"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 25
Isles 5, Lightning 1
David Ullstrom scored his first NHL goal and 12 different players recorded points as the Islanders extended their point streak to five straight games (4-0-1) with a 5-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning before 9,486 at The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The Scoring:
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| 5-1 Final |
The Skinny:
Matt Moulson extended his goal scoring streak to five straight games, a career high. He is the 6th player in the NHL to have a 5-game streak this season. Moulson also set a career high by becoming the first Isle to record eight shots on goal in a game this season. Both Moulson and Tavares had two points; giving each of them three consecutive multi-point games. Tavares broke a 14-game scoreless streak and regained the team lead in points (23). Jurcina's goal was the 5th by the Islanders defensemen this season, and the second in as many games. Mark Streit recorded his 4th two-point game of the season; no other Islander defensemen has had a multi-point game this season.
The Shots
The Isles outshot the Lightning 14-8 in the first period and 9-5 in the third. The second period shots were even 11-11. The Isles outshot the Lightning 34-24; it's the first time that the Isles have had a 10-shot advantage in any game this season.
No Shot on First Shot
Martin St. Louis' goal came on the Lightning's first shot on goal. It's the 6th time this season they have allowed a goal on the first shot (Pavelski/SJ, Pouliot/BOS, Rome/VAN, Crosby/PIT, Meszaros/PHI, St.Louis/TB). The Isles are 1-3-2 when allowing a goal on the first shot and 2-10-2 when allowing the first goal. It was the first time in the last five games that the Isles had allowed the opening goal.
Speed Scoring
Martin and Jurcina scored goals 1:28 apart to break open a tie game. It was Jurcina's first goal in 31 games, dating back to February 13th.
Head of the Class
John Tavares' two points give him 144 career points, three more than Matt Duchene for most among 2009 draft picks. No other player in that draft is anywhere close.
Head of the Conference
The Isles have 9 points since November 26th, tops in the Eastern Conference. Minnesota has 10 to lead the NHL while Calgary also has 9.
Friends, Friends, Friends
Moulson now has 14 goals on the season; John Tavares has earned assists on twelve of them. He has now been on-ice for 38 consecutive Moulson goals, earning assists on 28 of them, dating back to Moulson goal on November 17, 2010 against Tampa. Moulson's goal was his 75th with the Islanders; he is the 39th player in franchise history to reach that mark.
Protecting the Lead
For the fifth straight game, the Isles led after one period. The Isles are 7-0-4 when they lead after one period.
Nailing it Down
The Isles are 7-0-3 this season when leading after two.
Home and Road
The Islanders are 9-11-5 overall and 6-6-2 at home. The win breaks a three-game (0-2-1) home winless streak.
The Lightning are 11-14-2 overall and 4-10-2 on the road. Tampa has lost five straight overall; in their last ten regulation losses, they have scored two goals or less in each game.
Streaking
The Isles have points in five straight games for the first time since last March, when they had a seven-game streak (4-0-3). They have earned 9 points in five games for the first time since last March as well.
Lots of Goals
The Isles have scored at least 4 goals in three straight games for the first time since March, 2010 and at least five goals in consecutive games for the first time since February, 2011.
Lots of Points
Four Islanders now have points in at least three straight games: Moulson (8-2-10 in 5), Tavares (1-6-7 in 3), Martin (1-2-3 in 3) and Marty Reasoner (0-3-3 in 3). Steven Stankos extended his point scoring streak to 8 games (5-6-11).
In the Nets
Al Montoya made 23 saves, improving his record to 5-3-2, while lowering his goals against average to 2.07 (7th in the NHL) and raising his save percentage to .933 (5th in the NHL). Montoya has appeared in six straight games, going 4-1-1 with a 1.67 goals against average and a .941 save percentage.
Mathieu Garon made 29 saves for Tampa.
319 is a Magic Number
... At least For David Ullstrom. He became the 319th goal scorer in Islander history …at 3:19 of the third period.
A Rare Blowout
It's the second 4-goal win of the season, both times against Tampa, both times at the Coliseum, and both times by identical 5-1 scores.
4 is a Magic Number
The Isles have earned points in every game this season that they have scored at least four goals (6-0-1).
Power Plays
The Islanders were 2-5 on the power play while the Lightning were 0-3. The Isles are 6-16 (37.5%) on the power play over the last four games after going 3-36 in the previous dozen games. The Isles have killed 15-16 (93.8%) over the last five games. As Chris King pointed out, the Isles have scored on their first power play opportunity in each of the last four games. It's the first time that the Isles have scored a power play goal in four consecutive games since they tallied in six straight, October 15-27, 2010.
They Said It
John Tavares: "We're playing better hockey...doing what we have to do to win."
They Tweeted It
@BComptonNHL: "First #NHL goal for David Ullstrom. Great give-and-go with Bailey. 4-1 #Isles."
The Hit Leader
Matt Martin had four hits (to go along with his goal and four shots). He leads the NHL with 113 hits. However, Martin didn't lead the Isles in hits as Tim Wallace, making his Islander debut, had seven hits, an assist and was +2.
Leading Ice Men
Mark Streit led the Isles with 22:00; Matt Gilroy led Tampa with 24:19.
Six Pack
Travis Hamonic led the Isles with six blocked shots. He now has 60 on the season, tying Andrew MacDonald for the team lead.
First Periods
The Isles outscored Tampa 7-1 in the first period of the two Coliseum games this season. The Isles have now outscored the opposition 25-23 in the first period this season, while Tampa has been outscored 29-16.
Third Periods
The Isles scored the only goal of the third period and have outscored the opposition 5-3 in the third period over the last five games. The Isles have been outscored 29-13 overall in the third period (23-11 excluding empty nets). In the first two periods, the Isles have been outscored 45-44.
69 to Go
The Isles have scored 9,931 goals in their history (excluding 39 shootout winners), leaving the club 69 shy of 10,000.
3 Over .500
The Islanders are now three games over all-time NHL .500 (1322-1319-426 in 3,067 games). They have been below NHL .500 for only 1 day since they were 177-178-83 prior to their victory on January 16, 1978.
Offense Keeps Going
The Isles have scored 19 goals the last five games after scoring only 15 in the previous nine games (1-6-2). The Isles have scored 35 goals in their nine wins (3.89 per game) and 22 goals in their other 16 games (0-11-5; 1.38 per game). In their 11 regulation losses, the Isles have scored 8 goals (0.73 per game).
In the Circle
The Islanders won 24 of 53 (45%) face-offs. Josh Bailey won 5 of 8 for the Isles while Dominic Moore won 6 of 8 for Tampa. Bailey played 17:24, a season high.
Missing Men
Nino Niederreiter (concussion symptoms), Michael Grabner (groin) and Rick DiPietro (groin) were scratched. Andrew MacDonald, Jay Pandolfo, Marc Eaton, Evgeni Nabokov, and Mark Katic are on injured reserve. The Isles have lost 94 man-games to injury so far this season. Kevin Poulin dressed as the back-up goaltender for the first time this season.
Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 189 games since joining the team. Travis Hamonic has now played 87 NHL games (all consecutive); he has the longest consecutive game streak on defense for the Isles. Martin St. Louis played his 499th consecutive game for Tampa Bay.
Back in the Race
With nine points in five games, the Isles have climbed within six points of 8th place in the Eastern Conference. The Isles still hold games-in-hand over the eight teams immediately ahead of them in the standings.
Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series two games to one (four points to two). The Isles are 6-2-0 in the last eight against Tampa. It's the first time since 2002-03 that the Isles have recorded two four-goal victories over Tampa in the same season. The final meeting will be on March 24th in Tampa.
Happy Anniversary
10 years ago tonight: December 6, 2001. Garth Snow made 33 saves and Mariusz Czerkawski scored the winning goal as the Islanders blanked the Flyers 2-0. It was the first of four shutouts for Snow in an Islander uniform.
Overall, the Isles are 11-9-0 on this date, including a 4-3 loss to Boston in 1988 in Terry Simpson's final game as Islander coach.
On The Farm
The Sound Tigers are 11-9-3-1. Bridgeport is off until Saturday, when they host Portland.
Up Next
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8th CHICAGO AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders Game Night at 6:30pm), WRHU (88.7FM)]
[MSG+ (Islanders Game Night at 6:30pm), WRHU (88.7FM)]
The Islanders and Hawks meet for the second time in less than a week as Chicago visits the Coliseum Thursday. The Hawks won a back-and-forth affair in a shootout last Friday in Chicago but will make only their fourth Coliseum appearance since 2002. The Isles have won three straight from Chicago on Coliseum ice, outscoring the Hawks 15-7.
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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