The Skinny: Isles 2, Buffalo 1

"The Skinny"  

By Eric Hornick

 

Game 38    

Isles 2, Buffalo 1

Frans Nielsen's second period power play goal broke a scoreless tie and Nikolay Kulemin scored for the third straight game as the Isles defeated the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 before a crowd of 19,070 at First Niagara Center. 

The win pushes the Isles back into 2^nd place in the Metropolitan Division, one point ahead of the Rangers.

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

NONE

 

2ND PERIOD

09:35    NYI       PPG - Frans Nielsen (14) ASST: John Tavares (14), Nick Leddy (12)         1 - 0 NYI          

 

3RD PERIOD

01:07    NYI       Nikolay Kulemin (5) ASST: Kyle Okposo (19), Johnny Boychuk (11)         2 - 0 NYI          

11:18    BUF      PPG - Ryan O'Reilly (15) ASST: Jack Eichel (12), Rasmus Ristolainen (18) 2 - 1 NYI

The Skinny:

The Isles killed the first three Sabres power plays, extending their streak to 42 (longest by an Islander team since at least 1987-88) before Ryan O'Reilly ended the streak…Frans Nielsen tied John Tavares for the team lead in goals with 14…Nick Leddy recorded an assist for the third straight game...Nikolay Kulemin scored for the third consecutive game after going 30 games without a goal; it was the first time since 2/27 – 3/3/2011 (with Toronto) that Kulemin has tallied in consecutive games …The Isles have won two straight games vs. Atlantic Division opponents after winning only 1 of the first 11 vs. the Atlantic (1-8-2).. The Isles have allowed the fewest PP goals in the NHL (14) and have killed 87.3% of opponent's power plays… Thomas Greiss recorded his career-high 11^th win, while lowering his GAA to 2.03; he finished with 42 saves (2^nd highest of his career – he had 44 vs. Nashville earlier this season)…The Isles earned their 21^st win of the season; it's only the 7^th time in club history (and the 2^nd time in the Post-Cup era) that they have done so in December…The Isles have had three consecutive winning month to start the season (6-2-3 in October, 7-6-1 in November and 8-4-1 in December)…The Isles improve to 4-1-0 on New Year's Eve in Buffalo; they are 9-0-1 in their last 10 games played on December 31^st.  Overall the Isles are 15-7-1 on December 31st, going 4-1-0 at home and 11-6-1 on the road.  Other than 12/31/12 (lockout), Isles have played on New Year's Eve every year since 12/31/07..Kyle Okposo's assist on the winning goal was his 332^nd point as an Islander, breaking a tie with Ziggy Palffy for 17^th on the all-time Islander list.

 

The Injury:

Johnny Boychuk, one of 4 Islanders (Kulemin, Lee, Nelson) who played in every regular season game in calendar year 2015, left the contest with 4:27 to play with an upper body injury following a collision with Jack Eichel.  He did not return.

Longest Isles Streaks without Allowing a PP goal:

·         15 games: 11/27-12/29/2015

·         12 games: 3/3-3/28/2015

·         10 games: 2/18-3/7/1978

 

Most Consecutive Islander Penalty Kills (since 1987-88)

·         42 November/December 2015

·         39 to end 2003-04 season

·         37 November 2005

 

The Isles killed 42 straight opposing power plays after the Flyers scored on the first of their five opportunities on Thanksgiving Eve before O'Reilly's goal ended the streak.

 

What a Year(s)

The Isles earned 97 points in calendar year 2014.  With their win tonight, they have matched that total of 97 points in calendar year 2015.  These are the only two years in the Post-Cup era that the Isles have earned as many as 97 points.

Calendar Year 2015 Stats (Regular Season Only)

·         Record 43‐29‐11  (97 points); Home 23‐16‐4  (50 points) ; Road 20‐13‐7 (47 points)

·         Goals For 233; Goals Against 208

·         PP 43‐235 18.3%; PK 35‐220 84.1%

·         Vs Metropolitan Division 18‐4‐5

·         Score 1st Goal 30‐10‐6; Allow 1st 13‐19‐5

·         Overtime/Shootout Games 8-12 (4-5 when ending in OT and 4‐7 when ending in Shootout)

·         Lead after 2 periods 28‐2‐5

Calendar Year 2015 Leaders (Regular Season Only):

·         Goals: Tavares 37, Lee 31, Nielsen 20, Nelson 19, Okposo 18

·         Assists: Tavares 45, Bailey 28, Hamonic 28, Leddy 28, Okposo 28

·         Points: Tavares 82, Nielsen 47, Okposo 46, Lee 45, Bailey 44

·         Games: Nelson 82, Kulemin 82, Lee 82, Boychuk 82

·         Goalie Records:  Halak 28‐17‐7, Greiss 11‐5‐2, Others 4‐7‐2

Out With the Old, In With the New

This was the third game of a stretch in which the Isles will play five games in eight days which will take the calendar into 2016. The Isles are 2-1-0 in this stretch.

27-Dec-15         Vs        Maple Leafs (Lost 3-1)

29-Dec-15         @         Maple Leafs (Won 6-3)

31-Dec-15         @         Sabres (Won 2-1)

2-Jan-16            @         Penguins

3-Jan-16            Vs        Stars   

The Shots:

Isles      5-18-10=33

Buffalo 17-10-16=43

 

The Isles have won their last eight games that they have allowed at least 43 shots. (Really!)

Home and Road

The Islanders are 21-12-5 overall; 12-6-2 at home and 9-6-3 on the road. 

 

Buffalo is 15-19-4 overall; 8-11-2 at home and 7-8-2 on the road.  

By Division

The Isles are 7-0-2 in Division games and are 14-12-3 in games against other divisions. They are 3-8-2 vs. the Atlantic Division, 5-2-1 vs. Central Division, and 6-2-0 vs. the Pacific Division. 

The Isles finished last season 21-6-3 against the Met and 26-22-4 against other Divisions. 

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 42 saves as he improves to 10-5-2; he is 1-2-0 in his career against Buffalo.

Linus Ullmark made 31 saves as he falls to 5-9-2 on the season and 1-1-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Islanders were 1-2 on the power play while Buffalo was 1-4.

The Isles have killed 42 of the last 43 opponent power plays; the Isles' power play connected for only the second time over the last eight games (27 attempts).

The Isles are 11-3-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 10-9-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 6-5-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-7-4 when they do not. 

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 17-2-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 4-10-5 when they do not.  The Isles were 40-8-4 when they scored at least three goals (including SO winners) last season.

One Goal Games

The Isles are 9-5-5 in games decided by a single goal including 4-5-0 in regulation. They are 2-3 in games decided in overtime and are 3-2 in shootouts.  The Isles are 4-3 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal

The Isles are 14-3-2 when they score first and are 7-9-3 when they allow the opening goal.   The Isles have scored first in two straight games after allowing the first goal in the five previous games.

Second to The One

Jack Capuano is the 2^nd winningest coach in Islander history. Capuano is 186-160-51 behind the Islander bench and will coach his 400^th game on January 7^th vs Washington. Among the 9 New York area 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 397

3.     Mike Milbury 191

4.     Terry Simpson 187

5.     Scott Gordon 181

 

Most wins by Islander coaches:

1.     Al Arbour 740

2.     Jack Capuano 186

3.     Terry Simpson 81

4.     Peter Laviolette 77

5.     Ted Nolan 74

They Tweeted It

@IslesWhiteSUV Dear Thomas Greiss, thank you for being awesome in the 1st period. Love, YeSUV and all the #isles fans

@FinallySock thankful for my #isles. it's been an eventful year... Here's to a bright 2016! #islesroadwarriors

@cward21187 Happy New Year Everyone!!! A great #isles win #yesyesyes

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 2-2-3 on the front-end and 4-2-1 on the back end of back-to-backs this season.  The next back-to-back set will be January 2^nd in Pittsburgh and January 3^rd vs. Dallas.

Tired vs. Rested

·         The Isles are 1-1-0 when both teams played the night before.

·         The Isles are 3-2-0 when they are rested and their opponents are not.

·         The Isles are 3-1-1 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Travis Hamonic (23:40); Buffalo: Rasmus Ruotsalainen (25:47)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (13-2-3), Johnny Boychuk (4-3-0), Calvin deHaan (0-0-1), Nick Leddy (4-5-1),  John Tavares (0-1-0), Tied (0-1-0)

John Tavares and Frans Nielsen led the Isles forwards with 18:19 of ice-time.   Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (13-9-4), Ryan Strome (2-0-0), Kyle Okposo (0-1-1), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Frans Nielsen (2-0-0), Josh Bailey (2-0-0), Tied (1-1-0). 

Face-offs

Isles 28, Buffalo 30 (48%).

John Tavares won 10 of 16 for the Isles; Jack Eichel won 6 of 10 for Buffalo.

The Isles won 19 of 28 draws in the middle period but only 9 of 30 in the first and third periods.

The Isles won 25 of 49 draws at even strength, 2 of 3 on the power play and 1 of 6 on the penalty kill.

Heavy Hitters

Isles 10, Buffalo 14.  Cal Clutterbuck led the Isles with 4 hits.

Fights

There were no fights.  Season total – 9 (Martin-5, Boychuk, Bernier, Leddy, Okposo).

Blocked Shots

The Isles were credited with 15 blocked shots; Brock Nelson and Calvin deHaan led the way with 3. 

For the Corsi Crowd

All situations:  Isles 61, Buffalo 68 (Including 27-8 Buffalo in special teams) Even-Strength: Isles 53, Buffalo 41.

The Corsi stat measures shots attempted, both for and against (including blocks). 

Johnny Boychuk led the Isles with a +18 even-strength Corsi rating; he also had a club-leading 74% Corsi For percentage. Jack Eichel and Cory Franson led Buffalo with a +5 rating.

Ironmen

·         Nikolay Kulemin -188 (68 for Buffalo and 120 for the Isles)

·         Brock Nelson  -173 (all for Isles)

Missing Men

Jean-Francois Berube and Jaroslav Halak are on injured reserve. Brian Strait, Steve Bernier and Eric Boulton were scratched.  Christopher Gibson served as the back-up goalie for the 3rd straight game.

The Isles have lost 75 games this season due to injury/illness.

All-time Islander Leader Board:

John Tavares has:

·         188 goals (11th all-time, 18 behind John Tonelli and 23 behind Derek King)

·         241 assists (15th all-time, 8 behind Tomas Jonsson and 18 behind Billy Harris)

·         429 points (13^th all-time , 14 behind Billy Harris and 59 behind Patrick Flatley)

·         467 games played (30th among Islander skaters all-time, 3 behind Mariusz Czerkawski and 9 behind Gerry Hart)

Kyle Okposo has:

·         125 goals (18th all-time , 2 behind Jason Blake and 20 behind Mariusz Czerkawski )

·         207 assists (17^th all-time , 2 behind Frans Nielsen and 34 behind John Tavares)

·         332 points (17^th all-time , 1 behind Tomas Jonsson, 8 behind Pierre Turgeon and 37 behind Stefan Persson)

·         486 games played (27^th among Islander skaters all-time and 7 behind Ed Westfall)

Frans Nielsen has:

·         113 goals (25th all-time,  3 behind Ray Ferraro, and 5 behind Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas)

·         209 assists (16th all-time and 32 behind John Tavares)

·         322 points (19th all-time, 9 behind Ziggy Palffy and 10 behind Kyle Okposo)

·         563 games played (15^th among Islander skaters all-time and 31 behind John Tonelli)

 Josh Bailey has:

·         148 assists (28^th all-time, 2 behind Mariusz Czerkawski and 6 behind David Volek)

·         236 points (28^th all-time, 1 behind Travis Green, 2 behind Ray Ferraro and 13 behind David Volek)

·         513 games played (23^rd among Islander skaters , 1 behind Dave Lewis and 17 behind Pat LaFontaine)

Season Series Stats

The season series is even 1 game to 1 and 2 points to 2. The teams will play again in Brooklyn to close the regular season on April 9^th.

On The Farm

Bridgeport is 18-12-2-1 and they next play on New Year's Day in Springfield before returning home to host Rochester on Saturday and Hershey on Sunday.

Up Next

SATURDAY, JANUARY 2nd—ISLANDERS AT PITTSBURGH 7:00PM

[MSG+2 (Isles Pre-game at 6:30), 91.5 WNYE-FM. 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]

 

The Isles open 2016 with their first of four meetings this season with Pittsburgh as they visit Mellon Arena.

 

The Isles dropped a 3-1 decision to the Pens last October 18^th but then ripped off four straight wins over Pittsburgh, including two at Mellon Arena.

 

It's the first time that the Isles have won at least four straight over Pittsburgh since February 1 – December 23, 1986, when they won five straight.  The Isles will be looking for their third straight regular season victory in Pittsburgh for the first time since a 4-game streak from December 19, 1992 – February 10, 1994.

 

By the way, it's probably a good thing that this game is not being played on New Year's Day.  The Isles have played on January 1^st seven times, and lost all 7 (0-7-0) by a combined 26-13 score.

And Finally…

Happy New Year to all!

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

The Skinny says Goodbye to 2015

2015 was a year for Islander fans to see goodbye.

Goodbye to three treasures in Islander history:  Al Arbour, JP Parise, and of course the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

It was also a year of great promise, featuring the 2nd playoff berth in three years and nearly an Art Ross Trophy for the Isles' best player in at least a generation, John Tavares.

It was a year of celebration, honoring the stars of the past and the players of today, all capped by three simple words: Yes! Yes! Yes!

It was also a year of bitter disappointment, capped off by an 11-shot effort in Game 7 in Washington, meaning that for the 22nd straight year the Isles would not get out of the first round (although it also meant that the last time they skated off Coliseum ice, they skated off winners!)

It was a year to look to the future, as the Islanders settled in to their new home ice in Brooklyn and have maintained one of the best home records in the NHL this fall.

Finally, it was a year for Islander fans to help me do one of the most satisfying things I ever did -- along with IslesBlog, we raised $33,107 for Make-A-Wish (R) Metro NY by selling 2,329 shirts based on the #ItHappenedattheColiseum theme -- enough to satisfy wishes for 4 Wish kids.

What will 2016 bring?  Stay tuned!

(I'll have 2015 By The Numbers as part of The Skinny following the Isles-Sabres game tonight)

Happy (and most importantly Healthy) New Year.

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

All-Star Balloting

As you know, the NHL is trying a new 3-on-3 format for the All-Star Game - dividing into 4 teams (by division) and then having divisions play in a semi-final round with the "winners" advancing to the final. 

The NHL is still allowing the fans to vote on the players -- and the leading vote getter in each division will be named Captain.

This is producing similar issues to last year when Zemgus Girgensons of Latvia was the leading vote getter, apparently because his entire country voted for him multiple times.

John Scott, who cleared waivers prior to Christmas, remains the overall leader.

In the Metropolitan Division, the top 2 vote getters are currently  Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.  In third place (just ahead of Henrik Lundqvist) is an Islander ... by the name of Mikhail Grabovski.  John Tavares sits 5th in the division; Nikolay Kulemin is 6th. 

The leading Devil has to be Cory Schnieder, right? Ok, maybe Kyle Palmieri.  Nope -- it's Bobby Farnham.

Voting ends New Year's Day at 11:59:59pm.  (Their time, not mine)

See the leader board here: https://allstarvote.nhl.com/en-us/LeaderBoard

 

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

The Skinny: Isles 6, Toronto 3

"The Skinny"  

 

By Eric Hornick

 

Game 37    

Isles 6, Toronto 3

The Isles scored three goals in each of the first two periods for the first time in nearly five years as they earned a split of the home-and-home series by defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 before a sellout crowd of 19,899 at Air Canada Center.  Thirteen Islanders (including every forward but Kyle Okposo) recorded points as the Isles matched their season high in goals, and scored six goals on the road for the first time since October 14, 2014 (at NY Rangers).  The win pushes the Isles back into 2^nd place in the Metropolitan Division, one point ahead of the Rangers.

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

02:00    NYI Brock Nelson (13) Wrist shot - ASST: Mikhail Grabovski (12), Ryan Strome (10)1 - 0 NYI       

02:39    TOR Brad Boyes (3) Snap shot - ASST: Shawn Matthias (8), Jake Gardiner (9) 1 - 1 Tie    

11:51    NYI John Tavares (14) Tip-in - ASST: Josh Bailey (11), Anders Lee (12)    2 - 1 NYI          

17:45    NYI Frans Nielsen (13) Backhand shot - ASST: Nick Leddy (11)   3 - 1 NYI          

 

2ND PERIOD

10:57    TOR PA Parenteau (9) Wrist shot - ASST: Peter Holland (9), James van Riemsdyk (13) 3 - 2 NYI  

11:25    NYI Nikolay Kulemin (4) Snap shot - ASST: Frans Nielsen (11)     4 - 2 NYI          

18:06    NYI Matt Martin (5) Wrist shot - ASST: Casey Cizikas (8), Cal Clutterbuck (3)        5 - 2 NYI

19:20    NYI Anders Lee (5) Tip-in - ASST: Calvin de Haan (5), John Tavares (13)   6 - 2 NYI

 

3RD PERIOD

16:00    TOR Shawn Matthias (3) ASST: Brad Boyes (8), Peter Holland (10)          6 - 3 NYI

The Skinny:

The Isles killed all four Maple Leafs power plays, as they extended the club record by not allowing a PP goal for the 15^th straight game… The Isles have now killed 39 consecutive penalties, matching a streak that ended the 2003-04 season for the longest by an Islander team since at least 1987-88…The last time the Isles scored at least six goals in the first two periods was vs. Pittsburgh in a fight-filled game on February 11, 2011…All three former Islanders (Michael Grabner, Brad Boyes and PA Parenteau) scored goals against the Isles in the back-to-back set…Nikolay Kulemin scored for the second consecutive game after going 30 games without a goal; it was the first time since 1/17 – 1/19/2015 that Kulemin has tallied in consecutive games. ..The Isles scored the first goal for the first time in six games and scored three goals in a road first period for the first time since December 9, 2014 in Minnesota…Brock Nelson tied Mats Zuccarello for the NHL lead with seven 1st period goals…Ryan Strome has assists in three straight games after going pointless in his previous six games…John Tavares has 19 points in 12 career goals at Air Canada Centre (7-12-19), leading all visitors at the ACC in points since he entered the NHL… It's only the Isles' 2^nd win vs. an Atlantic Division opponent this season (2-8-2)…The Isles have allowed the fewest PP goals in the NHL (13) and have killed an NHL-leading 87.7% of opponent's power plays…Johnny Boychuk and Calvin deHaan were both +3…John Tavares scored for the first time in six games, while Anders Lee's 40^th career goal was his first in 16 games…The Isles matched a season-high in goals (6 vs San Jose on 10/17); in both games the goals came from six different players…Thomas Greiss recorded his 10^th win, matching Jaroslav Halak's total…The Isles earned their 20^th win of the season; it's only the 11^th time in club history that they have done so in December…The Isles clinched their third consecutive winning month to start the season (6-2-3 in October, 7-6-1 in November and 7-4-1 in December)…Jake Gardiner recorded his 100^th NHL point.

Longest Isles Streaks without Allowing a PP goal:

·         15 games: CURRENT

·         12 games: 3/3-3/28/2015

·         10 games: 2/18-3/7/1978

 

Most Consecutive Islander Penalty Kills (since 1987-88)

·         39 CURRENT

·         39 to end 2003-04 season

·         37 November 2005

The Isles have killed 39 straight opposing power plays since the Flyers scored on the first of their five opportunities on Thanksgiving Eve. 

 

First Time in a Long Time – Let's Hear it for the Lefties (Wings)

All 4 Islander left wings (Lee, Kulemin, Nelson, Martin) scored goals in the same game for the first time since March 31, 2011.  Check out these names: PA Parenteau, Matt Moulson, Trevor Gillies, Jesse Joensuu did it that night against the Rangers.

What a Year(s)

The Isles earned 97 points in calendar year 2014.  With their win tonight, they have earned 95 points in calendar year 2015 (with 1 game to play).

 

Out With the Old, In With the New

This was the first game of a stretch in which the Isles will play five games in eight days which will take the calendar into 2016. The Isles are 1-1-0 in this stretch.

27-Dec-15         Vs        Maple Leafs (Lost 3-1)

29-Dec-15         @         Maple Leafs (Won 6-3)

31-Dec-15         @         Sabres

2-Jan-16            @         Penguins

3-Jan-16            Vs        Stars   

 

The Shots:

Isles      7-8-6=21

Toronto 12-13-8=33

Home and Road

The Islanders are 20-12-5 overall; 12-6-2 at home and 8-6-3 on the road. 

Toronto is 13-15-7 overall; 6-6-5 at home and 7-9-2 on the road.  

By Division

The Isles are 7-0-2 in Division games and are 13-12-3 in games against other divisions. They are 2-8-2 vs. the Atlantic Division, 5-2-1 vs. Central Division, and 6-2-0 vs. the Pacific Division. 

The Isles finished last season 21-6-3 against the Met and 26-22-4 against other Divisions. 

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 30 saves as he improves to 10-5-2; he is 2-1-0 in his career against Toronto, only six goals in the three games.

Jonathan Bernier made nine saves over the first 40 minutes as he falls to 3-10-3 on the season and 3-3-2 in his career against the Isles.  James Reimer made six saves in the third period.

Power Plays

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

The Isles have killed all 35 opponent power plays in their franchise-record 15 game streak of not allowing power play goals; it's the second time this season (October 15- November 1) that the Isles killed all opposing power plays in at least nine consecutive games.   

The Isles' power play has scored only once in 25 attempts over the last seven games.

The Isles are 10-3-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 10-9-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 5-5-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-7-4 when they do not. 

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 17-2-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-10-5 when they do not.  The Isles were 40-8-4 when they scored at least three goals (including SO winners) last season.

One Goal Games

The Isles are 8-5-5 in games decided by a single goal including 3-5-0 in regulation. They are 2-3 in games decided in overtime and are 3-2 in shootouts.  The Isles are 4-3 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal

The Isles are 13-3-2 when they score first and are 7-9-3 when they allow the opening goal.   The Isles had allowed the first goal in five straight games before tonight.

Second to The One

Jack Capuano is the 2^nd winningest coach in Islander history. Capuano is 185-160-51 behind the Islander bench and will coach his 400^th game on January 7^th vs Washington. Among the 9 New York area 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 396

3.     Mike Milbury 191

4.     Terry Simpson 187

5.     Scott Gordon 181

 

Most wins by Islander coaches:

1.     Al Arbour 740

2.     Jack Capuano 185

3.     Terry Simpson 81

4.     Peter Laviolette 77

5.     Ted Nolan 74

They Tweeted It

@TFLINY Kuuuuuulemin!!! 4-2 #Isles This is a potentially crazy game here 😜 (Yup)

@MeaMea13 @NYIslanders THANK YOU for winning tonight Helped my family continue to celebrate my mom being cancer free today #Isles  (Awesome news! #HockeyFightsCancer)

@CJuristo  #isles what a great game by the isles tonight give yourselves a pat on the back your all awesome and back on track❤L.G.I.

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 2-2-3 on the front-end and 4-2-1 on the back end of back-to-backs this season.  The next back-to-back set will be January 2^nd in Pittsburgh and January 3^rd vs. Dallas.

Tired vs. Rested

·         The Isles are 1-1-0 when both teams played the night before.

·         The Isles are 2-2-0 when they are rested and their opponents are not.

·         The Isles are 3-1-1 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Travis Hamonic (24:11); Toronto: Matt Hunwick (21:50)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (12-2-3), Johnny Boychuk (4-3-0), Calvin deHaan (0-0-1), Nick Leddy (4-5-1),  John Tavares (0-1-0), Tied (0-1-0)

John Tavares led the Isles forwards with 20:02 of ice-time.   Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (13-9-4), Ryan Strome (2-0-0), Kyle Okposo (0-1-1), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Frans Nielsen (2-0-0), Josh Bailey (2-0-0), Tied (0-1-0). 

Face-offs

Isles 32, Toronto 26 (55%).

John Tavares won 12 of 18 and Mikhail Grabovski won 7 of 11 for the Isles; Peter Holland won 6 of 10 for Toronto.

The Isles won 16 of 22 draws in the first period but only 16 of 36 in the final 40 minutes.

The Isles won 28 of 46 draws at even strength, 3 of 7 on the power play and 1 of 5 on the penalty kill.

Heavy Hitters

Isles 24, Toronto 25.  Casey Cizikas led the Isles with 5 hits while Matt Martin added four.

Fights

There were no fights.  Season total – 9 (Martin-5, Boychuk, Bernier, Leddy, Okposo).    (Toronto has been involved in only 2 fights this season, fewest in the NHL)

Blocked Shots

The Isles were credited with 21 blocked shots; Travis Hamonic led the way with 4. 

For the Corsi Crowd

All situations:  Isles 42, Toronto 75 (Including 56-28 Toronto through 2 periods) Even-Strength: Isles 35, Toronto 61.

The Corsi stat measures shots attempted, both for and against (including blocks). 

 

Three Isles shared the club lead with a +3 even-strength Corsi rating; Anders Lee and Johnny Boychuk had a club-leading 54% Corsi For percentage. Shawn Mathias and Brad Boyes led Toronto with a +13 rating.

Ironmen

·         Nikolay Kulemin -187 (68 for Toronto and 119 for the Isles)

·         Brock Nelson  -172 (all for Isles)

Missing Men

Jean-Francois Berube and Jaroslav Halak are on injured reserve. Marek Zidlicky replaced Brian Strait in the lineup; Steve Bernier and Eric Boulton were also scratched.  Christopher Gibson served as the back-up goalie for the 2^nd straight game.

The Isles have lost 73 games this season due to injury/illness.

All-time Islander Leader Board:

John Tavares has:

·         188 goals (11th all-time, 18 behind John Tonelli and 23 behind Derek King)

·         240 assists (15th all-time, 9 behind Tomas Jonsson and 19 behind Billy Harris)

·         428 points (13^th all-time and 15 behind Billy Harris)

·         466 games played (30th among Islander skaters all-time and 4 behind Mariusz Czerkawski)

Kyle Okposo has:

·         125 goals (18th all-time and 2 behind Jason Blake)

·         206 assists (17^th all-time and 3 behind Frans Nielsen)

·         331 points (tied-17^th all-time with Ziggy Palffy and 2 behind Tomas Jonsson)

·         485 games played (27^th among Islander skaters all-time and 8 behind Ed Westfall)

Frans Nielsen has:

·         112 goals (25th all-time, and 4 behind Ray Ferraro)

·         209 assists (16th all-time and 28 behind John Tavares)

·         321 points (19th all-time, 10 behind Ziggy Palffy and 10 behind Kyle Okposo)

·         562 games played (15^th among Islander skaters all-time and 32 behind John Tonelli)

 Josh Bailey has:

·         148 assists (27^th all-time and 2 behind Mariusz Czerkawski)

·         236 points (28^th all-time, 1 behind Travis Green and 2 behind Ray Ferraro)

·         512 games played (23^rd among Islander skaters and 33 behind Dave Lewis)

Season Series Stats

The season series is even 1 game to 1 and 2 points to 2. The teams will play again in Toronto on March 9^th, with the Isles having an opportunity to take 2 of 3 from the Leafs for the fourth straight season.

On The Farm

The Sound Tigers wrapped up 2015 with a pair of 1-goal wins, winning 2-1 at Lehigh Valley on Saturday and 4-3 vs. Providence on Sunday.  Christopher Gibson made 21 saves for the win on Saturday; Mike Halmo had a pair of goals on Sunday.

Bridgeport is now 18-12-2-1 and they next play on New Year's Day in Springfield before returning home to host Rochester on Saturday and Hershey on Sunday.

Up Next

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31st—ISLANDERS AT BUFFALO 6:00PM

[MSG+ (Isles Pre-game at 5:30), 91.5 WNYE-FM. 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]

 

The Isles wrap up 2015 with a New Year's Eve matchup with the Sabres. 

 

This is the 5th time the Isles will spend New Year's Eve in Buffalo:

 

31-Dec-82 @ Buffalo 1 5 L

31-Dec-89 @ Buffalo 4 2 W
31-Dec-95 @ Buffalo 5 2 W

31-Dec-02 @ Buffalo 1 0 Wot

 

Isles have done well on New Year's Eve in recent years, winning the last 4, and going 8-0-1 in last 9.  Overall the Isles are 14-7-1 on December 31st, going 4-1-0 at home and 10-6-1 on the road.  Other than 12/31/12 (lockout), Isles have played on New Year's Eve every year since 12/31/07.

 

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