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The Skinny: Isles 6, Toronto 3

"The Skinny"  By Eric Hornick Game 34 Isles 6, Toronto 3 The Isles jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 4:48 and the Maple Leafs ...

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Skinny: Isles 3, Washington 0

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick
Game 44
Isles 3, Capitals 0
PA Parenteau scored two goals in an NHL game for the first time and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 17 shots for his 301st NHL victory and 51st career victoryshutout as the Islanders blanked the Washington Capitals 3-0 in front of 18,506 at Verizon Center.  It's the Islanders' first shutout win of the season and their first on the road since March 27, 2009 in Detroit. Washington suffers its first shutout of the season.

The Scoring:
1st Period
12:05 NYI PPG - John Tavares (17) - ASST: M. Streit (22) AND M. Moulson (20)
2nd Period
06:05 NYI PA Parenteau (8) - ASST: F. Nielsen (14)
3rd Period
12:38 NYI PPG - PA Parenteau (9) Wrist - ASST: M. Moulson (21) AND F. Nielsen (15)
The Skinny: 
John Tavares extended his point streak to a career-high ten games. Tavares has five goals and 12 assists in those ten games (including five multi-point games). Matt Moulson had two assists, extending his assist/point streak to five games.  It's the Islanders' first shutout ever at Verizon Center; their previous road shutout vs. the Caps came in Landover, MD on March 2, 1997 when Tommy Salo blanked Washington. Mark Streit added an assist in his 200th game as an Islander; Milan Jurcina played his 400th NHL game. Frans Nielsen had his second two-assist game of the season; both have come against Washington. Both Nielsen and Parenteau now have five points against Washington this season.

The Shots
The Isles outshot Washington 10-5 in the first period, 8-5 in the second period and 10-7 in the third period. For the game, the Isles outshot the Caps 28-17, setting a record for the fewest shots allowed under Jack Capuano. It's the fewest shots the Isles have allowed in a win since Detroit had only 16 on 1/12/10 at the Coliseum (Isles 6, Detroit 0) and the fewest that the Isles have allowed in a road win since the Devils had only 16 in a 5-2 Isles win in New Jersey on November 2, 2006. It's the fifth time this season that the Caps have been held under 20 shots.

Home and Road
The Islanders are 17-21-6 overall and are 7-10-3 on the road.  The Isles are 7-5-1 in their last 13 road games, but this was their first regulation win on the road since December 3rd in Dallas.  Their 17 points in the first 20 road games matches their highest total since 2005-06.
The Caps are 24-18-2 overall and 17-6-1 at home.  The loss breaks Washington's seven game home winning streak.

In the Nets
Evgeni Nabokov made 17 saves for his 301st career win as he improves to 8-11-0 on the season. Nabby is now 10-1-0 in his career against the Capitals.
Tomas Vokoun made 25 saves for the Caps as he suffers his first career loss on home ice to the Islanders.

Power Plays
The Islanders were 2-6 on the power play; the Caps were 0-3.  The Isles, who entered the game tied-9th in the league with the extra man, are 11-38 on the power play over the last 12 games after going just 1-22 in the previous seven games.  The Isles are also 8-28 in the last nine games on the power play.  It's the 9th time this season that the Islanders have scored twice on the power play; they are 5-2-2 in those games.
The Isles have killed 25-26 (96.2%) over the last 11 games and 29-31 (93.5%) over the last 15 games.
The Caps entered the game with the NHL's best home PP and 3rd-best home penalty kill, but were outscored 2-0 by the Isles. Washington had allowed only 2 home PP goals under Dale Hunter.

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 Mike Richter (301) for 25th 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 (301 -- 8 with Isles)]

They Said It
An Islander fan named Jerry Ankeles had this text read during the MSG+ telecast: "Yesterday was a bust but if the Islanders can beat one team, including the Rangers… let it be the Caps.  Hunter was a lowlife."  The Isles are now 1-0 against Coach Dale Hunter, whose actions in the 1993 playoffs have not been forgotten by Isles fans.

They Tweeted It
@MoulsonSieteDos (Matt's younger brother): "@MMoulson doin his best @MoulsonSieteDos impression with two apples tonight...#nexttimegonolook"

The Coach
"After last night's game, it was good to have a good effort… key goals on the power play… All our "D" defended well."

Leading Ice Men
Andrew MacDonald led the Isles with 23:42; Dennis Wideman led Washington with 28:26.

In the Circle
The Islanders won 19 draws; Washington won 25. Josh Bailey won 7 of 12 for the Isles; Jeff Halpern won all four draws he took for the Caps.
Heavy Hitters
The Islanders were out-hit 19-14.  Matt Hendricks had seven hits for Washington while NHL hit leader Matt Martin had six hits, raising his total to 192.

Third Periods
The Isles outscored the Capitals 1-0 in the third period; the Isles have been outscored 48-31 overall in the third period (38-27 excluding empty nets). In the first two periods, the Isles have been outscored 80-72. 

23 to Go
The Isles have scored 9,977 goals in their history (excluding 42 shootout winners), leaving the club 23 shy of 10,000.

Over .500
The Islanders go back over all-time NHL .500 (1330-1329-427 in 3,086 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 64 goals over the last 23 games (12-9-2) after scoring only 15 in the previous nine games (1-6-2).  The Isles have scored 60 goals in their 17 wins (3.52 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).

Shutouts
Nabokov is the 24th goaltender to record a shutout for the Islanders; the last eight Islander shutouts have been recorded by seven different goalies.  It's the Islanders' first shutout since Al Montoya blanked Los Angeles on February 19, 2011 at the Coliseum.  The Isles allowed all three goals yesterday in the first 11:37; they will carry a shutout streak of 108:23 into Philadelphia on Thursday.  The Blackhawks are now the only team in the NHL without a shutout this season.

Head of the Class
John Tavares had the Isles' first goal, giving him 17 points over the last ten games.  He now has 165 career points; he is 19 points ahead of Matt Duchene for most among 2009 draft picks.  No other player in that draft is anywhere close. (Duchene, who turned 21 today, suffered a knee injury in late December and is expected to miss the next month.)   Tavares' 10-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 the second-longest in the NHL this season.  Only Boston's David Krejci, who had an 11-game streak stopped on Monday, has had a longer streak.

Friends, Friends, Friends
Moulson has 21 goals this season; John Tavares has earned assists on 14 of them.  He has now been on-ice for 45 consecutive Moulson goals, earning assists on 30 of them, dating back to a Moulson goal on November 17, 2010 against Tampa. 

MOT-ley Crew?
Since being put together ten games ago, Matt Moulson is 5-9-14, Kyle Okposo is 5-4-9, and John Tavares is 6-11-17. 

As Seen on MSG+
Highest Percentage of Goals by Teammates (Entering Tonight)
1.     Stamkos/Lecavalier (TB) 39.5%
2.     Moulson/Tavares (NYI) 37.0%
3.     Neal/Malkin (PIT)  34.3%

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 nine goals away from a third consecutive 30-goal season; no Islander since Ziggy Palffy has accomplished that feat.  Moulson has 82 goals as an Islander – the most by any Islander since the lockout.

Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 208 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 106 NHL games (all consecutive); he has the longest consecutive game streak on defense for the Isles. 

Moulson recently joined an exclusive club; he 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  208
·         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 106
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.  Niinimaa's streak included the only 136 games he played as an Islander.

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 219 man-games to injury so far this season.  Al Montoya dressed as the back-up goalie for the first time since being injured against Winnipeg four weeks ago. 

List Time
Career Wins, Active Goalies
4. Evgeni Nabokov  301
Career Goals, Active Players
13. Patrik Elias 351
14. Brian Rolston 339
15. Dany Heatley 338
Career Games, Active Players
1  Nicklas Lidstrom 1,540
2  Roman Hamrlik  1,351
3  Jaromir Jagr       1,310
4  Teemu Selanne  1,304
5  Brian Rolston     1,223
Rolston's 1,223 career games is one game behind Gary Roberts for 80th place in NHL history.

Most First Goals of Game (NHL This Season)
1
Matt Moulson
8
2
Evander Kane
7
2
Loui Eriksson
7
Career Goals as an Islander
32
Butch Goring
87
33
Tomas Jonsson
84
34
Matt Moulson
82
35
Wayne Merrick
81
35
Dave Scatchard
81
40
Lorne Henning
73
40
JP Parise
73
42
John Tavares
70
43
Alan Kerr
69
44
Brad Isbister
67
Career Games as an Islander (skaters)
61
Jeff Norton
282
62
Frans Nielsen
281
63
Steve Thomas
275



68
Pierre Turgeon
255
68
Josh Bailey
255
70
Jude Drouin
250



77
Adrian Aucoin
235
78
Kyle Okposo
233
79
Darius Kasparaitis
232
79
Dennis Vaske
232
81
Billy MacMillan
231
81
Zdeno Chara
231



89
Paul Boutilier
211
90
Gary Nylund
209
91
Matt Moulson
208
92
Tom Fitzgerald
205
92
John Tavares
205
94
Billy Carroll
200
94
Mark Streit
200
96
Ralph Stewart
199









Career Points as an Islander



43
Shawn Bates
170
44
Jude Drouin
169
45
Dave Scatchard
168
46
Miroslav Satan
166
47
John Tavares
165
48
Oleg Kvasha
156






50
Roman Hamrlik
153
51
Matt Moulson
143
52
Frans Nielsen
142
52
Michael Peca
142
54
Dave Lewis
141
55
Robert Reichel
140
56
Bryan Smolinski
139
57
Kyle Okposo
138




Season Series Stats
The Islanders lead the season series two games to none (and four points to zero). They have beaten the Caps more times this season (2) than the previous three seasons combined (1-6-5) and have their first win streak over Washington since beating the Caps three straight times in 2007-08.  The Isles will return to the Nation's Capital on February 28th before welcoming Dale Hunter's squad on March 13th.

Happy Anniversary
31 years ago tonight (1-17-81):  Mike Bossy set an NHL record with his eighth hat trick of the season, as the Isles beat the Capitals 6-4. The tallies gave him 48 goals in 47 games enroute to his 50 in 50 campaign.
Overall, the Isles are 9-9-3 on this date.
On The Farm
Bridgeport is RED HOT.  The Sound Tigers have won seven straight and improved to 19-17-3-1 with a 3-2 win over Binghamton on Sunday.  Rhett Rakhshani extended his point streak to eight straight games and Casey Cizikas had a goal and an assist to back 34 saves from Anders Nilsson, who won for the third straight day.  The Sound Tigers play only once between now and January 25th – this Saturday night in Glens Falls, NY against the Adirondack Phantoms. Bridgeport's winning streak is two shy of the club record of 9, set in 2002 and equaled in 2003; the hot streak has moved them within two points of first-place in the AHL Northeast Division.

Up Next
THURSDAY, JANUARY 19th ISLANDERS AT PHILADELPHIA 7:00PM
[MSG+2 (Islanders Game Night at 6:30pm), WRHU (88.7FM)]
The Islanders look to sweep the road trip when they challenge the Flyers in Philadelphia.  The Flyers have won two one-goal games at the Coliseum this season and this will be the Isles' first trip to Philadelphia.  The Flyers have dominated the series in recent years, with the Isles managing just two overtime losses in the last eight meetings overall (0-6-2). The Isles have not won in Philadelphia since Game 81 of their last playoff campaign, defeating the Flyers 4-2 on April 7, 2007, setting the stage for Wade Dubieliewicz to poke-check them into the playoffs the following day.  Since then, all the Isles have to show for 13 trips to Philadelphia is two overtime losses (0-11-2).

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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