"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 18
Penguins 5, Isles 0
Sidney Crosby made up for lost time. After missing 320 days, Crosby scored two goals and added two assists as the Penguins blanked the Isles 5-0 before a loud, sellout crowd of 18,571 at the Consol Energy Center. Crosby now has 20 goals and 46 assists in 34 games vs. the Isles.
The Scoring:
1st Period
05:24PIT Sidney Crosby (1) - ASST: P. Dupuis (11) and D. Engelland (4)
16:29PIT Brooks Orpik (2) - ASST: S. Crosby (1) and P. Dupuis (12)
2nd Period
03:17PIT PPG - Evgeni Malkin (6) - ASST: K. Letang (15) and S. Crosby (2)
05:53PIT Steve Sullivan (2) - ASST: E. Malkin (10) and J. Neal (9)
3rd Period
02:06PIT Sidney Crosby (2) - ASST: P. Dupuis (13) and Z. Michalek (3)
5-0 Final.
The Skinny:
Crosby recorded his 6th 4-point game against the Isles as Marc-Andre Fleury blanked the Isles for the second time this season. The Isles did stop James Neal, who had scored a goal in every prior Penguin home game.
Home and Road
The Islanders are 5-10-3 overall and 0-5-2 on the road. The Isles are the only NHL team without a road win this season.
The Penguins are 12-6-3 overall and 7-1-1 at home.
In the Nets
Anders Nilsson made 31 saves in his first NHL start. He is the 43rd player to start a game in goal for the Islanders.
Fleury made 29 saves for his second shutout of the season (both against the Isles) as he improves to 11-3-1 and lowers his goals-against average to 1.90.
Power Plays
The Islanders were 0-5 on the power play while the Penguins were 1-4. The Isles are 2-26 in the last nine games on the power play and 22-30 in the same stretch on the penalty kill. The Islanders served minor penalties for all but 36 seconds late in the 1st period and early in the 2nd that ended with a Malkin PP goal.
They Said It
Anders Nilsson: "They got Crosby back and you can see how good he is, how much he helps Pittsburgh. I've seen him before (on TV), but you get to see how good he is in real life."
They Tweeted It
@BComptonNHL: #Isles have scored 35 goals in 18 games this season.
The Crooked Numbers
Crosby's line, with Pacal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz were all +3; Dupuis and Kunitz are now +6 vs the Isles this season (on 9 Pittsburgh even strength goals. Travis Hamonic, Andrew MacDonald and Brian Rolston were all -3.
The Hit Leader
Matt Martin added 9 hits to extend his league lead over Minnesota's Cal Clutterbuck. Martin has 86 hits while Clutterbuck has 75. The Isles have played one fewer game than the Wild.
Leading Ice Men
Mark Streit led all players with 26:24. Brooks Orpik led the Penguins with 23:46.
Third Periods
The Isles have been outscored 14-1 in the third period over the last seven games (including three empty net goals against). The Isles have been outscored 25-8 overall in the third period (18-6 if you exclude empty nets). In the first two periods, the Isles have been outscored 33-27.
91 to Go
The Isles have scored 9,909 goals in their history (excluding 39 shootout winners), leaving the club 91 shy of 10,000.
.500 for First Time in a Long Time
The loss drops the Islanders' all-time record to 1318-1318-424 in 3,060 games. The Isles' all-time record has been .500 or better since they were 178-178-83 on January 16, 1978.
Still Searching
Blake Comeau and Mike Mottau are the only Islander regulars (besides Nino, who has played only three games) who have yet to record a point.
Shutout Notes
The Isles have been shut-out five times in the first 18-games for the first time in their history. It's the third time they have been blanked five times in a span of 18 games or less (16 in 2003-04, 18 in 1999-00)
The consecutive 6-0 and 5-0 losses marked the first time the Isles had been shutout in consecutive games by at least 5 goals since February 7-10, 1973 when the Rangers beat them 6-0, 6-0.
The Isles have allowed 12 straight goals, one shy of the club record set in 1973 (final goal by Toronto preceding the two shutouts by the Rangers.
The Penguins are the 2nd team to blank the Isles twice in consecutive seasons. The Devils did it in 2002-03 and 2003-04, and like the Penguins, had all four shutouts in the same calendar year.
The Isles have now gone 141:45 without a goal. The club record is 186:31, set in 2006-07.
35 in 18
The Isles have scored 35 goals in the first 18 games, which is their fewest goals thru 18 games in club history. The Isles have scored 20 goals in their five wins (4.00 per game) and 15 goals in their other 13 games (0-10-3; 1.15 per game).
Fewest Goals, First 18 Games
· 35 – 2011-12
· 38 – 1999-2000
· 39 – 2010-11
· 39 – 2000-2001
In the Circle
The Islanders won 34 of 68 (50%) face-offs. John Tavares won 15 of 23 (and also led the team with six shots on goal.
Missing Men
Mike Mottau, Blake Comeau and Nino Niederreiter were scratched. Evgeni Nabokov, Al Montoya and Mark Katic are on injured reserve. The Isles have lost 65 man-games to injury so far this season.
U-U-U
David Ullstrom, who was leading the Sound Tigers in goals at the time of his recall, made his NHL debut. Ullstrom had four hits and two shots on goal in 13:30. Ullstrom, the first Islander with a surname beginning with "U", is one of three "U"s in the NHL, joining Scott Upshall and RJ Umberger.
Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 182 games since joining the team. Travis Hamonic has now played 80 NHL games (all consecutive); he has the longest consecutive game streak on defense for the Isles.
Season Series Stats
The Penguins lead the season series three games to none (six points to one), and have outscored the Isles 11-2. The teams will next meet December 10th at the Coliseum. The Isles are 0-11-2 in their last 13 trips to Pittsburgh.
Happy Anniversary
18 years ago tonight: November 21, 1993. Pierre Turgeon scored the overtime goal and Ron Hextall made 25 saves as the Islanders defeated Philadelphia 4-3
Overall, the Isles are 9-7-3 on this date despite going 0-4-1 since Garth Snow beat Tampa Bay 7-2 on this date in 2002.
On The Farm
Bridgeport is 9-7-2-0 and is just one point out of first place in the Northeast Division. The Sound Tigers are off until Friday, when the host the Connecticut Whale.
Up Next
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23RD PHILADELPHIA AT ISLandERS7:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders Game Night at 6:30pm), WRHU (88.7FM)]
[MSG+ (Islanders Game Night at 6:30pm), WRHU (88.7FM)]
The Isles will debut their third jerseys on Wednesday as they return home for a holiday-eve battle with the Flyers. The Flyers have dominated the series for the past four season – the Isles are 2-20-4, with both wins at the Coliseum, over that span.
Philadelphia won all six meetings last season, with the Isles earning just a single point for an overtime defeat in late February. This is the first of six meetings this season.
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 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: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick
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