"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 6
Buffalo 4, Isles 3 (Shootout)
Marcus Foligno scored the tying goal with 2:01 to play as the Buffalo Sabres earned their first victory of the season with a 4-3 shootout win over the Islanders, before a crowd of 10,512 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The Sabres erased three separate Islander leads before shootout goals by Thomas Vanek and Tyler Ennis gave them the victory.
The Scoring:
1ST PERIOD
13:11 NYI F. Nielsen (3) Wrist shot - ASST: J. Bailey (4), P. Bouchard (1) 1 - 0 NYI
2ND PERIOD
05:24 BUF T. Ennis (1) Wrist shot - ASST: D. Stafford (1), C. Ehrhoff (1) 1 - 1 Tie
08:08 NYI M. Martin (1) Snap shot - ASST: C. Cizikas (1), E. Boulton (1) 2 - 1 NYI
09:19 BUF PPG - T. Vanek (3) Tip-in - ASST: C. Hodgson (5), C. Ehrhoff (2) 2 - 2 Tie
3RD PERIOD
08:44 NYI PPG - M. Moulson (2) Slapshot - ASST: J. Tavares (4), L. Visnovsky (2) 3 - 2 NYI
17:59 BUF M. Foligno (1) Wrist shot - ASST: T. Myers (1) 3 - 3 Tie
OT PERIOD
NONE
The Shootout:
Matt Moulson (G), Thomas Vanek (G), Frans Nielsen (NG), Tyler Ennis (G),John Tavares (NG)
The Skinny:
Three of the Isles' first six games have been decided in a shootout (1-2)…After being held pointless in the opener, John Tavares has a point in five straight games… Five of the Isles' six games this season have been decided by one goal (and nine of ten, going back to last season)… Pierre-Marc Bouchard's first period assist was his first point as an Islander… Eric Boulton's assist was also his first as an Islander and also stopped a 67-game pointless streak; he appeared in 15 games for the Islanders without recording a point last season…The win snapped Buffalo's 0-6-1 streak to start the season…Matt Moulson has converted his last four shootout attempts (including 3-3 this season), improving to 9/16 all-time in shootouts (56.3%); however, his teammates are a combined 0-10… After converting 25 of his first 40 tries, Frans Nielsen has been stopped on eight straight shootout attempts… Thomas Vanek goal was his 253rd as a Sabre, passing Craig Ramsay for 5th in franchise history.
Shootout Stuff
Best shootout percentage, active players (minimum 15 shots)
1. Matt Hendricks NSH 9/15 60.0%
2. Matt Moulson NYI 9/16 56.7%
3. Frans Nielsen NYI 25/48 52.1%
Moulson leads the NHL in shootout goals this season, with 3. Jeff Carter is the only other player with more than 1.
Fort Never Lose (in Regulation)
Going back to last season, the Isles are 6-0-3 in their last 9 regular season games at the Coliseum; this matches their longest point streak on home ice since the 1989-90 season.
The Shots:
Isles 16-16-10-2=44
Sabres 11-13-8-2=34
The 44 Isles shots were their most against Buffalo in the last 92 games between the teams. They had 46 against the Sabres on February 6, 1988.
The 44 shots were the most for the Isles against any opponent since March 9 vs. Washington, when they had 45.
The Sabres have allowed 74 more shots than they have taken over their first eight games.
Home and Road
The Islanders are 2-2-2 overall, 1-0-2 at home and 1-2-0 on the road.
The Sabres are 1-6-1 overall, 0-3-1 at home and 1-3-0 on the road.
In the Nets
Evgeni Nabokov made 31 saves but falls to 2-1-2 on the season.
Ryan Miller made 41 saves for Buffalo as he improves to 1-4-0 on the season. It was his 44th career shootout win (44-27); only Henrik Lundqvist (45) has more.
Power Plays
The Islanders were 1-3 while the Sabres were 1-4.
The Isles are 1-0-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 1-2-0 when they do not. All four of the Isles' PP goals this season have come at the Coliseum (4-11 at home, 0-7 on the road).
The Isles are 0-1-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 2-1-0 when they do not. The Isles have killed 14 of 17 opponents' power plays this season.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 2-0-1 when they score at least three goals and are 0-2-1 when they do not.
Second to The One
Jack Capuano is now 2nd on the all-time Islander list in both games coached (201) and wins (86).
Most wins by Islander coaches:
1. Al Arbour 740
2. Jack Capuano 86
3. Terry Simpson 81
4. Peter Laviolette 77
5. Ted Nolan 74
Most games coached (Islanders):
1. Al Arbour 1,500
2. Jack Capuano 201
3. Mike Milbury 191
4. Terry Simpson 187
5. Scott Gordon 181
They Said It
Matt Martin: "It was a tough way to lose … always good to get a point but we had them 3-2 with a couple of minutes to play…we can be a little bit upset with it tonight, and then (need to) get ready for Edmonton.
They Tweeted It
@chelsnaps My dads using Cal Clutterbucks name as a verb: Clutterbucking #islanders @NYIslanders
The Coach
"We had the right matchup…we won the faceoff…it was coming off the strong side … we could have pounded it a little harder up the wall…unfortunately they kept it in and the shot had eyes. "
Head of the Class
John Tavares has 256 career points; he is 58 points ahead of Matt Duchene for most among 2009 draft picks. No other player from that draft is anywhere close. Tavares also has more goals and more assists than any other player from that draft.
120 NHL Goals
Moulson has 120 career goals (114 as an Islander). While 262 players were selected before the Penguins chose Moulson in the 2003 entry draft, only 16 have more goals.
Leading Ice Men
Travis Hamonic played 27:59 to lead the Isles for the second straight game. Tyler Myers led Buffalo with 27:55.
The Isles are 2-1-1 when MacDonald leads them in ice-time and 0-1-1 when Hamonic leads them.
Frans Nielsen led the Isles forwards with 23:40, which was the third highest total of his career (24:54 on 4/6/10 vs Montreal, 24:50 on 4/11/10 vs Pittsburgh).
Frans Nielsen led the Isles forwards with 23:40, which was the third highest total of his career (24:54 on 4/6/10 vs Montreal, 24:50 on 4/11/10 vs Pittsburgh).
In the Circle
The Islanders won 35 of 68 draws. Casey Cizikas won 8 of 10 to lead the Isles for the second straight game; he has won 16 of 24 in the last two games. Steve Ott won 11 of 12 for Buffalo.
Heavy Hitters
The Islanders were out-hit 35-33. Three-time NHL hit leader Cal Clutterbuck led the Isles with eight hits. Eric Boulton, making his season debut, fought Cody McCormick in the Isles' first fight of the season.
The Isles entered the game as the least penalized team in the NHL (6.4 min/game) but were assessed 17 penalty minutes in this game.
Giving Up the Body
The Isles were credited with 16 blocked shots; Thomas Hickey led the Isles with four.
All–time Winners
The Islanders remain 9 games over all-time NHL .500 (1373-1364-441 in 3,178 games). The Isles have finished every season since 1977-78 above all-time NHL .500.
Ironmen
John Tavares is the reigning Islanders' ironman. Tavares has now played in 213 consecutive games.
Frans Nielsen (136) and Kyle Okposo (119) also have streaks of at least 100 consecutive games.
Longest Consecutive Game Streaks, Post Cup Era
· Matt Moulson 10/3/2009- 4/4/2013 284
· Richard Park 10/5/2006 – 2/18/2009 221
· Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220
· Bryan Trottier 3/7/1981- 1/12/1984 219
· Mariusz Czerkawski 12/23/1999 – 4/14/2002 215
· John Tavares 10/16/10 – CURRENT 213
Missing Men
Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Eric Boulton replaced Brock Nelson and Colin McDonald (hip injury) in the lineup; Matt Donovan was scratched for the second straight game. The Isles have lost four games this season due to injury.
Career Wins, Active Goalies
Career Wins
19. Gump Worsley 335
20. Nikolai Khabibulin 333
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
|
John Tavares
|
115
|
23
|
Matt Moulson
|
114
|
24
|
Benoit Hogue
|
105
|
24
|
Ed Westfall
|
105
|
Career Assists as an Islander
| ||
24
|
Mariusz Czerkawski
|
150
|
25
|
Travis Green
|
145
|
26
|
John Tavares
|
141
|
27
|
Frans Nielsen
|
140
|
27
|
Steve Thomas
|
140
|
29
|
Mark Streit
|
139
|
Career Games as an Islander (skaters)
39
|
Randy Wood
|
381
|
40
|
Frans Nielsen
|
373
|
41
|
Dave Scatchard
|
347
|
44
|
Marty McInnis
|
337
|
45
|
Josh Bailey
|
335
|
46
|
Robert Goring
|
332
|
46
|
Oleg Kvasha
|
332
|
48
|
Bruno Gervais
|
331
|
48
|
Zigmund Palffy
|
331
|
50
|
Shawn Bates
|
330
|
51
|
Eric Cairns
|
327
|
52
|
Alan Kerr
|
326
|
53
|
Kyle Okposo
|
325
|
54
|
Brad Dalgarno
|
321
|
55
|
Ray Ferraro
|
316
|
55
|
Steve Webb
|
316
|
55
|
Richard Park
|
316
|
58
|
Gerald Diduck
|
314
|
59
|
Mikko Makela
|
307
|
60
|
Gordon Lane
|
304
|
61
|
Arron Asham
|
300
|
61
|
Roman Hamrlik
|
300
|
63
|
Matt Moulson
|
299
|
64
|
John Tavares
|
297
|
65
|
Gordon Dineen
|
287
|
Career Points as an Islander
20
|
Ed Westfall
|
286
|
21
|
Jason Blake
|
258
|
21
|
Steve Thomas
|
258
|
23
|
John Tavares
|
256
|
24
|
David Volek
|
249
|
29
|
Benoit Hogue
|
221
|
29
|
Trent Hunter
|
221
|
31
|
Mikko Makela
|
219
|
32
|
Matt Moulson
|
216
|
33
|
Mark Parrish
|
214
|
34
|
Garry Howatt
|
213
|
34
|
Jean Potvin
|
213
|
36
|
Anders Kallur
|
211
|
37
|
Frans Nielsen
|
203
|
38
|
Marty McInnis
|
198
|
39
|
Wayne Merrick
|
197
|
40
|
Robert Goring
|
195
|
41
|
Kyle Okposo
|
189
|
42
|
Jeffrey Norton
|
188
|
Season Series Stats
The Sabres lead the season series one game to none (and two points to one) with two games to play. The teams will also play on March 15th on Long Island and will face each other in the season finale for the second consecutive season on April 13th in Buffalo.
The Isles are 0-1-2 in their last three against Buffalo but are 5-1-3 in their last nine overall against the Sabres. Buffalo has won five of the six all-time shootouts between the squads and has won three straight games at the Coliseum for the first time since 2005/2006.
Happy Anniversary
2 years ago today (10-15-11): John Tavares recorded his third career hat trick and added an assist, as he became the first Islander in nearly fifteen years to record back-to-back four point games as the Isles broke a 2-2 third period tie to defeat the Rangers 4-2.
The Isles are now 8-4-2 on this date.
On The Farm
Bridgeport dropped to 1-3-0-0 with a 3-1 loss to Springfield on Sunday. Bridgeport is off until Sunday afternoon when they entertain Binghamton at 3:00.
Up Next
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17th—EDMONTON AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN-FM]
The Isles continue their 4-game homestand on Thursday vs. Edmonton. The Oilers are 1-5-1 following a Tuesday night loss in Pittsburgh and find themselves in last place in the Western Conference.
[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN-FM]
The Isles continue their 4-game homestand on Thursday vs. Edmonton. The Oilers are 1-5-1 following a Tuesday night loss in Pittsburgh and find themselves in last place in the Western Conference.
This is the first of two meetings between the teams; they will also meet in early March in Edmonton. The Isles have dominated the series in the 21st century between the teams, going 8-3-0. The Isles are 6-0-0 in that span at the Coliseum against the Oilers.
The Isles will be looking to extend their Coliseum point streak to ten games (dating back to last season). They have had only one streak of at least ten games in the Post Cup era (9-0-1 from 12/16/89 to 1/28/90) so a point on Thursday would match their longest Coliseum point streak since they went 28-0-2 over the final 23 games of the 1981-82 season and the first seven games of the 1982-83 campaign.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment