"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 75
Isles 2, Carolina 1 (SO)
For the second straight game, the Islanders trailed Carolina heading to the third period and for the second straight game the Isles rallied for the victory. Anders Lee deflected in John Tavares' shot for the tying goal and Kyle Okposo converted the only goal of the shootout as the Isles defeated the Hurricanes 2-1 before a crowd of 13,337 at Barclays Center.
With the win, the Isles remain three points behind the third place Penguins and move four points ahead of the fifth place Flyers. The Isles and Flyers each had seven games to play, one more than the Penguins.
Coupled with the Red Wings loss in Montreal, The Isles' magic number for clinching a playoff spot is now down to 7.
The Scoring:
1ST PERIOD
NONE
2ND PERIOD
18:31 CAR Derek Ryan (2) ASST: Nathan Gerbe (3) 1 - 0 CAR
3RD PERIOD
12:08 NYI PPG - Anders Lee (13) ASST: John Tavares (32), Nick Leddy (34) 1 - 1 Tie
OT PERIOD
NONE
The Shootout:
SHOOTOUT
ROUND ISLANDERS CAROLINA
1 Kyle Okposo (G/GDG) Derek Ryan (NG)
2 Frans Nielsen (NG) Jaccob Slavin (NG)
3 John Tavares (NG) Joakim Nordstrom (NG)
Kyle Okposo was credited with his third game deciding goal of the season; he is now a club-best 5-of-10 on the season…It's the Isles 69th all-time shootout victory; the Penguins also recorded their 69th shootout win tonight as the teams continue to share the NHL record.
The Skinny
The Isles allowed the first goal for the first time in four games…Nathan Gerbe assisted on the Canes' goal—his first assist since he had one vs. the Isles at Barclays on October 29th… The Isles have led after the first period only once in the last 12 games and only twice in the last 17 games. … The Isles improved to 7-20-5 when trailing after two periods… Nick Leddy's assist on the tying goal was his 34th, tying his career high…The Canes have lost 16 games in overtime or shootouts (9-16) …Thomas Greiss recorded his 20th win of the season as he snapped a personal 4-game losing streak…The Isles were outscored 9-2 in the second period by Carolina over the last three meetings between the teams…The Isles clinched a winning March (8-5-2); it's the first time in Isles history that they have earned at least 18 points in March…The Isles have outscored their opponents 80-63 in the third period this season.
Frans Nielsen became the 12th Islander skater (13th player including Billy Smith) to play in 600 games as an Islander. Like the 11 skaters that preceded him, Nielsen played the first 600 games of his career with the Isles…Josh Bailey played his 550th Islander game, tying Ken Morrow for 16th place on the all-time Isles list…John Tavares recorded his 259th assist, tying Billy Harris for 13th on the all-time Isles list.
Great Dane
Frans Nielsen is the first player born in Denmark to appear in 600 NHL games. Nielsen also leads all Danes in goals, assists and points; he also leads all NHL players with 42 career shootout goals.
Comeback Kids
The Isles have now earned 19 points (7-20-5) in games that they trailed after 2 periods.
The 7 wins:
4-Dec-15 Vs St. Louis (Trailed 1-0, won 2-1 in a shootout)
14-Jan-16 Vs New York (Trailed 1-0, won 3-1)
9-Feb-16 @ Columbus (Trailed 2-1, won 3-2 in a shootout)
25-Feb-16 @ Calgary (Trailed 1-0, won 2-1 in overtime)
14-Mar-16 Vs Florida (Trailed 2-0, won 3-2)
26-Mar-16 @ Carolina (Trailed 3-2, won 4-3 in overtime)
29-Mar-16 Vs Carolina (Trailed 1-0, won 2-1 in a shootout)
Most wins (since 1987-88) by Isles when trailing after 2 periods
10 in 2013-14
7 in 2015-16
The Skinny on the Playoff Race
Over the space of 45 minutes or so on Tuesday, the Isles magic number dropped four separate times.
· The magic number started the night at 11.
· When the Isles game reached overtime, it dropped to 10.
· As overtime was ending, so was the Bruins' regulation loss to New Jersey, pushing the number to 9.
· Kyle Okposo's shootout goal pushed it further, to 8.
· When Montreal closed out their win over the Red Wings, the number fell for the 4th time, to 7.
Elsewhere, the Penguins also won in a shootout, rallying from a deficit to defeat Buffalo 5-4.
(Through games of March 29)
Metropolitan Division Standings (Top 5)
xy Washington 54-16-5=113 points / 75 games (50 ROW) Idle
NY Rangers 43-24-9=95 points / 76 games (40 ROW) Idle
Pittsburgh 43-25-8=94 points / 76 games (39 ROW) Beat Buffalo 5-4 (SO)
ISLES 41-25-9=91 points / 75 games (36 ROW) Beat Carolina 2-1 (SO)
Philadelphia 37-25-13=87 points/ 75 games (35 ROW) Idle
Atlantic Teams in Wild Card Race
Boston 40-29-8=88 points/ 77 games (36 ROW) Lost to New Jersey 2-1
Detroit 38-28-11=87 points/ 77 games (36 ROW) Lost to Montreal 4-3
x Clinched Playoff Spot
y Clinched Division Title, Conference Title and President's Trophy
Best They Can Do (By Winning Every Game in Regulation or Overtime)
NY Rangers 107 points/ 46 ROW
Pittsburgh 106 points/ 45 ROW
ISLES 105 points/ 43 ROW
Philadelphia 101 points/ 42 ROW
Boston 98 points/41 ROW
Detroit 97 points/41 ROW
Remaining Schedule:
· Washington: 3/30 @ Philadelphia, 4/1 @ Colorado, 4/2 @ Arizona, 4/5 vs. ISLES, 4/7 vs. Pittsburgh, 4/9 at St. Louis, 4/10 vs. Anaheim
· NY Rangers: 3/31 @ Carolina, 4/2 vs. Buffalo, 4/4 @ Columbus, 4/5 vs. Tampa Bay, 4/7 vs. ISLES, 4/9 vs. Detroit
· Pittsburgh: 3/31 vs. Nashville,4/2 @ISLES, 4/3 vs. Philadelphia, 4/5 @ Ottawa, 4/7 @ Washington, 4/9 @ Philadelphia
· ISLES: 3/31 vs. Columbus, 4/2 vs. Pittsburgh, 4/4 vs. Tampa Bay, 4/5 @ Washington, 4/7 @ NY Rangers, 4/9 vs. Buffalo, 4/10 vs. Philadelphia
· Philadelphia: 3/30 vs. Washington, 4/2 vs. Ottawa, 4/3 @ Pittsburgh, 4/6 at Detroit, 4/7 vs. Toronto, 4/9 vs Pittsburgh, 4/10 @ ISLES
· Boston 4/1 @ St. Louis, 4/3 @ Chicago, 4/5 vs. Carolina, 4/7 vs. Detroit, 4/9 vs Ottawa
· Detroit: 4/1 vs. Minnesota, 4/2 @ Toronto, 4/6 vs. Philadelphia, 4/7 at Boston, 4/9 @ NY Rangers
On Their Own
If the Isles go 3-3-1 they will clinch a playoff spot regardless of what everyone else does.
If the Isles win their last 7 they will finish no lower than 3rd regardless of what everyone else does.
Magic Number
The Isles' magic number is clinch a playoff berth is 7 over Detroit, 8 over Boston, 11 over Philadelphia, 16 against Pittsburgh and 17 against the Rangers. Any combination of Islander points gained and Red Wings points lost totaling 7 will guarantee that the Isles finish ahead of Detroit.
The Isles need to finish ahead of eight teams to clinch a playoff berth. Assuming the Isles finish ahead of teams currently in 10th to 16th place, the Isles also need to finish ahead of Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, the Rangers OR Pittsburgh in order to clinch a playoff berth.
Magic numbers vs. other teams to clinch playoff berth: New Jersey (2), Carolina (2)
Isles have clinched a better record than Toronto, Buffalo, Columbus, Montreal and Ottawa.
(Top 3 in each division, plus next two teams make the playoffs)
Wednesday's Game
Washington at Philadelphia
The Isles magic number to clinch a playoff spot will remain 7 after Wednesday's game.
Thursday's Games
Columbus at ISLES
NY Rangers at Carolina
Nashville at Pittsburgh
The Isles Magic Number to clinch a playoff spot will fall to:
5, if the Isles win
6, if the Isles lose in overtime or a shootout
"Home" Stretch
The Isles are playing six of their final eight games at home this season; it's the first time in franchise history that this has happened. The Isles are 1-0-0 in this stretch:
· March 29 vs. Carolina (Won 2-1 SO)
· March 31 vs. Columbia
· April 2 vs. Pittsburgh
· April 4 vs. Tampa Bay
· April 5 @ Washington
· April 7 @ NY Rangers
· April 9 vs. Buffalo
· April 10 vs. Philadelphia
Most Points in The Post-Cup Era through 75games
· 93 in 2014-15
· 91 in 2015-16
· 85 in 1985-86 and 2001-02
Home Sweet Home
The Isles are 23-9-4 on home-ice (50 points), representing their most points through 36 games in the last 30 years (52 in 1984-85). They are now a season-high 14 games over-.500 at home.
The Isles will finish above NHL-.500 finish at home for the second straight season. It is the first time since 2005-06 and 2006-07 that the Isles have recorded successive home seasons above NHL-.500.
Road Warriors
The Isles are 18-16-5 on the road this season. In the Post-Cup era, the Isles have earned more than 41 points in the first 39 road games only twice (47 in first 39 on road last season, 43 in first 39 in 2001-02).
The Isles have clinched at least an NHL-.500 road record for the 4th straight season, matching the club record (1975-76 to 1978-79 and 1980-81 to 1983-84).
The Shots
Isles 6-11-12-2=31
Carolina 7-11-5-4=27
Home and Road
The Islanders are 41-25-9 overall; 23-9-4 at home and 18-16-5 on the road.
Carolina is 33-28-16 overall; 18-13-7 at home and 15-15-9 on the road.
By Division
The Isles are 15-6-4 in Division games and are 26-19-5 in games against other divisions. They are 7-12-3 vs. the Atlantic Division, 9-4-1 vs. the Central Division, and 10-3-1 vs. the Pacific Division.
How The West Was Won
The Isles went 19-7-2 against the Western Conference, including 12-0-2 at home. The Isles have the most wins of any Eastern Conference team against the Western Conference and are guaranteed to finish with the record of an Eastern team vs. the West.
In the Nets
Thomas Greiss made 26 saves to improve to 20-11-4 on the season; he is 2-1-1 in his career against Carolina. Greiss is 7-5 all-time in shootouts, including 2-1 this season.
Cam Ward made 30 saves; he is 21-16-10 on the season and 19-4-4 in his career against the Isles. Ward is 14-35 all-time in shootouts.
Power Plays
The Islanders were 1-3 on the power play, while Carolina was 0-1. Carolina has now allowed 30 power play goals, matching the Isles' total for fewest allowed.
The Isles power play is 2-21 over their last 11 games (3-6-2).
The Isles are 24-5-4 when they score at least one power play goal and 17-20-5 when they do not. The Isles are 12-11-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 29-14-6 when they do not.
Three is (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles are 33-4-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 8-21-8 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 19-6-9 in games decided by a single goal including 9-6-0 in regulation. They are 5-4 in games decided in overtime and are 5-5 in shootouts. The Isles are 6-5 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.
First Goal
The Isles are 27-6-4 when they score first and are 14-19-5 when they allow the opening goal.
Second to The One
Jack Capuano, the 2nd winningest coach in Islander history, is 206-173-55 behind the Islander bench. Among the 9 New York area teams, only the Yankees' Joe Girardi has led his team longer than Capuano.
Most games coached (Islanders):
1. Al Arbour 1,500
2. Jack Capuano 434
3. Mike Milbury 191
4. Terry Simpson 187
5. Scott Gordon 181
Most wins by Islander coaches:
1. Al Arbour 740
2. Jack Capuano 206
3. Terry Simpson 81
4. Peter Laviolette 77
5. Ted Nolan 74
Capuano is the 86th coach in NHL history to coach at least 400 games. His 206 wins places him 69th all-time, two behind Ron Low and three behind Larry Robinson.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 4-5-4 on the front-end and 8-2-3 on the back end of back-to-backs this season. The Isles have two back-to-back sets remaining (April 4 vs. Tampa Bay, April 5 at Washington and April 9 vs Buffalo, April 10 vs. Philadelphia).
Tired vs. Rested
· The Isles are 3-1-0 when both teams played the night before.
· The Isles are 6-3-0 when they are rested and their opponents are not.
· The Isles are 5-1-3 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Nick Leddy (27:01); Carolina: Jaccob Slavin (25:23)
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (24-6-6), Johnny Boychuk (5-3-0), Calvin deHaan (2-3-1), Nick Leddy (8-10-2), John Tavares (0-2-0), Tied (0-1-0)
Frans Nielsen led the forwards with 22:22 of ice time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (28-18-8), Ryan Strome (2-0-0), Kyle Okposo (2-3-1), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Frans Nielsen (5-1-0), Josh Bailey (2-0-0), Tied (1-2-0).
Face-offs
Isles 25, Carolina 30 (45%)
Frans Nielsen won 8 of 14 for the Isles; Jordan Staal won 12 of 18 for Carolina.
The Isles won 12 of 20 in the second period but won only on 13 of 35 in the other periods.
The Isles won 21 of 48 draws at even strength, 3 of 5 on the power play and 1 of 2 on the penalty kill.
Heavy Hitters
Isles 17, Carolina 16. Matt Martin led the Isles with five hits, extending his NHL-leading total to 354. Martin now has four of the five highest single-season hit totals since the statistic was recorded in 2005-06.
Most Hits in a Season (since 2005-06):
1 Matt Martin 2014-2015 NYI 382
2 Matt Martin 2011-2012 NYI 374
3 Matt Martin 2013-2014 NYI 359
4 Cal Clutterbuck 2008-2009 MIN 356
5 Matt Martin 2015-2016 NYI 354
6 Cal Clutterbuck 2014-2015 NYI 343
7 Cal Clutterbuck 2010-2011 MIN 336
8 Cal Clutterbuck 2009-2010 MIN 318
Martin needs 3 hits in the final seven games to hold the top four spots and needs 29 hits in the final seven games to break his own NHL record
Fights
There were no fights. Season total – 19 (Martin-10, Lee-2, Bernier, Boychuk, Cizikas, Hamonic, Leddy, Okposo, Strait).
Blocked Shots
The Isles were credited with 13 blocked shots, including four from Calvin deHaan.
Most Blocked Shots by an Islander (since 2005-2006)
1 Brendan Witt 2006-2007 207
2 Sean Hill 2006-2007 202
3 Andrew Mac Donald 2013-2014 198
4 Andrew Mac Donald 2011-2012 185
5 Calvin de Haan 2015-2016 180
6 Tom Poti 2006-2007 170
For the Corsi Crowd
All situations: Isles 64, Carolina 49 (Including a 21-9 Isles advantage in the 3rd period).
5-on-5: Isles 47, Carolina 39.
The Corsi stat measures shots attempted, both for and against (including blocks).
Kyle Okposo led the Isles are the second straight game with a +10 5-on-5 Corsi rating and a club-leading 69% Corsi For percentage. Nathan Gerbe led Carolina with a +6 5-on-5 Corsi rating.
Ironmen
Five Islanders have played every game this season:
· Nikolay Kulemin - 225 consecutive games (68 for Maple Leafs and 157 for the Isles)
· Anders Lee – 151 (all for Isles)
· Nick Leddy – 85 (all for Isles)
· Matt Martin – 75 (all for Isles)
· Frans Nielsen – 75 (all for Isles)
Missing Men
Adam Pelech is on injured reserve. Other injured players: Jaroslav Halak, Mikhail Grabovski and Marek Zidlicky. Ryan Pulock, Steve Bernier and Eric Boulton were scratched.
Missing a Piece (or two)
The Isles are 13-15-2 over the last two seasons in games in which they are missing Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic or Nick Leddy, including 5-5-1 this season. They are 5-4-1, including 2-1-1 this season, when two of the three miss a game.
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900
….
11. Stefan Persson 622 *** 12. Frans Nielsen 600 *** 13. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 14. Garry Howatt 596 *** 15. John Tonelli 594*** 16. Ken Morrow 550 and Josh Bailey 550 *** 18. Duane Sutter 547 *** 19. Lorne Henning 543 ***20. Claude Lapointe 535 *** 21. Tomas Jonsson 532 *** 22. Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 23. Kyle Okposo 522*** 24. Dave Lewis 514 *** 25. Mick Vukota 510 *** 26. Rich Pilon 509 *** 27. John Tavares 504
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310
….
9. Derek King 211 *** 10. John Tonelli 206*** 11. John Tavares 201
…
16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Kyle Okposo 138 *** 18. Jason Blake 127 *** 19. Duane Sutter 121 *** 20. Alexei Yashin 119 *** 21. Frans Nielsen, Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson, and Steve Thomas 118
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***
…
11. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 12. Bob Nystrom 278 *** 13. Billy Harris and John Tavares 259*** 15. Tomas Jonsson 249***16. Frans Nielsen 226 *** 17. Kyle Okposo 223
…
25. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 26. Josh Bailey 156
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052
…
10. Derek King 499 *** 11. Pat Flatley 488 *** 12. John Tavares 460***13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Stefan Persson 369 *** 15. Kyle Okposo 361 *** 16. Frans Nielsen 343
…
24 Jason Blake & Steve Thomas 258 *** 26. David Volek and Josh Bailey 249
Season Series Stats
The teams split the season series two games to two; Carolina earned six points to the Isles' five. Three of the four games were decided in overtime or shootouts.
This has been a streaky series since 2010, with the Isles going through stretches of 0-5-1, 4-0-0, 0-5-1, 4-0-0, and 0-2-1 prior to these last two wins.
On The Farm
The Sound Tigers scored four goals in the third period, including a pair from Mike Halmo, as they rallied for a 5-2 school day matinee win over Portland on Tuesday morning. Bridgeport is 37-24-4-3 on the season and trail Providence by one point in the battle for 3rd place in the Atlantic Division (The Bruins hold a game-in-hand). Bridgeport travels to Wilkes-Barre-Scranton on Saturday and hosts Springfield on Sunday.
Up Next
THURSDAY, MARCH 31st–COLUMBUS AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Isles Pre-game at 6:30), 91.5 WNYE-FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]
The Isles will look to conclude a sweep of the season series as they entertain the Blue Jackets in the final meeting of the teams this season.
The Isles have won the first four meetings, including one in overtime and another in a shootout. The Jackets have scored only six goals in the four games, which includes three Islander wins in Columbus.
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 http://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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