"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 31
Penguins 4, Isles 2
Brandon Sutter scored the game-winning goal 1:46 into the third period as the Pittsburgh Penguins extended their winning streak to 11 straight games with a 4-2 win over the Islanders before a crowd of 14,888 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The Isles are 0-3-0 on this homestand, and have been outscored 9-0 in the third period.
The Scoring:
1st Period
07:46 NYI M. Streit (5) Slap - ASST: M. Carkner (1) AND F. Nielsen (13) 1 - 0 NYI
2nd Period
08:11 PIT J. Vitale (2) Wrist - ASST: C. Adams (3) 1 - 1 TIE
17:18 NYI J. Bailey (4) Wrist - ASST: J. Tavares (15) AND T. Hamonic (7) 2 - 1 NYI
19:46 PIT C. Kunitz (19) Wrist - ASST: S. Crosby (38) AND P. Dupuis (8) 2 - 2 TIE
3rd Period
01:46 PIT B. Sutter (9) Snap - ASST: M. Cooke (10) AND J. Neal (13) 3 - 2 PIT
19:59 PIT EN - P. Dupuis (15) Wrist - ASST: S. Crosby (39) AND T. Vokoun (1) 4 - 2 PIT
The Skinny:
The Isles have been outscored 12-1 in the last four third periods; they have now been outscored by a 47-30 margin in the third period, including 34-16 at home…The Isles defense has now scored in four straight game; they have combined for 18 goals this season ….Matt Moulson's 6 game assist streak and Brad Boyes' six game point streak both ended. Along with John Tavares, the top line was -8 tonight… Sidney Crosby earned two assists; he has 75 points (20-55-75) in 40 career games against the Isles.
The Record:
The Isles are now four games over .500 on the road and six 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 14-14-7=35
Penguins 3-14-8=25
The Isles were held without a shot in the final 8:06, including 3:41 of power play time.
Home and Road
The Islanders are 13-15-3 overall, 5-11-2 at home and 8-4-1 on the road. The Isles fall to eleventh place, trailing Carolina and the Rangers by three points. With only six home games remaining, the Isles are guaranteed to finish at NHL-500 or below at home for the third straight season.
The Penguins are 24-8-0 overall, 11-4-0 at home and 13-4-0 on the road. Pittsburgh matched Chicago for the season's longest winning streak (11) as well as the most road victories. The Penguins are 11-0-0 this March and 48-12-8 in March under Dan Bylsma.
Fewest Points, Isles, first 18 home games
· 9 1972-1973
· 11 1989-1990
· 12 1995-1996
· 12 1999-2000
· 12 2012-2013
In the Nets
Evgeni Nabokov made 21 saves but falls to 13-10-3.
Tomas Vokoun made 33 saves for the Penguins; he is now 8-3-0 on the season.
Power Plays
The Islanders went 0-2 while the Penguins were also 0-2.
The Isles have 13 PP goals in their last 16 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 3-12-2 when they do not.
In (Almost) Every Game
The Isles have been tied or ahead in the third period in 25 of 31 games this season (13-9-3).
(Pittsburgh has been ahead or tied in 27 of 32 games and is 24-3-0).
They Said It
Sidney Crosby: (Vokoun) is the reason we were able to win tonight
They Tweeted It
@EmptyNetters: Penguins remain #UndefEATON (9-0-0). (Pittsburgh is 9-0-0 with former Islander Mark Eaton in the lineup)
The Coach
"For me, that was one of the best hockey games we've played. Our guys deserved better. I thought we played well. Our guys were going. We had chances -- we just didn't put the puck in the net."
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, 5-4-0 when he has one point, and 1-9-2 when Tavares is pointless.
What a Pair!
John Tavares and Matt Moulson have combined for 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 235 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.
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
Andrew MacDonald played 23:53 to lead the Isles. Paul Martin led the Pens with 25:40.
In the Circle
The Islanders won 23 of 53 draws. Keith Aucoin won 7 of 11 for the Isles.
Heavy Hitters
The Islanders out-hit Pittsburgh 23-18. Matt Martin led the Isles with seven hits, raising his season total to an NHL-leading 151. Martin also fought Craig Adams in the first period, raising the Isles' season total to 12. It was Martin's fifth fight of the season.
Giving Up the Body
The Isles were credited with 20 blocked shots, including six on attempts from Sidney Crosby. Andrew MacDonald led the Isles with six blocked shots.
Back Down to .500
The Islanders sit again at all-time NHL .500 (1360-1360-435 in 3,155 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 Madness
The Isles were 4-2-1 in January and 4-9-1 in February. The Isles are 5-4-1 in March.
Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 277 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 190 consecutive games, while Nielsen and Streit have each played in 113.
Longest Consecutive Game Streaks, Islander History
1. Billy Harris 576
2. Bob Nystrom 301
3. Matt Moulson 277
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. Mark Streit 10/8/2011-CURRENT 113
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
Joe Finley replaced Thomas Hickey in the lineup. Eric Boulton 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 55 goals in their 13 wins (4.23 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 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 | 132 | ||
| 29 | Jason Blake | 131 | ||
| 30 | Trent Hunter | 130 | ||
| 31 | Mark Streit | 129 | ||
| 32 | Frans Nielsen | 126 | ||
| 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 | 350 | |
| 41 | Dave Scatchard | 347 | |
| 53 | Ray Ferraro | 316 | |
| 53 | Steve Webb | 316 | |
| 53 | Richard Park | 316 | |
| 56 | Gerald Diduck | 314 | |
| 57 | Josh Bailey | 312 | |
| 58 | Mikko Makela | 307 | |
| 59 | Gordon Lane | 304 | |
| 60 | Kyle Okposo | 302 | |
| 61 | Arron Asham | 300 | |
| 61 | Roman Hamrlik | 300 | |
| 63 | Gordon Dineen | 287 | |
| 64 | Jeffrey Norton | 282 | |
| 65 | Matt Moulson | 277 | |
| 66 | Steve Thomas | 275 | |
| 67 | John Tavares | 274 | |
| 68 | Mark Streit | 269 | |
| 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 | 234 |
| 27 | Kenny Jonsson | 232 |
| 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 | 183 |
| 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 | Mark Streit | 167 |
| 51 | Miroslav Satan | 166 |
Season Series Stats
The Penguins lead the season series three games to one (and six points to two). The final meeting of the season will be on March 30th in Pittsburgh.
Happy Anniversary
19 years ago tonight (March 22, 1994): Vladimir Malakhov scored in overtime as the Islanders rallied from a 4-0 deficit late in the second period for a 5-4 win over Tampa Bay. The Isles have not won a game that they trailed by three or more goals at any time since then.
All-time, the Isles are 10-4-2 on this date.
On The Farm
Bridgeport is 26-26-6-4 on the season after losing 3-1 on Friday in Providence. The Sound Tigers are seven points out of a playoff spot with 14 games to play.
Up Next
SUNDAY, MARCH 24th FLORIDA AT ISLANDERS (5:00PM)
[MSG+ (pre-game show at 4:30), WRHU (88.7FM]
[MSG+ (pre-game show at 4:30), WRHU (88.7FM]
The Islanders look to conclude the homestand on a winning note when they host the Panthers on Sunday. The Isles defeated Florida 4-3 last Saturday night in Sunrise and will be looking for their third straight win over the Panthers for the first time since 2006.
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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