"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 51
Sabres 4, Isles 3 (SO)
Ryan Miller made nine saves in overtime and two more in the shootout as the Buffalo Sabres rallied for a 4-3 shootout win over the Islanders in front of 14,618 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The Isles are 2-0-1 since the All-Star Break and 5-1-2 in their last eight games. The single point leaves the Isles ten points behind 8th place Toronto; the Isles still hold a game in hand over the Leafs.
The Scoring:
1st Period -None
01:39 NYI Frans Nielsen (8) - ASST: M. Grabner (8)
05:32 BUF Nathan Gerbe (5) - ASST: D. Stafford (16)
16:00 NYI Josh Bailey (6) - ASST: F. Nielsen (16)
17:17 NYI Frans Nielsen (9) - ASST: K. Okposo (16) and M. Streit (26)
2nd Period
18:41 BUF Derek Roy (10) - ASST: V. Leino (9) and J. Pominville (31)
3rd Period
11:46 BUF Paul Gaustad (6) - ASST: T. Myers (7) and B. Boyes (10)
OT Period -NONE
The Shootout:
· PA Parenteau –NYI-Save
· Brad Boyes-BUF-Goal
· Frans Nielsen-NYI-Miss
· Jason Pominville-BUF-Goal
The Skinny:
Frans Nielsen had two goals and three points, tying career highs in both categories. Josh Bailey's goal came exactly two minutes after a Nino Niederreiter penalty which made it an even-strength goal; Niederreiter, who was still physically in the penalty box, received a "+" on the play. John Tavares was held pointless on the weekend; it's the first time since December 8th-10th that he was held scoreless in consecutive games. Nielsen and Tavares each have 99 career assists. The Isles have earned a point in every game they have led after 20 minutes, but have earned only one point in six of the eighteen (12-0-6).
The Shots
The Sabres outshot the Isles 17-9 in the first period; the shots were even 9-9 in the second period. The Isles outshot Buffalo 11-10 in the third period and 9-1 in the overtime. For the game, the Isles outshot Buffalo 38-37.
Shootout Stuff
Nielsen is 19 of 33 (57.6%) in career shootout attempts which still leads active players in percentage, but he had dropped behind Slava Kozlov (58.7%) and Trevor Linden (58.3%) on the all-time shootout list (minimum 12). The Isles are now 5-8 in OT/SO; they had only 22 shots (total) in overtime prior to tonight. This was the first shootout at the Coliseum this season as the Isles became the final NHL team to host a shootout this year; the Isles are 21-15 all-time in home shootouts, but have lost six of seven over the past two seasons. John Tavares would have been the Isles' third shooter; he has had just two shootout attempts this season.
Home and Road
The Islanders are 21-22-8 overall and are 11-11-5 at home. The Isles are 2-0-2 in their last four games; it is the second time this season that they have had a point streak of at least four games (six games in late November/early December). They remain one game shy of NHL-.500; they have not been at .500 since they were 3-3-0.
The Sabres are 22-24-6 overall and 11-15-0 on the road. Buffalo is 3-0-1 in the last four games.
In the Nets
Al Montoya made 34 saves but loses in extra time for the second straight time. He is 6-5-5 on the season.
Ryan Miller made 35 saves to establish a Sabres club record with his 235th career win, breaking a tie with Dominik Hasek. Miller is 14-15-3 this season. He had a shutout streak of 122:30 stopped by Nielsen's goal but stopped all 29 Isles shots over the final two periods and overtime.
As Seen on MSG+
Nielsen is the fourth Islander to have a three-point first period this season, joining Moulson, Grabner and Tavares.
Leaning on #91
John Tavares has 53 points (22-31-53) on 120 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.
Tavares was held pointless the past two nights to start February after having 22 points on 35 Islander goals in January.
Downed in Shootout
The Islanders are 5-2 in their last seven games that have gone beyond 60 minutes (2-1 in overtime; 3-1 in shootouts).
Even While Even
All six goals were scored at even-strength. The Isles have been outscored 110-81 at even-strength this season.
Power Plays
The Islanders went 0-2 on the power play while the Sabres were 0-1. The Isles entered the game with the NHL's 5th best power play. The Isles are 5-19 in the last eight games on the power play and 11-41 in the last 16 games on the power play.
The Isles have killed 20-21 over the last ten games, 40-42 (95.5%) over the last 18 games and 44-47(93.6%) over the last 22 games, dating back to December 16th.
They Said It
Frans Nielsen: "I was hoping that we would show up and play better than we did after winning yesterday. We were lucky to be up 3-1. We can't just sit back when we have the lead."
They Tweeted It
@BComptonNHL: "Derek Roy has 2 goals in his last 16 games. Both have come against the #Isles."
The Coach
"We're in a situation now where we can't let points slip away. It was a little disappointing tonight, with a two-goal lead in our building."
Letting Leads Get Away
The Isles have played six games this season in which they held at least a two-goal lead, but did not win the game:
· 10/27 @ Pittsburgh – Led 2-0, lost 3-2 in shootout
· 11/10 @ Colorado – Led 3-0, lost 4-3 in shootout
· 11/23 vs. Philadelphia – Led 3-1, lost 4-3 in overtime
· 12/10 vs. Pittsburgh – Led 2-0, lost 6-3
· 1/24 vs. Toronto – Led 2-0, lost 4-3 in overtime
· 2/4 vs. Buffalo – Led 3-1, lost 4-3 in shootout
Leading Ice Men
Andrew MacDonald led the Isles with 27:45 (including 10:11 in the third period); Jordan Leopold led Buffalo with 23:59. It's the fifth straight game that A-Mac has led the Isles in ice-time. John Tavares played 26:05; it's only the 2nd time in his career that he has played over 26 minutes (26:46 on 4/11/10 vs Pittsburgh) and the most ice-time for any Islander forward since Kyle Okposo played 28:20 in that same 4/11/10 game.
In the Circle
The Islanders won 43 draws; Buffalo won 24. Josh Bailey won 8 of 10 for the Isles.
Heavy Hitters
The Islanders out-hit Buffalo 20-17. NHL hit leader Matt Martin had five hits, raising his total to 232. Martin, who had a club record 299 hits last season (hits have only been recorded since 2005-06) leads the NHL in hits by a wide margin. He is on a pace to have 373 hits, which would be the highest total of any NHL player since the lockout.
Lots of Blocks
The Isles were credited with 24 blocks, led by Andrew MacDonald's four. Thirteen different Isles had at least one.
Third Periods
The Isles were outscored 1-0 in the third period; the Isles have been outscored 56-38 overall in the third period (45-31 excluding empty nets). In the first two periods, the Isles have been outscored 86-82.
Final 4 to Go
The Isles have scored 9,996 goals in their history (excluding 42 shootout winners), leaving the club 4 shy of 10,000.
4 Over .500
The Islanders remain four games over all-time NHL .500 (1334-1330-429 in 3,093 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 73 goals in their 21 wins (3.48 per game) and 49 goals in their other 30 games (0-22-8; 1.63 per game). In their 22 regulation losses, the Isles have scored 27 goals (1.22 per game).
Back-to-Backs
This was the 7th of 12 sets of back-to-backs for the Isles this season. They are now 1-5-1 in the front end and 3-2-1 in the back-end. The Isles have two other back-to-back sets in February (2/11-12 vs. LA/ vs. Fla and 2/20-21 vs Ott/@ Buf).
Head of the Class
John Tavares has 174 career points; he is 28 points ahead of Matt Duchene for most among 2009 draft picks. No other player in that draft is anywhere close. (Duchene suffered a knee injury in late December and has not yet resumed skating.)
Longest Point Streaks in NHL, Last 2 Seasons
· Sidney Crosby, 25 games (11/5/10-12/28/10)
· John Tavares, 12 games (12/29/11-1/21/12)
· Ilya Kovalchuk 12 games (2/1/11-2/25/11)
Friends, Friends, Friends
Moulson has 23 goals this season; John Tavares has earned assists on 15 of them. He has now been on-ice for 47 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 17 games ago, Matt Moulson is 7-11-18, Kyle Okposo is 6-9-15, and John Tavares is 10-16-26.
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 seven goals away from a third consecutive 30-goal season; no Islander since Ziggy Palffy has accomplished that feat. Moulson has 84 goals as an Islander – the most by any Islander since the lockout.
20-20-20 x 2
Moulson and Tavares are the first Islander teammates to record at least twenty goals in three straight seasons since Mark Parrish and Jason Blake did so in 2002-03, 2003-04, and 2005-06. Tavares, by the way, is the fifth player to score at least 20 goals for the Islanders in each of his first three NHL seasons, joining:
· Billy Harris (first six seasons: 1972-73 through 1977-78),
· Clark Gillies (five: 1974-75 through 1978-79),
· Mike Bossy (all 10 seasons: 1977-78 through 1986-87).
Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 215 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 113 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:
· Richard Park 10/5/2006 – 2/18/2009 221
· Bryan McCabe 10/7/95-2/4/98 220
· Bryan Trottier 3/7/81- 1/12/84 219
· Matt Moulson 10/3/2009-CURRENT 215
· Mariusz Czerkawski 12/23/99 – 4/14/2002 215
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 now has the 6th 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. Travis Hamonic 11/24/10 – CURRENT 113
7. Jean Potvin 10/23/75-1/2/77 110
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.
Hamonic Hurt
Travis Hamonic left the game in the third period and was taken to the hospital after being struck by a puck. Keep watching islanders.NHL.com for updates on Hamonic.
Missing Men
Milan Jurcina (elbow laceration) and Brian Rolston (healthy) were scratched. Marty Reasoner, Mike Mottau, Rick DiPietro, and Mark Katic are on injured reserve. The Isles have lost 248 man-games to injury so far this season. Evgeni Nabakov dressed as the back-up.
List Time
Career Wins, Active Goalies
Career Wins
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 | Matt Moulson | 84 |
| 33 | Tomas Jonsson | 84 |
| 35 | Wayne Merrick | 81 |
| 35 | Dave Scatchard | 81 |
| 37 | Marty McInnis | 79 |
| 38 | Miroslav Satan | 78 |
| 39 | Claude Lapointe | 76 |
| 40 | John Tavares | 75 |
| 41 | Lorne Henning | 73 |
| 41 | JP Parise | 73 |
Career Games as an Islander (skaters)
| 58 | Arron Asham | 300 | ||||||
| 58 | Roman Hamrlik | 300 | ||||||
| 60 | Frans Nielsen | 288 | ||||||
| 61 | Gord Dineen | 287 | ||||||
| 62 | Jeff Norton | 282 | ||||||
| 63 | Steve Thomas | 275 | ||||||
| 64 | Josh Bailey | 262 | ||||||
| 65 | Blake Comeau | 261 | ||||||
| 65 | Andre St. Laurent | 261 | ||||||
| 67 | Brad Lauer | 259 | ||||||
| 74 | Miro Satan | 243 | ||||||
| 75 | Bryan Berard | 242 | ||||||
| 76 | Kyle Okposo | 240 | ||||||
| 76 | JP Parise | 240 | ||||||
| 78 | Adrian Aucoin | 235 | ||||||
| 88 | Andy Hilbert | 218 | ||||||
| 89 | Matt Moulson | 215 | ||||||
| 90 | John Tavares | 212 | ||||||
| 91 | Paul Boutilier | 211 | ||||||
| 92 | Gary Nylund | 209 | ||||||
| 93 | Mark Streit | 207 | ||||||
| 94 | Tom Fitzgerald | 205 | ||||||
Career Points as an Islander
| 39 | Lorne Henning | 184 |
| 40 | John Tavares | 174 |
| 41 | Randy Wood | 172 |
| 50 | Roman Hamrlik | 153 |
| 51 | Matt Moulson | 147 |
| 52 | Frans Nielsen | 145 |
| 53 | Kyle Okposo | 144 |
| 54 | Michael Peca | 142 |
Season Series Stats
The Islanders lead the season series two games to one (and five points to two). The teams will complete the season series on February 21st in Buffalo. The Isles have earned points in four straight games against the Sabres(3-0-1) for the first time since a 7-game win streak vs. Buffalo in 2002-03 and 2003-04.
Happy Anniversary
34 years ago tonight (2-4-78): Mike Bossy recorded the first of his club record 39 hat tricks as the Islanders pound the Capitals 6-1 at the Coliseum.
All-time, the Isles are 12-7-3 on this date, despite winning just one of their past six games (1-2-3) on this date.
On The Farm
The first place Sound Tigers finally lost, dropping a 3-2 decision to Manchester tonight. It was their first regulation loss in 2012, ending an 11-0-0-1 stretch. Kevin Poulin made 26 saves; Ty Wishart and Micheal Haley had goals for Bridgeport. The Sound Tigers are 23-18-3-2 and return home to play Manchester on Saturday. Casey Cizikas had an assist tonight; he now has points in eight straight games and 15 of the last 16.
Up Next
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7th ISLANDERS AT PHILADELPHIA 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders Game Night at 6:30pm), WRHU (88.7FM)]
[MSG+ (Islanders Game Night at 6:30pm), WRHU (88.7FM)]
The Islanders will look for their second straight win over the Flyers and their second in Philadelphia in less than three weeks as they travel down the Turnpike to the Wells Fargo Center. The Islanders are 1-1-1 in three games against the Flyers this season.
If the Islanders can win on Tuesday, they will reach .500 (after February 1st) for the first time since they were 32-32-7 through 71 games of the 2007-08 campaign.
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 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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