“The Skinny”
By Eric Hornick
Eastern Conference First Round Game 7
Washington 2, Isles 1 [Caps win series, 4 games to 3]
The Barn door has shut closed.
Evgeny Kuznetsov broke a 1-1 tie with 7:18 remaining in the third period
as the Washington Capitals defeated the Islanders 2-1 to win the Eastern
Conference First Round series in 7 hard-fought games before a sellout crowd of 18,506
at Verizon Center.
The Capitals advance to face the Rangers in the second round of the
playoffs.
The Scoring:
1st Period
No scoring
2nd Period
18:35 WSH Joel Ward (1) Assists: Brooks Orpik, Alex Ovechkin
3rd Period
3:13 NYI Frans
Nielsen (1) Assists: Thomas Hickey, Ryan
Strome
12:42 WSH Evgeny Kuznetsov (3) Assists: Jason Chimera, John
Carlson
The
Series
·
WED APRIL 15, 2015 ISLANDERS
4, Washington 1
·
FRI APRIL 17, 2015 Washington
4, ISLANDERS 3
·
SUN APRIL 19, 2015 ISLANDERS
2, Washington 1 (OT)
·
TUE APRIL 21, 2015 Washington
2, ISLANDERS 1 (OT)
·
THU APRIL 23, 2015 Washington
5, ISLANDERS 1
·
SAT APRIL 25, 2015 ISLANDERS
3, Washington 1
·
MON APRIL 27, 2015 Washington
2, ISLANDERS 1
The Skinny
The Isles finished with only 11 shots, their fewest
ever in a playoff game; the 11 shots are the fewest in a game 7 by any team in
at least 27 years…John Tavares led the Isles in scoring in the series with 6
points; Josh Bailey and Nick Leddy each had 5; Nicklas Backstrom led Washington
with 6 points... The Caps outscored the Isles 16-15 in the series…The Isles
are 26-19 when facing elimination…The Islander forwards had a total of three
shots on goal in the game…Joel Ward’s goal was his 2nd career game 7
goal; Frans Nielsen’s tally was his first-ever playoff goal.
Game 7 history
This was the 3,589th game in Isles history
(regular season/playoffs) but only the 8th game 7:
26-Apr-75
|
@
|
Pittsburgh
|
QF
|
1975
|
1
|
0
|
W
|
13-May-75
|
@
|
Philadelphia
|
SF
|
1975
|
1
|
4
|
L
|
29-Apr-78
|
Vs
|
Toronto
|
QF
|
1978
|
1
|
2
|
L
|
18-Apr-87
|
@
|
Washington
|
DSF
|
1987
|
3
|
2
|
W
|
02-May-87
|
@
|
Philadelphia
|
DF
|
1987
|
1
|
5
|
L
|
14-May-93
|
@
|
Pittsburgh
|
DF
|
1993
|
4
|
3
|
W
|
30-Apr-02
|
@
|
Toronto
|
CQF
|
2002
|
2
|
4
|
L
|
27-Apr-14
|
@
|
Washington
|
1st
|
2015
|
1
|
2
|
L
|
The Isles fall to 3-5 all-time in Game 7 (0-1 at
home, 3-4 on the road). The Isles have played four other winner-take-all games
(1975 game 3 vs. Rangers, 1982 game 5 vs. Pittsburgh, 1984 game 5 vs. the
Rangers, 1985 game 5 vs. Washington) and won them all.
Washington improves to 4-9 all-time in game 7.
This was the second time the Isles and Caps have met
in a game 7, with Pat LaFontaine’s Easter Epic game being the only previous
meeting.
From the Geniuses at the Elias Sports Bureau
Kuznetsov is the first Capitals rookie to score a
game-winning goal in a game 7.
A Familiar Playoff Foe
This was the 7th meeting of the Isles and Washington in the playoffs
(Isles are 5-2 and have won 21 of 37 games)
·
1983 Patrick Division Semi-Finals Isles won series 3-1
·
1984 Patrick Division Finals Isles won series 4-1
·
1985 Patrick Division Semi-Finals Isles won series 3-2
·
1986 Patrick Division Semi-Finals Caps won series 3-0 (Arbour retired
thereafter)
·
1987 Patrick Division Semi-Finals Isles won series 4-3 (LaFontaine 4 OT; only
playoff series won by anyone other than Arbour)
·
1993 Patrick Division Semi-Finals Isles won series 4-2
·
2015
Eastern Conference First Round Caps won series 4-3
Playoffs
All-time
The Isles fall to 139-114 in 253 all-time playoff games. They are 80-41 at home and 59-73 on the road.
The Isles were 77-32 in home playoff games from 1975 to 2002, but won only
three of their last 12 home games in the Barn.
Year of the
Fan:
The Isles sold-out 27 of their 41 regular season home dates this season
and also sold out their three home playoff dates. Counting regular season and playoffs
together, the Isles sold out the final 14 games and drew at least 15,000 fans 35
times this season (32 regular season and 3 playoff).
Home Sweet
Home
The Isles went 25-14-2 on Coliseum ice, equaling their most home wins
since 1984-85 (they finished 25-11-4-1 in 2003-04 and went 26-11-3 in 1984-85).
The Isles went 831-610-224 in 1,665 regular season games all-time at
the Coliseum.
Road Warriors
The Isles finished the regular season 22-14-5 on the road, including
6-2-4 in their last 12. The Isles have
won at least 20 road games in consecutive seasons for the second time in
franchise history (1981-82 and 1982-83).
The Shots:
Isles 3-4-4=11
Washington 11-10-5=26
The Caps outshot the Isles 221-199. The team with more shots won five of the seven
games.
The Isles outshot 61 of their 82 opponents in the regular
season but outshot the Caps only three out of seven times in this series. The 61
times outshooting their opponent is the highest total in the NHL this season.
In the Nets
Jaroslav Halak made 24 saves and falls
to 3-4 in this series. He is 13-15 all-time in playoff games.
Braden Holtby made 10 saves to improve
to 3-3 in this series and 13-14 all-time in playoff games.
Halak is now 6-2 in his career when
his team is facing elimination, including 2-1 in game 7s.
Power Plays
The Islanders were 0-1 on the power play with 0 shots, while Washington
did not have a power play.
For the series, the Isles were 0-14 (with 22 shots) while the Caps were
2-13 (with 25 shots).
The Isles were the only team in this year’s playoffs who have not
scored a power play goal.
Three is a
Magic Number
The Isles went 40-8-4 in the regular season when they scored at least
three goals (including shootout winners) and are 7-20-3 when they did not.
In the playoffs, the Isles were 2-1 when scoring at least three goals
and 1-3 when they did not.
One Goal Games
The Isles are 1-3 in playoff games decided by a single goal; they are 0-2
in games decided in regulation and are 1-1 in games decided in overtime. They are also 1-0 in games decided by two
goals, where the second goal is an empty net goal.
First Goal
The Isles are 3-2 when they score first and are 0-2 when they allow the
opening goal.
Coach Cappy
Jack Capuano is now 5-8 in playoff games 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.
Capuano is only the 4th Isles coach to lead at least 2
Islander teams to the playoffs, joining Al Arbour, Terry Simpson, and Peter
Laviolette.
Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:
·
Al Arbour 123
·
Terry Simpson 9
·
Jack
Capuano 5
·
Peter Laviolette 4
·
Ted Nolan 1
·
Steve Stirling 1
Most playoff games coached (Islanders):
·
Al Arbour 209
·
Terry Simpson 20
·
Jack
Capuano 13
·
Peter Laviolette 12
·
Steve Stirling 5
·
Ted Nolan 5
Most playoff series wins:
·
Al Arbour 29
·
Terry Simpson 1
Most overtime wins/overtime record:
·
Al Arbour 26 (26-9)
·
Terry Simpson 3
(3-0)
·
Jack
Capuano 1 (1-3)
·
Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)
·
Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)
They Said It
John Tavares: “It’s hard to believe it really over…we believed that we would
win the series.”
Johnny Boychuk: “It’s a tough one to swallow…it’s a learning experience
for everyone in the room.”
They Tweeted
It
@AaronHowie Fun Fact: Cal Clutterbuck scored the final goal at Nassau
Coliseum. That should be fun to use in trivia soon. #Isles
@RobPatch29 Really excited for what the future holds for the #Isles.
Hopefully this is just the start of something good.
@4_slythErin I couldn't have asked for a better place to grow up. I
sure am going to miss this barn. #isles
The Coach
“We had a little breakdown in the third period…it’s tough to swallow
after the year we had.”
Leading Ice
Men
Nick Leddy led all Isles with 26:15 of ice-time. Matt Niskanen led Washington
in ice-time with 23:05.
Isles playoff record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (2-3), Nick
Leddy (1-1)
John Tavares led Isles forwards with 20:40 of ice-time. Isles playoff
record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (2-2), Kyle Okposo (1-1),
Nikolay Kulemin (0-1).
In the Circle
The Islanders won 21 of 53 draws (40%). No Islander won more than he lost; Nicklas
Backstrom won 16 of 21 for Washington. The Isles won 8 of 14 draws in their own
zone, but lost 26 of 39 in the other zones. The Isles won 0 of 1 draws on the power
play and 0 of 0 draws on the penalty kill.
Face-offs Game by
Game:
·
Game 1: Isles 23, Caps 39
·
Game 2: Isles 27, Caps 28
·
Game 3: Isles 29, Caps 30
·
Game 4: Isles 32, Caps 33
·
Game 5: Isles 18, Caps 31
·
Game 6: Isles 33, Caps 40
·
Game 7: Isles 21, Caps 32
·
Series: Isles 183, Caps 233
The Caps won the face-off battle in all 7 games, although the
difference was only one face-off in games 2, 3, and 4.
Jay Beagle won 56 of 83 draws in the series (67.5%); Overall,
Washington won 56.0% of the draws.
Heavy Hitters
The Isles out-hit Washington 54-46. Matt Martin, Colin McDonald and
Scott Mayfield led the Isles with 7 hits; Alex Ovechkin and Brooks Orpik had 7
hits for Washington.
There were no fights in the game.
The only fight of the series came in game 5 when Anders Lee fought Tom
Wilson.
Hits Game by Game:
·
Game 1: Isles 36, Caps 46
·
Game 2: Isles 38, Caps 59
·
Game 3: Isles 44, Caps 43
·
Game 4: Isles 50, Caps 38
·
Game 5 Isles 49,
Caps 49
·
Game 6 Isles 46, Caps 32
·
Game 7: Isles 54, Caps 46
·
Series: Isles 317, Caps 313
Martin had 52 hits in the series, which leads the NHL in the
post-season. Martin has led the league
in hits in each of the last 4 regular seasons.
Giving Up the
Body
The Isles were credited with 20 blocked shots; Thomas Hickey led the
team with 4.
For the Corsi
Crowd
The Caps finished with a total Corsi advantage of 60-49, including a
41-11 margin over the final 11 minutes of the first period and the entire
second period. The Corsi stat measures shots attempted, both for and against
(including blocks).
Nick Leddy led the Isles with a +6 even-strength Corsi
rating; Matt Martin was on-ice for a team-leading 60% of Corsi For events. Mike
Green led Washington with a +10 rating.
Total Corsi Game by
Game:
·
Game 1: Isles 65, Caps 55
·
Game 2: Isles 51, Caps 82
·
Game 3: Isles 76, Caps 57
·
Game 4: Isles 78, Caps 66
·
Game 5: Isles 60, Caps 67
·
Game 6: Isles 66, Caps 65
·
Game 7: Isles 49, Caps 60
·
Series: Isles 445, Caps 452
Missing Men
Injured: Lubomir Visnovsky, Travis Hamonic and Calvin deHaan.
Healthy extras: Colin McDonald, Eric Boulton, Michael Grabner, Anders
Lee, Tyler Kennedy and Griffin Reinhart.
Additionally, Ryan Pulock, Matt Carkner, Kael Mouellierat, Johan
Sundstrom and Kevin Poulin were recalled from Bridgeport following the end of
the Sound Tigers’ season; all were scratched.
The Isles lost 16 games this post-season due to injury/illness.
It Happened
at the Coliseum … on APRIL 27th
33
years ago tonight (1982) The Coliseum has hosted only one game on this date, a
4-1 Islander win over Quebec in the Wales Conference Finals.
The
Isles grabbed the lead in the first period on a Bryan Trottier power play goal
that was scored with Dale Hunter (yes, that Dale Hunter) in the penalty box.
Butch
Goring doubled the advantage with a power play goal of his own in the second period;
Isles held a 24-14 shot advantage through 40 minutes as well as a 2-0 lead.
Peter
Stastny got the Nords on the scoreboard with a power play tally of his own at
7:02 of the third period, and the game stayed tight until Denis Potvin and
Wayne Merrick scored at 13:46 and 15:40 to put the game away.
All-time,
the Isles have played just one playoff game on April 27th at the Coliseum; they
have compiled a 1-0 playoff record on this date at 1255 Hempstead Turnpike in
Uniondale.
On The Farm
The Sound Tigers finished their season with a record of 28-40-7-1. Kael
Mouellierat led the Tigers in goals with 24 this season, while Alan Quine led
in assists (38) and points (61). Colton
Gillies led Bridgeport in +/- with a +4 rating.
Rookie defensemen Griffin Reinhart went 7-15-22 in 59 games, while
fellow first round pick Ryan Pulock went 17-12-29. Pulock led the Sound Tigers, all AHL rookies
and all AHL defensemen with 13 power play goals.
Kevin Poulin finished the season with a 16-21-7 record and a 2.87 GAA.
Up Next
Summer Time … and the Move to Brooklyn.
And Finally…
89 games, 89 editions of The Skinny. It’s a perfect season, at least in
attendance. Thanks to all who have
contributed to The Skinny this season and special thanks to you, for reading.
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.
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