By Eric Hornick
Game 30
Coyotes 4, Isles 3 (shootout)
Michal Hanzal scored the tying goal with 88 seconds to play in regulation and
the Coyotes converted on all three shootout attempts as Phoenix rallied for a
4-3 win over the Islanders before 8,433 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial
Coliseum. Hanzal's heroics helped spoiled the NHL debut of Nathan Lawson in the
Islander net; Lawson was looking to become the first Islander goaltender since
Roberto Luongo in 1999 to win in his National Hockey League Debut.
Vrbata Scores First
The Isles dominated stretches of the first period, outshot Phoenix 19-8, yet
found themselves on the short end of a 1-0 score. Radim Vrbata's 7th goal of
the lead, on a Coyote power play, gave Phoenix the lead at 6:57 of the opening
session.
The Islanders had two brief 5-on-3's and two lengthy 4-on-3's during the
session, but failed to score on the power plays. The 19 shots were a season
high for the opening period; the Isles had had 13 shots or fewer in every
previous first period this season.
Isles Grab the Lead in the Second
The Isles scored twice in a 5:29 span of the middle period to grab the lead.
Jesse Joensuu scored his second goal of the season off a great play by John
Tavares. James Wisniewksi also added an assist. The "Wiz" leads the Isles in
assists (15) and is now tied with Matt Moulson for the team point lead (17).
Joensuu then set up Michael Grabner to give the Isles the lead. Grabner's goal,
which was confirmed by video review, was his 7th of the season, which is 3rd on
the team; only Tavares (8) and Moulson (11) have more goals. Grabner moved into
a tie for 7th place among all NHL rookies in goals. It's the second multi-point
game of Joensuu's career.
Back and Forth Third
Wojtek Wolski tied the game off a great pass from Shane Doan at 4:03 of the
third, but Rob Schremp's power play goal 2:19 later regained the lead for the
Isles. Schremp now had six goals in 16 games this season. Schremp also has a
point in seven of the last nine games; the Isles were shutout in the other two
games. The Isles killed off a penalty to Jack Hillen called at 15:16 of the
third, but at 18:32, Michal Hanzal buried the rebound of Vrbata's shot to tie
the game at 3.
Shootout Time
Following a scoreless overtime, which included the Isles killing a penalty, the
Coyotes earned the extra point in the shootout. Phoenix shot first and Shane
Doan beat Lawson; Frans Nielsen converted for the 12th time in 22 career
attempts to even the shootout, but Vrbata, who hit both goalposts in overtime,
converted a backhander to put Phoenix ahead 2-1 in the shootout. Schremp's
attempt skimmed off the goal post and Kyle Turris buried his try to give the
Coyotes the victory. 4-3 (shootout) Final.
Home and Road
The Isles are now 6-18-6, 4-7-3 at home. The Coyotes are 15-9-7, 9-5-3 on the
road. With the overtime point, the Isles close within two points of New Jersey
and they have played two fewer games. Phoenix matches their season-high six
games over .500, and improve to 1-1-1 on their six game road trip.
Shootout Stats
This was the second shootout ever between the squads; the Isles won the shootout
in Glendale this past January. The Isles are 0-3 in shootouts this season (0-2
at home) while Phoenix is 2-3. It's the first time that the Isles have lost
three consecutive shootouts in the same season; they lost four consecutive
shootouts over two seasons in 2009.
In the Nets
Nathan Lawson made his NHL debut. He is the 39th goalie in Islander history and
the first since Rick DiPietro in 2001 to start his NHL debut. Lawson made 32
saves. Jason Labarbera finished with 41 saves and he improves to 3-3-1 on the
season.
Lots of Shots
It's the third time this season that the Isles have had at least 40 shots
(0-1-2). Over the last 3 ½ seasons, the Isles have had at least 40 shots
eighteen times, with 17 of those times occurring at home. Lots of shots have
not equated to lots of success; the Isles are 5-8-5 in those games.
John Tavares had seven of the Islander shots, matching a career high.
As Seen on MSG+
The Isles were outscored 2-1 in the third period. They have now gone 28
consecutive games without outscoring their opponents in the final period. This
is the longest such streak in NHL history; the previous high was 23 by St. Louis
in 2001 and Montreal in 2002.
Power Plays
The Isles were 1-8 on their power play; the eight attempts matched a season high
set on Opening Night. They have now scored a power play goal in three
consecutive home games. However, they are still 3-59 with the extra man in the
last 16 games. The Coyotes went 1-7 on the power play. The 15 combined
attempts also matched the season high, set on Opening Night.
In the Circle
The Isles had a strong first two periods in the circle, winning 28 of 47; they
won 37 of 73 face-offs overall (51%). Zenon Konopka won 7 of 11.
Missing Men
Mark Streit, Kyle Okposo, Doug Weight, Trent Hunter, Mike Mottau and Mark Eaton
remain out. Rick DiPietro missed the game with soreness in his knee; Bruno
Gervais was a healthy scratch. The Isles have now lost 171 man-games to injury.
Phoenix, on the other hand, has lost only 26 man-games.
Fight Night
Trevor Gillies fought Paul Bissonette in the first period; it was Trevor's 7th
fight and Bissonette's 5th. Bissonette has an interesting statistical oddity—he
has 5 major penalties and no minor penalties this season.
Scoring Three
The Isles scored three goals for the second straight game. It's the first time
in 20 games that the Isles have scored at least three goals in consecutive games
(3 games: October 23-29, 2010).
Season Series Stats
This was the only meeting of the season between the squads. The Coyotes win on
Long Island for the first time since October 29, 2002 (this was only their third
trip in that span); The Isles are 4-2-3 in nine home games against the Coyotes
since they relocated from Winnipeg in 1996.
Happy Anniversary
26 years ago today (December 18, 1984): John Tonelli recorded the third (and
final) hat trick of his Isles career, leading the Isles to a 7-4 win over
Winnipeg.
The Isles hadn't played on this date since 2003; they are 1-2-4 in their only
seven December 18th games since Tonelli turned his trick.
Up Next
Wednesday, December 22- Lightning @ Islanders 7:00pm
[MSG+ (Subway Islanders Game Night at 6:30), WRHU 88.7FM]
The Isles conclude their homestand when they face Tampa for the third time this
season. The Isles won in Tampa on a long-delayed video review in overtime in
October that raised their record to 4-1-2; they lost to Tampa 4-2 on November
17th in Jack Capuano's first game as interim head coach.
The Lightning are 18-10-4 on the season; they are 9-2-2 at home and 9-8-2 on the
road.
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
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