Wednesday, May 18, 2016

The Skinny on Howie Rose

The announcement came late this afternoon that after 21 years (20 of which the Islanders actually played), Howie Rose was leaving his position as the television play-by-play voice of the Isles.

I first met Howie in the Coliseum press box when I was just 18 years old, although I had heard his voice for years via SportsPhone (Kids, ask your parents). We first worked together on an Islander – Ranger preseason game for SportsChannel on October 2, 1995. Ed Westfall was his partner for the first three seasons; Joe Micheletti, Billy Jaffe, and Butch Goring would follow. Each of his partners benefited from Howie’s ability to set up their analysis; viewers might not always notice it, but I certainly did.

(L-R) Howie, me, Butch after Isles eliminated Florida

Howie was 18 when the Isles played their first game and in part because of that, and the Islanders’ willingness to credential him at a young age, he has a great memory of some of the early days in Islander history (I was only 8, so many of my “memories” of the first two seasons come from research).

I always felt that Howie was under-appreciated by a certain segment of the team’s fan base. Part of it had to do with his previous experience with the Rangers, part of it was because he replaced Jiggs McDonald, but perhaps the bigger part had nothing to do with Howie at all – he broadcast a team that for many of those years just wasn’t very good.

(L-R) Jiggs, me, Howie on Ed Westfall Night in 2011

The Islanders played over 1,650 regular season and post-season games in the years that Howie called their games; he called three remarkable Islander overtime wins in his last eight days on the job. They were the only Islander playoff overtime goals he ever called (Doc Emrick called John Tavares’ OT winner last season). When Tavares’ goal in game six ended the Islanders 23-year playoff series drought, other than my kids, I was happiest for Howie finally getting the chance to call it.

Among the things I’ll remember most were some of his great on-the-fly commentaries, from “housebound agraphobe” to “Nassau County aspiring to be minor league”. They were direct, and right on point.

Over the past 34 years, I’ve often said I’ve had the best seat in the house – for the last 21 years that seat was directly to the left of Howie Rose, who has called the play-by-play of more Islander games than anyone else. Whoever takes his seat in October will have big shoes to fill.

Getting to the Hall of Fame in one sport is nearly impossible, the odds of getting there in two sports are nearly incalculable (even by an actuary). Here’s hoping to Howie one day being honored with both a Foster Hewitt Memorial Award and a Ford C. Frick Award.

Best wishes to Howie and Barbara, and to Alyssa and Chelsea. That’s one great run that we can now Put (It) In The Books!

Sunday, May 08, 2016

The Skinny: Tampa Bay 4, Isles 0

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Second Round Game 5

Tampa Bay 4, Isles 0

School is out.

Victor Hedman scored twice and Ben Bishop made 28 saves as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Islanders 4-0 before a sellout crowd of 19,092 at Amalie Arena to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight season and 4^th time in franchise history. The Lightning win the series 4 games to 1.

Nikita Kucherov scored a third period goal for the third straight game, and for the 4^th time in the series.

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

13:49 TBL Victor Hedman (3) Wrist shot - ASST: NONE 1 - 0 TBL

18:41 TBL Brian Boyle (3) Wrist shot - ASST: Matthew Carle (3), Cedric Paquette (1) 2 - 0 TBL

2ND PERIOD

04:22 TBL PPG - Victor Hedman (4) Slap - ASST: Jonathan Drouin (8), Tyler Johnson (9) 3 - 0 TBL

3RD PERIOD

04:40 TBL Nikita Kucherov (9) Wrist shot - ASST: Alex Killorn (6) 4 - 0 TBL

The Series (Tampa Bay wins, 4-1)

Game 1: Isles 5, Tampa Bay 3

Game 2: Tampa Bay 4, Isles 1

Game 3: Tampa Bay 5, Isles 4 (OT)

Game 4: Tampa Bay 2, Isles 1 (OT)

Game 5: Tampa Bay 4, Isles 0

The Skinny

The Isles were held scoreless for the final 117:14 of the series and were outscored 17-7 after taking a 4-1 lead in game 1… The Isles are 10-17 all-time in game 5's played on the road and 16-21 in game 5's overall… Each team scored six goals in the first period in the series, but the Isles were outscored 15-2 for the rest of the game …The Isles scored first only three times in 11 playoff games. …The Isles are 47-29 all-time in May playoff games (0-3 this season) ...Nikita Kucherov now leads the playoff with nine goals… John Tavares was held pointless in the final four games of the series Victor Hedman finished the series with eight points (4-4-8) as he recorded only the third multi-goal game by a defenseman in Tampa Bay history. No Lightning defender had four career playoff goals when this series began…This was the 2^nd Mother's Day game in Isles history (1-1); the Isles have lost 12 of 14 series that they trailed 3-1…The Isles were eliminated by a playoff shutout for the second time in their history (1985 vs. Philadelphia, 1-0)…The Lightning have won both playoff series from the Isles in 5 games; the last time that Tampa beat the Isles in the playoffs, they went on to win the Stanley Cup…The Isles fall to 20-26 all-time when facing elimination. …Ben Bishop has recorded a shutout in four of his last 5 series clinching games; per Elias Sports Bureau, Chris Osgood is the only goalie with five series-clinching shutouts. It was Bishop's 5^th career playoff shutout and he tied Nikolai Khabibulin's franchise record with his 21^st victory.

Daytime Troubles

The Isles went 3-6-2 this year (regular season/playoffs) in afternoon games, including 0-2 in the playoffs.

The Isles went 0-5-1 this year (regular season/playoffs) in road afternoon games, including 0-2 in the playoffs.

Lead/Tie/Trail

In game 5, the Lightning led for 46:11 and the game was tied for 13:49.

For the series, the Isles led for 106:69, the Lightning led for 109:27 and the game was tied for 88:06.

Playoffs All-time

The Isles fall to 144-120 in 264 all-time playoff games. They are 82-44 at home (including 2-3 at Barclays) and 62-76 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 6-10-12=28

Tampa Bay 9-9-7=25

Shots by Game

· Game 1: Isles 22, Tampa Bay 35

· Game 2: Isles 20, Tampa Bay 31

· Game 3: Isles 39, Tampa Bay 41

· Game 4: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 24

· Game 5: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 25

· Total: Isles 137, Tampa Bay 156

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 21 saves but falls to 1-4 in the series and 5-6 in the playoffs.

Ben Bishop made 28 saves and improves to 4-1 in the series and 8-2 in the playoffs.

Power Plays

In the game, the Islanders were 1-3 on the power play while Tampa Bay was 0-3.

For the series, the Isles are 4-16 on the power play, while Tampa Bay is 2-14.

For the playoffs, the Isles are 9-37 on the power play and have killed 25 of 29 opponents' power plays.

Power Plays by Game

· Game 1: Isles 1-4, Tampa Bay 0-2

· Game 2: Isles 1-5, Tampa Bay 1-5

· Game 3: Isles 1-4, Tampa Bay 1-4

· Game 4: Isles 1-3, Tampa Bay 0-3

· Game 5: Isles 0-2, Tampa Bay 1-5

· Series: Isles 4-18, Tampa Bay 3-19

The Isles are 4-4 in the playoffs when they score at least one power play goal and 1-2 when they do not. The Isles are 1-4 when they allow at least one power play goal in the playoff and are 4-2 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 3-1 in the playoffs when scoring at least 3 goals and are 2-5 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 4-3 in playoff games decided by a single goal, including 3-2 in overtime. The Isles are 1-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal

The Isles are 2-1 in playoff games when they score first and are 5-3 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 10-14 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 10

· Terry Simpson 9

· Peter Laviolette 4

· Ted Nolan 1

· Steve Stirling 1

Most playoff games coached (Islanders):

· Al Arbour 209

· Jack Capuano 24

· Terry Simpson 20

· 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 (4-5)

· Terry Simpson 3 (3-0)

· Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)

· Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (24:17); Florida: Victor Hedman (27:46). Hedman has led the Lightning in ice-time in every game in this year's playoffs.

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (4-2), Travis Hamonic (1-3)

Kyle Okposo led the forwards with 18:09 of ice time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: Frans Nielsen (1-2), Kyle Okposo (0-1), John Tavares (4-2), Tie (0-1)

Face-offs

Isles 22, Tampa Bay 30 (42%). The Isles had won the majority of face-offs in the first four games in this series.

John Tavares won 6 of 12 for the Isles; Valtteri Filippula won 11 of 13 for Tampa Bay.

The Isles won 10 of 19 draws in the third period after winning only 12 of 33 in the first two periods.

The Isles won 18 of 42 draws at even strength, 0 of 3 on the power play and 4 of 7 on the penalty kill.

Face-offs Game by Game:

· Game 1: Isles 32, Tampa Bay 21

· Game 2: Isles 26, Tampa Bay 30

· Game 3: Isles 38, Tampa Bay 27

· Game 4: Isles 29, Tampa Bay 22

· Game 5: Isles 22, Tampa Bay 30

· Series: Isles 147, Tampa Bay 130

Heavy Hitters

Isles 36, Tampa Bay 24. Matt Martin led the Isles with 9 hits, giving him 19 hits over the final two games.

Hits Game by Game:

· Game 1: Isles 29, Tampa Bay 33

· Game 2: Isles 33, Tampa Bay 31

· Game 3: Isles 44, Tampa Bay 34

· Game 4: Isles 45, Tampa Bay 29

· Game 5: Isles 36, Tampa Bay 24

· Series: Isles 187, Tampa Bay 151

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. Playoff total – 0.

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

Blocked Shots

The Isles were credited with 16 blocked shots; Travis Hamonic led the team with four.

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 51, Tampa Bay 57

5-on-5: Isles 43, Tampa Bay 43

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

Nick Leddy led the Isles with a +5 5-on-5 Corsi rating and a team-leading 57% Corsi For percentage. Nikita Kucherov led Tampa Bay with a +8 5-on-5 Corsi rating.

Corsi (All Situations) Game by Game:

· Game 1: Isles 44, Tampa Bay 65

· Game 2: Isles 39, Tampa Bay 59

· Game 3: Isles 59, Tampa Bay 73

· Game 4: Isles 67, Tampa Bay 45

· Game 5: Isles 51, Tampa Bay 57

· Series: Isles 260, Tampa Bay 299

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

· Game 1: Isles 31, Tampa Bay 54

· Game 2: Isles 29, Tampa Bay 39

· Game 3: Isles 46, Tampa Bay 55

· Game 4: Isles 53, Tampa Bay 37

· Game 5: Isles 43, Tampa Bay 43

· Series: Isles 202, Tampa Bay 228

Missing Men

Marek Zidlicky

Steve Bernier

Anders Lee

Brian Strait

James Wright

Adam Pelech

Mikhail Grabovski

Jaroslav Halak

Up Next

NHL Awards (Las Vegas) June 22^nd

NHL Entry Draft (Buffalo) June 24^th-25^th

And Finally…

93 games, a record 93 editions of The Skinny. It's a perfect season, at least in attendance. Thanks to all who have contributed to The Skinny this season! Special thanks to my MSG Network teammates, to Kimber, Jesse and Kelly from the Islander PR staff, to Cory and Brooke from Barclays Center and to my very understanding family!

The last thanks is the most important – thanks to all of the fans who read The Skinny regularly, who stop by at Barclays Center to say hello, and who are always so supporting of The Skinny and the team.

See you in October!

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

Saturday, May 07, 2016

To Win Another for Mother, Islanders need to be Matinee Isles

Sunday marks only the 2nd Mother's Day game in Islander history. On May 11, 1975, the Isles defeated Philadelphia 2-1 to even their Stanley Cup semi-final series at 3-3 (after the Flyers won the first three games). Gerry Hart, a defensive defenseman, scored the winning goal late in the third period.

From Tim Moriarty's book, "The Incredible Islanders"

One other Islander game ended in the first minutes of Mother's Day, when the Isles defeated Vancouver in game 1 of the 1982 Stanley Cup Final. Mike Bossy scored at 19:58 of the first overtime period, off an egregious giveaway from Harold Snepsts.

However, for the Isles to win on Mother's Day they will have to win an afternoon game, something they have done rarely in the last three seasons.

In regular season play, the Isles were 3-4-2 in afternoon games this season and are 7-10-4 in afternoon games over the last three seasons.

Even worse has been their record in road daytime games this season, 0-3-1 (regular season).

This is the 2nd afternoon game the Isles have played in this year's playoffs, having already lost game 2 in Tampa. Last season, the Isles won dramatic games 3 and 6 vs. Washington at the Coliseum in matinees.

The Isles have trailed a series 3-1 thirteen times in their history, recovering to win twice (1975 vs Pittsburgh, 1987 vs. Washington). They are 5-8 all-time in game 5's when trailing 3-1 (their other wins were in 1975 and 1987 vs Philadelphia and in 1977 vs. Montreal)

Overall, teams that lead NHL series 3-1 win 90% of them. (260-28) However, teams that do it in the pattern the Lightning have done it (lose game 1 at home, win game 2 at home and then games 3/4 on the road) are "only" 29-7 (.806).

And in a world where Bartolo Colon homers, anything is possible. Right?