By Eric Hornick
Game 81
Isles 5, Jets 4
Michael Grabner scored two goals in the final 8:15, including the winning goal in the final minute, and Kyle Okposo also scored twice as the Islanders closed out the home season with a 5-4 win over the Winnipeg Jets in front of 13,048 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The win snaps a three-game Islander losing streak and gives the Isles 79 points, equaling their highest total of the last five seasons.
The Scoring:
1st Period
6:38 EV NYI 26 M.MOULSON(36) 91 J.TAVARES(49)
8:06 EV NYI 21 K.OKPOSO(22) 12 J.BAILEY(19) 51 F.NIELSEN(28)
9:42 EV WPG 39 T.ENSTROM(6) 19 J.SLATER(8) 33 D.BYFUGLIEN(40)
17:08 EV WPG 16 A.LADD(28) 18 B.LITTLE(22) 4 Z.BOGOSIAN(25)
2nd Period
8:41 EV NYI 21 K.OKPOSO(23) 91 J.TAVARES(50)
3rd Period
7:03 EV WPG 4 Z.BOGOSIAN(5) 22 C.THORBURN(7) 33 D.BYFUGLIEN(41)
11:45 EV-PS NYI 40 M.GRABNER(18) Penalty Shot
12:21 EV WPG 33 D.BYFUGLIEN(12) 39 T.ENSTROM(26)
19:13 EV NYI 40 M.GRABNER(19) 3 T.HAMONIC(22) 51 F.NIELSEN(29)
The Skinny Moulson is the first Islander since Jason Blake to score 36 goals in a season; Tavares' assists give him the club lead with 50, one more than PA Parenteau who left the game with an ankle strain in the second period. Grabner's penalty shot goal ends an unbelievably long drought between successful penalty shots at home (see below). With one game to play, Tavares now has 81 points in 81 games. It is Grabner's 8th career multi-goal game (and 2nd this season) while Okposo now has six career two goal games (three this season). Moulson and Tavares each extend their point streaks to four games with Tavares owning assists in each contest.
The Shots:
Isles 10-11-7=28
Jets 13-5-7=25
The Penalty Shot
Grabner, and the Islanders, FINALLY convert on a home penalty shot. Grabner has attempted all three Islander penalty shots this season, all on home ice, but had been stopped by Johan Hedberg (NJ) and Sergei Bobrovsky (Phil). He is the only player in the NHL to attempt three penalty shots this season.
Grabner's goal ends a streak of 14 consecutive regular season home ice penalty shot failures, dating back to a goal by Tim Connolly on 3/21/00. (Shawn Bates connected in a 2002 playoff game; 13 of the 14 regular season failures have occurred since then).
It was the 51th penalty shot in Islander regular season history and only the 14th time that they have scored (28%). Grabner is the first Islander to ever attempt three penalty shots in a season and is now 1-4 in his career as an Islander; only Brad Isbister (5) has had more attempts.
Home and Road
The Islanders are 34-36-11 overall and finish the season 17-18-6 at home. The Isles are 22-11-6 in home finales but this was their first victory (1-2-2) in the past five seasons. It's the third time in four seasons that the Isles finished the home campaign with exactly 40 points.
Winnipeg is 37-35-9 overall and finish their road season with a 14-22-5 record.
In the Nets
Al Montoya stopped 21 shots and improves to 9-10-5 on the season.
Chris Mason made 23 saves for Winnipeg but falls to 8-7-1.
Power Plays
Each team went 0-3 on the power play. The Isles, after scoring power play goals in six straight games, are 0-8 in the last four games. The Isles have killed 24 of their last 28.
The Isles finish the home season 20-131 on the power play and 22-116 on the penalty kill.
They Said It
Michael Grabner: "We just wanted to finish the season strong. We wanted to give the fans a win … and make them excited for next year."
They (We) Tweeted It
@NYIslanders: The Good Guy Award was just presented by @stapenewsday to @mmoulson.
The Coach
"We should've been a lot better at home. We were good on the road, but not good enough at home. Our mission going into next season has to be to get better every day."
Leading Ice Men
Travis Hamonic led the Isles with 24:12; Dustin Byfuglien led Winnipeg with 25:26.
In the Circle
The Islanders won 30 draws; the Jets won 24. John Tavares won 14 of 20 for the Isles; Andrew Burmistrov won 10 of 16 for the Jets.
Heavy Hitters
The Islanders were out-hit 20-17. Matt Martin led the Isles with four hits, extending his NHL-record total to 369 hits (hits have only been recorded since 2005-06). Martin has also recorded 13 of the team's 24 fighting majors this season; Micheal Haley, who has played just thirteen games, has six of the other 11.
Lots of Blocks
The Isles were credited with 17 blocks, led by Steve Staios, who had four. They lead the NHL with 1,355. Staios was playing in his 1,000th NHL game and was honored in a pre-game ceremony. He is the 279th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 games.
Goals by Period (Season)
Isles: 65-64-61-3 = 193
Opponents: 72-74-91-7 = 244
Third period goals include 10 empty net goals for the Islanders and an NHL-leading 14 empty-net goals against the Isles.
All-time Winners
The Islanders guaranteed that they will finish the season over all-time NHL .500 (1347-1344-432 in 3,122 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 113 goals in their 34 wins (3.30 per game) and 81 goals in their other 47 games (0-36-11; 1.72 per game). In their 36 regulation losses, the Isles have scored 49 goals (1.36 per game).
Head of the Class
John Tavares has 202 career points; he is 53 points ahead of Matt Duchene for most among 2009 draft picks. No other player in that draft is anywhere close. Tavares also has more goals and more assists than any other player in that draft.
Longest Point Streaks in NHL, Last 2 Seasons
· Sidney Crosby, 25 games (11/5/10-12/28/10)
· Pascal Dupuis, 16 games (CURRENT)
· Eric Staal, 12 games (2/8/12-3/6/12)
· 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 36 goals this season; John Tavares has earned assists on 24 of them. He has now been on-ice for 60 consecutive Moulson goals, earning assists on 40 of them, dating back to a Moulson goal on November 17, 2010 against Tampa.
102 NHL Goals
Moulson has 103 career goals (97 as an Islander). While 262 players were selected ahead of Moulson in the 2003 entry draft, only 17 have more goals.
Road Warrior
23 of Moulson's 36 goals have come on the road. Moulson is tied with Marian Gaborik and Steven Stamkos for the NHL lead in this department.
Powerful
14 of Moulson's goals have come on the power play. Only James Neal (18) and Scott Hartnell (16) have more. Moulson is the first Islander since Jason Blake (14 in 2006-07) to have 14 power play goals in a season.
30-30-30
Matt Moulson is the first Islander since Ziggy Palffy (1995-96 to 1997-98) to have at least three consecutive 30-goal seasons. Only 4 players in Islander history have had more thirty goal seasons: Trottier (11), Bossy (10), Gillies (6), LaFontaine (6). Moulson has 97 goals as an Islander – the most by any Islander since the lockout. Moulson has opened the scoring an NHL-leading 12 times this season and the Isles are 10-1-1 when he does so. He is the first Islander with at least 12 opening goals since Alexei Yashin had 12 in 2001-02.
36-Goal Club
Moulson is the first Islander to score at least 36 goals since Jason Blake, who tallied 40 goals in 2006-07. Moulson and Blake are the only Islanders since Ziggy Palffy (1997-98) to record at least 36 goals.
30-30
Tavares and Moulson give the Isles two 30-goal scorers for the second straight season (Grabner 34, Moulson 31 last year). Prior to last year, the Isles had not had two 30-goal scorers since 2001-02 (Alexei Yashin & Mark Parrish). It's the first time since 1992-93 and 1993-94 that the Isles have had multiple 30-goal scorers in consecutive seasons (4 in both 92-93 and 93-94).
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 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).
Leaning on #91
John Tavares has 81 points (32-49-81) on 193 Islander goals this season (42.0%), virtually assuring that he will join Zigmund Palffy (41.0% in 1997-98) as the only Islanders to record points on over 40% of the team's goals in a complete season. Tavares is the first Islander since Palffy (87 in 1997-98) to record 81 points in a season.
Highest Percentage of Team's Points by Club Scoring Leader (Isles history)
· John Tavares
|
2011-12
|
42.0%
|
· Ziggy Palffy
|
1997-98
|
41.0%
|
· Pierre Turgeon
|
1992-93
|
39.4%
|
· Mike Bossy
|
1982-83
|
39.1%
|
· Mike Bossy
|
1981-82
|
38.2%
|
The Isles would need to score at least 5 goals on Saturday in Columbus, without Tavares earning a point, for Tavares to NOT become the all-time club record holder and would need to score 10 goals, again with Tavares not earning a point, for him to have points on fewer than 40% of the club's goals.
Most Points, Islanders, Since 1993-94
· Pierre Turgeon
|
1993-94
|
94
|
· Ziggy Palffy
|
1996-97
|
90
|
· Ziggy Palffy
|
1997-98
|
87
|
· Ziggy Palffy
|
1995-96
|
87
|
· John Tavares
|
2011-12
|
81
|
· Alexei Yashin
|
2001-02
|
75
|
· Steve Thomas
|
1993-94
|
75
|
Royalty
Tavares is the third player in Islander history to record at least 81 points at age 21 or younger. The others have banners hanging at the Coliseum: Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier. (Denis Potvin had 76 points as a 21-year old.)
Tavares Passes PA
PA Parenteau has led the Islanders in assists for most of the season and recently became the first Islander to have at least 49 assists since Pierre Turgeon had in 1993-94. However, Tavares' two assists tonight gives him a club-leading 50, making him the first Islander to reach 50 in the last eighteen seasons.
Most Assists, Islanders, Since 1989-90
· Pat Lafontaine 1989-90 51
· John Tavares 2011-12 50
· PA Parenteau 2011-12 49
· Pierre Turgeon 1991-92 49
· Jeff Norton 1989-90 49
New York 67's
The Isles now have three players with at least 67 points (Tavares, Moulson, Parenteau). It's the first time since 1993-94 that the Isles have at least three players with 67 points.
Captain, My Captain
Mark Streit has 46 points. He joins a select group of Islander defensemen to record 46 points at least three times in his career, and the 1st to do so that frequently in nearly a quarter-century:
· Denis Potvin -13 times (1973-74 to 1987-88, except 1979-80 and 1986-87)
· Tomas Jonsson - 4 times (1982-83 to 1984-85, and 1987-88)
· Stefan Persson - 3 times (1977-78 to 1980-81, except 1979-80)
Only three other Islander defenders have recorded 40 points in the 2000s: Tom Poti (2006-07), Adrian Aucoin (2003-04) and Roman Hamrlik (2000-01 and 2002-03).
Streit has 39 assists this season, which is one more than he recorded in 2009-10. Streit also joins D. Potvin and Persson as the only Isles defenders to have at least 3 seasons with at least 38 assists (Potvin -10x, Persson - 3x) He is two assists shy of becoming the first Islander defenseman since Vladimir Malakhov (47 in 1993-94) to record 41 assists in his season. Both Streit and Bryan Berard have had a 40-assist season for the Isles.
Ironman
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 245 games since joining the team. Moulson's streak is the longest for an Islander in the Post-Cup era and the 4th longest in club history. Billy Harris played in the first 576 games in Islander history; that figure still stands as the club record.
Frans Nielsen and John Tavares have also played in every game this season while Mark Streit is the only Islander defender to do so. The Isles have not had as many as four players play in every game since 1986-87.
Longest Consecutive Game Streaks, Islander History
1. Billy Harris 576
2. Bob Nystrom 301
3. Denis Potvin 262
4. Matt Moulson 245
5. JP Parise 240
Okposo in the Groove
Kyle Okposo has scored 21 of his 23 goals since the start of December. Okposo has scored 56 of his 67 career goals from December-April. It's the first time in his career that Okposo has recorded at least 20 goals in a season.
Missing Men
Casey Cizikas (upper body), Mark Eaton (healthy), Dylan Reese (healthy) and Evgeni Nabokov (injured) were scratched. Rick DiPietro is on injured reserve. The Isles have lost 348 man-games to injury so far this season. John Grahame served as the back-up.
Career Years
· Matt Moulson: 36 goals, 33 assists and 69 points are new career highs.
· PA Parenteau: 49 assists and 67 points are new career highs. He has 18 goals, two shy of his career best.
· John Tavares: 32 goals, 49 assists and 81 points are new career highs.
· Frans Nielsen: 17 goals and 46 assists are new career-highs.
· Travis Hamonic: 22 assists is a new career high.
· Andrew MacDonald: 5 goals are a new career-high.
· Matt Martin: 7 goals are a new career high. He has 14 points, two shy of his career best.
· Kyle Okposo: 23 goals is a new career high.
· Josh Bailey has 13 goals, 19 assists and 32 points. His career highs are 16-19-35.
List Time
Career Wins, Active Goalies
Career Wins
21. Sean Burke 324
23. Miikka Kiprusoff 310
Most First Goals of Game (NHL This Season)
1
|
Matt Moulson
|
12
|
2
|
Ilya Kovalchuk
|
11
|
3
|
Steven Stamkos
|
10
|
Career Goals as an Islander
25
|
Trent Hunter
|
99
| |||||
26
|
Matt Moulson
|
97
| |||||
27
|
Mikko Makela
|
95
| |||||
27
|
David Volek
|
95
| |||||
32
|
Travis Green
|
92
| |||||
33
|
Butch Goring
|
87
| |||||
34
|
Tomas Jonsson
|
84
| |||||
34
|
John Tavares
|
84
| |||||
36
|
Wayne Merrick
|
81
| |||||
36
|
Dave Scatchard
|
81
| |||||
Career Assists as an Islander – active players
| |||||||
1
|
John Tavares
|
118
| |||||
2
|
Mark Streit
|
117
| |||||
3
|
Frans Nielsen
|
112
| |||||
4
|
Kyle Okposo
|
93
| |||||
Career Games as an Islander (skaters)
51
|
Brad Dalgarno
|
321
| |
52
|
Frans Nielsen
|
318
| |
53
|
Steve Webb
|
316
| |
53
|
Ray Ferraro
|
316
| |
53
|
Richard Park
|
316
| |
59
|
Arron Asham
|
300
| |
59
|
Roman Hamrlik
|
300
| |
61
|
Josh Bailey
|
290
| |
62
|
Gord Dineen
|
287
| |
63
|
Jeff Norton
|
282
| |
64
|
Steve Thomas
|
275
| |
65
|
Kyle Okposo
|
270
| |
66
|
Blake Comeau
|
261
| |
66
|
Andre St. Laurent
|
261
| |
72
|
Brad Isbister
|
247
| |
72
|
Brendan Witt
|
247
| |
74
|
Sean Bergenheim
|
246
| |
75
|
Matt Moulson
|
245
| |
76
|
Miroslav Satan
|
243
| |
77
|
John Tavares
|
242
| |
77
|
Bryan Berard
|
242
| |
79
|
JP Parise
|
240
| |
80
|
Mark Streit
|
237
| |
81
|
Adrian Aucoin
|
235
| |
Career Points as an Islander
34
|
Anders Kallur
|
211
|
35
|
John Tavares
|
202
|
36
|
Marty McInnis
|
198
|
44
|
Matt Moulson
|
170
|
44
|
Shawn Bates
|
170
|
46
|
Jude Drouin
|
169
|
47
|
Dave Scatchard
|
168
|
48
|
Miroslav Satan
|
166
|
48
|
Frans Nielsen
|
166
|
50
|
Kyle Okposo
|
160
|
50
|
Oleg Kvasha
|
158
|
52
|
Alan Kerr
|
154
|
53
|
Roman Hamrlik
|
153
|
54
|
Mark Streit
|
150
|
Season Series Stats
The Isles win the season series three games to one (6 points to 3), with each team scoring 10 times. The win breaks a three-game home losing streak to the Thrashers/Jets and breaks a 4-game home losing streak to Winnipeg (0-3-1) dating back to a 5-4 win over the original Jets on February 17, 1992 (Tom Fitzgerald scored the overtime winner in that one).
Happy Anniversary
25 years ago tonight (4-5-87): The Islanders end the regular season with a 9-5 win in Philadelphia. It's the most goals the Islanders have ever scored in Philadelphia.
All-time, the Isles are 8-5-0 on this date.
On The Farm
The Sound Tigers have won six straight games (all at home) and are 38-24-3-6 overall. They have two games remaining on their eight game homestand. Bridgeport has 85 points, five ahead of Connecticut for the division lead, and also holds the tie-breaker. Connecticut has six games to play and the Sound Tigers five. Bridgeport, who has already clinched a playoff spot, hosts Syracuse Friday and Providence Saturday.
Up Next
SATURDAY, APRIL 7th ISLANDERS AT COLUMBUS 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders Game Night at 6:30pm), WRHU (88.7FM)]
[MSG+ (Islanders Game Night at 6:30pm), WRHU (88.7FM)]
The Islanders have finished their season series with 28 opponents. Saturday, they will start and finish the season series with the Blue Jackets as Columbus provides the opposition for the final game of the regular season. All-time, the Isles are 21-12-5 in road finales and 19-15-4 in their final game of the regular season. This will be their first visit in just over two years to Columbus; overall the Isles are 4-1-1 in the last six against the Jackets.
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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