The Skinny: San Jose 2, Isles 1 (shootout)

"The Skinny"
 
By Eric Hornick
 
Game 16
San Jose 2, Islanders 1 (shootout)
 
Dan Boyle scored San Jose's only goal in regulation and then cemented the win
with a shootout tally as the Sharks handed the Islanders their ninth straight
loss (0-8-1) before 17,562 at HP Pavilion in San Jose.  The Sharks outshot the
Islanders, 38-25.  It's the most shots allowed by the Islanders in any game this
season.
Scoreless First
After facing just one shot in the first period  on Wednesday night, the Sharks
peppered Dwayne Roloson with ten shots in the first 9 minutes but Roloson,
making his fourth straight start, held the Sharks off the board.  Antero
Niittymaki had some strong moments as well as San Jose outshot the Isles 12-8.
 Finally, a Lead
The Isles broke a scoreless streak of 117:20 and grabbed the lead at 4:51 of the
second period on a PA Parenteau goal.  It was Parenteau's 4th goal of the season
(first at even-strength) and gave the Islanders their first lead during
regulation time since 18:05 of the first period in Tampa on October 21.  It
ended a streak of 546:46 of regulation play without an Islander lead.  The Isles
had not led at any point in the eight previous losses; their longest streak
since not leading at any point in 12 straight losses during the 1972-73 season.
Boyle Evens It
The Isles' lead lasted 9:35, before Dan Boyle tied it on a 5-on-3.  It was San
Jose's third 5-on-3 goal of the season and the first allowed by the Islanders.
The Isles killed the second penalty and got out of the middle period even,
despite being outshot 30-15.
Rolie Floored
With 3:50 to play, Roloson was nailed in the mask by a Dan Boyle blueline
blast.  After gathering himself in the TV timeout, Roloson remained in the
game.  Neither team scored in the third period, as the Isles, despite being
outshot 38-22, had earned their first point in nine games.
Shootout
Following a scoreless overtime, the Sharks defeated the Islanders 2-0 in a
shootout.  Logan Couture and Dan Boyle scored for San Jose, surrounding a failed
Joe Pavelski attempt; PA Parenteau and Frans Nielsen were stopped for the
Islanders. 

2-1 Final.
Home and Road
San Jose improves to 7-5-2, 4-2-2 at home.  The Isles are 4-9-3, 2-7-2 on the
road. 

Unbalanced Schedule
This is the earliest in Islander history that they played their eleventh road
game by both number of games and the calendar.  The previous earliest date was
actually last season, when they played road game 11 on November 16th; four times
they opened with 11 out of 18 on the road.
In the Nets
Dwayne Roloson, playing for the fourth straight game, finished with 37 saves. 
His record is now 2-6-1 despite his goals against average falling to 2.10 and
his save percentage improving to .924.  It's the sixth time this season he has
allowed two goals or less, but his record in those six games is only 2-3-1. 
  Roloson is now in the top 10 in both goals against average (8th) and save
percentage (10th).
Niitymaki made 24 saves for the Sharks, plus two more in the shootout.  He is
now 5-8-1 in his career against the Islanders.
 Power Plays
For a rare occasion this season, the power plays were one-sided in favor of the
opposition. The Isles failed on their only power play while the Sharks went 1-5,
with the goal coming on a 5-on-3.
The Big Boys
With Joe Thornton, Patrick Marelau and Dan Heatley, the Sharks can put out a
line of three players who were drafted either first or second overall.  All
three played over 20 minutes, and totaled six shots on goal.
Can't Win if You Can't Score
The Isles have scored only seven goals in the last seven games.  It's the fewest
goals that the Isles have scored in a seven-game stretch since tallying seven in
six games between November 20 and December 4, 2003.  Fans can hope history
repeats itself; the Isles followed that stretch by going 10-2-1 in the next 13
games.
In the Circle
There were 72 draws, and each team won 36 of them (50%).  Zenon Konopka won 19
of 30 (63%) to lead the Islanders. 

One to Go
This was the 14th game in a 15 game stretch that finds the Islanders playing 12
on the road and only three at home.  After going 3-1-1 in the first five, they
are 0-8-1 in the last 9.  Saturday's game in Los Angeles will complete this
stretch.  The schedule will then finally change, with the Islanders playing ten
of the next 14 at home.
Nine Not FIne
The Isles were 4-1-2 in the first seven games of the season, but are 0-8-1 in
the last nine.  It's the first time that they've gone nine without a win (single
season) since a ten-game skein 12/4 – 12/23/2008.
Missing Men
Mark Streit, Kyle Okposo and Andrew MacDonald remain out for extended periods
while Milan Jurcina is out with a hamstring injury.  Rob Schremp and Trevor
Gillies remain the healthy scratches.

3 or Less
The Isles have been held to three goals or fewer in 11 straight games (2-8-1)
since tallying five against Colorado on October 16.  It's the longest that the
team has gone without scoring four goals since a 14-game stretch last December
5th-31st.
Season Series Stats          
This was the only meeting of the teams this season  The Isles have lost their
last four in San Jose (0-3-1) and own only two wins (one on a Garth Snow
shutout) in the last 12 meetings overall between the teams (2-9-1). 

Happy Anniversary
27 years ago today (November 11, 1983): Bryan Trottier recorded a hat trick and
Billy Smith stopped 38 shots, as the Isles defeated Pittsburgh 6-5.  
The Isles have played 10 times on Veterans Day since then, going 0-7-3,
including shootout losses each of the past two seasons.
Up Next
Saturday, November 13th- Islanders @ Los Angeles 10:30pm
[MSG+ (Catch Mark Streit on Hockey Night Live at 9:30), WRHU 88.7FM]
The Islanders conclude the road trip with a game at Staples Center against the
Kings.  The Isles are winless in their last six games against Los Angeles (4
losses, a shootout loss and a tie).  Jonathan Quick has beaten them in the last
three (once in a shootout), allowing just 4 goals.  Islander general manager
Garth Snow is the only Islander goalie to defeat the Kings in the 21st century,
winning consecutive games in 2002 and 2003.
The Kings are off to a tremendous start, going 7-0-0 at home and 11-3-0
overall.  Both records match the franchise's best starts.  Los Angeles has won 7
of their last 8, including a fight-filled win over Dallas on Thursday night.
This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season.  The rematch
will be on Long Island on February 19th.
 
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since
1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various
sources.
 
 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home
telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on
Twitter @ehornick