"The Skinny"
Game 21
Isles 2, Calgary 1 (OT)
Thomas Hickey became the first defenseman in Islander history to score four regular season overtime goals as he tipped home John Tavares' shot for the winning tally 1:53 into the extra session as the Isles defeated the Calgary Flames 2-1 before a crowd of 10,772 at Barclays Center.
The Islanders improved to 3-4 in extra time this season as they earned at least a point for the fifth time in the last six at home (2-1-3).
The Scoring:
1ST PERIOD
07:28 New York John Tavares (6) ASST: Josh Bailey (9) 1-0
2ND PERIOD
No Scoring
3RD PERIOD
05:51 Calgary Sean Monahan (6) ASST: Kris Versteeg (4), Deryk Engelland (4) 1-1
OT PERIOD
01:53 New York Thomas Hickey (2) ASST: John Tavares (11), Shane Prince (4) 2-1
The Skinny
Thomas Hickey's winner gives the Isles defense 16 goals and 29 assists this season; it was his third goals (3-2-5) in six career games against his hometown team… The Isles have scored the first goal in consecutive games; it's the first time that the Isles have scored first in consecutive games this season… The Isles improve to 3-5-4 in November… The Isles have been held to two goals or less (not including shootout winners) in 8 straight games – the longest streak since a 9-game streak in November/December 2013… …John Tavares' goal was his first in 10 games…The Isles are 17-1-3 all-time at Barclays Center against Western Conference opponents…Brian Elliott remained winless in November but earned his first point in seven games (0-6-1)…Johnny Boychuk led the Isles with 5 shots on goal, including the only three that the team had in 13 minutes from late in the second period to midway through the third…Thomas Greiss lowered his goals against to 2.40 which is just 0.04 higher than his 2.36 GAA last season. Greiss has started three of the last four games, going is 2-1-0 with a 1.94 GAA and a 93.7 save percentage.
The Injury
Adam Pelech was injured late in the second period (upper body) and did not play in the third period.
Overtime is Hickey's Time
Thomas Hickey now has four career overtime goals amongst his 15 NHL goals:
21-Feb-13 @ Montreal
2-Dec-14 Vs Ottawa
5-Apr-16 @ Washington
28-Nov-16 Vs Calgary
He is the only Islander defenseman to score four (regular season) overtime goals; Roman Hamrlik is the only other Isles defenseman to score three. Hickey also scored an overtime winner in game 3 vs. Florida last spring.
Hickey is the only player in NHL history with 20 or fewer career goals to score 4 OT goals; 4 of Hickey's 15 goals have come in overtime. (John Moore is the only other with at least 3 OT goals and 20 or fewer career goals; he has 17 career goals)
Hickey is one of two players in Islander history to score at least four career regular season OT goals and also tally a playoff overtime goal. John Tavares has eight in the regular season and scored in game 3 vs. Washington in 2015.
Staying Out of the Box
The Isles have been shorthanded only six times in the last four games after being shorthanded 69 times in the first 17 games.
Movin' on Up x 2
John Tavares played in his 531st Islander game, passing Pat LaFontaine for 22nd on the all-time club list. Tavares recorded two points, giving him 488 as an Islander, tying Patrick Flatley for 11th on the all-time club list.
Fit to Be Tied
The Isles have allowed the final goal of regulation in all seven of their games that have gone to overtime this season, including three in the final minute:
· 10/16 – Ana Ducks – Ryan Getzlaf (19:00); Isles won in OT
· 11/3 – Phi Flyers – Jakob Voracek (19:02/PP); Flyers won in SO
· 11/12 – Fla Panthers – Jonathan Marchessault (19:46); Panthers won in OT
Late Losses
The Isles have been tied in the third period in six of their 10 regulation losses (and 10 of their 14 overall losses) but have allowed the lead goal in the final 3 minutes of regulation five times:
· 10/18 – SJ Sharks - Joe Pavelski (17:49)
· 10/26 – Mtl Canadiens - Shea Weber (17:03)
· 10/27 – Pit Penguins - Sidney Crosby (17:35)
· 11/23 – LA Kings – Dwight King (17:07)
· 11/25 – SJ Sharks – Patrick Marleau (19:37)
Home Til the Holidays
The Isles are beginning a stretch where they will play 10 out of 14 at home. By the time the Isles host Washington on December 27th, the Isles will have played 22 of their first 34 games at home.
The Isles are 1-0-0 at home and 0-0-0 on the road during this stretch. The Isles do not play consecutive road games again until after Christmas.
The Shots
Isles 9-10-6-2=27
Calgary 4-11-11-0=26
The Isles are 5-3-1 when they outshoot their opponents and 1-1-0 when the shots are even but are 1-6-3 when they are outshot.
Home and Road
The Islanders are 7-10-4 overall; 6-4-3 at home and 1-6-1 on the road.
Calgary is 10-13-2 overall; 3-7-0 at home and 7-6-2 on the road.
By Division & Conference
The Isles are 0-3-2 in Division games and 7-7-2 in games versus other divisions (1-4-1 vs. Atlantic, 1-0-0 vs. Central and 5-3-1 vs. Pacific). The Isles are 1-7-3 against the East and 6-3-1 against the West.
Last season the Isles went 18-8-4 in Division games and 27-19-6 in games against other divisions. The Isles went 19-7-2 against the Western Conference, including 12-0-2 at home.
In the Nets
Thomas Greiss made 25 saves to improves to 4-4-0 on the season and 2-2-0 in his career against Calgary.
Brian Elliott made 25 saves; He is 3-9-1 on the season and 4-2-3 against the Isles in his career.
Power Plays
The Islanders were 0-4 on the power play, while Calgary was 0-1.
The Isles are 1-4-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 6-6-1 when they do not. The Isles are 3-5-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 4-5-0 when they do not.
Three is (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles are 6-1-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-9-3 when they do not. The Isles were 37-4-2 when they scored at least three goals (including SO winners) last season.
One Goal Games
The Isles are 4-4-3 in games decided by a single goal including 1-4-0 in regulation. They are 2-2 in games decided in overtime and are 1-2 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.
First Goal
The Isles are 4-1-2 when they score first and are 3-9-1 when they allow the opening goal.
Second to The One
Jack Capuano, the 2nd winningest coach in Islander history, is 217-185-60 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 462
3. Mike Milbury 191
4. Terry Simpson 187
5. Scott Gordon 181
Most wins by Islander coaches:
1. Al Arbour 740
2. Jack Capuano 217
3. Terry Simpson 81
4. Peter Laviolette 77
5. Ted Nolan 74
Capuano is the 75th coach in NHL history to coach at least 450 games. His 217 wins places him 66th all-time, 2 behind Herb Brooks and 4 behind Bob McCammon.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 1-2-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 1-2-0 on the back-end. Last season, the Isles went 5-5-5 on the front-end and 9-3-3 on the back end of back-to-backs.
The Isles will play 16 sets of back-to-backs this season; the next set is November 30 vs. Pittsburgh and December 1 in Washington.
Tired vs. Rested
· The Isles are 1-0-0 when both teams played the night before.
· The Isles are 4-1-1 when they are rested and their opponents are not.
· The Isles are 0-2-0 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.
· The Isles are 2-7-3 when both teams are rested.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Nick Leddy (26:02); Calgary: Mark Giordano (25:24)
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (1-0-0), Nick Leddy (4-7-2), John Tavares (1-0-0), Johnny Boychuk (1-3-1), Dennis Seidenberg (0-0-1)
Josh Bailey led the forwards with 19:53 of ice-time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (4-8-3), Josh Bailey (2-1-1), Casey Cizikas (1-0-0), Cal Clutterbuck (0-1-0)
Face-offs
Isles 38, Calgary 21 (64%). It was the Isles' best performance in the face-off circle (by both percentage and win-loss differential) this season.
Alan Quine won 8 of 9 for the Isles; Mark Jankowski won 5 of 8 for Calgary in his NHL debut.
The Isles won 7 of 14 face-offs in the first two periods and then won 31 of 45 the rest of the way. The Isles won 32 of 58 draws at even strength, 5 of 8 on the power play and 1 of 1 on the penalty kill.
Hit Count
Isles 20, Calgary 18. Thomas Hickey, Cal Clutterbuck and Anders Lee led the Isles with 3 hits each; Micheal Ferland had six to lead Calgary.
Fights
There were no fights. Season total – 3: (deHaan 1, Hamonic 1, Mayfield 1).
The Isles were involved in 23 fights last season.
Blocked Shots
The Isles were credited with 13 blocked shots; no players had more than 2.
For the Corsi Crowd
All situations: Isles 54, Calgary 50
5-on-5 Isles 41, Calgary 48
5-on 5 leaders:
Isles: Thomas Hickey +11; Thomas Hickey 69%
Calgary: Dennis Wideman +8
Ironmen
Jason Chimera – 126 (including 105 for Washington); Josh Bailey 89
Scratches
Jaroslav Halak, Scott Mayfield, Ryan Strome
Injured Reserve: Ryan Pulock, Dennis Seidenberg
Total games lost: 39
Missing a Piece (or two)
Since the start of the 2014-15 season, the Isles are 18-18-4 in games in which they are missing Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic or Nick Leddy, including 2-1-1 this season.
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900
….
13. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 14. Garry Howatt 596 *** 15. John Tonelli 594*** 16. Josh Bailey 578
…
20. Claude Lapointe 535 *** 21. Tomas Jonsson 532 *** 22. John Tavares 531
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310
…
7. Bob Bourne 238 *** 8. Bob Nystrom 235 **** 9. John Tavares 213
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553
…
10. Derek King 288 *** 11. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 12. Bob Nystrom 278 *** 13. John Tavares 275
…
21. Duane Sutter & Alexi Yashin 171 *** 23. Jean Potvin 167 *** 24. Jeff Norton and Josh Bailey 166
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052
…
9. Bobby Nystrom 513 *** 10. Derek King 499 *** 11. Pat Flatley and John Tavares 488
…
21. Duane Sutter 292 *** 22. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 23. Ed Westfall 286 *** 24 Josh Bailey 262
Season Series Stats
The Isles lead the season series one game to none (and two points to one). The season series will conclude with a matinee in Calgary on March 5th.
The Isles have won five straight games over Calgary, allowing just four goals. Each of the last two games have been decided by Islander overtime goals (Josh Bailey had the other one).
On The Farm
The Sound Tigers are 12-6-0-0 after splitting a pair of games last weekend with Wilkes Barre-Scranton.
Bracken Kearns continues to lead the Sound Tigers in scoring (6-10-16), while Steve Bernier and Michael dal Colle share the goal scoring lead with seven goals.
Christopher Gibson, who hasn't played since an injury November 5th, remains the team leader in victories (6-0-0).
Bridgeport hosts Albany on Tuesday.
Up Next
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30th–PITTSBURGH AT ISLANDERS - 8:00PM
[NBCSN (NHL Live at 7:00), WFAN 660/101.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]
It's Rivalry Night on NBCSN as the Islanders and Penguins meet for the third time this season. Each of the first two games have been tied 2-2 late in the contest but Pittsburgh has won both, winning 4-2 in the Steel City as Sidney Crosby scored the winner at 17:35 of the third and winning 3-2 in Brooklyn on a Kris Letang overtime goal.
The Isles are 0-2-2 in their last four against Pittsburgh; the last Isles win was a 2-1 win on March 8th which was a game in which Jaroslav Halak recorded his 200th NHL win, but needed Thomas Greiss to save the win after he left with a season-ending injury.
The final meeting of the teams this season will be in Pittsburgh on March 24th.
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
