The Skinny: Florida 2, Isles 1.

"The Skinny"  

By Eric Hornick

 

Eastern Conference First Round Game 4

Florida 2, Isles 1

Alex Petrovic scored his first career playoff goal with 10:35 to play as the Florida Panthers broke a 1-1 tie and defeated the Islanders 2-1 in the fourth game of their Eastern Conference First Round Playoff Series before a sellout crowd of 15,795 at Barclays Center.

 

John Tavares scored the lone Islander goal, on a late second period power play.  It was Tavares' career-high 7^th point of the series; he's the first Islander to have seven points in a series in 14 years (Alexei Yashin, Adrian Aucoin and Roman Hamrlik, all vs. Toronto in 2002).

 

Game 5 of the series is Friday night at 8pm in Sunrise. There will be a game 6 in Brooklyn on Sunday (time to be determined).

 

The Scoring:

 

1ST PERIOD

NONE

 

2ND PERIOD

15:18    FLA      PPG - Teddy Purcell (2) ASST: Jaromir Jagr (1), Aaron Ekblad (1)           1 - 0 FLA     

19:44    NYI      PPG - John Tavares (3) ASST: Ryan Pulock (2), Brock Nelson (2)           1 - 1 Tie      

 

3RD PERIOD

09:25    FLA      Alex Petrovic (1) ASST: Derek MacKenzie (1), Garrett Wilson (1) 2 - 1 FLA

 

The Series

Game 1: Isles 5, Florida 4

Game 2: Florida 3, Isles 1

Game 3: Isles 4, Florida 3 (OT)

Game 4:  Florida 2, Isles 1

Game 5: @ Florida 8pm Friday

Game 6: @ Isles (Time to be determined) Sunday

Game 7: @ Florida (if necessary) Tuesday

 

The Skinny

The Isles are 15-12 all-time in game 4's played at home and 29-17 in game 3's overall… Jaromir Jagr recorded his 200^th career playoff point on the Teddy Purcell goal; he is the 5^th player in NHL history to do so. Jagr has 17 assists, but no goals, in his last 34 playoff games…John Tavares is the first Islander to record points in the first four games of a playoff year since 1993, when both Ray Ferraro and Patrick Flatley did so in the first five games…The Isles have not won consecutive playoff games since games 3 and 4 vs. Toronto in 2002. Since then the Isles have won 12 other playoff games but lost the following game each time. …The Isles' playoff power play was 2-34 in 2013 and 2015, but they are 4-13 this season; they have scored power play goals in consecutive games in one series for the first time since connecting in each of the final five games against Toronto in 2002…It's also the most PP goals that the Isles have scored in a playoff series since scoring 11 vs. the Leafs in 2002…The Isles have allowed the first goal in five straight playoff games...Petrovic has only two regular season goals in 112 games played.

 

The Injury

Ryan Pulock left the game midway through the third period and did not return.

 

More Firsts

In addition to Pretrovic recording his first goal, three other Panthers: Aaron Ekblad, Derek MacKenzie and

Garrett Wilson recorded the first playoff point of their careers.

Lead/Tie/Trail

In the series, the Isles have led for 17:27 (all in the third period of game 1), the Panthers have led for 130:45 and the game has been tied for 104:19 (includes 12:31 of OT)

(By percentage: Isles have led for 7% of the series, Panthers for 52% and it's been tied the remaining 41%) 

 

Over 84% of the entire series has been played with no more than a one-goal difference. The Isles had a 2-goal lead for 55 seconds in game 1 and the Panther led by two goals for 30:20 in game 2 and for 8:35 in game 3. Neither team has had a 3-goal lead at any point in the series.

 

Point Per Game Man

John Tavares now has 18 points in 17 career playoff games; he is the only Islander other than Mike Bossy (1.24 points per game) to play more than one playoff game for the Isles and average over one point per game.  (Bryan Trottier had 170 points in 175 games, falling just shy of 1.00.)

 

With 8 goals in those 17 games, only Bossy (.66) and Ray Ferraro (.64) have averaged more goals per playoff game as an Islander than Tavares (.47) [Minimum 5 goals]

 

Most Points in first 17 career playoff games (Active Players)

1.      Sidney Crosby 7-17-24

2.      Alex Ovechkin 12-10-22

3.      Evgeni Malkin 8-14-22

4.      Eric Staal 7-13-20

5.      John Tavares 8-10-18

       Anze Kopitar 6-12-18

  

Playoffs All-time

The Isles fall to 141-116 in 257 all-time playoff games.  They are 81-42 at home (including 1-1 at Barclays) and 60-74 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 at Nassau Coliseum.

Home Sweet Home

The Isles went 25-11-5 on home-ice (55 points).  It's the first time since 1983-84 and 1984-85 that the Isles have earned at least 52 points at home in consecutive seasons.

Road Warriors

The Isles finished their road schedule with a record of 20-16-5. It's the 10^th time in franchise history that the Isles have won 20 road games in a season. 

 

The Shots

Isles     5-12-10=27

Florida 10-11-8=29

 

Shots by Game

·        Game 1: Isles 26, Florida 46

·        Game 2: Isles 42, Florida 31

·        Game 3: Isles 39, Florida 39

·        Game 4: Isles 27, Florida 29

·        Total:  Isles 134, Florida 145

 

By Division (Regular Season)

The Isles are 18-8-4 in Division games and are 27-19-6 in games against other divisions. They are 8-12-4 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 finished with the best record of any Eastern team vs. the West. 

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 27 saves but falls to 2-2 in the series.  

Roberto Luongo made 26 saves and improves to 34-33 in his playoff career.

Power Plays

In the game, the Islanders were 1-4 on the power play while Florida was also 1-4.

For the series, the Isles are 4-13 on the power play, while Florida is 2-11.

Power Plays by Game

·        Game 1: Isles 1-2, Florida 1-3

·        Game 2: Isles 0-3, Florida 0-1

·        Game 3: Isles 2-4, Florida 0-3

·        Game 4: Isles 1-4, Florida 1-4

·        Total:  Isles 4-13, Florida 2-11

 

The Isles are 2-1 in the playoffs when they score at least one power play goal and 0-1 when they do not. The Isles are 1-1 when they allow at least one power play goal in the playoff and are 1-1 when they do not.

In the regular season, the Isles were 27-5-4 when they score at least one power play goal and 18-22-6 when they do not.  The Isles are 13-13-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 32-14-7 when they do not. 

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 2-0 in the playoffs when scoring at least 3 goals and are 0-2 when they do not.

In the regular season, the Isles were 37-4-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 8-23-8 when they did not. 

One Goal Games

The Isles are 2-1 in playoff games decided by a single goal. The Isles are 0-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

The Isles went 21-6-10 in regular season games decided by a single goal including 10-6-0 in regulation. They were 6-5 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 0-0 in playoff games when they score first and are 2-2 when they allow the opening goal.  Florida had scored the opening goal in the first five minutes of the three previous games.

The Isles were 29-7-5 in the regular season when they scored first and were 16-20-5 when they allowed the opening goal.   

Coach Cappy

Jack Capuano is now 7-10 in playoff games behind the Islander bench.  Among the nine New York area teams, only the Yankees' Joe Girardi has led his team longer than Capuano. 

Capuano is only the 2^nd coach to lead three Islander teams to the playoffs, joining Al Arbour.

Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:

·        Al Arbour 123

·        Terry Simpson 9

·        Jack Capuano 7

·        Peter Laviolette 4

·        Ted Nolan 1

·        Steve Stirling 1

Most playoff games coached (Islanders):

·        Al Arbour 209

·        Terry Simpson 20

·        Jack Capuano 17

·        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 2 (2-3)

·        Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)

·        Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Travis Hamonic (23:19); Florida: Aleksander Barkov (24:10)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (1-1), Travis Hamonic (1-1)

John Tavares led the forwards with 20:42 of ice time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: Frans Nielsen (1-0), John Tavares (1-1), Tie (0-1)

Face-offs

Isles 35 Florida 24 (59%)

John Tavares won 17 of 24 for the Isles; Aleksander Barkov won 13 of 23 for Florida.

The Isles won more than they lost in each period, including 16 of 24 in the third period.

The Isles won 28 of 48 draws at even strength, 6 of 7 on the power play and 1 of 4 on the penalty kill.

Face-offs Game by Game:

·        Game 1: Isles 34, Florida 32

·        Game 2: Isles 27, Florida 36

·        Game 3: Isles 40, Florida 31

·        Game 4: Isles 35, Florida 25

·        Series: Isles 136, Florida 123

Heavy Hitters

Isles 28, Florida 32.  Matt Martin led the Isles with four hits.   

Hits Game by Game:

·        Game 1: Isles 40, Florida 39

·        Game 2: Isles 32, Florida 22

·        Game 3: Isles 48, Florida 40

·        Game 4: Isles 28, Florida 32

·        Series: Isles 148, Florida 133

 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      2015-2016        NYI      365

4          Matt Martin       2013-2014        NYI      359

5          Cal Clutterbuck 2008-2009        MIN      356

6          Cal Clutterbuck 2014-2015        NYI      343

7          Cal Clutterbuck 2010-2011        MIN      336

8          Cal Clutterbuck 2009-2010        MIN      318

Fights

There were no fights in the game and there have been no fights in the series.

Regular season total – 23 (Martin-11, Lee-3, Bernier, Boychuk, Cizikas, Hamonic, Leddy, Mayfield, Okposo, Pulock, Strait). 

Blocked Shots

The Isles were credited with 22 blocked shots, including four by Johnny Boychuk and by Travis Hamonic

Most Blocked Shots by an Islander (since 2005-2006)

1              Brendan Witt                    2006-2007    207

2              Sean Hill                          2006-2007    202

3              Calvin de Haan                2015-2016    198

3              Andrew Mac Donald          2013-2014    198

5              Andrew Mac Donald          2011-2012    185

 

For the Corsi Crowd

All situations:  Isles 49, Florida 63 (Including 24-12 in Florida's favor in the first period.)

5-on-5: Isles 34, Florida 47

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

Shane Prince led the Isles with a +4 5-on-5 Corsi rating and a 60% Corsi For percentage. Aaron Ekblad and Jonathan Huberdeau led Florida with a +9 5-on-5 Corsi rating.

Corsi (All Situations) Game by Game:

·        Game 1: Isles 42, Florida 77

·        Game 2: Isles 61, Florida 45

·        Game 3: Isles 66, Florida 73

·        Game 4: Isles 49, Florida 63

·        Series: Isles 218, Florida 258

Corsi (5-on-5) Game by Game:

·        Game 1: Isles 37, Florida 68

·        Game 2: Isles 51, Florida 39

·        Game 3: Isles 54, Florida 65

·        Game 4 Isles 34, Florida 47

·        Series: Isles 176, Florida 219

Missing Men

 

Anders Lee

Brian Strait

Mikhail Grabovski

Christopher Gibson

Jaroslav Halak

Steve Bernier

Marek Zidlicky

 

On The Farm

The Sound Tigers begin their AHL first round series at home on Saturday, against the AHL's best team in the regular season, the Toronto Marlies.

 

The AHL First Round is a Best-of 5:

 

North Division Semifinals – Series "C" (best-of-5) 
N1-Toronto Marlies vs. A5-Bridgeport Sound Tigers 
Game 1 – Sat., Apr. 23 – Toronto at Bridgeport, 7:00 
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 24 – Toronto at Bridgeport, 5:00 
Game 3 – Thu., Apr. 28 – Bridgeport at Toronto, 7:30 
*Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 29 – Bridgeport at Toronto, 7:30 
*Game 5 – Sun., May 1 – Bridgeport at Toronto, 3:00

 

The winner of this series will face the winner of Utica- Albany Series in the North Division Finals.

 

Up Next

ISLANDERS VS PANTHERS

  

GAME 5: FRIDAY, APRIL 22^nd – AT FLORIDA 8:00pm

[MSG/MSG+ (Isles Pre-game at 7:30), WCBS 880, 88.7 WRHU-FM]

 

GAME 6: IF NECESSARY: SUNDAY, APRIL 24^th – AT ISLANDERS Time TBD

GAME 7: IF NECESSARY: TUESDAY, APRIL 26^th – AT FLORIDA Time TBD

 

The Isles will look to take a 3-2 lead in the series on Friday night.

 

The Isles are 4-6 when a best-of-7 series is tied 2 games each, and have lost three straight series in that situation since elimination Pittsburgh in 1993.

 

How big is game 5?  When the Isles have won game 5 to go ahead 3 games to 2, they have won 3 out of 4 series (losing only to Toronto in 1978).  When the Isles have lost game 5 to fall behind 3 games to 2, they have won only 1 of 6 series.

 

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