"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
Game 1
Pittsburgh 5, Isles 0 [Pittsburgh leads series 1-0]
The Isles had waited six years to get back into the playoffs, but Beau Bennett scored 3:30 into the game and Pascal Dupuis added two goals as the Pittsburgh Penguins blanked the Islanders 5-0 before a sellout crowd of 18,612 at Consol Energy Center. The Penguins lead the best-of-seven Eastern Quarter-Final 1 game to none, with game two in Pittsburgh at 7:00 on Friday.
The Scoring:
1st Period
03:30 PIT PPG - B. Bennett (1) Wrist - ASST: E. Malkin (1) AND P. Martin (1) 1 - 0 PIT
13:23 PIT P. Dupuis (1) Backhand - ASST: C. Adams (1) AND J. Iginla (1) 2 - 0 PIT
2nd Period
01:19 PIT PPG - K. Letang (1) Snap - ASST: J. Iginla (2) AND E. Malkin (2) 3 - 0 PIT
01:51 PIT P. Dupuis (2) Backhand - ASST: M. Eaton (1) AND J. Jokinen (1) 4 - 0 PIT
13:07 PIT T. Glass (1) Snap - ASST: J. Jokinen (2) 5 - 0 PIT
3rd Period
NONE
The Series:
· GAME 1: Pittsburgh 5, Islanders 0
· GAME 2: at PIT Fri May 3, 7:00 PM ET
· GAME 3: at NYI Sun May 5, 12:00 PM ET
· GAME 4: at NYI Tue May 7, 7:00 PM ET
· GAME 5: at PIT Thu May 9, 7:00 PM ET, if necessary
· GAME 6: at NYI Sat May 11, TBD, if necessary
· GAME 7: at PIT Sun May 12, TBD, if necessary
The Skinny:
The Penguins have now sold out 279 consecutive regular season/playoff games… Pascal Dupuis also had a good regular season vs. the Isles, tallying five goals; he now has a point in 11 of his last 12 regular season/playoff games against the Isles… While the Penguins have 11 players on their roster who won the Stanley Cup for Pittsburgh in 2009, only 8 of the players dressed by the Isles had any playoff experience; none had played in a playoff game for the Isles… Marty Reasoner was assessed a kneeing major and game misconduct with 2:10 to play; six other players, including Lady Byng candidate Matt Moulson received misconducts. Moulson has received only 10 penalty minutes in the last two regular seasons –combined…. A total of 89 penalty minutes were assessed in the game, including 51 to the Islanders; only five NHL teams recorded 51 penalty minutes in a game this past season…The Isles have now been shutout 22 times in 241 all-time playoff games, including seven times in a game 1… This was the first time since 2002 that the Isles allowed at least five goals in a playoff game and the ninth time that they have been beaten by five goals or more…This was the first Islander game to be played in May since they concluded the shortened 1995 season on May 2, 1995…Jarome Iginla had two assists in his first playoff action since 2009…Reasoner made his first playoff appearance since 2003.
The Series:
· #1 Pittsburgh leads #8 Islanders 1-0
· #2 Montreal - #7 Ottawa start Thursday
· #3 Washington - #6 NY Rangers start Thursday
· #4 Boston leads #5 Toronto 1-0
· #1 Chicago leads #8 Minnesota 1-0
· #2 Anaheim leads #7 Detroit 1-0
· #3 Vancouver hosts San Jose on Wednesday night (late)
· #4 St. Louis leads #5 Los Angeles 1-0
The Shots:
Isles 8-10-8=26
Penguins 13-8-5=26
Home and Road
The Islanders are 134-107 in 241 all-time playoff games. They are 77-38 at home and 57-69 on the road.
The Penguins are 153-131 in 284 all-time playoff games. They are 83-60 at home and 70-71 on the road.
In the Nets
Evgeni Nabokov made 11 saves on the first 15 Penguins shots as his career playoff record fell to 40-39. Nabokov, who played his 81st game, has played in more game than any goalie participating in this year's playoffs; among active goalies only Martin Brodeur has played in more games (205).
Kevin Poulin stopped 10 of 11 shots in relief in his first NHL post-season action.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves for Pittsburgh as improves his playoff record to 44-32 with his sixth shutout, which ties Tom Barrasso's club record for shutouts. Only Barrasso (56) has more playoff wins as a Penguin. Fleury has more wins than any goalie participating in this year's playoffs; among active goalies only Martin Brodeur has more wins (113).
Power Plays
The Islanders were 0-4 while the Penguins were 2-4. During the five games of the regular season against each other, the Islanders were 2-18 while the Penguins were 3-14.
In (Almost) Every Game
The Isles were tied or ahead at some point in the third period in 42 of 48 regular season games this season (24-11-7), including each of the last 22 games. Tonight marked the first time the Isles were not tied or better at some point in the third period since March 10 in Pittsburgh.
Playoff Experience
Jack Capuano is only the sixth coach to lead the Islanders into the playoffs.
Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:
1. Al Arbour 123
2. Terry Simpson 9
3. Peter Laviolette 4
4. Ted Nolan 1
5. Steve Stirling 1
6. Jack Capuano 0
Most playoff games coached (Islanders):
1. Al Arbour 209
2. Terry Simpson 20
3. Peter Laviolette 12
4. Steve Stirling 5
5. Ted Nolan 5
6. Jack Capuano 1
Of the six, only Al Arbour (4-8-1975 @ NYR) won their first playoff game as an Islander coach.
They Said It
Matt Martin: "That wasn't a good game for us. It's disappointing. We need to be a lot better. Fortunately it's a seven-game series, and that was just one game. We've got a long stretch ahead of us. We just need to respond well Friday night and try to go back home with a split.
They Tweeted It
@thegoldenyear John Tavares' first zero-shot, no-points game since March 26, 2011 (137 games). #Isles
The Coach
"Our execution was very poor…They worked harder than us. At this time of year, the team that works harder win hockey games. Collectively, we have to be better."
Leading Ice Men
Andrew MacDonald played 22:56 to lead the Isles. Kris Letang led Pittsburgh with 25:20.
In the Circle
The Islanders won 32 of 62 draws. Keith Aucoin won 6 of 7 to lead the Isles. John Tavares won 10 of 17. Jussi Jokinen won 7 of 12 for Pittsburgh.
Heavy Hitters
The Islanders out-hit the Penguins 41-36. Reigning NHL hit champion Matt Martin had ten hits to lead the Isles. There were no fights in the game.
Giving Up the Body
The Isles were credited with 12 blocked shots. Andrew MacDonald led the way with four blocks. Former Islander Mark Eaton had 8 of Pittsburgh's 22 blocks.
Missing Men
With Bridgeport's season over, the Isles have 35 players on the roster.
Jesse Joensuu, Radek Martinek, Eric Boulton, Anders Lee, Matt Carkner, Joe Finley and David Ullstrom were scratched as were "black aces" Ryan Strome, Johan Sundstrom, Brock Nelson, Calvin DeHaan, Matt Donovan, Aaron Ness, John Persson and Anders Nilsson.
All-time Playoff Series
· 1975: Islanders won the series 4 games to 3.
· 1982: Islanders won the series 3 games to 2.
· 1993: Islanders won the series 4 games to 3.
· 2013: Penguins lead the series 1 game to 0.
Happy Anniversary
33 years ago tonight (5-1-80): Bobby Nystrom scored 1:20 into the second overtime to give the Islanders a 2-1 victory over Buffalo at the Memorial Auditorium and a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Semi-Finals. It was the only multiple-overtime game in the Stanley Cup era.
Also: (1982) Wayne Merrick scored in overtime as the Isles beat Quebec to grab a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals (1984) Mike Bossy scored the winning goal midway through the second period as the Isles beat Montreal 3-1 to even the series at 2 games each.
All-time, the Isles are 3-4 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on this date.
Up Next
FRIDAY, MAY 3rd ISLANDERS AT PITTSBURGH (7:00PM)
[MSG+ (pre-game show at 6:30), WRHU (88.7FM]
[MSG+ (pre-game show at 6:30), WRHU (88.7FM]
The Islanders will look to even the series on Friday night in Pittsburgh.
In each of their last two trips to the playoffs (2004 and 2007), the Isles won one game in the series, and it came in game 2.
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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