The Skinny: Isles 5, Winnipeg 2

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 55

Isles 5, Winnipeg 2

Josh Bailey scored twice, and Brock Nelson extended his goal scoring streak to four games as the Islanders got 27 saves from Semyon Varlomov in a 5-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets, in front of a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Anders Lee scored for the sixth time in three games to reach 20 goals for the sixth time; Anthony Beauvillier chipped in with two assists to give him five helpers in the last two games as the Isles won consecutive games for the first time in seven weeks. Cal Clutterbuck added an early empty-netter for the final margin, which gave Barry Trotz his 900th win as an NHL head coach.

The Isles are 3-2-0 on this homestand as they improve to 23-24-8 on the season.  They will look to regain NHL-.500 for the first time since February 9th on Sunday vs. Anaheim.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Brock Nelson (23) Anthony Beauvillier (16), Noah Dobson (22) 06:38 WPG 0,NYI 1 PPG

Kyle Connor (36) Nikolaj Ehlers (15), Neal Pionk (25) 16:58 WPG 1,NYI 1

2nd Period

Josh Bailey (5) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (13), Kyle Palmieri (10) 01:09 WPG 1,NYI 2

Anders Lee (20) Brock Nelson (11), Anthony Beauvillier (17) 01:49 WPG 1,NYI 3

3rd Period

Blake Wheeler (8) Paul Stastny (13), Dylan DeMelo (8) 00:20 WPG 2,NYI 3

Josh Bailey (6) Adam Pelech (16), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (14) 07:14 WPG 2,NYI 4

Cal Clutterbuck (6)EN Casey Cizikas (4) 15:16 WPG 2,NYI 5

The Skinny          

Brock Nelson has a team-leading 23-goals, including 13 goals at UBS Arena …The Isles have scored six power play goals in the last four games… Ryan Pulock had five shots on goal for the second straight game… Josh Bailey had six shots on goal, connecting twice for his 11th career multi-goal game; it is only the 8th time in in his 966-game career that he has had at least six shots. …Noah Dobson had an assist to extend his assist streak to four games; he is 2-7-9 in the last eight games. Dobson now has 22 assists, which is second on the team to Barzal's 25 and leads the Isles with 13 power play points (on 28 Islander power play goals) ….Nelson's first period gave the Isles ten unanswered goals dating back to Monday; it is the most consecutive goals that the Islanders have scored since they tallied 11 straight goals December 28-31, 2018.…Both Mathew Barzal and Zdeno Chara returned to the lineup after missing six games…The Isles have scored first in eight of the last ten games and allowing the opening goal in 11 of the prior 12 games…Connor Hellebuyck allowed at least four goals for the sixth straight game… Blake Wheeler's goal was the earliest against the Isles in any period since Jared McCann (then with Pittsburgh) scored :18 into the third period on February 27, 2021…Josh Bailey scored twice in a game for the first time since January 14/16, 2020; he now has 168 career goals, tying Ziggy Palffy for 15th place on the all-time club list…Adam Pelech is now +20 on the season; no Islander has finished a season better than +25 since Adrian Aucoin went +29 in 2003-04…Semyon Varlamov recorded his first win since January 18th in Philadelphia...The Isles have scored 15 goals in a three-game span for the first time since sweeping three games from Buffalo last March by identical 5-2 scores.

Special Special Teams

The Isles went 1-4 on the power play, and are 6-14 in the last four games (43%); the Isles were not shorthanded – they have killed 20 of 22 in the last eight games (91%)

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles scored twice within the first two minutes of a periods for the first time since December 11, 2017, when Andrew Ladd and John Tavares scored against Barry Trotz' Capitals.

• Adam Pelech was +3 for the second straight game; he also had a two-game streak of at least +3 last season.  Denis Potvin is the only other defenseman in club history with multiple streaks of games in which he went +3 or better; he did so eight times, including three three-game streaks.

Early Ending

Cal Clutterbuck scored into an empty net with 4:44 to play.  It was the fourth-earliest empty-net goal in Isles history and the earliest that they have ever scored at home:

• Billy Smith 11/28/1979 at Colorado  4:50  (delayed penalty)

• Mathew Barzal 4/29/2021 at Rangers 14:26 

• Bill Guerin 11/24/2018 at Montreal 15:13

• Cal Clutterbuck 3/11/2022 vs. Winnipeg 15:16

200-Goal Club

Anders Lee became the 12th player in club history to reach 200 goals on Monday; he now has 204, leaving him just two behind John Tonelli for 11th place on the club list. 

20-Goal Club

Brock Nelson scored for the fourth straight game; it is the fourth time in his career that he has a four-game streak.  Nelson is three goals shy of his career high of 26 goals and is 9 goals away from joining Lee in the 200-Goal Club.

Both Nelson and Lee now have six 20-goal seasons; John Tavares had nine with the Islanders and is the only Isle to have more in the 2000s.

Chasing History

Ilya Sorokin has nine shutouts in 60 games, matching Chico Resch for the most through 60 games.  He is also chasing a more noticeable record that Resch shares:

Most Shutouts In a Season

• 7 Chico Resch 1975-76

• 7 Semyon Varlamov 2020-21 (56-game season)

• 6 Ilya Sorokin 2021-22

• 6 Robin Lehner 2018-19

• 6 Jaroslav Halak 2014-15

Busy Home Stand

This was the fifth game of a six-game homestand, all of which will be played in a span of eleven days.

• 3/3 vs Vancouver L 3-4

• 3/5 vs St. Louis W 2-1

• 3/7 vs. Colorado L 4-5

• 3/10 vs. Columbus W 6-0

• 3/11 vs. Winnipeg W 5-2

• 3/13 vs. Anaheim

March Madness

The Isles are playing 17 games this month.  It is the first time in franchise history that they have played 17 games.  The Isles are 3-3-0 this month.

Home and Road

The Isles are 23-24-8 overall; they are 13-12-4 at home and 10-12-4 on the road.

Winnipeg is 26-23-10 overall; they are 15-11-2 at home and 11-12-8 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 29 home games and sold out 23 of them. The sellout crowds of 17,255 are the largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home. 

Leader of the Pack

Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 900-660-60-165 in 1,785 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville    970

3. Barry Trotz    900

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2,141

2. Barry Trotz         1,785

3. Joel Quenneville 1,768

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,479

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,349

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,249 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 18-6-5 when scoring first and are 5-18-3 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    11-11-16=38

Winnipeg    6-9-14=29

The Isles are 10-6-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 13-17-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 78-53-17 when outshot.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves; he is 4-12-1 on the season and 16-10-2 vs. Winnipeg.   

Connor Hellebuyck made 33 saves; he is 19-21-9 on the season and 3-4-0 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-4 on the power play (6:18); Winnipeg did not have a power play.

The Isles are 12-7-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 11-17-3 when they do not. The Isles are 5-9-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 18-15-4 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 20-7-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-16-5 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 107-16-14 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 5-7-8 in games decided by a single goal including 3-7 in regulation. They are 1-3 in games decided in overtime and are 1-5 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game (including one game the Isles scored after allowing an empty-netter).

Back-to-Backs

Including tonight, the Isles are 6-4-1 in the front end and 4-6-1 in the back end. The next back-to-back will be March 19th vs. Dallas and March 20th in Philadelphia.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 25-10-5 in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 2-1-3 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on March 19th against Dallas. The Isles are scheduled to play thirteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (21:28); Winnipeg: Josh Morrissey (23:09)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 17:44 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (4-4-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), Adam Pelech (8-4-4), Zdeno Chara (2-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-3-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-2-0), Noah Dobson (7-7-2).

Face-offs

Isles 33, Winnipeg 26 (56%)

Brock Nelson won 11 of 17 for the Isles; Mark Scheifele won 7 of 12 for Winnipeg. 

Hit Count

Isles 15 (Matt Martin -4)

Winnipeg 28 (Brenden Dillon -5)

Fights 

There were no fights. Season total: 19 (Chara 5, Martin 4, Johnston 2, Pageau 2, Mayfield 2,  Bellows 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Wahlstrom 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 14 (Andy Greene -4)

Winnipeg 19 (Three with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 66, Winnipeg 56

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 55, Winnipeg 48

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Kyle Palmieri +12

Winnipeg: Josh Morrissey +11

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 15, Winnipeg 14

5-on-5: Isles 12, Winnipeg 9

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Oliver Wahlstrom, Sebastian Aho

Games Lost: 125 (76 to injuries and 49 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man

Scott Mayfield played in his 144th consecutive game. Only two other Islanders (Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck) have played in every game this season.

Challenges

Isles: 2 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 2-0-0 in games that they are successful (offside 1/18 @PHI, no goalie interference 2/22 @SEA) and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful (no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR).

Opponents: 4 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 2-1-1 in games where opponents' challenges go their way (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA and 10/23 @ARI; offside 12/19 vs VGK, goalie interference 3/5 vs STL) and 0-0-0 in games where challenges go the Isles' way.

Last Minute Heroes:

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

For: 2  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO) (Brock Nelson 17:03 – 2/20/22 vs OTT; Isles lost in SO)

Vs:  2 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH-GWG), (Shea Theodore 19:12 – 12/19/21 vs VGK; Isles lost in SO)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 965…

10. John Tavares 669 *** 11. Matt Martin 659  *** 12. Brock Nelson 650 *** 13. Derek King and Casey Cizikas 638 … 

20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 583 *** 22. Anders Lee 569

Goals    

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 204 *** 13. Brock Nelson 191 *** 14 Billy Harris 184 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy and Josh Bailey 168

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 370…

17. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 19. Mathew Barzal 201 ***20. Nick Leddy 198*** 21. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 22. Ed Westfall 181 *** 23. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 24. Duane Sutter, Alexei Yashin and Brock Nelson 171

Points

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

8. John Tonelli 544 *** 9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 538 …

15. Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson 369 *** 17. Brock Nelson 362 *** 18. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 19. Anders Lee 347…

24. Duane Sutter 292 *** 25. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 289

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…

19. JP Parise +67 *** 20. Adam Pelech +62 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 24. Gord Lane +48  

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 261

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 138

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 21-25-5-4 on the season after dropping a 2-1 decision to Hershey on Friday at the newly renamed Total Mortgage Arena. 

They play Saturday and Sunday in Providence.

Season Series Stats

The Isles sweep the season series, 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 0) 

This was Winnipeg's first trip to Long Island since October 6, 2019. The Isles have won five straight over the Jets.  The Isles are 6-5-0 at home against the Jets since the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg, but they are 10-1-1 in Manitoba.

UP NEXT

SUNDAY, MARCH 13th- ANAHEIM AT ISLANDERS 7:30 PM 

[MSG+ (pre-game at 7:00PM), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The busy weekend and the homestand concludes as the Isles close out the season series with the Anaheim Ducks.

Ilya Sorokin blanked the Ducks two weeks ago in California.  This will be the Ducks' first trip to Long Island since December 21, 2019, when the Ducks won a 6-5 shootout game.  It is still the only Islander game since 2011 to feature five tying goals.

The Isles are 3-0-2 in their last five home games against the Ducks and are 6-3-2 in the last 11 meetings overall.

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 6, Columbus 0

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 53

Isles 6, Columbus 0

Where to begin? How about here. Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves for his ninth career shutout and Anders Lee scored twice in the final 8:03 to complete his first career hat trick as the Islanders defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-0, in front of 16,048 at USB Arena.

Lee recorded his second consecutive multi-goal game, and now has five goals in the last two games. Ryan Pulock chipped in with three assists for the Isles, who recorded their most one-sided win of the season.

The Isles are 2-2-0 on this homestand as they improve to 22-24-8 on the season. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Brock Nelson (22) Josh Bailey (21), Noah Dobson (21) 10:32 CBJ 0 ,NYI 1 PPG

2nd Period

Josh Bailey (4) Kyle Palmieri (9), Ryan Pulock (8) 06:08 CBJ 0 ,NYI 2

Anders Lee (17) Adam Pelech (15), Anthony Beauvillier (13) 13:49 CBJ 0 ,NYI 3

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (10) Ryan Pulock (9)  17:44 CBJ 0 ,NYI 4 SHG

3rd Period

Anders Lee (18) Anthony Beauvillier (14), Ryan Pulock (10) 11:57 CBJ 0 ,NYI 5

Anders Lee (19) Sebastian Aho (9), Anthony Beauvillier (15) 19:58  CBJ 0 ,NYI 6 PPG

The Skinny          

Brock Nelson has a team-leading 22-goals, including a team-leading twelve goals at UBS Arena …The Isles have scored five power play goals in the last three games…Defensemen earned six assists, including Ryan Pulock's three. It was the fifth time in his career that Pulock has had at least three assists and it gives him 102 in his career; 35.5% of Isles assists have come from defenseman, which ranks third in the NHL…Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored his 16th career shorthanded goal (8th among active players) and took 29 face-offs, winning 17… Adam Pelech had five shots on goal, matching his season high.  He has now done that three times - all in the last 15 days. …Noah Dobson had an assist-, giving him totals of 2-6-8 in his last seven games….The Isles have scored the last nine goals dating back to Monday; it is the most consecutive goals that the Islanders have scored since they tallied 11 straight goals December 28-31, 2018.…The Isles allowed the first two shots of the third period, and then out-shot Columbus 13-1 the rest of the way…Ilya Sorokin is now 10-1-2 on home-ice since December 9th with a 1.67 GAA and a .935 save percentage; among goalies who have played six times at home in that span, Sorokin has the best GAA, and his save percentage is second to Igor Shesterkin's .945…Sorokin has allowed two goals or less in five straight home starts and in six of his last eight starts overall.  He has allowed just five goals on 129 shots in his last four games...Josh Bailey scored for the first time in 19 games; he remains tied with Noah Dobson for second place on the team with 21 assists.

Special Special Teams

The Isles went 2-3 on the power play, and are 5-10 in the last three games (50%); the Isles killed all five Jacket power plays and have killed 20 of 22 in the last seven games (91%)

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles scored at least six goals and won by shutout for the first time since November 11, 2014 (6-0 vs. Colorado at the Coliseum); like tonight, Jiggs McDonald called that game.

• Anders Lee recorded his first hat trick in his 568th NHL game. He had recorded the most multi-goal games of any active player (29 before tonight) without completing a hat trick.

• Casey Cizikas is the first Islander to take four minor penalties since Matt Carkner did so on April 6, 2014, in Columbus and the first Islander forward to do so since Zenon Kenopka had four in Pittsburgh on February 2, 2011.

• The Isles scored a 3-on-4 goal for the first time since the NHL started recording the stat in the 2009-10 season.

• The Isles are the first NHL team to score 3-on-4 and 5-on-3 in the same game since the league started recording the stats in the 2009-10 season.

• Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 17 face-offs; most by an Isle since Brock Nelson won 17 of November 9, 2019, vs. Florida.  Ten of those face-offs happened with the Isles shorthanded – most since Frans Nielsen on March 15, 2014, vs. Buffalo. The last Islander to taken more than ten face-offs when shorthanded was Mike Sillinger, who took 11 on December 19, 2007, vs Buffalo.  Sillinger's son Cole played tonight for the Jackets.

• Ilya Sorokin joins Chico Resch as the only Islander goalies to record nine shutouts in his first 60 career games.

200-Goal Club

Anders Lee became the 12th player in club history to reach 200 goals on Monday; he now has 204, leaving him just two behind John Tonelli for 11th place on the club list. 

20-Goal Club

Brock Nelson scored for the third straight game; he is only the second Islander in the 21st century to score 20 goals at least six times (John Tavares did it nine times).  Nelson, whose career high is 26 goals, has scored at least 18 goals in all eight of his NHL seasons.  He is 10 goals away from joining Lee in the 200-Goal Club.

Busy Home Stand

This was the fourth game of a six-game homestand, all of which will be played in a span of eleven days.

• 3/3 vs Vancouver L 3-4

• 3/5 vs St. Louis W 2-1

• 3/7 vs. Colorado L 4-5

• 3/10 vs. Columbus W 6-0

• 3/11 vs. Winnipeg

• 3/13 vs. Anaheim

March Madness

The Isles are playing 17 games this month.  It is the first time in franchise history that they have played 17 games.  The Isles are 2-3-0 this month.

Home and Road

The Isles are 22-24-8 overall; they are 12-12-4 at home and 10-12-4 on the road.

Columbus is 28-27-3 overall; they are 15-12-3 at home and 13-15-0 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 28 home games and sold out 22 of them. The sellout crowds of 17,255 are the largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home. 

Leader of the Pack

Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 899-660-60-165 in 1,784 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  970

3. Barry Trotz    899

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2,141

2. Barry Trotz        1,784

3. Joel Quenneville 1,768

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,479

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,348

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,247 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 17-6-5 when scoring first and are 5-18-3 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    8-13-12=33

Columbus    9-13-3=25

The Isles are 9-6-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 13-17-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 78-53-17 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves; he is 19-12-7 on the season and 1-0-1 vs. Columbus.   

Joonas Korpisalo made 27 saves; he is 6-9-0 on the season and 3-2-2 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 2-3 on the power play (3:03); they converted :48 into a 5-on-3. Columbus was 0-5 on the power play (9:34).

The Isles are 11-7-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 11-17-3 when they do not. The Isles are 5-9-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 17-15-4 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 19-7-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-16-5 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 107-16-14 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 5-7-8 in games decided by a single goal including 3-7 in regulation. They are 1-3 in games decided in overtime and are 1-5 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game (including one game the Isles scored after allowing an empty-netter).

Back-to-Backs

Including tonight, the Isles are 6-4-1 in the front end and 3-6-1 in the back end. This back-to-back will conclude on Friday vs. Winnipeg. The next back-to-back will be March 19th vs. Dallas and March 20th in Philadelphia.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 24-10-5 in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 2-1-3 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on March 19th against Dallas. The Isles are scheduled to play thirteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (20:47); Columbus: Zach Werenski (25:36)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 19:06 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (3-4-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), Adam Pelech (8-4-4), Zdeno Chara (2-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-3-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-2-0), Noah Dobson (7-7-2).

Face-offs

Isles 32, Columbus 34 (48%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 17 of 29 for the Isles; Sean Kuraly won 10 of 13 for Columbus. 

Hit Count

Isles 14 (Matt Martin -7)

Columbus 18 (Eric Robinson -6)

Fights 

There were no fights. Season total: 19 (Chara 5, Martin 4, Johnston 2, Pageau 2, Mayfield 2,  Bellows 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Wahlstrom 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 18 (Noah Dobson -3)

Columbus 13 (Justin Danforth -3; Danforth played just 1:59 before leaving with an injury)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 59, Columbus 51

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 48, Columbus 32

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech +19

Columbus: Eric Robinson +2

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 27, Columbus 12

5-on-5: Isles 20, Columbus 7

Scratches

(Mathew Barzal -INJ), (Zdeno Chara -IR), Ross Johnston, Kieffer Bellows

Games Lost: 125 (76 to injuries and 49 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man

Scott Mayfield played in his 143rd consecutive game. Only two other Islanders (Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck) have played in every game this season.

Challenges

Isles: 2 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 2-0-0 in games that they are successful (offside 1/18 @PHI, no goalie interference 2/22 @SEA) and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful (no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR).

Opponents: 4 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 2-1-1 in games where opponents' challenges go their way (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA and 10/23 @ARI; offside 12/19 vs VGK, goalie interference 3/5 vs STL) and 0-0-0 in games where challenges go the Isles' way.

Last Minute Heroes:

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

For: 2  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO) (Brock Nelson 17:03 – 2/20/22 vs OTT; Isles lost in SO)

Vs:  2 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH-GWG), (Shea Theodore 19:12 – 12/19/21 vs VGK; Isles lost in SO)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 964…

10. John Tavares 669 *** 11. Matt Martin 658  *** 12. Brock Nelson 649 *** 13. Derek King 638 *** 14. Casey Cizikas 637 … 

20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 582 *** 22. Anders Lee 568

Goals    

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 203 *** 13. Brock Nelson 190 *** 14 Billy Harris 184 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 166

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 370…

17. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 19. Mathew Barzal 201 ***20. Nick Leddy 298*** 21. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 22. Ed Westfall 181 *** 23. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 24. Duane Sutter and Alexei Yashin 171 *** 26. Brock Nelson 170

Points

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

8. John Tonelli 544 *** 9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 536 …

15. Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson 369 *** 17. Brock Nelson 360 *** 18. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 19. Anders Lee 346…

24. Duane Sutter 292 *** 25. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 289

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…

19. JP Parise +67 *** 20. Adam Pelech +59 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 24. Gord Lane +48  

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 260

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 137

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 21-24-5-4 on the season after splitting a pair of games last weekend. 

Bridgeport is off until Friday when they host Hershey in the newly renamed Total Mortgage Arena. They will then play Saturday and Sunday in Providence.

Season Series Stats

The season series is even, 1 game to 1(the Isles have earned 3 points to Columbus' 2).  The teams will finish the season series with a home-and-home series March 29th – March 31st.

The Isles are 13-2-4 in their last nineteen home games against the Jackets. 

UP NEXT

FRIDAY, MARCH 11th- WINNIPEG AT ISLANDERS 7:30 PM 

[MSG+ (pre-game at 7:00PM), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The busy weekend continues as the Isles close out the season series with the Winnipeg Jets as Dauphin, Manitoba native Barry Trotz will look to win his 900th NHL game.

Ilya Sorokin blanked the Jets in Manitoba, 2-0, on November 6th, raising the Isles' record to 5-2-2 and have won four straight games against the Jets overall.

This will be Winnipeg's first trip to Long Island since October 6, 2019. The Isles are only 5-5-0 at home against the Jets since the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg, but they are 10-1-1 in Manitoba.

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: Colorado 5, Isles 4

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 53

Colorado 5, Isles 4

After holding Colorado to a 1-1 tie through 44 minutes, the Isles allowed 4 goals in 4:21 and the Avalanche held on from there for a 5-4 victory over the Isles before a crowd of 16,378 at USB Arena.

Anders Lee had a pair of power play goals for the Isles, giving him 200 career goals.  Both goals were set-up by Noah Dobson, who now leads the team with 11 power play points.

Cale Makar scored twice and extended his assist streak to twelve games, matching Joe Sakic's franchise record; he also became the first defenseman in NHL history to average over one point a game through 154 career games.

The Isles have lost three of their last four games and fall to 21-24-8 on the season. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Anders Lee (15) Noah Dobson (19), Anthony Beauvillier (12) 08:59 COL 0,NYI 1 PPG

Cale Makar (19) Nazem Kadri (49), Nathan MacKinnon (38) 14:18 COL 1,NYI 1 PPG

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

Nathan MacKinnon (18) Gabriel Landeskog (27), Cale Makar (43) 04:06 COL 2,NYI 1

J.T. Compher (11) Alex Newhook (12), Logan O'Connor (14)  06:34 COL 3,NYI 1

Cale Makar (20) Nathan MacKinnon (39), Andre Burakovsky (26) 07:41 COL 4,NYI 1

Devon Toews (12) Gabriel Landeskog (28), Nazem Kadri (50) 08:27 COL 5,NYI 1

Anders Lee (16) Noah Dobson (20), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (12) 11:58 COL 5,NYI 2 PPG

Casey Cizikas (7) Kyle Palmieri (8), Ryan Pulock (7) 13:28 COL 5,NYI 3

Brock Nelson (21) Anders Lee (7) 19:33 COL 5,NYI 4

The Skinny          

Semyon Varlamov made a season-high 44 saves; the Isles allowed 49 shots – most in the Trotz era… Brock Nelson has a team-leading 21-goals, including a team-leading eleven goals at UBS Arena …The Isles have scored three power play goals in the last two games…The Isles have been out-shot 227-164 over the last six games… Three of the seven assists were from defensemen; 34.6% of Isles assists have come from defenseman, which ranks t-7th in the NHL…The Isles' late rally made Devon Toews' goal the winner in his return to Long Island; Toews was "even" and remained at +45 on the season…Jean-Gabriel Pageau played 23:04 – the most he has ever played as an Islander…Nathan MacKinnon had six shots in the first period, and finished with nine in the game – most since Aleksander Barkov (FLA) also had nine on November 9, 2019…Noah Dobson had a pair of assists, giving him totals of 2-5-7 in his last six games…Nazem Kadri had a pair of assists, raising his total to 50 assists – 20 more than he has had in any previous season.

First Times in a Long Time

• The Avs defeated the Isles in New York for the first time since February 8, 2014.

• The Isles scored three goals in the third period yet were outscored in the session for only the second time in club history and the first since February 6, 1990, in Pittsburgh (Outscored 4-3 in 3rd; Isles won 8-7 in overtime).

• The Isles allowed 49 shots for the first time since March 11, 2018, in Calgary (when they allowed 52 in a 5-2 win for Christopher Gibson).

200-Goal Club

Anders Lee became the 12th player in club history to reach 200 goals, with a pair of power play tallies.  It was the 29th two-goal game for Lee (most of any active player without a hat trick).

20-Goal Club

Brock Nelson is only the second Islander in the 21st century to score 20 goals at least six times.  John Tavares did it nine times.  Nelson, whose career high is 26 goals, has scored at least 18 goals in all eight of his NHL seasons.  He is 11 goals away from joining Lee in the 200-Goal Club.

First Time in a Really Long Time

Noah Dobson is the first Isles defenseman aged 22 or younger to score at least ten goals in a season since Bryan Berard had 14 in the 1997-98 season.

Leader of the Pack

All ten of Noah Dobson's goals have been scored since December 5th.  Dobson and Cale Makar are tied for the lead over that span, two ahead of Devon Toews and Victor Hedman.  

Busy Home Stand

This was the third game of a six-game homestand, all of which will be played in a span of eleven days.

• 3/3 vs Vancouver L 3-4

• 3/5 vs St. Louis W 2-1

• 3/7 vs. Colorado L 4-5

• 3/10 vs. Winnipeg

• 3/11 vs. Columbus

• 3/13 vs. Anaheim

March Madness

The Isles are playing 17 games this month.  It is the first time in franchise history that they have played 17 games.  The Isles are 1-3-0 this month.

Last Second Disappointments

The Isles have allowed a (non-empty net) goal in the last minute of a period five times since January 22nd; three of those goals have come in the last six seconds of a period:

• Pierre Engvall (TOR)   1/22 19:59 (1st pd)

• Andreas Athanasiou (LA) 1/27 19:54 (2nd pd)

• Cody Ceci (EDM)   2/11 19:03 (1st pd)

• Alex Tuch  (BUF)   2/15 19:59 (2nd pd)

• Brendan Lemieux (LAK)  2/26 19:31 (2nd pd)

This season, the Isles have allowed eleven (non-empty net) goals in the final minute of the period.

Home and Road

The Isles are 21-24-8 overall; they are 11-12-4 at home and 10-12-4 on the road.

Colorado is 41-11-5 overall; they are 23-3-3 at home and 17-8-2 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 27 home games and sold out 22 of them. The sellout crowds of 17,255 are the largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home. 

Leader of the Pack

Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 898-660-60-165 in 1,783 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  970

3. Barry Trotz    898

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2,141

2. Barry Trotz        1,783

3. Joel Quenneville 1,768

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,477

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,347

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,245 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 16-6-5 when scoring first and are 5-18-3 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    7-11-18=36

Colorado    20-15-14=49

The Isles are 8-6-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 13-17-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 78-53-17 when outshot.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made a season-high 44 saves; he is 3-12-1 on the season and 1-2-0 vs. Colorado.   

Pavel Francouz made 32 saves; he is 10-3-1 on the season and 2-1-0 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 2-4 on the power play (5:34). Colorado was 1-3 on the power play (4:40).

The Isles are 10-7-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 11-17-3 when they do not. The Isles are 5-9-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 16-15-4 when they do not.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 18-7-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-16-5 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 106-16-14 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 5-7-8 in games decided by a single goal including 3-7 in regulation. They are 1-3 in games decided in overtime and are 1-5 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game (including one game the Isles scored after allowing an empty-netter).

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 5-4-1 in the front end and 3-6-1 in the back end.  The next back-to-back will be March 10th vs. Columbus and March 11th vs. Winnipeg.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 24-10-5 in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 2-1-3 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on March 19th against Dallas. The Isles are scheduled to play thirteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Jean-Gabriel Pageau (season-high 23:04); Colorado: Devon Toews (25:52)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau led Isles forwards with 23:04 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-4-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), Adam Pelech (8-4-4), Zdeno Chara (2-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-3-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-2-0), Noah Dobson (7-7-2).

Face-offs

Isles 32, Colorado 34 (48%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 14 of 24 for the Isles; Nathan MacKinnon won 10 of 18 for Colorado. 

Hit Count

Isles 16 (Oliver Wahlstrom -4)

Colorado 13 (Four with 2)

Fights 

There were no fights. Season total: 19 (Chara 5, Martin 4, Johnston 2, Pageau 2, Mayfield 2,  Bellows 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Wahlstrom 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 9 (Nine with 1)

Colorado 22 (Devon Toews -5)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 68, Colorado 71

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 46, Colorado 56

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Kyle Palmieri +5

Colorado: Erik Coleman +12

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 12, Colorado 16

5-on-5: Isles 7, Colorado 12

Scratches

(Mathew Barzal -INJ), (Zdeno Chara -IR), Ross Johnston, Otto Koivula

Games Lost: 123 (74 to injuries and 49 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man

Scott Mayfield played in his 142nd consecutive game. Only two other Islanders (Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck) have played in every game this season.

Challenges

Isles: 2 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 2-0-0 in games that they are successful (offside 1/18 @PHI, no goalie interference 2/22 @SEA) and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful (no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR).

Opponents: 4 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 2-1-1 in games where opponents' challenges go their way (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA and 10/23 @ARI; offside 12/19 vs VGK, goalie interference 3/5 vs STL) and 0-0-0 in games where challenges go the Isles' way.

Last Minute Heroes:

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

For: 2  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO) (Brock Nelson 17:03 – 2/20/22 vs OTT; Isles lost in SO)

Vs:  2 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH-GWG), (Shea Theodore 19:12 – 12/19/21 vs VGK; Isles lost in SO)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 963…

10. John Tavares 669 *** 11. Matt Martin 657  *** 12. Brock Nelson 648 *** 13. Derek King 638 *** 14. Casey Cizikas 636 … 

20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 581 *** 22. Anders Lee 568

Goals    

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 200 *** 13. Brock Nelson 189 *** 14 Billy Harris 184 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 165

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 369…

17. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 19. Mathew Barzal 201 ***20. Nick Leddy 298*** 21. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 22. Ed Westfall 181 *** 23. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 24. Duane Sutter and Alexei Yashin 171 *** 26. Brock Nelson 170

Points

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

8. John Tonelli 544 *** 9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 534 …

15. Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson 369 *** 17. Brock Nelson 359 *** 18. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 19. Anders Lee 343…

24. Duane Sutter 292 *** 25. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 289

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…

20. Jude Drouin +58 *** 21. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 22. Adam Pelech +56 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 24. Gord Lane +48 *** 25. Adrian Aucoin +47

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 259

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 136

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 21-24-5-4 on the season after splitting a pair of games over the weekend. 

Bridgeport is off until Friday when they host Hershey.

Season Series Stats

Colorado sweeps the season series 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 0). 

This was the Avs' first road win against the Isles since February 8, 2014; the Isles had won 12 of the previous 13 meetings with the Avs in New York.

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, MARCH 10th- COLUMBUS AT ISLANDERS 7:30 PM 

[MSG+ (pre-game at 7:00PM), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

After enjoying a pair of off days, the homestand continues as the Isles host the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first time this season.

This will be the first meeting of the teams since the Jackets defeated the Isles 3-2 on a Patrik Laine overtime goal back on October 21st in what was just the fourth game of the season for the Islanders.

This is the only time between February 18th/19th and April 6th/7th that the team has consecutive off days.

The Isles are 12-2-14 in their last eighteen home games against the Jackets.  The teams will conclude March with a home-and-home series to end their season series.

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 2, St. Louis 1

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 52

Isles 2, St. Louis 1

Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves as the Islanders held off the St. Louis Blues for a 2-1 victory before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at USB Arena.

Oliver Wahlstrom and Brock Nelson scored for the Isles, who climbed within two games of NHL-.500 (21-23-8). 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Oliver Wahlstrom (11) Adam Pelech (14), Ryan Pulock (6) 06:36 STL 0,NYI 1

2nd Period

Brock Nelson (20) Noah Dobson (18) 01:04 STL 0,NYI 2 PPG

3rd Period

Robert Thomas (8) Jordan Kyrou (30) 17:08 STL 1,NYI 2

The Skinny          

Kyle Palmieri put the puck in the net twice, but both goals were reversed (once on goaltender interference and once on a high stick… Brock Nelson reached the 20-goal mark for the sixth time; he also has a team-leading ten goals at UBS Arena …Nelson's goal, which turned out to be the game-winner was the first power play tally for the Isles in seven games…The Isles have been out-shot 178-128 over the last five games… Scott Mayfield was involved in his second fight of the season, and first ever against his hometown team…The Isles blocked 24 shots, tied for the 2nd-highest of the season….Ilya Sorokin is 9-3-3 at home and 10-4-4 against the West this season; he narrowly missed his sixth shutout – each of the first five were against the West…All three assists were from defensemen; 34.4% of Isles assists have come from defenseman, which ranks 8th in the NHL…The Isles scored the only goal of the second period; St. Louis is still a league-best +28 in the middle period….The Isles ended Jordan Kyrou's point streak at five games…Since going 0-2-1 in his first three starts at UBS Arena (with a COVID-depleted roster), Ilya Sorokin is 9-1-2 at home, with a 1.81 GAA and a .929 save percentage (highest in NHL among goalies with at least 10 home starts in that span).  He has allowed three goals or fewer in 14 out of 15 home starts.

20-Goal Club

Brock Nelson is only the second Islander in the 21st century to score 20 goals at least six times.  John Tavares did it nine times.  Nelson, whose career high is 26 goals, has scored at least 18 goals in all eight of his NHL seasons.

First Time in a Really Long Time

Noah Dobson is the first Isles defenseman aged 22 or younger to score at least ten goals in a season since Bryan Berard had 14 in the 1997-98 season.

Leader of the Pack

All ten of Noah Dobson's goals have been scored since December 5th.  Dobson leads all NHL defensemen over that span; Cale Makar and Devon Toews are tied for second with eight goals in that span.  

Busy Home Stand

This was the first game of a six-game homestand, all of which will be played in a span of eleven days.

• 3/3 vs Vancouver L 3-4

• 3/5 vs St. Louis W 2-1

• 3/7 vs. Colorado

• 3/10 vs. Winnipeg

• 3/11 vs. Columbus

• 3/13 vs. Anaheim

March Madness

The Isles are playing 17 games this month.  It is the first time in franchise history that they have played 17 games.  The Isles are 1-2-0 this month.

Last Second Disappointments

The Isles have allowed a (non-empty net) goal in the last minute of a period five times since January 22nd; three of those goals have come in the last six seconds of a period:

• Pierre Engvall (TOR)   1/22 19:59 (1st pd)

• Andreas Athanasiou (LA) 1/27 19:54 (2nd pd)

• Cody Ceci (EDM)   2/11 19:03 (1st pd)

• Alex Tuch  (BUF)   2/15 19:59 (2nd pd)

• Brendan Lemieux (LAK)  2/26 19:31 (2nd pd)

This season, the Isles have allowed eleven (non-empty net) goals in the final minute of the period.

Home and Road

The Isles are 21-23-8 overall; they are 11-11-4 at home and 10-12-4 on the road.

Vancouver is 32-16-6 overall; they are 19-6-2 at home and 13-10-4 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 26 home games and sold out 22 of them. The sellout crowds of 17,255 are the largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home. 

Leader of the Pack

Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 898-659-60-165 in 1,782 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  970

3. Barry Trotz    898

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2,141

2. Barry Trotz        1,782

3. Joel Quenneville 1,768

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,476 (pending night game)

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,347

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,245 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 16-5-5 when scoring first and are 5-18-3 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    6-6-8=20

St. Louis    8-5-15=28

The Isles are 8-6-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 13-16-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 78-52-17 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves; he is 18-12-7 on the season and 1-0-0 vs. St. Louis.   

Jordan Binnington made 18 saves; he is 13-11-3 on the season and 1-1-2 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play (5:09. St. Louis was 0-2 on the power play (4:00).

The Isles are 10-6-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 11-17-3 when they do not. The Isles are 5-8-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 16-15-4 when they do not.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 18-6-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-16-5 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 106-15-14 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 5-6-8 in games decided by a single goal including 3-6 in regulation. They are 1-3 in games decided in overtime and are 1-5 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game (including one game the Isles scored after allowing an empty-netter).

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 5-4-1 in the front end and 3-6-1 in the back end.  The next back-to-back will be March 10th vs. Columbus and March 11th vs. Winnipeg.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 24-10-5 in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles

Including today, the Isles are 2-1-3 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on March 19th against Dallas. The Isles are scheduled to play thirteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Adam Pelech (23:18); St. Louis: Justin Faulk (26:19)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau led Isles forwards with 20:59 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-4-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), Adam Pelech (8-4-4), Zdeno Chara (2-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-3-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-1-0), Noah Dobson (7-7-2).

Face-offs

Isles 24, St. Louis 23 (51%)

Brock Nelson won 8 of 10 for the Isles; Ryan O'Reilly won 11 of 20 for St. Louis. 

Hit Count

Isles 22 (Matt Martin -6)

St. Louis 25 (Three with 4)

Fights 

Scott Mayfield fought Kim Kostin in the second period. Season total: 19 (Chara 5, Martin 4, Johnston 2, Pageau 2, Mayfield 2,  Bellows 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Wahlstrom 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 24 (Ryan Pulock -4)

St. Louis 18 (Niko Mikkola -5)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 46, St. Louis 60

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 49, St. Louis 45

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Jean-Gabriel Pageu +6

St. Louis: Jake Walman +15

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 14, St. Louis 8

5-on-5: Isles 4, St. Louis 3

Scratches

(Mathew Barzal -INJ), (Zdeno Chara -IR), Ross Johnston, Anders Lee (personal)

Games Lost: 121 (72 to injuries and 49 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man

Scott Mayfield played in his 141st consecutive game. Only two other Islanders (Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck) have played in every game this season.

Challenges

Isles: 2 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 2-0-0 in games that they are successful (offside 1/18 @PHI, no goalie interference 2/22 @SEA) and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful (no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR).

Opponents: 4 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 2-1-1 in games where opponents' challenges go their way (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA and 10/23 @ARI; offside 12/19 vs VGK, goalie interference 3/5 vs STL) and 0-0-0 in games where challenges go the Isles' way.

Last Minute Heroes:

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

For: 2  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO) (Brock Nelson 17:03 – 2/20/22 vs OTT; Isles lost in SO)

Vs:  2 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH-GWG), (Shea Theodore 19:12 – 12/19/21 vs VGK; Isles lost in SO)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 962…

10. John Tavares 669 *** 11. Matt Martin 656  *** 12. Brock Nelson 647 *** 13. Derek King 638 *** 14. Casey Cizikas 635 … 

20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 580 *** 22. Anders Lee 567

Goals    

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 198 *** 13. Brock Nelson 188 *** 14 Billy Harris 184 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 165

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 369…

17. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 19. Mathew Barzal 201 ***20. Nick Leddy 298*** 21. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 22. Ed Westfall 181 *** 23. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 24. Duane Sutter and Alexei Yashin 171 *** 26. Brock Nelson 170

Points

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

8. John Tonelli 544 *** 9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 534 …

15. Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson 369 *** 17. Brock Nelson 358 *** 18. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 19. Pierre Turgeon and Anders Lee 340…

24. Duane Sutter 292 *** 25. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 289

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…

20. Jude Drouin +58 *** 21. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 22. Adam Pelech +56 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 24. Gord Lane +48 *** 25. Adrian Aucoin +47

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 258

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 136

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 20-23-5-4 on the season following a 5-4 win on Friday over Scranton-Wilkes-Barre.   Chris Terry had a pair of goals; he leads the team with 19 goals and 42 points.  Andy Andreoff added three assists. 

Same two teams play Saturday night in Bridgeport. 

Season Series Stats

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

The Isles are 5-0-2 in their last seven games against the Blues and have also gone 5-0-1 in their last six home games against St. Louis.

The teams will meet in St. Louis on April 9th to complete the season series.

UP NEXT

MONDAY, MARCH 7th  –ISLANDERS AT COLORADO  7:30 PM 

[MSG+ (pre-game at 7:00PM), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The homestand continues as the Isles host the Colorado Avalanche in a rematch of their game on Tuesday in Denver.

On Tuesday the Avs rallied from a 3-2 deficit for a 5-3 win at Ball Arena.

However, the Isles have dominated the meetings in New York for over 20 years, winning six straight and twelve out of the last thirteen games.

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: Vancouver 4, Isles 3

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 51

Vancouver 4, Isles 3

Nils Hoglander and Vasily Podkolzin scored third period goals 45 seconds apart as the Vancouver Canucks rallied from a 3-2 third period deficit for a 4-3 victory over the Islanders before a crowd of 16,412 at USB Arena.

It was the second straight game that the Islanders lost despite having a lead in the third period and dropped the Isles three games below NHL-.500 (20-22-8) for the first time since February 15th. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

Noah Dobson (10) Brock Nelson (10), Andy Greene (7) 03:37 VAN 0,NYI 1

Brad Hunt (1) 07:19 VAN 1,NYI 1

J.T. Miller (21) Brock Boeser (16), Quinn Hughes (38) 11:50 VAN 2,NYI 1

Kyle Palmieri (7) Adam Pelech (13), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (11) 18:20 VAN 2,NYI 2

3rd Period

Anthony Beauvillier (9) 01:49 VAN 2,NYI 3

Nils Hoglander (9) Conor Garland (17), Quinn Hughes (39) 09:34 VAN 3,NYI 3

Vasily Podkolzin (10) Bo Horvat (14) 10:19 VAN 4,NYI 3

The Skinny          

Kyle Palmieri scored for the second straight game and is 6-1-7 in the last nine games…Jean-Gabriel Pageau extended his point streak to four games… Noah Dobson scored the Isles' first goal; eight of his ten games have been scored at home; only Brock Nelson (9) has scored more goals at UBS Arena…The Isles have been out-shot 150-108 over the last four games…Nils Hoglander's tying goal was his first since New Year's Day……The Isles were held without a power play for the second time this season (December 2nd vs. San Jose)…JT Miller extended his point streak to eight games (1-11-12) with his goal…Andy Greene has a point in three straight games for the first time as an Islander; he had three five-game point streaks with New Jersey.

First Time in a Really Long Time

Noah Dobson is the first Isles defenseman aged 22 or younger to score at least ten goals in a season since Bryan Berard had 14 in the 1997-98 season.

Leader of the Pack

All ten of Noah Dobson's goals have been scored since December 5th.  Dobson leads all NHL defensemen over that span; Cale Makar and Devon Toews are tied for second with eight goals in that span. Dobson is the eighth defenseman in the league with at least ten goals.

Busy Home Stand

This was the first game of a six-game homestand, all of which will be played in a span of eleven days.

• 3/3 vs Vancouver L 3-4

• 3/5 vs St. Louis

• 3/7 vs. Colorado

• 3/10 vs. Winnipeg

• 3/11 vs. Columbus

• 3/13 vs. Anaheim

March Madness

The Isles are playing 17 games this month.  It is the first time in franchise history that they have played 17 games.  The Isles are 0-2-0 this month.

Last Second Disappointments

The Isles have allowed a (non-empty net) goal in the last minute of a period five times since January 22nd; three of those goals have come in the last six seconds of a period:

• Pierre Engvall (TOR)   1/22 19:59 (1st pd)

• Andreas Athanasiou (LA) 1/27 19:54 (2nd pd)

• Cody Ceci (EDM)   2/11 19:03 (1st pd)

• Alex Tuch  (BUF)   2/15 19:59 (2nd pd)

• Brendan Lemieux (LAK)  2/26 19:31 (2nd pd)

This season, the Isles have allowed eleven (non-empty net) goals in the final minute of the period.

Home and Road

The Isles are 20-23-8 overall; they are 10-11-4 at home and 10-12-4 on the road.

Vancouver is 27-23-6-10-4 overall; they are 13-10-3 at home and 14-13-3 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 25 home games and sold out 21 of them. The sellout crowds of 17,255 are the largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home. 

Leader of the Pack

Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 897-659-60-165 in 1,781 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  970

3. Barry Trotz    897

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2,141

2. Barry Trotz        1,781

3. Joel Quenneville 1,768

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,476

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,346

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,243 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 15-5-5 when scoring first and are 5-18-3 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    8-9-10=27

Vancouver    13-16-9=38

The Isles are 8-6-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 12-16-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 77-52-17 when outshot.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves; he is 3-11-1 on the season and 7-12-2 vs. Vancouver.   

Thatcher Demko made 24 saves; he is 24-16-2 on the season and 2-0-0 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles did not have a power play. Vancouver was 0-2 on the power play (4:00).

The Isles are 9-6-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 11-17-3 when they do not. The Isles are 5-8-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-15-4 when they do not.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 18-6-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-16-5 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 106-15-14 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 4-6-8 in games decided by a single goal including 2-6 in regulation. They are 1-3 in games decided in overtime and are 1-5 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game (including one game the Isles scored after allowing an empty-netter).

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 5-4-1 in the front end and 3-6-1 in the back end.  The next back-to-back will be March 10th vs. Columbus and March 11th vs. Winnipeg.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 24-10-5 in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 1-1-3 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on March 5th against St. Louis. The Isles are scheduled to play thirteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:10); Vancouver: Quinn Hughes (25:37)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau led Isles forwards with 20:37 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-4-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), Adam Pelech (8-4-4), Zdeno Chara (2-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-3-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-1-0), Noah Dobson (7-7-2).

Face-offs

Isles 25, Vancouver 36 (41%)

No Islander who took multiple draws won more than he lost; Bo Horvat won 15 of 19 for Vancouver. 

Hit Count

Isles 23 (Cal Clutterbuck -5)

Vancouver 19 (Luke Schenn-4)

Fights 

There were no fights. Season total: 18 (Chara 5, Martin 4, Johnston 2, Pageau 2, Bellows 1, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Wahlstrom 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 16 (Noah Dobson and Sebastian Aho -3)

Vancouver 21 (Two with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 59, Vancouver 65 (including 38-13 in the third period

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 56, Vancouver 59

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Adam Pelech +6

Vancouver: Two with +8

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 11, Vancouver 13

5-on-5: Isles 9, Vancouver 11

Scratches

(Mathew Barzal -INJ), (Zdeno Chara -INJ), Ross Johnston 

Games Lost: 119 (70 to injuries and 49 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man

Scott Mayfield played in his 140th consecutive game. Only two other Islanders (Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck) have played in every game this season.

Challenges

Isles: 2 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 2-0-0 in games that they are successful (offside 1/18 @PHI, no goalie interference 2/22 @SEA) and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful (no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR).

Opponents: 3 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 1-1-1 in games where opponents' challenges go their way (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA and 10/23 @ARI; offside 12/19 vs VGK) and 0-0-0 in games where challenges go the Isles' way.

Last Minute Heroes:

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

For: 2  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO) (Brock Nelson 17:03 – 2/20/22 vs OTT; Isles lost in SO)

Vs:  2 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH-GWG), (Shea Theodore 19:12 – 12/19/21 vs VGK; Isles lost in SO)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 961…

10. John Tavares 669 *** 11. Matt Martin 655  *** 12. Brock Nelson 646 *** 13. Derek King 638 *** 14. Casey Cizikas 634 … 

20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 579 *** 22. Anders Lee 567

Goals    

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 198 *** 13. Brock Nelson 187 *** 14 Billy Harris 184 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 165

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 369…

17. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 19. Mathew Barzal 201 ***20. Nick Leddy 298*** 21. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 22. Ed Westfall 181 *** 23. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 24. Duane Sutter and Alexei Yashin 171 *** 26. Brock Nelson 169

Points

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

8. John Tonelli 544 *** 9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 534 …

15. Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson 369 *** 17. Brock Nelson 357 *** 18. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 19. Pierre Turgeon and Anders Lee 340…

24. Duane Sutter 292 *** 25. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 289

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…

20. Jude Drouin +58 *** 21. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 22. Adam Pelech +56 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 24. Gord Lane +48 *** 25. Adrian Aucoin +47

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 257

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 135

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 19-23-5-4 on the season. Chris Terry leads the team with 17 goals and 40 points; Otto Koivula has a club-leading 26 assists and is four points behind Terry for the club lead.

The Baby Isles are off until Friday when they begin a 3-in-3 weekend by hosting a pair of games against the Penguins. 

Season Series Stats

The teams split the season series 1 game to 1 (and 2 points to 2). 

This was the Isles' first regulation loss to Vancouver in twelve meetings (7-1-4) and their first in six games vs. Vancouver at home (3-1-2). 

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, MARCH 5th  – ST. LOUIS AT ISLANDERS  12:30 PM 

[MSG+ (pre-game at 12:00PM), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The homestand continues as the Isles host the St. Louis Blues in a Saturday matinee.

It is the first meeting of the teams since the teams traded home overtime victories in the 2019-20 season (10/14/19 – Devon Toews and 2/27/2020 – Colton Parayko). 

The Isles are 4-0-2 in their last six games against the Blues and have also gone 4-0-1 in their last five home games against St. Louis.

The teams will meet in St. Louis on April 9th to complete the season series.

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: Colorado 5, Isles 3

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 50

Colorado 5, Isles 3

Gabriel Landeskog and Andrei Burakovsky scored third period goals as the Colorado Avalanche rallied from a 3-2 second intermission deficit for a 5-3 victory over the Islanders before a crowd of 17,622 at Ball Arena.  Erik Johnson hit the empty net at 19:17 for the final margin of victory.

It was only the second time all season that the Isles lost a game in regulation that they led after two periods (also vs. Minnesota on November 7th).

Ryan Pulock, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Kyle Palmieri all scored for the Isles, who are 3-2-2 in their last seven games. However, it was a disallowed goal off a shot by Sebastian Aho, ruled that the puck had not completely crossed the goal line, which cost the Isles a third period lead in a period that they were outshot 21-9.

The Isles once again fall two games below NHL-.500 (20-22-8) and finish their road trip with a 2-2-1 road trip.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Nathan MacKinnon (16) Cale Makar (39), Devon Toews (31) 03:23 NYI 0,COL 1

Ryan Pulock (1) Zach Parise (15), Josh Bailey (20) 10:03 NYI 1,COL 1

2nd Period

Devon Toews (10) Andre Burakovsky (25), Cale Makar (40) 03:54 NYI 1,COL 2

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (9) Zach Parise (16), Cal Clutterbuck (8) 04:39 NYI 2,COL 2

Kyle Palmieri (6) Andy Greene (6), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (10) 12:23 NYI 3,COL 2

3rd Period

Gabriel Landeskog (29) Nazem Kadri (45), Devon Toews (32) 04:43 NYI 3,COL 3 PPG

Andre Burakovsky (17) Nazem Kadri (46) 12:48 NYI 3,COL 4

Erik Johnson (6)EN 19:17 NYI 3,COL 5

The Skinny         

Former Islander Devon Toews had a goal and two assists in his first game against the Isles and was named the game's #1 star…Ryan Pulock scored his first goal of the season (and first in 28 games dating back to May 4th)… Ilya Sorokin has allowed only twelve goals in his last six games (3-1-2)…Zach Parise had his third multi-point game of the road trip (3-4-7); he is 3-5-8 in his last six games…Kyle Palmieri is 5-1-6 in the last eight games…Jean-Gabriel Pageau extended his point streak to three games…Sebastian Aho saw his point streak end at five games on the disallowed goal…The Avs are the first team in the NHL with 40 wins, and their 40-10-4 record is the club's best-ever thru 54 games, and is just one game off of the NHL record for fastest to 40 wins… Jack Johnson played in his 1,000th NHL game; he is just the 21st American defenseman to reach that mark. 

Road Warriors

This was the final game of a stretch that saw the Isles play 9 of 11 on the road. The Isles went 4-5-2 in that stretch, scoring 35 goals and allowing 37 (including shootout winners).

• 2/9 @ Vancouver 6-3 W

• 2/11 @ Edmonton 1-3 L

• 2/12 @ Calgary 2-5 L

• 2/15 @ Buffalo 3-6 L

• 2/17 Vs. Boston 4-1 W

• 2/20 Vs. Montreal 2-3 L (SO)

• 2/22 @ Seattle 5-2 W

• 2/24 @ San Jose 3-4 L (SO)

• 2/26 @ Los Angeles 2-5 L

• 2/27 @ Anaheim 4-0 W

• 3/1 @ Colorado 3-5 L

The Isles will begin a six-game homestand on Thursday against Vancouver, playing the six games (five of which will be against Western Conference foes), in a span of eleven days. 

March Madness

The Isles are playing 17 games this month.  It is the first time in franchise history that they have played 17 games.  The Isles are 0-1-0 this month.

Last Second Disappointments

The Isles have allowed a (non-empty net) goal in the last minute of a period five times since January 22nd; three of those goals have come in the last six seconds of a period:

• Pierre Engvall (TOR)   1/22 19:59 (1st pd)

• Andreas Athanasiou (LA) 1/27 19:54 (2nd pd)

• Cody Ceci (EDM)   2/11 19:03 (1st pd)

• Alex Tuch  (BUF)   2/15 19:59 (2nd pd)

• Brendan Lemieux (LAK)  2/26 19:31 (2nd pd)

This season, the Isles have allowed eleven (non-empty net) goals in the final minute of the period.

Home and Road

The Isles are 20-22-8 overall; they are 10-10-4 at home and 10-12-4 on the road.

Colorado is 40-10-4 overall; they are 23-3-2 at home and 17-7-2 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 24 home games and sold out 21 of them. The sellout crowds of 17,255 are the largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home. 

Leader of the Pack

Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 897-658-60-165 in 1,780 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  970

3. Barry Trotz    897

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2,141

2. Barry Trotz        1,780

3. Joel Quenneville 1,768

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,476

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,346

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,243 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 15-4-5 when scoring first and are 5-18-3 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    8-13-10=31

Colorado    13-9-21=43

The Isles are 8-6-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 12-15-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 77-51-17 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 38 saves; he is 17-12-7 on the season and 0-1-0 vs. Colorado.   

Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves; he is 27-6-2 on the season and 2-4-1 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play (4:00); Colorado was 0-3 on the power play (5:48).

The Isles are 9-6-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 11-16-3 when they do not. The Isles are 5-8-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-14-4 when they do not.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 18-5-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-16-5 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 106-14-14 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 4-5-8 in games decided by a single goal including 2-5 in regulation. They are 1-3 in games decided in overtime and are 1-5 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game (including one game the Isles scored after allowing an empty-netter).

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 5-4-1 in the front end and 3-6-1 in the back end.  The next back-to-back will be March 10th vs. Columbus and March 11th vs. Winnipeg.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 24-10-5 in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 1-1-3 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on March 5th against St. Louis. The Isles are scheduled to play thirteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Scott Mayfield (21:25); Colorado: Cale Makar (25:59)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau led Isles forwards with 19:47 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-3-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), Adam Pelech (8-4-4), Zdeno Chara (2-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-3-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-1-0), Noah Dobson (7-7-2).

Face-offs

Isles 27, Colorado 23 (54%)

Casey Cizikas won 9 of 13 for the Isles; JT Compher won 4 of 6 for Colorado. 

Hit Count

Isles 17 (Ryan Pulock - 3)

Colorado 10 (Jack Johnson - 3)

Fights 

There were no fights. Season total: 18 (Chara 5, Martin 4, Johnston 2, Pageau 2, Bellows 1, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Wahlstrom 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 24 (Scott Mayfield -4)

Colorado 12 (Alex Newhook -3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 56, Colorado 85 (including 38-13 in the third period

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 45, Colorado 66

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Zach Parise +4

Colorado: Cale Makar +18

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 15, Colorado 13

5-on-5: Isles 13, Colorado 10

Scratches

(Mathew Barzal -INJ), (Zdeno Chara -INJ), Matt Martin 

Games Lost: 117 (68 to injuries and 49 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man

Scott Mayfield played in his 139th consecutive game. Only two other Islanders (Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck) have played in every game this season.

Challenges

Isles: 2 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 2-0-0 in games that they are successful (offside 1/18 @PHI, no goalie interference 2/22 @SEA) and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful (no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR).

Opponents: 3 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 1-1-1 in games where opponents' challenges go their way (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA and 10/23 @ARI; offside 12/19 vs VGK) and 0-0-0 in games where challenges go the Isles' way.

Last Minute Heroes:

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

For: 2  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO) (Brock Nelson 17:03 – 2/20/22 vs OTT; Isles lost in SO)

Vs:  2 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH-GWG), (Shea Theodore 19:12 – 12/19/21 vs VGK; Isles lost in SO)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 960…

10. John Tavares 669 *** 11. Matt Martin 654  *** 12. Brock Nelson 645 *** 13. Derek King 638 *** 14. Casey Cizikas 633 … 

20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 578 *** 22. Anders Lee 566

Goals    

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 198 *** 13. Brock Nelson 187 *** 14 Billy Harris 184 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 165

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 369…

17. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 19. Mathew Barzal 201 ***20. Nick Leddy 298*** 21. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 22. Ed Westfall 181 *** 23. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 24. Duane Sutter and Alexei Yashin 171 *** 26. Brock Nelson 168

Points

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

8. John Tonelli 544 *** 9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 534 …

15. Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson 369 *** 17. Brock Nelson 356 *** 18. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 19. Pierre Turgeon and Anders Lee 340…

24. Duane Sutter 292 *** 25. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 289

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…

20. Jude Drouin +58 *** 21. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 22. Adam Pelech +56 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 24. Gord Lane +48 *** 25. Adrian Aucoin +47

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 256

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 135

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 19-23-5-4 on the season. Chris Terry leads the team with 17 goals and 40 points; Otto Koivula has a club-leading 26 assists and is four points behind Terry for the club lead.

The Baby Isles are off until Friday when they begin a 3-in-3 weekend by hosting a pair of games against the Penguins. 

Season Series Stats

Colorado leads the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). 

This was the first meeting of the teams in over two years; the Isles have beaten the Avalanche six straight times in New York but are 1-5-1 in their last seven games in Denver.

The teams will meet at UBS Arena on Monday (March 7th) to finish the season series.

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, MARCH 3rd – VANCOUVER AT ISLANDERS   7:30 PM 

[MSG+ (pre-game at 7:00PM), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The Isles return home to begin a six-game homestand as they welcome the Vancouver Canucks to UBS Arena. 

The Isles scored five goals in the first period as they defeated Vancouver 6-3 on February 9th; the win extended their point streak against the Canucks to 11 games (7-0-4).  The Isles are 3-0-2 in their last five home games against the Canucks, with all those games having been played in Brooklyn.

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