The Skinny: Pittsburgh 3, Isles 2

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 17

Pittsburgh 3, Isles 2

Kris Letang scored his first two goals of the season and the second one, with 6:26 to play, turned out to be the game-winner as the Pittsburgh Penguins completed a sweep of the two game series with a 3-2 win over the Isles at PPG Paints Arena. 

Sidney Crosby added a pair of assists in his 1,000th NHL game, and Tristan Jarry made 33 saves for Pittsburgh while Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson had the goals for the Isles.

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

Kris Letang (1) Evgeni Malkin (7), Sidney Crosby (8) 12:35 NYI 0,PIT 1 PPG

Jordan Eberle (7) Anthony Beauvillier (2) 15:28 NYI 1,PIT 1

3rd Period

Brock Nelson (5) Scott Mayfield (3) 00:53 NYI 2,PIT 1

Mike Matheson (1) Teddy Blueger (7), Sam Lafferty (1) 07:35 NYI 2,PIT 2

Kris Letang (2) Sidney Crosby (3), Jake Guentzel (8) 13:34 NYI 2,PIT 3

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in eight of their last ten games (5-2-3)… The Isles fell to 5-2-1 in February… Leo Komarov returned to the lineup, replacing Kieffer Bellows …The Isles allowed two goals in the third period, raising the season total for goals allowed in the third period to a still NHL-low nine. However, the Isles were outscored 4-2 in the third period in the two games in Pittsburgh…Anders Lee played his 285th consecutive game, breaking a tie with Matt Moulson for the third longest streak in Islander history.  Lee is still not quite halfway to Billy Harris' 576 game streak…Kris Letang is the 5th active defenseman with at least 12 multi-goal games; it was Letang's second two-goal effort against the Isles (12/4/2018)…Brock Nelson's goal, his first at even-strength this season gives him goals in two straight games and three goals in the last four games; Nelson's goal was only the second that the Isles have scored in the opening minute of a period…Jordan Eberle's goal tied him with Anders Lee for the club lead (7)…Mathew Barzal has seven shots on goal and won his last six face-offs but has now gone three games without a point since his nine-game point streak ended…Pittsburgh scored the tying and winning goals on their final two shots of the game…The Isles finished with 53 hits; it was the 2nd-highest total in the NHL this season (Washington on 1/19/21, also in Pittsburgh – 54)….Brock Nelson recorded his 155th goal, matching Josh Bailey's total for 16th place in Isles history. Bailey has only one goal this season.

First Time in a Long Time

All three Penguin goals were scored by defensemen.  It was the first time the Isles allowed three goals to defenders since Columbus did it on December 14, 2017 (Jake Werenski, Markus Nutivaara and Seth Jones).

Let's Go Home

After opening the season with a record-tying 12 of 17 on the road, the Isles are heading home for 9 of their next 10 and 23 of their final 39 games. Other than San Jose, no team has played fewer home games than the Isles.  Each of the Isles' next 12 games is in the Metropolitan area (nine at home and three at New Jersey).

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in their first five home games (4-0-1).  The nine points match the most in the first five games since 1982-83, when they opened 7-0-0.  The Isles opened 2017-18 with a 4-0-1 record in Brooklyn.

Home and Road

The Isles are 8-6-3 overall; they are 4-0-1 at home and 4-6-2 on the road.

Pittsburgh is 9-6-1 overall; they are 7-1-0 at home and 2-5-1 on the road.

Coach Trotz

Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 853-624-60-154 in 1,691 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  935

3. Barry Trotz    853

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,720

3. Barry Trotz        1,691

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello is the third-winningest general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,422

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,302

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,155 wins between the two of them.  They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together).   Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together.  

First Things First

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

The Shots

Isles    16-10-9=35

Pittsburgh        4-8-6=18

The Isles are 7-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-3-1 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 55-28-11 when outshot; the 55 wins are the most in the NHL.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 15 saves but falls to 7-4-2 on the season and 6-4-3 against Pittsburgh.

Tristan Jarry made 33 saves to improve to 5-5-1 on the season and 5-1-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-1 on the power play (2:00); Pittsburgh was 1-1 on the power play (0:12).

The Isles are 5-2-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-4-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 1-5-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 7-1-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 6-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-5-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 73-6-9 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 2-2-3 in games decided by a single goal including 2-2 in regulation. They are 0-2 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 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 1-0-1 in the front-half and 1-0-1 in the back-half. The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 27th/28th, both home games with Pittsburgh.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 18-2-3 in back-ends.

Series

The schedule as currently comprised has the Isles playing the same opponent in consecutive games seventeen times this season (including three-game stretches vs. the Sabres and Devils in early March, vs the Flyers in late March and vs. the Caps in late April).  The Isles are 3-2-1 in the first game and 1-4-1 in the second game:

NYR (W/L); NJ (W/L); WAS (L/L); PHI (Lot/Lot), BUF(W/W), PIT (L/L)

Tired vs. Rested 

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

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

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

• The Isles are 6-6-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (22:58); Pittsburgh: John Marino (24:55)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 21:33 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (3-1-0), Ryan Pulock (4-3-2), Scott Mayfield (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-1), Adam Pelech (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 32, Pittsburgh 21 (60%)

Anders Lee won 5 of 6 for the Isles; Sidney Crosby won 13 of 19 for Pittsburgh (but his teammates won only 8 of 34).

The Isles are 6-4-1 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 1-2-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 53 (Cal Clutterbuck -8)

Pittsburgh 30 (Brandon Tanev -6)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 1 (Cizikas – 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 16 (Two with 3)

Pittsburgh 18 (Two with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 61, Pittsburgh 41

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 52, Pittsburgh 38

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Nick Leddy +13

Pittsburgh: Jake Guentzel +2 

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 14, Pittsburgh 6

5-on-5: Isles 13, Pittsburgh 6

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, (Michael Dal Colle – INJ)

Games Lost: 15

245 Game Club

The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 245 games, and they are three of just 17 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 285, Brock Nelson 262, Mathew Barzal 249, Ryan Pulock 212, Josh Bailey 170.  All five players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Anders Lee has passed Matt Moulson for the third-longest consecutive game streak in club history while Brock Nelson has tied Denis Potvin for 5th place.  Mathew Barzal has also moved into the top seven; it is the first time in club history that three different Isles have had concurrent streaks of at least 240 games:

1. Billy Harris 10/7/1972 -11/30/1979 576 (*)

2. Bobby Nystrom 1/7/1975 - 11/25/1978 301

3. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 285

4.  Matt Moulson 10/3/2009 - 4/4/2013 284

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 262

    Denis Potvin 11/29/1975 - 1/17/1979 262

7. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 249

8. John Tavares 10/16/2010 - 12/23/2013 246

9. J.P. Parise 1/7/1975 – 1/7/1978 240 (**)

10. Richard Park 10/5/2006 - 2/18/2009 221

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

Ryan Pulock has become the third Islander defensemen to play in 210 consecutive games: 

1. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979 262

2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220 (*) (**)

3. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 212

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures 

The Isles are 1-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(offsides 2/16 @BUF)

Opponents: 1 successful, 0 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR)

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 1-0-0 in games that go the opponents' way.

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored 1 goal and allowed 2 goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1 [Anders Lee, 2/6/21 vs PIT (17:14) -winning goal]

Vs:  2 [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)-winning goal; Evgeni Malkin, 2/11/21 vs PIT (19:42) – tying goal/PIT won in OT]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Josh Bailey 882…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 577 *** 19. Brock Nelson 565 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 551 …

28. Dave Lewis 514. *** 29. Anders Lee 510 *** 30. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509*** 32. Cal Clutterbuck 495

Goals

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

12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 179 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson 155

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 330 …

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Nick Leddy 176

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 485…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 311  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 303

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Terry Simpson 187 *** 5. Scott Gordon 181 *** 6. Barry Trotz 167

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 91

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 1-4-0-0 on the season (1-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 0-3-0-0 vs. Providence) following a 1-0 loss to Providence on Friday. Jakub Skarek made an AHL career-high 36 saves.  Bridgeport plays Providence again on Thursday.

Season Series Stats

Pittsburgh leads the season series 3 games to 1 (and 6 points to 3).

This was the first time that the Isles had lost consecutive games in regulation to Pittsburgh since 2016.  The Isles are 0-2-1 in the last three vs. the Pens.

The teams will conclude their six games against each other this month next Saturday/Sunday (5pm) at the Coliseum.  

UP NEXT

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd  – BUFFALO AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm

[MSG+ (pre-game at 6:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 1050]

The Isles begin a stretch of 9 out of 10 at home as they welcome Buffalo to the Coliseum for the first time this season.

The Isles swept a pair of games in Buffalo last week, and have won five straight against the Sabres overall, as well as five straight at home.  

This game was originally scheduled for February 2nd, but was postponed due to the Sabre season being paused.

All four of the Sabre visits to New York will occur in a two-week period, beginning Monday.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 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 4, Isles 1

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 16

Pittsburgh 4, Isles 1

Sidney Crosby converted an Islander giveaway for an early goal in his 999th NHL game, and Tristan Jarry made 31 saves as the Pittsburgh Penguins snapped the Isles' eight-game points streak (5-0-3) with a 4-1 win over the Isles at PPG Paints Arena. 

The only Islander offense came from a Brock Nelson power play goal just 12 seconds after Mike Matheson was assessed a boarding penalty. However, that was not enough as Pittsburgh snapped the Isles' three game win streaks (both on the road and overall).

The Scoring:

1st Period

Sidney Crosby (6) Kasperi Kapanen (5) 04:15 NYI 0,PIT 1

2nd Period

Teddy Blueger (3) Mike Matheson (2), Zach Aston-Reese (1) 18:01 NYI 0,PIT 2

3rd Period

Brock Nelson (4) Josh Bailey (8), Nick Leddy (8) 15:39 NYI 1,PIT 3 PPG

Bryan Rust (6)EN Jason Zucker (3), Evgeni Malkin (6) 16:54 NYI 1,PIT 4

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in eight of their last 9 (5-1-3)… The Isles have scored 19 goals in the first period (most in the East), but only 20 goals in the second and third periods; they had scored twice in each of the four prior second periods… Josh Bailey had an assist, giving him five helpers in the last three games… The Isles fell to 5-1-1 in February…Kieffer Bellows returned to the lineup, replacing Michael Dal Colle…The Isles allowed two goals in the third period (including an empty-netter), raising the season total for goals allowed in the third to seven.  Every other team in the NHL has allowed at least ten goals in the 3rd…Mike Matheson and John Marino both went +4…Casey Cizikas was involved in the Isles' first fight of the season, leaving only San Jose without a bout…Mathew Barzal played his 250th NHL game.

Most 1st Period Goals

The Isles are 3rd in the NHL in first period goals this season:

1. Edmonton 22

2. Columbus 21 

3. ISLES 19 

The 250 Club

Most assists in first 250 games (active players)

Rk Player

1 Sidney Crosby 230

2 Connor McDavid     207

3 Evgeni Malkin 196

4 Nicklas Backstrom 190

5 Jason Spezza 178

6 Mitch Marner 165

7 Paul Stastny 160

8 Patrick Kane 158

9 Mathew Barzal 157

10 Artemi Panarin 151

Most points thru 250 games (Isles)

PLAYER GP G A P

Mike Bossy 250 196 149 345

Bryan Trottier 250 119 195 314

Denis Potvin 250 78 171 249

Ziggy Palffy 250 124 115 239

Pat LaFontaine 250 117 109 226

Mathew Barzal 250 65 157 222

Brent Sutter 250 112 107 219

John Tavares 250 88 125 213

(Only Bryan Trottier and Denis Potvin had more assists in their first 250 games than Barzal)

Pageau, Pageau, Pageau … JG Pageau

JG Pageau's streak of scoring a goal in the first period ended at a club record-tying four straight games; he is the 8th player in club history to do so:

• Jean-Gabriel Pageau  2/11/2021 – 2/16/2021

• Matt Moulson 11/26/2011 -12/3/2011

• Bryan Smolinski 3/27/1997 -4/3/1997

• Todd Bertuzzi 3/4/1997- 3/11/1997

• Ziggy Palffy 2/29/1996 - 3/5/1996

• Pat LaFontaine 12/28/1989 - 1/2/1990

• Bryan Trottier 1/13/1983 -1/20/1983

• John Tonelli 1/8/1983 - 1/15/1983

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in their first five home games (4-0-1).  The nine points match the most in the first five games since 1982-83, when they opened 7-0-0.  The Isles opened 2017-18 with a 4-0-1 record in Brooklyn.

Home and Road

The Isles are 8-5-3 overall; they are 4-0-1 at home and 4-5-2 on the road.

Pittsburgh is 8-6-1 overall; they are 6-1-0 at home and 2-5-1 on the road.

Coach Trotz

Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 853-623-60-154 in 1,690 games, and he has passed Ken Hitchcock as the 3rd-winningest coach in NHL history.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  935

3. Barry Trotz    853

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,719

3. Barry Trotz        1,690

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello is the third-winningest general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,421

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,302

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,155 wins between the two of them.  They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together).   Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together.  

First Things First

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

The Shots

Isles    14-11-7=32

Pittsburgh        11-15-11=37

The Isles are 7-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-3-1 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 55-28-11 when outshot; the 55 wins are the most in the NHL.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 33 saves but falls to 7-3-2 on the season and 6-3-3 against Pittsburgh.

Tristan Jarry made 31 saves to improve to 4-5-1 on the season and 4-1-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play (4:12); Pittsburgh was 0-4 on the power play (6:47), including a 1:13 of 5-on-3.

The Isles are 5-2-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-3-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 1-4-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 7-1-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 6-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-4-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 73-6-9 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 2-1-3 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 0-2 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 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

Including tonight, the Isles are 1-0-1 in the front-half and 1-0-1 in the back-half. The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 27th/28th, both home games with Pittsburgh.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 18-2-3 in back-ends.

Series

The schedule as currently comprised has the Isles playing the same opponent in consecutive games seventeen times this season (including three-game stretches vs. the Sabres and Devils in early March, vs the Flyers in late March and vs. the Caps in late April).  The Isles are 3-1-1 in the first game and 1-3-1 in the second game:

NYR (W/L); NJ (W/L); WAS (L/L); PHI (Lot/Lot), BUF(W/W), PIT (L/-)

Tired vs. Rested 

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

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

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

• The Isles are 6-5-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:06); Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (24:28)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 20:13 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (3-0-0), Ryan Pulock (4-3-2), Scott Mayfield (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-1), Adam Pelech (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 26, Pittsburgh 28 (48%)

Casey Cizkas won 6 of 10 for the Isles; Teddy Blueger won 7 of 13 for Pittsburgh.

The Isles are 6-3-1 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 1-2-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 34 (Matt Martin -36)

Pittsburgh 24 (Three with 3)

Fights 

Casey Cizikas fought Brandon Tanev in the first period.  Season total: 1 (Cizikas – 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 14 (Two with 3)

Pittsburgh 15 (Jake Guentzel -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 53, Pittsburgh 61

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 43, Pittsburgh 44

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Jordan Eberle +10

Pittsburgh: Teddy Blueger and Zach Aston-Reese +10 

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 11, Pittsburgh 13

5-on-5: Isles 7, Pittsburgh 7

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Michael Dal Colle

Games Lost: 14

245 Game Club

The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 245 games, and they are three of just 17 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 284, Brock Nelson 261, Mathew Barzal 248, Ryan Pulock 211, Josh Bailey 169.  All five players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Anders Lee has tied Matt Moulson for the third-longest consecutive game streak in club history while Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal have also moved into the top seven; it is the first time in club history that three different Isles have had concurrent streaks of at least 240 games:

1. Billy Harris 10/7/1972 -11/30/1979 576 (*)

2. Bobby Nystrom 1/7/1975 - 11/25/1978 301

3. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 284

    Matt Moulson 10/3/2009 - 4/4/2013 284

5. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975 - 1/17/1979 262

6. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 261

7. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 248

8. John Tavares 10/16/2010 - 12/23/2013 246

9. J.P. Parise 1/7/1975 – 1/7/1978 240 (**)

10. Richard Park 10/5/2006 - 2/18/2009 221

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

Ryan Pulock has become the third Islander defensemen to play in 210 consecutive games: 

1. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979 262

2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220 (*) (**)

3. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 211

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures 

The Isles are 1-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(offsides 2/16 @BUF)

Opponents: 1 successful, 0 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR)

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 1-0-0 in games that go the opponents' way.

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored 1 goal and allowed 2 goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1 [Anders Lee, 2/6/21 vs PIT (17:14) -winning goal]

Vs:  2 [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)-winning goal; Evgeni Malkin, 2/11/21 vs PIT (19:42) – tying goal/PIT won in OT]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Josh Bailey 881…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 576 *** 19. Brock Nelson 564 *** 20. Ken Morrow and  Casey Cizikas 550 …

28. Dave Lewis 514. *** 29. Richard Pilon, Mick Vukota and Anders Lee 509 *** 32. Cal Clutterbuck 494

Goals

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

12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 179 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 155 *** 17. Brock Nelson 154

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 330 …

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Nick Leddy 176

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 485…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 311  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 302

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Terry Simpson 187 *** 5. Scott Gordon 181 *** 6. Barry Trotz 166

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 91

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 1-3-0-0 on the season (1-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 0-2-0-0 vs. Providence) following their 5-3 win over Hartford on Wednesday.  Samuel Bolduc had a goal and two assists for the Sound Tigers while Jakub Skarek made 29 saves.  Bridgeport hosts Providence on Friday.

Season Series Stats

Pittsburgh leads the season series 2 games to 1 (and 5 points to 2).

This was the Isles' first regulation loss to Pittsburgh in the last seven games (3-1-3).

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20th  – ISLANDERS AT PITTSBURGH 7:00pm

[MSG+ (pre-game at 6:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 1050]

The Isles stay in Pittsburgh to battle the Penguins again on Saturday.  

It will be game 17 of the season, and a record-tying 12th of the first 17 on the road.  Scott Gordon coached those first 17 games in 2010-11, but was replaced for game 18 by Jack Capuano. 

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 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, Buffalo 0

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 15

Isles 3, Buffalo 0

Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored first period goals for the second straight game, and Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves for his first career win and first career shutout as the Isles completed a sweep of a back-to-back series with Buffalo with a 3-0 win over the Sabres at KeyBank Center.

Sorokin, who became the first Islander to record a shutout for his first NHL win since Anders Nilsson on March 24, 2012, benefited from an off-side challenge by Barry Trotz in the third period that erased a Victor Olofsson power play goal.

Anders Lee's last-second empty-netter completed his 26th career 2-goal game (and second this season).  Lee now leads the team in goals with (7).

The Scoring:

1st Period

Anders Lee (6) Noah Dobson (6), Josh Bailey (6) 04:43 NYI 1,BUF 0

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (6)  Ryan Pulock (6), Nick Leddy (7) 11:58 NYI 2,BUF 0

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

Anders Lee (7)  Josh Bailey (7),  Jean-Gabriel Pageau (4) 19:59 NYI 3,BUF 0 ENG

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in eight straight (5-0-3); it is their longest point streak since last season's club-record 17-game streak.…The Sabres, who were held without a shot in the third period on Monday, did not have a shot on goal in the final 13:14 of the second period.… Mathew Barzal's point streak ended at a career-high nine games.  It is the longest point streak for the Isles since Josh Bailey had an 11 game point streak in last 2017…The Isles have scored 19 goals in the first period (most in the East), but only 19 goals in the second and third periods… JG Pageau has five goals in the last four games; he has eight goals in 26 career games against Buffalo…Josh Bailey had a pair of assists for his second straight multi-point game; he passed Patrick Flatley for 7th on the club's assist list…Barry Trotz coached his 165th game for the Isles, passing Peter Laviolette for 6th place… The Isles are four games over .500 for the first time this season and are 5-0-1 in February…Victor Olofsson's point streak ended at seven games (3-5-8)…The Isles have won three straight road games and three straight games overall for the first time this season…Bailey, Lee and Pageau all had two points, and each went +2...Barzal appeared in his 247th consecutive Isles game, passing John Tavares for the 7th-longest streak in club history…Among active NHL players without a hat trick no one has more two-goal games than Anders Lee.(26)…Coaches are 9-2 in offside challenges this season…Ilya Sorokin had the lead for the final 55:17 after not playing with a lead in any of his three prior starts.

Most 1st Period Goals

The Isles are 3rd in the NHL in first period goals this season:

1. Edmonton 22

2. Columbus 21 

3. ISLES 19 

Pageau, Pageau, Pageau … JG Pageau

JG Pageau scored a first period goal for the 4th straight game; he is the 8th player in club history to do so:

• Jean-Gabriel Pageau  2/11/2021 - CURRENT

• Matt Moulson 11/26/2011 -12/3/2011

• Bryan Smolinski 3/27/1997 -4/3/1997

• Todd Bertuzzi 3/4/1997- 3/11/1997

• Ziggy Palffy 2/29/1996 - 3/5/1996

• Pat LaFontaine 12/28/1989 - 1/2/1990

• Bryan Trottier 1/13/1983 -1/20/1983

• John Tonelli 1/8/1983 - 1/15/1983

Pageau will have a shot to become the first Islander with a five-game streak on Thursday.

Locking It Down

The Isles have allowed only five third period goals in their first 15 games.  The team recorded their fourth shutout of the season; it is the fastest in club history they have reached four shutouts.

Varly: A Look Back

Semyon Varlamov did not face a shot in the third period on Monday, becoming only the 4th NHL goalie since expansion to do so twice in one period (Washington scored an empty-net goal on their only shot on January 28th) in a single season.

Varly is the fourth goalie since expansion to have two periods facing 0 shots in the same season (Remember Washington scored an ENG on their only shot in 3rd pd in October)

The others are Henrik Lundqvist (2016-17 for NYR), Evgeny Nabokov (2007-08 for SJS) and Ron Tugnutt (1998-99 for OTT)

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in their first five home games (4-0-1).  The nine points match the most in the first five games since 1982-83, when they opened 7-0-0.  The Isles opened 2017-18 with a 4-0-1 record in Brooklyn.

Home and Road

The Isles are 8-4-3 overall; they are 4-0-1 at home and 4-4-2 on the road.

Buffalo is 4-6-2 overall; they are 2-5-1 at home and 2-1-1 on the road.

Coach Trotz

Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 853-622-60-154 in 1,689 games, and he has passed Ken Hitchcock as the 3rd-winningest coach in NHL history.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  934

3. Barry Trotz    853

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,718

3. Barry Trotz        1,689

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello is the third-winningest general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,421

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,302

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,155 wins between the two of them.  They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together).   Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together.  

First Things First

The Isles are 7-1-1 when scoring first and are 1-3-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    10-5-9=24

Buffalo      9-3-8=20

The Isles are 7-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-2-1 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 55-27-11 when outshot; the 55 wins are the most in the NHL.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves to improve to 1-2-1 on the season and 1-0-0 against Buffalo.  It was the first shutout (and first win) of his NHL career.

Carter Hutton made 21 saves but falls to 1-4-0 on the season and 1-4-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play (4:00); Buffalo was also 0-2 on the power play (4:00).

The Isles are 5-1-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-3-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 1-4-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 7-0-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 6-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-3-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 73-6-9 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 2-1-3 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 0-2 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 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

Including tonight, the Isles are 1-0-1 in the front-half and 1-0-1 in the back-half. The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 27th/28th, both home games with Pittsburgh.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 18-2-3 in back-ends.

Series

The schedule as currently comprised has the Isles playing the same opponent in consecutive games seventeen times this season (including three-game stretches vs. the Sabres and Devils in early March, vs the Flyers in late March and vs. the Caps in late April).  The Isles are 3-1-1 in the first game and 1-3-1 in the second game:

NYR (W/L); NJ (W/L); WAS (L/L); PHI (Lot/Lot), BUF(W/W)

Tired vs. Rested 

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

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

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

• The Isles are 6-4-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (24:25); Buffalo: Rasmus Dahlin (25:21)

JG Pageau led Isles forwards with 19:25 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (3-0-0), Ryan Pulock (4-2-2), Scott Mayfield (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-1), Adam Pelech (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 24, Buffalo 22 (52%)

JG Pageau won 10 of 17 for the Isles; Cody Eakin won 6 of 10 for Buffalo.

The Isles are 6-3-1 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 1-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 12 (Matt Martin -3)

Buffalo 22 (William Borgen-5)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 0

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 19 (Ryan Pulock -5)

Buffalo 11 (Three with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 44, Buffalo 53

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 36, Buffalo 48

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Jordan Eberle +8

Buffalo: Colin Miller +17 

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 6, Buffalo 14

5-on-5: Isles 5, Buffalo 12

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Cory Schneider

Games Lost: 14

245 Game Club

The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 245 games, and they are three of just 17 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 283, Brock Nelson 260, Mathew Barzal 247, Ryan Pulock 210, Josh Bailey 168.  All five players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Anders Lee has the fourth-longest consecutive game streak in club history while Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal have also moved into the top seven; it is the first time in club history that three different Isles have had concurrent streaks of at least 240 games:

1. Billy Harris 10/7/1972 -11/30/1979 576 (*)

2. Bobby Nystrom 1/7/1975 - 11/25/1978 301

3. Matt Moulson 10/3/2009 - 4/4/2013 284

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 283

5. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975 - 1/17/1979 262

6. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 260

7. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 247

8. John Tavares 10/16/2010 - 12/23/2013 246

9. J.P. Parise 1/7/1975 – 1/7/1978 240 (**)

10. Richard Park 10/5/2006 - 2/18/2009 221

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

Ryan Pulock has become the third Islander defensemen to play in 210 consecutive games: 

1. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979 262

2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220 (*) (**)

3. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 210

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures 

The Isles are 1-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(offsides 2/16 @BUF)

Opponents: 1 successful, 0 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR)

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 1-0-0 in games that go the opponents' way.

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored 1 goal and allowed 2 goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1 [Anders Lee, 2/6/21 vs PIT (17:14) -winning goal]

Vs:  2 [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)-winning goal; Evgeni Malkin, 2/11/21 vs PIT (19:42) – tying goal/PIT won in OT]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Josh Bailey 880…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 575 *** 19. Brock Nelson 563 *** 20. Ken Morrow 550 *** 21. Casey Cizikas 549 …

28. Dave Lewis 514. *** 29. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 31. Anders Lee 508 *** 32. Ed Westfall and Cal Clutterbuck 493

Goals

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

12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 179 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 155 *** 17. Brock Nelson 153

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 329 …

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Kenny Jonsson and Nick Leddy 175

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 484…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 311  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 301

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Terry Simpson 187 *** 5. Scott Gordon 181 *** 6. Barry Trotz 165

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 91

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 0-3-0 on the season (0-1-0 vs. Hartford and 0-2-0 vs. Providence).  They will host Hartford on Wednesday at 1pm.

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 0).

The Isles have won five straight games from Buffalo, including three straight games at KeyBank Center. It is the first time that they have won five straight from Buffalo since 2002-2004 (seven straight wins).

The Isles are 9-2-3 in their last 14 games in Buffalo, dating back to 2013.

This was the second game of a twelve-game in 21-days stretch in which the Isles are scheduled to face the Sabres six times, including a make-up at the Coliseum on February 22nd. 

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18th  – ISLANDERS AT PITTSBURGH 7:00pm

[MSG+ (pre-game at 6:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 1050]

The Isles head to Pittsburgh for a pair of games, as the teams meet for the third and fourth times this season. 

The teams has split a pair of games so far, including a come-from-behind shootout win by the Pens last Thursday. It is the only game in the last six Islander games that the team did not win (5-0-1).

Five of the last six regular season games between the teams have gone past regulation (Isles 3-0-0; Pens 3-1-2).  This will be the Isles' first game in Pittsburgh since November 19, 2019, when Brock Nelson overtime goal capped a 5-4 win in a game the Isles trailed by a pair of goals until the 15:41 mark of the third period.

Mathew Barzal is expected to play his 250th NHL game.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 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, Buffalo 1

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 14

Isles 3, Buffalo 1 

Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored 1:44 apart in the first period, and Semyon Varlamov and the Islander defense did the rest as the Isles spoiled Buffalo's first game in over two weeks with a 3-1 win over the Sabres at KeyBank Center.

Victor Olofsson and Brock Nelson traded power play goals in the second period, and the Isles then shut the game down from there.  The Sabres did not have a shot on goal in the third period; it is the first time in the Isles' 3,746 game history that they did not allow a shot on goal in a complete period.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Anders Lee (5) Josh Bailey (4), Mathew Barzal (9) 16:37 NYI 1,BUF 0

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (5) Nick Leddy (6), Scott Mayfield (2) 18:21 NYI 2,BUF 0

2nd Period

Victor Olofsson (5) Rasmus Dahlin (3), Sam Reinhart (4) 01:40 NYI 2,BUF 1 PPG

Brock Nelson (3) Josh Bailey (5), Oliver Wahlstrom (1) 09:49 NYI 3,BUF 1 PPG

3rd Period

No Goals

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in seven straight (4-0-3); it is their longest point streak since last season's club-record 17-game streak.…The Sabres did not have a shot on goal in the final 23:06… Mathew Barzal has points on fifteen of the team's 35 goals this season, including 11 of 24 at even-strength; Barzal extended his point streak to a career-high nine games.  It is the longest point streak for the Isles since Josh Bailey had an 11-game point streak in last 2017…The Isles have scored 17 goals in the first period (most in the East), but only 18 goals in the second and third periods… JG Pageau has four goals in the last three games;  he has seven goals in 25 career games against Boston…Josh Bailey had a pair of primary assists for his first multi-point game of the season…Barry Trotz coached his 164th game for the Isles, passing Ted Nolan and tying Peter Laviolette for 6th place… The Isles are three games over .500 for the first time this season and are 4-0-1 in February…Victor Olofsson extended his point streak to seven games (3-5-8)…The Isles have won consecutive road games for the first time this season…Oliver Wahlstrom led the team in shots (4) and recorded his first career assist as the Isles connected for the third straight game on the power play. It is the first time since October 2018 (4 games) that the power play scored in consecutive games….The Sabres endured a shot-less period for the first time since October 7, 2011 vs. Anaheim (at Hartwell Arena in Helsinki) and for the fourth time in their history…Nick Leddy and Scott Mayfield both went +2…Barzal also appeared in his 246th consecutive Isles game, tying former Islander John Tavares for the 7th-longest streak in club history… Brock Nelson's goal was the first that the Isles had scored in the second period in February, ending a scoreless streak in second periods totaling 109:11.

Most 1st Period Goals

The Isles are tied for 3rd in first period goals this season:

1. Edmonton 22

2. Columbus 21 

3. ISLES 17 

        Montreal 17

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in their first five home games (4-0-1).  The nine points match the most in the first five games since 1982-83, when they opened 7-0-0.  The Isles opened 2017-18 with a 4-0-1 record in Brooklyn.

Home and Road

The Isles are 7-4-3 overall; they are 4-0-1 at home and 3-4-2 on the road.

Buffalo is 4-5-2 overall; they are 2-4-1 at home and 2-1-1 on the road.

Coach Trotz

Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 852-622-60-154 in 1,688 games, and he has passed Ken Hitchcock as the 3rd-winningest coach in NHL history.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  934

3. Barry Trotz    852

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,718

3. Barry Trotz        1,687

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello is the third-winningest general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,421

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,301

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,153 wins between the two of them.  They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together).   Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together.  

First Things First

The Isles are 6-1-1 when scoring first and are 1-3-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    8-9-12=29

Buffalo        9-12-0=21

The Isles are 6-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-2-1 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 55-27-11 when outshot; the 55 wins are the most in the NHL.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 20 saves to improve to 7-2-2 on the season and 10-2-1 against Buffalo.  

Linus Ullmark made 26 saves but falls to 3-2-2 on the season and 3-21 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-2 on the power play (3:34); Buffalo was also 1-2 on the power play (3:06).

The Isles are 5-1-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 2-3-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 1-4-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-0-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 5-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-3-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 72-6-9 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 2-1-3 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 0-2 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 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

Including tonight, the Isles are 1-0-1 in the front-half and 0-0-1 in the back-half.  This back-to-back concludes on Tuesday. The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 27th/28th, both home games with Pittsburgh.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 17-2-3 in back-ends.

Series

The schedule as currently comprised has the Isles playing the same opponent in consecutive games nineteen times this season (including a three-game stretch vs. the Sabres in early March).  The Isles are 3-1-1 in the first game and 0-3-1 in the second game:

NYR (W/L); NJ (W/L); WAS (L/L); PHI (Lot/Lot), BUF(W/-)

Tired vs. Rested 

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

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

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

• The Isles are 6-4-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Adam Pelech (22:02); Buffalo: Rasmus Dahlin (25:02)

Anders Lee led Isles forwards with 19:18 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (2-0-0), Ryan Pulock (4-2-2), Scott Mayfield (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-1), Adam Pelech (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 28, Buffalo 24 (54%)

Casey Cizikas won 6 of 9 for the Isles; Eric Staal won 9 of 13 for Buffalo.

The Isles are 5-3-1 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 1-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 17 (Three with 3)

Buffalo 15 (Matt Irwin -4)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 0

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 14 (Four with 2)

Buffalo 12 (Matt Irwin -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 54, Buffalo 46

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 47, Buffalo 37

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Nick Leddy +9

Buffalo: Two with +2

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 12, Buffalo 4

5-on-5: Isles 10, Buffalo 4

Scratches

(Anthony Beauvillier-IR), Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Cory Schneider

Games Lost: 14

245 Game Club

The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 245 games, and they are three of just 17 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 282, Brock Nelson 259, Mathew Barzal 246, Ryan Pulock 209, Josh Bailey 167.  All five players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Anders Lee has the fourth-longest consecutive game streak in club history while Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal have also moved into the top seven; it is the first time in club history that three different Isles have had concurrent streaks of at least 240 games:

1. Billy Harris 10/7/1972 -11/30/1979 576 (*)

2. Bobby Nystrom 1/7/1975 - 11/25/1978 301

3. Matt Moulson 10/3/2009 - 4/4/2013 284

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 282

5. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975 - 1/17/1979 262

6. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 259

7. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 246

    John Tavares 10/16/2010 - 12/23/2013 246

9.   J.P. Parise 1/7/1975 – 1/7/1978 240 (**)

10. Richard Park 10/5/2006 - 2/18/2009 221

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

Ryan Pulock has become the third Islander defensemen to play in 200 consecutive games: 

1. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979 262

2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220 (*) (**)

3. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 209

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures 

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.

Opponents: 1 successful, 0 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR)

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 1-0-0 in games that go the opponents' way.

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored 1 goal and allowed 2 goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1 [Anders Lee, 2/6/21 vs PIT (17:14) -winning goal]

Vs:  2 [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)-winning goal; Evgeni Malkin, 2/11/21 vs PIT (19:42) – tying goal/PIT won in OT]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Josh Bailey 879…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 574 *** 19. Brock Nelson 562 *** 20. Ken Morrow 550 *** 21. Casey Cizikas 548 …

28. Dave Lewis 514. *** 29. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 31. Anders Lee 507 *** 32. Ed Westfall 493 *** 33. Cal Clutterbuck 492

Goals

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

12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 177 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 155 *** 17. Brock Nelson 153

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Pat Flatley 328 *** 8. Josh Bailey 327 …

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 22. Nick Leddy 174

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 482…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 309  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 301

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Terry Simpson 187 *** 5. Scott Gordon 181 *** 6. Peter Laviolette and Barry Trotz 164

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 90

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 0-3-0 on the season (0-1-0 vs. Hartford and 0-2-0 vs. Providence).  They will host Hartford on Wednesday at 1pm.

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0).

The Isles have won four straight games from Buffalo, including two straight games at KeyBank Center.

The Isles are 8-2-3 in their last 13 games in Buffalo, dating back to 2013.

This was the first game of a twelve-game stretch in which the Isles are scheduled to face the Sabres six times, including games on Tuesday in Buffalo and a make-up at the Coliseum on February 22nd. 

UP NEXT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16th  – ISLANDERS AT BUFFALO 7:00pm

[MSG+ (pre-game at 6:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 1050]

The Isles and Sabres conclude their back-to-back set, and the Isles begin the 2nd quarter of their season as they face Buffalo again. 

The Isles will be looking for their fifth straight win over the Sabres, something they last did in 2002-2004 (seven straight wins).

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 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 4, Boston 2

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 13

Isles 4, Boston 2 

Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored two goals, including a back-breaking shorthanded goal, as the Islanders handed the Bruins only their second regulation loss of the season with a 4-2 win over Boston at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

For the fourth straight game, the Isles had only one power play, but they made the most of it, as Mathew Barzal converted an Anders Lee pass for the lead (and eventual winning) goal at 5:30 of the third period.

The win is the 1,300th for General Manager Lou Lamoriello; David Poile (1421) and Glen Sather (1319) are the only other GMs to reach that mark.

The Scoring:

1st Period 

Brad Marchand (9) Patrice Bergeron (2), David Pastrnak (4) 08:41 BOS 1,NYI 0

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (3) Ryan Pulock (5), Leo Komarov (1) 11:36 BOS 1,NYI 1

Jordan Eberle (6) Brock Nelson (3), Scott Mayfield (1) 15:16 BOS 1,NYI 2

2nd Period

Patrice Bergeron (7) Brad Marchand (9), David Pastrnak (5) 16:51 BOS 2,NYI 2

3rd Period

Mathew Barzal (6) Anders Lee (3), Jordan Eberle (3) 05:30 BOS 2,NYI 3 PPG

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (4) Leo Komarov (2) 14:32 BOS 2,NYI 4 SHG

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in six straight (3-0-3); it is their longest point streak since last season's club-record 17-game streak.…Mathew Barzal has points on fourteen of the team's 32 goals this season, including 10 of 22 at even-strength; Barzal's game-winner extended his point streak to a career-high eight games.  It is the longest point streak for the Isles since Josh Bailey had a 10 game point streak in last 2017…Ten of Barzal's 65 career goals have been game-winners …The Isles have scored 15 goals in the first period, but only 17 goals in the second and third periods…The Isles were held to one power play for the fourth consecutive game (2-2 vs. Pittsburgh,0-1 vs the Rangers, 1-1 vs. Boston); after having 20 power plays in their first four games, the Isles have had only 22 power plays in the last nine games…The Isles are 5-11 on the power play at home (45.5%) through 5 games; it's the first time since 2014-15 (6-20, 30%) that they have scored at least 5 power play goals in the first five home games….JG Pageau has three goals in the last two games, and also three goals in two games vs. Boston; he has nine goals in 25 career games against Boston…It was Pageau's 14th career shorty, and his first as an Islander; since 2014-15 only Brad Marchand (15) has more shorthanded goals… The Bruins are 0-2-0 vs. the Isles and 10-0-2 against the rest of the East…The Isles finished with a season-high 42 shots; it was the first time this season Boston allowed more than 35 shots….This was the eighth time over the last three seasons that the Isles have faced Boston, yet they have yet to face former mate Jaroslav Halak…Barry Trotz coached his 163rd game for the Isles, tying Ted Nolan for 7th place (Nolan was not credited with the game that Al Arbour coached for his 1,500th game); he will pass Nolan and tie Peter Laviolette on Monday…Leo Komarov earned his first two assists of the season; it was only his second career multi-assist game (2 for TOR vs STL on 12/5/2015)…Brock Nelson became the 22nd player in Islander history to record 300 points…Patrice Bergeron's two points gave him 887 points, one behind Bobby Orr for 6th place on the Bruins' point list...The Isles are two games over .500 for the second time this season (also at 3-1-0) and are 3-0-1 in February.

The Injury

Jakub Zboril suffered an upper-body injury late in the first period, causing the Bruins to play the final 40 minutes with five defensemen.

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in their first five home games (4-0-1).  The nine points match the most in the first five games since 1982-83, when they opened 7-0-0.  The Isles opened 2017-18 with a 4-0-1 record in Brooklyn.

Home and Road

The Isles are 6-4-3 overall; they are 4-0-1 at home and 2-4-2 on the road.

Boston is 10-2-2 overall; they are 4-0-0 at home and 6-2-2 on the road.

Coach Trotz

Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 851-622-60-154 in 1,687 games, and he has passed Ken Hitchcock as the 3rd-winningest coach in NHL history.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  933

3. Barry Trotz    851

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,717

3. Barry Trotz        1,686

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello is the third-winningest general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,421

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,300

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,151 wins between the two of them.  They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together).   Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together.  

First Things First

The Isles are 5-1-1 when scoring first and are 1-3-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    15-15-12=42

Boston        7-9-14=30

The Isles are 5-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-2-1 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 55-27-11 when outshot; the 55 wins are the most in the NHL.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves to improve to 6-2-2 on the season and 8-5-3 against Boston.  

Tuukka Rask made 38 saves but falls to 6-2-1 on the season and 17-7-1 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-1 on the power play (1:21); Boston was 0-2 on the power play (4:00) and allowed the Isles' first shorthanded goal of the season. 

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

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 4-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-3-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 71-6-9 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 2-1-3 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 0-2 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 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 0-0-1 in the front-half and 0-0-1 in the back-half.  The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 15th/16th in Buffalo.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 17-2-3 in back-ends.

Series

The schedule as currently comprised has the Isles playing the same opponent in consecutive games nineteen times this season (including a three-game stretch vs. the Sabres in early March).  The Isles are 2-1-1 in the first game and 0-3-1 in the second game:

NYR (W/L); NJ (W/L); WAS (L/L); PHI (Lot/Lot)

Tired vs. Rested 

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

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

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

• The Isles are 5-4-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (21:12); Boston: Charlie McAvoy (25:49)

Anders Lee led Isles forwards with 18:22 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (2-0-0), Ryan Pulock (4-2-2), Scott Mayfield (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-1)

Face-offs

Isles 23, Boston 40 (37%)

JG Pageau split his 18 draws but his teammates won only 14 of 45; Patrice Bergeron won 19 of 24 and David Krejci won 8 of 9 for Boston.

The Isles are 4-3-1 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 1-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 36 (JG Pageau -5)

Boston 27 (Five with 3)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 0

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 13 (Ryan Pulock -4)

Boston 12 (Two with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 67, Boston 60

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 57, Boston 50

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Brock Nelson +18

Boston: Anders Bjork +8

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 18, Boston 10

5-on-5: Isles 14, Boston 5

Scratches

(Anthony Beauvillier-IR), Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Cory Schneider

Games Lost: 13

245 Game Club

The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 245 games, and they are three of just 17 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 281, Brock Nelson 258, Mathew Barzal 245, Ryan Pulock 208, Josh Bailey 166.  All five players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Anders Lee has the fourth-longest consecutive game streak while Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal have also moved into the top 10; it is the first time in club history that three different Isles have had concurrent streaks of at least 240 games:

1. Billy Harris 10/7/1972 -11/30/1979 576 (*)

2. Bobby Nystrom 1/7/1975 - 11/25/1978 301

3. Matt Moulson 10/3/2009 - 4/4/2013 284

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 281

5. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975 - 1/17/1979 262

6. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 258

7. John Tavares 10/16/2010 - 12/23/2013 246

8. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 245

9.   J.P. Parise 1/7/1975 – 1/7/1978 240 (**)

10. Richard Park 10/5/2006 - 2/18/2009 221

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

Ryan Pulock has become the third Islander defensemen to play in 200 consecutive games: 

1. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979 262

2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220 (*) (**)

3. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 208

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures 

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.

Opponents: 1 successful, 0 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR)

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 1-0-0 in games that go the opponents' way.

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored 1 goal and allowed 2 goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1 [Anders Lee, 2/6/21 vs PIT (17:14) -winning goal]

Vs:  2 [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)-winning goal; Evgeni Malkin, 2/11/21 vs PIT (19:42) – tying goal/PIT won in OT]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Josh Bailey 878…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 573 *** 19. Brock Nelson 561 *** 20. Ken Morrow 550 *** 21. Duane Sutter and Casey Cizikas 547 …

28. Dave Lewis 514. *** 29. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 31. Anders Lee 506 *** 32. Ed Westfall 493 *** 33. Cal Clutterbuck 491

Goals

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

12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 176 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 155 *** 17. Brock Nelson 152

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Pat Flatley 328 *** 8. Josh Bailey 325 …

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 22. Nick Leddy 173

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 480…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 308  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 300

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 …

6. Peter Laviolette 164 *** 7. Ted Nolan and Barry Trotz 163

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 89

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 0-3-0 on the season (0-1-0 vs. Hartford and 0-2-0 vs. Providence) after dropping a 5-3 decision to Providence in their home opener, despite shorthanded goals from Cole Bardreau and Kurtis McLean.   

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 0).

The Isles have won consecutive home games from Boston for the first time since 2007. 

The teams will play again at the Coliseum February 25 and March 9, before playing their four games in Boston.

UP NEXT

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15th  – ISLANDERS AT BUFFALO 7:00pm

[NBCSN (NHL Live pre-game at 6:00], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 1050]

Thirteen days after they were supposed to begin their season series with a pair of Coliseum games, the Isles head to Buffalo for a scheduled back-to-back set with the Sabres.

The Sabres have not played a game since losing to New Jersey on January 31st, and as of Saturday night still had eight players on their Covid list.

The Isles have won three straight games from Buffalo, including both meetings last season.  This is the first game of a twelve-game stretch in which the Isles are scheduled to face the Sabres six times, including three times in eight days beginning Monday.

Brendan Burke and Anson Carter will have the call for NBCSN.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 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 4, Isles 3 (Shootout)

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 12

Pittsburgh 4, Isles 3 (SO) 

Evgeni Malkin scored the tying goal with 18 seconds to play and Sidney Crosby scored the only goal of the shootout as the Pittsburgh Penguins spoiled highlight reel goals by Casey Cizikas and Mathew Barzal for a 4-3 win over the Islanders at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Isles had three separate leads, but each time Pittsburgh drew even, before recording their NHL-record 83rd shootout win (one more than the Isles).

The Scoring:

1st Period

Casey Cizikas (3) Cal Clutterbuck (4), Ryan Pulock (4) 05:39 PIT 0,NYI 1

Bryan Rust (3) Jake Guentzel (5), Sidney Crosby (3) 11:47 PIT 1,NYI 1

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (2) Nick Leddy (5), Josh Bailey (3) 16:40 PIT 1,NYI 2 PPG

2nd Period

Zach Aston-Reese (1) Teddy Blueger (5), Brandon Tanev (2) 07:02 PIT 2,NYI 2

3rd Period

Mathew Barzal (5) 13:35 PIT 2,NYI 3

Evgeni Malkin (3) Kris Letang (5), Bryan Rust (7) 19:42 PIT 3,NYI 3

Overtime

No Goals

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in five straight (2-0-3).…Mathew Barzal has points on thirteen of the team's 28 goals this season, including 10 of 20 at even-strength; Barzal extended his point streak to seven games, matching his career-high, but saw his six-game assist streak end.…Casey Cizikas' opening goal was the 4th for the Isles' fourth line in a span of less than five periods (dating back to the third period on Saturday). …Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck extended their point streaks to three games, while Evgeni Malkin's power play goal extended his point streak to four games…Pittsburgh improves to 6-1-1 in one-goal games; only one of the six wins have come in regulation…The Isles have scored 13 goals in the first period, but only 15 goals in the second and third periods…The Isles were held to one power play for the third consecutive game (2-2 vs. Pittsburgh and 0-1 vs the Rangers); after having 20 power plays in their first four games, the Isles have had only 21 power plays in the last eight games….Sidney Crosby (115) and Malkin (80) have combined for 195 career points against the Isles; they are 1-2 among active players in points against the Isles…This was the 10th anniversary of the 2011 Brawl Game between the teams; only three players appeared in both games (Josh Bailey, Matt Martin and Kris Letang)…Pittsburgh has allowed at least three goals in 11 of their 12 games this season.

The Shootout

Jordan Eberle (NG)  / Jake Guentzel (NG)

Mathew Barzal (NG) / Sidney Crosby (G/GDG)

Josh Bailey (NG)

Semyon Varlamov still has the best save percentage of any active goalie who has faced 100 career shootout attempts  (.741)…Sidney Crosby's winning goal was his 40th in 99 career attempts. It was his 18th game-deciding goal (tied-5th all-time); former Islander Frans Nielsen has 23 deciding goals, which is three more than anyone else in NHL history.

Longest Home Win Streak to Open Season

• 7- 1982-83

• 4- 1984-85

• 3- 2020-21 

• 3- 2003-04

• 3- 1992-93

• 3- 1988-89

Home and Road

The Isles are 5-4-3 overall; they are 3-0-1 at home and 2-4-2 on the road.

Pittsburgh is 6-5-1 overall; they are 4-0-0 at home and 2-5-1 on the road.

Coach Trotz

Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 850-622-60-154 in 1,686 games, and he has passed Ken Hitchcock as the 3rd-winningest coach in NHL history.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville    932

3. Barry Trotz    850

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,715

3. Barry Trotz        1,685

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello is the third-winningest general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,420

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,299

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,149 wins between the two of them.  They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together).   Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together.  

First Things First

The Isles are 5-1-1 when scoring first and are 0-3-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    10-6-8-5=29

Pittsburgh        10-14-9-2=35

The Isles are 4-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-2-1 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 55-27-11 when outshot; the 55 wins are the most in the NHL.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves; he is  5-2-2 on the season and 6-2-3 against Pittsburgh. He is 32-18 all-time in shootouts.

Casey DeSmith made 26 saves to improve to 4-1-0 on the season and 3-0-0 in his career against the Isles. He is 3-1 all time in shootouts.

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-1 on the power play (1:32); Pittsburgh was 0-1 on the power play (2:00). 

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

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 3-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-3-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 70-6-9 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 2-1-3 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 0-2 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 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 0-0-1 in the front-half and 0-0-1 in the back-half.  The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 15th/16th in Buffalo.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 17-2-3 in back-ends.

Series

The recently-announced schedule changed mean that the Isles will play the same opponent in consecutive games nineteen times this season (including a three-game stretch vs. the Sabres in early March).  The Isles are 2-1-1 in the first game and 0-3-1 in the second game:

NYR (W/L); NJ (W/L); WAS (L/L); PHI (Lot/Lot)

Tired vs. Rested 

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

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

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

• The Isles are 5-4-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (24:47); Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (26:45)

Jordan Eberle led Isles forwards with a season-high 21:17 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (2-0-0), Ryan Pulock (3-2-2), Scott Mayfield (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-1)

Face-offs

Isles 32, Pittsburgh 25 (56%)

Brock Nelson won 9 of 12 for the Isles; Sidney Crosby won 15 of 21 for Pittsburgh.

The Isles are 4-3-1 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 0-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 23 (Matt Martin -5)

Pittsburgh 29 (Brandon Tanev -6)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 0

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 20 (Three with 3)

Pittsburgh 14 (Three with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 52, Pittsburgh 58

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 44, Pittsburgh 48

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Anders Lee +6

Pittsburgh: Chad Ruhwedel +3

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 17, Pittsburgh 10

5-on-5: Isles 12, Pittsburgh 7

Scratches

(Anthony Beauvillier-IR), Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Cory Schneider

Games Lost: 12

240 Game Club

The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 240 games, and they are three of just 17 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 280, Brock Nelson 257, Mathew Barzal 244, Ryan Pulock 207, Josh Bailey 165.  All five players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Anders Lee has the fourth-longest consecutive game streak while Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal have also moved into the top 10; it is the first time in club history that three different Isles have had concurrent streaks of at least 240 games:

1. Billy Harris 10/7/1972 -11/30/1979 576 (*)

2. Bobby Nystrom 1/7/1975 - 11/25/1978 301

3. Matt Moulson 10/3/2009 - 4/4/2013 284

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 280

5. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975 - 1/17/1979 262

6. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 257

7. John Tavares 10/16/2010 - 12/23/2013 246

8. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 244

9.   J.P. Parise 1/7/1975 – 1/7/1978 240 (**)

10. Richard Park 10/5/2006 - 2/18/2009 221

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

Ryan Pulock has become the third Islander defensemen to play in 200 consecutive games: 

1. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979 262

2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220 (*) (**)

3. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 207

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures 

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.

Opponents: 1 successful, 0 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR)

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 1-0-0 in games that go the opponents' way.

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored 1 goal and allowed 2 goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1 [Anders Lee, 2/6/21 vs PIT (17:14) -winning goal]

Vs:  2 [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)-winning goal; Evgeni Malkin, 2/11/21 vs PIT (19:42) – tying goal/PIT won in OT]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Josh Bailey 877…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 572 *** 19. Brock Nelson 560 *** 20. Ken Morrow 550 *** 21. Duane Sutter 547 *** 22. Casey Cizikas 546 …

28. Dave Lewis 514. *** 29. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 31. Anders Lee 505 *** 32. Ed Westfall 493 *** 33. Cal Clutterbuck 490

Goals

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

12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 176 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 155 *** 17. Brock Nelson 152

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Pat Flatley 328 *** 8. Josh Bailey 325 …

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 22. Nick Leddy 173

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 480…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 307  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 299

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 …

6. Peter Laviolette 164 *** 7. Ted Nolan 163 *** 8. Barry Trotz 162

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 88

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 0-2-0 on the season (0-1-0 vs. Hartford and 0-1-0 vs. Providence).  They will next play in Marlborough, MA against Providence on Sunday afternoon.   

Season Series Stats

The season series is tied 1 game to 1 (Pittsburgh has earned 3 points to the Isles'  2).

The Isles are 3-0-3 in the last six games with Pittsburgh at home and are 4-0-3 in the last seven games with Pittsburgh overall (with all seven decided by one goal, including six beyond regulation). 

The teams will meet again next Thursday and Saturday in Pittsburgh, before returning to the Coliseum for another pair of game the following week.

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13th  –BOSTON AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm

[MSG+ (pre-game at 6:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 1050]

The Bruins are red-hot, and they return to the site of their only regulation loss this season – the Nassau Coliseum – as the teams meet for the second of their eight meetings.

Back on MLK Day, the Isles opened the home campaign with a 1-0 win behind a Semyon Varlamov shutout and a JG Pageau goal.   It was their first home win over Boston since November 2, 2013, ending an 0-8-1 streak.

The Isles will be looking to defeat Boston on Coliseum ice for a second time in a season for the first time since 2006-07.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 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