The Skinny: Isles 3, Buffalo 0

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 15

Isles 3, Buffalo 0

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

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

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

The Scoring:

1st Period

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

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

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

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

The Skinny        

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

Most 1st Period Goals

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

1. Edmonton 22

2. Columbus 21 

3. ISLES 19 

Pageau, Pageau, Pageau … JG Pageau

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

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

• Matt Moulson 11/26/2011 -12/3/2011

• Bryan Smolinski 3/27/1997 -4/3/1997

• Todd Bertuzzi 3/4/1997- 3/11/1997

• Ziggy Palffy 2/29/1996 - 3/5/1996

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

• Bryan Trottier 1/13/1983 -1/20/1983

• John Tonelli 1/8/1983 - 1/15/1983

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

Locking It Down

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

Varly: A Look Back

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

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

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

Home Sweet Home

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

Home and Road

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

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

Coach Trotz

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

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  934

3. Barry Trotz    853

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,718

3. Barry Trotz        1,689

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,421

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,302

It All Starts at the Top

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

First Things First

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

The Shots

Isles    10-5-9=24

Buffalo      9-3-8=20

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

In the Nets

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

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

Special Teams

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

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

Three is a Magic Number

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

One-Goal Games

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

Back-to-Backs

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

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

Series

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

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

Tired vs. Rested 

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

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

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

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

Ice-time Leaders

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

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

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

Face-offs

Isles 24, Buffalo 22 (52%)

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

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

Hit Count

Isles 12 (Matt Martin -3)

Buffalo 22 (William Borgen-5)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 0

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 19 (Ryan Pulock -5)

Buffalo 11 (Three with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 44, Buffalo 53

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

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Jordan Eberle +8

Buffalo: Colin Miller +17 

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 6, Buffalo 14

5-on-5: Isles 5, Buffalo 12

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Cory Schneider

Games Lost: 14

245 Game Club

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

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

Iron Man

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

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

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

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

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 283

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

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

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

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

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

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

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

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures 

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

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

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

Last Minute Heroes:

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

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

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

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

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

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

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

Goals

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

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

Assists

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

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

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

Points

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

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

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

Games Coached 

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

 

Coaching Wins

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

On the Farm

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

Season Series Stats

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

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

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

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

UP NEXT

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources.  Follow Eric @ehornick on Twitter & on his blog www.nyiskinny.com.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

The Skinny: Isles 3, Buffalo 1

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 14

Isles 3, Buffalo 1 

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

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

The Scoring:

1st Period

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

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

2nd Period

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

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

3rd Period

No Goals

The Skinny        

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

Most 1st Period Goals

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

1. Edmonton 22

2. Columbus 21 

3. ISLES 17 

        Montreal 17

Home Sweet Home

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

Home and Road

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

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

Coach Trotz

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

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  934

3. Barry Trotz    852

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,718

3. Barry Trotz        1,687

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,421

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,301

It All Starts at the Top

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

First Things First

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

The Shots

Isles    8-9-12=29

Buffalo        9-12-0=21

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

In the Nets

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

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

Special Teams

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

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

Three is a Magic Number

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

One-Goal Games

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

Back-to-Backs

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

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

Series

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

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

Tired vs. Rested 

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

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

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

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

Ice-time Leaders

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

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

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

Face-offs

Isles 28, Buffalo 24 (54%)

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

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

Hit Count

Isles 17 (Three with 3)

Buffalo 15 (Matt Irwin -4)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 0

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 14 (Four with 2)

Buffalo 12 (Matt Irwin -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 54, Buffalo 46

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

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Nick Leddy +9

Buffalo: Two with +2

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 12, Buffalo 4

5-on-5: Isles 10, Buffalo 4

Scratches

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

Games Lost: 14

245 Game Club

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

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

Iron Man

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

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

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

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

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 282

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

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

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

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

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

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

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

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures 

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

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

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

Last Minute Heroes:

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

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

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

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

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

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

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

Goals

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

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

Assists

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

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

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

Points

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

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

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

Games Coached 

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

 

Coaching Wins

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

On the Farm

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

Season Series Stats

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

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

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

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

UP NEXT

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

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

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

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

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources.  Follow Eric @ehornick on Twitter & on his blog www.nyiskinny.com.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

The Skinny: Isles 4, Boston 2

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 13

Isles 4, Boston 2 

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

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

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

The Scoring:

1st Period 

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

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

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

2nd Period

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

3rd Period

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

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

The Skinny        

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

The Injury

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

Home Sweet Home

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

Home and Road

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

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

Coach Trotz

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

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  933

3. Barry Trotz    851

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,717

3. Barry Trotz        1,686

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,421

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,300

It All Starts at the Top

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

First Things First

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

The Shots

Isles    15-15-12=42

Boston        7-9-14=30

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

In the Nets

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

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

Special Teams

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

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

Three is a Magic Number

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

One-Goal Games

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

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 0-0-1 in the front-half and 0-0-1 in the back-half.  The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 15th/16th in Buffalo.

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

Series

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

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

Tired vs. Rested 

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

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

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

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

Ice-time Leaders

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

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

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

Face-offs

Isles 23, Boston 40 (37%)

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

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

Hit Count

Isles 36 (JG Pageau -5)

Boston 27 (Five with 3)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 0

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 13 (Ryan Pulock -4)

Boston 12 (Two with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 67, Boston 60

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

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Brock Nelson +18

Boston: Anders Bjork +8

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 18, Boston 10

5-on-5: Isles 14, Boston 5

Scratches

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

Games Lost: 13

245 Game Club

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

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

Iron Man

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

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

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

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

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 281

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

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

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

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

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

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

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

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures 

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

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

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

Last Minute Heroes:

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

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

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

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

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

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

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

Goals

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

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

Assists

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

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

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

Points

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

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

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

Games Coached 

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

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

 

Coaching Wins

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

On the Farm

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

Season Series Stats

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

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

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

UP NEXT

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources.  Follow Eric @ehornick on Twitter & on his blog www.nyiskinny.com.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

The Skinny: Pittsburgh 4, Isles 3 (Shootout)

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 12

Pittsburgh 4, Isles 3 (SO) 

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

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

The Scoring:

1st Period

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

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

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

2nd Period

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

3rd Period

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

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

Overtime

No Goals

The Skinny        

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

The Shootout

Jordan Eberle (NG)  / Jake Guentzel (NG)

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

Josh Bailey (NG)

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

Longest Home Win Streak to Open Season

• 7- 1982-83

• 4- 1984-85

• 3- 2020-21 

• 3- 2003-04

• 3- 1992-93

• 3- 1988-89

Home and Road

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

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

Coach Trotz

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

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville    932

3. Barry Trotz    850

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,715

3. Barry Trotz        1,685

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,420

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,299

It All Starts at the Top

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

First Things First

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

The Shots

Isles    10-6-8-5=29

Pittsburgh        10-14-9-2=35

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

In the Nets

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

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

Special Teams

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

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

Three is a Magic Number

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

One-Goal Games

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

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 0-0-1 in the front-half and 0-0-1 in the back-half.  The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 15th/16th in Buffalo.

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

Series

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

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

Tired vs. Rested 

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

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

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

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

Ice-time Leaders

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

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

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

Face-offs

Isles 32, Pittsburgh 25 (56%)

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

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

Hit Count

Isles 23 (Matt Martin -5)

Pittsburgh 29 (Brandon Tanev -6)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 0

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 20 (Three with 3)

Pittsburgh 14 (Three with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 52, Pittsburgh 58

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

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Anders Lee +6

Pittsburgh: Chad Ruhwedel +3

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 17, Pittsburgh 10

5-on-5: Isles 12, Pittsburgh 7

Scratches

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

Games Lost: 12

240 Game Club

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

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

Iron Man

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

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

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

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

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 280

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

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

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

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

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

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

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

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures 

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

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

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

Last Minute Heroes:

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

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

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

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

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

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

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

Goals

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

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

Assists

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

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

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

Points

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

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

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

Games Coached 

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

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

 

Coaching Wins

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

On the Farm

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

Season Series Stats

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

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

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

UP NEXT

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

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

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

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

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

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources.  Follow Eric @ehornick on Twitter & on his blog www.nyiskinny.com.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

The Skinny: Isles 2, Rangers 0

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 11

Isles 2, Rangers 0 

Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin scored 2:05 apart midway through the third period and Semyon Varlamov made 30 saves for his 3rd shutout of the season as the Islanders blanked the Rangers 2-0 at Madison Square Garden.

Varlamov has not allowed a goal in 120 minutes against the Rangers this season; it is the first time the Isles have blanked the Rangers twice in a single season.  It was his 30th regular season shutout (and 5th as an Islander).

Barry Trotz recorded his 850th win as an NHL head coach, breaking a tie with Ken Hitchcock for 3rd play on the all-time list.

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

Casey Cizikas (2) Matt Martin (2), Adam Pelech (3) 11:15 NYI 1,NYR 0

Matt Martin (1) Cal Clutterbuck (3), Mathew Barzal (8) 13:20 NYI 2,NYR 0

The Skinny        

The Isles have won two straight and now points in four straight (2-0-2).…Mathew Barzal has points on twelve of the team's 25 goals this season, including nine of 18 at even-strength; Barzal also now has 15 assists (and five goals) in 15 games against the Rangers. He has an assist in six straight games overall; only Conor McDavid (8), Mitch Marner (8) and Charlie McAvoy (7) have longer active streaks…All three members of the fourth line have recorded a goal over the last two games and all three have points in each of the last two games…It is the first time since Opening Night that the road team won an Islander game (and snapped an 0-4-2 road stretch for the Isles); the nine consecutive wins by a home team matches the Islander club record…The Isles have three shutouts in their first 11 games for the first time since 1998-99 (all by Tommy Salo).. The Isles ended four-game point streaks for both Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome…The Isles have killed 13 of 14 at Madison Square Garden but only 7 of 12 in their other road games. 

Club 1800

Andy Greene led the Isles with four blocks, giving him a team-leading 26 this season, and exactly 1,800 in his career.   Greene is the fifth active NHL player with at least 1,800 blocks.

Longest Shutout Streaks for an Islander Goalie vs. the Rangers

• 122:00 Jaroslav Halak 2014-15

• 120:00 Semyon Varlamov CURRENT

• 110:35 Dwayne Roloson 110:35

Longest Home Win Streak to Open Season

• 7- 1982-83

• 4- 1984-85

• 3- 2020-21 (CURRENT)

• 3- 2003-04

• 3- 1992-93

• 3- 1988-89

Longest Win Streak by Home Teams in Islander Games

• 9 10/30-11/17/1984  (The Isles went 5-0-0 at home and 0-4-0 on road)

• 9 3/5-3/25/1995  (The Isles went 2-0-0 at home and 0-7-0 on road)

• 9 1/16-2/6/2021 (The Isles went 3-0-0 at home and 0-4-2 on road)

Home and Road

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

The Rangers are 4-5-2 overall; 3-3-1 at home and 1-2-1 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 850-622-60-153 in 1,685 games, and he has passed Ken Hitchcock as the 3rd-winningest coach in NHL history.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  931

3. Barry Trotz    850

4. Ken Hitchcock    849

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,714

3. Barry Trotz        1,685

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,420

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,299

It All Starts at the Top

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

First Things First

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

The Shots

Isles    7-14-9=30

Rangers        9-10-11=30

The Isles are 4-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-2-0 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 54-27-9 when outshot; the 54 wins are the most in the NHL.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 30 saves to improve to 5-2-1 on the season and 8-5-2 against the Rangers.  It was his 3rd shutout of the season and 30th of his career.

Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves but falls to 3-3-1 on the season and 0-2-0 in his career against the Isles. The Rangers have not scored a goal in either of the two losses against the Islanders.

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-1 on the power play (2:00); the Rangers were 0-3 on the power play (4:54). 

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

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 3-1-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-3-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 70-6-8 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

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

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

Series

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

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

Tired vs. Rested 

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

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

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

• The Isles are 5-4-1 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (22:42); Rangers: Adam Fox (24:36)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 19:12 of ice-time. 

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

Face-offs

Isles 17, Rangers 27 (41%)

Oliver Wahlstrom won both draws he took for the Isles; Mika Zibanejad won 11 of 13 for Rangers.

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

Hit Count

Isles 25 (Leo Komarov -5)

Rangers 25 (Alexis Lafreniere -5)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 0

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 14 (Andy Greene -4)

Rangers 19 (K'Andre Miller -5)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 59, Rangers 48

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 57, Rangers 39

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  JG Pageau +11

Rangers: Adam Fox +3

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 12, Rangers 11

5-on-5: Isles 12, Rangers 9

Scratches

(Anthony Beauvillier-IR), Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Ilya Sorokin

Games Lost: 11

240 Game Club

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

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 279, Brock Nelson 256, Mathew Barzal 243, Ryan Pulock 206, Josh Bailey 164.  All five players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

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

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

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

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

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 279

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

6. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 256

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

8. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 243

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

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

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

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

3. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 206

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures 

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

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

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

Last Minute Heroes:

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

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

Vs: 1  [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Josh Bailey 876…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 571 *** 19. Brock Nelson 559 *** 20. Ken Morrow 550 *** 21. Duane Sutter 547 *** 22. Casey Cizikas 545 …

28. Dave Lewis 514. *** 29. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 31. Anders Lee 504 *** 32. Ed Westfall 493 *** 33. Cal Clutterbuck 489

Goals

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

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

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Pat Flatley 328 *** 8. Josh Bailey 324 …

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 22. Nick Leddy 172

Points

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

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 479…

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

Games Coached 

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

6. Peter Laviolette 164 *** 7. Ted Nolan 163 *** 8. Barry Trotz 161

 

Coaching Wins

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

On the Farm

Bridgeport dropped a 5-2 decision to Hartford on Sunday to fall to 0-2-0 on the season.  They will next play in Marlborough, MA against Providence on Sunday afternoon.  All 24 of their games will be played against either Providence or Hartford.

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 2 games to 1 (and 4 points to 2).

All three games have ended in a shutout, including twice when Semyon Varlamov's Isles have blanked Igor Shesterkin's Rangers.

The teams will not meet again until April 9th,  when they begin a stretch of five games in 23 days against each other.

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11th  –PITTSBURGH AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm

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

The Isles have moved into a playoff spot but to stay there they will need to handle the Penguins on home-ice on Thursday.

The Isles are 3-0-0 on Coliseum ice and will look to win their first four home games for the first time since 1984-85.

The Isles opened the season series with a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday; this is the second of six meetings in February between the games.

The Isles are 3-0-2 in the last five games with Pittsburgh at home and are 4-0-2 in the last six games with Pittsburgh overall.

The game is being played on the 10th anniversary of one of the most remembered games in Coliseum history -- the famed 2011 Brawl Game.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources.  Follow Eric @ehornick on Twitter & on his blog www.nyiskinny.com.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

The Skinny: Isles 4, Pittsburgh 3

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 10

Isles 4, Pittsburgh 3 

Anders Lee broke a 3-3 tie with a late power play goal as the Isles rallied from a third period deficit for a 4-3 regulation win at the Coliseum.  The Isles are 3-0-0 at the Coliseum, marking the first time since the 2003-04 season that they have opened the home campaign with three straight wins. 

Jordan Eberle scored a pair of first period goals for the Isles, with Michael Dal Colle earning assists on both goals; it was the first multi-point game of Dal Colle' career.

It was a milestone win for both Barry Trotz (his 849th, tying Ken Hitchcock for 3rd all-time) and for Semyon Varlamov (coming in his 500th NHL game).

The Scoring:

1st Period

Jordan Eberle (4) Michael Dal Colle (1), Noah Dobson (5) 10:22 PIT 0,NYI 1

Pierre-Olivier Joseph (1) Jake Guentzel (4), Kris Letang (4) 13:43 PIT 1,NYI 1

Jordan Eberle (5) Brock Nelson (2), Michael Dal Colle (2) 15:45PIT 1,NYI 2

2nd Period

Evgeni Malkin (2) Kasperi Kapanen (4) 19:44 PIT 2,NYI 2

3rd Period

Jake Guentzel (4) Sidney Crosby (3), Bryan Rust (6) 03:19 PIT 3,NYI 2

Cal Clutterbuck (1) Casey Cizikas (1), Matt Martin (1) 08:23 PIT 3,NYI 3

Anders Lee (4) Ryan Pulock (3), Mathew Barzal (7) 17:16 PIT 3,NYI 4 PPG

The Skinny        

The win snaps a five-game losing streak (0-3-2) and creates a three-game point streak (1-0-2)… Jordan Eberle has scored four goals in the three Coliseum games this year.…Mathew Barzal has points on eleven of the team's 23 goals this season and leads the Isles in assists (7);  Noah Dobson's assist gave him the team-lead in points among defensemen (6)…Cal Clutterbuck's tying goal was his first in 20 games… The Penguins have not had a 2-goal lead or led through two periods in any game this season…Three of Anders Lee's four goals have come on the power play; he scored just twice with the extra man last season.  Lee now has 53 career power play goals (9th in Isles history)…Pierre-Olivier Joseph's goal was his 1st in the NHL; he is the 25th player to score his first NHL goal this season (and the only one to do so against the Isles)…Brock Nelson's assist was his 299th point; only 21 others have reached 300 points as an Islander.  Bryan Rust finished with 8 shots on goal and 15 shot attempts...Semyon Varlamov is the 13th currently-active NHL goaltender to appear in 500 games.

The Injury

Pittsburgh's Jared McCann left the game with a lower body injury in the first period; he did not return.

The Uniondale 500

Semyon Varlamov is the 3rd goalie to appear in his 500th NHL game while a member of the Isles, joining Billy Smith and Dwayne Roloson.

Eleven others: Roberto Luongo, John Vanbiesbrouck, Chris Osgood, Evgeni Nabokov, Kelly Hrudey, Felix Potvin, Ron Hextall, Chico Resch, Tommy Salo, Jaroslav Halak, and Martin Biron reached 500 games either before or after playing for the Isles, meaning that 14 of the 76 goalies to appear in 500 games played for the Islanders at some point in their career.  

Longest Home Win Streak to Open Season

• 7- 1982-83

• 4- 1984-85

• 3- 2020-21 (CURRENT)

• 3- 2003-04

• 3- 1992-93

• 3- 1988-89

Late PP Go-Ahead Goals

Anders Lee's winning goal was only the 4th go-ahead goal the Isles have scored in the final three minutes of regulation in the 2000's:

• 1/8/2004     EDM Justin Papineau    18:42

• 2/9/2018     DET Josh Bailey   18:11

• 3/21/2008     NJD Kyle Okposo   17:25

• 2/6/2021      @PIT Anders Lee   17:13

(Bailey's goal was not a game-winner – the Isles won that game in overtime.  Okposo's goal was his first in the NHL)

27 is a Winning Number:

Anders Lee recorded his 29th game-winning goal, creating a logjam with his fellow 27's:

• Derek King 30

• John Tonelli 29

• Anders Lee 29

Home and Road

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

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

Coach Trotz

Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 849-622-60-153 in 1,684 games, and he has tied Ken Hitchcock as the 3rd-winningest coach in NHL history.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  931

3. Barry Trotz    849

Ken Hitchcock    849

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,713

3. Barry Trotz        1,683

First Things First

The Isles are 4-1-0 when scoring first and are 0-3-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    9-10-7=26

Pittsburgh        9-14-8=31

The Isles are 4-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-2-0 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 54-27-9 when outshot; the 54 wins are the most in the NHL.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves to improve to 4-2-1 on the season and 6-2-2 against Pittsburgh.

Tristan Jarry made 22 saves but falls to 2-4-1 on the season and 3-1-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-1 on the power play (1:01); Pittsburgh did not have a power play. 

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

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 3-1-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-3-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 70-6-8 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

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

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

Series

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

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

Tired vs. Rested 

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

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

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

• The Isles are 4-4-1 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (24:02); Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (23:41)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 19:27 of ice-time. 

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

Face-offs

Isles 23, Pittsburgh 20 (53%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 7 of 10 for the Isles; Sidney Crosby won 8 of 15 for Pittsburgh.

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

Hit Count

Isles 20 (Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck -4)

Pittsburgh 29 (Brandon Tanev and Sam Lafferty -5)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 0

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 12 (Three with 2)

Pittsburgh 12 (Two with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 52, Pittsburgh 60

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 44, Pittsburgh 56

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Noah Dobson +6

Pittsburgh: Bryan Rust +19

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 15, Pittsburgh 18

5-on-5: Isles 13, Pittsburgh 17

Scratches

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

Games Lost: 10

240 Game Club

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

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 278, Brock Nelson 255, Mathew Barzal 242, Ryan Pulock 205, Josh Bailey 163.  All five players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

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

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

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

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

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 278

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

6. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 255

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

8. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 242

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

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

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

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

3. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 205

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures 

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

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

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

Last Minute Heroes:

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

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

Vs: 1  [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Josh Bailey 875…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 570 *** 19. Brock Nelson 558 *** 20. Ken Morrow 550 *** 21. Duane Sutter 547 *** 22. Casey Cizikas 544 …

28. Dave Lewis 514. *** 29. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 31. Anders Lee 503 *** 32. Ed Westfall 493 *** 33. Cal Clutterbuck 488

Goals

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

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

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Pat Flatley 328 *** 8. Josh Bailey 324 …

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 22. Nick Leddy 172

Points

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

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 479…

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

Games Coached 

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

6. Peter Laviolette 164 *** 7. Ted Nolan 163 *** 8. Barry Trotz 160

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 87

On the Farm

Bridgeport opened their 24-game schedule with a 4-1 loss to Providence on Friday.  They will next play in Hartford on Sunday afternoon.  All 24 of their games will be played against either Providence or Hartford.

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The Isles are 3-0-2 in the last five games with Pittsburgh at home and are 4-0-2 in the last six games with Pittsburgh overall.

The teams will meet five more times this month, including at the Coliseum on Thursday – the 10th anniversary of the famed 2011 Brawl Game.

UP NEXT

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8th  –ISLANDERS AT RANGERS 7:00pm

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

The Isles head to Manhattan for a single game as they face the Rangers for the third time this season.

This will be the third meeting of the season between the rivals, and like the first two, it will be played at Madison Square Garden.  The Isles and Rangers opened the season by trading shutouts; the Isles win on Opening Night is the only game that they have played this season that has been won by the road team.

After Monday's game, the teams will not play again until April 9th, when they begin a stretch of five games in 23 days against each other.

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