"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 26
Detroit 5, Isles 0
Darren Helm scored two goals, including the first shorthanded goal allowed by the Isles in 79 games as the Detroit Red Wings blanked the Islanders 5-0 before a Black Friday crowd of 14,826 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The Isles have lost 5 straight games and are 2-10-0 in their last twelve games.
The Scoring:
1st Period
07:09 DET Darren Helm (6) Backhand shot - ASST: Daniel Alfredsson (13), Brendan Smith (2) 1 - 0 DET
2nd Period
16:49 DET SHG - Darren Helm (7) Wrist shot - ASST: Daniel Cleary (3), Jonathan Ericsson (6) 2 - 0 DET
3rd Period
00:12 DET Daniel Alfredsson (5) Wrist shot - ASST: Brendan Smith (3) 3 - 0 DET
06:12 DET Gustav Nyquist (4) Wrist shot - ASST: Johan Franzen (11), Niklas Kronwall (15) 4 - 0 DET
16:13 DET Daniel Alfredsson (6) Wrist shot - ASST: Justin Abdelkader (7), Niklas Kronwall (16) 5 - 0 DET
The Skinny:
Darren Helm tied a career high with two goals; Helm also was +4….Daniel Alfredsson scored two goals and added an assist in his 1200th NHL game; he is the 98th player (and third Swede) to reach that mark. Alfredsson's first goal was the earliest against the Isles in any period this season…The Isles have been outscored 30-15 in the third period, including 23-6 in the last 16 games… The Isles have allowed three goals in a period in three straight games… The Isles are 4-10-0 in November, with one game to play. The Isles have not had a winning November since 2008 and are 9-23-5 in their last three Novembers (2010, 2011, and 2013). It's the Red Wings' first regulation win over the Isles since November 28, 2013, ending a 6-0-1 streak for the Isles… This was the eighth time since 2001 that the Isles have hosted a game on Black Friday (4-4-0); overall, the Isles are 8-10-2 in Black Friday games…Helm's shorthanded goal was the first against the Isles since Pascal Dupuis scored for Pittsburgh on March 29, 2012; it's the first time in at least 25 years that the Isles have gone more than fifty games without allowing a shorthanded goal…The Isles have been outscored 22-9 during their five game losing streak; they also had a 5-game losing streak last season.
The Shots:
Isles 12-7-10=29
Red Wings 9-9-12=30
Home and Road
The Islanders are 8-15-3 overall, 5-6-3 at home and 3-9-0 on the road. The Isles are 7 games under NHL-.500 for the first time since the end of the 2010-11 season (30-39-13).
The Red Wings are 13-7-7 overall; they are 5-4-6 at home and 8-3-1 on the road. Detroit has won three straight games.
In the Nets
Kevin Poulin made 25 saves but falls to 3-10-0 on the season. Poulin has started a career-high five straight games and appeared in nine straight games.
Jimmy Howard made 29 saves for his 18th career shutout and 2nd this season. It's Howard's first win ever against the Isles (1-2-1); he now has a win against every opponent except Toronto.
Power Plays
The Islanders were 0-1 while the Red Wings were 0-2.
The Isles are 5-3-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-12-0 when they do not. The Isles are 2-11-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-4-1 when they do not.
Over the last 16 games, the Isles power play is 5-57 (8.8%) while the penalty kill is 18-49 (63.3%).
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 8-2-2 when they score at least three goals and are 0-13-1 when they do not.
Helps to Score First
The Isles are 6-2-3 when they score first and are 2-13-0 when they allow the opening goal. The Isles have allowed the first two goals in five straight games and have trailed by at least 3-0 in the last three games.
Second to The One
Jack Capuano is now 2nd on the all-time Islander list in both games coached (221) and wins (92).
Most wins by Islander coaches:
1. Al Arbour 740
2. Jack Capuano 92
3. Terry Simpson 81
4. Peter Laviolette 77
5. Ted Nolan 74
Most games coached (Islanders):
1. Al Arbour 1,500
2. Jack Capuano 221
3. Mike Milbury 191
4. Terry Simpson 187
5. Scott Gordon 181
They Said It
John Tavares: "We've got to play tomorrow and we've got to find some answers… We're not hard enough to play against, and you can tell why [Detroit has] had a lot of success for a lot of years now."
They Tweeted It
@markpherrmann Shorthanded goal by Helm, puck goes in after wild collision with Poulin. 2-0 Detroit (both goals by Helm)
The Coach
"You saw our execution tonight. We made some decisions with the puck that weren't very good. We can't do that against that team, or any team, for that matter. Tonight, for me, it was about the execution level, and for whatever reason, it wasn't very good."
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 3-4-0 in the front-end and 1-4-1 on the back end of back-to-backs this season.
On the six previous back-to-backs, they have earned 4 points once, 3 points once, 2 points once, and no points on three occasions.
This back-to-back set will conclude on Saturday vs. Washington.
Head of the Class
John Tavares has 278 career points; he is 65 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.
Leading Ice Men
Travis Hamonic played 24:36 to lead the Isles for the 7th time this season. Kyle Quincey played 21:06 to lead the Red Wings.
The Isles are 7-10-2 when MacDonald leads them in ice-time and 1-5-1 when Hamonic leads them.
In the Circle
The Islanders won 26 of 58 draws. No Islander center won more than they lost; the Isles won 14 of 23 in the first period but only 12 of 35 in the final two periods. Stephen Weiss won 7 of 10 for Detroit.
The Isles have won fewer than 50% of the face-offs in 11 straight games.
Heavy Hitters
The Isles out-hit Detroit 34-12. Matt Martin led the Isles with seven hits, extending his NHL-leading total to 130.
There were no fights in the game, leaving the season total at eight: Martin (3), Boulton (3), and Carkner (2).
Giving Up the Body
The Isles were credited with 10 blocked shots. Andrew MacDonald extended his league-leading total to 93 with three blocks; Matt Carkner was also credited with three.
All–time Winners
The Islanders fall to two games over all-time NHL .500 (1379-1377-442 in 3,198 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 233 consecutive games, which is the second-longest streak for an Islander in the Post Cup era.
Frans Nielsen (156) and Kyle Okposo (139) 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
· John Tavares 10/16/10 – CURRENT 232
· 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
Missing Men
Lubomir Visnovsky, Brian Strait and Evgeni Nabokov remain on injured reserve. Colin McDonald returned to the lineup, replacing Josh Bailey. Radek Martinek was also added to the lineup, replacing Matt Donovan (assigned to Bridgeport) and Calvin deHaan (recalled on Thursday, but scratched). Eric Boulton was also scratched. The Isles have lost 57 games this season due to injury.
Nobody Beats the Viz
The Isles were 19-12-4 last season and are 3-3-2 this season with Lubomir Visnovsky in the lineup. They were 5-5-3 last season and are 5-12-1 this season without him in the lineup.
Career Goals as an Islander
| 15 | Mariusz Czerkawski | 145 | |||
| 16 | Jason Blake | 127 | |||
| 17 | John Tavares | 123 | |||
| 18 | Duane Sutter | 121 | |||
| | | | |||
| Career Assists as an Islander | |||||
| 22 | Zigmund Palffy | 163 | |||
| 23 | John Tavares | 155 | |||
| 24 | David Volek | 154 | |||
| 25 | Mariusz Czerkawski | 150 | |||
| 26 | Frans Nielsen | 148 | |||
| 27 | Travis Green | 145 | |||
Career Games as an Islander (skaters)
| 24 | Eddie Westfall | 493 | ||||
| 25 | Radek Martinek | 476 | ||||
| 25 | Gerry Hart | 476 | ||||
| 27 | Mariusz Czerkawski | 470 | ||||
| | | | ||||
| 35 | David Volek | 396 | ||||
| 36 | Frans Nielsen | 393 | ||||
| 37 | Bert Marshall | 392 | ||||
| 38 | Travis Green | 388 | ||||
| 39 | Anders Kallur | 383 | ||||
| 40 | Randy Wood | 381 | ||||
| 41 | Josh Bailey | 353 | ||||
| 42 | Dave Scatchard | 347 | ||||
| 43 | Alexei Yashin | 346 | ||||
| 44 | Kyle Okposo | 345 | ||||
| 44 | Mark Parrish | 345 | ||||
| 46 | Marty McInnis | 337 | ||||
| | | | ||||
| 54 | Brad Dalgarno | 321 | ||||
| 55 | John Tavares | 318 | ||||
| 56 | Ray Ferraro | 316 | ||||
| 56 | Steve Webb | 316 | ||||
| 56 | Richard Park | 316 | ||||
| | | | ||||
Career Points as an Islander
| 20 | Ed Westfall | 286 |
| 21 | John Tavares | 277 |
| 22 | Jason Blake | 258 |
| 22 | Steve Thomas | 258 |
| | | |
| 32 | Mikko Makela | 219 |
| 33 | Frans Nielsen | 218 |
| 34 | Mark Parrish | 214 |
| 35 | Garry Howatt | 213 |
| 35 | Jean Potvin | 213 |
| 37 | Anders Kallur | 211 |
| 38 | Kyle Okposo | 205 |
| 39 | Marty McInnis | 198 |
Season Series Stats
The season series is even at one game each (Detroit has three points to the Isles' two); the teams will meet again December 23rd at Joe Lewis Arena.
The loss ends a 6-0-1 Isles streak in their last seven games against the Wings dating back to a loss in Detroit on November 28, 2003. It's the first time Detroit has beaten the Isles at the Coliseum in regulation since November 25, 2000.
Happy Anniversary
38 years ago today: November 29, 1975. Ed Westfall and Denis Potvin each had a goal and three assists as the Islanders pounded the St. Louis Blues 8-2 at the Coliseum. It's the second time in four days that the Isles scored at least eight goals.
Overall, the Isles are 8-9-4 on this date.
On The Farm
Ryan Strome scored two goals, Anders Lee added a goal and an assist while Matt Donovan contributed two assists as the Isles edged Hartford 3-2 on Friday night to improve to 5-9-1-3 on the season. The Sound Tigers visit Albany Saturday and return home to host Manchester on Sunday.
Mike Halmo and Anders Lee lead Bridgeport with seven goals; Ryan Strome leads in both assists (15) and points (21). Strome leads all AHL rookies in assists and is 2nd in points.
Up Next
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30th —WASHINGTON AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN-FM]
[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN-FM]
The Isles conclude the back-to-backs and the month on November as they entertain the Capitals at the Coliseum. The Isles had a 6-5-3 record and a 1-0 lead when they allowed five second period goals in a 6-2 loss in Washington on November 5th. Since then they have gone 2-10-0.
The Isles are 2-0-1 in their last three home games and are 4-1-4 in their last nine games overall against the Capitals.
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
