The Skinny: Pittsburgh 5, Isles 4 (OT)

"The Skinny"

 By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

 

Game 3

Pittsburgh 5, Isles 4 [Penguins lead series 2 games to 1]

 

Sidney Crosby drew a holding penalty on Brian Strait in overtime and then set-up Chris Kunitz for the winning goal as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Islanders 5-4 Isles before a sellout crowd of 16,170 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Pittsburgh now leads this Eastern Conference Quarter-Final series two games to one, with game four scheduled for the Coliseum on Tuesday.

The Scoring:

1st Period

01:43    NYI       M. Moulson (2) Wrist - ASST: K. Okposo (1) AND L. Visnovsky (1)      1 - 0 NYI          

05:41    NYI       C. Cizikas (1) Snap - ASST: M. Grabner (1)         2 - 0 NYI          

13:18    PIT       PPG - J. Iginla (1) Tip-In - ASST: K. Letang (1) AND S. Crosby (1)       2 - 1 NYI          

13:37    PIT       PPG - C. Kunitz (1) Wrist - ASST: E. Malkin (4) AND K. Letang (2)       2 - 2 TIE           

19:00    PIT       P. Dupuis (3) Tip-In - ASST: S. Crosby (2) AND C. Kunitz (1)       3 - 2 PIT

           

2nd Period

17:10    PIT       D. Murray (1) Wrist - ASST: E. Malkin (5) AND P. Martin (2)         4 - 2 PIT           

 

3rd Period

05:31    NYI       SHG - K. Okposo (2) Wrist - ASST: F. Nielsen (2)            4 - 3 PIT           

10:48    NYI       J. Tavares (1) Wrist - ASST: J. Bailey (2)             4 - 4 TIE           

 

1st OT Period

08:44    PIT       PPG - C. Kunitz (2) Snap - ASST: S. Crosby (3) AND P. Martin (3)           5 - 4 PIT

 

The Series:

·         GAME 1: Pittsburgh 5, Islanders 0

·         GAME 2: Islanders 4, Pittsburgh 3

·         GAME 3: Pittsburgh 5, Islanders 4 (OT)

·         GAME 4: at NYI Tue May 7, 7:00 PM ET 

·         GAME 5: at PIT Thu May 9, 7:00 PM ET

·         GAME 6: at NYI Sat May 11, TBD, if necessary 

·         GAME 7: at PIT Sun May 12, TBD, if necessary  

The Skinny:  

The Islanders held Sidney Crosby to one shot in regulation but he had three shots in overtime.  Evgeni Malkin's only shot also came in overtime …Malkin and Jarome Iginla are the only players to have points in all three games of the series… Crosby recorded at least three assists for the third time in a playoff game (4 on 4/11/08, 3 on 4/14/10; both vs. Ottawa)… Matt Moulson scored the Islanders' first goal for the second straight game; Douglas Murray scored in the second period for Pittsburgh, meaning the two Cornell players scoring in the same game…Casey Cizikas (22 years, 2 months) is the youngest Islander to score in a playoff game since Trent Hunter (21 years, 9 months) scored against Toronto in 2002…Kyle Okposo is the first Islander to score shorthanded in a playoff game since Tom Fitzgerald scored his famous two shorthanded goals against Pittsburgh on May 8, 1993; it was the 39^th shorthanded goal in club playoff history… John Tavares had six goals in the regular season that tied the game; 12 of his 28 regular season goals were also in the third period…The Isles have outscored Pittsburgh 3-0 in the third period in the series…The Isles have been outscored 8-3 in the first period in the series and have allowed three goals in a single period in each of the three games…The Isles had won nine straight playoff games when scoring at least four goals dating back to a game 5 loss to Washington in 1993…This was the first Islander game to be televised nationally over the air since May 16, 1993 in Montreal.

Leftovers from Game 2 (Courtesy Elias Sports Bureau)

•  Game 2 was the first time that an NHL team won Game 2 of a playoff series after losing Game 1 by five goals or more since 2003, (Blues 6, Canucks 0; Canucks 2, Blues 1).
•  It was also the first Islander playoff in which they trailed by two or more goals since 1993, when they won Game 4 of their first-round series against Washington, 4-3 in double-overtime, after the Capitals had taken a 3-0 lead. Before Friday, the last time the Isles won a playoff game in regulation time after trailing by at least two goals was in 1985, also against Washington (6-4 in Game 4).
• All four Islanders goal-scorers on Friday (Matt Moulson, Colin McDonald, Matt Martin and Kyle Okposo) recorded their first playoff goal. The last time an NHL team had four first-time playoff goal-scorers in one game was in 2002, when the Islanders beat the Maple Leafs, 6-1, in Game 3 and got first goals from Mark Parrish, Brad Isbister, Shawn Bates and Dave Scatchard.

Home Ice Woes

For the first 30 years, the Coliseum was "Fort Never Lose" in the playoffs as the Islanders went 77-32 on home ice. However, the Isles have not won a playoff games at the Coliseum since winning all three of their home games against the Maple Leafs in 2002.  Since then, the Isles are 0-7 in their home games, which ties the NHL record for consecutive home losses (with five other teams).

Overtime Not Our Time

When David Volek OT'd Pittsburgh in 1993, it raised the Isles' playoff OT record to 29-7.  Since then the Isles have lost five straight overtime games.  This was the first Isles overtime game since Martin St. Louis sent the Isles on an 18-month hiatus with a series clincher in 2004.

The Isles had won 14 of the first 16 overtime games in club playoff history, but have lost three straight at home as part of their five game overtime losing streak.

This was the longest game the Islanders and Penguins have ever played against each other and the fourth playoff game to be decided in overtime:

·         04/10/82            Away    Rick Kehoe       L          Pit        00:04:14

·         04/13/82            Home   John Tonelli      W         Pit        00:06:19

·         05/14/93            Away    David Volek      W         Pit        00:05:16

·         05/05/13            Home   Chris Kunitz       L          Pit        00:08:44

Both Tonelli and Volek scored overtime goals in deciding games of series.

Unusual Time to Lose

This is the first time the Isles have lost a game that ended between 5:00 and 12:00 of overtime.  Prior to this game, the Isles were 10-0 in overtime games that ended in that range.

The Series:

·         #1 Pittsburgh leads #8 Islanders 2-1

·         #7 Ottawa leads #2 Montreal 2-1

·         #3 Washington leads #6 NY Rangers 2-0

·         #4 Boston - #5 Toronto tied 1-1

·         #1 Chicago leads #8 Minnesota 2-1

·         #2 Anaheim leads #7 Detroit 2-1.

·         #6 San Jose leads #3 Vancouver 2-0. Game 3 on Sunday night (late)

·         #4 St. Louis leads #5 Los Angeles 2-1

The Shots:      

Isles          13-8-13-2=36

Penguins     8-8- 3-6=25

 

The Isles have outshot Pittsburgh 104-84 in the series.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 135-108 in 243 all-time playoff games.  They are 77-39 at home and 58-69 on the road.

The Penguins are 154-132 in 286 all-time playoff games. They are 83-61 at home and 71-71 on the road.

In the Nets

Evgeni Nabokov stopped 20 Pittsburgh shots but his career playoff record falls to 41-40.  Nabokov, who played his 83rd 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).

Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves for Pittsburgh as his playoff record improves to 45-33.  Only Tom 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 0-3 while the Penguins were 3-5. For the series the Isles are 1-11 (9.1%) while Pittsburgh is 6-13 (46.2%). During the five games of the regular season against each other, the Islanders were 2-18 while the Penguins were 3-14.

Playoffs are a different game, but the Islanders have not allowed 6 (or more) power play goals in a three-game stretch since they allowed 8 in losses to New York, Montreal and Tampa Bay December 17-21, 2009.

The Penguins' two power play goals in the first period tied an Isles record for power play goals allowed (many times); Pittsburgh's six power play goals are four shy of the Isles record for power play goals allowed in a series (10; 1988 by Devils and 1990 by Rangers).

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.     Jack Capuano 1

5.     Ted Nolan 1

6.     Steve Stirling 1

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 3

Of the six, only Al Arbour (who eliminated the Rangers in 1975 in his third career playoff game) was not 1-2 after three playoff games as an Islander coach.

They Said It

Travis Hamonic: "We can't be down. We played a great game. We battled back against one of the tougher teams in the league. It's a loss, so it stinks, we're mad, but you can't dwell on it. We'll be ready for Game 4."

They Tweeted It

@jessespector: Islanders fans chanting before warmups even start. Welcome to the Madhouse off the Meadowbrook.

The Coach

"We took some wrong routes on the PK. Their zone entries were way too easy. But five on five, I thought we dictated play…. "I'm not worried about our hockey team. They are learning about the ups and downs of the playoffs. We will come back and play the same way we've been playing all year."

Leading Ice Men

Andrew MacDonald played 30:21 to lead the Isles for the 3^rd straight game; MacDonald was also +3.  Paul Martin led Pittsburgh with 31:33.

In the Circle

The Islanders won 32 of 61 draws and have won 87 of 192 draws in the series.  Kyle Okposo won 7 of 10 for the Isles. Sidney Crosby won 13 of 24 for Pittsburgh.

Heavy Hitters

The Islanders out-hit the Penguins 35-33.  Travis Hamonic and Brad Boyes led the Isles with five hits; Michael Grabner added four.  There were no fights in the game; Kyle Okposo's fight with Matt Niskanen in game 2 is the only fight of the series.

Giving Up the Body

The Isles were credited with 15 blocked shots.  Travis Hamonic led the Isles with five blocks.

Missing Men

With Bridgeport's season over, the Isles have 35 players on the roster. 

The Isles dressed the same 20 players as they did in game two meaning Thomas Hickey, Marty Reasoner, Jesse Joensuu, Radek Martinek, Eric Boulton, Anders Lee, and Joe Finley 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: Pittsburgh leads the series 2 games to 1.

Looking back to 1993

This series marks the 20^th anniversary of the 1993 series between the teams.  After the teams split two games in Pittsburgh, the Penguins won game 3 on May 6^th.  After Ron Francis and Jaromir Jagr gave Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead, Ray Ferraro's 10^th goal of the playoffs got the Isles within one.  A Joey Mullen empty-netter decided things at 3-1 Pittsburgh in game 3 as the Penguins took a two game to one game lead.

Happy Anniversary

29 years ago tonight (5-5-84):  Mike Bossy scored two goals and Denis Potvin added two assists as the Isles eliminated Montreal with a 4-1 victory in game 6 at the Coliseum.  The victory gave the Islanders their 19^th (and final) consecutive series victory which is a record unmatched in North American sports.

Also: (1981) Mike Bossy scored two first period power play goals and Butch Goring added a second period shorthanded goal as the Islanders swept the Rangers, winning game 4 by a 5-2 score at Madison Square Garden.

All-time, the Isles are 2-4 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on this date.

Up Next

TUESDAY, MAY 7^th PITTSBURGH AT ISLANDERS (7:00PM)
[MSG+ (pre-game at 6:30), WRHU (88.7FM]

The Islanders will look to even the series as they face Pittsburgh in game four on Tuesday.  All remaining games in the series will be seen exclusively in the New York area on MSG+.

The Isles are 6-9 in series that they trail 2 games to 1, but have lost four straight series where they face this situation since they eliminated the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Penguins in 1993.

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