"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 34
Isles 4, Philadelphia 3 (SO)
Josh Bailey scored the deciding goal in the shootout as the Islanders survived the Flyers tying the game on a Scott Hartnell power play goal with 30 seconds to play and defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 before a crowd of 19,906 at the Wells Fargo Center. The win, coupled with the Rangers' 3-0 loss in Ottawa, pushes the Islanders into a tie for 8th place in the Eastern Conference.
The Scoring:
1st Period
04:14 PHI PPG - S. Hartnell (3) Snap - ASST: C. Giroux (21) AND W. Simmonds (11)1 - 0 PHI
17:25 PHI M. Knuble (3) Backhand - ASST: C. Giroux (22) 2 - 0 PHI
2nd Period
19:00 NYI J. Tavares (21) Backhand - ASST: M. Moulson (24) AND M. Streit (12) 2 - 1 PHI
3rd Period
10:04 NYI C. McDonald (5) Snap - ASST: K. Aucoin (5) AND M. Grabner (4) 2 - 2 TIE
15:37 NYI C. McDonald (6) Wrist - ASST: M. Martin (4) AND C. Cizikas (8) 3 - 2 NYI
19:30 PHI PPG - S. Hartnell (4) Wrist - ASST: W. Simmonds (12) AND M. Read (8) 3 - 3 TIE
OT Period
NONE
The Shootout (4 rounds):
Matt Read (Fails) , Frans Nielsen (Fails), Claude Giroux (Scores), Brad Boyes (Scores), Brayden Schenn (Fails), John Tavares (Fails), Wayne Simmonds (Fails), Josh Bailey (Scores- Game Deciding Goal)
The Skinny:
Tavares' goal extended his point streak to five games. Tavares is 2nd in the NHL in goals; only Steven Stamkos (23) has more. It was his 105th career goal, tying Ed Westfall and Benoit Hogue for 23rd place in Isles history...Matt Moulson's assist was his team-leading 24th of the season…Colin McDonald's goals were his first in 10 games; it's his first multi-goal game in the NHL … The Isles have won four straight on the road... Thomas Hickey was "even"; he remains the team leader in +/- at +5, Hickey is +10 in his last 18 games and has not been a "minus" player in any game in that stretch…The Isles are 8-2-3 in games decided by a single goal, including 6-0-1 on the road… The Isles own their first three-game winning streak in almost exactly a year (March 25-29, 2012)… This was the Isles 2nd win when trailing after two periods (2-7-2)… The Isles are 3-0 in the shootout this season and 47-32 in their history in shootouts… The Flyers are winless in 4 straight (0-2-2) and are 2-6-2 in their last ten games, but don't blame their power play – Philly has had four power plays in the last three games, and scored on all of them.
The Standings:
· 7 New Jersey 33 games 15-11-7 37 points Next games: Friday @ Tampa, Monday vs Isles
· 8 NY Rangers 33 games 16-14-3 35 points Next games: Saturday @ Montreal, Monday vs Winnipeg
· 9 NY Islanders 34 games 16-15-3 35 points Next games: Saturday @Pittsburgh, Monday at Devils
(Each of the three teams has 13 regulation/overtime wins; the Rangers are still ahead of the Isles because they have one more game to play.)
First Time in a Very Long Time
The Isles are six games over .500 on the road for the first time since finishing the 2001-02 season with a 21-15-3-2 road record. The Isles have made the playoffs in every season that they have a record of at least 5 games over .500 on the road at any point.
Thursday, Crazy Thursday
The Isles are playing on every Thursday this season. They are now 6-2-2 on Thursday; four of their last five wins have come in either overtime or in a shootout.
Road Warriors
The Isles have 21 points in their first 15 road games, matching their second-highest total in franchise history.
Most points in first 15 road games (all time):
· 23 in 1976-77 (11-3-1)
· 21 in 2012-13 (10-4-1)
· 21 in 1980-81 (10-4-1)
· 20 in 1983-84 (9-4-2)
·
The Shots:
Isles 14-10-9-3=36
Flyers 9-14-11-2=36
Home and Road
The Islanders are 16-15-3 overall, 6-11-2 at home and 10-4-1 on the road. Their 35 points in 34 games is their highest total since they had 36 points in 34 games in 2007-08.
The Isles have a four game road winning streak for the first time since January 31-February 14, 2012. That matches their longest road winning streak since they opened the 2001-02 season with six straight road wins.
The Flyers are 13-17-3 overall, 9-5-2 at home and 4-12-1 on the road.
In the Nets
Evgeni Nabokov made 33 saves, plus three more in the shootout for his 328th career win. He is 16-10-3 this season, with three shutouts. No other Islander goalie owns a win this season. Nabokov is now 27-22 in his career in shootouts, including 3-0 this season.
Ilya Bryzgalov made 33 saves for the Flyers; he is 13-14-3 on the season. No other Flyer goalie owns a win this season.
Power Plays
The Islanders went 0-5 while the Flyers were 2-2.
The Isles have 14 PP goals in their last 19 games (with all 14 goals coming in seven games).
The Isles are 11-3-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 5-12-2 when they do not.
It's the first time in over 25 years that the Isles have gone 0-5 (or worse) while the opponent has scored on their only two power plays.
In (Almost) Every Game
The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 28 of 34 games this season (16-9-3).
They Said It
Evgeni Nabokov: "We weathered the storm and then we responded… (McDonald and Casey and Matt Martin) are big parts of this team…today (he) got rewarded."
They Tweeted It
@PeterBotte "Beware the Isles of March."
The Coach
"We found a way. It's a good character win for our team."
As Tavares Goes…
The Isles are 1-0-0 when Tavares has four points, 1-0-1 when he has three points, 5-2-0 when he has two points, 8-4-0 when he has one point, and 1-9-2 when Tavares is pointless.
What a Pair!
John Tavares and Matt Moulson have combined for 32 goals this season. Moulson has assisted on 16 Tavares goals this season after assisting on 12 of his 31 goals last season. Tavares has earned an assist on 7 Moulson goals this season. Since November 2011, Tavares has been on-ice for 39 of Moulson's last 40 goals, earning 25 assists; since November 2010, he has earned 47 assists on Moulson's last 71 goals, while being on ice for 69 of them.
Head of the Class
John Tavares has 238 career points; he is 56 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.
114 NHL Goals
Moulson has 114 career goals (108 as an Islander). While 262 players were selected before the Penguins chose Moulson in the 2003 entry draft, only 17 have more goals. Moulson is one goal behind Nikolai Zherdev for 16th place.
Leading Ice Men
Lubomir Visnovsky played 27:50 to lead the Isles. Brayden Schenn led the Flyers with 28:04.
In the Circle
The Islanders won 30 of 66 draws. Frans Nielsen won 8 of 14 for the Isles.
Heavy Hitters
The Islanders out-hit the Flyers 31-13. Matt Martin led the Isles with six hits, raising his season total to an NHL-leading 166. Fifteen different Isles were credited with at least one hit. Colin McDonald fought Scott Hartnell in the first period. It was McDonald's first fight and the Isles' 13th fight of the season.
Giving Up the Body
The Isles were credited with 13 blocked shots. Travis Hamonic and Matt Carkner each had three to co-lead the team. Andrew MacDonald, who entered the game leading the NHL in blocked shots— had one block, giving him 92 on the season.
All–time Winners
The Islanders move three games over all-time NHL .500 (1363-1360-435 in 3,158 games). The Isles have been one game below .500 twice last season and four times this season. Prior to that, they had not been below NHL .500 since they were 177-178-83 prior to their victory on January 16, 1978.
March to Victory
The Isles were 4-2-1 in January and 4-9-1 in February. The Isles are 8-4-1 in March.
Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 280 games since joining the team. Moulson's streak is the longest for an Islander in the Post-Cup era. 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 193 consecutive games, while Nielsen and Streit have each played in 116.
Kyle Okposo played his 99th consecutive game. Four other Islanders have played every game this season Travis Hamonic (56 consecutive games), Matt Martin (47),
Andrew Mac Donald & Brad Boyes (34).
Longest Consecutive Game Streaks, Islander History
1. Billy Harris 576
2. Bob Nystrom 301
3. Matt Moulson 280
4. Denis Potvin 262
Century Club
Mark Streit now has the sixth longest consecutive game streak of any defenseman in Islander history:
1. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979 262
2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220
3. Gerry Hart 3/1/1975-11/22/1977 198
4. Janne Niinimaa 3/13/2004-1/7/2006 136
5. Ken Morrow 3/1/1980-12/29/1981 134
6. Mark Streit 10/8/2011-CURRENT 116
7. Travis Hamonic 11/24/2010 – 2/4/2012 113
8. Jean Potvin 10/23/1975-1/2/1977 110
9. Kenny Jonsson 12/26/1996-2/4/1998 104
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
Eric Boulton replaced Marty Reasoner in the lineup. Joe Finley and Radek Martinek were also scratched. David Ullstrom and Brian Strait are on injured reserve. Jesse Joensuu is skating with the team but has not yet been added to the active roster.
Scoring
The Isles have scored 64 goals in their 16 wins (4.00 per game) and 33 goals in their other 18 games (0-15-3; 1.83 per game). In their 15 regulation losses, the Isles have scored 24 goals (1.60 per game).
Career Wins, Active Goalies
Career Wins
19. Nikolai Khabibulin 331
20. Harry Lumley 330
22. Sean Burke 324
23. Miikka Kiprusoff 317
Career Shutouts, Active Goalies
Career Shutouts
18 Clint Benedict 57
19 Evgeni Nabokov 55
20 Bernie Parent 54
20 Ed Giacomin 54
Career Goals as an Islander
21
|
Ray Ferraro
|
116
| |
22
|
Matt Moulson
|
108
| |
23
|
John Tavares
|
105
| |
23
|
Benoit Hogue
|
105
| |
23
|
Ed Westfall
|
105
| |
26
|
Anders Kallur
|
101
| |
Career Assists as an Islander
| |||
27
|
Greg Gilbert
|
138
| |
28
|
John Tavares
|
133
| |
29
|
Jason Blake
|
131
| |
30
|
Trent Hunter
|
130
| |
30
|
Mark Streit
|
130
| |
32
|
Frans Nielsen
|
128
| |
33
|
Benoit Hogue
|
124
| |
33
|
Mikko Makela
|
124
| |
Career Games as an Islander (skaters)
25
|
Gerry Hart
|
476
|
26
|
Mariusz Czerkawski
|
470
|
27
|
Radek Martinek
|
462
|
28
|
Trent Hunter
|
459
|
39
|
Randy Wood
|
381
|
40
|
Frans Nielsen
|
353
|
41
|
Dave Scatchard
|
347
|
53
|
Ray Ferraro
|
316
|
53
|
Steve Webb
|
316
|
53
|
Richard Park
|
316
|
56
|
Josh Bailey
|
315
|
57
|
Gerald Diduck
|
314
|
58
|
Mikko Makela
|
307
|
59
|
Kyle Okposo
|
305
|
60
|
Gordon Lane
|
304
|
61
|
Arron Asham
|
300
|
61
|
Roman Hamrlik
|
300
|
63
|
Gordon Dineen
|
287
|
64
|
Jeffrey Norton
|
282
|
65
|
Matt Moulson
|
280
|
66
|
John Tavares
|
277
|
67
|
Steve Thomas
|
275
|
68
|
Mark Streit
|
272
|
69
|
Blake Comeau
|
261
|
69
|
Andre St. Laurent
|
261
|
Career Points as an Islander
24
|
Ray Ferraro
|
238
|
24
|
John Tavares
|
238
|
26
|
Travis Green
|
237
|
35
|
Anders Kallur
|
211
|
36
|
Matt Moulson
|
204
|
37
|
Marty McInnis
|
198
|
38
|
Wayne Merrick
|
197
|
39
|
Robert Goring
|
195
|
40
|
Jeffrey Norton
|
188
|
41
|
Frans Nielsen
|
186
|
42
|
Lorne Henning
|
184
|
43
|
Kyle Okposo
|
176
|
44
|
Randy Wood
|
172
|
45
|
Claude Lapointe
|
171
|
45
|
Jean-Paul Parise
|
171
|
47
|
Shawn Bates
|
170
|
48
|
Jude Drouin
|
169
|
49
|
Dave Scatchard
|
168
|
49
|
Mark Streit
|
168
|
51
|
Miroslav Satan
|
166
|
Season Series Stats
The season series is even at one game each (The Flyers have three points to the Isles' two). The teams will meet again April 9th at the Coliseum and April 25th in Philadelphia.
The Isles are 0-10 this season vs. the Flyers on the power play; Philadelphia has scored 4 goals in 6 attempts against the Isles.
The Wells Fargo Center had been a house of horrors for the Isles for about five years (0-11-2) but the Isles have won three times in their last four trips to Philadelphia.
Happy Anniversary
23 years ago tonight (March 28, 1990): The Isles were 1-14-5 in their last 20 games and facing playoff elimination when they visited Toronto. Trailing 2-0, the Isles got a Brent Sutter goal late in the second period and then added five third period goals to defeat the Maple Leafs 6-3. The Leafs goal in the third period was scored by Gary Leeman, and it was his 50th goal of the season. The Isles would go on to defeat Philadelphia three days later, and coupled with Pittsburgh losses to St. Louis and Buffalo the Isles qualified for the playoffs.
All-time, the Isles are 6-10-3 on this date. This was only their second victory in their last ten games on this date.
On The Farm
Bridgeport is 27-27-6-5 on the season after dropping a 5-4 decision in Springfield. Bridgeport led 4-2 in the first period, but could not hold on. The Sound Tigers are six points out of a playoff spot with 11 games to play. Bridgeport visits Glens Falls on Saturday and Worcester on Tuesday; following that trip, seven of their final nine games are at home.
Up Next
SATURDAY, MARCH 30th ISLANDERS AT PITTSBURGH (1:00PM)
[MSG+ (pre-game show at 12:30), WRHU (88.7FM]
[MSG+ (pre-game show at 12:30), WRHU (88.7FM]
Game 3 of this four-game road trip will be Saturday in Pittsburgh as the Isles face the streaking Penguins.
Pittsburgh has won 14 straight after tonight's 4-0 win over Winnipeg. The Penguins have beaten the Isles twice during their streak, including rallying for a 4-2 win at the Coliseum last week.
Longest Winning Streaks, NHL History
· 17- Penguins (1992-93)
· 15- Islanders (1981-82; all in regulation time)
· 14- Bruins (1929-30)
· 14- Capitals (2009-10)
· 14- Penguins (CURRENT)
The Isles will be looking to go 7 games over NHL-.500 on the road by snapping the Penguins' streak. The last time they were seven games over .500 on the road was after the final regular season game they played as Stanley Cup Champions; the Isles finished the 1983-84 regular season with a 22-15-3 record on the road.
It's the final of five meetings between the teams; the Isles won the first game, but Pittsburgh has taken the last three.
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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