"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 18
Tampa Bay 4, Isles 2
Steven Stamkos scored a power play goal at 19:59.7 of the first period to break a scoreless tie and Marty St. Louis scored a goal and added two assists as Tampa Bay spoiled Jack Capuano's coaching debut, defeating the Islanders 4-2, before 8,025 at Nassau Coliseum. The loss extends the Islanders winless streak to 11 games (0-10-1).
Nearly a Scoreless First
The first period of the Capuano era was scoreless when late in the session Josh Bailey took a slashing penalty. Stamkos, who has scored more goals (83) than anyone in the NHL since February, 2009 made the Isles pay with a power play tally just before the horn. It was the 3,600th goal in Lightning history. The Isles have not won a game this season when they allowed the first goal (0-10-2) or trailed after one period (0-9-1). Tampa outshot the Isles 19-11 in the session; it was the most shots allowed by the Isles in an opening period this season.
Even Second
Tampa took a 2-0 lead on a power play tally by Brett Clark, as the Lightning defender deflected in St. Louis' shot. It was the 700th career point for St. Louis. Stamkos also assisted on the goal, giving him 30 points (15 on the power play) – both totals lead the NHL. The Isles got on the board off a nice passing play between Matt Moulson and Zenon Konopka. Moulson converted the pass for his 7th goal of the season; Konopka earned his first point as an Islander.
A Tight Third
Tampa carried the 2-1 lead into the final two minutes, when St. Louis's topside blast at 18:31 appeared to settle matters. John Tavares had other ideas, scoring with Roloson on the bench to match Moulson for the club goal scoring lead. The Isles pressured for the tying goal, but Nate Thompson hit the empty net for his second goal in four career games against the Isles. 4-2 Final. Zenon Konopka was assessed a misconduct following the empty-netter; he now has 94 penalty minutes on the season – 30 more than any other player in the NHL.
Home and Road
The Lightning improve to 9-7-2, 5-5-1 on the road as they break a three-game losing streak and win for just the second time in their last eight games (2-5-1). The Isles are 4-11-3, 2-3-1 at the Coliseum.
Still Streaking
The Isles are now winless in 11 straight for the first time since the final 11 games that Mike Milbury coached in the 1998-99. Milbury replaced himself with Bill Stewart on January 21, 1999 and Stewart defeated the Penguins that night to break the streak.
Talented Twosome
Stamkos and St. Louis each extended their point scoring streaks to six games. Stamkos has ten points (6-4-10) and St. Louis has nine (3-6-9) in that stretch. They have combined for 52 points on the season, most for any pair of teammates in the NHL this year.
Hard Hitter
Matt Martin was credited with 7 hits, raising his team-leading total to 57. Jon Sim, who had five goals in two games for Capuano in Bridgeport earlier this month, had four shots on goal.
Lots of Ice
Radek Martinek played a season-high 25:34, while Matt Moulson led the forwards with a season-high 22:09. It marked Martinek's most ice-time since October 21, 2009 (26:06) and Moulson's highest total since last season's finale.
Unbalanced Schedule
This is the latest in Islander history that they played their 6th home game by both number of games and the calendar. In 15 seasons, including last year, they played at least six home games in October. The previous latest date was November 7th, which they did both in 1992 and 2000; in 1992-93 they played their sixth home game in their 15th overall game.
In the Nets
Dwayne Roloson, playing for the sixth straight game, finished with 36 saves. His record falls to 2-8-1. The Isles allowed a season-high 40 shots.
Dan Ellis made 34 saves for the Lightning to improve to 5-4-2.
Power Plays
The Isles had 13 shots, but failed to connect on four power plays; The Lightning were 2-4. The Isles' power play is 0-16 in the last four games, while the penalty killers allowed two goals for only the third time this season.
Two Not Enough
The Isles have scored only ten goals in the last nine games. It's the fewest goals that the Isles have scored in a nine-game stretch since the inaugural 1972-73 season. Tavares' goal allowed the Isles to avoid setting a club record; it was the first time in six games that they scored twice.
In the Circle
There were 59 draws, and the Isles won 28 of them (67%). Josh Bailey (6-3) and Zenon Kenopka (9-5) were the Isles' best face-off men.
Home Stretch
This was the first game in a 14 game stretch in which the Islanders will play ten times at home and only four times on the road. The Isles have only three road games out of the metro-area between now and New Year's Eve, and do not play consecutive road games in that stretch.
Missing Men
Mark Streit, Kyle Okposo and Andrew MacDonald remain out for extended periods while Milan Jurcina is out with a hamstring injury. With Jack Hillen diagnosed with a concussion, Dylan Reese made his season debut. Rob Schremp and Trevor Gillies were the healthy scratches.
Missing Mac
The Isles are 0-10-1 in the eleven games Andrew MacDonald has missed.
3 or Less
The Isles have been held to three goals or fewer in 13 straight games (2-10-1) 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
The season series is even at a game each, with Tampa Bay leading in points, 3-2. The Lightning return to the Coliseum on December 22.
Happy Anniversary
26 years ago today (November 17, 1984): The Islanders score at least ten goals for the 9th time in their history, defeating the Rangers 10-4 at the Coliseum. Mike Bossy had a hat trick and Bryan Trottier added four assists. This is the most recent game that the Isles scored ten goals; they have scored nine times on eight occasions since.
The Isles also had a big offensive night on this day in 1993, defeating Ottawa 8-1 in their second-ever visit to the Canadian capital.
Up Next
Saturday, November 20th- Florida @ Islanders 7:00pm
[MSG+2 (Subway Islanders Game Night at 6:30), WRHU 88.7FM]
The Isles will look to break their 11-game winless streak (0-10-1) against the team that started it, when they host the Panthers on Saturday night. John Tavares recorded his first NHL hat trick in the first meeting between the clubs, but the Panthers defeated the Islanders 4-3. Florida has won five of the last six meetings between the squads, with each team owning a shootout victory.
The Isles will look to break their 11-game winless streak (0-10-1) against the team that started it, when they host the Panthers on Saturday night. John Tavares recorded his first NHL hat trick in the first meeting between the clubs, but the Panthers defeated the Islanders 4-3. Florida has won five of the last six meetings between the squads, with each team owning a shootout victory.
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources.
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