The Skinny: Isles 3, New Jersey 1

“The Skinny”  

By Eric Hornick

Game 24

Isles 3, New Jersey 1

Cal Clutterbuck broke a 1-1 tie as he deflected home a Calvin deHaan shot for the winning goal early through the second period and Jaroslav Halak took over from there as the Islanders extended their home winning streak to six games with a 3-1 victory over New Jersey before a sellout crowd of 16,170 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Halak was at his best in the third period, when the Isles were out-shot 16-2 yet managed to kill a late 5-on-3 before Casey Cizikas scored a shorthanded goal with 5 seconds to play to cement the win.

The Isles remain tied with the Penguins for first place in the Metropolitan Division (although Pittsburgh has a game in hand). The Isles have won 11 of their last 13(11-2-0) for the first time in 24 years, and have won 17 times in the first 24 games for the first time in franchise history.  The Isles lead the entire NHL with 17 victories and are tied for the NHL lead with 34 points (with Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Montreal, Nashville and St. Louis).

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

12:40    NYI       Nikolay Kulemin (5) ASST: Kyle Okposo (16), John Tavares (13)  1 - 0 NYI          

14:27    NJD      Damien Brunner (2) ASST: Adam Larsson (3), Michael Ryder (8)  1 - 1 Tie           

2ND PERIOD

03:32    NYI       Cal Clutterbuck (3) ASST: Calvin de Haan (4), Casey Cizikas (4)   2 - 1 NYI          

3RD PERIOD

19:55    NYI       SHG - EN - Casey Cizikas (3) ASST: Frans Nielsen (8), Thomas Hickey (6) 3 - 1 NYI

The Skinny:

John Tavares’ assist was his team-leading 23^rd point … Kyle Okposo extended his club lead with his 16^th assist; it was his 171^st career assist, tying Duane Sutter and Alexei Yashin for 20^th place on the all-time Isles list…Two of Cal Clutterbuck’s three goals have been game-winners…Casey Cizikas hit the empty-net for his first career shorthanded goal and the Isles’ 4^th SH goal of the season.  All four have been scored at home; the Isles lead the NHL with 4 SH goals at home…Brunner’s goal is the only even strength goal Halak has allowed in the last 232:47... Jaroslav Halak has won a career-best 9 straight starts, allowing just 11 goals.  He is one win away from tying Billy Smith’s club record for consecutive victories (10), which was set in 1982… The Isles held Jaromir Jagr without a point.  Jagr has 150 points in 104 career games vs. the Isles… It’s the first time in franchise history that the Isles have won 17 games by the end of November.  The Stanley Cup Champion 1980-81 Islanders recorded their 17^th win on December 2^nd.  This is the first time since 2007-08 that the Isles recorded a 17^th win before New Year’s.

The Sellouts

The Isles hosted their third sellout in the last four games and are 4-0-0 before a home sellout crowd this season.  Over the last eight days, the Isles attracted 60,919 to four games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Last Time First!

The Isles maintain at least a share of first place this late in the season for the first time since 2006 as Pittsburgh beat Carolina.

(After the games of Dec 5, 2006)

Atlantic Division   W-L-OT  Pts                                                                              

NY Islanders     14-10-3 31                                                        

New Jersey       14-9-2   30                                                        

NY Rangers      13-10-4 30                                                        

(After tonight)

Metropolitan Division

Pittsburgh 16-5-2 34 points

ISLES       17-7-0 34 points

The Isles and Penguins have been tied at the end of play each of the last eight days; both teams are idle until Tuesday, when the Isles host Ottawa and the Penguins host New Jersey.

Comparable Records

The Isles are 17-7-0 thru 24 games; it’s the first time in franchise history that the Isles have won 17 of their first 24 games.  The Isles were 8-13-3 through 24 games and 8-14-3 through 25 games last season, when they did not win their 17^th game until January 10th (17-22-7).

Most wins in first 24 games:

·         17-7-0 in 2014-15

·         16-7-1 in 1987-88

·         16-8-0 in 1983-84

·         16-3-5 in 1978-79

·         15-5-3-1 in 2001-02

·         15-6-3 in 1976-77

Most points in first 24 games

·         37 in 1978-79

·         34 in 2014-15

·         34 in 2001-02

·         33 in 1976-77

·         33 in 1980-81

·         33 in 1987-88

November to Remember!

The Isles finish November with an 11-3-0 record. It’s only the second time in franchise history that the Isles have won at least 11 November games (12-1-2 in 1980).

The Isles went 6-0-0 at home this month; it’s the first time the Isles have won six straight home games since a similar streak from December 29, 2009- January 21, 2010 and the first time that they have had a perfect November at home since 1984-85 (also 6-0-0).

Mr. November

After losing in San Jose to open the month, Jaroslav Halak reeled off nine straight wins.  Halak went 9-1-0 on the month, with a 1.37 GAA and a 95.0 save percentage.  Halak had three shutouts this month.

Streakers

The Isles won their first four games, lost their next two games, won the two games after that, lost the next three games and are 11-2-0 in last 13.

The Isles have had two winning streaks of at least five games this season.  It’s the first time since the 1987-88 season that the Isles have had two winning streaks of at least five games.

The Shots:

Isles             11-15-2=28

New Jersey   8-11-16=35

The Isles had only one shot against Cory Schneider in the third period; their second shot hit the empty-net.  It was the first time in eight games that the Isles have been outshot.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 17-7-0 overall, 9-2-0 at home and 8-5-0 on the road.

New Jersey is 9-11-4 overall; 3-3-3 at home and 6-8-1 on the road.

By Division

The Isles are 8-2-0 in Division games and are 9-5-0 in games against other divisions. They are 3-2-0 vs. the Atlantic Division, 2-2-0 vs. Central Division, and 4-1-0 vs. the Pacific Division.

This was the last of six consecutive division games, all in nine days.  The Isles went 5-1-0 in this stretch.

The Isles did not win their eighth divisional game last season until March 25th (8-15-3); they finished last season 10-16-4 against the Met. 

Playing the East

This was the ninth of 11 consecutive games against the Eastern Conference.  The Isles are 7-2-0 in this stretch, which has a home /home series with Ottawa remaining.

In the Nets

Jaroslav Halak made 34 saves and improves to 12-4-0 on the season with his 9^th straight win. He is 4-4-1 in his career against the Caps.

Cory Schneider made 26 saves for New Jersey but falls to 9-10-3 on the season and 1-1-1 in his career against the Islanders. 

Power Plays

The Islanders were 0-4 on the power play while New Jersey was also 0-4.

The Isles have killed 30 of 35 over the last 12 games after they allowed 6 power play goals in 14 times short over the previous five games.  (The Isles killed only 1 of 4 in two games vs. Washington, but killed 29 of the other 31).

The power play is 4-21 (19.0%) over the last six games.

The Isles are 10-3-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 7-4-0 when they do not.  The Isles are 6-6-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 11-1-0 when they do not. 

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 13-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 4-6-0 when they do not. 

Two Column Team

The Isles are the only NHL team without an overtime or shootout loss this season.

It’s the third time in club history that the Isles have gone this late into the season without an overtime/shootout loss or tie:

·         30 games (1998-99; 12-18-0 before tying Anaheim in game 31)

·         24 games (1983-84; 16-8-0 before tying St. Louis in game 25)

·         24 games (2014-15; current)

One Goal Games

The Isles are 10-1-0 in games decided by a single goal including 3-1-0 in regulation. They are 2-0 in games decided in overtime and are 5-0 in shootouts.  Three games have been decided by two goals in which the second goal was an empty-netter.  The Isles are 2-1 in those games.

First Goal

The Isles are 10-5-0 when they score first and are 7-2-0 when they allow the opening goal.

Second to The One

Jack Capuano is the 2^nd winningest coach in Islander history and was behind the bench for his 300^th game on Friday. Capuano is 135-127-39 behind the Islander bench.

Most games coached (Islanders):

1.     Al Arbour 1,500

2.     Jack Capuano 301

3.     Mike Milbury 191

4.     Terry Simpson 187

5.     Scott Gordon 181

Most wins by Islander coaches:

1.     Al Arbour 740

2.     Jack Capuano 135

3.     Terry Simpson 81

4.     Peter Laviolette 77

5.     Ted Nolan 74

They Said It

Jaroslav Halak:  “The guys are just playing great—everybody is doing the job they are supposed to do.  At the end of the day, it’s two points.”

They Tweeted It

@MattGorman14 Amazing first #isles game of the year for me. Barn was really rocking tonight! Loving this team more each day. #1stplace

@AlexMSilverman "I was just taking it in one last time, taking a look at all the building's old ghosts." - Denis Potvin, on Nassau Coliseum. #Isles

@alexgolema i will prob be in tears when the final horn blows at the coliseum im rlly gnna miss tht building i dont care what people say its home #isles

@islestopshelf Halak among the top 10 in the league now in save %, GAA, WIns, and SO's.. So this is what it feels like to have steady goaltending #Isles

@lizvschmidt The Coliseum was rockin tonight! Great crowd. Great game. Most wins in the NHL! Let's go Islanders!!! #Isles #Awesome

The Coach

“Even though they had the zone time at the end, we were in position.  We’re not going to go outside and chase when we don’t have to; we blocked some key shots and when the opportunity was there to pressure we did and when we had to contain we contained.”

Back-to-Backs

After tonight’s win, the Isles are 4-1-0 in the front-end and 4-1-0 on the back end of back-to-backs this season. 

The Isles will play only one set of back-to-backs in December.  They will visit Detroit on December 19^th and then host Tampa Bay on December 20^th.

Leading Ice Men

Frans Nielsen led the Isles with 20:47 of ice-time (including 4:03 shorthanded); Damon Severson led New Jersey with 24:20. It was the first time this season that Nielsen led the Isles forwards, let alone the entire team, in ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (9-2-0), Travis Hamonic (4-1-0), Lubomir Visnovsky (2-1-0) John Tavares (1-2-0), Frans Nielsen and Calvin deHaan (0-1-0).

Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (9-7-0), Kyle Okposo (5-0-0), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Frans Nielsen and Casey Cizikas (1-0-0).

In the Circle

The Islanders won 29 of 62 draws (47%).  John Tavares won 10 of 16, but his teammates won only 19 of 46. Jacob Josefson won 9 of 14 for New Jersey.

The Isles won 13 of 22 draws in the middle period, but only 16 of 40 draws in the first and third periods.

Heavy Hitters

The Isles were out-hit 17-16.  Nick Leddy led the Isles with three hits.

There were no fights for the first time in six games.  The Isles have been involved in seven fights this season: Martin (4), Hamonic (2), Lee (1). All seven fights have come in games against Metropolitan Division opponents.

Giving Up the Body

The Isles were credited with 26 blocked shots, including 5 from Calvin deHaan.

For the Corsi Crowd

The Devils finished with a total Corsi advantage of 75-55, which measures shots attempted for and against (including blocks), including a 40-8 advantage in the third period.   The Isles had only three attempts on goal (one of which was the empty-net goal) in the final 16 minutes.

Cal Clutterbuck (+7) led the Isles in even-strength Corsi. Clutterbuck also had a team-leading 77% of Corsi For events. Mike Cammalleri (+14) led the Devils.

Head of the Class

Islander Captain John Tavares has 338 career points; he is 61 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 improve to 16 games over all-time NHL .500 (1422-1406-450 in 3,278 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 Brock Nelson are the Islanders’ reigning ironmen.  Leddy has played 276 consecutive regular season NHL games, while Nelson has played 76 consecutive regular season Islander games.

Missing Men

Eric Boulton, Michael Grabner and Matt Carkner are on injured reserve. Johnny Boychuk and Lubomir Visnovsky missed the game with injuries, allowing Matt Donovan to get back in the lineup. Cory Conacher also was scratched.

The Isles have lost 89 games this season due to injury/illness.

Good Company for Halak

Jaroslav Halak became the 110th goalie in NHL history to record 150 wins with his shutout of Colorado on November 11th.  His shutout of Philadelphia on November 24^th was his 33rd career shutout, making him the 50^th goalie in NHL history to reach that total.

Halak’s 33 shutouts also rank tied-fourth among active goalies:

·         Roberto Luongo 67

·         Evgeni Nabokov 59

·         Henrik Lundqvist 53

·         Jaroslav Halak 33

·         Pekka Rinne      33

·         Jonathan Quick 33

·         Marc-Andre Fleury 32

·         Ryan Miller        32

All-time Islander Leader Board:

John Tavares has:

·         146 goals (15^th all-time, 1 behind Pierre Turgeon and 14 behind Pat Flatley)

·         192 assists (16^th all-time, 1 behind Pierre Turgeon and 57 behind Tomas Jonsson)

·         338 points (15^th all-time, 2 behind Pierre Turgeon and 31 behind Stefan Persson)

·         374 games played (43^rd among Islander skaters all-time, 7 behind Randy Wood and 9 behind Anders Kallur)

Frans Nielsen has:

·         90 goals (35^th all-time, 2 behind Travis Green and 3 behind Greg Gilbert & Garry Howatt)

·         177 assists (18th all-time and 4 behind Ed Westfall)

·         267 points (23rd all-time and 8 behind Kyle Okposo and 19 behind Ed Westfall)

·         469 games played (28th among Islander skaters all-time and 5 behind Gerry Hart)

Kyle Okposo has:

·         104 goals (26^th all-time and 1 behind Ed Westfall & Benoit Hogue and 12 behind Ray Ferraro)

·         171 assists (tied-20th all-time with Duane Sutter & Alexei Yashin)

·         275 points (22nd all-time, 11 behind Ed Westfall and 15 behind Alexei Yashin)

·         414 games played (35^th among Islander skaters all-time, 8 behind Josh Bailey and Dave Langevin and 11 behind Greg Gilbert)

Michael Grabner has:

·         82 goals (38th all-time, 2 behind Tomas Jonsson and 5 behind Butch Goring)

Josh Bailey has:

·         422 games played (tied-33rd among Islander skaters all-time with Dave Langevin and 3 behind Greg Gilbert)

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will meet again at the Coliseum on December 15^th; the Isles visit New Jersey on January 9 and March 21.

The Isles have won 7 of the last 10 games between the teams (7-3-0), but this was only their third win in that span in regulation.

It Happened at the Coliseum … on NOVEMBER 29th

17 years ago tonight (1997) – Sergei Nemchinov scored two goals and Ziggy Palffy and Tom Chorske each had two assists as the Islanders built a 3-0 lead and then survived a valiant comeback effort by the St. Louis Blues, holding on for a 4-2 victory.

The Blues outshot the Isles 20-3 in the third period and 36-20 overall, but Eric Fichaud made 34 saves, including six on former Islander Pierre Turgeon to record his 19th career victory.

The Blues nearly tied the game late in the third period, but Al MacInnis’ shot rang off the post.  Fichaud told Newsday’s John Valenti: "That was probably the hardest shot I've ever seen in my life. It almost killed me."

It would turn out to be a last hurrah for Fichaud, who would not win again for the Isles and won only three other NHL games.

The win came in the 1000th regular season game at the Coliseum, raising the Islanders’ all-time record on Coliseum ice to 541-319-140.

Also on this date: (1975) – Ed Westfall scored the opening goal and add three assists as the Isles cruised to an 8-2 win over St. Louis.

All-time, the Isles have played 11 November 29th games at the Coliseum and have compiled a 5-5-1 record on this date at 1255 Hempstead Turnpike in Uniondale. 

On The Farm

Bridgeport is 10-7-2-1 on the season after a 3-1 loss to Hartford on Saturday.  David Leggio stopped 28 shots for Bridgeport, who are winless in their last six games (0-4-2-0); they host Providence on Sunday at 3pm.

Up Next

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2nd—OTTAWA AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[MSG+2 (Isles Pre-game at 6:30pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]

The Isles open December with their final home-and-home series, which begins on Tuesday at the Coliseum before concluding Thursday in the Canadian Capital.

The road team won all three meetings last season, with the Isles winning twice in Ottawa before the Sens were victorious in the Isles’ home finale.

Overall, the Isles are 3-2-0 in the last five vs. Ottawa, with two of the Isles’ victories coming in shootouts.

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.