"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 30
Canadiens 5, Isles 2
Brian Gionta scored the game-winning goal 48 seconds into the third period and then the Canadiens scored two goals in 33 seconds, both off Islander defensemen, as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Islanders 5-2 before a crowd of 11,012 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, dropping the Isles below NHL .500 (13-14-3).
The Scoring:
1st Period
09:36 MTL PPG - M. Ryder (9) Wrist - ASST: A. Markov (15) AND T. Plekanec (9) 1 - 0 MTL
12:06 NYI J. Tavares (18) Wrist - ASST: M. Moulson (20) 1 - 1 TIE
2nd Period
06:58 NYI L. Visnovsky (3) Wrist - ASST: M. Moulson (21) AND B. Boyes (18) 2 - 1 NYI
10:53 MTL PPG - P. Subban (8) Slap - ASST: T. Plekanec (10) 2 - 2 TIE
3rd Period
00:48 MTL B. Gionta (10) Tip-In - ASST: D. Desharnais (9) 3 - 2 MTL
10:10 MTL P. Subban (9) Wrist - ASST: M. Pacioretty (15) AND G. Dumont (2) 4 - 2 MTL
10:43 MTL B. Gallagher (9) Backhand - ASST: M. Pacioretty (16) AND D. Desharnais (10) 5 - 2 MTL
The Skinny:
The Isles have been outscored 10-1 in the last three third periods; they have now been outscored by a 45-30 margin in the third period, including 32-16 at home….Matt Moulson has an assist in six straight games (only Sergei Gonchar (current – 9 games) has had a longer streak in the NHL this season)… Brad Boyes now has 11 points in the last nine games (4-7-11) and a point in six straight games…John Tavares' goal was his fourth in the last six games… The Isles defense has combined for 17 goals this season as Visnovsky has scored in consecutive games…Connecticut native Max Pacioretty assisted on the final two goals; he now has 12 points in 11 career games against the Isles… David Desharnais assisted on the winning goal for his 100th NHL point.
The Record:
The Isles are now four games over .500 on the road and five games under .500 at home. It's the first time in Islander history that they have been below .500 overall at a time when they are four games over .500 on the road.
The Shots:
Isles 10-10-7=27
Canadiens 10-9-10=29
The Dive?:
Keith Aucoin was called for diving after he was shoved down by PK Subban following a whistle.
The Viz
Lubomir Visnovsky is the first Islander defenseman to score in consecutive games since Mark Streit did so on February 9-11, 2012. (On Friday, he'll have an opportunity to become the first defenseman since Streit in 2008 to score in three straight games.)
Home and Road
The Islanders are 13-14-3 overall, 5-10-2 at home and 8-4-1 on the road. The Isles remain in tenth place, trailing Carolina and the Rangers by three points. With 12 points in 17 games, the Isles have earned fewer points thru 17 home games than in any season since starting 4-11-2 (10 points) in 1999-2000.
The Canadiens are 20-5-5 overall, 9-3-3 at home and 11-2-2 on the road. Montreal is 14-1-4 in their last 19 games (1-1-1 against the Isles and 13-0-3 against the rest of the NHL.
In the Nets
Kevin Poulin made 24 saves in his first start since February 24th. Poulin is 0-2-0 on the season.
Carey Price made 25 saves for the Canadiens; he is now 16-4-4 on the season.
Power Plays
The Islanders went 0-4 while the Canadiens were 2-4.
The Isles have 13 PP goals in their last 15 games (with all 13 goals coming in six games).
The Isles are 10-3-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-11-2 when they do not.
In (Almost) Every Game
The Isles have been tied or ahead in the third period in 24 of 30 games this season (13-8-3).
They Said It
John Tavares: "We've got to have that killer instinct …The first 40 minutes of the last few games have been pretty good for us. We should be confident. We want to play with the lead. It takes a lot out of you to come back."
They Tweeted It
@StapeNewsday: Dan O'Rourke watches Subban extend his arm to shove down Aucoin after whistle. Calls Aucoin for diving. #Isles on tilt.
The Coach
"It's battle level, that's the name of the game."
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, 5-3-0 when he has one point, and 1-9-2 when Tavares is pointless.
What a Pair!
John Tavares and Matt Moulson have combined for 29 goals this season. Moulson has assisted on 13 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 234 career points; he is 52 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
Mark Streit played 23:18 to lead the Isles. Andrei Markov led the Habs with 26:48.
In the Circle
The Islanders won 33 of 65 draws. Keith Aucoin won 6 of 10 for the Isles.
Heavy Hitters
The Islanders out-hit Montreal 23-17. Colin McDonald led the Isles with four hits. Matt Martin had three hits, raising his season total to an NHL-leading 144. There were no fights, leaving the Isles' season total at 11.
Giving Up the Body
The Isles were credited with 9 blocked shots. Lubomir Visnovsky led the Isles with three blocked shots.
All-time Winners
The Islanders are now one game over all-time NHL .500 (1360-1359-435 in 3,154 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 5-3-1 in March.
Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 276 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 189 consecutive games, while Nielsen and Streit have each played in 112.
Longest Consecutive Game Streaks, Islander History
1. Billy Harris 576
2. Bob Nystrom 301
3. Matt Moulson 276
4. Denis Potvin 262
Century Club
Mark Streit is the 9th Islander defenseman to play at least 100 consecutive games:
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. Travis Hamonic 11/24/2010 – 2/4/2012 113
7. Mark Streit 10/8/2011-CURRENT 112
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
Michael Grabner and Matt Carkner were activated from injured reserve and replaced Eric Boulton and Radek Martinek in the lineup Joe Finley was 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 55 goals in their 13 wins (4.23 per game) and 31 goals in their other 17 games (0-14-3; 1.83 per game). In their 14 regulation losses, the Isles have scored 22 goals (1.57 per game).
Career Wins, Active Goalies
Career Wins
19. Nikolai Khabibulin 330
19. Harry Lumley 330
22. Sean Burke 324
23. Miikka Kiprusoff 316
Career Shutouts, Active Goalies
Career Shutouts
18 Clint Benedict 57
19 Evgeni Nabokov 54
19 Bernie Parent 54
19 Ed Giacomin 54
22 Rogie Vachon 51
22 Dave Kerr 51
22 Curtis Joseph 51
Career Goals as an Islander
| 21 | Ray Ferraro | 116 | ||
| 22 | Matt Moulson | 108 | ||
| 23 | Benoit Hogue | 105 | ||
| 23 | Ed Westfall | 105 | ||
| 25 | John Tavares | 102 | ||
| 26 | Anders Kallur | 101 | ||
| 27 | Trent Hunter | 99 | ||
| | | | ||
| Career Assists as an Islander | ||||
| 27 | Greg Gilbert | 138 | ||
| 28 | John Tavares | 131 | ||
| 28 | Jason Blake | 131 | ||
| 30 | Trent Hunter | 130 | ||
| 31 | Mark Streit | 129 | ||
| 32 | Frans Nielsen | 125 | ||
| 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 | 349 | |
| 41 | Dave Scatchard | 347 | |
| 53 | Ray Ferraro | 316 | |
| 53 | Steve Webb | 316 | |
| 53 | Richard Park | 316 | |
| 56 | Gerald Diduck | 314 | |
| 57 | Josh Bailey | 311 | |
| 58 | Mikko Makela | 307 | |
| 59 | Gordon Lane | 304 | |
| 60 | Kyle Okposo | 301 | |
| 61 | Arron Asham | 300 | |
| 61 | Roman Hamrlik | 300 | |
| 63 | Gordon Dineen | 287 | |
| 64 | Jeffrey Norton | 282 | |
| 65 | Matt Moulson | 276 | |
| 66 | Steve Thomas | 275 | |
| 67 | John Tavares | 273 | |
| 68 | Mark Streit | 268 | |
| 69 | Blake Comeau | 261 | |
| 69 | Andre St. Laurent | 261 | |
| | | | |
Career Points as an Islander
| 24 | Ray Ferraro | 238 |
| 25 | Travis Green | 237 |
| 26 | John Tavares | 233 |
| 27 | Kenny Jonsson | 232 |
| 28 | Greg Gilbert | 231 |
| 35 | Anders Kallur | 211 |
| 36 | Matt Moulson | 202 |
| 37 | Marty McInnis | 198 |
| 38 | Wayne Merrick | 197 |
| 39 | Robert Goring | 195 |
| 40 | Jeffrey Norton | 188 |
| 41 | Lorne Henning | 184 |
| 42 | Frans Nielsen | 182 |
| 43 | Kyle Okposo | 172 |
| 43 | Randy Wood | 172 |
| 45 | Claude Lapointe | 171 |
| 45 | Jean-Paul Parise | 171 |
| 47 | Shawn Bates | 170 |
| 48 | Jude Drouin | 169 |
| 49 | Dave Scatchard | 168 |
| 50 | Miroslav Satan | 166 |
| 51 | Mark Streit | 166 |
| 52 | Oleg Kvasha | 158 |
Season Series Stats
Despite tonight's loss, the Isles win the season series two games to one (and four points to three).
Happy Anniversary
31 years ago tonight (March 21, 1982): Mike Bossy broke Guy Lafleur's single season record for points by a right wing in a 3-2 victory over Washington. In typical Bossy fashion, the historical moment was the game winning goal, coming at 19:25 of the third period. Bossy finished the season with 147 points in an 80-game season; Jaromir Jagr broke the record with 149 points, but in an 82-game season.
All-time, the Isles are 7-8-1 on March 21st.
On The Farm
Bridgeport is 26-25-6-4 on the season heading into their game Friday in Providence. The Sound Tigers are six points out of a playoff spot with 15 games to play.
Up Next
FRIDAY, MARCH 22nd PITTSBURGH AT ISLANDERS (7:00PM)
[MSG+ (pre-game show at 6:30), WRHU (88.7FM); NHL-Network (US)]
[MSG+ (pre-game show at 6:30), WRHU (88.7FM); NHL-Network (US)]
The going does not get any easier as the Islanders play the back-end of a set of back-to-backs against the red-hot Penguins. Pittsburgh has won 10 straight games and are the first team in NHL history to have won 10 straight games in three straight seasons.
This is the fourth of five meetings between the teams; the Penguins won in Pittsburgh on March 10th after each team had won on the road.
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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