The Skinny: Flyers 7, Isles 4

"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick

Game 82
Philadelphia 7, Isles 4

Andrej Mezaros scored two goals and added two assists as the Philadelphia Flyers
spoiled the Islanders' season finale and clinched the Atlantic Division title
with a 7-4 win over the Isles before a sellout crowd of 19,909 at the Wells
Fargo Center. The Flyers sweep the season series from the Isles as they beat
the Isles for the 13th straight time in Philadelphia.

Crazy Start
The Flyers scored twice in the opening minute as Kimmo Timonen and Scott
Hartnell tallied at :16 and :47, respectively. It was the second fastest opening
goal against the Isles this season (Paul Gaustad scored at :15 for Buffalo at
the Coliseum on January 23rd.) Michael Grabner got the Islanders on the board
with his team-leading 34th; it was an unassisted tally. He is the first NHL
rookie to score at least 34 goals since 2005-06 when Alex Ovechkin (52) and
Sidney Crosby (39) did so. Travis Hamonic then tied the game with a power play
tally at 9:31 of the first. After Daniel Briere scored an unassisted goal, the
Isles got out of the first period even when John Tavares scored his 29th goal at
12:05 to tie the game and chase Flyer goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

PA Reaches 20!
PA Parenteau gave the Islanders the lead with a power play goal at 53 seconds of
the second period. It was PA's 20th goal of the season, giving the Isles five
twenty-goal scorers for the first time since 2006-07, and the final goal of the
season for the Isles. Mezaros and Hartnell scored later in the second period to
give the Flyers a 5-4 lead after two periods.

School is Out
Mezaros scored again midway through the third period to give the Flyers a 6-4
lead. The Isles pressured, tried to get John Tavares his 30th goal, but
couldn't beat Brian Boucher. Darren Powe hit the empty net at 19:59 to end the
season. 7-4 Final.

Lots of PIM's
The Isles drew three misconducts on the evening and finish the season with four
players having at least 100 penalty minutes: Konopka (307), Trevor Gillies
(165), Matt Martin (147), and Travis Hamonic (103). It is the first time since
2001-02 that the Isles have had four players with at least 100 penalty minutes.
The Islanders lead the NHL with 1,541 penalty minutes.

Top 5
The Islanders have five players finish with at least 20 goals: Grabner 34,
Moulson 31, Tavares 29, Comeau 24, and Parenteau 20. The quintet combined for
138 of the Islanders' 225 goals (61%) this season. At least one of the five
players scored a goal in 18 of the final 19 games.

200 Shot Club
The Islanders had three players (Tavares 243, Moulson 237 and Grabner 228) with
200 shots in a season for the first time since 2005-06 (Blake, Satan and
Yashin). Grabner is the first Islander rookie with at least 200 shots in a
season since David Volek had 229 in 1988-89. The trio combined for 12 of the
Isles' 36 shots on goal.

Grabner and the Islander Rookie Record Book

Most Goals, Islander Rookie
1. Mike Bossy 53 (1977-78)
2. Michael Grabner 34 (2010-11)
3. Bryan Trottier 32 (1975-76)

Most Shots on Goal, Islander Rookie
1. Mike Bossy 235 (1977-78)
2. David Volek 229 (1988-89)
3. Michael Grabner 228 (2010-11)

Rookies Who Have Led Isles in Goals
1. Billy Harris - 28 in 1972-73,
2. Mike Bossy - 53 in 1977-78,
3. Trent Hunter -25 in 2003-04 (tied with Mariusz Czerkawski)
4. Kyle Okposo-18 in 2008-09.
5. Michael Grabner -34 in 2010-11.

Second-Half Surge
Despite the loss, the Islanders went 15-12-6 after the All-Star Break and went
25-21-8 in their last 54 games. With the injuries mounting, the Isles were
1-6-1 in their final eight games.

Growing Up Together
The Islanders had five players record their 100th career point, all of them in
Islander uniforms, this season.
· John Tavares had a goal and two assists. He finishes his sophomore
season with 121 points (53-68-121). He is the youngest player in Islander
history to record 50 goals and the second youngest player (Bryan Trottier) to
record 100 career points. Only Trent Hunter (229 points) has more among current
Islanders.
· Blake Comeau also has 121 career points (56-65-121).
· Frans Nielsen has 120 points (37-83-120).
· Kyle Okposo's assist gives him 116 points (44-72-116).
· Veteran defender Radek Martinek has 103 career points (21-82-103)
With 229 points, Trent Hunter (injured) is the only player on the current roster
to have recorded more points in an Islander uniform.

Matt Moulson earned an assist on Parenteau's goal. He has 111 career points,
with 101 coming as an Islander.

Career Years
A number of Islanders had career years in key offensive categories: (Unless
otherwise noted, the career high was set last season)
· John Tavares: 29 goals, 38 assists, 67 points (24-30-54 last season),
4 GW goals (2)
· PA Parenteau: 20 goals, 33 assists, 53 points (3-5-8)
· Michael Grabner: 34 goals, 18 assists, 52 points (5-6-11), 6 SH Goals
(0)
· Blake Comeau: 24 goals, 22 assists, 46 points (17-18-35), 5 PP goals
(2 in 2008-09), 77 games (63)
· Frans Nielsen: 13 goals, 31 assists, 44 points (12-26-38), 7 SH goals
(1)
· Andrew Mac Donald: 4 goals, 23 assists, 27 points (1-6-7)
· Josh Bailey: 5 pp goals (3 -- twice)
· Jack Hillen: 4 goals, 18 assists, 22 points (3-12-15)
· Zenon Konopka: 82 games, 7 assists, 9 points (74 games, 3 twice , 7 in
2005-06); 307 penalty minutes (265)
· Matt Moulson: 31 goals, 22 assists, 53 points (30-18-48) 9 pp goals
(8)
· Milan Jurcina: 13 assists, 17 points (11 in 2008-09, 14 in 2008-09)

Home and Road
The Isles finish the season 30-39-13; they were 17-18-6 on Coliseum ice and
13-21-7 on the road. They were 26-29-10 under Jack Capuano, including 25-20-8
in the last 53. Their 73 points is 12 more than they managed in the 2008-09
season and six fewer than they earned last season. The Isles are now 21-12-5
in season finales and 19-15-4 in their final road game of the season. The
last-second empty net meant that the Isles allowed seven goals in a season
finale for the first time since 1986 (7-9 loss to New Jersey).
The Flyers finish 47-23-12 and 22-12-7 at home. With their win, the Flyers
clinch the Atlantic Division and the second overall seed in the playoffs. They
will play Buffalo in a best-of-7 opening round series.

Sharing the Wealth
The Isles went 25-21-8 in their last 54 games, and all six goalies that the
Isles have used this season had wins during that stretch (Montoya 9, DiPietro 5,
Roloson 4, Poulin 4, Koskinen 2, and Lawson 1).

In the Nets
Rick DiPietro made 32 saves; his record finishes at 8-14-4, with a 3.44 GAA and
a save percentage of 88.6%. Al Montoya finishes the season 9-5-5 with a 2.39
GAA and a .921 save percentage. Montoya is the fourth goaltender to lead the
Isles in victories in as many seasons (DiPietro in 2007-08, Joey MacDonald in
2008-09, Dwayne Roloson in 2009-10). It's the first time since 1973-74 that the
Islanders did not have a goalie win ten games. Montoya's goal against of 2.39 is
the lowest career mark in Islander history among goalies who have appeared in at
least ten games, just ahead of Kevin Poulin (2.44).
Brian Boucher stopped 25 of 26 in relief of Sergei Bobrovsky to earn the win.
Bobrovsky, who had beaten the Isles five times this season, stopped seven of ten
before being pulled 12:05 into the contest.

Power Plays
The Islanders were 2-6 on the power play while the Flyers were 1-5. The Isles
finished the season going 4-15 on the power play against three of the four top
teams in the East. The penalty kill also finished strong, with 29-of-31 killed
over the last six games. In the final ten games, the PK was 41-46 while they
have scored five shorthanded goals.

Lots of Shots
Travis Hamonic had six shots on goal in the opening period and finished with
eight. He is the first Islander defensemen to have at least eight shots on goal
since Marc-Andre Bergeron did so on January 3, 2008.

Lots of PIMs
Konopka finishes with 307 penalty minutes while Gilles had 165. It's the first
time since the 1996-97 season that the Isles have had at least two players with
at least 165 penalty minutes (Pilon 179, Bryan McCabe 165). Konopka had 20
penalty minutes and Gillies 10 tonight. With Matt Martin having 147 penalty
minutes, the Isles have three players with at least 147 for the first time since
1992-93.

PIM History
Konopka's 307 penalty minutes are a club record for forwards; only defensemen
Brian Curran (356 in 1986-87) had more.

In the Circle
The Islanders won 39 of 73 (53%) face-offs. John Tavares won 18 of 24 while
Zenon Konopka took 10 of 16.

Missing Men
Mark Streit, Mike Mottau, Trent Hunter, Kevin Poulin, Doug Weight, Andrew
MacDonald, Mark Eaton, Milan Jurcina, Frans Nielsen, Jack Hillen and Bruno
Gervais all missed the game with injuries. The Isles lost 586 games to injury
and 25 games to suspension this season.

Shane Sims
With seven defensemen out injured, Shane Sims became the third defensemen in as
many games to make his NHL debut on an Amateur Tryout. Sims, the Isles' 126th
pick overall, is the 5th 2006 draft pick to play for the team. Sims, the 15th
defenseman to be used by the Islanders this season, played 6:34. The club
record of 16 was set in 1995-96. Sims is the 36th skater to dress for the Isles
this season.

Skaters (does not include goalies) (Since the Lockout):
2005-06 37
2006-07 33
2007-08 37
2008-09 39
2009-10 33
2010-11 36

Youth Group
The six Islander defensemen entered the night with only 592 games of NHL
experience, with 452 of those games belonging to Radek Martinek. Including
injured players, the Flyers had eight players on their roster who had appeared
in more than 592 games.

Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 164 games since
joining the team last season. He is the first Islander since Richard Park to
play in all games of consecutive seasons (2006-07 and 2007-08). Zenon Konopka
was the only other Isle to have played every game this season; his 94-game
streak includes the final 12 games last season for Tampa Bay. Travis Hamonic has
now played 62 NHL games (all consecutive); he has the longest consecutive game
streak on defense for the Isles. Hamonic, who made his NHL debut on November
24th, played more games for the Isles this season than any defensemen other than
Jack Hillen and Radek Martinek (64 games each).

Season Series Stats
The Flyers continue their recent dominance over the Isles. The Islanders are
1-17-4 against Philadelphia since February, 2008. This season the Flyers won all
six meetings (including one in overtime). The Isles complete their 4th straight
winless season in Philadelphia (0-11-2) although they did match their most goals
scored in Philadelphia in a game since 1995.
The Isles success over the Penguins and lack of success against the Flyers went
a long way to determining the Atlantic Division champion. The Flyers earned 12
points against the Isles while the Penguins earned only six.

Happy Anniversary
8 years ago today (April 9, 2003): Garth Snow made 25 saves as the Islanders
shut out the Sens 3-0 in game 1 of their first round playoff series. Dave
Scatchard, Shawn Bates and Alexei Yashin had the goals for the Islanders, who
won by post-season shutout for the first time in the Post-Cup era. The Sens
would rebound to win the series in 5 games.
All-time, the Isles are 2-4-0 in regular season play and 5-3 in post-season
play on this date.

Looking Ahead
The Islanders finish 27th overall, so they will have the 4th seed, entering the
NHL Draft Lottery, which will be held on Tuesday. The Islanders have a 10.7%
chance of winning the lottery. If they do not win the lottery, the Isles will
pick either 4th (72.1%) or 5th (17.2%).

Season Numbers
The Isles scored 225 goals and allowed 258 goals (excludes shootouts). The
power play was 52-302 (17.2%) while the penalty kill went 52-310 (83.2%). It's
only the second time since 1995-96 that power play efficiency was over 17% while
the penalty killers had their best season since the lockout. The Isles led the
NHL with 15 shorthanded goals (most since 2001-02); they allowed seven
shorthanded goals. The Isles end the season with an all-time regular season
record of 1313-1308-421; they were one game over all-time .500 after 28 games
but managed to extend a streak that began January 18, 1978 of having an all-time
record above NHL .500.

Up Next
Next Season! The Islanders 40th anniversary season will begin in October.
Between now and then, look for my trivia questions as part of IslesTNT on
Facebook and Twitter!

And Finally…
82 games… 82 editions of The Skinny. A perfect season… at least in attendance!
Thanks to everyone with the Islanders for giving me the freedom to tell the
story by the numbers. Have a great summer and here's to extra Skinny's in
April, May and even June, 2012!

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.
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