The Skinny: Isles 4, Flyers 1

“The Skinny”

By Eric Hornick

Game 45

Isles 4, Flyers 1

Phinally! Four different Islanders scored goals four different ways (even strength,shorthanded, power play, and empty net) and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 40 shots for his third straight victory (and 302^nd of his career) as the Islanders dominated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 in front of 19,796 at Wells Fargo Center.  It’s the Islanders’ first win in Philadelphia since April 7, 2007 (ending a 0-11-2 streak) and their first over the Flyers in nine games overall.

The Scoring:

1st Period

NONE

2nd Period

00:28 NYI Matt Moulson (22) - ASST: J. Tavares (28) AND K. Okposo (12)

12:58 NYI SHG - Josh Bailey (4) - ASST: M. Martin (6)

3rd Period

07:07 NYI PPG - Mark Streit (3) - ASST: J. Tavares (29) AND P. Parenteau (31)

10:48 PHI Matt Read (14) - ASST: S. Couturier (8) AND A. Meszaros (11)

19:59 NYI EN - Michael Grabner (14) - ASST: P. Parenteau (32)

The Skinny: 

John Tavares extended his point streak to a career-high eleven games. Tavares has five goals and 14 assists in those 11 games (including six multi-point games). Matt Moulson extended his point streak to six games.  Josh Bailey ended a 16-game goal scoring drought and recorded his 100^th NHL point.  Mark Streit scored for the first time in 29 games; it was the Isles’ first 4-on-3 goal this season. PA Parenteau recorded his 2^nd consecutive two-point game (and 13^th of the season) as the Isles became the first team in the East with three 40-point scorers; Parenteau leads the team with 32 assists.  Grabner’s empty-netter was his third goal in the last four games and the Isles’ 5^th ENG of the season.  The Isles won consecutive road games, both by at least three goals, for the first time since March 13-15, 2003. Matt Read’s deflection broke Nabokov’s shutout in the 3^rd period and extended Read’s point streak to four games and fellow rookie Sean Couturier’s streak to six games.

The Shots

The Isles outshot Philadelphia 12-8 in the first period before the Flyers outshot the Isles 17-9 in the second period and 16-6 in the third period. For the game, the Flyers outshot the Isles 41-27.  It’s only the second time this season that the Isles have allowed at least 40 shots.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 18-21-6 overall and are 8-10-3 on the road.  The Isles are 8-5-1 in their last 14 road games, and have won consecutive road games in regulation for the second time this season.  Their 19 points in the first 21 road games matches their highest total since 2002-03.  It’s the first time since January 3^rd that the Isles are within three games of NHL-.500.

The Flyers are 27-14-4 overall and 11-7-2 at home.  The loss breaks Philadelphia’s three-game home winning streak.

The Isles win ends a 13-game Flyer winning streak against the Isles in Philadelphia.  Only Dallas, who has won 14 straight home games against Minnesota, has a longer current home ice streak.

In the Nets

Evgeni Nabokov made 40 saves for his 302^nd career win as he improves to 9-11-0 on the season. It’s the tenth time in his career (7-1-2) that he has recorded at least 40 saves. Nabby is now 7-1-2 in his career against the Flyers.

The Islanders finally beat Sergei Bobrovsky (now 7-1-0 vs the Isles) although he made 23 saves, including four on breakaways. 

Power Plays

The Islanders were 1-3 on the power play; the Flyers were 0-4 and allowed a shorthanded goal to Bailey.  The Isles, who entered the game tied-5^th in the league with the extra man, are 12-40 on the power play over the last 13 games after going just 1-22 in the previous seven games.  The Isles are also 9-31 in the last ten games on the power play.

The Isles have killed 29-30 (96.7%) over the last 12 games and 33-35 (94.3%) over the last 16 games.

Bailey’s goal was the Islanders’ second shorthanded goal of the season.  It’s the first time since March 22, 2011 (vs. Tampa) that the Isles have scored a power play goal, a shorthanded goal, and an even-strength goal in the same game.

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 Turk Broda (301) for 24^th 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 (302 -- 9 with Isles)]

They Said It

Mark Streit: “We needed it.  We're desperate. We need points. It was a big road trip for us -- we had our dads on the trip, which makes it even more special. Washington is a really good team and Philly as well. Two big wins."

Daniel Briere: “Just in the second alone, I think we gave away four breakaways or something ridiculous like that. I don't know if we have given up as many breakaways before in the whole season as in this game.”

They Tweeted It

@JohnBorukCSN ESPN recently listed the Top 25 players under the age of 25. John Tavares did not make it. Keep talking Tebow ESPN!

The Coach

(on John Tavares): “…his will to compete, his will to want to help this team strive to get to the playoffs, he's a leader for our team and I think it's carrying over to some of our other guys right now.”

Leading Ice Men

Travis Hamonic led the Isles with 25:43; Matt Carle led Philadelphia with 24:34.

In the Circle

The Islanders won 25 draws; Philadelphia won 29. Josh Bailey won 6 of 10 for the Isles; Claude Giroux 13 of 19 for the Flyers.

Heavy Hitters

The Islanders were out-hit 30-24.  Nino Niederreiter led all players with five hits; NHL hit leader Matt Martin added four hits, raising his total to 196.

Third Periods

The Isles outscored the Flyers 2-1 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 80-74. 

19 to Go

The Isles have scored 9,981 goals in their history (excluding 42 shootout winners), leaving the club 19 shy of 10,000.

2 Over .500

The Islanders improve to two games over all-time NHL .500 (1331-1329-427 in 3,087 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 68 goals over the last 24 games (13-9-2) after scoring only 15 in the previous nine games (1-6-2).  The Isles have scored 64 goals in their 18 wins (3.56 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).

Shutout Streak

Reed’s goal ended an Islander shutout streak of 159:11.  Nabokov’s personal streak ended at 133:50.

Stopping JJ

The Isles held Jaromir Jagr without a point; he is 0-1-1 against the Isles in three games this season.  Jagr is 59-83-142 in 94 career games against the Islanders.  It is the most points Jagr has against any opponent and the most points any player has accumulated against the Islanders.

Head of the Class

John Tavares had two assists, giving him 19 points over the last eleven games.  He now has 167 career points; he is 21 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’ 11-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 equals the longest in the NHL this season.  Boston’s David Krejci had an 11-game streak stopped on Monday.

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 ten games ago, Matt Moulson is 6-9-15, Kyle Okposo is 5-5-10, 

and John Tavares is 6-13-19. 

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) 11 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 209 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 107 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  209

·         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 8^th defensemen in Islander history to play in 100 consecutive games and the first since Janne Niinimaa. He currently has the 7^th 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 107

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 223 man-games to injury so far this season.  Al Montoya dressed as the back-up goalie for the second straight game. 

List Time

Career Wins, Active Goalies

1. Martin Brodeur 639

2. Nikolai Khabibulin 327

3. Roberto Luongo 326

4. Evgeni Nabokov  302

5. Miikka Kiprusoff 296

Career Wins

22. Billy Smith 305

23. Olaf Kolzig 303

24. Evgeni Nabokov 302

24. Turk Broda 302

26.  Mike Richter 301

Career Goals, Active Players

13. Patrik Elias 352

14. Brian Rolston 339

15. Dany Heatley 338

Career Games, Active Players

1  Nicklas Lidstrom 1,540

2  Roman Hamrlik  1,352

3  Jaromir Jagr       1,312

4  Teemu Selanne  1,304

5  Brian Rolston     1,224

Rolston’s 1,224 career games ties Gary Roberts for 80th place in NHL history. He is two games behind Islander Hall-of-Famer Ed Westfall (1,226).

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	70
43	Alan Kerr	69
44	Brad Isbister	67

Career Games as an Islander (skaters)

60	Gord Dineen			287
61	Frans Nielsen			282
61	Jeff Norton			282
66	Brad Lauer			259
67	Benoit Hogue			258
68	Josh Bailey			256
69	Pierre Turgeon			255
76		JP Parise		240
77		Adrian Aucoin		235
78		Kyle Okposo		234
79		Darius Kasparaitis		232
79		Dennis Vaske		232
88	Andy Hilbert			218
89	Paul Boutilier			211
90	Gary Nylund			209
90	Matt Moulson			209
92	John Tavares			206
93	Tom Fitzgerald			205
94	Mark Streit			201
95	Billy Carroll			200

Career Points as an Islander

43	Shawn Bates	170
44	Jude Drouin	169
45	Dave Scatchard	168
46	John Tavares	167
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	Robert Reichel	140
56	Bryan Smolinski	139
56	Kyle Okposo	139

Back in the Race

The Isles climbed into a 12^th place tie with Montreal in the Eastern Conference standings, and are technically ahead of Montreal because they have a game in hand.

Season Series Stats

The Flyers lead the season series two games to one (and four points to three).  It’s the first Islander win in the last nine games against Philadelphia (1-6-2). The Isles will return to Philadelphia on February 7^th and March 1^st, before entertaining the Flyers on March 15^th.

Happy Anniversary 

34 years ago tonight (1-19-78):  Billy Smith stopped 23 shots and recently-acquired Wayne Merrick had the winning goal as the Isles blanked the St. Louis Blues 3-0 in St. Louis.

Overall, the Isles are 8-8-3 on this date, with their win today being their first on this date since 2004 (0-3-1).

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 next play on 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

SATURDAY, JANUARY 21^st CAROLINA AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders Game Night at 6:30pm), WRHU (88.7FM)]

The Islanders look to extend their winning streak to three straight games as they entertain the Hurricanes in the second of three January meetings between the squads.  The Isles opened 2012 with a shootout win in Raleigh, but have lost three straight to Carolina on Coliseum ice. 

It will be Kirk Muller’s first trip to Long Island as Hurricanes coach.  Muller played 27 games over parts of two seasons in the mid-90s for the Islanders before being sent home to await a trade.

The Canes have had a lot of success against the Isles in recent years, going 10-0-3 since an Islander regulation win on January 22, 2008.

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.