The Skinny: Philadelphia 4, Isles 3

"The Skinny"         

By Eric Hornick

Game 31

Philadelphia 4, Isles 3

Oskar Lindholm scored the winning goal just 2:22 to as the Philadelphia Flyers overcame a fierce Islander rally in the third period for a 4-3 victory before a socially-distanced crowd of 1,400 at the Nassau Coliseum.

After allowing three straight goals in the middle session, the Isles rallied to tie with three goals in a 6:34 span of the third. Michael Dal Colle and Sebastian Aho each scored their first goals of the season before Oliver Wahlstrom tied the game 34 seconds after Aho's tally with his second goal in as many games.

The loss snaps ends the Isles season-opening home point streak at 14 – it is the longest home point streak of the post-Cup era. The Isles remain tied with Philadelphia for the East Division point lead, but the Capitals now have two games in hand. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

Oskar Lindblom (3) Claude Giroux (16), Travis Konecny (9) 02:26 PHI 1,NYI 0

Claude Giroux (7) Nate Prosser (1), Travis Konecny (10) 10:04 PHI 2,NYI 0

Jakub Voracek (5) Kevin Hayes (12), Scott Laughton (9) 14:01 PHI 3,NYI 0

3rd Period

Michael Dal Colle (1) Nick Leddy (18), Josh Bailey (13) 07:53 PHI 3,NYI 1

Sebastian Aho (1) Nick Leddy (19), Michael Dal Colle (3) 13:53 PHI 3,NYI 2

Oliver Wahlstrom (7) Nick Leddy (20), Adam Pelech (7) 14:27 PHI 3,NYI 3

Oskar Lindblom (4) Travis Konecny (11), Philippe Myers (6) 17:38 PHI 4,NYI 3

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in 20 of their last 24 games (16-4-4) and are 11-2-1 in their last 14 games.… The Isles have outscored their opponents 30-18 in the first period and 36-21 in the third period; however the Isles have been outscored 5-0 in their last two second periods and 28-22 on the season in the middle session… Nick Leddy earned the primary assist on all three goals; he is the first Islander since Josh Bailey (2-10-2020 at Philadelphia) to have a three assist period; Leddy, who now leads all East Division defensemen with 20 assists, has matched last season's point total (3-18-21) and equaled career highs for assists (3) and points (3) in a game.  Leddy is now tied-4th in assists among all defensemen, trailing only Tyson Barrie (26), Quinn Hughes (23) and Victor Hedman (23) …The Isles now have 11 goals from rookies (Oliver Wahlstrom 7, Kieffer Bellows 3, Sebastian Aho 1); among East Division teams, only New Jersey (20) has more…Wahlstrom is the fifth rookie to reach the seven goal mark; only Kirill Karpizov (10) and Pius Suter (8) have more… Mathew Barzal took a first period double-minor, extending his team lead in penalty minutes to 36… Travis Konecny had three helpers for Philly; his previous six points vs. the Isles were all goals…The Isles defense had four assists, giving them 57 – most in the East.  The defense has earned 39.0% of the Isles assists (2nd to Vancouver's 40.3%)…  Michael Dal Colle's goal ended a stretch of seven straight goals by American-born Islanders…Barzal played his 263rd consecutive game, breaking a tie with Denis Potvin for 6th place on the Isles' list; Barry Trotz coached his 181st game, tying Scott Gordon for 5th on the Isles' all-time list.

First Times in a Long Time

• Michael Dal Colle's goal was his first since February 6, 2020 vs. Los Angeles, ending a stretch of 31 games without a goal.

• Sebastian Aho's goal was his first since January 7, 2018 vs. New Jersey, ending a stretch of 21 games (and over 38 months) without an NHL goal.

• Oskar Lindblom recorded his 2nd two-goal game, and his first since 2019.

Kings of 60

The Isles have won 17 games in regulation (out of 19 overall). Only Edmonton (19) has more regulation wins.

Varly Streaking

Semyon Varlamov is 6-2-1 in his last nine games, allowing just 21 goals in that span.  Varly has won 13 games this season with a goals against average of 2.17 and save percentage of .923.  All three are the best in the East Division.  Varlamov now has 245 career wins, tying Kirk McLean for 65th all-time.

Sorokin's Shining

Ilya Sorokin has allowed only nine goals in his last six games (6-0-0); in that span the Isles have allowed only 137 shots on goal (22.8 per game) . Sorokin has allowed 20 goals in 546 minutes this season (2.20), and since January 24th he has allowed only 15 goals in his eight appearances (1.87).  

Sorokin is the first rookie goalie in Islander history to record a win in six consecutive games and is the second Isles rookie to win six consecutive decisions (Roland Melanson – 6 games – 1982).  Melanson's streak began with the first game of the famed 15-game win streak. 

Towards the Top of the Table

The Isles have 42 points through 31 games, trailing only last year's team for most points through 31 games over the last 40 years.

Most Points through 31 games:

• 47 1978-79 (20-4-7)

• 46 2019-20 (22-7-2)

• 44 1976-77 (20-7-4)

• 43 1980-81 (19-7-5)

• 42 1983-84 (20-9-2)

• 42 2014-15 (21-10-0)

• 42 2020-21 (19-8-4)

Home Sweet Home

Before today's loss, the Isles had earned points in their first 14 home games (12-0-2); it was the second-longest point streak to open the season and only the sixth time in club history that the Isles have had a streak of at least 14 games at any point during the season. The previous five all occurred under the coaching of Al Arbour.

The Isles were the final team in the NHL to suffer a regulation loss at home.

Most Points at Home Through 15 Games

• 26 2020-21 (12-1-2)

• 26 1978-79 (11-0-4)

• 25 2019-20 (12-2-1)

Longest Home Point Streak to Open a Season

• 23 1978-79 (19-0-4)

• 14 2020-21 (12-0-2)

• 10 2017-18 (8-0-2)

Longest Home Point Streak at any point in a Season

• 23 1981-82 (21-0-2)

        23 1978-79 (19-0-4)

• 16 1977-78 (14-0-2)

• 15 1980-81 (12-0-3)

• 14 2020-21 (12-0-2)

        14 1974-75 (10-0-4)

• 13 2019-20 (12-0-1)

        13 1979-80 (11-0-2)

Solid D

The Isles have allowed only 71 goals (including 1 shootout winner) in 31 games; it matches the fewest goals that they have allowed through 31 games in their history:

• 71 (2020-21)

• 71 (1977-78)

• 72 (2019-20)

• 72 (2015-16) 

• 75 (1976-77)

Results vs. Each East Division Opponent

• Boston W-W-W-W  Remaining games: 4  (0 home, 4 away)

• Buffalo W-W-W-W-W-W         Remaining games: 2  (0 home, 2 away)

• New Jersey W-L-W-W-W-Wso Remaining games: 2  (2 home, 0 away)

• Rangers         W-L-W Remaining games: 5  (4 home, 1 away)

• Philadelphia Lot-Lot-L         Remaining games: 5  (3 home, 2 away)

• Pittsburgh         W-Lso-L-L-Lot-W Remaining games: 2  (0 home, 2 away)

• Washington L-L-L         Remaining games: 5  (4 home, 1 away)

Road Warriors

This was the fourth game in a stretch where the Isles will play eight out of 10 on the road.  The Isles are 2-2-0 in this stretch:

• @ NJ W 3-2

• @ NJ Wso 3-2

• @WSH L 1-3

• PHI L 3-4

• PHI 3/20

• @PHI 3/22

• @BOS 3/23

• @BOS 3/25

• @PIT 3/27

• @PIT 3/29

Following this stretch, 12 of the final 19 will be at home

19 in 33

This Isles are in a stretch in which they are scheduled to play 19 games in 33 days for the first time in franchise history.  The Isles are 10-2-1 in this stretch.

Home and Road

The Isles are 19-8-4 overall; they are 12-1-2 at home and 7-7-2 on the road.

Philadelphia is 15-10-3 overall; they are 7-5-2 at home and 8-5-1 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 864-626-60-155 in 1,705 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  944

3. Barry Trotz    864

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,734

3. Barry Trotz        1,705

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,427

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,313

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,177 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 13-1-2 when scoring first and are 6-7-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    8-5-12=25

Philadelphia    9-12-10=31

The Isles are 13-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 5-4-2 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 58-29-12 when outshot.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves but falls to 13-6-3 on the season and 7-3-2 in his career against Philadelphia.

Carter Hart made 22 saves to improve to 8-6-3 on the season and 2-2-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

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

The Isles are 8-3-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 11-5-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 4-6-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-2-2 when they do not.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 14-2-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 5-6-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 80-7-10 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 7-3-4 in games decided by a single goal including 5-3 in regulation. They are 0-3 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 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 3-0-2 in the front-half and 4-0-1 in the back-half.  The next back-to-back is scheduled for March 22nd/23rd, road games in Philadelphia and Boston.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 21-2-3 (.865) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch.  Tampa Bay has the next best record: 18-6-3 (.722).

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, Devils, Flyers, and Capitals).

  

In two-game series, the Isles are 3-2-2 in the first game and 2-4-1 in the second game:

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

In three-game series, the Isles are 2-1-0 in the first game, 2-0-0 in the second game, and 2-0-0 in the third:

BUF (W/W/W), NJ (W/W/W), PHI (L/-/-)

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 4-0-1 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 1-2-0 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 14-6-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (26:08-season high); Philadelphia: Ivan Provorov (25:04)

Josh Bailey led Isles forwards with 21:01 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (8-2-0), Ryan Pulock (7-4-3), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Mathew Barzal (1-1-1), Adam Pelech (2-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 37, Philadelphia 26 (59%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 15 of 23 for the Isles; Claude Giroux won 11 of 19 for Philadelphia.

The Isles are 11-6-2 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 8-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 25 (Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin -5)

Philadelphia 16 (Nicolas Aube-Kubel -4)

Fights 

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

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 16 (Five with 2)

Philadelphia 11 (Two with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 44, Philadelphia 59

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 32, Philadelphia 46

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Scott Mayfield +5

Philadelphia: Claude Giroux and Oskar Lindblom +17

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 6, Philadelphia 10

5-on-5: Isles 5, Philadelphia 9

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Thomas Hickey, (Noah Dobson – COVID Protocol), (Anders Lee-LTIR), Leo Komarov

Games Lost: 22

COVID Games Lost -4

250-Game Club

The Isles have two players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 250 games, and they are two of just 15 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Brock Nelson 276, Mathew Barzal 263, Ryan Pulock 226, Josh Bailey 184.  All four players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Brock Nelson now has the longest active streak (and 5th-longest in club history); Mathew Barzal is 6th on this list while Ryan Pulock is 10th:

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

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

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

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

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 276

6. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 263

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

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

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

10. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 226

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

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

Challenges

Isles: 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, 1 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR, no goalie interference 3/11 vs NJ)

The Isles are 1-0-0 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 3 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; Oskar Lindblom, 3/18/21 vs PHI (17:38)-winning goal]

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 896…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 591 *** 19. Brock Nelson 579 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 565 …

27. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 28. Anders Lee 520 *** 29. Dave Lewis 514 *** 30. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509*** 32. Cal Clutterbuck 507 *** 33. Ed Westfall and Nick Leddy 493

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Billy Harris and Anders Lee 184 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Brock Nelson 162 *** 16. Patrick Flatley 160  *** 17. Josh Bailey 157

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 335 …

19. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 20. Nick Leddy 188

Points

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

10. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Josh Bailey 492…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 320  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 312

Games Coached 

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

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 102

On the Farm

Bridgeport improved to a 3-7-0-0 on the season (2-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 1-6-0-0 vs. Providence) with a 4-3 overtime win over Hartford today.  All four Sound Tiger goals were scored by Islander draft picks (Simon Holmstrom, Samuel Bolduc, Cole Coskey and Otto Koivula) with Koivula scoring the OT winner.

Bridgeport is now off until March 27th when they visit Hartford.

Season Series Stats

Philadelphia leads the season series 3 games to 0 (and 6 points to 2). The teams will meet again on Saturday at the Coliseum and on Monday in Philadelphia. 

The loss ends an Islander six-game point streak against Philadelphia (4-0-2) in regular season play.  Including their seven game playoff series in The Bubble, it is the Flyers' first win in regulation time in the last 14 meetings between the teams.

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, MARCH 20th   – PHILADELPHIA AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm

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

The brief homestand ends as the Isles play the Philadelphia Flyers in the second game of a three-game series.

The Isles will be looking to avoid a 3-game regulation losing streak for the first time since late January and restore an 11 point difference between the teams as Islander defenseman Nick Leddy celebrates his 30th birthday.

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: Washington 3, Isles 1

"The Skinny"         

By Eric Hornick

Game 30

Washington 3, Isles 1

Alex Ovechkin scored his 718th goal for the game-winning goal and also added an assist as the Washington Capitals built a 3-0 lead and defeated the Islanders 3-1 at Capital One Arena.

Oliver Wahlstrom scored the only Islander goal with an unassisted power play goal. It was his 6th goal of the season, and second power play tally.

The loss snaps the Isles' nine-game win streak and 12-game point streak.  With the win, Washington ties the Islanders in points and takes over first place based on having played fewer games. 

 

This was the Isles' first regulation loss to anyone but Pittsburgh since January 28th (the second of consecutive losses to Washington). They had won 14 straight against everyone but the Pens in that streak.

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

T.J. Oshie (7) Evgeny Kuznetsov (9), Alex Ovechkin (11) 10:36 NYI 0,WSH 1

Alex Ovechkin (12) Justin Schultz (11), Nicklas Backstrom (21) 15:24 NYI 0,WSH 2 PPG

3rd Period

Nicklas Backstrom (12) Jakub Vrana (11), John Carlson (19) 00:28 NYI 0,WSH 3 PPG

Oliver Wahlstrom (6) 04:17 NYI 1,WSH 3 PPG

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in 20 of their last 23 games (16-3-4); they are 14-1-2 against everyone but Pittsburgh in that stretch… The Isles are 11-1-1 in their last 13 games.… The Isles have outscored their opponents 30-18 in the first period and 33-20 in the third period… The Isles now have nine goals from rookies (Oliver Wahlstrom 6, Kieffer Bellows 3); among East Division teams, only New Jersey (20) has more…Wahlstrom is the only healthy Islander besides Brock Nelson (6) to have scored multiple power play goals; Wahlstrom is now 2-4-6 on the power play and is tied for NHL rookie lead in both power play assists and power play points.  With six goals, Wahlstrom is tied for 4th among rookies…Alex Ovechkin scored for the fourth straight game and passed Phil Esposito for 6th place on the all-time goal list; he now had 1301 points, passing Jarome Iginla for 34th place on that list….Ilya Samsonov started 16-2-1 last season -- then went 0-4-1 until the pause.  He is 6-0-1 to start this season… The Caps scored twice on the power play, giving them five goals in nine tries vs. the Isles; New York has killed 55 of 64 (86%) against everybody else….Mathew Barzal's penalty led to the Ovechkin goal; Barzal leads the team with 32 penalty minutes. Barzal took only one shift in the 13 minutes of playing time after the goal.  Barzal, who came within 3 seconds of a career high in ice-time on Sunday, played only 14:25 (lowest ice-time since March 21, 2019 in Montreal).

First Times in a Long Time

• Oliver Wahlstrom's power play goal was credited as unassisted. The Islanders had been credited with two assists on every regular season power play goal in the Trotz era.  The last goal without two assists was scored by John Tavares on April 3, 2018 and the last unassisted power play goal was scored by Mathew Barzal in Washington on March 16, 2018.

• Each team had 22 or fewer shots for the first time since March 25, 2017 vs Boston (Isles 19, Boston 18) at Barclays Center; the last time it happened in a road game was on April 3, 2012 in New Jersey (20-20).

First Time in a Generation

The Isles ended play Sunday all alone with the most points in the NHL – 42. It was the first time this late in the season that the Isles had the most points in the NHL since the final day of the 1981-82 season, when the Dynastic Islanders ended the campaign with the 54-16-10 record and 118 points, 7 more than Edmonton.

Florida caught the Islanders on Monday, and Washington and Tampa Bay created a 4-way tie at 42 points on Tuesday.  None of the four teams play on Wednesday (nor is anyone playing who can catch them) so the Isles will open play Thursday tied for the points lead in both the East and overall.

Seven Cheers for the Red, White, and Blue

Each of the last seven Islander goals has been scored by an American-born player, dating back to the last goal against New Jersey on Thursday.  Kieffer Bellows has 3 of them, Brock Nelson has 2, and Oliver Wahlstrom has 2.

Streak Ends at Nine

This was the fourth time in franchise history that the Isles had won at least nine straight games:

• 15 in 1981-82 

• 10 in 2019-20  

• 9 in 1989-90 

• 9 in 2020-21

Kings of 60

The Isles have won 17 games in regulation (out of 19 overall), tying Edmonton for the most regulation wins in the NHL.

Varly Streaking

Semyon Varlamov is 6-1-1 in his last eight games, allowing just 17 goals in that span (2.09, .928).  Varly has won 13 games this season with a goals against average of 2.08 and save percentage of .926.  All three are the best in the East Division.  Varlamov now has 245 career wins, tying Kirk McLean for 65th all-time.

Sorokin's Shining

Ilya Sorokin has allowed only nine goals in his last six games (6-0-0); in that span the Isles have allowed only 137 shots on goal (22.8 per game) . Sorokin has allowed 20 goals in 546 minutes this season (2.20), and since January 24th he has allowed only 15 goals in his eight appearances (1.87).  

Sorokin is the first rookie goalie in Islander history to record a win in six consecutive games and is the second Isles rookie to win six consecutive decisions (Roland Melanson – 6 games – 1982).  Melanson's streak began with the first game of the famed 15-game win streak. 

What a First 30!

The Isles have 42 points through 30 games for only the 4th time in their history.

Most Points through 30 games:

• 45 1978-79 (19-4-7)

• 44 2019-20 (21-7-2)

• 42 2020-21 (19-7-4)

• 42 1976-77 (19-7-4)

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in their first 14 home games (12-0-2).  The 26 points are the most in the first 14 home games in club history. The Isles remain the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss at home.

It is the sixth time in club history that the Isles have had a streak of at least 14 games at any point during the season. The previous five all occurred under the coaching of Al Arbour.

Most Points at Home Through 14 Games

• 26 2020-21 (12-0-2)

• 24 1978-79 (10-0-4)

• 23 2019-20 (11-2-1)

Longest Home Point Streak to Open a Season

• 23 1978-79 (19-0-4)

• 14 2020-21 (12-0-2)

• 10 2017-18 (8-0-2)

Longest Home Point Streak at any point in a Season

• 23 1981-82 (21-0-2)

        23 1978-79 (19-0-4)

• 16 1977-78 (14-0-2)

• 15 1980-81 (12-0-3)

• 14 2020-21 (12-0-2)

        14 1974-75 (10-0-4)

• 13 2019-20 (12-0-1)

        13 1979-80 (11-0-2)

Solid D

The Isles have allowed only 67 goals (including 1 shootout winner) in 30 games; it is the fewest goals that they have allowed through 30 games in their history:

• 67 (2020-21)

• 70 (1977-78)

• 70 (2019-20)

• 72 (2015-16) 

• 73 (1976-77)

Results vs. Each East Division Opponent

• Boston W-W-W-W  Remaining games: 4  (0 home, 4 away)

• Buffalo W-W-W-W-W-W         Remaining games: 2  (0 home, 2 away)

• New Jersey W-L-W-W-W-Wso Remaining games: 2  (2 home, 0 away)

• Rangers     W-L-W Remaining games: 5  (4 home, 1 away)

• Philadelphia Lot-Lot Remaining games: 6  (4 home, 2 away)

• Pittsburgh         W-Lso-L-L-Lot-W Remaining games: 2  (0 home, 2 away)

• Washington L-L-L          Remaining games: 5  (4 home, 1 away)

Road Warriors

This was the third game in a stretch where the Isles will  play eight out of 10 on the road, with a pair of home games with the Flyers following the first three road games.  The Isles are 2-1-0 in this stretch:

• @ NJ W 3-2

• @ NJ Wso 3-2

• @WSH L 1-3

• PHI 3/18

• PHI 3/20

• @PHI 3/22

• @BOS 3/23

• @BOS 3/25

• @PIT 3/27

• @PIT 3/29

Following this stretch, 12 of the final 19 will be at home

19 in 33

This Isles are in a stretch in which they are scheduled to play 19 games in 33 days for the first time in franchise history.  The Isles are 10-1-1 in this stretch.

Home and Road

The Isles are 19-7-4 overall; they are 12-0-2 at home and 7-7-2 on the road.

Washington is 19-6-4 overall; they are 9-3-2 at home and 10-3-2 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 864-625-60-155 in 1,704 games. He is the first coach in NHL history to record two winning streaks of at least eight games for two different teams (NYI/WSH), with each streak occurring in his first three years with the team.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  944

3. Barry Trotz  864

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,733

3. Barry Trotz        1,704

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,426

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,313

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,177 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 13-1-2 when scoring first and are 6-6-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    11-4-7=22

Washington    7-7-8=22

The Isles are 13-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 5-3-2 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 58-28-12 when outshot.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 19 saves but falls to 13-5-3 on the season and 4-9-1 in his career against Washington.

Ilya Samsonov made 21 saves to improve to 6-0-1 on the season and 3-1-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-2 on the power play (3:16); Washington was 2-4 (6:18).

The Isles are 8-3-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 11-4-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 4-6-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-1-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 14-1-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 5-6-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 80-6-10 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 7-2-4 in games decided by a single goal including 5-2 in regulation. They are 0-3 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 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 3-0-2 in the front-half and 4-0-1 in the back-half.  The next back-to-back is scheduled for March 22nd/23rd, road games in Philadelphia and Boston.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 21-2-3 (.865) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch.  Tampa Bay has the next best record: 18-6-3 (.722).

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).

  

In two-game series, the Isles are 3-2-2 in the first game and 2-4-1 in the second game:

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

In three-game series, the Isles are 2-0-0 in the first game, 2-0-0 in the second game, and 2-0-0 in the third:

BUF (W/W/W), NJ (W/W/W)

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 4-0-1 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 1-1-0 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 14-6-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (23:23); Washington: Nicklas Backstrom (21:19)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 19:51 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (8-2-0), Ryan Pulock (7-3-3), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Mathew Barzal (1-1-1), Adam Pelech (2-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 26, Washington 15 (63%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 10 of 13 for the Isles; no Capital who took multiple face-offs won more than he lost.

The Isles are 11-5-2 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 8-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 30 (Cal Clutterbuck and Kieffer Bellows -6)

Washington 25 (Alex Ovechkin and Nick Dowd -4)

Fights 

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

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 9 (Scott Mayfield -3)

Washington 18 (Dmitry Orlov -6)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 56, Washington 48

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 46, Washington 38

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Adam Pelech +10

Washington: Nick Jensen +6

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 10, Washington 6

5-on-5: Isles 9, Washington 5

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Michael Dal Colle, (Noah Dobson – COVID Protocol), (Anders Lee-LTIR), Leo Komarov

Games Lost: 21

COVID Games Lost -3

250-Game Club

The Isles have two players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 250 games, and they are two of just 15 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Brock Nelson 275, Mathew Barzal 262, Ryan Pulock 225, Josh Bailey 183.  All four players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Brock Nelson now has the longest active streak (and 5th-longest in club history); Mathew Barzal is tied-6th on this list while Ryan Pulock is 10th:

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

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

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

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

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 275

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

    Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 262

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

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

10. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 225

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

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

Challenges

Isles: 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, 1 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR, no goalie interference 3/11 vs NJ)

The Isles are 1-0-0 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 895…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 590 *** 19. Brock Nelson 578 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 564 …

27. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 28. Anders Lee 520 *** 29. Dave Lewis 514 *** 30. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509*** 32. Cal Clutterbuck 506 *** 33. Ed Westfall 493 *** 34. Nick Leddy 492

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Billy Harris and Anders Lee 184 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Brock Nelson 162 *** 16. Patrick Flatley 160  *** 17. Josh Bailey 157

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 334 …

19. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 20. Nick Leddy 185

Points

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

10. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Josh Bailey 491…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 320  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 312

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 180

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 102

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 2-7-0-0 on the season (1-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 1-6-0-0 vs. Providence) following a 5-2 loss to Bruins on Monday.  Tom Kuhnhackl and Cole Bardreau scored for the Sound Tigers.

Bridgeport hosts Hartford on Thursday afternoon.

Season Series Stats

Washington leads the season series 3 games to 0 (and 6 points to 0). The teams' remaining games are all in April, beginning on April 1 and April 6 at the Coliseum.

The Isles are 4-70 against the Caps (in regular season play) under Barry Trotz, with the three Caps wins this season marking the only wins by the home team in that stretch.

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, MARCH 18th  – PHILADELPHIA AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm

[MSG+2 (pre-game at 6:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 1050]

The Isles return home to play their first games in front of the general public as they play the Philadelphia Flyers in the first of consecutive home games and the first of a three-game series.

This will be the third meeting of the teams this season. The Flyers won consecutive overtime games in Philadelphia to end January, leaving the Isles' record at 3-4-2.  Since then, the Isles have gone 16-2-2.

The Isles will be catching the Flyers on the back-end of a back-to-back as Philadelphia plays the Rangers at the Garden on Wednesday.

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, New Jersey 2 (SO)

"The Skinny"         

By Eric Hornick

Game 29

Isles 3, New Jersey 2 (SO)

Kieffer Bellows scored his third goal in two games and Brock Nelson scored a first period buzzer-beater, but the Isles would need a reversal of an overtime goal and a come-from-behind effort in the shootout to defeat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 before a socially-distanced crowd of 1,800 at Prudential Center.  Oliver Wahlstrom had the shootout winning goal for the Isles, as Ilya Sorokin earned his sixth straight victory in his first career shootout appearance. 

PK Subban thought he had given the Devils the win with a goal just 37 seconds into overtime but that was overturned following a lengthy league-initiated video review of the zone entry. The Isles then had to kill off a Devil power play and rally from a 1-0 deficit in the shootout to earn the victory in the fourth round.

The Isles have won nine straight games for the 4th time in their history and have points in 12 straight (11-0-1) for the 7th time in their history.  Both streaks are the longest in the NHL this season.  The Isles now have an NHL-leading 42 points.

The first-place Isles are 16-2-4 in their last 22 games; they moved four points ahead of idle Washington.  The teams will meet on Tuesday in DC after the Caps visit Buffalo on Monday. Since the beginning of February, the Isles are 14-0-0 against everyone but Pittsburgh. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Kieffer Bellows (3) Sebastian Aho (1), Jordan Eberle (10) 04:18 NYI 1,NJD 0

Janne Kuokkanen (5) Kyle Palmieri (8), Damon Severson (7) 05:12 NYI 1,NJD 1 PPG

Brock Nelson (12) Nick Leddy (17), Josh Bailey (12) 19:58 NYI 2,NJD 1

2nd Period

Yegor Sharangovich (5) P.K. Subban (10), Dmitry Kulikov (2) 16:04 NYI 2,NJD 2

3rd Period

No Goals

OT

No Goals

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in 20 of their last 22 games (16-2-4); they are 14-0-2 against everyone but Pittsburgh in that stretch… The Isles are 11-0-1 in their last 12 games.…The Isles have won nine straight games; it is the second straight season that they have won at least nine straight and only the 4th time in franchise history … The Isles have outscored their opponents 30-18 in the first period and 32-19 in the third period…  Brock Nelson has points in six of the last seven games (6-1-7) and goals in five of the last six games (5-1-6); his goal tied Anders Lee for the club lead with 12 …Nick Leddy recorded his 17th assist; Washington's John Carlson is the only East Division defenseman with 18... Sebastian Aho assisted on the first goal. It was his first NHL game in over three years. The Isles had dressed the same six defensemen in all 28 prior games; it is the second-longest streak in club history (30 in 2006-07)…Kieffer Bellows now had three goals in nine games this season and five goals in 18 career NHL games…The Devils earned their first point at home since beating the Isles 2-0 on January 24th; they had lost 10 straight home games, all in regulation, for the first time in their history… The Isles now have seven goals from rookies (Oliver Wahlstrom 5, Kieffer Bellows 3); among East Division teams, only New Jersey (19) has more… Kuokkanen had goals in all three games of this series and in four straight games overall; no Devil rookie has ever done so in five straight games.  (Wilf Paiement-KC Scouts and Barry Beck – Colorado Rockies both had six game streaks for the longest streaks in franchise history)… Ilya Sorokin had a shutout saved last month by an offside review and now has had an overtime goal overturned…The Isles have allowed only 137 shots on goal during Sorokin's win streak (22.8 per game)…The defense contributed two more assists; 38% of the Islander assists this season have come from defenseman.  Only Vancouver (40%) has gotten a larger share of assists from their defense.

The Shootout

• Nikita Gusev (G)/Jordan Eberle (NG)

• Jesper Bratt (NG)/ Mathew Barzal (NG)

• Pavel Zacha (NG)/ Anthony Beauvillier (G)

• Jack Hughes (NG)/ Oliver Wahlstrom (G/GDG)

Anthony Beauvillier is now 4-of-8 in the shootout (50%); it was his first career game deciding goal. No Islander who has taken multiple shots has a better shootout record than Beauvillier…Nikita Gusev scored for the 7th time in 12 career attempts… The Isles now have 84 shootout wins all-time, breaking a tie with Pittsburgh for the NHL record…Oliver Wahlstrom scored the winning goal on his first career attempt… Mathew Barzal is 0-3 this season and 6-21 in his career in shootout attempts.

The lllness/Injuries

• Anders Lee has been placed on Long Term Injured Reserve.

• Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Noah Dobson both entered COVID Protocol and were unable to play.

• Cal Clutterbuck left the game late in the 1st period but returned to start the second period.

First Times in a Long Time

• Sebastian Aho appeared in an NHL game for the first time since March 18, 2018.

• Other than Empty Nets, Brock Nelson's goal was the latest for the Isles since Anders Lee scored at 19:58 of the third period on March 3, 2015 in Dallas.  Cody Eakin won that game in overtime.

• Janne Kuokkanen is the second Devils rookie with three goals in a season against the Islanders; Kirk Muller did so in 1984-85.

• Nick Leddy was assessed his first penalty in 58 games, including all 22 games in the 2020 Playoffs.  Andy Greene was    assessed penalties in both games in Newark, after going the first 27 games of the season without a penalty.

Six Cheers for the Red, White, and Blue

Each of the last six Islander goals has been scored by an American-born player, dating back to the last goal against New Jersey on Thursday.  Kieffer Bellows has 3 of them, Brock Nelson has 2, and Oliver Wahlstrom has the other one.

Nine Straight

This is the fourth time in franchise history that the Isles have won at least nine straight games:

• 15 in 1981-82 

• 10 in 2019-20  

• 9 in 1989-90 

• 9 in 2020-21

(Usually) Kings of 60

The Isles have won 17 games in regulation (out of 19 overall), tying Edmonton for the most regulation wins in the NHL.

Sorokin's Shining

Ilya Sorokin has allowed only nine goals in his last six games (6-0-0) . Sorokin has allowed 20 goals in 546 minutes this season (2.20), and since January 24th he has allowed only 15 goals in his eight appearances (1.87).  

Sorokin is the first rookie goalie in Islander history to record a win in six consecutive games and is the second Isles rookie to win six consecutive decisions (Roland Melanson – 6 games – 1982).  Melanson's streak began with the first game of the famed 15-game win streak. 

Varly Streaking

Semyon Varlamov is 6-0-1 in his last seven games, allowing just 14 goals in that span (1.98, .935).  Varly has won 13 games this season with a goals against average of 2.03 and save percentage of .929.  All three are the best in the East Division.  Varlamov now has 245 career wins, tying Kirk McLean for 65th all-time.

What a First Half

The Isles are 19-6-4 through 29 games. The 42 points matches their most in the Post-Cup era:

Most Points through 29 games:

• 43 1978-79 (18-4-7)

• 42 2020-21 (19-6-4)

• 42 2019-20 (20-7-2)

• 41 1976-77 (19-7-3)

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in their first 14 home games (12-0-2).  The 26 points are the most in the first 14 home games in club history. The Isles remain the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss at home.

It is the sixth time in club history that the Isles have had a streak of at least 14 games at any point during the season. The previous five all occurred under the coaching of Al Arbour.

Most Points at Home Through 14 Games

• 26 2020-21 (12-0-2)

• 24 1978-79 (10-0-4)

• 23 2019-20 (11-2-1)

Longest Home Point Streak to Open a Season

• 23 1978-79 (19-0-4)

• 14 2020-21 (12-0-2)

• 10 2017-18 (8-0-2)

Longest Home Point Streak at any point in a Season

• 23 1981-82 (21-0-2)

        23 1978-79 (19-0-4)

• 16 1977-78 (14-0-2)

• 15 1980-81 (12-0-3)

• 14 2020-21 (11-0-2)

        14 1974-75 (10-0-4)

• 13 2019-20 (12-0-1)

        13 1979-80 (11-0-2)

Solid D

The Isles have allowed only 64 goals (including 1 shootout winner) in 29 games; it is the fewest goals that they have allowed through 29 games in their history:

• 64 (2020-21)

• 67 (1977-78)

• 69 (1976-77)

• 69 (2019-20)

• 70 (2015-16)

Results vs. Each East Division Opponent

• Boston W-W-W-W  Remaining games: 4  (0 home, 4 away)

• Buffalo W-W-W-W-W-W         Remaining games: 2  (0 home, 2 away)

• New Jersey W-L-W-W-W-Wso Remaining games: 2  (2 home, 0 away)

• Rangers         W-L-W         Remaining games: 5  (4 home, 1 away)

• Philadelphia Lot-Lot Remaining games: 6  (4 home, 2 away)

• Pittsburgh         W-Lso-L-L-Lot-W Remaining games: 2  (0 home, 2 away)

• Washington L-L         Remaining games: 6  (4 home, 2 away)

This was the second game in a stretch where the Isles will play eight out of 10 on the road, with a pair of home games with the Flyers following the first three road games.  The Isles are 2-0-0 in this stretch:

• @ NJ W 3-2

• @ NJ Wso 3-2

• @WSH 3/16

• PHI 3/18

• PHI 3/20

• @PHI 3/22

• @BOS 3/23

• @BOS 3/25

• @PIT 3/27

• @PIT 3/29

Following this stretch, 12 of the final 19 will be at home

19 in 33

This Isles are in a stretch in which they are scheduled to play 19 games in 33 days for the first time in franchise history.  The Isles are 10-0-1 in this stretch.

Home and Road

The Isles are 19-6-4 overall; they are 12-0-2 at home and 7-6-2 on the road.

New Jersey is 8-13-4 overall; they are 2-10-2 at home and 6-3-2 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 864-624-60-155 in 1,703 games. He is the first coach in NHL history to record two winning streaks of at least eight games for two different teams (NYI/WSH), with each streak occurring in his first three years with the team.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  943

3. Barry Trotz    864

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,732

3. Barry Trotz        1,703

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,425

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,313

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,177 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.  

99 Over NHL-.500

The win improves the Isles' all-time record to 1,675-1,576-510. It is the first time the Isles are 99 games over NHL-.500 since December 22, 1997, when the Isles fell to 913-814-285 with a 4-1 loss to Ottawa.

First Things First

The Isles are 13-1-2 when scoring first and are 6-5-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    15-10-9-0=34

New Jersey    6-12-10-3=31

The Isles are 13-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 5-3-2 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 58-28-12 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves (and stopped 3 of 4 in the shootout) to improve to 6-2-1 on the season and 2-1-0 in his career against New Jersey. This was his first career shootout.

Scott Wedgewood made 32 saves (and stopped 2 of 4 in the shootout); he is 2-3-3 on the season and 1-1-1 in his career against the Isles.  He is 0-2 in his career in the shootout.

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-4 on the power play (7:39); New Jersey was 1-3 (3:56), including a 2:00 4-on-3 in overtime.

The Isles are 8-2-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 11-4-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 4-5-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-1-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 14-1-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 5-5-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 80-6-10 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 7-2-4 in games decided by a single goal including 5-2 in regulation. They are 0-3 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 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 3-0-2 in the front-half and 4-0-1 in the back-half.  The next back-to-back is scheduled for March 22nd/23rd, road games in Philadelphia and Boston.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 21-2-3 (.865) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch.  Tampa Bay has the next best record: 17-6-3 (.712).

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).

  

In two-game series, the Isles are 3-2-2 in the first game and 2-4-1 in the second game:

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

In three-game series, the Isles are 2-0-0 in the first game, 2-0-0 in the second game, and 2-0-0 in the third:

BUF (W/W/W), NJ (W/W/W)

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 4-0-1 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 14-6-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Mathew Barzal  (24:56 -revised); New Jersey: PK Subban (24:10)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 24:56 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (8-1-0), Ryan Pulock (7-3-3), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Mathew Barzal (1-1-1), Adam Pelech (2-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 23, New Jersey 31 (43%)

Austin Czarnik won 6 of 9 for the Isles; Travis Zajac won 12 of 17 for New Jersey.

The Isles are 11-4-2 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 8-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 18 (Ryan Pulock -4)

New Jersey 22 (Three with 3)

Fights 

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

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 8 (Andy Greene -2)

New Jersey 7 (Seven with 1)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 56, New Jersey 49

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 42, New Jersey 36

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Mathew Barzal +8

New Jersey: PK Subban +15

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 21, New Jersey 5

5-on-5: Isles 13, New Jersey 3

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Michael Dal Colle, (Noah Dobson – COVID Protocol), (Anders Lee-LTIR), (JG Pageau – COVID Protocol)

Games Lost: 21

250-Game Club

The Isles have two players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 250 games, and they are two of just 15 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Brock Nelson 274, Mathew Barzal 261, Ryan Pulock 224, Josh Bailey 182.  All four players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Brock Nelson now has the longest active streak (and 5th-longest in club history); Mathew Barzal is 7th on this list while Ryan Pulock is 10th:

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

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

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

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

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 274

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

7. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 261

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

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

10. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 224

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

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

Challenges

Isles: 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, 1 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR, no goalie interference 3/11 vs NJ)

The Isles are 1-0-0 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 894…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 589 *** 19. Brock Nelson 577 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 563 …

27. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 28. Anders Lee 520 *** 29. Dave Lewis 514 *** 30. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509*** 32. Cal Clutterbuck 505 *** 33. Ed Westfall 493 *** 34. Nick Leddy 491

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Billy Harris and Anders Lee 184 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Brock Nelson 162 *** 16. Patrick Flatley 160  *** 17. Josh Bailey 157

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 334 …

19. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 20. Nick Leddy 185

Points

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

10. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Josh Bailey 491…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 320  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 312

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 179

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 102

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 2-6-0-0 on the season (1-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 1-5-0-0 vs. Providence) heading into Monday afternoon's game against the Bruins in Marlborough, Massachusetts. 

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 5 games to 1 (and 10 points to 3). The teams' remaining games are on May 6th and May 8th at the Coliseum in what is scheduled to be the final two games of the Isles' regular season.

The teams have played a lot of close games in recent years in Newark.  While the Isles are 6-1-0 in the last six games, all six wins are by one goal (including four beyond 60 minutes). Since 2013, nine of the 19 games between the teams in New Jersey have gone to overtime.

This was the final meeting of the season at Prudential Center. 

UP NEXT

TUESDAY, MARCH 16th  – ISLANDERS AT WASHINGTON 7:00pm

[MSG+2 (pre-game at 6:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 1050]

The Isles play the final game of their three game road trip as they return to DC for their third meeting of the season with the Capitals.

Washington handed the Isles a pair of frustrating defeats in late January; Justin Schultz scored the winning goal with 27 seconds to play on January 26th and the Caps rallied from a 3-0 deficit with a 5-goal second period on January 28th. Those defeats dropped the Isles' record to 3-4-0; they are 16-2-4 since.

The Isles are 4-6-0 against the Caps (in regular season play) under Barry Trotz, with the two games in January marking the only wins by the home team in that stretch.

This was originally scheduled as the back-end of a back-to-back in DC; however, a schedule change moved the game originally scheduled for Monday until April 27th.

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, New Jersey 2

"The Skinny"         

By Eric Hornick

Game 28

Isles 3, New Jersey 2

Kieffer Bellows scored a pair of third period goals as the Isles rallied from a 2-1 second intermission deficit to defeat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 before a socially-distanced crowd of 1,800 at Prudential Center.  Oliver Wahlstrom had the other goal for the Isles, scoring an unassisted goal late in the first period.

The Isles have won eight straight games; they are the first NHL team to have an 8-game win streak this season.

The Islanders have points in 11 straight for the 10th time in their history; it is also the longest streak in the NHL this season.

The first-place Isles are 15-2-4 in their last 21 games; they remain two points ahead of Washington, who beat Philadelphia. The Isles have won thirteen straight games against everyone but Pittsburgh during that stretch.  

The Scoring:

1st Period

Pavel Zacha (7) Ty Smith (11), Kyle Palmieri (7) 06:37 NYI 0,NJD 1

Oliver Wahlstrom (5) 17:58 NYI 1,NJD 1

2nd Period

Janne Kuokkanen (4) Yegor Sharangovich (4), Travis Zajac (7) 01:04 NYI 1,NJD 2

3rd Period

Kieffer Bellows (1) Mathew Barzal (15), Jordan Eberle (8) 01:59 NYI 2,NJD 2

Kieffer Bellows (2) Jordan Eberle (9) 05:10 NYI 3,NJD 2

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in 19 of their last 21 games (15-2-4); they are 13-0-2 against everyone but Pittsburgh in that stretch… The Isles are 10-0-1 in their last 11 games; it is the first time since the 1981-82 season that the Islanders have had two distinct stretches where they earned points in at least eight straight games.…The Isles have won eight straight games; it is the second straight season that they have won at least eight straight and only the 5th time in franchise history … The Isles have outscored their opponents 28-17 in the first period and 32-19 in the third period; Janne Kuokkanen's goal was the first allowed by the Isles in the last five games and ended a stretch where they had outscored the opposition 10-0 in the second period… Brock Nelson's point streak ended at five games (5-1-6); his goal streak was stopped at four games (4-1-5) …Mathew Barzal moved within one assist of Nick Leddy's team lead with his 15th assist…. The Isles have dressed the same six defensemen in all 28 games this season; it is the second-longest streak in club history (30 in 2006-07)…Two of Kieffer Bellows' four career goals have been game-winners…The Devils have lost 10 straight home games for the first time in their history… Adam Pelech went +3 for the second straight game; his +12 now leads all Isles defensemen… Mathew Barzal went +2 to raise his team-leading total to +14… The Isles now have seven goals from rookies (Oliver Wahlstrom 5, Kieffer Bellows 2); among East Division teams, only New Jersey (16) has more…For the second straight game, a scoring change produced an Islander unassisted goal (Noah Dobson on Thursday and Oliver Wahlstrom tonight)…Kieffer Bellows played 14:52 in his first game since February 18th vs. Pittsburgh and only his second game since January…Kuokkanen has goals in both games of this series and in three straight games overall. 

The Injuries

• Referee Justin St. Pierre left the game after one period with an upper body injury. He did not officiate the 2nd or 3rd period.

• Josh Bailey suffered a cut on his chin on the Devils' second goal; he returned midway through the second period.

 

Kieffer, Meet Pasta

Kieffer Bellows is the first player in Islander history to record a pair of multi-goal games for his first four NHL goals.  Bellows also scored twice on February 6, 2020 vs. Los Angeles.  Bellows is the first NHL player to do so since David Pastrnak did so in January 2015.

Nothing Can Be Finer but to Be from Edina…Minnesota

Kieffer Bellows got into the lineup because of Anders Lee's injury. Bellows and Lee were both born in Edina.

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles allowed 18 shots in the 2nd period; it was their highest-total of shots allowed since February 15, 2020, when Vegas had 20 in the second period. 

• The Isles won a game they trailed after two periods for the first time since February 6, 2020 vs Los Angeles; Kieffer Bellows also scored the winner in that one.

• All three goals were scored by rookies.  It is the first time since December 23, 2017 vs. Winnipeg (all by Mathew Barzal) that the Isles have had three goals scored by rookies. 

• It is also the first time since April 13, 2014 at Buffalo (Anders Lee 2, Brock Nelson 1) that multiple rookies combined to score at least three goals and the first time since that game that multiple rookies scored all of the Isles' goals in a game.

Building Through the Draft

The Isles dressed nine of their own first round draft picks in this game:

• Josh Bailey (2008)

• Brock Nelson (2010)

• Ryan Pulock (2013)

• Michael Dal Colle (2014)

• Mathew Barzal (2015)

• Anthony Beauvillier (2015)

• Kieffer Bellows (2016)

• Oliver Wahlstrom (2018)

• Noah Dobson (2018)

It is the first time that has happened since April 6, 1986, also in New Jersey (the final regular season game of Al Arbour's first tenure with the Isles).

The Great 8

This is the fifth time in franchise history that the Isles have won at least eight straight games:

• 15 in 1981-82 

• 10 in 2019-20  

• 9 in 1989-90 

• 8 in 1982-83   

• 8 in 2020-21

Kings of 60

The Isles recorded their 17th regulation win (out of 18 overall), tying Edmonton for the most regulation wins in the NHL (pending Edmonton's late game In Vancouver) .  No other team in the East has won more than 13 games in regulation.

Varly Streaking

Semyon Varlamov is 6-0-1 in his last seven games, allowing just 14 goals in that span (1.98, .935).  Varly has won 13 games this season with a goals against average of 2.03 and save percentage of .929.  All three are the best in the East Division.  Varlamov now has 245 career wins, tying Kirk McLean for 65th all-time.

Sorokin's Shining

Ilya Sorokin has allowed only seven goals in his last five games (5-0-0) . Sorokin has allowed 18 goals in 480 minutes this season (2.24), and since January 24th he has allowed only 13 goals in his seven appearances (1.85).  

Sorokin is the first rookie goalie in Islander history to record a win in five consecutive games; he is the third Isles rookie to win five consecutive decisions (Roland Melanson – 6 games - 1982; Kelly Hrudey - 5 games - 1983-84).

What a First Half

The Isles are 18-6-4 through 28 games, which marks the end the first-half of the season. The 40 points matches their most in the Post-Cup era:

Most Points through 28 games:

• 42 1978-79 (18-4-6)

• 40 2020-21 (18-6-4)

• 40 2019-20 (19-7-2)

• 39 1980-85 (17-6-5)

• 39 1976-77 (18-7-3)

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in their first 14 home games (12-0-2).  The 26 points are the most in the first 14 home games in club history. The Isles remain the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss at home.

It is the sixth time in club history that the Isles have had a streak of at least 14 games at any point during the season. The previous five all occurred under the coaching of Al Arbour.

Most Points at Home Through 14 Games

• 26 2020-21 (12-0-2)

• 24 1978-79 (10-0-4)

• 23 2019-20 (11-2-1)

Longest Home Point Streak to Open a Season

• 23 1978-79 (19-0-4)

• 14 2020-21 (12-0-2)

• 10 2017-18 (8-0-2)

Longest Home Point Streak at any point in a Season

• 23 1981-82 (21-0-2)

        23 1978-79 (19-0-4)

• 16 1977-78 (14-0-2)

• 15 1980-81 (12-0-3)

• 14 2020-21 (11-0-2)

        14 1974-75 (10-0-4)

• 13 2019-20 (12-0-1)

        13 1979-80 (11-0-2)

Solid D

The Isles have allowed only 62 goals (including 1 shootout winner) in 28 games; it is the fewest goals that they have allowed through 28 games in their history:

• 62 (2020-21)

• 65 (1977-78)

• 67 (1976-77)

• 67 (2015-16)

• 68 (2019-20)

They Can Score Too!

The Isles are the first team in the NHL with five players that have scored at least nine goals (Lee 12, Nelson 11, Pageau 9, Eberle 9, Barzal 9).   

Results vs. Each East Division Opponent

• Boston W-W-W-W  Remaining games: 4  (0 home, 4 away)

• Buffalo W-W-W-W-W-W Remaining games: 2  (0 home, 2 away)

• New Jersey W-L-W -W-W Remaining games: 3  (2 home, 1 away)

• Rangers         W-L-W Remaining games: 5  (4 home, 1 away)

• Philadelphia Lot-Lot Remaining games: 6  (4 home, 2 away)

• Pittsburgh     W-Lso-L-L-Lot-W Remaining games: 2  (0 home, 2 away)

• Washington L-L Remaining games: 6  (4 home, 2 away)

Road Warriors

This was the first game in a stretch where the Isles will play eight out of 10 on the road, with a pair of home games with the Flyers following the first three road games.  The Isles are 1-0-0 in this stretch:

• @ NJ W 3-2

• @ NJ 3/14

• @WSH 3/16

• PHI 3/18

• PHI 3/20

• @PHI 3/22

• @BOS 3/23

• @BOS 3/25

• @PIT 3/27

• @PIT 3/29

Following this stretch, 12 of the final 19 will be at home

19 in 33

This Isles are in a stretch in which they are scheduled to play 19 games in 33 days for the first time in franchise history.  The Isles are 9-0-1 in this stretch.

Home and Road

The Isles are 19-6-4 overall; they are 12-0-2 at home and 6-6-2 on the road.

New Jersey is 8-13-3 overall; they are 2-10-1 at home and 6-3-2 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 863-624-60-155 in 1,702 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  943

3. Barry Trotz    863

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,732

3. Barry Trotz        1,702

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,425

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,312

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,175 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.  

98 Over NHL-.500

The win improves the Isles' all-time record to 1,674-1,576-510. It is the first time the Isles are 98 games over NHL-.500 since December 26, 1997, when the Isles fell to 913-817-285 with their second straight defeat.

First Things First

The Isles are 12-1-2 when scoring first and are 6-5-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    13-9-7=29

New Jersey    6-18-4=28

The Isles are 14-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 4-3-2 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 58-28-12 when outshot.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves to improve to 13-4-3 on the season and 7-3-0 in his career against New Jersey.

Mackenzie Blackwood made 26 saves but falls to 5-8-1 on the season and 1-3-1 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-4 on the power play (8:00); New Jersey was 0-3 (6:00). 

The Isles are 8-2-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 10-4-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 3-5-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-1-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 13-1-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 5-5-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 79-6-10 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 6-2-4 in games decided by a single goal including 5-2 in regulation. They are 0-3 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 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 3-0-2 in the front-half and 3-0-1 in the back-half.  This back-to-back concludes on Sunday in New Jersey.  The next back-to-back is scheduled for March 22nd/23rd, road games in Philadelphia and Boston.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 20-2-3 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).

  

In two-game series, the Isles are 3-2-2 in the first game and 2-4-1 in the second game:

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

In three-game series, the Isles are 2-0-0 in the first game, 2-0-0 in the second game, and 1-0-0 in the third:

BUF (W/W/W), NJ (W/W/-)

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 3-0-1 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 14-6-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (21:36); New Jersey: Dmitry Kulikov (22:10)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 19:25 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (8-1-0), Ryan Pulock (7-3-3), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-1), Adam Pelech (2-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 23, New Jersey 27 (46%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 8 of 13 for the Isles; Travis Zajac won 12 of 17 for New Jersey.

The Isles are 11-4-2 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 7-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 26 (Jean-Gabriel Pageau -6)

New Jersey 20 (Andreas Johnsson-4)

Fights 

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

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 11 (Scott Mayfield –3)

New Jersey 10 (Ten with 1)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 42, New Jersey 56

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 30, New Jersey 43

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Mathew Barzal +8

New Jersey: PK Subban +15

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 7, New Jersey 10

5-on-5: Isles 5, New Jersey 9

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, (Anders Lee-injured)

Games Lost: 20

250-Game Club

The Isles have two players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 250 games, and they are two of just 15 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Brock Nelson 273, Mathew Barzal 260, Ryan Pulock 223, Josh Bailey 181.  All four players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Anders Lee streak ended at 295 games tonight; it is the third-longest consecutive game streak in club history. Brock Nelson now has the longest active streak (and 5th-longest in club history); Mathew Barzal is 7th on this list while Ryan Pulock is 10th:

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

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

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

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

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 273

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

7. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 260

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

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

10. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 223

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

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

Challenges

Isles: 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, 1 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR, no goalie interference 3/11 vs NJ)

The Isles are 1-0-0 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 893…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 588 *** 19. Brock Nelson 576 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 562 …

27. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 28. Anders Lee 520 *** 29. Dave Lewis 514 *** 30. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509*** 32. Cal Clutterbuck 504 *** 33. Ed Westfall 493 *** 34. Nick Leddy 490

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Billy Harris and Anders Lee 184 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Brock Nelson 161 *** 16. Patrick Flatley 160  *** 17. Josh Bailey 157

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 333 …

19. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 20. Nick Leddy 184

Points

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

10. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Josh Bailey 490…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 320  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 311

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 178

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 101

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 2-6-0-0 on the season (1-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 1-5-0-0 vs. Providence) following a 3-0 loss to Providence on Wednesday.  The same two teams meet Monday afternoon in Marlbourough, Massachusetts. 

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 4 games to 1 (and 8 points to 2). The teams will play again at 5pm Sunday in Newark and then will not see each other again until the final two games of the regular season.

UP NEXT

SUNDAY, MARCH 14th  – ISLANDERS AT NEW JERSEY 5:00pm Eastern Daylight Time

[MSG+ (pre-game at 4:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 98.7FM]

The Isles play the final game of this three game series and the back-end of their fifth back-to-back of the season as they again face the Devils in New Jersey.

The Devils have lost a franchise-record 10 straight games (all in regulation) since defeating the Isles 2-0 back on January 24th.  

The teams have played a lot of close games in recent years in Newark.  While the Isles are 5-1-0 in the last six games, all five wins are by one goal (including three beyond 60 minutes). This is the final meeting of the season at Prudential Center.

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