"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 78
Columbus 4, Isles 3 (SO)
Jack Johnson and Ryan Johansen scored third period goals and Mark Letestu and Johansen then scored in the shootout as the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied from a 3-1 deficit for a 4-3 win over the Islanders, before 15,361 at Nationwide Arena.
Washington beat Montreal 5-4 (shootout) to vault ahead of the Isles and Penguins in the battle for second place in the Metropolitan Division; the teams each have 96 points and 38 ROW's but the Caps own the season series tie-breaker 6 points to 5. Pittsburgh drops to 4th place, but the idle Penguins have a game in hand on both the Isles and Caps.
The Scoring:
1ST PERIOD
02:54 NYI Eric Boulton (1) Tip-in - ASST: Casey Cizikas (9), Nick Leddy (22) 1 - 0 NYI
07:06 CBJ Brandon Dubinsky (11) Deflected - ASST: Dalton Prout (7), Artem Anisimov (17) 1 - 1 Tie
2ND PERIOD
02:03 NYI John Tavares (35) Slapshot - ASST: Johnny Boychuk (26), Nick Leddy (23) 2 - 1 NYI
3RD PERIOD
00:55 NYI Ryan Strome (17) Wrist shot - ASST: Travis Hamonic (27), John Tavares (44) 3 - 1 NYI
11:08 CBJ Jack Johnson (8) Tip-in - ASST: Nick Foligno (40), Scott Hartnell (30) 3 - 2 NYI
16:17 CBJ Ryan Johansen (26) Tip-in - ASST: Cam Atkinson (18), David Savard (21) 3 - 3 Tie
OT PERIOD
NONE
The Shootout
Mark Letestu (G), Frans Nielsen (NG), Ryan Johansen (G), Kyle Okposo (NG)
The Skinny
The Isles are 4-7-4 in their last 15 games… John Tavares had two points, giving him five points in the last two games; he ended the night one point behind Sidney Crosby for the NHL lead…Ryan Strome has a point in four straight games…The Blue Jackets have won eight straight games to tie a franchise record…Eric Boulton, playing just his 6th game of the season, scored his first goal since December 20, 2013…Ryan Johansen extended his point streak to 9 games with the tying goal, but his assist streak ends at 6…The Isles were 6-0 in shootouts before Christmas, but have lost 5 of 6 shootouts since then…The Isles have lost 4 straight shootouts, tying the franchise record (set over two seasons from February – October 2009) but this is the first time that they have lost four straight shootouts within a single season; the Isles have also lost three straight road shootouts for the 2nd time in franchise history…The Isles set a franchise record in shots on goal in a season with their last shot of the game; Jaro Halak set a career high in minutes played (3307); it is the 8th time an Islander goalie has played over 3,300 minutes—Rick DiPietro did it three times, and five others, including Halak have done it once.
Lost Leads
The Isles fall to 24-3-4 when leading after 2 periods, meaning they've earned 52 of a possible 62 points when leading thru 2 periods. The Isles have also earned 10 points in games that they trailed after 2 periods.
This was the 5th time this season that the Isles had a 2-goal lead at any point but did not win:
· 12/6 St. Louis – Led 3-0, Lost 6-4
· 12/9 Minnesota- Led 3-0 and 4-1, Lost 5-4
· 12/27 @ Buffalo- Led 3-0, Lost 4-3 SO
· 2/16 Vs NY Rangers –Led 2-0, 3-1 and 5-3, Lost 6-5
· 4/2 @ Columbus – Led 3-1, Lost 4-3 SO
The Big 3
The Isles are 37-17-6 in the 60 games that they have had Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk and Travis Hamonic all in the lineup. They are 8-10-0 in the 18 games that one or two have been missing.
The three defensemen combined for four assists tonight, giving them 99 points on the season.
All three now have at least 30 points; it's the first time that the Isles have had three defensemen with at least 30 points since Adrian Aucoin, Kenny Jonsson and Roman Hamrlik did so in 2001-02.
Most Shutouts in a Season by an Islander
7 – Chico Resch (1975-76)
5- Jaroslav Halak (2014-15), Rick DiPietro (2006-07 and 2003-04), Tommy Salo (1998-99 and 1996-97), and Ron Hextall (1993-94),
Most Goals by an Islander in the 2000's
· Jason Blake -40 (2006-07)
· Matt Moulson-36 (2011-12)
· John Tavares-35 (2014-15)
· Miroslav Satan -35 (2005-06)
· Mariusz Czerkawski-35 (1999-2000)
· Michael Grabner-34 (2010-11)
It's Magic
The Isles' magic number falls to 5. Any combination of points won by the Islanders and/or lost by Ottawa will clinch a playoff spot for the Isles. The Isles magic number is 6 vs. Boston and 8 vs Detroit. (The Isles need to finish ahead of at least one of these teams: Pittsburgh, Washington, Detroit, Boston or Ottawa to clinch a playoff spot.)
The Isles can clinch a playoff spot on Saturday with a win over Buffalo and an Ottawa regulation loss to Washington. (They would reduce the number by 2 for their win, 2 for Ottawa's loss, and 1 because Ottawa would no longer be able to catch the Isles in ROW)
Tired vs. Rested
There have been 26 times this season that the Isles, their opponent, or both had played the day before. The Isles are 16-3-1 against an opponent playing on back-to-back days but are 1-5-0 when the Isles are playing on the back-end of back-to-backs against a rested opponent.
· The Isles are 8-1-0 when both teams played the night before. This will happen for the final time this season on April 11th vs Columbus.
· The Isles are 8-2-1 when they are rested and their opponents are not. This will happen for the final time this season on April 4th vs Buffalo
· The Isles are 1-5-0 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not. This will not happen again this season.
Metropolitan Division Standings (Top 4)
· NY Rangers 49-21-7=105 points / 77 games (45 ROW) Beat Minnesota 3-2
· Washington 43-25-10=96 points / 78 games (38 ROW) Beat Montreal 5-4 (SO)
· ISLES 45-27-6=96 points / 78 games (38 ROW) Lost to Columbus 4-3 (SO)
· Pittsburgh 42-24-11=95 points / 77 games (38 ROW) Idle
Caps are ahead of Isles because Washington earned 6 points in season series to Isles 5. Caps were 2-0-2 while Isles were 2-1-1.
Remaining Schedule:
· NY Rangers: Saturday vs. New Jersey, Monday vs Columbus, Tuesday at New Jersey, Thursday vs. Ottawa, 4/11 at Washington
· ISLES: Saturday vs. Buffalo, Tuesday at Philadelphia, 4/10 at Pittsburgh, 4/11 vs. Columbus
· Pittsburgh: Saturday at Columbus, Sunday at Philadelphia, Tuesday at Ottawa, 4/10 vs. ISLES, 4/11 at Buffalo
· Washington: Saturday at Ottawa, Sunday at Detroit, Wednesday vs. Boston, 4/11 at NY Rangers
Year of the Fan:
The Isles have sold-out 25 of their 39 home dates this season, including each of the last eight dates. The 25 sellouts are the most for the Isles since the 1980s. The Isles have drawn at least 15,000 fans 30 times this season.
What a Season:
The Isles are 45-27-6 thru 78 games, representing their most wins since 1983-84 (50).
The Isles have won more than 45 games only six times in their history:
· 1981-82 54
· 1978-79 51
· 1983-84 50
· 1980-81 48
· 1977-78 48
· 1976-77 47
· 2014-15 45
Home Sweet Home
The Isles are 24-14-1 on Coliseum ice, representing their most home wins since 2003-04 (when they finished 25-11-4-1).
Road Warriors
The Isles are 21-13-5 on the road and have earned at least a point in 9 of their last 10 (5-1-4).
Streakers
The Isles have had a season of streaks, going 4-0-0 to open the season and then (in succession) 0-2-0, 2-0-0, 0-3-0, 13-2-0, 0-3-0, 7-1-1, 0-2-0, 6-1-0, 1-4-0, 6-1-0, and 4-2-3 before going 2-6-2 in their last ten games.
Winning Streaks (Season)
· 2 streaks of at least 5 games -- First time since the 1987-88 season that the Isles have had two winning streaks of at least five games.
· 6 streaks of at least 4 games -- First time in the Post-Cup era that the Isles have had at least six winning streaks of at least four games. The Isles had seven separate winning streaks of at least four games in their 1983-84 defense of the Stanley Cup.
· 8 streaks of at least 3 games -- First time in the Post-Cup era that the Isles have had at least eight winning streaks of at least three games. The Isles had nine separate winning streaks of at least three games in their 1983-84 defense of the Stanley Cup.
The Shots:
Isles 6-10-12-0=28
Columbus 9-9-14-7=39
The Isles have outshot 41 of their last 49 opponents and 58 of their 78 opponents this season. The 58 times outshooting their opponent is the highest total in the NHL this season.
The Isles have established a new franchise record in shots on goal with 2,617 and have allowed 2,201 shots on goal for a +416 shot differential.
Biggest Differential, Season
· +416 THIS SEASON
· +307 in 1976-77
· +254 in 1986-87
· +152 in 1975-76
Most Shots on Goal, Season
· 2617 2014-15
· 2616 1992-93 (84 games)
· 2537 2013-14
· 2511 1993-94 (84 games)
Home and Road
The Islanders are 45-27-6 overall; 24-14-1 at home and 21-13-5 on the road. The Isles have at least 21 wins both at home and on the road for the first time since the 2001-02 season, when they won 21 at home and 21 on the road.
Columbus is 38-35-4 overall, 16-20-2 at home and 22-15-2 on the road.
By Division
The Isles are 20-5-2 in Division games and are 25-22-4 in games against other divisions. They are 11-10-2 vs. the Atlantic Division, 6-6-2 vs. Central Division, and 8-6-0 vs. the Pacific Division. The Isles are assured of finishing at NHL-.500 or better against all four divisions.
The Isles finished last season 10-16-4 against the Met and 24-21-7 against other Divisions.
Metropolitan Hockey Club, Inc.
The Isles are 20-5-2 against the Met Division, and are 13-3-1 in their last 17 division matchups. They are 11-3-0 at home (outscoring opponents 54-36) and 9-2-2 on the road. The Isles are 7-2 in overtime/shootouts against division foes, going 4-0 at home and 3-2 on the road.
The Isles' next division game will be on April 7th in Philadelphia. The Isles' final three games are against division foes.
In the Nets
Jaroslav Halak made 36 saves, including 7 in overtime. Halak is 36-16-3 on the season. He is 9-4-2 in his career against Columbus.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves to improve to 27-17-2 on the season. He is 11-3-0 in his career against the Isles.
Power Plays
The Islanders were 0-2 on the power play, while Columbus was 0-2.
The power play is 4-12 (33%) in the last four games.
The penalty kill has killed 52 of 57 (90.9%) in the last 24 games; the Isles allowed two goals to Vancouver on February 22nd, two goals to Carolina on February 28th and one goal to Detroit on March 29th but blanked their other 21 opponents. The Isles have killed 32 of the last 33 opponent power plays; in their last ten road games, the Isles have killed all 21 opponent power plays.
The Isles are 25-11-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 20-16-5 when they do not. The Isles are 16-16-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 29-11-6 when they do not.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 38-7-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 7-20-3 when they do not.
One Goal Games
The Isles are 26-9-6 in games decided by a single goal including 13-9-0 in regulation. They are 6-1 in games decided in overtime and are 7-4 in shootouts. Six games have been decided by two goals in which the second goal was an empty-netter. The Isles are 3-3 in those games.
The 26 wins are a new franchise record – in 2007-08, 23 of Isles' 35 wins were by 1 goal.
First Goal (and Second Goal)
The Isles are 27-15-5 when they score first and are 18-12-1 when they allow the opening goal. However, the Isles are 13-1-1 when they allow the opening goal but score the second goal. The Isles have rebounded from 2-0 deficits to win five times this season (New Jersey on December 15th (SO), Pittsburgh on January 16th, Philadelphia on February 5th, Toronto on March 9th and Detroit on March 29th)
Second to The One
Jack Capuano is the 2nd winningest coach in Islander history. Capuano is 163-147-45 behind the Islander bench. Among the 9 New York teams, only the Giants' Tom Coughlin and the Yankees' Joe Girardi have led their respective teams longer than Capuano.
Most games coached (Islanders):
1. Al Arbour 1,500
2. Jack Capuano 355
3. Mike Milbury 191
4. Terry Simpson 187
5. Scott Gordon 181
Most wins by Islander coaches:
1. Al Arbour 740
2. Jack Capuano 163
3. Terry Simpson 81
4. Peter Laviolette 77
5. Ted Nolan 74
They Said It
Ryan Strome: "3-1, 10 minutes left, you hope that you're in control of the game. It's a bit frustrating."
John Tavares: "We had some good shots, but we just couldn't seem to get some of those second and third opportunities. It was tough to make any passes, so we tried to simplify. We did everything but put it in."
They Tweeted It
@K_Dexter Ottawa beats Tampa 2-1 in OT. #Isles can still clinch Saturday with a win + an Ottawa (regulation) loss vs. Washington.
@schultz88 Behind the back, no look, from the corner, on Strome's tape. JOHN TAVARES EVERYBODY.
The Coach
"It's frustrating. We had our chances, we just couldn't bury it. You can't fault the guys for their effort, but we just have to find a way to get the job done."
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 9-5-1 in the front-end and 9-6-0 on the back end of back-to-backs this season. The Isles have swept 5 sets of back-to-backs, are 1-1-0 in eight sets, are 0-1-1 in one set, and have been swept once.
The Isles' final back-to-back will be in games 81 and 82, on April 10-11 (at Pittsburgh, vs Columbus).
Leading Ice Men
Travis Hamonic led all Isles with 23:16 of ice-time. David Savard led Columbus in ice-time with 24:02.
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (13-5-1), Travis Hamonic (21-7-3), Lubomir Visnovsky (2-1-0) John Tavares (2-6-1), Thomas Hickey (4-0-0), Nick Leddy (0-5-1), Frans Nielsen (1-0-0), Kyle Okposo (0-1-0), Brian Strait (1-0-0) and Calvin deHaan (1-2-0).
John Tavares led Isles forwards with 21:49. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (27-25-6), Kyle Okposo (12-1-0), Ryan Strome (1-0-0), Brock Nelson (1-1-0), Anders Lee (1-0-0), Frans Nielsen (1-0-0), Casey Cizikas (1-0-0) and Josh Bailey (1-2-0).
In the Circle
The Islanders won 30 of 62 draws (48%). Frans Nielsen won 10 of 17 for the Isles while Mark Letestu won 4 of 6 for Columbus. The Isles won 15 of 25 in the third period but won only 15 of 37 in the rest of the game. The Isles won 2 of 4 on the power play and 1 of 6 on the penalty kill.
Heavy Hitters
The Isles were out-hit 24-18. Matt Martin was one of four Isles with three hits.
Matt Martin leads the NHL with an NHL-record (since 2005) 380 hits while Cal Clutterbuck is 2nd with 325.
Most hits, season:
1 Matt Martin, NYI 380 in 2014-15
2. Matt Martin, NYI 374 in 2011-12
3. Matt Martin, NYI 359 in 2013-14
4. Cal Clutterbuck, Min 356 in 2009-10
There were no fights in the game. The Isles have been involved in 14 fights this season: Martin (9), Hamonic (3), Lee (1), Strome (1) and 11 of the 14 have been against Metropolitan Division opponents.
Giving Up the Body
The Isles were credited with 17 blocked shots; Lubomir Visnovsky led the way with 3.
For the Corsi Crowd
Columbus finished with a total Corsi advantage of 67-47, including 13-1 in overtime. The Corsi stat measures shots attempted, both for and against (including blocks).
Nick Leddy led the Isles with a +7 even-strength Corsi rating; Leddy was also on-ice for a team-leading 61% of Corsi For events. Alex Wennberg led Columbus with a +15 rating.
Head of the Class
Islander Captain John Tavares has 394 career points; he is 80 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.
This Team is Deep!
John Tavares has been held pointless 28 times this season and the Isles are 15-12-1 in those games. Prior to this season the Isles were 40-89-22 in the 151 games in which Tavares was scoreless. (Thanks hockey-reference.com)
All-time Winners
The Islanders remain 24 games over all-time NHL .500 (1450-1426-456 in 3,332 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
Nikolay Kulemin and Brock Nelson are the Islanders' reigning ironmen. Kulemin has played 146 consecutive games (68 for Toronto and 78 for the Isles) while Nelson has played 131 consecutive Islander games. John Tavares is the only other Islander to have played every game this season.
Missing Men
Mikhail Grabovski is on injured reserve. Eric Boulton replaced Tyler Kennedy in the lineup. Calvin deHaan, Matt Donovan, Michael Grabner and Colin Mc Donald were scratched.
The Isles have lost 267 games this season due to injury/illness.
All-time Islander Leader Board:
John Tavares has:
· 171 goals (12th all-time and 13 behind Billy Harris)
· 223 assists (15th all-time, 26 behind Tomas Jonsson and 36 behind Billy Harris)
· 394 points (13th all-time and 49 behind Billy Harris)
· 428 games played (33rd among Islander skaters all-time, and 18 behind Kyle Okposo)
Kyle Okposo has:
· 115 goals (24th all-time, 1 behind Ray Ferraro and 3 behind Steve Thomas, Matt Moulson and Mark Parrish)
· 186 assists (18th all-time, 7 behind Pierre Turgeon and 10 behind Frans Nielsen)
· 301 points (18th all-time, 30 behind Ziggy Palffy and 32 behind Tomas Jonsson)
· 446 games played (32nd among Islander skaters all-time, 4 behind Scott Lachance and 13 behind Trent Hunter)
Frans Nielsen has:
· 99 goals (tied-28th all-time with Trent Hunter and 2 behind Anders Kallur)
· 197 assists (16th all-time and 26 behind John Tavares)
· 296 points (19th all-time and 5 behind Kyle Okposo)
· 524 games played (21st among Islander skaters all-time, 6 behind Pat LaFontaine and 8 behind Tomas Jonsson)
Josh Bailey has:
· 134 assists (32nd all-time, 4 behind Greg Gilbert, 5 behind Mark Streit, and 6 behind Steve Thomas)
· 215 points (35th all-time, 4 behind Mikko Makela and 8 behind Matt Moulson)
· 472 games played (28th among Islander skaters and 4 behind Gerry Hart)
Michael Grabner has:
· 89 goals (36th all-time, 3 behind Travis Green and 4 behind Garry Howatt & Greg Gilbert)
Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series 2 games to 1 (and 5 points to 2).
Despite the shootout loss, the Isles earned points in consecutive games in Columbus for the first time ever; the Isles are 2-7-3 in Columbus all-time.
The teams will meet again next Saturday at the Coliseum in the 1,665th (and final) regular season game on Long Island.
It Happened at the Coliseum … on APRIL 2nd
32 years ago tonight (1983)- Butch Goring scored a shorthanded goal and also assisted on Billy Carroll's shorthanded tally as the Isles scored 4 goals in the third period to rally from a 3-2 deficit for a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the regular season home finale.
The Isles grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Bryan Trottier and Tomas Jonsson but the Penguins scored three times in the middle session to grab the lead.
Goring's goal, at 7:31 knotted the game, and a Mike Bossy power play tally gave the Isles the lead with 8:46 to play. Pittsburgh had a chance to get even when Mats Hallin was assessed a double minor but midway through the second period Carroll's shorthanded goal (his only goal in 71 games that season) gave the Isles a two-goal lead. Greg Gilbert cemented matters with an empty-net goal with 10 seconds to play.
For Bossy, it was his 60th goal of the season, tying Phil Esposito's NHL record of four 60-goal seasons. (Bossy would become the first player to score 60 goals in a season five times in his career in 1985-86; he currently shares that NHL record with Wayne Gretzky.)
MOST 60-OR-MORE GOAL SEASONS:
5 – Mike Bossy, NY Islanders, in 10 seasons.
– Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton, Los Angeles, St. Louis, NY Rangers, in 20 seasons.
4 – Phil Esposito, Chicago, Boston, NY Rangers, in 18 seasons.
– Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh, in 17 seasons.
The Isles managed to win despite failing on an 8 minute power play in the second period; Pittsburgh's Gary Rissling was given a match penalty leading to the unusually long power play (that started after a coincident minor penalty to Tomas Jonsson ended).
The Isles knew that they had already clinched second place in the Patrick Division before the game but also knew that they would need success on the road to extend the dynasty to a 4thCup. Butch told Newsday's Pat Calabria, "If we're going to do anything in the playoffs, we're going to have to win on the road. We know that."
The three Penguin goals hurt the Isles' chances to win the William M. Jennings trophy (allowing fewest goals) but the Isles did win that award for the only time in their history.
Fewest goals allowed in 1982-83 season.
| New York Islanders | 226 |
| Boston Bruins | 228 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 240 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 268 |
| Washington Capitals | 283 |
| | |
Also on this date: (2013) – Anders Lee scored a goal on his first NHL shot as the Isles beat Winnipeg 5-2. Kevin Poulin made 25 saves for the Isles, who were just two games into their run that would lead them to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
All-time, the Isles have played twelve April 2nd games at the Coliseum and finish with a 6-6-0 record on this date at 1255 Hempstead Turnpike in Uniondale.
On The Farm
The Sound Tigers are 25-36-6-1, following a 2-1 loss to Springfield.
Bridgeport has Syracuse on Saturday and Worcester on Monday.
Up Next
SATURDAY, APRIL 4th – BUFFALO AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Pre-game at 6:30), 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]
[MSG+ (Pre-game at 6:30), 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]
The only team to not visit the Nassau Coliseum so far this season is the Buffalo Sabres, and the Sabres will be the opponent for Decades Night on Saturday.
The teams split a pair of games in Buffalo earlier the season, including a post-Christmas game in which Buffalo rallied from a 3-0 deficit for a shootout win.
The Isles are 6-2-2 in their last 10 Coliseum games against the Sabres.
AND FINALLY…
Thanks so much to all those who have participated in our shirt sale based on the It Happened at the Coliseum theme. We have now sold over 2,000 shirts and raised over $28,000 for Make-A-Wish® Metro NY. If you would like to order, please visit bit.ly/IHATC. For more about the project, see here: http://islanders.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=759550
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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