"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 67
Isles 7, Vancouver 4
Trailing 3-0 after 40 minutes, the Islanders got goals from SEVEN different players in the third period and defeated the Vancouver Canucks 7-4 before the customary sellout crowd of 18,910 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. The Isles set or tied numerous club records in a remarkable 20 minutes.
The Scoring:
1st Period
15:46 VAN PPG -Chris Higgins (17) Backhand-ASST:Yannick Weber (4), Jason Garrison (24) 1 - 0 VAN
2nd Period
04:52 VAN Henrik Sedin (10) Wrist shot - ASST: Nicklas Jensen (1), Tom Sestito (4) 2 - 0 VAN
08:53 VAN PPG - Ryan Kesler (22) Wrist - ASST: Alexandre Burrows (6), Kevin Bieksa (17)3 - 0 VAN
3rd Period
01:13 NYI PPG - Josh Bailey (6) Wrist shot - ASST: Brock Nelson (11), Matt Donovan (8) 3 - 1 VAN
03:14 NYI PPG - Ryan Strome (3) Wrist shot - ASST: Kyle Okposo (37), Lubomir Visnovsky (5) 3 - 2 VAN
03:36 NYI PPG - Calvin de Haan (3) Wrist shot - ASST: Travis Hamonic (10) 3 - 3 Tie
06:22 NYI Frans Nielsen (20) Wrist shot - ASST: Anders Lee (2), Kyle Okposo (38) 4 - 3 NYI
09:54 VAN Christopher Tanev (6) Wrist shot - ASST: Chris Higgins (19), Jannik Hansen (7) 4 - 4 Tie
10:04 NYI Matt Martin (5) Backhand shot - ASST: Colin McDonald (7) 5 - 4 NYI
11:45 NYI Anders Lee (5) Wrist shot - ASST: Kyle Okposo (39), Frans Nielsen (26) 6 - 4 NYI
19:42 NYI EN - Cal Clutterbuck (8) Wrist shot - ASST: Josh Bailey (20), Travis Hamonic (11) 7 - 4 NYI
The Skinny:
Josh Bailey's goal got the comeback started; it was only his second goal since his OT winner in Pittsburgh on October 25th…The Isles are 16-17-1 on the road and are 12-4-1 in their last 17 road games … It's the Isles 8th NHL-leading 8th win when trailing after two period……Kyle Okposo had three assists, matching a career-high; he now has 51 even-strength points this season (5th in NHL); Okposo had three shots on goal but had eight others blocked by Canucks … The Isles are 8-1-3 in the last 12 games announced by Jiggs McDonald…Despite trailing 3-0, the Isles did allow a 3rd period lead to temporarily get away. It's the 19th time this season that the opposition has tied a game in the 3rd period. The Isles are 6-6-7 in those 19 games…It's the first time since 3-20-1993 that the Isles have scored three power play goals in a game against Vancouver… Seven Islanders scored in the third period; 13 Isles recorded points…Frans Nielsen reached 20 goals in a season for the first time in his career and he did so with fellow Danes Jannik Hansen and Nicklas Jensen playing for Vancouver…It was Clutterbuck's team-leading second ENG of the season and his first goal in 17 games…Colin McDonald extended his point streak to four games…This was the Isles' final game outside of the Eastern Time Zone…The Isles outscored Vancouver 11-9 in two games this season…It's the 9th time this season that the Isles have rallied from a deficit of at least two goals to win –that leads the NHL…Alex Burrows recorded his 300th NHL point.
Rewriting the Record Book
The Isles scored seven goals in the third period. The seven goals:
· Tied an NHL record for goals in a road period
· Set a club record for goals in a road period
· Tied a club record for goals in a period (7 vs NYR on 12/23/78)
· Tied a Canucks record for goals allowed in a period
The Isles recorded 19 points in the 3rd period, setting a club record for a road period
The Isles scored three power play goals in the third period, tying the club record. (Frans Nielsen almost had a fourth – it came one second after a Canuck power play expired.)
What a Comeback!
It's the second time this season that the Isles have erased a 3-0 deficit to win, also doing so on December 29, 2013 in Minnesota. Prior to that, the Isles had gone winless in an NHL-record 380 games when they trailed by three goals. Now, they have done it twice in 2 ½ months.
It's the first time since November 21, 1987 in Philadelphia (trailed 4-1, won 6-4) that the Isles won a road game in which they trailed by at least three goals after two periods.
The Shots:
Isles 6-7-15=28
Canucks 11-8-5=24
The Isles have been outshot only twice in the last 11 games.
Home and Road
The Islanders are 25-33-9 overall, 9-16-8 at home (including 0-1-0 at Yankee Stadium) and 16-17-1 on the road. The Isles are 4-9-2 in their last 15 games overall but are 12-4-1 in their last 17 road games.
Vancouver is 29-28-10 overall; they are 16-11-6 at home and 13-17-4 on the road. The Canucks are 6-17-4 since December 30th.
By Division
The Isles are 6-15-3 in Division games and are 19-18-6 in games against other divisions. They are 8-6-3 vs. the Atlantic Division, 7-5-1 vs. Central Division, and 4-7-2 vs. the Pacific Division.
The Isles have losing records against every division opponent except Washington (1-1-1 with one to play). They are 0-3-0 against Carolina, 0-1-1 against Columbus, 1-2-0 against New Jersey, 2-3-0 against New York, 1-3-0 against Philadelphia, and 1-2-1 against Pittsburgh.
This was the fifth of eight consecutive games against non-divisional opponents. The Isles are 2-2-1 in this stretch.
In the Nets
Evgeni Nabokov made 20 saves; he improves to 12-13-6 on the season. Nabby is 15-7-4 in his career against the Canucks and has more wins against Vancouver than any other active NHL goalie.
Eddie Lack made 21 saves for Vancouver but falls to 10-12-4 on the season.
Power Plays
The Islanders were 3-7 (including 1-1 in :50 of 5-on-3 play) while Vancouver was 2-4.
The Isles are 16-8-4 when they score at least one power play goal and 9-25-5 when they do not. The Isles are 14-18-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 14-15-5 when they do not.
All three Isles power plays goals came in the third period. Prior to tonight, the Isles were 4-58 in the last 14 games on the power play, including 1-18 in the prior 5 games.
The Isles have allowed eight power play goals in 26 times short over the last six games.
Feast or Famine
The Isles PP went 10-33 in the first 10 games, before going 7-79 in the next 24 games. They rebounded to go 11-32 in the following 11 games but are only 11-90 in their last 22 games.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 22-9-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-24-6 when they do not.
Comeback Kids
The Isles are 10-9-7 when they score first and are 15-24-2 when they allow the opening goal. The Isles have allowed the first goal in 22 of their last 29 games.
Second to The One
Jack Capuano became the 2nd coach in Islander history to win 100 games in Toronto on January 7th and became the 2nd coach in Islander history to coach 250 games on January 27th against Boston. He is 2nd on the all-time Islander list in both games coached (262) and wins (109).
Most games coached (Islanders):
1. Al Arbour 1,500
2. Jack Capuano 262
3. Mike Milbury 191
4. Terry Simpson 187
5. Scott Gordon 181
Most wins by Islander coaches:
1. Al Arbour 740
2. Jack Capuano 109
3. Terry Simpson 81
4. Peter Laviolette 77
5. Ted Nolan 74
They Said It
Kyle Okposo: "It was a bit embarrassing in the second period. … Once we got that second goal, it seemed like we had something going…Huge goal for Matt Martin."
Canucks coach John Tortorella: "I've never been in a game like that."
They Tweeted It
@jkreiser77nhl #Isles lead NHL with 12 blown multi-goal leads in losses; also lead with 9 multi-goal deficits that turned into wins.
@SportsnetTicker #Canucks lose 13 out of 16 games for the first time since Dec 23, 1990-Jan 30, 1991
@michaelthemurr #Isles baby; with or without Tavares i love this team
@IslesFan5151 7 goals in the 3rd period alone... I don't even know what to say #Isles
@kymayer Did the #Canucks really give up a touchdown to the #Isles?
The Coach
"Our power play was huge tonight…we made some adjustments to get the pucks to the net….They had the will and determination to defend hard."
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are now 6-7-1 in the front-end and 5-7-2 on the back end of back-to-backs this season. The Isles have swept three back-to-backs: November 1st/2nd vs. Ottawa and Boston; January 6th/7th vs. Dallas and Toronto and January 20th/21st vs. Philadelphia and the Rangers.
In the 14 sets of back-to-backs, they have earned 4 points three times, 3 points once, 2 points four times, 1 point twice and no points on four occasions.
The Islanders next back-to-back set is on March 14th vs San Jose and March 15th vs. Buffalo.
Leading Ice Men
Travis Hamonic led the Isles with 24:24 of ice-time; Ryan Kesler led Vancouver with 24:28.
The Isles are 15-17-6 when MacDonald leads in ice-time, are 10-11-3 when Hamonic leads, are 0-1-0 when Okposo leads, are 0-1-0 when Strait leads, are 0-2-0 when Tavares leads and are 0-1-0 when Vanek leads.
In the Circle
The Islanders won 27 of 59 draws (46%). Ryan Strome won 5 of 9 for the Isles; Shawn Matthias won 9 of 14 for Vancouver.
Heavy Hitters
The Isles out-hit Vancouver 31-20; Colin McDonald led the Isles with seven hits while Matt Martin added 6 hits. Martin's 292 hits lead the NHL by a wide margin. He had now recorded at least 200 hits in four straight seasons.
There were no fights. The Isles have received 28 fighting penalties this season: Martin (10), Boulton (8), Carkner (5), McDonald (2), Hamonic (2) and Okposo (1).
Giving Up the Body
The Isles were credited with 13 blocked shots. Five Isles each had two blocks.
Back Over All-Time .500
The Islanders improve to one game over all-time NHL .500 (1396-1395-448 in 3,239 games). The Isles have been 1-under all-time .500 after six games this season and have gone 4-0-2 in the following game.
The Isles have finished every season since 1977-78 above all-time NHL .500 and have not been more than 1 game under NHL-.500 since January 11, 1978.
Ironmen
Thomas Hickey is the Islanders' reigning ironman. He has played 68 consecutive regular season games, and is the only Islander to have played in every game this season.
Missing Men
John Tavares is on injured reserve. Eric Boulton missed the game with a hand injury. Matt Carkner and Radek Martinek were scratched for the 3rd straight and 14th straight game.
The Isles have lost 163 games this season due to injury.
Career Wins, Active Goalies
Career Wins
17. Rogie Vachon 355
19. Gump Worsley 335
20. Nikolai Khabibulin 333
Career Shutouts, Active Goalies
Career Shutouts
17 John Ross Roach 58
18 Clint Benedict 57
18 Evgeni Nabokov 57
20 Bernie Parent 54
20 Ed Giacomin 54
| Career Goals as an Islander |
15 Mariusz Czerkawski 145
16 John Tavares 136
17 Jason Blake 127
27 Trent Hunter 99
28 Kyle Okposo 98
29 Mikko Makela 95
29 David Volek 95
31 Randy Wood 94
32 Greg Gilbert 93
32 Garry Howatt 93
34 Travis Green 92
35 Butch Goring 87
36 Tomas Jonsson 84
37 Michael Grabner 82
37 Wayne Merrick 81
37 Dave Scatchard 81
40 Frans Nielsen 80
41 Marty McInnis 79
| Career Assists as an Islander |
16 Ed Westfall 181
17 John Tavares 179
18 Kenny Jonsson 175
19 Alexei Yashin 171
20 Duane Sutter 171
21 Jean Potvin 167
22 Jeff Norton 166
23 Zigmund Palffy 163
23 Frans Nielsen 163
25 David Volek 154
26 Kyle Okposo 152
27 Mariusz Czerkawski 150
| Career Games as an Islander (skaters) |
24 Eddie Westfall 493
25 Radek Martinek 479
26 Gerry Hart 476
29 Scott Lachance 450
30 Frans Nielsen 431
31 Jason Blake 426
34 Wayne Merrick 411
35 Jean Potvin 402
36 David Volek 396
37 Bert Marshall 392
38 Josh Bailey 390
39 Travis Green 388
40 Kyle Okposo 384
41 Anders Kallur 383
42 Randy Wood 381
43 John Tavares 350
44 Dave Scatchard 347
| Career Points as an Islander |
16 Ziggy Palffy 331
17 John Tavares 315
18 Mariusz Czerkawski 295
24 Kyle Okposo 250
25 David Volek 249
26 Frans Nielsen 242
27 Ray Ferraro 238
Season Series Stats
The teams split the season series 1 game to 1 (The Isles earned three points to the Canuck's two).
The Isles are 3-1-3 in their last seven games against Vancouver. Roberto Luongo, now with Florida, earned all four Canuck wins in that span. No other Canuck goalie has beaten the Isles since Alex Auld did so at the Coliseum on January 14, 2006.
This was the Isles' first trip to Vancouver since November 13, 2011 when the Canucks defeated the Isles 4-1.
Happy Anniversary
14 years ago today (March 10, 2000): Olli Jokinen scored 3:34 into overtime as the Isles win in Dallas 4-3. Kevin Weekes recorded the victory.
12 years ago today (March 10, 2002): Evgeni Nabokov, playing for the Sharks, scores an empty-net goal in a win in, of all places, Vancouver.
All-time, the Isles are 9-9-4 on March 10. Today also marked the 34th anniversary of the Isles' trade with Los Angeles that brought Butch Goring, the final piece of the Stanley Cup puzzle, to Long Island.
On The Farm
Bridgeport is 26-27-2-4 on the season after an 0-1-1-0 weekend in St. John's (Newfoundland) against the Ice Caps.
The Sound Tigers begin a 3-game in 3-day weekend on Friday in Manchester.
Up Next
FRIDAY, MARCH 10th – SAN JOSE AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[MSG-Plus (Isles Pre-game at 6:30), 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN-FM]
[MSG-Plus (Isles Pre-game at 6:30), 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN-FM]
The Isles return home to begin a four-game homestand as they face the San Jose Sharks.
The Isles rallied from a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 shootout win on December 10th at the SAP Center. That win breaks Islander four game winless streaks vs. the Sharks both overall (0-2-2 since a comeback victory on President's Day 2008) and in San Jose (0-3-1 since Garth Snow blanked the Sharks 3-0 on February 19, 2003).
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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