"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 46
Isles 6, Rangers 1
Anthony Beauvillier scored a goal and added three assists for the 2nd four-point game of his career while Josh Bailey scored twice and added an assist as the Isles defeated the Rangers 6-1 before a socially-distanced crowd of 1,400 at the Nassau Coliseum.
After scoring just twice on their three game road trip, the Isles bridged goals 3:56 apart over the first two periods to take a 2-0 lead. The Isles would build a 3-0 lead on Anthony Beauvillier's power play goal but Kevin Rooney would get the Rangers back within two before the period was over. The third period belonged to the home team as the Isles tallied three unanswered goals for a lopsided win.
The Isles moved back into a tie for 1st place in the East Division with Washington; both teams are one point ahead of Pittsburgh. All three teams have 10 games to play. Boston is four points behind Washington and the Isles; the Bruins have 12 games to play.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Josh Bailey (7)Jean-Gabriel Pageau (14), Anthony Beauvillier (8) 17:42 NYR 0,NYI 1
2nd Period
Brock Nelson (16) Nick Leddy (25), Kyle Palmieri (10) 01:38 NYR 0,NYI 2
Anthony Beauvillier (9) Noah Dobson (10), Jordan Eberle (16) 05:45 NYR 0,NYI 3 PPG
Kevin Rooney (7) Brendan Smith (5), Vitali Kravtsov (2) 11:04 NYR 1,NYI 3
3rd Period
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (13) Anthony Beauvillier (9), Josh Bailey (20) 07:44 NYR 1,NYI 4
Josh Bailey (8) Anthony Beauvillier (10), Andy Greene (4) 10:16 NYR 1,NYI 5
Jordan Eberle (15) Travis Zajac (12) 11:22 NYR 1,NYI 6
The Skinny
The Isles are 10-7-0 since the end of their 9-game win streak (and 12-game point streak) …Anthony Beauvillier had three assists in a game for the first time in his NHL career; both of his four point games have come against the Rangers (11-15-2018). Beauvillier has 20 points in 19 games against the Rangers….Josh Bailey recorded his first career two-goal game against the Rangers, raising his career totals against them to 7-18-25; it was his second three-point game against the Rangers (1-20-2020)…The Isles have killed 20 of the last 21 opponent power plays… The Isles again played without Cal Clutterbuck; Josh Bailey replaced Oliver Wahlstrom and Noah Dobson replaced Braydon Coburn… Isles are 20-1-2 this season when scoring the first goal; the team that scored first has won the last nine Islander games and all six Islander-Ranger games this season…The Isles have outscored the Rangers 6-2 in the first period this season…All three former Devils (Kyle Palmieri, Andy Greene and Travis Zajac) earned assists…Semyon Varlamov made 25 saves for his 249th NHL win; Igor Shesterkin allowed six goals in a game for the first time...The Isles are 16 games over NHL-.500, matching a season best…It is only the third regulation win for the Isles in the last 14 games…Several players snapped lengthy goal scoring droughts: Beauvillier – 1st goal in last eight, Bailey – 1st goal in last seven, Nelson and Eberle – 1st goal in last six…Andy Greene blocked seven shots – most he has blocked since joining the Isles…The Isles stopped Mika Zibanejad's four-game point streak and Artemi Panarin' four-game point streak; the Isles also held Chris Kreider without a point for the sixth straight game…This was the third time this season that the Isles had won by five goals and the first time that the Rangers had lost by that many…The Isles had scored only six goals (two in overtime) in their prior five games.
The Injury
Jacob Trouba left the game in the first period with an upper body injury after being checked by Matt Martin.
First Time in a Long Time
• This was the first time the Isles defeated the Rangers at home by at least five goals since October 31, 1987 (8-2). The Isles did defeat the Rangers 7-2 at MSG in 2018.
• Kevin Rooney's goal was the first allowed by an Islander goalie since Taylor Hall scored :47 into the second period on Friday.
Magic Number Time
The Islanders' magic number for clinching a playoff spot falls to 11 (over the Rangers) and 8 (over Philadelphia). New Jersey and Buffalo cannot catch the Isles.
The Playoff Chase (top 4 make playoffs)
Washington 62 points (10 to play)
ISLES 62 points (10 to play)
Pittsburgh 61 points (10 to play)
Boston 58 points (12 to play)
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Rangers 52 points (10 to play)
Philadelphia 47 points (11 to play)
This Week's Schedule:
• Wednesday – no games
• Thursday- WAS @ Isles, PHI @ NYR, NJ @ PIT, BOS @ BUF
• Friday – PHI @ NYR, BOS @ BUF
• Saturday- WAS @ Isles, NJ @ PIT
• Sunday – BUF @ NYR, NJ @ PHI, BOS @ PIT
• Monday – no games
• Tuesday – Isles @ WAS, BUF @ NYR, PHI @ NJ, BOS @ PIT
Varly Solid
Semyon Varlamov is 10-5-1 in his last sixteen decisions, allowing just 37 goals in that span. Varly has won 17 games this season with a goals against average of 2.20 and save percentage of .923. Varlamov has 249 NHL wins and 31 shutouts, including four this season. He is now one win behind Johnny Bower for 61st on the all-time win list.
Sorokin's Shining
Ilya Sorokin is 12-2-0 in his last fourteen starts (1.67, .934). Among goalies who have played at least 10 games in that span, only Juuse Soros (1.61) has a lower goals against average in that span and only Soros (.949) and Alex Nedeljkovic (.937) have a higher save percentage.
Sorokin is 8-0-0 at home. He is the first goalie in NHL history to win his first eight career starts in one season (Harry Lumley for Detroit in 1944-45 and Jaroslav Halak for Montreal in 2006-07 had each started 7-0-0). Two others have won at least eight straight over multiple seasons. Gord Mc Rae for Toronto in 1972-73 and 1974-75 (10); Michel Plasse for St. Louis and Montreal in 1970-71 and 1972-73 (8).
Only one other NHL rookie goalie in the last 39 years has won eight straight at home in a single season- Semyon Varlamov did that in 2009-10 for Washington.
Most Wins by an Islander Rookie Goalie (one season):
1. Chico Resch 23 (1975-76)
2. Roland Melanson 22 (1981-82)
3. Kelly Hrudey 19 (1984-85)
4. Ilya Sorokin 12 (2020-21)
Chico Resch 12 (1974-75)
Most Shutouts by an Islander Rookie Goalie (one season):
1. Chico Resch 7 (1975-76)
2. Ilya Sorokin 3 (2020-21)
Chico Resch 3 (1974-75)
(Resch appeared in 25 games in 1974-75 and thus was considered a rookie the following year; Sorokin will be a rookie next season as well if he does not appear in 26 games)
Home Sweet Home
The Isles have earned points in 21 of their first 23 home games (19-2-2); it is their best home record through 23 games in the Post-Cup Era:
Most Points at Home Through 23 Games
• 42 1978-79 (19-0-4)
• 40 2020-21 (19-2-2)
• 38 1977-78 (17-2-4)
• 38 1980-81 (18-3-2)
Towards the Top of the Chart
The Isles now have 62 points in 46 games; it is their second-highest point total through 46 games in the Post-Cup era:
• 63 2014-15
• 62 2020-21
• 60 2019-20
Solid D
The Isles have allowed only 105 goals (including 1 shootout winner) in 45 games; it matches the fewest goals that they have allowed through 45 games in their history:
• 105 (2020-21)
• 106 (1977-78)
• 108 (1975-76)
• 114 (2014-15)
• 115 (1976-77)
Results vs. Each East Division Opponent
• Boston W-W-W-Wso-Wot-L-L Remaining games: 1 (0 home, 1 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-L-Wot-W Remaining games: 2 (1 home, 1 away)
• Philadelphia Lot-Lot-L-W-Wot-Wso-Wso-Wot Remaining games: 0
• Pittsburgh W-Lso-L-L-Lot-W-L-L Remaining games: 0
• Washington L-L-L-W-W Remaining games: 3 (2 home, 1 away)
]
Home and Road
The Isles are 29-13-4 overall; they are 19-2-2 at home and 10-11-2 on the road.
The Rangers are 23-17-6 overall; they are 11-7-3 at home and 12-10-3 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 874-631-60-155 in 1,720 games.
Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman 1,244
2. Joel Quenneville 955
3. Barry Trotz 874
Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman 2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,751
3. Barry Trotz 1,720
Sweet Lou
Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:
1. David Poile 1,440
2. Lou Lamoriello 1,323
3. Glen Sather 1,319
It All Starts at the Top
Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,197 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 20-1-2 when scoring first and are 9-12-2 when allowing the opening goal.
The Isles have won 87.0% of the games that they have scored first, which is the highest percentage in the NHL (just ahead of Edmonton and Vegas, both .857). The Isles are the only team with just one regulation loss when scoring first.
The Shots
Isles 11-9-8=28
Rangers 8-9-9=26
The Isles are 18-5-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 10-7-2 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 63-32-12 when outshot.
In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 25 saves and improves to 17-9-3 on the season and 9-6-2 in his career against the Rangers.
Igor Shesterkin made 22 saves but falls to 13-10-3 on the season and 0-3-1 in his career against the Isles.
Special Teams
The Isles were 1-3 on the power play (4:42); Rangers was 0-2 on the power play (4:00).
The Isles are 12-4-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 17-9-1 when they do not. The Isles are 6-9-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 23-4-2 when they do not.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 21-3-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 8-10-1 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 87-8-10 when scoring three or more.
One-Goal Games
The Isles are 14-4-4 in games decided by a single goal including 6-4 in regulation. They are 4-3 in games decided in overtime and are 4-1 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 4-1-2 in the front-half and 4-2-1 in the back-half. The final back-to-back of the season will be on May 3rd/4th, both of which will be played in Buffalo.
Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 21-4-3 (.804) 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: 19-8-3 (.683).
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 3-5-2 in the first game and 3-6-1 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), PIT (L/L), NYR (L/Wot), BOS (L/L))
In three-game series, the Isles are 2-1-0 in the first game, 3-0-0 in the second game, and 3-0-0 in the third:
BUF (W/W/W), NJ (W/W/W), PHI (L/W/Wot)
Tired vs. Rested
• The Isles are 5-2-1 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 23-9-3 when both teams are rested.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Adam Pelech (22:15); Rangers: Adam Fox (25:40)
Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 18:42 of ice-time.
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (9-4-0), Ryan Pulock (15-7-3), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Mathew Barzal (1-1-1), Adam Pelech (3-0-0).
Face-offs
Isles 28, Rangers 15 (65%)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 10 of 14 for the Isles; Mika Zibanejad won 6 of 9 for the Rangers.
The Isles are 18-7-2 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-4-1 when they are tied, and 11-3-1 when they win fewer.
Hit Count
Isles 13 (Casey Cizikas -4)
Rangers 22 (Kevin Rooney and Adam Fox -4)
Fights
There were no fights. Season total: 4 (Cizikas -1, Wahlstrom -1, Martin -1, Johnston-1)
Blocked Shots
Isles 25 (Andy Greene -7)
Rangers 16 (K'Andre Miller -4)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 53, Rangers 63
Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 44, Rangers 51
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Michael Dal Colle +6
Rangers: Ryan Lindgren +14
High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 16, Rangers 11
5-on-5: Isles 15, Rangers 9
Scratches
Sebastian Aho, Cory Schneider, (Anders Lee-LTIR), Ross Johnston, Noah Dobson, (Cal Clutterbuck- INJ), Oliver Wahlstrom
Games Lost: 51
COVID Games Lost -6
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 14 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.
Ironman Streaks: Brock Nelson 291, Mathew Barzal 278, Ryan Pulock 241. All three players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.
Iron Man
Brock Nelson has the longest active streak (and now has the 4th-longest in club history); Mathew Barzal is 6th on this list while Ryan Pulock is 9th:
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. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 291
5. Matt Moulson 10/3/2009 - 4/4/2013 284
6. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 278
7. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975 - 1/17/1979 262
8. John Tavares 10/16/2010 - 12/23/2013 246
9. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 241
10. J.P. Parise 1/7/1975 – 1/7/1978 240 (**)
(*) Start of NHL career.
(**) Entire career with Islanders
Pulock's streak is the 2nd-longest by an Islander defenseman, trailing only Denis Potvin's 262-game streak.
Challenges
Isles: 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 one goal and allowed four 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: 4 [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; Anders Bjork, 3/25/21 vs BOS (17:54) – tying goal/Isles won in OT]
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 909…
14. Frans Nielsen and Matt Martin 606 *** 16. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 17. Garry Howatt 596 *** 18. John Tonelli and Brock Nelson 594 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 580 …
27. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 28. Anders Lee 520 *** 29. Cal Clutterbuck 519 *** 30. Dave Lewis 514 *** 31. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 33. Nick Leddy 508
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 166 *** 16. Josh Bailey 162
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***
4. Clark Gillies 359 *** 5. John Tavares 349 *** 6. Josh Bailey 342 …
19. Pierre Turgeon and Nick Leddy 193
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…
9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 11. Josh Bailey 504…
20. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 21. Brock Nelson 321 *** 22. Anders Lee 320
Games Coached
1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 196
Coaching Wins
1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 112
On the Farm
Bridgeport is 5-13-1-0 on the season (3-6-0-0 vs. Hartford and 2-7-1-0 vs. Providence) following a 4-1 win over Providence on Tuesday; Samuel Bolduc scored twice while Jakub Skarek made 23 saves as the Sound Tigers won their second straight game.
Bridgeport returns to action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Hartford.
Season Series Stats
The Isles win lead the season series 4 games to 2 (and 8 points to 5).
The Isles are 4-2-0 while Rangers is 2-3-1.
The Isles have won two of the first three at both the Coliseum and the Garden. The teams will play a traditional home-and-home on April 29th at MSG and May 1st at the Coliseum to complete the season series.
UP NEXT
THURSDAY, APRIL 22nd – WASHINGTON AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm
[MSG+ [pre-game at 6:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 1050]
First place will be on the line on Tuesday as the Isles entertain the Caps in the first game of a three game series. Both teams have 62 points in 46 games and are one point ahead of the Penguins.
This will be the sixth game of the season series; the Caps won the first three games, all in DC but the Isles have won the last two games, both at the Coliseum.
Alexander Ovechkin enters the series with 730 goals, leaving him just one behind Marcel Dionne for 5th place on the all-time list.
The teams will meet again on Saturday at the Coliseum before completing the season series on Tuesday in Washington.
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
