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Saturday, January 12, 2019

The Skinny: Rangers 2, Isles 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 43
Rangers 2, Isles 1
Mats Zuccarello scored the winning goal with 5:05 to play as the Rangers earned a split of the home-and-home series with the Isles with a 2-1 victory at Barclays Center before a near-capacity crowd of 15,497. 

After combining for eight power play goals in the first three games of the season series, the teams combined to go 0-10 on the power play, with both teams failing on lengthy 5-on-3 attempts.

Robin Lehner allowed only two goals, but that was enough to cost him his career-best eight -game winning streak. 
 
The Scoring:  
1st Period
No Goals

2nd Period
Anthony Beauvillier (12) Josh Bailey, Ryan Pulock 08:40 NYR 0,NYI 1
Filip Chytil (7) Boo Nieves 14:09 NYR 1,NYI 1

3rd Period
Mats Zuccarello (5) Tony DeAngelo, Mika Zibanejad 14:55 NYR 2,NYI 1 

The Skinny     
Anthony Beauvillier scored the only Islander goal; he now has a team-leading 10 goals on home-ice (7 in Brooklyn and three on Long Island); Anders Lee is second with seven goals at home…Josh Bailey recorded his 277th assist, leaving him one behind Bob Nystrom and two behind Pat LaFontaine on the all-time Isles list…The Isles are now six points ahead of last season's pace through 43 games; including shootout winners they have scored 17 fewer goals and allowed 42 fewer goals than last year's first 43 games…   With the loss the Isles remain in the top wild card spot (pending night games); they also remain in 4th place in the Metro,  just one point behind Columbus…  Anders Lee's assist streak ended at four games….Filip Chytil has three goals in five career games against the Isles…The Isles have won only 52% of the games they scored first (12-7-4); they have won 60% of the games they allowed the opening goal (12-8-0)… The Isles have 29 points on the road and 23 points at home.  Of the top four teams in the Metro, only Pittsburgh has more points on home ice than on the road… The Isles fall to 19-5-3 when they are outshot; the 19 wins lead the entire NHL when outshot…Alexandar Georgiev (0.87GAA, .967 save percentage) allowed only two goals in 138 minutes against the Isles…While the Isles have done much better in recent years, they fell to 14-27-11 in the game following a win at Madison Square Garden.

Looking Back to Thursday
The Isles scored on their only shot on goal of the third period on Thursday; it's the fourth time in club history that the Isles have scored a goal on their only shot on goal in a period.

Clark Gillies 11/1/1976 – 7:45 of 3rd period vs. Vancouver
Mark Parrish 3/9/2004 – 8:33 of 2nd period at St. Louis
Josh Bailey 12/9/2014—17:17 of 2nd period at Minnesota
Josh Bailey 1/10/2019—18:34 of 3rd period at Rangers

Like Bailey's goal on Thursday, Gillies' tally was also a game-winner.

Strength in the Nets
Robin Lehner has allowed only 18 goals in his last 12 games (8-2-2, 1.540 GAA, .945 save percentage). In his four non-wins in that stretch he has allowed only seven goals. 

Lehner was the 4th Goalie in Isles history to record at least eight straight wins:
11: Jaroslav Halak (Nov-Dec 2014)
10: Billy Smith (Jan-Feb 1982)
8: ROBIN LEHNER (Dec 2018-Jan 2019)
8: Mark Fitzpatrick (Dec 1989-Jan 1990)

Most Points Thru 43 Games (Post-Cup Era)
59: 2014-15
52: 2018-19

Most Points Thru 23 Road Games (Post-Cup Era)
31: 2013
29: 2018-19

Road Warriors
The Isles have won five straight games on the road; it's their longest road winning streak since a 7-game streak in the 2013-14 season.

The Isles are 8-1-0 in their last nine road games; the 16 points match the most ever for the club in a 9-game stretch of road games (done also in 1980-81, 1981-82 and 2013-14).

Worst to First
The Isles allowed the most goals in the NHL last season.  Here's where they are this season: (pending Saturday night games)

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (Including SO goals)  [not including Saturday night games]
1. Boston 114 
2. ISLES 116
3. Nashville 116

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (excluding SO goals) [not including Saturday night games]
1. ISLES 113 
2. Boston 114
3. Nashville 115

Last 30 Seasons: Most Goals by an Islander Before 22nd Birthday:
1. John Tavares 84
2. Anthony Beauvillier 42
Beauvillier's 22nd birthday is not until June.

Last 30 Seasons: Most Assists and Points by an Islander Before 22nd Birthday:
1. John Tavares 118 assists, 202 points
2. Mathew Barzal 91 assists, 126 points
Barzal's 22nd birthday is not until May.

Most 3+ Point Games by an Islander Before Age 22
34 Bryan Trottier
18 John Tavares
16 Denis Potvin
14 Mike Bossy
12 Mathew Barzal
12 Pat LaFontaine
 
Coach Trotz
Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz' NHL record is 786-583-60-138 in 1,567 games. 

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville  890
3. Ken Hitchcock    835 
4. Barry Trotz   786
5. Al Arbour   782

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,636
3. Al Arbour   1,607
4. Barry Trotz   1,567
5. Ken Hitchcock   1,560

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: 24-15-4 (52 points), with 129 goals scored and 116 goals allowed (includes SO winners)
Last Season: 21-18-4 (46 points), with 146 goals scored and 158 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First
The Isles  are 12-7-4 when scoring first and are 12-8-0 when allowing the opening goal. The Isles won 12 games all last season (12-27-5) when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots
Isles       10-8-7=25
Rangers 8-7-11=26
The Isles are 5-9-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 19-5-3 when they are outshot. [The club record for wins when being outshot is 25, set in 1983-84 and equaled last season.]

Home and Road
The Islanders are 24-15-4 overall; 10-7-3 at home (3-1-1 on Long Island and 7-6-2 in Brooklyn) and 14-8-1 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.
The Rangers are 18-19-7 overall; 11-6-5 at home and 7-13-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference
The Isles are 11-5-1 in Division games and 13-10-3 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 16-7-4 against the East and 8-8-0 against the West.  

In the Nets
Robin Lehner made 24 saves but falls to 12-7-3 on the season and 3-6-2 in his career against the Rangers.   

Alexandar Georgiev made 24 saves and improves to 6-7-0 on the season and 2-1-0 in his career against the Isles.
 
Power Plays
The Isles were 0-6 on the power play in 10:36 of PP time (including two 5-on-3s totaling 1:24); the Rangers were 0-4 on the power play in 7:12 of PP time (including a :48 5-on-3 in the second period). 
The Isles are 16-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-14-3 when they do not.  The Isles are 10-10-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 13-5-1 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 22-2-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-13-3 when they do not.  

One Goal Games
The Isles are 10-4-4 in games decided by a single goal including 5-4 in regulation. They are 3-1 in games decided in overtime and are 2-3 in shootouts.  The Isles are 3-4 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs 
Including today, the Isles are 4-2-0 in the front half and 5-0-0 in the back half. This back-to-back concludes Sunday vs. Tampa Bay.  The next back-to-back is Thursday vs. New Jersey and Friday at Washington.
 
Tired vs. Rested
The Isles are 2-0-0 when both teams played the night before. 
The Isles are 2-0-1 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 
The Isles are 4-0-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.
The Isles are 16-15-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Ryan Pulock (24:24); Rangers: Mika Zibanejad (22:23)
Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 20:21 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (13-7-3), Nick Leddy (7-7-1), Scott Mayfield (4-1-0).

Face-offs
Isles 27, Rangers 24 (53%).  

Josh Bailey won 4 of 7 for the Isles; Mika Zibanejad won 17 of 29 for the Rangers. 
Face-offs by period: 1st period  10/14; 2nd period 8/20; 3rd period 9/17.
Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 19/36, Power play 6/9, Penalty kill 2/6.

Hit Count
Isles 21 (Matt Martin & Ross Johnston - 3)  
Rangers 27 (Adam Mc Quaid - 5)
   
Fights
There were no fights. Season total –12 (Scott Mayfield -4, Ross Johnston-3, Matt Martin -2, Josh Bailey, Johnny Boychuk, Anders Lee).  

Blocked Shots
The Isles blocked 13 shots (Three with 2) 

For the Corsi Crowd 
All situations: Isles 51, Rangers 45
5-on-5 Isles 38, Rangers 37

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Cal Clutterbuck, Ross Johnston & Devon Toews +3
Rangers: Tony DeAngelo +11
 
Night and Day
The Isles are 21-13-4 in night games and 3-2-0 in matinees. The next matinee is on January 12th vs. the Rangers. 

Ironmen
Anders Lee 161, Brock Nelson 138, Mathew Barzal 125

Scratches
(Andrew Ladd – IR), (Thomas Hickey- IR),Tom Kuhnhackl, Michael Dal Colle,  Adam Pelech
Total games lost: 87

Late Heroes
The Isles have scored once in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or take the lead:
1/11- NY Rangers -Josh Bailey scored the winning goal (18:34)

Late Goals Allowed
The Isles have allowed a goal four 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.
12/15- DET Red Wings – Thomas Vanek tied game (18:57), but Isles won in a shootout.

Offside Challenges
12/8 vs DET Red Wings – Red Wings goal overturned after successful Isles challenge.
12/20 vs VEG Golden Knights – Golden Knights goal overturned after successful Isles challenge.
1/8 vs CAR Hurricanes – Isles goal overturned after successful Hurricane challenge

Comeback Kids
The Isles are 5-3-0 when trailing in a game by a 2-0 score, defeating NYR (11/15), CBJ (12/1), DET (12/8),OTT (12/28) and STL (1/5); all five wins have been in regulation.

The Isles are 8-1-1 when scoring the game's first two goals.

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Clark Gillies 872 *** 
5. Bob Bourne 814***6. Josh Bailey 758

Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Anders Lee 140 *** 18. Kyle Okposo 139 ***19. Josh Bailey 133…
24. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 27. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 28. Brock Nelson 114

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553…
12. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 277

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052…
12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 410

Games Played (Goalies)
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 …
7. Glenn Healy 176 *** 8. Thomas Greiss 143

Wins (Goalie)
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130*** 4. Kelly Hrudey 108***
5. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Thomas Greiss 74

Season Series Stats
The teams split the season series two games to two (and 4 points to 4).   
 
The Isles fall to 9-2-0 in the last 11 games against the Rangers and 13-3-0 in the last 16 match-ups. It's the Rangers' first win in eight games at Barclays Center; the 7-game home winning streak was the Isles' longest against the Rangers since 1991-1992.

On the Farm 
Bridgeport snapped a three-game winless streak with a 4-3 overtime win on Friday in Utica.  Parker Wotherspoon scored the winner for the Sound Tigers; Josh Ho-Sang had a pair of assists in his return to the Sound Tiger lineup.  Bridgeport is 22-11-4-2 record for the season.

The Sound Tigers host Hartford on Saturday night. 

Leaders:  Goals: Michael Dal Colle 16 ; Assists: Josh Ho-Sang 22; Points: Dal Colle 28.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 12-6-2 (2.71 GAA); Christopher Gibson 10-5-4 (3.06 GAA)

Up Next
SUNDAY, JANUARY 13th –  TAMPA BAY AT ISLANDERS AT BARCLAYS CENTER 7:00PM 
[MSG+(Pre-game at 6:30pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM,WRCN 103.9FM, Radio.com] 

The Isles look for their sixth straight win on the back-end of a back-to-back as they entertain the Lightning.

It's the second meeting of the season between the teams; Tampa Bay got a Tyler Johnson goal with 1:26 remaining to break a 2-2 tie on November 8th.

The Lightning (17-1-1 in their last 19 entering Saturday's game vs. Buffalo) have won six of the last seven 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

Friday, January 11, 2019

The Skinny: Isles 4, Rangers 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 42
Isles 4, Rangers 3
The Rangers outshot the Isles 17-1 in the third period, but Josh Bailey made the Isles' shot count as the Isles defeated the Rangers 4-3 at Madison Square Garden before a near-capacity crowd of 17,938. 

Bailey's winning goal was the only one that Mathew Barzal (1-2-3) wasn't involved in; Barzal now has 14 points in his first seven career games against the Rangers.

Robin Lehner made 16 saves in the third period to become the fourth goalie in Islander history to record eight straight wins.  

The Isles are 10-2-0 in their last twelve games; they have won five straight road games.  The teams will complete the home-and-home at Barclays Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Scoring:  
1st Period
Ryan Strome (6) Jimmy Vesey, Filip Chytil 01:38 NYI 0,NYR 1 PPG
Mathew Barzal (13) Johnny Boychuk 02:31 NYI 1,NYR 1
Jordan Eberle (9) Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal 08:51 NYI 2,NYR 1 PPG

2nd Period
Kevin Shattenkirk (2) Fredrik Claesson 01:11 NYI 2,NYR 2
Anders Lee (16) Nick Leddy, Mathew Barzal 03:08 NYI 3,NYR 2 PPG

3rd Period
Jesper Fast (7) Neal Pionk, Pavel Buchnevich 08:40 NYI 3,NYR 3
Josh Bailey (9) Cal Clutterbuck, Johnny Boychuk 18:34 NYI 4,NYR 3

The Skinny    
One game after having a goal reversed by an offside challenge,  Jordan Eberle scored his 9th goal of the season…Mathew Barzal now has 126 points in 126 career NHL games…The Isles are now eight points ahead of last season's pace through 42 games; including shootout winners they have scored 13 fewer goals and allowed 40 fewer goals than last year's first 42 games…   With the win the Isles regain the top wild card spot; they remain in 4th place in the Metro,  just one point behind Columbus…  Captain Anders Lee recorded his 17th assist of the season on the Eberle goal. It was the 100th assist of Lee's career; Lee had career highs in both goals (40) and assists (22) last season…The Isles have won only 55% of the games they scored first (12-6-4); they have won 60% of the games they allowed the opening goal (12-8-0)…Matt Martin finished with eight hits, increasing his team-leading total to 136.  It was the sixth time this season that Martin has had at least eight hits (five times in Divisional Games)…The Isles now have 29 points on the road and 23 points at home.  Of the top four teams in the Metro, only Pittsburgh has more points on home ice than on the road…Kevin Shattenkirk scored for the first time in 20 games…Devon Toews saw his three-game point streak end… The Isles scored two power play goals for the third time this season (twice against the Rangers); both teams have scored four power play goals in the season series… The Isles (12-8-0) are one of three teams to have won more than half of the games they allowed the opening goal [Tampa Bay (16-6-0) and Winnipeg (13-9-0) are the others…The Isles have now earned 29 points in 23 road games this season; it's only the second time in the post-Cup era that they have had 29 points in the first 23 on the road. They had only 29 points in the first 33 road games last season…The Isles improve to 19-4-3 when they are outshot.  The 19 wins lead the entire NHL when outshot.

First Time Ever
The Isles are 6-0-0 this season when they are held to 20 shots or less; it's the first time in Islander history that they have won six straight games when held to 20 shot or less.

Just Sid and The Kid (who won the Calder)
Mathew Barzal now has 14 career points against the Rangers in seven games, including three games with at least three points.  Barzal and Sidney Crosby are the only players in the last 30 years to record at least three points in three games against the Rangers prior to his 22nd birthday.

Most 3+ Point Games by an Islander Before Age 22  (h/t NHL.com)
34 Bryan Trottier
18 John Tavares
16 Denis Potvin
14 Mike Bossy
12 Mathew Barzal
12 Pat LaFontaine
 
Streaking Lehner
Robin Lehner has won a career-high eight straight decisions. Lehner has allowed only 16 goals in his last 11 games (8-1-2, 1.50 GAA, .947 save percentage).  

Lehner is the 4th Goalie in Isles history to record at least eight straight wins:
11: Jaroslav Halak (Nov-Dec 2004)
10: Billy Smith (Jan-Feb 1982)
8: ROBIN LEHNER (CURRENT)
8: Mark Fitzpatrick (Dec 89-Jan 90)

USA Hockey
Anders Lee's goal was the 140th goal of his career.  He has broken a tie with Kyle Okposo for 2nd on the Islander goal-scoring list among American-born players, trailing only Pat LaFontaine (287). 

Most Points Thru 42 Games (Post-Cup Era)
57: 2014-15
52: 2018-19

Most Points Thru 23 Road Games (Post-Cup Era)
31: 2013
29: 2018-19

Road Warriors
The Isles have won five straight games on the road; it's their longest road winning streak since a 7-game streak in the 2013-14 season.

The Isles are 8-1-0 in their last nine road games; the 16 points match the most ever for the club in a 9-game stretch of road games (done also in 1980-81, 1981-82 and 2013-14).

Worst to First
The Isles allowed the most goals in the NHL last season.  Here's where they are this season:

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (Including SO goals)
1. ISLES 114
2. Boston 114
3. Nashville 116

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (excluding SO goals)
1. ISLES 111
2. Boston 114
3. Nashville 115

Last 30 Seasons: Most Goals by an Islander Before 22nd Birthday:
1. John Tavares 84
2. Anthony Beauvillier 41
Beauvillier's 22nd birthday is not until June.

Last 30 Seasons: Most Assists and Points by an Islander Before 22nd Birthday:
1. John Tavares 118 assists, 202 points
2. Mathew Barzal 91 assists, 126 points
Barzal's 22nd birthday is not until May.

Coach Trotz
Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz' NHL record is 786-582-60-138 in 1,566 games. 

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville  890
3. Ken Hitchcock    835 
4. Barry Trotz   786
5. Al Arbour   782

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,636
3. Al Arbour   1,607
4. Barry Trotz   1,566
5. Ken Hitchcock   1,560

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: 24-14-4 (52 points), with 128 goals scored and 114 goals allowed (includes SO winners)
Last Season: 20-18-4 (44 points), with 141 goals scored and 154 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First
The Isles  are 12-6-4 when scoring first and are 12-8-0 when allowing the opening goal. The Isles won 12 games all last season (12-27-5) when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots
Isles       10-9-1=20
Rangers 8-5-17=30
The Isles are 5-9-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 19-4-3 when they are outshot. [The club record for wins when being outshot is 25, set in 1983-84 and equaled last season.]

Home and Road
The Islanders are 24-14-4 overall; 10-6-3 at home (3-1-1 on Long Island and 7-5-2 in Brooklyn) and 14-8-1 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.
The Rangers are 17-19-7 overall; 11-6-5 at home and 6-13-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference
The Isles are 11-4-1 in Division games and 13-10-3 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 16-6-4 against the East and 8-8-0 against the West.  

In the Nets
Robin Lehner made 27 saves and improves to 12-6-3 on the season and 3-5-2 in his career against the Rangers.   

Henrik Lundqvist made 16 saves but falls to 12-12-7 on the season and 30-21-7 in his career against the Isles. He is 1-9-2 in his last 12 decisions against the Isles.
 
Power Plays
The Isles were 2-3 on the power play in 4:12 of PP time; the Rangers were 1-3 on the power play in 4:27 of PP time (including a :54 5-on-3 in the third period). 
The Isles are 16-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-13-3 when they do not.  The Isles are 10-10-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 13-4-1 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 22-2-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-12-3 when they do not.  

One Goal Games
The Isles are 10-3-4 in games decided by a single goal including 5-3 in regulation. They are 3-1 in games decided in overtime and are 2-3 in shootouts.  The Isles are 3-4 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs 
The Isles are 4-1-0 in the front half and 5-0-0 in the back half.   The next back-to-back is January 12th vs. the Rangers and January 13th vs. Tampa Bay.
 
Tired vs. Rested
The Isles are 2-0-0 when both teams played the night before. 
The Isles are 2-0-1 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 
The Isles are 4-0-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.
The Isles are 16-14-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Nick Leddy (22:00); Rangers: Kevin Shattenkirk (24:00)
Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 18:05 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (13-6-3), Nick Leddy (7-7-1), Scott Mayfield (4-1-0).

Face-offs
Isles 35,Rangers 24 (59%).  

Josh Bailey won 6 of 8 for the Isles; Brett Howden won 5 of 9 for the Rangers. 
Face-offs by period: 1st period  16/27; 2nd period 7/12; 3rd period 12/20.
Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 29/51, Power play 2/3, Penalty kill 4/5.

Hit Count
Isles 36 (Matt Martin - 8)  
Rangers 37 (Jesper Fast- 6)
   
Fights
Matt Martin fought Cody McLeod in the first period. Season total –12 (Scott Mayfield -4, Ross Johnston-3, Matt Martin -2, Josh Bailey, Johnny Boychuk, Anders Lee).  

Martin (88) and McLeod (158) have had more fights than any other active NHL players.

Blocked Shots
The Isles blocked 20 shots (Scott Mayfield -4) 

For the Corsi Crowd 
All situations: Isles 42, Rangers 64 (including 37-6 in the Rangers' favor in the 3rd period)
5-on-5 Isles 33, Rangers 48

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Cal Clutterbuck +5
Rangers: Frederik Claesson +12
 
Night and Day
The Isles are 21-13-4 in night games and 3-1-0 in matinees. The next matinee is on January 12th vs. the Rangers. 

Ironmen
Anders Lee 160, Brock Nelson 137, Mathew Barzal 124

Scratches
(Andrew Ladd – IR), (Thomas Hickey- IR),Tom Kuhnhackl, Michael Dal Colle,  Luca Sbisa
Total games lost: 85

Late Heroes
The Isles have scored once in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or take the lead:
1/11- NY Rangers -Josh Bailey scored the winning goal (18:34)

Late Goals Allowed
The Isles have allowed a goal four 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.
12/15- DET Red Wings – Thomas Vanek tied game (18:57), but Isles won in a shootout.

Offside Challenges
12/8 vs DET Red Wings – Red Wings goal overturned after successful Isles challenge.
12/20 vs VEG Golden Knights – Golden Knights goal overturned after successful Isles challenge.
1/8 vs CAR Hurricanes – Isles goal overturned after successful Hurricane challenge

Comeback Kids
The Isles are 5-3-0 when trailing in a game by a 2-0 score, defeating NYR (11/15), CBJ (12/1), DET (12/8),OTT (12.28) and STL (1/5);  all five wins have been in regulation.

The Isles are 8-1-1 when scoring the game's first two goals.

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Clark Gillies 872 *** 
5. Bob Bourne 814***6. Josh Bailey 757

Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Anders Lee 140 *** 18. Kyle Okposo 139 ***19. Josh Bailey 133…
24. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 27. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 28. Brock Nelson 114

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553…
12. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 276

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052…
12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 409

Games Played (Goalies)
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 …
7. Glenn Healy 176 *** 8. Thomas Greiss 143

Wins (Goalie)
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130*** 4. Kelly Hrudey 108***
5. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Thomas Greiss 74

Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series two games to one (and 4 points to 2).   
 
The Isles are 9-1-0 in the last 10 games against the Rangers and are 13-2-0 in the last 15 match-ups.

On the Farm 
Bridgeport is winless in their last three games, but they still have a 21-11-4-2 record for the season.

Rookie Otto Koivula leads all current Sound Tigers with 25 points on the season; he is also tied-5th among all AHL rookies in points. 

The Sound Tigers return to Upstate New York to face the Utica Comets on Friday.

Leaders:  Goals: Michael Dal Colle 16 ; Assists: Sebastian Aho 21; Points: Dal Colle 28.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 11-6-2 (2.70 GAA); Christopher Gibson 10-5-4 (3.06 GAA)

Up Next
SATURDAY, JANUARY 12th –  RANGERS AT ISLANDERS AT BARCLAYS CENTER 1:00PM 
[MSG+2(Pre-game at 12:30pm), WFAN 660/101.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM,WRCN 103.9FM, Radio.com] 

The Isles and Rangers will complete their season series with the back-end of this home-and-home series on Saturday afternoon at Barclays Center. beginning Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
 
This will be the eighth meeting between the teams in Brooklyn, and the Isles have won the first seven, outscoring the Rangers 25-12 (including one shootout winner).  The seven-game home winning streak is the Isles' longest against the Rangers since they beat them eight straight times at the Coliseum in 1991 and 1992.

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"

 

By Eric Hornick

 

Game 42

Isles 4, Rangers 3

The Rangers outshot the Isles 17-1 in the third period, but Josh Bailey made the Isles' shot count as the Isles defeated the Rangers 4-3 at Madison Square Garden before a near-capacity crowd of 17,938.

 

Bailey's winning goal was the only one that Mathew Barzal (1-2-3) wasn't involved in; Barzal now has 14 points in his first seven career games against the Rangers.

 

Robin Lehner made 16 saves in the third period to become the fourth goalie in Islander history to record eight straight wins. 

 

The Isles are 10-2-0 in their last twelve games; they have won five straight road games.  The teams will complete the home-and-home at Barclays Center on Saturday afternoon.

 

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Ryan Strome (6) Jimmy Vesey, Filip Chytil 01:38 NYI 0,NYR 1 PPG

Mathew Barzal (13) Johnny Boychuk 02:31 NYI 1,NYR 1

Jordan Eberle (9) Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal 08:51 NYI 2,NYR 1 PPG

 

2nd Period

Kevin Shattenkirk (2) Fredrik Claesson 01:11 NYI 2,NYR 2

Anders Lee (16) Nick Leddy, Mathew Barzal 03:08 NYI 3,NYR 2 PPG

 

3rd Period

Jesper Fast (7) Neal Pionk, Pavel Buchnevich 08:40 NYI 3,NYR 3

Josh Bailey (9) Cal Clutterbuck, Johnny Boychuk 18:34 NYI 4,NYR 3

 

The Skinny    

One game after having a goal reversed by an offside challenge,  Jordan Eberle scored his 9th goal of the season…Mathew Barzal now has 126 points in 126 career NHL games…The Isles are now eight points ahead of last season's pace through 42 games; including shootout winners they have scored 13 fewer goals and allowed 40 fewer goals than last year's first 42 games…   With the win the Isles regain the top wild card spot; they remain in 4th place in the Metro,  just one point behind Columbus…  Captain Anders Lee recorded his 17th assist of the season on the Eberle goal. It was the 100th assist of Lee's career; Lee had career highs in both goals (40) and assists (22) last season…The Isles have won only 55% of the games they scored first (12-6-4); they have won 60% of the games they allowed the opening goal (12-8-0)…Matt Martin finished with eight hits, increasing his team-leading total to 136.  It was the sixth time this season that Martin has had at least eight hits (five times in Divisional Games)…The Isles now have 29 points on the road and 23 points at home.  Of the top four teams in the Metro, only Pittsburgh has more points on home ice than on the road…Kevin Shattenkirk scored for the first time in 20 games…Devon Toews saw his three-game point streak end… The Isles scored two power play goals for the third time this season (twice against the Rangers); both teams have scored four power play goals in the season series… The Isles (12-8-0) are one of three teams to have won more than half of the games they allowed the opening goal [Tampa Bay (16-6-0) and Winnipeg (13-9-0) are the others…The Isles have now earned 29 points in 23 road games this season; it's only the second time in the post-Cup era that they have had 29 points in the first 23 on the road. They had only 29 points in the first 33 road games last season…The Isles improve to 19-4-3 when they are outshot.  The 19 wins lead the entire NHL when outshot…

 

First Time Ever

The Isles are 6-0-0 this season when they are held to 20 shots or less; it's the first time in Islander history that they have won six straight games when held to 20 shot or less.

 

Just Sid and The Kid (who won the Calder)

Mathew Barzal now has 14 career points against the Rangers in seven games, including three games with at least three points.  Barzal and Sidney Crosby are the only players in the last 30 years to record at least three points in three games against the Rangers prior to his 22nd birthday.

 

Most 3+ Point Games by an Islander Before Age 22  (h/t NHL.com)

·        34 Bryan Trottier

·        18 John Tavares

·        16 Denis Potvin

·        14 Mike Bossy

·        12 Mathew Barzal

·        12 Pat LaFontaine

 

Streaking Lehner

Robin Lehner has won a career-high eight straight decisions. Lehner has allowed only 16 goals in his last 11 games (8-1-2, 1.50 GAA, .947 save percentage). 

 

Lehner is the 4th Goalie in Isles history to record at least eight straight wins:

11: Jaroslav Halak (Nov-Dec 2004)

10: Billy Smith (Jan-Feb 1982)

8: ROBIN LEHNER (CURRENT)

8: Mark Fitzpatrick (Dec 89-Jan 90)

 

USA Hockey

Anders Lee's goal was the 140th goal of his career.  He has broken a tie with Kyle Okposo for 2nd on the Islander goal-scoring list among American-born players, trailing only Pat LaFontaine (287).

 

Most Points Thru 42 Games (Post-Cup Era)

·        57: 2014-15

·        52: 2018-19

 

Most Points Thru 23 Road Games (Post-Cup Era)

·        31: 2013

·        29: 2018-19

 

Road Warriors

The Isles have won five straight games on the road; it's their longest road winning streak since a 7-game streak in the 2013-14 season.

 

The Isles are 8-1-0 in their last nine road games; the 16 points match the most ever for the club in a 9-game stretch of road games (done also in 1980-81, 1981-82 and 2013-14).

 

Worst to First

The Isles allowed the most goals in the NHL last season.  Here's where they are this season:

 

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (Including SO goals)

1.      ISLES 114

2.      Boston 114

3.      Nashville 116

 

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (excluding SO goals)

1.      ISLES 111

2.      Boston 114

3.      Nashville 115

 

Last 30 Seasons: Most Goals by an Islander Before 22nd Birthday:

1.      John Tavares 84

2.      Anthony Beauvillier 41

Beauvillier's 22nd birthday is not until June.

 

Last 30 Seasons: Most Assists and Points by an Islander Before 22nd Birthday:

1.      John Tavares 118 assists, 202 points

2.      Mathew Barzal 91 assists, 126 points

Barzal's 22nd birthday is not until May.

 

Coach Trotz

Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz' NHL record is 786-582-60-138 in 1,566 games.

 

Most Coaching Wins

1.      Scotty Bowman  1,244

2.      Joel Quenneville  890

3.      Ken Hitchcock     835

4.      Barry Trotz        786

5.      Al Arbour           782

 

Most Games Coached

1.      Scotty Bowman   2,141

2.      Joel Quenneville 1,636

3.      Al Arbour           1,607

4.      Barry Trotz        1,566

5.      Ken Hitchcock    1,560

 

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: 24-14-4 (52 points), with 128 goals scored and 114 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 20-18-4 (44 points), with 141 goals scored and 154 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

 

First Things First                                                                                   

The Isles  are 12-6-4 when scoring first and are 12-8-0 when allowing the opening goal. The Isles won 12 games all last season (12-27-5) when allowing the opening goal.

 

The Shots

Isles       10-9-1=20

Rangers 8-5-17=30

The Isles are 5-9-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 19-4-3 when they are outshot. [The club record for wins when being outshot is 25, set in 1983-84 and equaled last season.]

 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 24-14-4 overall; 10-6-3 at home (3-1-1 on Long Island and 7-5-2 in Brooklyn) and 14-8-1 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

The Rangers are 17-19-7 overall; 11-6-5 at home and 6-13-2 on the road.  

 

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 11-4-1 in Division games and 13-10-3 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 16-6-4 against the East and 8-8-0 against the West. 

 

In the Nets

Robin Lehner made 27 saves and improves to 12-6-3 on the season and 3-5-2 in his career against the Rangers.   

 

Henrik Lundqvist made 16 saves but falls to 12-12-7 on the season and 30-21-7 in his career against the Isles. He is 1-9-2 in his last 12 decisions against the Isles.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 2-3 on the power play in 4:12 of PP time; the Rangers were 1-3 on the power play in 4:27 of PP time (including a :54 5-on-3 in the third period).

The Isles are 16-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-13-3 when they do not.  The Isles are 10-10-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 13-4-1 when they do not.    

 

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 22-2-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-12-3 when they do not. 

 

One Goal Games

The Isles are 10-3-4 in games decided by a single goal including 5-3 in regulation. They are 3-1 in games decided in overtime and are 2-3 in shootouts.  The Isles are 3-4 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 4-1-0 in the front half and 5-0-0 in the back half.   The next back-to-back is January 12th vs. the Rangers and January 13th vs. Tampa Bay.

 

Tired vs. Rested

·        The Isles are 2-0-0 when both teams played the night before.

·        The Isles are 2-0-1 when they are rested, and their opponents are not.

·        The Isles are 4-0-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

·        The Isles are 16-14-3 when both teams are rested.

 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (22:00); Rangers: Kevin Shattenkirk (24:00)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 18:05 of ice-time.

 

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (13-6-3), Nick Leddy (7-7-1), Scott Mayfield (4-1-0).

 

Face-offs

Isles 35,Rangers 24 (59%).  

 

Josh Bailey won 6 of 8 for the Isles; Brett Howden won 5 of 9 for the Rangers.

Face-offs by period: 1st period  16/27; 2nd period 7/12; 3rd period 12/20.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 29/51, Power play 2/3, Penalty kill 4/5.

 

Hit Count

Isles 36 (Matt Martin - 8) 

Rangers 37 (Jesper Fast- 6)

  

Fights

Matt Martin fought Cody McLeod in the first period. Season total –12 (Scott Mayfield -4, Ross Johnston-3, Matt Martin -2, Josh Bailey, Johnny Boychuk, Anders Lee). 

 

Martin (88) and McLeod (158) have had more fights than any other active NHL players.

 

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 20 shots (Scott Mayfield -4)

 

For the Corsi Crowd

All situations: Isles 42, Rangers 64 (including 37-6 in the Rangers' favor in the 3rd period)

5-on-5 Isles 33, Rangers 48

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Cal Clutterbuck +5

Rangers: Frederik Claesson +12

 

Night and Day

The Isles are 21-13-4 in night games and 3-1-0 in matinees. The next matinee is on January 12th vs. the Rangers.

 

Ironmen

Anders Lee 160, Brock Nelson 137, Mathew Barzal 124

 

Scratches

(Andrew Ladd – IR), (Thomas Hickey- IR),Tom Kuhnhackl, Michael Dal Colle,  Luca Sbisa

Total games lost: 85

 

Late Heroes

The Isles have scored once in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or take the lead:

1/11- NY Rangers -Josh Bailey scored the winning goal (18:34)

 

Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have allowed a goal four 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.

12/15- DET Red Wings – Thomas Vanek tied game (18:57), but Isles won in a shootout.

 

Offside Challenges

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

12/20 vs VEG Golden Knights – Golden Knights goal overturned after successful Isles challenge.

1/8 vs CAR Hurricanes – Isles goal overturned after successful Hurricane challenge

 

Comeback Kids

The Isles are 5-3-0 when trailing in a game by a 2-0 score, defeating NYR (11/15), CBJ (12/1), DET (12/8),OTT (12.28) and STL (1/5);  all five wins have been in regulation.

 

The Isles are 8-1-1 when scoring the game's first two goals.

 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

 

Games Played (skaters)

1.      Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Clark Gillies 872 ***

5. Bob Bourne 814***6. Josh Bailey 757

 

Goals

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

16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Anders Lee 140 *** 18. Kyle Okposo 139 ***19. Josh Bailey 133

24. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 27. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 28. Brock Nelson 114

 

Assists

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

12. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 276

 

Points

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

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 409

 

Games Played (Goalies)

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

7. Glenn Healy 176 *** 8. Thomas Greiss 143

 

Wins (Goalie)

1.      Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130*** 4. Kelly Hrudey 108***

5. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Thomas Greiss 74

 

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series two games to one (and 4 points to 2).   

 

The Isles are 9-1-0 in the last 10 games against the Rangers and are 13-2-0 in the last 15 match-ups.

 

On the Farm

Bridgeport is winless in their last three games, but they still have a 21-11-4-2 record for the season.

 

Rookie Otto Koivula leads all current Sound Tigers with 25 points on the season; he is also tied-5th among all AHL rookies in points.

 

The Sound Tigers return to Upstate New York to face the Utica Comets on Friday.

 

Leaders:  Goals: Michael Dal Colle 16 ; Assists: Sebastian Aho 21; Points: Dal Colle 28.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 11-6-2 (2.70 GAA); Christopher Gibson 10-5-4 (3.06 GAA)

 

Up Next

SATURDAY, JANUARY 12th –  RANGERS AT ISLANDERS AT BARCLAYS CENTER 1:00PM

[MSG+2(Pre-game at 12:30pm), WFAN 660/101.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM,WRCN 103.9FM, Radio.com]

The Isles and Rangers will complete their season series with the back-end of this home-and-home series on Saturday afternoon at Barclays Center. beginning Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

 

This will be the eighth meeting between the teams in Brooklyn, and the Isles have won the first seven, outscoring the Rangers 25-12 (including one shootout winner).  The seven-game home winning streak is the Isles' longest against the Rangers since they beat them eight straight times at the Coliseum in 1991 and 1992.

 

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.