 775-577-60-137 in 1549 games and is now just seven wins behind Al Arbour on the all-time win list.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1244

2. Joel Quenneville  890

3. Ken Hitchcock    826

4. Al Arbour   782

5. Barry Trotz  775

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2141

2. Joel Quenneville 1636

3. Al Arbour   1607

4. Barry Trotz  1549

5. Ken Hitchcock  1541

Trotz will catch Al Arbour in games coached on Opening Night next season. If Quenneville doesn't return to coaching Trotz would pass him sometime in December 2019.

This Season vs. Last Season

This Season: 13-9-3 (29 points), with 76 goals scored and 71 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 15-7-2 (32 points), with 94 goals scored and 82 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 9-3-3 when scoring first and 4-6-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles      7-12-10=29

Columbus 9-5-16=30

The Isles are 1-6-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 12-2-3 when they are outshot. 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 13-9-3 overall; 7-3-2 at home (1-0-0 on Long Island and 6-3-2 in Brooklyn) and 6-6-1 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Columbus is 15-9-2 overall; 7-4-1 at home and 8-5-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 10-2-0 in Division games and 3-7-3 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 10-4-3 against the East and 3-5-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 28 saves to improve to 9-4-1 on the season and 6-6-3 in his career against Columbus.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves but falls to 10-8-0 on the season and 15-6-0 in his career against the Isles.

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play in 4:04 of PP time; Columbus was 0-2 on the power play in 2:04 of PP time.

The Isles are 9-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-8-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 4-5-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-4-0 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 11-1-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-8-2 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 5-1-3 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 2-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-2 in shootouts.  The Isles are 1-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs 

The Isles are 2-1-0 in the front half and 3-0-0 in the back half.  The next back-to-back is December 17th in Colorado and December 18 in Arizona. 

Tired vs. Rested

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

• The Isles are 1-0-1 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 9-9-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (22:54); Columbus: Seth Jones 29:24

Cal Clutterbuck led Isles forwards with a season-high 17:02 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (8-3-2), Nick Leddy (4-5-1), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 24, Columbus 26 (48%).

Brock Nelson and Valtteri Filppula each won 8 of 13 for the Isles; Brandon Dubinsky won 12 of 18 for Columbus. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period  10/18; 2nd period 6/;13; 3rd period 8/19.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 21/44, Power play 2/3, Penalty kill 1/3.

Hit Count

Isles 35 (Matt Martin & Cal Clutterbuck -6)  

Columbus 35 (Seth Jones & John Anderson-5)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total –5 (Scott Mayfield -2, Ross Johnston-2, Anders Lee).  

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 13 shots (Ryan Pulock -3).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 46, Columbus 54 (including 22-12 in the Isles' favor in the 2nd period)

5-on-5 Isles 38, Columbus 44

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Adam Pelech +6

Columbus: Artemi Panarin/Riley Nash +6 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 10-8-3 in night games and 3-1-0 in matinees. The next matinee is on January 12th vs. the Rangers. 

Ironmen

Anders Lee 143, Brock Nelson 120, Mathew Barzal 107

Scratches

(Andrew Ladd – IR), Ross Johnston, Stephen Gionta, Luca Sbisa. 

Total games lost: 32

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 three times 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)

11/23 – NJ Devils – Marcus Johansson tied game (19:49), 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 …

5. Bob Bourne 814***6. Mike Bossy 752 *** 7. Josh Bailey 740

Goals

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

16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 18.  Anders Lee 133 ***19. Joshua Bailey 131…

24. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 27. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 28. Brock Nelson 108

Assists

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

12. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 268

Points

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

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 399

Games Played (Goalies)

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

7. Glenn Healy 176 *** 8. Roland Melanson 136 *** 9.Thomas Greiss 135

Wins (Goalie)

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

5. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Thomas Greiss 71

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series one game to none (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will next meet in Columbus on Valentine's Day. The Jackets are one of three teams that will visit the Coliseum twice this season (Toronto and Philadelphia are the others).

The Isles are 10-1-4 in their last 15 home games with Columbus.

On the Farm 

Parker Wotherspoon scored the Sound Tigers' only goal, but Bridgeport dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to Providence on Saturday.  Joshua Ho-Sang assisted on the goal; it was his 19th assist and 20th point of the season. Bridgeport is 12-7-3-1 and has earned points in 11 of their last 13 games (8-2-2-1). 

The Sound Tigers head back to Springfield on Sunday and then face Hartford on Wednesday.

Leaders:  Goals: Steve Bernier 10; Assists: Joshua Ho-Sang 19 (Leads all active AHL players); Points: Ho-Sang 20.  Goalies: Christopher Gibson 7-3-3 (3.34 GAA); Jeremy Smith 5-4-1 (2.96 GAA)

Up Next

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3RD – WIINIPEG AT ISLANDERS (AT BARCLAYS CENTER) 7:00PM 

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

Winnipeg concludes its three game in four-day Metro area tour as they face the Isles as Barclays Center on Tuesday.

The teams split a pair of games last December, with the Isles win coming in Brooklyn behind a Mathew Barzal hat trick.  The Isles are 11-5-1 against the Jets since the franchise moved to Manitoba seven years ago.

The Jets, who won in overtime at New Jersey on Saturday, will face the Rangers on Sunday before heading into 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

It Happened at the Coliseum on December 1st

Back by popular demand, you'll see an It Happened at the Coliseum every morning that the Islanders play this season at the Coliseum.

I hope you'll enjoy this trip down memory lane that when it was originally produced raised over $32,000 for Make-A-Wish of Metro NY.

It's ironic that the first (non-pre-season) Islander home game on Long Island in 1,316 days, and the first in regular season play in 1,330 days is regular season play is scheduled for December 1st.  Other than New Year's Day, December 1st is the only day in the core hockey season that the Isles have never earned a point at home.  (In fact, their only win on this date ever came two years ago in DC when Jaroslav Halak blanked Trotz and company.)

The Isles will look to right that statistic tonight, when once again it will Happen at the Coliseum.

It Happened at the Coliseum … on DECEMBER 1st

41 years ago tonight (1973) – Billy Smith was voted the game’s #1 star, but it wasn’t enough as the Isles fell 2-1 to Philadelphia before a sellout crowd at the Coliseum.  Billy Harris had given the Islanders a 1-0 first period lead but Orest Kindrachuk and Jimmy Watson scored 1:16 apart in the second period to turn the game in Philadelphia’s favor.  Smith finished with 30 saves.  Ed Westfall led the Isles with six shots on goal.

Smith's mini-locker, distributed in 2014

Also on this date: (2007) -  Kari Lehtonen made 33 saves and Ilya Kovlachuk had the winning goal in the opening minute as the Atlanta Thrashers blanked the Isles 4-0. "It was an all-star goal," Islanders forward Mike Sillinger said. "We had all our coverage. He made a great move."

There weren't many highlights (certainly from an Islander perspective) but JP Dellacamera had the calls on SportSouth:

All-time, the Isles have played five December 1st games at the Coliseum and have an 0-5-0 record on this date at 1255 Hempstead Turnpike in Uniondale.