"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 9
Winnipeg 4, Isles 3
Andrew Ladd scored a pair of goals, including the tie-breaking tally 3:31 into the third period as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Islanders 4-3 before a crowd of 11,508 at Nassau Coliseum. The loss snaps the Isles 2-game win streak.
The Scoring:
1ST PERIOD
01:16 NYI PPG - Brock Nelson (6) ASST: Johnny Boychuk (5), Kyle Okposo (8) 1 - 0 NYI
2ND PERIOD
01:14 WPG PPG - Andrew Ladd (3) ASST: Bryan Little (2), Toby Enstrom (7) 1 - 1 Tie
04:06 WPG PPG - Paul Postma (1) ASST: NONE 2 - 1 WPG
11:42 WPG Jacob Trouba (1) ASST: Mark Stuart (1), Bryan Little (3) 3 - 1 WPG
14:28 NYI PPG - John Tavares (4) ASST: Brock Nelson (6), Johnny Boychuk (6) 3 - 2 WPG
15:52 NYI Mikhail Grabovski (3) ASST: Lubomir Visnovsky (1) 3 - 3 Tie
3RD PERIOD
03:31 WPG Andrew Ladd (4) ASST: Bryan Little (4), Michael Frolik (3) 4 - 3 WPG
The Ejection:
Nikolay Kulemin was ejected early in the second period when he was given a major penalty for boarding Winnipeg's Mark Stuart, and a game misconduct. It was the first major penalty and first misconduct of Kulemin's career. Winnipeg scored twice on the ensuing power play; Stuart played 21:43 in the game.
The Skinny:
Kyle Okposo extended his point streak to four games… Brock Nelson scored for the second straight game and recorded his team-leading 6th goal; Nelson did not score his sixth goal last season until January 12th…Nelson is now tied for the team lead in points with John Tavares; each recorded their 12th point on Tavares' power play goal… The Isles have scored 34 goals through 9 games, which is their best nine game start offensively since 1992-93, when they scored 36… Despite the loss, the Isles 6-3-0 record is their best through nine games since 2001-02 (7-0-1-1)…Johnny Boychuk assisted on both Islander power play goals; seven of his eight points have come on the power play. He had only five power play points in 317 games with Boston… Bryan Little matched a career-high with three assists, giving him 300 career points. Both Little and Andrew Ladd extended their point streaks to four games…The Jets had been 0-4-0 when allowing the first goal and 0-4-0 when trailing after one period… The Isles have outscored the opposition 12-6 in the first period but have been outscored 25-22 in the 2nd/3rd period… The Jets
scored twice on the power play after going 1-28 with the extra man in their first eight games.
End of the Month
This was the final October game in Coliseum history. The Isles went 107-78-31 in October home games, including 3-2-0 this season.
The Shots:
Isles 9-5-7=21
Winnipeg 7-12-11=30
First to 12
The Isles remain all alone in first place in the Metropolitan Division with 12 points (one point ahead of Pittsburgh). However, five of the other seven teams in the division have at least 10 points.
Home and Road
The Islanders are 6-3-0 overall, 3-2-0 at home and 3-1-0 on the road.
Winnipeg is 4-5-0 overall; 2-3-0 at home and 2-2-0 on the road.
By Division
The Isles are 3-1-0 in Division games and are 3-2-0 in games against other divisions. They are 1-1-0 vs. the Atlantic Division, 1-1-0 vs. Central Division, and 1-0-0 vs. the Pacific Division.
The Isles won only three of their first 17 division games (3-11-3) last season.
Western Run
This was the second of eight consecutive games against the Western Conference. The Isles are 1-1-0 in this stretch.
In the Nets
Jaroslav Halak made 26 saves but falls to 3-3-0 on the season. He has lost three straight games after opening his Islander career with three straight wins.
Ondrej Pavelec made 18 saves for Winnipeg and improves to 4-4-0 on the season.
Power Plays
The Islanders were 2-5 on the power play while Winnipeg was 2-4.
The Isles have now allowed 10 power play goals on 31 times short (67.7% penalty killing efficiency). The two power play goals for the Isles stopped a 1-16 skein over the previous four games.
The Isles are 4-2-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 2-1-0 when they do not. The Isles are 3-2-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 3-1-0 when they do not.
Three is (usually) a Magic Number
This was the Isles' first loss this season when scoring at least three goals. The Isles are 6-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-2-0 when they do not.
One Goal Games
The Isles are now 3-1-0 in games decided by a single goal including 2-0-0 in regulation. They are 0-0 in games decided in overtime and are 1-0 in shootouts. Two games have been decided by two goals in which the second goal was an empty-netter. The Isles are 1-1 in those games.
First Goal
The Isles are 4-3-0 when they score first and are 2-0-0 when they allow the opening goal.
Second to The One
Jack Capuano is the 2nd winningest coach in Islander history. Capuano is 124-123-39 behind the Islander bench
Most games coached (Islanders):
1. Al Arbour 1,500
2. Jack Capuano 286
3. Mike Milbury 191
4. Terry Simpson 187
5. Scott Gordon 181
Most wins by Islander coaches:
1. Al Arbour 740
2. Jack Capuano 124
3. Terry Simpson 81
4. Peter Laviolette 77
5. Ted Nolan 74
They Said It
Kyle Okposo: "I thought they made it tough for us after [they went ahead]. They clogged up the neutral zone and didn't allow us many entries."
John Tavares: "We battled back but we didn't have a great third period. They got a goal early and they did some good things, and we just weren't quick enough. We weren't dirty and gritty enough at times in the third to hem them in and get some pressure."
They Tweeted It
@PrayIslesBattle gotta love (Mikhail Grabokvski). He just loves playing hockey
@58SteelCurtain I've said it b4. I am going to miss the NVMC Organ. That Pre Lets Go Islanders music gets me every time. #LGI (I'm sure @PaulGCartier would say thanks!)
@BComptonNHL: "A Jet passing to a Jet. We haven't seen that here in weeks." -- A beauty from Howie
The Coach
"When you don't manage the puck well, you're not going to have success."
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 1-0-0 in the front-end and 1-0-0 on the back end of back-to-backs this season.
The next set of back-to-backs is on November 5th (at Anaheim) and November 6th (at Los Angeles).
Leading Ice Men
John Tavares led the Isles with 24:25 of ice-time while Jacob Trouba led Winnipeg with 26:38. Both Tavares and Kyle Okposo (23:15) played more than any Islander defenseman.
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (4-1-0), Travis Hamonic (1-1-0) and John Tavares (1-1-0). Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (3-3-0), Kyle Okposo (1-0-0), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), and Casey Cizikas (1-0-0).
In the Circle
The Islanders won 33 of 58 draws (57%). Frans Nielsen won 10 of 15 for the Isles; Jim Slater won 6 of 9 for Winnipeg.
Heavy Hitters
The Isles outhit Winnipeg 22-20. Cal Clutterbuck led the Isles with six hits. Dustin Byfuglien had five hits for Winnipeg.
There were no fights, leaving the season total at two: Martin (1), Hamonic (1).
Giving Up the Body
The Isles were credited with 10 blocked shots; Lubomir Visnovsky and Brian Strait led the Isles with two.
For the Corsi Crowd
Kyle Okposo and John Tavares (each +6) led the Isles in even-strength Corsi, which measures shots attempted for and against (including blocks). Brock Nelson had a team-leading 64% of Corsi For events.
Head of the Class
Islander Captain John Tavares has 327 career points; he is 57 points ahead of Matt Duchene for most among 2009 draft picks. No other player in that draft is anywhere close. Tavares also has more goals and more assists than any other player in that draft.
All-time Winners
The Islanders fail to go five games over NHL-.500 for the second time this season (0-2-0) and fall to nine games over all-time NHL .500 (1411-1402-450 in 3,263 games).
The Isles have not been more than 1 game under NHL-.500 since January 11, 1978 and have finished every season since 1977-78 over all-time NHL .500.
Ironmen
Nick Leddy and Thomas Hickey are the Islanders' reigning ironmen. Leddy has played 261 consecutive regular season games, while Hickey has played 92 consecutive regular season Islander games.
Missing Men
Josh Bailey, Michael Grabner and Matt Carkner are on injured reserve while Travis Hamonic missed his third game with an upper body injury. Eric Boulton and Matt Donovan were scratched for the ninth straight game.
The Isles have lost 35 games this season due to injury and have had at least four injured players at the start of 8 of their 9 games this season.
All-time Islander Leader Board:
John Tavares has:
· 140 goals (16th all-time, 5 behind Mariusz Czerkawski and 7 behind Pierre Turgeon)
· 187 assists (16th all-time, 6 behind Pierre Turgeon and 62 behind Tomas Jonsson)
· 327 points (17th all-time, 4 behind Ziggy Palffy, 6 behind Tomas Jonsson and 13 behind Pierre Turgeon
· 359 games played (43rd among Islander skaters all-time, 22 behind Randy Wood)
Frans Nielsen has:
· 89 goals (35th all-time, 3 behind Travis Green)
· 173 assists (19th all-time, 2 behind Kenny Jonsson and 8 behind Ed Westfall)
· 262 points (23rd all-time and 3 behind Kyle Okposo)
· 456 games played (29th among Islander skaters all-time and 3 behind Trent Hunter)
Kyle Okposo has:
· 102 goals (26th all-time and 3 behind Ed Westfall & Benoit Hogue)
· 163 assists (tied-24th all-time with Ziggy Palffy, 3 behind Jeff Norton and 4 behind Jean Potvin)
· 265 points (22nd all-time, 23 behind Ed Westfall)
· 399 games played (37th among Islander skaters all-time, 3 behind Jean Potvin and 12 behind Wayne Merrick)
Michael Grabner has:
· 82 goals (38th all-time, 2 behind Tomas Jonsson, 3 behind Frans Nielsen and 5 behind Butch Goring)
Josh Bailey has:
· 413 games played (34th among Islander skaters all-time and 9 behind Dave Langevin)
Season Series Stats
Winnipeg leads the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0).
The Isles are 2-3-0 vs. Winnipeg at the Coliseum since that franchise relocated from Atlanta. Overall, the Thrashers/Jets have won 5 of the last 7 on Long Island.
The teams will meet again on New Year's Eve in Winnipeg.
It Happened at the Coliseum … on OCTOBER 28th
40 years ago tonight (1974) - Ed Westfall and Billy MacMillian each recorded hat tricks as the Isles pounded the California Golden Seals 10-1 to move into first place in the Division.
The game re-wrote the Islander record book, as it was the first time the Isles ever scored 10 goals and the 9-goal margin of victory set a club record that has been tied, but never beaten.
Gary Simmons allowed the first nine goals, including all six goals by Westfall and MacMillian, who became the first of only three sets of Islander teammates to ever record hat tricks in the same game.
Also on this date: (1980) - Mike Bossy had a hat trick in a 6-4 win over Montreal; (2001) Michael Peca scored in overtime to give the Isles a 3-2 win over Dallas, as they improved to 8-0-1-1 on the season.
All-time, the Isles have played thirteen October 28th games at the Coliseum and have compiled an 8-3-2 record on this date at 1255 Hempstead Turnpike in Uniondale.
On The Farm
The Sound Tigers are 4-2-0-1 after a 5-3 win in Newfoundland on Sunday gave them a three-point weekend with the Ice Caps. Ryan Pulock and Griffin Reinhart each had a goal, an assist and a +2 rating. David Leggio made 26 saves. The Sound Tigers are off until Saturday, when they visit Albany.
Up Next
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30th—ISLANDERS AT COLORADO 9:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 8:30pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]
[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 8:30pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]
Kyle Okposo will play in his 400th NHL game and the Islanders will close out October as they begin a key 5-game road trip on Thursday when they travel to Denver to face the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs are 2-4-4 on the season after a 3-2 shootout loss to San Jose on Tuesday.
If history is a guide, this will be a one-goal hockey game. Each of the last seven meetings between the teams in Denver, dating back to a 1-0 shutout by Patrick Roy on November 16, 2001, has been decided by a single goal. The Isles have earned points in each of the last six, earning a regulation win, two overtime wins, two overtime losses and a tie.
Michael Grabner's overtime goal made Kevin Poulin a winner in the game at Pepsi Center back on January 10th.
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 & on his blog www.nyiskinny.com.
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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