"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 38
Washington 2, Isles 1
Kyle Okposo scored the game-tying goal with just under five minutes to play, but Alexander Ovechkin scored the only goal in the shootout as the Washington Capitals moved into sole possession of first place in the Southeast Division with a 2-1 shootout win over the Islanders before a crowd of 18,506 at Verizon Center. With the shootout loss, the Isles move into sole possession of 7th place, one point ahead of the Rangers and Devils.
The Scoring:
1st Period
19:47 WSH M. Green (8) Wrist - ASST: M. Johansson (10) AND N. Backstrom (30) 1 - 0 WSH
2nd Period
NONE
3rd Period
15:01 NYI K. Okposo (4) Slap - ASST: F. Nielsen (18) AND J. Bailey (6) 1 - 1 TIE
OT Period
NONE
The Shootout:
Matt Hendricks (Fail), Frans Nielsen (Fail), Alex Ovechkin (Goal), Brad Boyes (Fail), Mike Ribeiro (Fail), John Tavares (Fail)
Washington improves to 3-0 in the shootout, while the Isles fall to 3-1. All three Capitals shootouts have come in their last six games, with one shootout each against the three New York State teams.
The Skinny:
Kyle Okposo's goals was his first in ten games…Frans Nielsen is 1-6-7 in the last eight games and 1-8-9 in the last 11 games...Both Nielsen and Josh Bailey extended point streaks to three games…Mike Green extended goal-scoring streak to four games but the Isles stopped Alex Ovechkin's nine game point streak…The Caps are 11-3-0 when they lead after two periods while the Isles are 2-7-3 when they trail after 2.
The Standings:
· 7 NY Islanders 38 games 18-16-4 40 points (15 ROW) Next game: Saturday vs. Tampa Bay
· 8 NY Rangers 36 games 18-15-3 39 points (15 ROW) Next game: Friday at Pittsburgh
· 9 New Jersey 37 games 15-13-9 39 points (13 ROW) Next game: Saturday vs. Toronto
The Shots:
Isles 5-14-14-3=36
Caps 5-7-9-1=22
Road Warriors
The Isles have 24 points in their first 18 road games, which is their highest total in the Post-Cup era.
Most points in first 18 road games (all time):
· 27 in 1976-77 (12-3-3)
· 26 in 1980-81 (12-4-2)
· 24 in 2012-13 (11-5-2)
· 24 in 1983-84 (11-5-2)
· 23 in 1978-79 (10-5-3)
· 22 in 2001-02 (10-6-2)
Home and Road
The Islanders are 18-16-4 overall, 7-11-2 at home and 11-5-2 on the road. Their 40 points in 38 games is their highest total since they had 42 points in 38 games in 2007-08. The Isles remain two games over NHL-.500, equaling their high-level mark on the season.
The Isles have points in three straight (2-0-1) and are 5-1-1 in their last seven games. They are also 5-1-1 in their last seven games on the road.
The Caps are 18-17-2 overall, 9-8-0 at home and 9-9-2 on the road. The Caps, who started the season 2-8-1, are now 8-3-1 in their last 12 games.
In the Nets
Evgeni Nabokov made 21 saves and is now 17-11-4 this season
Braden Holtby made 35 saves as he improves to 16-11-1.
Power Plays
The Islanders went 0-2 while the Capitals also were 0-2.
The Isles have 16 PP goals in their last 23 games (with all 16 goals coming in nine games).
The Isles are 13-3-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 5-13-3 when they do not.
In (Almost) Every Game
The Isles have been tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 32 of 38 games this season (18-10-4).
Coach Cappy
Jack Capuano is the third winningest coach in Islander history and is just three wins behind Terry Simpson for second place.
Most wins by Islander coaches:
1. Al Arbour 740
2. Terry Simpson 81
3. Jack Capuano 78
4. Peter Laviolette 77
5. Ted Nolan 74
Most games coached (Islanders)
1. Al Arbour 1,500
2. Mike Milbury 191
3. Terry Simpson 187
4. Jack Capuano 185
5. Scott Gordon 181
They Said It
Evgeni Nabokov: "It is [a positive sign], we've been talking about that. We say all the time, it's not easy to win in this League and sometimes you're going to lose. It's like a chess match sometimes and you take a point and move on."
@MayHockeyCSN Have to get this off my chest, Long Islander Rob Carlin did say SHUT OUT 3x intentionally during our 3rd period production meeting (Carlin, the former MSG intermission host now hosts Caps games.)
The Coach
"We'll take the point and head home and hopefully take two."
As Tavares Goes…
The Isles are 1-0-0 when Tavares has four points, 1-0-1 when he has three points, 6-2-0 when he has two points, 9-4-0 when he has one point, and 1-10-3 when Tavares is pointless.
What a Pair!
John Tavares and Matt Moulson have combined for 35 goals this season. Moulson has assisted on 17 Tavares goals this season after assisting on 12 of his 31 goals last season. Tavares has earned an assist on 8 Moulson goals this season. Since November 2011, Tavares has been on-ice for 40 of Moulson's last 41 goals, earning 26 assists; since November 2010, he has earned 48 assists on Moulson's last 72 goals, while being on ice for 70 of them.
Head of the Class
John Tavares has 241 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.
115 NHL Goals
Moulson has 115 career goals (109 as an Islander). While 262 players were selected before the Penguins chose Moulson in the 2003 entry draft, only 16 have more goals. Moulson is tied with Nikolai Zherdev for 17th place.
Leading Ice Men
Travis Hamonic played 23:47 to lead the Isles. Mike Green led the Caps with 26:00.
In the Circle
The Islanders won 22 of 50 draws. In addition to scoring the tying goal, Kyle Okposo won 6 of 7 for the Isles.
Heavy Hitters
The Islanders were out-hit 28-14. Matt Martin led the Isles with 6 hits; he has an NHL-leading 186 hits. There were no fights, leaving the season total at 14.
Giving Up the Body
The Isles were credited with 16 blocked shots. Travis Hamonic had three to lead the team.
All–time Winners
The Islanders remain four games over all-time NHL .500 (1365-1361-436 in 3,162 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.
Good Start to April
The Isles were 4-2-1 in January and 4-9-1 in February, and 8-5-1 in March. They are 2-0-1 in April.
Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 284 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 197 consecutive games, while Nielsen and Streit have each played in 120.
Kyle Okposo played his 103rd consecutive game. Four other Islanders have played every game this season Travis Hamonic (60 consecutive games), Matt Martin (51), Andrew Mac Donald & Brad Boyes (38).
Longest Consecutive Game Streaks, Islander History
1. Billy Harris 576
2. Bob Nystrom 301
3. Matt Moulson 284
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 120
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
Anders Lee was replaced by Marty Reasoner in the lineup while Matt Carkner was replaced by Radek Martinek. Eric Boulton was also scratched as was Jesse Joensuu, who was added to the active roster on Wednesday. Joe Finley and Brian Strait are on injured reserve.
Scoring
The Isles have scored 72 goals in their 18 wins (4.00 per game) and 34 goals in their other 20 games (0-16-4; 1.70 per game). In their 16 regulation losses, the Isles have scored 24 goals (1.50 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 | 109 | |
| 23 | John Tavares | 107 | |
| 24 | Benoit Hogue | 105 | |
| 24 | Ed Westfall | 105 | |
| | | | |
| Career Assists as an Islander | |||
| 27 | Greg Gilbert | 138 | |
| 28 | John Tavares | 134 | |
| 29 | Mark Streit | 133 | |
| 30 | Frans Nielsen | 131 | |
| 30 | Jason Blake | 131 | |
| 32 | Trent Hunter | 130 | |
Career Games as an Islander (skaters)
| 25 | Gerry Hart | 476 |
| 26 | Mariusz Czerkawski | 470 |
| 27 | Radek Martinek | 464 |
| 28 | Trent Hunter | 459 |
| 39 | Randy Wood | 381 |
| 40 | Frans Nielsen | 357 |
| 41 | Dave Scatchard | 347 |
| 52 | Brad Dalgarno | 321 |
| 53 | Josh Bailey | 319 |
| 54 | Ray Ferraro | 316 |
| 54 | Steve Webb | 316 |
| 54 | Richard Park | 316 |
| 57 | Gerald Diduck | 314 |
| 58 | Kyle Okposo | 309 |
| 59 | Mikko Makela | 307 |
| 60 | Gordon Lane | 304 |
| 61 | Arron Asham | 300 |
| 61 | Roman Hamrlik | 300 |
| 63 | Gordon Dineen | 287 |
| 64 | Matt Moulson | 284 |
| 65 | Jeffrey Norton | 282 |
| 66 | John Tavares | 281 |
| 67 | Mark Streit | 276 |
| 68 | Steve Thomas | 275 |
| | | |
Career Points as an Islander
| 23 | David Volek | 249 |
| 24 | John Tavares | 241 |
| 25 | Ray Ferraro | 238 |
| 35 | Anders Kallur | 211 |
| 36 | Matt Moulson | 207 |
| 37 | Marty McInnis | 198 |
| 38 | Wayne Merrick | 197 |
| 39 | Robert Goring | 195 |
| 40 | Frans Nielsen | 189 |
| 41 | Jeffrey Norton | 188 |
| 42 | Lorne Henning | 184 |
| 43 | Kyle Okposo | 177 |
| 44 | Mark Streit | 172 |
| 44 | Randy Wood | 172 |
| 46 | Claude Lapointe | 171 |
| 46 | Jean-Paul Parise | 171 |
Season Series Stats
The Isles win the season series two games to one (the Isles earned five points to the Caps' two). The Isles are 4-0-3 against Washington over the last two seasons
Happy Anniversary
26 years ago tonight (4-4-87): Denis Potvin becomes the first defensemen to reach 1,000 career points as he scored the tying goal with 17 seconds to play as the Isles rallied for a 6-6 tie with Buffalo. The milestone goal came just 68 seconds after fellow Hall of Famer Clark Gillies scored to give the Sabres the lead.
Also on this date: The Rangers' 3-2 win in Atlanta clinches the Isles' first-ever playoff spot (1975), Mike Bossy becomes the first NHL rookie with 25 power play goals in a 3-3 tie with Philadelphia (1978), the Isles begin the "Drive for 5" with a 4-1 win over the Rangers in game 1 of the Patrick Division Semi-Finals.
All-time, the Isles are 6-6-4 in regular season play and 1-0 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on this date.
On The Farm
Ryan Strome recorded two assists in his second professional game; Brock Nelson scored twice and added an assist; Matt Donovan became the first defenseman in Sound Tigers history to have four points in a game, as Bridgeport completed a sweep of a home-and home with a 6-3 win over Worcester. Wick DiPietro, who played the first game in Sound Tiger history, was in nets for the win in Bridgeport's 1000th (regular season/playoffs) game. Bridgeport is 29-28-6-5 on the season; six of their final eight games at home. The Sound Tigers are four points out of a playoff spot with eight games to play. Bridgeport hosts the Connecticut Whale on Saturday and the Adirondack Phantoms on Sunday.
Up Next
SATURDAY, APRIL 6th TAMPA BAY AT ISLANDERS (7:00PM)
[MSG+2 (pre-game show at 6:30), WLNY-TV55, WRHU (88.7FM]
[MSG+2 (pre-game show at 6:30), WLNY-TV55, WRHU (88.7FM]
The Isles return home to entertain the Lightning. Regardless of what happens to the Rangers in Pittsburgh on Friday, the Isles will begin play Saturday sitting in a playoff position.
The Isles will be looking to sweep the season series, owning a 4-3 Coliseum win in January and a 2-0 win in Tampa in March.
The Isles have won four straight at home vs. Tampa and are 9-2-0 in their last 11 Coliseum contests against Tampa. They will be looking for a 5th straight home ice win vs. the Bolts for the first time ever.
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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