The Skinny: Isles 4, Pittsburgh 1

"The Skinny"

 By Eric Hornick

 

Game 6

Isles 4, Penguins 1

Evgeni Nabokov came within 69 seconds of his 53^rd career shutout and the Isles got goals from four different players to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 before a sellout crowd of 18,657 at CONSOL Energy Center.   It's the first time since 2002 that the Isles have won consecutive games in The Steel City. The Isles are now 2-1-1 on this five-game road trip and sit alone in 2^nd place in the Atlantic Division, while Pittsburgh is winless at home (0-2-0).

The Scoring:

1st Period

16:01    NYI       C. Cizikas (1) Wrap-around - ASST: NONE          1 - 0 NYI

           

2nd Period

06:46    NYI       M. Grabner (4) Snap - ASST: M. Streit (2) AND M. Reasoner (1)   2 - 0 NYI          

15:22    NYI       PPG - J. Tavares (2) Snap - ASST: M. Moulson (3) AND F. Nielsen (4)     3 - 0 NYI          

17:15    NYI       PPG - M. Moulson (4) Wrist - ASST: B. Boyes (3) AND F. Nielsen (5)       4 - 0 NYI

 

3^rd Period

18:51

PIT

P. Dupuis (2) Backhand - ASST: C. Kunitz (3) AND S. Crosby (3)

4 - 1 NYI

           

The Skinny:  The Isles are only the 2^nd team in the Eastern Conference to reach 20 goals…Cizikas' goal was his first NHL goal… Pittsburgh had scored first in every game prior to this one, allowing only one first-period goal… The Pens have been outscored 11-2 in the second period this season... John Tavares has goals in consecutive games for the first time since last March…The Isles dominated the special teams, going 2-2 on the power play and killing nine minutes of Penguin power plays…Travis Hamonic, who suffered an ankle injury in Winnipeg on Sunday, played over 25 minutes just 48 hours later…The Isles are above NHL .500 thru six games for only the second time in the last eight seasons (3-1-2 in 2010-11)…Sidney Crosby assisted on the Penguins goal, giving him 67 points (20-47-67) in 37 games against the Isles… Frans Nielsen had his second multi-assist game of the season; it was the 5^th for the Isles, with John Tavares owning

the other three… Reasoner's assist was his first since December 15, 2011…

The Shots:

Isles          7-10-7=24

Penguins   8-11-19=38

 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 3-2-1 overall, 1-1-0 at home and 2-1-1 on the road.  The Isles have earned at least a point in four of the last five games (3-1-1).

Pittsburgh is 3-3-0 overall, 0-2-0 at home and 3-1-0 on the road.

In the Nets

Evgeni Nabokov made 37 saves; he is 3-1-1 on the season. Nabokov is 10-2-0 in his career against the Penguins.

Marc Andre-Fleury played the first two periods, stopping 13 shots.  He has allowed 13 goals over seven periods in his last three games vs. the Isles.  Tomas Vokoun stopped seven shots in the third period.

Power Plays

The Isles went 2-2 on the power play while Pittsburgh was 0-3.  The Isles had only 1:50 of PP time while Pittsburgh had 9:00.  It's the first time since January 3, 2012 (2-2 vs. Carolina) that the Isles have converted multiple power plays without a failure.

Special Special Teams

The Isles are 6-20 on the power play (30.0%) and 19-20 on the penalty kill (95.0%). It's the first time in over 25 years that the Isles have allowed only one power play goal in the first six games.

They Said It

NBCSN's Brian Engblom on Michael Grabner:  "That guy's fast even when he's gliding."

They Tweeted It

@thelnino25: @zeeker11 congrats to your first NHL goal ! Well deserved ! #greatguy

@emptynetters: About as down and terse of a Bylsma post-game presser as I've ever seen.

The Coach

"We had a total team effort. I thought we worked hard. I'm sure nobody gave us much of a chance against a really good hockey team, but you know what, I thought systematically we were a little more structured."

TRIP-TIK

This was the fourth game of a 5-game road trip.  The Isles are 2-1-1 on the trip, and will play Thursday in New Jersey before returning to the Coliseum on Super Bowl Sunday. The Isles will also play five consecutive road games to end the regular season.

Long Streaks Continue

The Penguins have not been shutout at home since March 12, 2011 but that pales in comparison to their streak vs. the Isles.  The Islanders came within 69 seconds of blanking the Penguins for the first time since January 9, 1986 and for the first time in Pittsburgh since February 2, 1985.  That 1985 shutout is the Islanders' only regular season shutout win ever in Pittsburgh (113 games); the teams played a scoreless tie in Pittsburgh in 1980.  The Isles also own a playoff shutout in Pittsburgh: Game 7 in 1975 (Chico Resch).

Pittsburgh has sold-out 256 consecutive games at home, including every game in the history of the CONSOL Energy Center.

First Times in a Long Time

The Isles have scored 21 goals in the last five games (4.2 goals per game); it's the most goals that they have scored in any five-game period since scoring 21 in a five-game stretch in February 2011.

The Isles have scored 22 goals in the first six games this season (3.67 goals per game); it's the most goals that have scored thru six games since they tallied 26 times in the first six games in October 2001. 

It's the Isles first win by at least three goals in Pittsburgh since December 31, 2003 (6-1 with Garth Snow in nets).

Too Early for the P Word?

This is the 16^th time in Islander history that they have scored at least 22 goals in the first six games.  They made the playoffs in 14 of the other 15 seasons.

Head of the Class

John Tavares has 210 career points; he is 55 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.

Friends, Friends, Friends

Matt Moulson has four goals this season; John Tavares has earned an assist on two of them.  Tavares has now been on-ice for 64 consecutive Moulson goals, earning assists on 42 of them, dating back to a Moulson goal on November 17, 2010 against Tampa. 

107 NHL Goals

Moulson has 107 career goals (101 as an Islander).  While 262 players were selected before the Penguins chose Moulson in the 2003 entry draft, only 17 have more goals.

Road Warrior

Moulson now has four goals in the last four games, all on the road. Scoring on the road is nothing new for Moulson; 23 of his 36 goals last season also came on the road.  Only Steven Stamkos (24) had more.

Leading Ice Men

Andrew MacDonald led the Isles with 26:12; Kris Letang led Pittsburgh were 23:46.

In the Circle

The Islanders won 31 draws; the Penguins won 41.  Marty Reasoner won 9 of 15 for the Isles; Evgeni Malkin won 8 of 13 for Pittsburgh.

Heavy Hitters

The Islanders were out-hit 20-14.  Matt Martin and Colin McDonald each had five to lead the Islanders. There were no fights, leaving the Isles' season total at three, however Colin McDonald was ejected after drawing a major boarding penalty late in the second period.

All-time Winners

The Islanders improve to three games over all-time NHL .500 (1350-1347-433 in 3,130 games).  The Isles twice last season fell one game below .500. Prior to that, they had not been below NHL .500 since they were 177-178-83 prior to their victory on January 16, 1978.

Ironmen

Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 252 games since joining the team.  Moulson's streak is the longest for an Islander in the Post-Cup era and the 4^th longest in club history.  Billy Harris played in the first 576 games in Islander history; that figure still stands as the club record.

Three other Islanders, Frans Nielsen, John Tavares and Mark Streit, also played in every game last season.  Tavares extended his streak to 165 consecutive games, while Nielsen and Streit have each played in 88.

Longest Consecutive Game Streaks, Islander History 

1. Billy Harris 576 

2. Bob Nystrom 301

3. Denis Potvin 262

4. Matt Moulson 252

 

Howie's Count

Here's a number that Howie Rose likes to refer to from time-to-time. Casey Cizikas is the third player to score his first goal as an Islander this season, joining Brad Boyes and Keith Aucoin. 324 players in Islander history have now scored a goal.

Missing Men

Casey Cizikas replaced Eric Boulton.  Radek Martinek took the warm-up in case Travis Hamonic could not play but ended by a scratch as did Joe Finley. Josh Bailey and Jesse Joensuu remain suspended after suffering injuries in Europe. Lubomir Visnovsky has not yet reported.  

List Time

Career Wins, Active Goalies

1. Martin Brodeur 659

2. Roberto Luongo 340

3. Nikolai Khabibulin 328

4. Evgeni Nabokov 315

5. Miikka Kiprusoff 312

 

Career Wins

21. Sean Burke 324

22. Evgeni Nabokov 315

23. Miikka Kiprusoff 312

 

Career Goals as an Islander

22	Benoit Hogue	105
22	Ed Westfall	105
24	Matt Moulson	101
24	Anders Kallur	101
26	Trent Hunter	99
27	Mikko Makela	95
27	David Volek	95
32	Travis Green	92
33	Butch Goring	87
34	John Tavares	86
35	Tomas Jonsson	84
36	Wayne Merrick	81
36	Dave Scatchard	81
Career Assists as an Islander – active players
1	John Tavares	124
2	Mark Streit	120
3	Frans Nielsen	118
4	Kyle Okposo	95

Career Games as an Islander (skaters)

49	Eric Cairns	327
50	Alan Kerr	326
51	Frans Nielsen	325
52	Brad Dalgarno	321
59	Arron Asham	300
59	Roman Hamrlik	300
61	Josh Bailey	292
62	Gord Dineen	287
63	Jeff Norton	282
64	Kyle Okposo	277
65	Steve Thomas	275
66	Blake Comeau	261
66	Andre St. Laurent	261
70	Pierre Turgeon	255
71	Matt Moulson	252
72	Jude Drouin	250
73	John Tavares	249
74	Brad Isbister	247
74	Brendan Witt	247
76	Sean Bergenheim	246
77	Mark Streit	244
78	Miroslav Satan	243

Career Points as an Islander

31	Mark Parrish	214
32	Jean Potvin	213
32	Garry Howatt	213
34	Anders Kallur	211
35	John Tavares	210
36	Marty McInnis	198
40	Lorne Henning	184
41	Matt Moulson	177
42	Randy Wood	172
42	Frans Nielsen	172
44	Claude Lapointe	171
44	JP Parise	171
46	Shawn Bates	170
47	Jude Drouin	169
48	Dave Scatchard	168
49	Miroslav Satan	166
50	Kyle Okposo	164
51	Oleg Kvasha	158
52	Mark Streit	155
53	Alan Kerr	154
54	Roman Hamrlik	153

Season Series Stats

The Islanders lead the season series 1-0-0 and two points to none.  The Isles have won three straight over the Penguins for the first time since 2007. The teams will also meet on February 5 and March 22 at the Coliseum, and March 10 and March 30 in Pittsburgh.

Happy Anniversary

13 years ago today (1-29-00):  Mathieu Biron scores the winning goal in overtime as the Islanders defeat San Jose in the Shark Tank 3-2. It's the second straight win for Roberto Luongo—the only time he won consecutive games as an Islander.  (Evgeni Nabokov gave up two early goals in that game and was replaced by Steve Shields for San Jose)

All-time, the Isles are 7-4-4 on this date, even though they have never won at home (0-3-3).  With tonight's win, the Isles are 7-1-1 on the road on this date.

On The Farm

Nino Niederreiter and Matt Donovan represented the Sound Tigers at this weekend's AHL All-Star Break. Niederreiter recorded an assist in the All Star Game while Donovan blistered a shot at over 98 MPH in the Skills Competition. Bridgeport, who is 19-19-2-2 resumes play on Thursday against Providence.

Up Next

THURSDAY, JANUARY 31th ISLANDERS AT NEW JERSEY 7:00PM
[MSG+2 (Pre-game show at 6:30PM), WRHU (88.7FM)]

The road trip concludes on Thursday night in New Jersey with the second of five meetings this season between the Isles and the Devils.  The Devils won on Opening Night by a 2-1 score and have not been beaten in regulation time this season (3-0-2).

The Isles, who have scored 21 goals in five games since their Opening Night loss, have scored exactly one goal in each of the last five games against the Devils (1-4-0).

And oh, did I mention that an Islander regulation win would give them sole possession of first place in the Atlantic?  I just did.

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