The Skinny: Columbus 3, Isles 2 (OT)

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 4

Columbus 3, Isles 2 (OT)

Patrik Laine scored 1:49 into overtime as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Islanders 3-2 before 12,937 at Nationwide Arena.

Scott Mayfield and Mathew Barzal scored for the Isles, who allowed a pair of goals 33 seconds apart in the second period to Columbus' Boone Jenner and Cole Sillinger.  It was Sillinger's first NHL goal. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

Scott Mayfield (1) 10:35 NYI 1,CBJ 0

Boone Jenner (3) Oliver Bjorkstrand (3), Jakub Voracek (4) 18:00 NYI 1,CBJ 1 PPG

Cole Sillinger (1) Vladislav Gavrikov (3), Oliver Bjorkstrand (4) 18:33 NYI 1,CBJ 2

3rd Period

Mathew Barzal (2) Noah Dobson (2), Matt Martin (1) 05:03 NYI 2,CBJ 2 

OT

Patrik Laine (2) Zach Werenski (3), Oliver Bjorkstrand (5) 01:49 NYI 2,CBJ 3

The Skinny         

Mathew Barzal had nine shots on goal and 13 attempts; Anders Lee added six shots and ten attempts in his return to the lineup…The Isles played without Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who was ill…Patrik Laine scored in overtime for the second time this season.

First Times in a Long Time

• Cole Sillinger is the first 18-year-old to score against the Isles since Aaron Ekblad did so for Florida on November 14, 2014.

• Sillinger is the first player to score his first NHL goal against the Isles since Givani Smith did so for Detroit on January 14, 2020.

• Sillinger is the first 18-year-old to score his NHL goal against the Isles since Victor Hedman did so for Tampa Bay on December 9, 2009.

Eighteen-Year-Olds to Score First NHL Goal vs Isles

1984-03-08 Russ Courtnall (Toronto) 18-280

1986-10-11 Jimmy Carson (Los Angeles) 18-083

1988-10-18 Trevor Linden (Vancouver) 18-190

2009-12-05 Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay)    18-352

2021-10-22   Cole Sillinger (Columbus) 18-158

(Thus, Sillinger is the second-youngest player to score his first career goal vs. the Isles, older than only Jimmy Carson. Carson would score 275 NHL goals)

Most Unassisted Goals by an Islander Among First 15 Career Goals

• 5 Ralph Stewart (all in 1973)

• 4 Dale Henry  (1985 to 1988)

• 4 Oliver Wahlstrom (all in 2021)

Most Islander Goals in October (2000's)

1. John Tavares 45

2. Brock Nelson 28

3. Alexei Yashin 26

4. Josh Bailey 25

Only 15 players in club history (led by Mike Bossy's 80) have scored at least 25 October goals.

The Long Road (to the New) Home

The Isles are 1-2-1 on their franchise-record 13-game road trip:

• Thu Oct 14 at Carolina L 3-6

• Sat Oct 16 at Florida         L 1-5

• Tue Oct 19 at Chicago         W 4-1

• Thu Oct 21 at Columbus L 3-2 (ot)

• Sat Oct 23 at Arizona         9:00 PM

• Sun Oct 24 at Vegas     10:00 PM

• Sat Oct 30 at Nashville 1:30 PM

• Thu Nov 04 at Montréal 7:00 PM

• Sat Nov 06 at Winnipeg 7:00 PM

• Sun Nov 07 at Minnesota 8:00 PM

• Thu Nov 11 at New Jersey 7:00 PM

• Mon Nov 15 at Tampa Bay 7:00 PM

• Tue Nov 16 at Florida         7:00 PM

Home and Road

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

Columbus is 3-1-0 overall; they are 3-0-0 at home and 0-1-0 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 878-637-60-159 in 1,734 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  966

3. Barry Trotz    878

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,765

3. Barry Trotz        1,734

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,449

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,327

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,205 wins between 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.  

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

The Shots

Isles    10-16-8-2=36

Columbus    11-8-11-2=32

The Isles are 0-1-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-1-0 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 65-37-13 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves; he is 1-2-1 on the season and 0-0-1 vs. Columbus. 

Elvis Merzlikins made 34 saves and improves to 3-0-0 on the season and 1-1-0 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play (6:00); Columbus was 1-4 on the power play (7:09). 

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

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 1-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-1-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 90-10-11 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

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

Back-to-Backs

The Isles will play nineteen back-to-backs this season; the first will be on October 23-24 in Arizona and Vegas. 

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 21-4-4 (.793) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch.  Tampa Bay has the next best record: 20-9-3 (.672).

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Mathew Barzal (21:31); Columbus: Zach Werenski (25:48)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 21:31 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (1-1-0), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1)

Face-offs

Isles 23, Columbus 23 (50%)

Casey Cizikas won 8 of 12 for the Isles; Boone Jenner won 16 of 23 for Columbus. 

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

Hit Count

Isles 26 (Matt Martin -5)

Columbus 11 (Sean Kuraly -6)

Fights 

There were no fights. Season total: 1 (Martin)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 13 (Ryan Pulock and Noah Dobson -3)

Columbus 13 (Andrew Peeke-3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 60, Columbus 56

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 48, Columbus 41

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Adam Pelech and Anders Lee +10

Columbus: Cole Sillinger +10

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 11, Columbus 11

5-on-5: Isles 10, Columbus 9

Scratches

(JG Pageau), (Semyon Varlomov), Sebastian Aho, Ross Johnston

Games Lost: 8

Iron Man Club

Brock Nelson has played in 305 consecutive games and Ryan Pulock in 255; both have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.  

Iron Man

Brock Nelson has passed Bobby Nystrom for the 2nd-longest streak while Ryan Pulock is 8th:

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

2. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 305

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

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – 3/13/2021 295

5. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- 5/3/2021 284

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

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

8. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 255

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Pulock's streak is the 2nd-longest by an Islander defenseman, trailing only Denis Potvin's 262-game streak.

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR)

Opponents: 1 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 0-1-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 0-0-0 in games that go the opponents' way. (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA)

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored no goals and allowed no goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 0  

Vs:  0  

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 923…

13. Stefan Persson 622 *** 14. Matt Martin 616 *** 15. Brock Nelson 687 *** 16. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 17. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 18. Garry Howatt 596 *** 19. John Tonelli and Casey Cizikas 594 … 

27. Cal Clutterbuck 532 *** 28. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 29. Anders Lee 523

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 185 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 169 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 162

Assists

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

4. Clark Gillies 359 *** 5. Josh Bailey 350…

20. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 21. Ed Westfall 181 *** 22. Mathew Barzal 176…

26. Jean Potvin 167 *** 27. Jeff Norton 166 *** 28. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 29. Brock Nelson 160

Points

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

9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 11. Josh Bailey 512…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 21. Brock Nelson 328 ***  22. Anders Lee 321

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 210

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 116

On the Farm

Bridgeport is now 0-1-0-2, heading into Friday's game in Springfield.  The Islanders will then host the Thunderbirds in their home opener on Saturday.

Season Series Stats

Columbus leads the season series 1 games to 0 (and 2 points to 1).  The teams will next play on January 18th at UBS Arena (Columbus is the only division foe that plays only once at UBS Arena this season).

The Isles are 5-2-1 in the last eight games against Columbus

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23rd –ISLANDERS AT ARIZONA 9:00pm

[MSG+ (Pre-game at 8:30, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 98.7FM]

Game 5 of this 13-game road trip will be on Saturday as the Isles visit the Coyotes in Glendale, Arizona. . The Coyotes, who lost 5-1 to Edmonton on Thursday, are 0-3-1 on the young season.

The teams split a pair of games during the 2019-2020 season, but the Isles have won only once in their last five trips to Arizona (1-2-2).

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"     

 

By Eric Hornick

 

Game 4

Columbus 3, Isles 2 (OT)

Patrik Laine scored 1:49 into overtime as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Islanders 3-2 before 12,937 at Nationwide Arena.

 

Scott Mayfield and Mathew Barzal scored for the Isles, who allowed a pair of goals 33 seconds apart in the second period to Columbus' Boone Jenner and Cole Sillinger.  It was Sillinger's first NHL goal.

 

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

Scott Mayfield (1) 10:35 NYI 1,CBJ 0

Boone Jenner (3) Oliver Bjorkstrand (3), Jakub Voracek (4) 18:00 NYI 1,CBJ 1 PPG

Cole Sillinger (1) Vladislav Gavrikov (3), Oliver Bjorkstrand (4) 18:33 NYI 1,CBJ 2

3rd Period

Mathew Barzal (2) Noah Dobson (2), Matt Martin (1) 05:03 NYI 2,CBJ 2 OT

Patrik Laine (2) Zach Werenski (3), Oliver Bjorkstrand (5) 01:49 NYI 2,CBJ 3

 

The Skinny         

Mathew Barzal had nine shots on goal and 13 attempts; Anders Lee added six shots and ten attempts in his return to the lineup…The Isles played without Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who was ill…Patrik Laine scored in overtime for the second time this season.

 

First Times in a Long Time

·        Cole Sillinger is the first 18-year-old to score against the Isles since Aaron Ekblad did so for Florida on November 14, 2014.

·        Sillinger is the first player to score his first NHL goal against the Isles since Givani Smith did so for Detroit on January 14, 2020.

·        Sillinger is the first 18-year-old to score his NHL goal against the Isles since Victor Hedman did so for Tampa Bay on December 9, 2009.

 

Eighteen-Year-Olds to Score First NHL Goal vs Isles

     1984-03-08   Russ Courtnall (Toronto)           18-280

     1986-10-11   Jimmy Carson (Los Angeles)     18-083

     1988-10-18   Trevor Linden (Vancouver)        18-190

     2009-12-05   Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay)      18-352

     2021-10-22   Cole Sillinger (Columbus)          18-158

(Thus, Sillinger is the second-youngest player to score his first career goal vs. the Isles, older than only Jimmy Carson. Carson would score 275 NHL goals)

 

Most Unassisted Goals by an Islander Among First 15 Career Goals

·        5 Ralph Stewart (all in 1973)

·        4 Dale Henry  (1985 to 1988)

·        4 Oliver Wahlstrom (all in 2021)

 

Most Islander Goals in October (2000's)

1.      John Tavares 45

2.      Brock Nelson 28

3.      Alexei Yashin 26

4.      Josh Bailey 25

Only 15 players in club history (led by Mike Bossy's 80) have scored at least 25 October goals.

 

The Long Road (to the New) Home

The Isles are 1-2-1 on their franchise-record 13-game road trip:

·        Thu      Oct 14  at Carolina        L 3-6

·        Sat       Oct 16  at Florida          L 1-5

·        Tue      Oct 19  at Chicago        W 4-1

·        Thu      Oct 21  at Columbus     L 3-2 (ot)

·        Sat       Oct 23  at Arizona         9:00 PM

·        Sun      Oct 24  at Vegas           10:00 PM

·        Sat       Oct 30  at Nashville      1:30 PM

·        Thu      Nov 04  at Montréal       7:00 PM

·        Sat       Nov 06  at Winnipeg      7:00 PM

·        Sun      Nov 07  at Minnesota     8:00 PM

·        Thu      Nov 11  at New Jersey  7:00 PM

·        Mon      Nov 15  at Tampa Bay   7:00 PM

·        Tue      Nov 16  at Florida          7:00 PM

 

Home and Road

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

Columbus is 3-1-0 overall; they are 3-0-0 at home and 0-1-0 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 878-637-60-159 in 1,734 games.

 

Most Coaching Wins

1.         Scotty Bowman  1,244

2.         Joel Quenneville  966

3.         Barry Trotz         878

 

Most Games Coached

1.         Scotty Bowman   2,141

2.         Joel Quenneville 1,765

3.         Barry Trotz        1,734

 

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:

1.      David Poile 1,449

2.      Lou Lamoriello 1,327

3.      Glen Sather 1,319

 

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,205 wins between 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 1-1-1 when scoring first and are 0-1-0 when allowing the opening goal.

 

The Shots

Isles                 10-16-8-2=36

Columbus         11-8-11-2=32

The Isles are 0-1-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-1-0 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 65-37-13 when outshot.

 

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves; he is 1-2-1 on the season and 0-0-1 vs. Columbus.

Elvis Merzlikins made 34 saves and improves to 3-0-0 on the season and 1-1-0 vs. the Isles.

 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play (6:00); Columbus was 1-4 on the power play (7:09).

 

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

 

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 1-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-1-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 90-10-11 when scoring three or more.

 

One-Goal Games

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

 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles will play nineteen back-to-backs this season; the first will be on October 23-24 in Arizona and Vegas.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 21-4-4 (.793) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch.  Tampa Bay has the next best record: 20-9-3 (.672).

 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Mathew Barzal (21:31); Columbus: Zach Werenski (25:48)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 21:31 of ice-time.

 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (1-1-0), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1)

 

Face-offs

Isles 23, Columbus 23 (50%)

Casey Cizikas won 8 of 12 for the Isles; Boone Jenner won 16 of 23 for Columbus.

 

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

 

Hit Count

Isles 26 (Matt Martin -5)

Columbus 11 (Sean Kuraly -6)

           

Fights

There were no fights. Season total: 1 (Martin)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 13 (Ryan Pulock and Noah Dobson -3)

Columbus 13 (Andrew Peeke-3)

 

For the Analytics Crowd

Corsi: All situations: Isles 60, Columbus 56

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 48, Columbus 41

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Adam Pelech and Anders Lee +10

Columbus: Cole Sillinger +10

 

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 11, Columbus 11

5-on-5: Isles 10, Columbus 9

 

Scratches

(JG Pageau), (Semyon Varlomov), Sebastian Aho, Ross Johnston

Games Lost: 8

 

Iron Man Club

Brock Nelson has played in 305 consecutive games and Ryan Pulock in 255; both have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.  

 

Iron Man

Brock Nelson has passed Bobby Nystrom for the 2^nd-longest streak while Ryan Pulock is 8th:

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

2. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 305

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

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – 3/13/2021 295

5. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- 5/3/2021 284

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

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

8. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 255

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

 

Pulock's streak is the 2nd-longest by an Islander defenseman, trailing only Denis Potvin's 262-game streak.

 

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR)

 

Opponents: 1 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 0-1-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 0-0-0 in games that go the opponents' way. (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA)

 

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored no goals and allowed no goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 0  

Vs:  0  

 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 923…

13. Stefan Persson 622 *** 14. Matt Martin 616 *** 15. Brock Nelson 687 *** 16. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 17. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 18. Garry Howatt 596 *** 19. John Tonelli and Casey Cizikas 594 …

27. Cal Clutterbuck 532 *** 28. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 29. Anders Lee 523

 

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 185 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 169 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 162

 

Assists

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

4. Clark Gillies 359 *** 5. Josh Bailey 350…

20. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 21. Ed Westfall 181 *** 22. Mathew Barzal 176…

26. Jean Potvin 167 *** 27. Jeff Norton 166 *** 28. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 29. Brock Nelson 160

 

Points

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

9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 11. Josh Bailey 512…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 21. Brock Nelson 328 ***  22. Anders Lee 321

 

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 210

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 116

 

On the Farm

Bridgeport is now 0-1-0-2, heading into Friday's game in Springfield.  The Islanders will then host the Thunderbirds in their home opener on Saturday.

 

Season Series Stats

Columbus leads the season series 1 games to 0 (and 2 points to 1).  The teams will next play on January 18^th at UBS Arena (Columbus is the only division foe that plays only once at UBS Arena this season).

 

The Isles are 5-2-1 in the last eight games against Columbus

 

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23rd –ISLANDERS AT ARIZONA 9:00pm

[MSG+ (Pre-game at 8:30, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 98.7FM]

Game 5 of this 13-game road trip will be on Saturday as the Isles visit the Coyotes in Glendale, Arizona. . The Coyotes, who lost 5-1 to Edmonton on Thursday, are 0-3-1 on the young season.

 

The teams split a pair of games during the 2019-2020 season, but the Isles have won only once in their last five trips to Arizona (1-2-2).

 

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.     

The Skinny: Isles 4, Chicago 1

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 3

Isles 4, Chicago 1

Ilya Sorokin made 39 saves while Oliver Wahlstrom scored twice as the Isles earned their first win of the season and spoiled the Blackhawks' home opener with a 4-1 victory before 20,279 at the United Center.

Wahlstrom, who leads the team with three goals, has scored two of the three goals unassisted.  The win means the Isles will not open 0-3 for only the second time in their history (0-3-0 in 2006-07). 

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

Anthony Beauvillier (1) 04:08 NYI 1,CHI 0

3rd Period

Oliver Wahlstrom (2) 00:48 NYI 2, CHI 0

Oliver Wahlstrom (3) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1) 08:51 NYI 3, CHI 0

Cal Clutterbuck (1) 11:06  NYI 4, CHI 0

MacKenzie Entwistle (1) Kirby Dach (1), Erik Gustafsson (1) 19:34 NYI 4,CHI 1

The Skinny         

Oliver Wahlstrom recorded his first career two-goal game…Wahlstrom finished with a career-high eight shots on goal…Four of Wahlstrom's fifteen career goals have been unassisted…MacKenzie Entwistle broke Ilya Sorokin's shutout with 26 seconds to play; the goal was upheld following a league-requested review for offsides…Chicago has not led at any point in their first four games…Adam Pelech went +2, but was on-ice for the Blackhawk goal. It was the first time this season that he has been on-ice for an even strength goal….Ilya Sorokin made 39 saves to improve to 14-8-3 in his career…The Isles had been outscored 4-1 in the third period of the first two games but scored three of the four goals in the third period tonight…The Isles played without Anders Lee, who was ill.

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles scored three unassisted goals for the first time since the final game of the 1998-99 season, when Trevor Linden (2) and Ziggy Palffy (2) combined for four unassisted tallies.

• The Isles scored two unassisted goals in a period for the first time since February 16, 2018 [Beauvillier – Tavares (EN)]

Islanders with 2+ Goals and 8+ Shots in a Game, before 22nd Birthday

• Mike Bossy (4x)

• Mathew Barzal (1-3-2019 vs Chicago)

• Oliver Wahlstrom (10-19-2021 vs Chicago)

Most Unassisted Goals by an Islander Among First 15 Career Goals

• 5 Ralph Stewart (all in 1973)

• 4 Dale Henry  (1985 to 1988)

• 4 Oliver Wahlstrom (all in 2021)

Most Islander Goals in October (2000's)

1. John Tavares 45

2. Brock Nelson 28

3. Alexei Yashin 26

4. Josh Bailey 25

Only 15 players in club history (led by Mike Bossy's 80) have scored at least 25 October goals.

The Long Road (to the New) Home

The Isles are 1-2-0 on their franchise-record 13-game road trip:

• Thu Oct 14 at Carolina L 3-6

• Sat Oct 16 at Florida     L 1-5

• Tue Oct 19 at Chicago     W 4-1

• Thu Oct 21 at Columbus 7:00 PM

• Sat Oct 23 at Arizona         9:00 PM

• Sun Oct 24 at Vegas         10:00 PM

• Sat Oct 30 at Nashville 1:30 PM

• Thu Nov 04 at Montréal 7:00 PM

• Sat Nov 06 at Winnipeg 7:00 PM

• Sun Nov 07 at Minnesota 8:00 PM

• Thu Nov 11 at New Jersey 7:00 PM

• Mon Nov 15 at Tampa Bay 7:00 PM

• Tue Nov 16 at Florida         7:00 PM

Home and Road

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

Chicago is 0-3-1 overall; they are 0-1-0 at home and 0-2-1 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 878-637-60-158 in 1,733 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  965

3. Barry Trotz    878

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,764

3. Barry Trotz        1,733

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,449

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,327

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,205 wins between 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 1-1-0 when scoring first and are 0-1-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    9-12-8=29

Chicago    18-13-9=40

The Isles are 0-1-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-1-0 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 65-37-13 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 39 saves to improve to 1-2-0 on the season and 1-0-0 vs. Chicago. 

Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves but falls to 0-3-0 on the season and 26-12-5 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play (4:00); Chicago was 0-3 on the power play (6:00). 

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

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 1-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-1-0 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 90-10-11 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

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

Back-to-Backs

The Isles will play nineteen back-to-backs this season; the first will be on October 23-24 in Arizona and Vegas. 

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 21-4-4 (.793) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch.  Tampa Bay has the next best record: 20-9-3 (.672).

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (21:57); Chicago: Jake McCabe (23:29)

JG Pageau led Isles forwards with 18:03 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (1-1-0), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0)

Face-offs

Isles 28, Chicago 21 (57%)

JG Pageau won 13 of 19 for the Isles; no Blackhawk who took at least four face-offs won more than he lost.

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

Hit Count

Isles 44 (Casey Cizikas -6)

Chicago 34 (Mike Hardman -6)

Fights 

Matt Martin fought Jujhar Khaira in the third period.  Season total: 1 (Martin)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 19 (Adam Pelech-4)

Chicago 12 (Calvin deHaan-3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 49, Chicago 69

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 41, Chicago 55

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Cal Clutterbuck & Casey Cizikas +2

Chicago: Calvin deHaan+20

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 4, Chicago 13

5-on-5: Isles 2, Chicago 10

Scratches

(Anders Lee), (Semyon Varlomov), Sebastian Aho, Ross Johnston

Games Lost: 6

Iron Man Club

Brock Nelson has played in 304 consecutive games and Ryan Pulock in 254; both have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.  

Iron Man

Brock Nelson has passed Bobby Nystrom for the 2nd-longest streak while Ryan Pulock is 8th:

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

2. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 304

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

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – 3/13/2021 295

5. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- 5/3/2021 284

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

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

8. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 254

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Pulock's streak is the 2nd-longest by an Islander defenseman, trailing only Denis Potvin's 262-game streak.

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR)

Opponents: 1 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 0-1-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 0-0-0 in games that go the opponents' way. (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA)

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored no goals and allowed no goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 0  

Vs:  0  

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 922…

13. Stefan Persson 622 *** 14. Matt Martin 615 *** 15. Brock Nelson 607 *** 16. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 17. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 18. Garry Howatt 596 *** 19. John Tonelli 594 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 593 … 

27. Cal Clutterbuck 531 *** 28. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 29. Anders Lee 522

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 185 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 169 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 162

Assists

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

4. Clark Gillies 359 *** 5. Josh Bailey 350…

20. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 21. Ed Westfall 181 *** 22. Mathew Barzal 176…

26. Jean Potvin 167 *** 27. Jeff Norton 166 *** 28. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 29. Brock Nelson 160

Points

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

9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 11. Josh Bailey 512…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 21. Brock Nelson 328 ***  22. Anders Lee 321

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 209

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 116

On the Farm

Bridgeport is now 0-1-0-2, following a shootout loss in Springfield on Sunday.  It was their second consecutive defeat in a shootout.

Bridgeport plays again Friday in Springfield before hosting the Thunderbirds in their home opener on Saturday.

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 1 games to 0 (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will complete the season series at UBS Arena on December 5th.

This was only the second win for the Isles in their last ten trips to Chicago (2-5-3).

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21st –ISLANDERS AT COLUMBUS 7:00pm

[MSG+2 (Pre-game at 6:30, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN1050]

Game 4 of this 13-game road trip will be on Thursday as the Isles renew their rivalry with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets, who lost 4-1 to Detroit on Tuesday, are 2-1-0 on the young season.

The Isles are 5-2-0 in the last seven games against Columbus; they went 2-1-0 against the Jackets before the 2019-2020 season was suspended.  This will be the first meeting of the teams since December 23, 2019.

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: Florida 5, Isles 1

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 2

Florida 5, Isles 1

Sam Bennett scored in each period for his second career hat trick as the Florida Panthers built a 3-0 lead and defeated the Islanders 5-1 before a crowd of 12,936 at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida.

.

Oliver Wahlstrom's third period power play goal was the Isles' only tally as New York falls to 0-2 for the first time since 2016-17.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Sam Bennett (1) Radko Gudas (1), Gustav Forsling (2) 09:10 NYI 0,FLA 1

2nd Period

Sam Bennett (2) Jonathan Huberdeau (2), Aaron Ekblad (1) 03:48 NYI 0,FLA 2

Anthony Duclair (2) MacKenzie Weegar (2) 18:57 NYI 0,FLA 3

3rd Period

Oliver Wahlstrom (1) 03:30 NYI 1,FLA 3 PPG

Sam Bennett (3) Matt Kiersted (1) 09:39 NYI 1,FLA 4 

Aleksander Barkov (1) Carter Verhaeghe (1), Gustav Forsling (3) 12:22 NYI 1,FLA 5

The Skinny         

Sergei Bobrovsky recorded his 299th NHL win…Sam Bennett recorded his second career hat trick; his other was a 4-goal game for Calgary, and against the Panthers, in 2016…Seven of Oliver Wahlstrom's thirteen career goals have come on the power play…Brock Nelson played his first game as a 30-year-old; his birthday was on Friday…Zdeno Chara went -4 for the eighth time in his career, and first since November 5, 2010.

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles have allowed 11 goals in the first two games for the first time since 1995.  

• Sam Bennett is the first Panther since Nathan Horton (12/9/2009) to record a hat trick vs. the Isles.

Most Goals Allowed Through 2 Games

• 13  1984-85

• 12  1978-79

• 12  1989-90

• 11  1983-84

• 11  1992-93

• 11  1995-96

• 11  2020-21

Most Islander Goals in October (2000's)

1. John Tavares 45

2. Brock Nelson 28

3. Alexei Yashin 26

4. Josh Bailey 25

Only 15 players in club history (led by Mike Bossy's 80) have scored at least 25 October goals.

The Long Road (to the New) Home

The Isles are 0-2-0 on their franchise-record 13-game road trip:

• Thu Oct 14 at Carolina L 3-6

• Sat Oct 16 at Florida         L 1-5

• Tue Oct 19 at Chicago         8:00 PM

• Thu Oct 21 at Columbus 7:00 PM

• Sat Oct 23 at Arizona         9:00 PM

• Sun Oct 24 at Vegas         10:00 PM

• Sat Oct 30 at Nashville 1:30 PM

• Thu Nov 4 at Montréal 7:00 PM

• Sat Nov 6 at Winnipeg 7:00 PM

• Sun Nov 7 at Minnesota 8:00 PM

• Thu Nov 11 at New Jersey 7:00 PM

• Mon Nov 15 at Tampa Bay 7:00 PM

• Tue Nov 16 at Florida         7:00 PM

Home and Road

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

Florida is 2-0-0 overall; they are 2-0-0 at home and 0-0-0 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 877-637-60-158 in 1,732 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  964

3. Barry Trotz    877

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,763

3. Barry Trotz        1,732

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,448

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,326

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,203 wins between 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 0-1-0 when scoring first and are 0-1-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    8-12-10=30

Florida    6-7-16=29

The Isles are 0-1-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 0-1-0 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 64-37-13 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves but falls to 0-2-0 on the season and 0-1-0 vs. Florida. 

Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves to improve to 2-0-0 on the season and 17-10-0 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-4 on the power play (6:10); Florida was 0-1 on the power play (2:00). 

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

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 0-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-1-0 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 89-10-11 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

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

Back-to-Backs

The Isles will play nineteen back-to-backs this season; the first will be on October 23-24 in Arizona and Vegas. 

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 21-4-4 (.793) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch.  Tampa Bay has the next best record: 20-9-3 (.672).

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Anthony Beauvillier (20:56); Florida: Mackenzie Weegar (24:00)

Anthony Beauvillier led Isles forwards with 20:56 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (0-1-0), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0)

Face-offs

Isles 34, Florida 26 (57%)

JG Pageau won 11 of 17 for the Isles; Antun Lundell won 11 of 18 for Florida.

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

Hit Count

Isles 28 (Casey Cizikas -5)

Florida 34 (Two with 6)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 0

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 23 (Noah Dobson -4)

Florida 11 (Radko Gudas-3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 54, Florida 67

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 39, Florida 62

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  JG Pageau +6

Florida: Brandon Montour +14

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 5, Florida 8

5-on-5: Isles 3, Florida 8

Scratches

(Matt Martin), (Semyon Varlomov), Kieffer Bellows, Sebastian Aho, Ross Johnston

Games Lost: 4

Iron Man Club

Brock Nelson has played in 303 consecutive games and Ryan Pulock in 253; both have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.  

Iron Man

Brock Nelson has passed Bobby Nystrom for the 2nd-longest streak while Ryan Pulock is 8th:

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

2. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 303

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

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – 3/13/2021 295

5. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- 5/3/2021 284

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

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

8. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 253

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Pulock's streak is the 2nd-longest by an Islander defenseman, trailing only Denis Potvin's 262-game streak.

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR)

Opponents: 1 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 0-1-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 0-0-0 in games that go the opponents' way. (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA)

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored no goals and allowed no goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 0  

Vs:  0  

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 921…

13. Stefan Persson 622 *** 14. Matt Martin 614 *** 15. Frans Nielsen and Brock Nelson 606 *** 17. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 18. Garry Howatt 596 *** 19. John Tonelli 594 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 592 … 

27. Cal Clutterbuck 530 *** 28. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 29. Anders Lee 522

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 185 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 169 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 162

Assists

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

4. Clark Gillies 359 *** 5. Josh Bailey 350…

20. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 21. Ed Westfall 181 *** 22. Mathew Barzal 176…

26. Jean Potvin 167 *** 27. Jeff Norton 166 *** 28. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 29. Brock Nelson 160

Points

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

9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 11. Josh Bailey 512…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 21. Brock Nelson 328 ***  22. Anders Lee 321

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 208

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 115

On the Farm

Bridgeport is opening their season with three road games.  The Baby Islanders are 0-1-1 in the first two games, losing 2-1 in regulation in Hartford, and 2-1 in a shootout in Providence. Ken Appleby made 42 saves in the shootout loss.

Bridgeport plays Sunday afternoon in Springfield.

Season Series Stats

Florida leads the season series 1 games to 0 (and 2 points to 0).  The next meeting of the teams will be on November 16th in Sunrise – it will be the final game of the 13-game road trip.

The Isles had won four straight games vs. Florida before tonight's defeat, including twice in shootouts.

UP NEXT

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19th –ISLANDERS AT CHICAGO 8:00pm

[ESPN, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN1050]

Game 3 of this 13-game road trip will be on Tuesday as the Isles will provide the opposition for the Chicago Blackhawks in their home opener.  Neither team has a win on the young season as the Hawks fell to 0-2-1 with a 5-2 loss in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

This will be the first meeting of the teams since December 27, 2019 – Robin Lehner, then with Chicago, defeated the Isles 5-2 that night. 

This game will be televised exclusively by ESPN.

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: Carolina 6, Isles 3

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 1

Carolina 6, Isles 3

Andrei Svechnikov scored two goals and added an assist as the Carolina Hurricanes handed the Islanders a 6-3 defeat on Opening Night before a sellout crowd of 18,680 in Raleigh.

Anders Lee, playing in his first game in seven months, had cut the 'Canes lead to 4-3 late in the 2nd period but Teuvo Teravainen's goal midway in the third cemented Carolina's lead before Svechnikov scored an empty netter on a power play.

 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Mathew Barzal (1) Kyle Palmieri (1), Andy Greene (1) 07:23 NYI 1,CAR 0

Andrei Svechnikov (1) Teuvo Teravainen (1), Ethan Bear (1) 09:15 NYI 1,CAR 1

Jesper Fast (1) Jaccob Slavin (1), Jordan Staal (1) 13:57 NYI 1,CAR 2

2nd Period

Brock Nelson (1) Anthony Beauvillier (1), Josh Bailey (1) 00:52 NYI 2,CAR 2

Jordan Martinook (1) Steven Lorentz (1), Derek Stepan (1) 06:30 NYI 2,CAR 3

Nino Niederreiter (1) 11:28 NYI 2,CAR 4

Anders Lee (1) Noah Dobson (1), Kyle Palmieri (2) 14:20 NYI 3,CAR 4

3rd Period

Teuvo Teravainen (1) Tony DeAngelo (1), Andrei Svechnikov (1) 11:36 NYI 3,CAR 5 PPG

Andrei Svechnikov (2) Tony DeAngelo (2) 19:18 NYI 3,CAR 6 PPG-EN

The Skinny        

Brock Nelson played in his 302nd consecutive game to pass Bobby Nystrom for 2nd place on the club's all-time list… Nelson also scored his 28th goal in 72 career Brock-tober games…Josh Bailey recorded his 350th career assist on Nelson's goal, breaking a tie with John Tavares for 5th place on the club's all-time list; Bailey is now one point behind Nystrom for 10th place on the club's list…Zdeno Chara made his Isles return to begin his 24th NHL season while Zach Parise made his Isles debut; it was Parise's 1,061st NHL game (breaking a tie in games played with Denis Potvin).

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles allowed six goals in a season opener for the first time since 2006 in Phoenix; it was the first time in club history that they allowed at least two goals in each period of a season opener.

• Zdeno Chara played his first game for the team since April 7, 2001. The 20 ½ year stretch between team appearances is the longest in any North American sport.

• Brock Nelson scored for the 4th time in a season opener, matching Derek King's club record.

• Semyon Varlamov did not start on Opening Night for the first time in eleven seasons.

• Andrei Svechnikov is the first Hurricane since Brandon Sutter (2010) with a multi-goal game on Opening Night.

Most Islander Goals in October (2000's)

1. John Tavares 45

2. Brock Nelson 28

3. Alexei Yashin 26

4. Josh Bailey 25

Only 15 players in club history (led by Mike Bossy's 80) have scored at least 25 October goals.

Most Goals by an Islander on Opening Night

1. Mike Bossy 7

2. Brock Nelson 5

Billy Harris 5

Bryan Trottier 5

Most Points by an Islander on Opening Night

1. Bryan Trottier 14

2. Mike Bossy 11

3. Brock Nelson 9

The Long Road (to the New) Home

The Isles are 0-1-0 on their franchise-record 13-game road trip:

• Thu Oct 14 at Carolina L 3-6

• Sat Oct 16 at Florida         6:00 PM

• Tue Oct 19 at Chicago         8:00 PM

• Thu Oct 21 at Columbus 7:00 PM

• Sat Oct 23 at Arizona         9:00 PM

• Sun Oct 24 at Vegas         10:00 PM

• Sat Oct 30 at Nashville 1:30 PM

• Thu Nov 04 at Montréal 7:00 PM

• Sat Nov 06 at Winnipeg 7:00 PM

• Sun Nov 07 at Minnesota 8:00 PM

• Thu Nov 11 at New Jersey 7:00 PM

• Mon Nov 15 at Tampa Bay 7:00 PM

• Tue Nov 16 at Florida         7:00 PM

Home and Road

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

Carolina is 1-0-0 overall; they are 1-0-0 at home and 0-0-0 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 877-636-60-158 in 1,731 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  963

3. Barry Trotz    877

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,762

3. Barry Trotz        1,731

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,448

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,326

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,203 wins between 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 0-1-0 when scoring first and are 0-0-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    6-14-8=28

Carolina        8-22-11=41

The Isles are 0-0-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 0-1-0 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 64-37-13 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 35 saves but loses his season debut for the second straight season.

Frederic Andersen made 25 saves to improve to 1-0-0 on the season and 8-2-1 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play (5:02); Carolina was 2-5 on the power play (6:24). 

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

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 0-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-0-0 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 89-10-11 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

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

Back-to-Backs

The Isles will play nineteen back-to-backs this season; the first will be on October 23-24 in Arizona and Vegas. 

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 21-4-4 (.793) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch.  Tampa Bay has the next best record: 20-9-3 (.672).

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (22:36); Carolina: Brett Pesce (22:51)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 19:58 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (0-1-0)

Face-offs

Isles 30, Carolina 37 (45%)

Mathew Barzal won 10 of 16 for the Isles; Vincent Trocheck won 9 of 15 for Carolina.

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

Hit Count

Isles 36 (Cal Clutterbuck -7)

Carolina 25 (Two with 4)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 0

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 22 (Ryan Pulock -6)

Carolina 10 (Brady Skjei-3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 48, Carolina 80

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 42, Carolina 59

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Zach Parise +1

Carolina: Three with +13

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 17, Carolina 16

5-on-5: Isles 16, Carolina 12

Scratches

(Matt Martin), (Semyon Varlomov), Kieffer Bellows, Sebastian Aho, Leo Komarov

Games Lost: 2

Iron Man Club

Brock Nelson has played in 302 consecutive games and Ryan Pulock in 252; both have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.  

Iron Man

Brock Nelson has passed Bobby Nystrom for the 2nd-longest streak while Ryan Pulock is 8th:

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

2. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 302

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

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – 3/13/2021 295

5. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- 5/3/2021 284

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

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

8. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 252

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Pulock's streak is the 2nd-longest by an Islander defenseman, trailing only Denis Potvin's 262-game streak.

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR)

Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures  

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

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored no goals and allowed no goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 0  

Vs:  0  

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 920…

13. Stefan Persson 622 *** 14. Matt Martin 614 *** 15. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 16. Brock Nelson 605 *** 17. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 18. Garry Howatt 596 *** 19. John Tonelli 594 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 591 … 

27. Kyle Okposo and Cal Clutterbuck 529*** 29. Anders Lee 521

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 185 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 169 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 162

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***4. Clark Gillies 359 *** 5. Josh Bailey 350

Points

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

9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 11. Josh Bailey 512…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 21. Brock Nelson 328 ***  22. Anders Lee 321

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 207

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 115

On the Farm

Bridgeport opens their season with three road games: Friday in Hartford, Saturday in Providence, and Sunday afternoon in Springfield.

Season Series Stats

Carolina leads the season series 1 games to 0 (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will next meet on April 7th, also in Carolina on April 7th.

The Isles are 0-3-2 in their last five games with the Canes. It is their longest stretch without a win against the Canes since an 0-5-1 stretch in 2013 and 2014.

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16th –ISLANDERS AT FLORIDA 6:00pm

[MSG+ [pre-game at 5:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN1050]

Game 2 of this 13-game road trip will be on Saturday in Sunrise as the Isles visit the Panthers in the first meeting of the teams since the 2020 Bubble.  The Isles will play twice in Sunrise (November 16th is the other) before opening UBS Arena on November 20th.

The Isles have won the last four meetings between the teams in regular season play, including twice in a shootout.

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.

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The Skinny on the Season Opener

"The Skinny" on the Opener

By Eric Hornick

It has been 104 days since the eventual champion Tampa Bay Lightning eliminated the Isles in a classic seven game semi-final match-up, as the Isles fell just five wins shy of the Stanley Cup. It all begins again on Thursday.

UP FIRST

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14th— ISLANDERS AT CAROLINA 7:00pm,

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

The Islanders begin their 50th NHL season in Carolina as they face the Hurricanes for the first time since the final pre-COVID home game (March 7, 2020); it is the first of only three meetings between the division rivals this season and their only meeting until April 8th.

Opening Night Skinny Notes

The Isles are 2-3-0 on Opening Night over the last five years and they are only 5-10-3 in their last 18 Openers. Overall, the Isles are 13-24-11 on Opening Night (11-19-8 on the road). Our four teams have opened their season on the road more often than the Isles.

The Isles will play their first thirteen games on the road, before opening UBS Arena with a four-game homestand, including the building opener on November 20th at 7:00pm against the Calgary Flames. 

Overall, the Isles have gone 29-13-6 in their first home game of season. 

The Isles 13-24-11 (.385) Opening Night record is third worst among current teams. Anaheim has the worst record on opening night of any current team: 8-19-0 (.296).

The Isles have been involved in five shutouts on Opening Night. Chico Resch blanked the Flyers in 1976 and Semyon Varlamov had a clean sheet against the Rangers in January 2021, while the Kings (Stephane Fiset in 1996), Panthers (Jose Theodore in 2011), and Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky in 2017) turned the trick on the Isles.

The Islander club record for the fastest goal on Opening Night is 1:01, set by Dave Scatchard on October 10, 2002, in Buffalo. The NHL record for the fastest Opening Night goal is 0:10, set by Kent Nilsson of Minnesota (10/11/86 @ Quebec).

No Islander has ever had an opening night hat trick, but Zach Parise had one for Minnesota (in Colorado) on Opening Night, doing so on October 8, 2015.

Islander coach Barry Trotz will be behind an NHL bench on Opening Night for the 23rd time – as many as any other current NHL coach; Trotz is 11-8-3 in Openers while Florida's Joel Quenneville is 7-9-6 in his 22 Openers. 

Schedule Skinny:

Back to Normal

The schedule returns to its normal 82-game format; after playing all 56 of their games within the East Division last season, the Isles will play only 26 games against the Metro this season. The Isles will host Carolina only once (April 24th) and visit Pittsburgh (April 14th) only once while facing the other division foes four teams. The Isles will play each of the eight teams in the Northeast Division three times and will play a home and home series with each Western Conference foe.

Back-to-Backs

The Isles will play nineteen sets of back-to-backs including three sets on their opening road trip (Arizona & Vegas 10/23-24, Winnipeg and Minnesota 11/6-11/7 and Tampa and Florida on 11/15-16). The Isles will open UBS with a back-to-back on November 20 vs Calgary and November 21 vs. Toronto.

Every Day's a Home Game

The Isles will play thirteen home games on Thursday, eight on Sunday, and seven on Saturday. They will play five times on Tuesday, three times on Monday and Friday, and twice on Wednesday.

Schedule by Month

October (7), November (12), December (14), January (15), February (4), March (16), April (14). The Isles will complete the regular season at UBS by hosting the Capitals on Thursday, April 28th.

Oh, That Road Trip

The Isles will open the season with a franchise-record 13-game road trip:

• Thu Oct 14 at Carolina 7:00 PM

• Sat Oct 16 at Florida         6:00 PM

• Tue Oct 19 at Chicago         8:00 PM

• Thu Oct 21 at Columbus 7:00 PM

• Sat Oct 23 at Arizona         9:00 PM

• Sun Oct 24 at Vegas       10:00 PM

• Sat Oct 30 at Nashville 1:30 PM

• Thu Nov 04 at Montréal 7:00 PM

• Sat Nov 06 at Winnipeg 7:00 PM

• Sun Nov 07 at Minnesota 8:00 PM

• Thu Nov 11 at New Jersey 7:00 PM

• Mon Nov 15 at Tampa Bay 7:00 PM

• Tue Nov 16 at Florida         7:00 PM

By the time the Isles get home they will have played nearly one-third of their road schedule. 41 of the final 69 games will be at home. 

Some factoids on the road trip:

• Ten of the first eleven games are on Thursday, Saturday, or Sunday

• The Isles will play their entire schedule in the state of Florida on this trip (three games)

• The Isles will not play consecutive games at the same Eastern time start in October

• The Isles will play games in all four time zones (six time zones total if you count "Standard Time" and "Daylight Savings Time" separately)

• There are three sets of back-to-back and three sets of at least three consecutive off-days

• The Isles will make their return to ESPN October 19th and their debut on ESPN+ November 16th. (The first TNT appearance is January 5th in Vancouver).

Schedule Streaks

In addition to the 13-game trip to open the season, the Isles will open April with a 7-game trip. Those two trips will represent twenty of the Isles' 41 road games. The Isles also have 4-game trips to Seattle and Western Canada in early January and to California and Colorado right after the Olympics.

The Isles will open UBS with four-game homestands in both November and December, they will play 10 of 11 at home in a pair of 5-game stretches at home leading to the Olympics and play six straight home games in March.

Matinee Isles

The Isles will play thirteen matinees this season, including eight at UBS (the first six on Saturday and the last two on Sunday), The first matinee of the season is on October 30th in Nashville, while the first matinee at home is on December 19th vs Vegas. The second home matinee will be on New Year's Day vs Edmonton; the Isles have never won on New Year's Day (0-7-0).

Rings of Glory

The Isles will likely be well-represented on the Olympic Teams which will play in Beijing in February. With the All-Star Game immediately preceding the Olympic break, the Isles will host Ottawa on February 1st and not play again until February 24th in San Jose.

The 2021-22 Islanders:

23-Man Roster

Here is the 23-man active roster, as submitted to the NHL on Monday:

SW#  Name                  Pos   Height  Weight   Born   Birthplace

  1  JAKUB SKAREK          G     6.04   205  11/10/1999 Jihlava, CZE

  2  THOMAS HICKEY         D     6.00   185  02/08/1989 Calgary, AB, CAN

  3  ADAM PELECH           D     6.03   205  08/16/1994 Toronto, ON, CAN

  4  ANDY GREENE           D     5.11   190  10/30/1982 Trenton, MI, USA

  6  RYAN PULOCK           D     6.02   215  10/06/1994 Dauphin, MB, CAN

  8  NOAH DOBSON           D     6.04   195  01/07/2000 Summerside, PE, CAN

 11  ZACH PARISE           LW    5.11   193  07/28/1984 Minneapolis, MN, USA

 12  JOSH BAILEY           C     6.01   200  10/02/1989 Bowmanville, ON, CAN

 13  MATHEW BARZAL         C     6.01   187  05/26/1997 Coquitlam, BC, CAN

 15  CAL CLUTTERBUCK       RW    6.00   212  11/18/1987 Welland, ON, CAN

 18  ANTHONY BEAUVILLIER   LW    5.11   180  06/08/1997 Sorel-Tracy, QC, CAN

 21  KYLE PALMIERI         C     5.11   185  02/01/1991 Smithtown, NY, USA

 24  SCOTT MAYFIELD        D     6.05   220  10/14/1992 St. Louis, MO, USA

 25  SEBASTIAN AHO         D     5.11   184  02/17/1996 Umea, SWE

 26  OLIVER WAHLSTROM      RW    6.02   205  06/13/2000 Quincy, MA, USA

 27  ANDERS LEE            C     6.03   235  07/03/1990 Edina, MN, USA

 29  BROCK NELSON          C     6.04   212  10/15/1991 Warroad, MN, USA

 30  ILYA SOROKIN          G     6.03   190  08/04/1995 Mezhdurechensk, RUS

 32  ROSS JOHNSTON         LW    6.05   232  02/18/1994 Charlottetown, PE,CAN

 33  ZDENO CHARA           D     6.09   250  03/18/1977 Trencin, SVK

 44  JEAN-GABRIEL PAGEAU   C     5.11   180  11/11/1992 Ottawa, ON, CAN

 47  LEO KOMAROV           C     5.11   205  01/23/1987 Narva, EST

 53  CASEY CIZIKAS         C     5.11   195  02/27/1991 Toronto, ON, CAN

Note that Johnny Boychuk (LTIR), Matt Martin, and Semyon Varlamov (IR) are not part of the season-opening roster, nor is Cory Schneider, who signed on Tuesday. However, roster movements are possible before the Isles play on Thursday.

The twenty-three active players represent seven nationalities: American (Greene, Lee, Mayfield, Nelson, Palmieri, Parise and Wahlstrom), Canadian (eleven players), Swedish (Aho), Russian (Sorokin and Varlamov), Slovakian (Chara), Czech (Skarek) and Estonian (Komarov).

Old and Young

Zdeno Chara returns to the Islanders and is the oldest player on the roster (3-18-1977). Andy Greene (10-30-1982) is the only other Islander born before 1984. Oliver Wahlstrom (6-13-2000) is the youngest Islander for the second straight year.

Of the twenty-three players, Scott Mayfield is "middle-age".  Mayfield, who will turn 29 on opening night is older than eleven teammates and younger than eleven others. The average Islander is 29.6 years old, making them the oldest team in the NHL

Big and Small

Zdeno Chara is the tallest (6'9") and heaviest (250 pounds). Eight current players are listed as 5' 11", while Jean Gabriel Pageau and Anthony Beauvillier are 180 pounds. The average Isle is 6'2", and 203 pounds.

Brock-tober

Brock Nelson has been a fast starter during his NHL career, including on Opening Night. Nelson has three Opening Night goals, which is the most by any Islander since Derek King (4).

Captain, My Captain

Anders Lee will serve as the Isles' captain for the fourth straight season. He joins John Tavares as the only players in the last quarter-century to captain the Isles for four straight years 

Welcome home, Big Z

Zdeno Chara signed with the Isles as a free agent; he will play his first game for the team since April 7, 2001. When he touches the ice Big Z will end the longest streak between appearances for a professional sports team in North America and become only the seventh player to appear in 24 NHL seasons. (Joe Thornton is also looking to appear in his 24th season and could play against Chara on Saturday).

Chara has played 1,608 games, four behind Ray Bourque for 12th on the all-time list. Chris Chelios (1,651) and Larry Murphy (1,615) are the only other defensemen to appear in more NHL games.

Chara leads all active players with a +293 rating (including -61 with the Islanders); Chara has been on-ice for 1,780 goals allowed – most of any active player and 10th all-time (the nine players ahead of him are all in the Hockey Hall of Fame).

Dad Must Be Smiling

Zach Parise joins the Islanders needing just seven goals to reach the NHL milestone award total of 400. His father JP scored the most famous goal in the pre-Cup era of the Islanders, eliminating the Rangers at :11 of overtime in the third and deciding game of their 1975 playoff series.  JP Parise played 240 games as an Islander (all consecutive); his last game with the team was on January 7, 1978.

Var-ly, Var-ly

Semyon Varlamov was selected in the first round in 2006 (23rd overall) and has the most wins (251) and has played the most games (529) of any goaltender taken in that draft. 

Varlamov is not expected to start on Opening Night, after playing in ten straight Openers (two for the Islanders). Entering this season, only Jonathan Quick (12) had an active streak longer than Varly.

Sor-o-kin 

Ilya Sorokin, now 26, returns for his second season. Sorokin went 13-6-3 in his rookie campaign and then went 4-1 in the playoffs.

Experienced Staff 

Head Coach Barry Trotz begins his fourth season with the Isles as do assistant coaches Lane Lambert and Jon Gruden, goaltender coach Piero Greco, special assignment coach Jacques Lemaire and director of goaltending Mitch Korn. Jim Hiller returns for his third season as an assistant coach.

Keeping Great Company

Entering the 2021-22 season, Barry Trotz ranks third in NHL history in wins (877) and third in games coached (1,730). Trotz also ranks second among active head coaches in wins and games coached to Joel Quenneville's 962 wins and 1,761 games. 

Win, Win, Win

Lou Lamoriello has won 1,326 games as a General Manager;  David Poile (1,446) is the only GM with more career wins. Lou has been a GM for 2,592 games, ranking third behind David Poile (2,911) and Glen Sather (2,700). 

A Look Back

The Isles finished the 2020-21 regular season with a 32-17-7 record; they then advanced to the Stanley Cup Semi-Final by eliminating Pittsburgh and Boston in the 2021 Playoffs.

The Isles went 21-4-3 on Coliseum ice and 11-13-4 on the road.

Special Teams

The Isles were 27-144 on the power play (18.8% - 20th) and 22--135 (83.7% -tied-6th) on the PK. The Isles scored four shorthanded goals and did not allow a shorty.

The Isles were 18-12-3 when they scored at least one power play goal and 14-5-4 when they did not. The Isles were 26-7-4 when they allowed at least one power play goal and 6-10-3 when they did not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles were 24-4-4 when they scored at least three goals (including shootout winners) and were 8-13-3 when they did not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 91-9-11 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles were 14-6-7 in games decided by a single goal including 6-6 in regulation. They were 4-4 in games decided by an overtime goal and were 4-3 in shootouts. The Isles were 0-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs

The Isles were 4-2-2 in the front-half and 4-2-2 in the back-half last season. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 21-4-4 (.793) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch. Tampa Bay has the next best record: 20-9-3 (.672).

Iron Man Club

Brock Nelson has played in 301 consecutive games and Ryan Pulock in 251; both have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach. By appearing on Opening Night, Nelson would pass Bobby Nystrom for 2nd place on the all-time Isles list.

Iron Man

Brock Nelson has tied Bobby Nystrom for the 2nd-longest streak while Ryan Pulock is 8th:

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

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

    Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 301

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – 3/13/2021 295

5. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- 5/3/2021 284

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

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

8. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 251

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Pulock's streak is the 2nd-longest by an Islander defenseman, trailing only Denis Potvin's 262-game streak.

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 919…

13. Stefan Persson 622 *** 14. Matt Martin 614 *** 15. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 16. Brock Nelson 604 *** 17. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 18. Garry Howatt 596 *** 19. John Tonelli 594 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 590 … 

27. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 28. Cal Clutterbuck 528 *** 29. Anders Lee 520

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Billy Harris and Anders Lee 184 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy and Brock Nelson 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 162

Assists

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

4. Clark Gillies 359 *** 5. Josh Bailey and John Tavares 349

Points

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

9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 11. Josh Bailey 511…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 21. Brock Nelson 327 ***  22. Anders Lee 320

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 206

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 115

Same Voices, Same Places

MSG Networks will carry 70 of the Isles' 82 games this season (TNT will carry four games, ESPN will carry two games, while ESPN+ will exclusively stream six games). Brendan Burke and Butch Goring partner for the sixth season; Shannon Hogan hosts Isles telecasts for her eighth season. It is Butch's 12th anniversary in the Isles booth; he has broadcast far more Isles games than he played and coached, combined.

On radio, Chris King and Greg Picker team up for the seven straight season. All games will air on WRHU (88.7FM) and on WRCN (103.9FM), as well as the NHL App and on Satellite Radio. Most games this season will also air on ESPN Radio in New York City (either on 1050AM or 98.7FM).

And Finally…

We begin the 12th consecutive season of The Skinny as I begin my 41st year on Islander telecasts. The Skinny streak stands at 757 consecutive games, including playoffs. Good weather and health-permitting, the 800th consecutive edition of The Skinny will appear after the January 21st game vs. Arizona – the 40th anniversary of my debut telecast.

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