"The Skinny"
Eastern Conference Second Round Game 1
Isles 5, Tampa Bay 3
Shane Prince scored a pair of goals 2:29 apart to break a 1-1 tie as the Islanders defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 in the first game of their Eastern Conference Second Round Playoff Series before a sellout crowd of 19,092 at Amalie Arena.
Per Elias Sports Bureau, Prince is the first Islander since Duane Sutter (April 15 1983 in game 2 of the Division Finals vs the Rangers) to score two goals in the first period of a playoff game.
The Isles lead the series, 1 game to 0. Game 2 will be on Saturday at 3pm in Tampa Bay, and will be nationally televised by NBC.
The Scoring:
1ST PERIOD
03:05 TBL Ondrej Palat (2) ASST: Jonathan Drouin (5), Vladislav Namestnikov (1) 1 - 0 TBL
05:44 NYI Travis Hamonic (1) ASST: Alan Quine (3), John Tavares (5) 1 - 1 Tie
17:28 NYI Shane Prince (2) ASST: Ryan Strome (2), Brock Nelson (3) 2 - 1 NYI
19:57 NYI Shane Prince (3) ASST: Ryan Strome (3), Brock Nelson (4) 3 - 1 NYI
2ND PERIOD
08:59 NYI PPG - John Tavares (6) ASST: Kyle Okposo (6), Frans Nielsen (2) 4 - 1 NYI
3RD PERIOD
07:41 TBL Nikita Kucherov (6) ASST: Matthew Carle (2), Victor Hedman (2) 4 - 2 NYI
17:28 TBL Valtteri Filppula (1) ASST: Alex Killorn (3), Jason Garrison (3) 4 - 3 NYI
19:05 NYI EN - Cal Clutterbuck (1) ASST: Casey Cizikas (1), Calvin de Haan (2) 5 - 3 NYI
The Series (Isles lead 1-0)
Game 1: Isles 4, Tampa Bay 3
Game 2: Saturday at Tampa Bay 3pm (NBC)
Game 3: Tuesday at Islanders 7pm (NBCSN)
Game 4: May 6 at Islanders 7pm (NBSCN)
*Game 5: May 8 at Tampa Bay (TBD)
*Game 6: May 10 at Islanders (TBD)
*Game 7: May 12 at Tampa Bay (TBD)
The Skinny
The Isles scored five goals in game 1 for the second straight playoff series. Prior to this year, the Isles had not scored five goals in a game 1 since a 5-3 win vs. Boston in the 1983 Wales Conference Finals in Boston on April 26, 1983…The Isles are 11-19 all-time in game 1's played on the road and 28-23 in game 1's overall…The Isles have won three consecutive game 1's for the first time since winning 7 straight game 1's between the 1982 conference semi-finals and 1984 division semi-finals…Alan Quine now has a three-game point streak, with his assist tonight being his first point not coming in a second overtime… John Tavares had 11 points on 20 Islander goals in the playoffs; it's the most points for any Islander in the playoffs since 1993 when 5 players had at least 12 points…Tavares was also credited with the game-winning goal for the 2nd straight game. He is the first Islander since Ray Ferraro (1993 games 3-4 vs. Washington) to score consecutive game winning goals in the playoffs; in fact no Islander since Ferraro had recorded two game winning goals in a playoff year…Jack Capuano evened his all-time playoff record at 10-10; he passed Terry Simpson in wins (9) and tied him in games (20)…Travis Hamonic recorded his first career playoff goal… Tampa Bay did not allow a first period goal to Detroit (5 games) and won all 4 games in which they scored first. Going back to last year's post-season, the Lightning had been 15-1 when scoring the first goal… Andrei Vasilevsky is the first goalie since Cam Talbot on April 29, 2014 vs. Philadelphia to allow 0 goals but see an empty-net goal scored when he was pulled; Vasilevsky played longer than any goalie in that circumstance since Jamie McLennan played 37:12 of scoreless hockey in relief for St. Louis on April 25, 1999, only to have Phoenix score an empty net goal…Tavares leads all playoff performers with 11 points and is tied with Nikita Kucherov with six goals…Shane Prince now has 3 regular season goals as an Islander and three playoff goals.
The Injuries
Erik Condra left the game following a collision in the 1st period. He did not return.
Islander coach Jack Capuano suffered a cut on a deflected puck in the third period, but he did return late in the game.
It's Finally Over (Part 4)
Alan Quine's OT goal Friday ended an Islander 11-game losing streak in Game 5's.
On Sunday, the Isles ended their streak of 23-years without a playoff series win and also won back-to-back games for the first time since Games 3 and 4 vs. Toronto in 2002.
Tonight, the Isles stretched their playoff winning streak to three games. It's the first time since 1993 (Games 2, 3, and 4 vs. Washington) that the Isles have won three consecutive playoff games.
Lead/Tie/Trail
The Isles led for 42:32, the Lightning led for 2:39 and the game was tied for 14:49. The Isles led this game for nearly as much time as they led the series vs. Florida (45:55). The Isles led by at least two goals for 37:31 after holding a two goal lead for only 55 seconds against Florida.
When John Tavares gave the Isles a 4-1 lead, it marked the first time in this year's playoffs that the Isles were involved in a game with a 3-goal margin in either direction.
Point Per Game Man
John Tavares now has 22 points in 20 career playoff games; he is the only Islander other than Mike Bossy (1.24 points per game) to play more than two playoff games for the Isles and average over one point per game. (Bryan Trottier had 170 points in 175 games, falling just shy of 1.00.)
With 10 goals in those 20 games, only Bossy (.66) and Ray Ferraro (.64) have averaged more goals per playoff game as an Islander than Tavares (.50) [Minimum 5 goals]
Per Elias, Tavares is the first player in Islander playoff history to record at least 20 points in his first 20 games. The only other active player in the NHL to record 20 in his first 20 is Washington's Alex Ovechkin.
Moving On Up
Tavares is the 24th player in Isles history to record at least 22 playoff points (having tied and then passed Ray Ferraro tonight); his 11 goals tie him with Ken Morrow for 20th place.
Playoffs All-time
The Isles improve to 144-116 in 260 all-time playoff games. They are 82-42 at home (including 2-1 at Barclays) and 62-74 on the road. The Isles were 77-32 in home playoff games from 1975 to 2002, but won only three of their last 12 home games at Nassau Coliseum.
Home Sweet Home
The Isles went 25-11-5 on home-ice (55 points). It's the first time since 1983-84 and 1984-85 that the Isles have earned at least 52 points at home in consecutive seasons.
Road Warriors
The Isles finished their road schedule with a record of 20-16-5. It's the 10th time in franchise history that the Isles have won 20 road games in a season.
The Shots
Isles 12-5-5=22
Tampa Bay 8-11-17=35
Tampa Bay outshot the Isles 28-10 in the final 40 minutes but was unable to get the game even.
Shots by Game
· Game 1: Isles 22, Tampa Bay 35
· Total: Isles 22, Tampa Bay 35
By Division (Regular Season)
The Isles are 18-8-4 in Division games and are 27-19-6 in games against other divisions. They are 8-12-4 vs. the Atlantic Division, 9-4-1 vs. the Central Division, and 10-3-1 vs. the Pacific Division.
How The West Was Won
The Isles went 19-7-2 against the Western Conference, including 12-0-2 at home. The Isles finished with the best record of any Eastern team vs. the West.
In the Nets
Thomas Greiss made 32 saves to improve to 5-2 in the playoffs.
Ben Bishop made 9 saves before being replaced by Andrei Vasilevsky. Bishop is now 4-2 in the playoffs. Vasilevsky stopped all 8 shots he faced
Power Plays
In the game, the Islanders were 1-4 on the power play while Tampa Bay was 0-2.
For the series, the Isles are 1-4 on the power play, while Tampa Bay is 0-2.
For the playoffs, the Isles are 6-25 on the power play and have killed 15 of 17 opponents' power plays.
Power Plays by Game
· Game 1: Isles 1-4, Tampa Bay 0-2
· Series: Isles 1-4, Tampa Bay 0-2
The Isles are 4-1 in the playoffs when they score at least one power play goal and 1-1 when they do not. The Isles are 1-1 when they allow at least one power play goal in the playoff and are 4-1 when they do not.
In the regular season, the Isles were 27-5-4 when they score at least one power play goal and 18-22-6 when they do not. The Isles are 13-13-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 32-14-7 when they do not.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 3-0 in the playoffs when scoring at least 3 goals and are 2-2 when they do not.
In the regular season, the Isles were 37-4-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 8-23-8 when they did not.
One Goal Games
The Isles are 4-1 in playoff games decided by a single goal. The Isles are 1-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.
First Goal
The Isles are 1-0 in playoff games when they score first and are 4-2 when they allow the opening goal.
The Isles were 29-7-5 in the regular season when they scored first and were 16-20-5 when they allowed the opening goal.
Coach Cappy
Jack Capuano is now 10-10 in playoff games behind the Islander bench. Among the nine New York area teams, only the Yankees' Joe Girardi has led his team longer than Capuano.
Capuano is only the 2nd coach to lead three Islander teams to the playoffs, joining Al Arbour.
Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:
· Al Arbour 123
· Jack Capuano 10
· Terry Simpson 9
· Peter Laviolette 4
· Ted Nolan 1
· Steve Stirling 1
Most playoff games coached (Islanders):
· Al Arbour 209
· Jack Capuano 20
· Terry Simpson 20
· Peter Laviolette 12
· Steve Stirling 5
· Ted Nolan 5
Most playoff series wins:
· Al Arbour 29
· Jack Capuano 1
· Terry Simpson 1
Most overtime wins/overtime record:
· Al Arbour 26 (26-9)
· Jack Capuano 4 (4-3)
· Terry Simpson 3 (3-0)
· Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)
· Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Nick Leddy (24:44); Tampa Bay: Viktor Hedman (26:32)
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (4-1), Travis Hamonic (1-1)
John Tavares led the forwards with 20:36 of ice time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: Frans Nielsen (1-0), John Tavares (4-1), Tie (0-1)
Face-offs
Isles 32, Tampa Bay 21 (60%)
Casey Cizikas won 11 of 17 for the Isles; Vladislav Namestnikov won 6 of 9 for Tampa Bay.
The Isles won the majority of draws in each period, including 14 of 20 in the third period.
The Isles won 25 of 43 draws at even strength, 5 of 8 on the power play and 2 of 2 on the penalty kill.
Face-offs Game by Game:
· Game 1: Isles 32, Tampa Bay 21
· Series: Isles 32, Tampa Bay 21
Heavy Hitters
Isles 29, Tampa Bay 33. Alan Quine and Casey Cizikas led the Isles with 5 hits each.
Hits Game by Game:
· Game 1: Isles 29, Tampa Bay 33
· Series: Isles 29, Tampa Bay 33
Most Hits in a Season (since 2005-06):
1 Matt Martin 2014-2015 NYI 382
2 Matt Martin 2011-2012 NYI 374
3 Matt Martin 2015-2016 NYI 365
4 Matt Martin 2013-2014 NYI 359
5 Cal Clutterbuck 2008-2009 MIN 356
6 Cal Clutterbuck 2014-2015 NYI 343
7 Cal Clutterbuck 2010-2011 MIN 336
8 Cal Clutterbuck 2009-2010 MIN 318
Fights
There were no fights in the game and there have been no fights in the series. Playoff total – 0.
Regular season total – 23 (Martin-11, Lee-3, Bernier, Boychuk, Cizikas, Hamonic, Leddy, Mayfield, Okposo, Pulock, Strait).
Blocked Shots
The Isles were credited with 15 blocked shots; Shane Prince, Kyle Okposo, Calvin deHaan and Frans Nielsen each had 2.
Most Blocked Shots by an Islander (since 2005-2006)
1 Brendan Witt 2006-2007 207
2 Sean Hill 2006-2007 202
3 Calvin de Haan 2015-2016 198
3 Andrew Mac Donald 2013-2014 198
5 Andrew Mac Donald 2011-2012 185
For the Corsi Crowd
All situations: Isles 44, Tampa Bay 65 (Including 32-10 in Tampa Bay's favor in the third period and 39-18 Tampa Bay after Tavares gave the Isles a 3-goal lead)
5-on-5: Isles 31, Tampa Bay 54
The Corsi stat measures shots attempted, both for and against (including blocks).
Cal Clutterbuck led the Isles with an EVEN 5-on-5 Corsi rating and a 50% Corsi For percentage. Ondrej Palat led Tampa Bay with a +21 5-on-5 Corsi rating.
Corsi (All Situations) Game by Game:
· Game 1: Isles 44, Tampa Bay 65
· Series: Isles 44, Tampa Bay 65
Corsi (5-on-5) Game by Game:
· Game 1: Isles 31, Tampa Bay 54
· Series: Isles 31, Tampa Bay 54
Missing Men
Ryan Pulock
Josh Bailey
Anders Lee
Brian Strait
James Wright
Adam Pelech
Mikhail Grabovski
Jaroslav Halak
On The Farm
The Sound Tigers dropped a fair of home games to open their AHL first round series with Toronto. The Sound Tigers need to win three straight games in Toronto to avoid elimination.
North Division Semifinals – Series "C" (best-of-5)
N1-Toronto Marlies vs. A5-Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Game 1 – Sat., Apr. 23 – Toronto 4 at Bridgeport 1
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 24 – Toronto 3 at Bridgeport 0
Game 3 – Thu., Apr. 28 – Bridgeport at Toronto, 7:30
*Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 29 – Bridgeport at Toronto, 7:30
*Game 5 – Sun., May 1 – Bridgeport at Toronto, 3:00
N1-Toronto Marlies vs. A5-Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Game 1 – Sat., Apr. 23 – Toronto 4 at Bridgeport 1
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 24 – Toronto 3 at Bridgeport 0
Game 3 – Thu., Apr. 28 – Bridgeport at Toronto, 7:30
*Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 29 – Bridgeport at Toronto, 7:30
*Game 5 – Sun., May 1 – Bridgeport at Toronto, 3:00
The winner of this series will face the winner of Utica- Albany Series in the North Division Finals. Albany leads that series 2 games to 1.
Up Next
ISLANDERS VS LIGHTNING
GAME 2: SATURDAY, APRIL 30th – ISLANDERS AT TAMPA BAY 3:00PM
[NBC, WFAN 660, 88.7 WRHU-FM]
GAME 3: TUESDAY, MAY 3rd – TAMPA BAY AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[NBCSN, WCBC 880, 88.7 WRHU-FM]
GAME 4: FRIDAY, MAY 6th – TAMPA BAY AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[NBCSN, WCBS 880, 88.7 WRHU-FM]
GAME 5: IF NECESSARY: SUNDAY, MAY 8th – AT TAMPA BAY Time TBD
GAME 6: IF NECESSARY: TUESDAY, MAY 10th – AT ISLANDERS Time TBD
GAME 7: IF NECESSARY: THURSDAY, MAY 12th– AT TAMPA BAY Time TBD
A 1-hour Islander playoff post-game will follow each game on MSG Networks.
The Isles will look to take a 2-0 lead in the series and record their fourth straight playoff win for the first time since 1984 as they again play the Lightning in Tampa.
The Isles have not led a series 2-0 since taking the first two games against Edmonton on the way to sweeping the 1983 Final.
This is the Isles' 23rd series since that 1983 Final and the Isles have split the first two games 14 times and trailed 8 times.
The Isles have split the first two games of their last six series, eventually winning only one series – the last one!
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 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
