The Skinny: Isles 2, Florida 1 (2-OT). Isles WIN series 4-2.

"The Skinny"  

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference First Round Game 6

Isles 2, Florida 1 (2-OT)

In the end, it was John Tavares.  The Captain became the first Islander to ever score the tying goal in the final minute of regulation and then the overtime winner as the Isles completed their first playoff series victory in 23 years, defeating the Florida Panthers 2-1 in the sixth game of their Eastern Conference First Round Playoff Series before a sellout crowd of 15,795 at Barclays Center.

The Islanders became the first team since the 1991 Edmonton Oilers to win consecutive games in multiple overtimes, as they ended the longest playoff drought of any NHL team.

The Isles win the series, 4 games to 2, and advance to the Second Round, where they will face the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

18:58    FLA      Jonathan Huberdeau (1) ASST: Vincent Trocheck (1), Jussi Jokinen (3)   1 - 0 FLA     

2ND PERIOD

NONE

3RD PERIOD

19:06    NYI      John Tavares (4) ASST: Nikolay Kulemin (1), Nick Leddy (3)       1 - 1 Tie           

1ST OT PERIOD

NONE

2ND OT PERIOD

10:41    NYI      John Tavares (5) ASST: Kyle Okposo (5), Alan Quine (2) 2 - 1 NYI

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:  Isles 2, Florida 1 (2-OT)

Game 6:  Isles 2, Florida 1 (2-OT)

The Skinny

The Isles are 14-2 all-time at home in game 6's, losing only to Montreal in 1977 and to Pittsburgh in 2013. They are 7-2 at home when facing elimination in game 6 and are now a perfect 7-0 with an opportunity to clinch a series in game 6…It's only the second time that the Islanders won a best-of-7 playoff series with an overtime goal at HOME with Bob Nystrom's Stanley Cup winner in 1980 being the other… Jaromir Jagr was held to two assists in the series; he has 18 assists, but no goals, in his last 37 playoff games… The Islanders have won three overtime games in a series for the second time (1993 vs. Washington) …The Isles outscored Florida 15-14 in the series…Alan Quine now has a two-game point streak, with both points coming on multiple-OT goals; he has 2 multiple OT playoff points and only one career regular season point (2 games) …John Tavares had 9 points on 15 Islander goals in the series; it's the most points for any Islander in a playoff series since Ray Ferraro had 10 points vs. Washington in 1993. With 9 points, Tavares is tied-2^nd with Jason Spezza, one behind Jamie Benn.  Tavares is tied with Nikita Kucherov and Joe Pavelski with 5 playoff goals.…Jonathan Huberdeau scored his first career playoff goal.  Tavares' game-winner came of the Isles 51^st shot, making it a Happy 32^nd birthday for the Isles' #51, Frans Nielsen…It was the most shots for the Isles in a playoff game since they had 61 shots in game 2 vs. Washington in 1993…Thomas Greiss finishes the series with a .944 save percentage and a 1.79 goals against average.

The Injury

Josh Bailey left the game with an injury late in the 1^st period.  He did not return.

Hometown Hero

John Tavares has now played 9 home games in his playoff career and has scored 7 goals, including two overtime winners.

Overtime is Tavares Time

John Tavares records his second career playoff overtime goal; he has ended both the shortest (:15 in game 3 vs. Washington last season) and the longest (30:41) playoff home games in Islander history.

It was Tavares' first overtime goal this year (regular season/playoffs).  His 8 regular season OT goals is a franchise record.

Overtime is Our Time

The Isles are 33-14 (.702) all-time in overtime, including 17-7 at home.  The .702 overtime percentage is the best in NHL history.

This was the 4^th longest game in Islander history and their tenth multiple-OT game.  The Isles are now 7-3 in multiple OT games and have won the four longest games in their history.

Florida is 2-8 all-time in overtime. The Panthers have lost eight straight OT games since winning the first two OT games in their history.

All-time Multiple Overtime Games

4/18/1987         @         Pat LaFontaine  W         Wsh     68:47    *

4/22/2016         @         Alan Quine        W         Fla       36:00   

4/20/1993         @         Brian Mullen     W         Wsh     34:50   

4/24/2016         Vs        John Tavares   W         Fla       30:41    *

5/18/1993         @         Stephan LeBeau L        Mtl       26:21   

4/24/1993         Vs        Ray Ferraro      W         Wsh     25:40   

4/14/2003         Vs        Todd White       L          Ott       22:25   

4/11/1985         @         Mike Gartner     L          Wsh     21:23   

5/1/1980           @         Bobby Nystrom W         Buf       21:20   

4/9/1990           Vs        Brent Sutter      W         NYR     20:59   

            *Goal decided series                                                    

The 5 longest wins in Islander history have come against just two teams, Washington and Florida.

Islanders with Multiple Overtime Goals

Bobby Nystrom             4

Ken Morrow                  3

Mike Bossy                   3

Brent Sutter                  2

Denis Potvin                 2

John Tavares               2

Pat LaFontaine            2
Ray Ferraro                  2

It's Finally Over (Part 2 and Part 3)

Alan Quine's OT goal Friday ended an Islander 11-game losing streak in Game 5's.

With the win tonight, the Isles end their streak of 23-years without a playoff series win and also win back-to-back games for the first time since Games 3 and 4 vs. Toronto in 2002

  

Lead/Tie/Trail

In the series, the Isles led for 45:55, the Panthers led for 170:53 and the games were tied for 222:24(includes 79:12 of OT)
(By percentage: Isles led for 10% of the series, Panthers for 39% and it was tied the remaining 51%) 
 
Over 92% 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 Panthers 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 20 points in 19 career playoff games; he is the only Islander other than Mike Bossy (1.24 points per game) to play more than two playoff games 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 9 goals in those 19 games, only Bossy (.66) and Ray Ferraro (.64) have averaged more goals per playoff game as an Islander than Tavares (.47) [Minimum 5 goals]

Ironically, the first media member to speak with Tavares after the game was NBCSN analyst Ray Ferraro.

Moving On Up

Tavares is the 25^th player in Isles history to record 20 playoff points; his 10 goals tie him with Steve Thomas for 21^st place.

Playoffs All-time

The Isles improve to 143-116 in 259 all-time playoff games.  They are 82-42 at home (including 2-1 at Barclays) and 61-74 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     7-10-15-15-4=51

Florida  5-12-13-8-4=42

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

·        Game 5: Isles 42, Florida 48

·        Game 6: Isles 51, Florida 42

·        Total:  Isles 227, Florida 235

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 41 saves to improve to 4-2 in the series, including 3-0 in overtime.  Greiss is the first Islander to ever record his first 4 playoff wins in the same series.   

Roberto Luongo made 49 saves but falls to 34-35 in his playoff career, including 9-11 in overtime.

Power Plays

In the game, the Islanders were 0-3 on the power play while Florida was 0-3.

For the series, the Isles are 5-21 on the power play, while Florida is 2-15.

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

·        Game 5: Isles 1-5, Florida 0-1

·        Game 6: Isles 0-3, Florida 0-3

·        Total:  Isles 5-21, Florida 2-15

The Isles are 3-1 in the playoffs when they score at least one power play goal and 1-1 when they do not. The Isles are 1-1 when they allow at least one power play goal in the playoff and are 3-1 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 (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 2-0 in the playoffs when scoring at least 3 goals and are 2-2 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 4-1 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 1-0 in playoff games when they score first and are 3-2 when they allow the opening goal. 

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 9-10 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

·        Jack Capuano 9

·        Terry Simpson 9

·        Peter Laviolette 4

·        Ted Nolan 1

·        Steve Stirling 1

Most playoff games coached (Islanders):

·        Al Arbour 209

·        Terry Simpson 20

·        Jack Capuano 19

·        Peter Laviolette 12

·        Steve Stirling 5

·        Ted Nolan 5

Most playoff series wins:

·        Al Arbour 29

·        Jack Capuano 1

·        Terry Simpson 1

Most overtime wins/overtime record:

·        Al Arbour 26 (26-9)

·        Jack Capuano 4 (4-3)

·        Terry Simpson 3 (3-0)

·        Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)

·        Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (39:12 or 18 seconds more than in game 5); Florida: Erik Gudbranson (34:56)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (3-1), Travis Hamonic (1-1)

John Tavares led the forwards with 34:49 of ice time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: Frans Nielsen (1-0), John Tavares (3-1), Tie (0-1)

Face-offs

Isles 52 Florida 44 (54%)

Brock Nelson won 8 of 12 for the Isles; Derek MacKenzie won 12 of 18 (for the second straight game) for Florida.

The Isles won 11 of 18 draws in the first period and 21 of 31 draws in overtime but only 20 of 47 in the second and third periods.

The Isles won 47 of 88 draws at even strength, 2 of 3 on the power play and 3 of 5 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

·        Game 5: Isles 43, Florida 52

·        Game 6; Isles 52, Florida 44

·        Series: Isles 231, Florida 219

Heavy Hitters

Isles 45, Florida 41.  Matt Martin led the Isles with 8 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

·        Game 5: Isles 65, Florida 34

·        Game 6: Isles 45, Florida 41

·        Series: Isles 258, Florida 208

 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 were 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 18 blocked shots, including four 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 68, Florida 96 (Including 24-10 in Florida's favor in the second period and 25-16 in the first overtime)

5-on-5: Isles 99, Florida 84

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

Kyle Okposo led the Isles with a +15 5-on-5 Corsi rating; Josh Bailey had an 80% Corsi For percentage before he was injured while Alan Quine has 62% Corsi For percentage. Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov led Florida with a +10 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

·        Game 5: Isles 68, Florida 96

·        Game 6: Isles 99, Florida 84

·        Series: Isles 385, Florida 438

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

·        Game 5: Isles 55, Florida 94

·        Game 6: Isles 88, Florida 74

·        Series: Isles 319, Florida 387

Missing Men

Ryan Pulock

Ryan Strome

Anders Lee

Brian Strait

Mikhail Grabovski

Christopher Gibson

Jaroslav Halak

On The Farm

The Sound Tigers dropped a fair of home games to open their AHL first round series with Toronto. The Sound Tigers now need to win three straight games in Toronto to avoid elimination.

North Division Semifinals – Series "C" (best-of-5) 
N1-Toronto Marlies vs. A5-Bridgeport Sound Tigers 
Game 1 – Sat., Apr. 23 – Toronto 4 at Bridgeport 1 
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 24 – Toronto 3 at Bridgeport 0 
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 LIGHTNING

SCHEDULE TBD

Game 1 –at Tampa Bay 
Game 2 – at Tampa Bay 
Game 3 – at Islanders
Game 4 – at Islanders
*Game 5 – at Tampa Bay 

*Game 6 – at Islanders

*Game 7 – at Tampa Bay

  

The Isles and Lightning meet for the second time in playoff competition.  The Lightning eliminated the Isles in 5 games enroute to winning the Stanley Cup in 2004.

The Islanders won two of three from the Lightning in the regular season as they split a pair of games at Amalie Arena before defeating the Bolts at Barclays in early April.

Having completed their first series win since 1993, the Isles will be looking to advance to the Conference Final for the first time since that same season.

Broadcast information will be announced shortly; all games for the remainder of the playoffs are televised nationally.  An Islander playoff post-game will follow each game on MSG Networks.

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