"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 46
Isles 2, Hurricanes 1 (OT)
Stop me if you have heard this before. John Tavares scored two goals (including the winner in overtime) and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 32 shots for his fourth straight victory (and 303rd of his career) as the Islanders came from behind to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 in front of 13,622 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. It's the Islanders' second win of the season against Carolina after going 2-9-1 in the prior three seasons against the Canes. The Isles have won three straight games for the third time this season.
The Scoring:
| 1 | 1 | 8:43 | EV | CAR | J.SKINNER(13) | Z.DALPE(2) | B.ALLEN(7) | ||
| 2 | 2 | 7:46 | EV | NYI | J.TAVARES(18) | K.OKPOSO(13) | M.STREIT(23) | ||
| 3 | OT | 3:58 | EV | NYI | J.TAVARES(19) | P.PARENTEAU(33) | T.HAMONIC(11) |
The Skinny:
John Tavares extended his point streak to a career-high twelve games. Tavares has seven goals and 14 assists in those 12 games (including seven multi-point games). He has a point on all five goals the Islanders have scored against Carolina this season (2-3-5). PA Parenteau extended his point streak to three games (2-3-5); he is 5th in the NHL in assists (33). Skinner's goal was his first in four games since missing over a month with a concussion.
The Shots
For shot counters, this was perhaps the strangest game of the season. The Isles outshot Carolina 23-8 in the middle period (with all 23 shots coming in the first 16:48) but were outshot 15-9 in the first period and 8-6 in the third. Each team had two shots in overtime. For the game, the Isles, who went 14:56 without a shot late in the second and through the first half of the third, outshot Carolina 40-33. The 23 shots in the second period was their most at home this season; they also had a 23-shot period in Chicago in December.
Home and Road
The Islanders are 19-21-6 overall and are 11-11-3 at home. It's the first time since an overtime loss to Chicago on December 8th that left the Isles 9-11-6 that they are within two games of NHL .500.
The Canes are 17-25-8 overall and 5-14-5 on the road. The Canes have scored only six goals in their last four games (1-1-2).
In the Nets
Evgeni Nabokov made 32 saves for his 303rd career win as he improves to 10-11-0 on the season. He is 5-1-0 in his last six starts, with a 1.32 goals against average. Nabby is now 8-1-1 in his career against Carolina. He is the first Islander goaltender to have a four-game win streak since Rick DiPietro did so 12/16/10-1/15/11.
Cam Ward was brilliant in the second period, particularly, and finished with 38 saves. He is 14-2-3 in his career against the Isles.
Nabby's Week
Evgeni Nabokov will be due some consideration for one of the NHL's Three Stars of the Week when the honors are handed out on Monday. Nabokov was 3-0-0 this week, stopping 89 of 91 shots (97.8%) for a 0.65 goals against average (including one shutout). It's the first time since January 12-18, 2010 that the Isles have allowed a total of two goals in a three-game stretch.
Tavares' Week
John Tavares will also be due consideration. He had 4 goals and 2 assists in four games this week, including two game winning goals. The Isles scored 9 goals in their four games this week and Tavares had points on six of them. He has 48 points (19-29-48) on 109 Islander goals this season (44%). No Islander since Zigmund Palffy has recorded points on over 40% of the team's goals in a complete season.
Power Plays
The Islanders were 0-2 on the power play; the Canes were 0-3. The Isles, who entered the game 5th in the league with the extra man, had eight shots on their two power plays. The Isles are 3-11 in the last three games on the power play and 9-33 in the last 11 games on the power play.
The Isles have killed 12-12 over the last five games, 32-33 (97.0%) over the last 13 games and 36-38 (94.7%) over the last 17 games, dating back to December 16th.
300 Club
Evgeni Nabokov has become the 26th goalie in NHL history with 300 career wins. Among current NHL goalies, only Martin Brodeur, Nikolai Khabibulin and Roberto Luongo have more career wins. He is now tied with Olaf Kolzig (303) for 23rd place on the all-time list. He one of five goalies who have won 300 games, including at least one for the Isles: [Chris Osgood (401 -- 49 with Isles), John Vanbiesbrouck (374 -- 10 with Isles), Roberto Luongo (325 -- 7 with Isles), Billy Smith (305 -- 304 with Isles) and now Evgeni Nabokov (303 -- 10 with Isles)]
They Said It
Howie Rose: "You could make the case that John Tavares is among the best 25 players in the league, period, never mind under 25 years of age."
They Tweeted It
@JesseDEisenberg: Guy in the locker room hallway: who scored the #isles last goal? Hamonic: Who do you think?
The Coach
"Getting through the first period, we could have been down by two or three goals. We were real lucky to come out down by a goal. We regrouped in the first intermission, came out and had a pretty good second and third." (Note to Coach Cap – the overtime was pretty good, too!)
Leading Ice Men
It's unusual for a forward to lead the team in ice-time, but John Tavares played 25:33 to do so tonight; Tim Gleason led Carolina with 24:57. It was the 2nd highest ice-time total of Tavares' career; he played 26:46 in the final game of his rookie season. He is the first forward to lead the Isles in ice time this season.
In the Circle
The Islanders won 24 draws; Carolina won 25. Tavares won 12 of 20 for the Isles; Eric Staal won 10 of 15 for the Hurricanes.
Heavy Hitters
The Islanders, who had only three hits in the first 16 minutes, were out-hit 24-23. NHL hit leader Matt Martin led all players with six hits, raising his total to 202.
Even After Two
The Isles are now 6-2-1 in games that enter the third period tied; Carolina on the other hand is 5-10-4 when they are tied after 40 minutes.
Third Periods
Neither team scored in the third period; the Isles have been outscored 49-33 overall in the third period (39-28 excluding empty nets). In the first two periods, the Isles have been outscored 81-75.
Overtime is Our Time…finally
The Isles are 1-4 in games decided in overtime this season and 4-6 in games that have gone beyond 60 minutes, including four straight OT/SO wins. It's the first time since March 8, 2011 that the Isles have scored an overtime goal (Comeau vs Toronto) and ends a 4-game losing streak in OT/SOs on Coliseum ice. The four straight OT/SO wins overall matches a similar streak from last season.
Men in Black
The Isles finally won a game in their 3rd jersey (1-4-1).
Go South, Young Men
The Isles improve to 7-4-0 against the Southeast (2-0-0 vs. both Carolina and Washington, 1-1-0 vs. Winnipeg, 2-1-0 vs. Tampa and 0-2-0 vs. Florida)
17 to Go
The Isles have scored 9,983 goals in their history (excluding 42 shootout winners), leaving the club 17 shy of 10,000.
3 Over .500
The Islanders improve to three games over all-time NHL .500 (1332-1329-427 in 3,088 games). The Isles have twice this season been one game below .500. Prior to this season, they had not been below NHL .500 since they were 177-178-83 prior to their victory on January 16, 1978.
Scoring
The Isles have scored 70 goals over the last 25 games (14-9-2) after scoring only 15 in the previous nine games (1-6-2). The Isles have scored 66 goals in their 19 wins (3.48 per game) and 43 goals in their other 27 games (0-21-6; 1.59 per game). In their 22 regulation losses, the Isles have scored 27 goals (1.29 per game).
Head of the Class
John Tavares had two goals, giving him 21 points over the last 12 games. He now has 169 career points; he is 23 points ahead of Matt Duchene for most among 2009 draft picks. No other player in that draft is anywhere close. (Duchene, who suffered a knee injury in late December and is expected to miss the next month.) Tavares' 12-game point streak is the longest by an Islander since Mark Parrish had a twelve-game streak (5-8-13) in October/November, 2001 and is the longest in the NHL this season.
Longest Point Streaks in NHL, Last 2 Seasons
· Sidney Crosby, 25 games (11/5/10-12/28/10)
· John Tavares, 12 games (12/29/11-CURRENT)
· Ilya Kovalchuk 12 games (2/1/11-2/25/11)
Friends, Friends, Friends
Moulson has 22 goals this season; John Tavares has earned assists on 15 of them. He has now been on-ice for 46 consecutive Moulson goals, earning assists on 31 of them, dating back to a Moulson goal on November 17, 2010 against Tampa.
MOT-ley Crew?
Since being put together 12 games ago, Matt Moulson is 6-9-15, Kyle Okposo is 5-6-11, and John Tavares is 8-13-21.
As Seen on MSG+
Last 5 Islanders with 10+ Game Point Streaks
· Pierre Turgeon (1993-94) 13 games
· Ziggy Palffy (1997-98) 13 games
· Mariusz Czerkawski (1999-2000) 13 games
· Mark Parrish (2001-02) 12 games
· John Tavares (2011-12) 12 games
20-20-20, 30-30-30?
Matt Moulson is the first Islander since Jason Blake (4 seasons: 2002-03 to 2006-07) to have at least three consecutive 20-goal seasons. He is eight goals away from a third consecutive 30-goal season; no Islander since Ziggy Palffy has accomplished that feat. Moulson has 83 goals as an Islander – the most by any Islander since the lockout.
Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 210 games since joining the team. Moulson's streak is the longest for an Islander since Richard Park played in 221 games from October 2006- February 2009. Travis Hamonic has now played 108 NHL games (all consecutive); he has the longest consecutive game streak on defense for the Isles.
Moulson is one of only five Islanders in the last thirty years to appear in 200 consecutive games:
· Matt Moulson 10/3/2009-1/16/2012 210
· Richard Park 10/5/2006 – 2/18/2009 221
· Mariusz Czerkawski 12/23/99 – 4/14/2002 215
· Bryan McCabe 10/7/95-2/4/98 220
· Bryan Trottier 3/7/81- 1/12/84 219
Billy Harris played in the first 576 games in Islander history; that figure still stands as the club record.
Century Club
Hamonic is only the 8th defensemen in Islander history to play in 100 consecutive games and the first since Janne Niinimaa. He currently has the 7th longest streak by a defenseman in Islander history.
1. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979 262
2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/95-2/4/98 220
3. Gerry Hart 3/1/75-11/22/77 198
4. Janne Niinimaa 3/13/2004-1/7/2006 136
5. Ken Morrow 3/1/1980-12/29/1981 134
6. Jean Potvin 10/23/75-1/2/77 110
7. Travis Hamonic 11/24/10 – CURRENT 108
8. Kenny Jonsson 12/26/96-2/4/98 104
Like Hamonic, McCabe and Morrow's streaks came at the start of their NHL careers. Both Niinimaa's streak and McCabe's streak encompassed their entire Islander careers.
Missing Men
Marty Reasoner (broken thumb) and Steve Staios (healthy) were scratched. Mike Mottau, Rick DiPietro, and Mark Katic are on injured reserve. The Isles have lost 227 man-games to injury so far this season. Al Montoya dressed as the back-up goalie for the third straight game.
List Time
Career Wins, Active Goalies
Career Wins
Career Goals, Active Players
Career Games, Active Players
1 Nicklas Lidstrom 1,541
2 Roman Hamrlik 1,353
3 Jaromir Jagr 1,313
4 Teemu Selanne 1,305
5 Brian Rolston 1,225
Rolston's 1,225 career games is one game behind Islander Hall-of-Famer Ed Westfall (1,226) for 79th place in NHL history.
Most First Goals of Game (NHL This Season)
| 1 | Matt Moulson | 9 |
| 2 | Evander Kane | 7 |
| 2 | Loui Eriksson | 7 |
Career Goals as an Islander
| 32 | Butch Goring | 87 |
| 33 | Tomas Jonsson | 84 |
| 34 | Matt Moulson | 83 |
| 35 | Wayne Merrick | 81 |
| 35 | Dave Scatchard | 81 |
| 40 | Lorne Henning | 73 |
| 40 | JP Parise | 73 |
| 42 | John Tavares | 72 |
| 43 | Alan Kerr | 69 |
Career Games as an Islander (skaters)
| 60 | Gord Dineen | 287 | ||||||
| 61 | Frans Nielsen | 283 | ||||||
| 62 | Jeff Norton | 282 | ||||||
| 66 | Brad Lauer | 259 | ||||||
| 67 | Benoit Hogue | 258 | ||||||
| 68 | Josh Bailey | 257 | ||||||
| 69 | Pierre Turgeon | 255 | ||||||
| 76 | JP Parise | 240 | ||||||
| 77 | Adrian Aucoin | 235 | ||||||
| 77 | Kyle Okposo | 235 | ||||||
| 79 | Darius Kasparaitis | 232 | ||||||
| 79 | Dennis Vaske | 232 | ||||||
| 88 | Andy Hilbert | 218 | ||||||
| 89 | Paul Boutilier | 211 | ||||||
| 90 | Matt Moulson | 210 | ||||||
| 91 | Gary Nylund | 209 | ||||||
| 92 | John Tavares | 207 | ||||||
| 93 | Tom Fitzgerald | 205 | ||||||
| 94 | Mark Streit | 202 | ||||||
| 95 | Billy Carroll | 200 | ||||||
Career Points as an Islander
| 43 | Shawn Bates | 170 |
| 44 | John Tavares | 169 |
| 44 | Jude Drouin | 169 |
| 46 | Dave Scatchard | 168 |
| 47 | Miroslav Satan | 166 |
| 50 | Roman Hamrlik | 153 |
| 51 | Matt Moulson | 144 |
| 52 | Frans Nielsen | 142 |
| 52 | Michael Peca | 142 |
| 54 | Dave Lewis | 141 |
| 55 | Kyle Okposo | 140 |
| 55 | Robert Reichel | 140 |
| 57 | Bryan Smolinski | 139 |
Back in the Race
The Isles climbed into a 12th place tie with Tampa in the Eastern Conference standings, and are technically ahead of Tampa because they have a game in hand. The Isles are within eight points of 8th place Washington. It's the closest that the Isles have been to a playoff spot this late in the season since the final week of the 2009-10 campaign.
With 44 points in 46 games, the Isles are just two points behind their 46-game pace from 2006-07, which was their last playoff appearance.
Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series two games to none (and four points to two). Each of the last four Islander wins against Carolina have come in overtime or in a shootout. The Isles will play the first game after the All-Star break in Carolina (January 31st), before entertaining the Canes on February 18th. The Isles are 2-0-0 all-time against Canes coach Kirk Muller, who briefly played for the team in the mid-1990s
Happy Anniversary
30 years ago tonight (1-21-82): The Islanders began their 15-game winning streak and Bryan Trottier began his club-record 25 games point streak as the Islanders blasted Pittsburgh 6-1. Thanks to my MSG colleagues for recognizing the 30th anniversary of my first game on Isles telecasts.
All-time, the Isles are 11-5-3 on this date, having won on January 21st in each of the past four seasons.
On The Farm
Bridgeport continues to be RED HOT. The Sound Tigers have won eight straight and improved to 20-17-3-1 with a 2-1 win in Adirondack on Saturday. Casey Cizikas scored his 10th goal and Anders Nilsson made 37 saves for his fourth straight win. The Sound Tigers will look to tie the club record of 9, set in 2002 and equaled in 2003 when they host St. John's Wednesday; the hot streak has moved them within two points of first-place in the AHL Northeast Division.
Up Next
MONDAY, JANUARY 23rd ISLANDERS AT TORONTO 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders Game Night at 6:30pm), WRHU (88.7FM)]
[MSG+ (Islanders Game Night at 6:30pm), WRHU (88.7FM)]
The Islanders look to extend their winning streak to four straight games as they begin a key home-and-home series with the Maple Leafs on Monday night. The Leafs defeated the Isles 5-3 at the Coliseum two days before Christmas in the only previous meeting between the squads.
It will be the first time the Islanders have played consecutive regular season games against the Leafs since December 4-7, 1982 and only the third time ever. The teams have never met on back-to-back nights, but that streak will end on Tuesday when the Leafs visit Long Island in the final game before the All-Star Break.
John Tavares will be playing is his hometown on Monday. The Isles are 2-2 in Toronto (with both wins in overtime) with Tavares in the lineup.
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 January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick
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