The Skinny: Isles 4, Columbus 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

 

Game 46

Isles 4, Columbus 2

Nikolay Kulemin, playing on the Isles' top line due to the absence of Anders Lee, broke a 1-1 tie late in the second period and the Isles then broke the game open with two goals in the first 5:21 of the third period as they defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 before a crowd of 11,419 at Barclays Center. The win moves the Isles 3 games over NHL .500 for the first time this season and extends their point streak to five games (4-0-1).  Josh Bailey also scored for the Isles; it was his 100^th career goal.

 

The Isles remain unbeaten in regulation under Coach Doug Weight (3-0-1).  It's the second time in club history that a coach has opened 3-0-1 or better.  Peter Laviolette went 9-0-1-1 at the start of the 2001-02 season.

 

Thomas Greiss, who on Monday was named the NHL's second start of the week, made 21 saves to record the victory.

 

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

08:55    Columbus         Nick Foligno (17) ASST: Alexander Wennberg (32), Ryan Murray (8)            0-1

 

2ND PERIOD

02:21    New York         Josh Bailey (7) ASST: John Tavares (18)           1-1

16:29    New York         Nikolay Kulemin (8) ASST: John Tavares (19), Calvin de Haan (8)            2-1

 

3RD PERIOD

00:35    New York         Brock Nelson (10) ASST: Nick Leddy (17), Adam Pelech (4)        3-1

05:21    New York         Jason Chimera (10)       4-1

14:39    Columbus         Cam Atkinson (24)        4-2

 

The Skinny:

The Isles allowed the first goal for only the 6th time in the last 27 games but rallied to win despite trailing after 20 minutes for the first time this season (1-8-2)... Columbus has outscored their opponents 51-27 in the first period this season.… The Isles are 16-0-4 when leading after two periods.… The Isles improve to three games over NHL-.500 (20-17-9) and climb within four points out of the final playoff spot.  The Isles allowed only 23 shots, matching the fewest allowed in any game this season. Josh Bailey is the 29^th Islander to record 100 goals…Jason Chimera has five goals in the last 7 games after scoring only five times in the first 39 games; Chimera was also involved in his first fight as an Islander; it's the first time since 2012 that he scored a goal in a game that he also had a fighting major…The Isles have scored at least four goals in five of  the last seven games and in ten of the last 15 games….Columbus is 5-6-0 in 11 games since their 16-game winning streak ended…The Isles were not shorthanded for the sixth time this season…Nick Leddy extended his point streak to three games and moved into third place on the team in scoring…Anders Lee missed his first game of the season; only six Islanders have played in every game…John Tavares had two assists, giving him 11 points (8-3-11) in the last 7 games; it was the first time Tavares had two assists in a game this season.

 

The 49ers

With their win the Isles moved into 11^th place in the East; later wins by Buffalo and Tampa Bay, coupled with an overtime loss by Detroit and a regulation loss by New Jersey have produced a 6-way tie at 49 points (Carolina was idle).  However, the Isles have played fewer games than any of the other five teams.

  

Good Start for Coach Weight Continues

The Isles are 3-0-1 under Coach Weight; it is their best start EVER following a mid-season coaching change:

 

The only other Islander coaches to have earned points in their first four games as head coach is Peter Laviolette (who won his first four and went 9-0-1-1 in his first 11 games in 2001).

 

Countdown to 1,000

Jason Chimera played in his 997^th NHL game.  306 skaters and two goalies have played 1000 NHL games; Chimera could reach that mark on February 3^rd in Detroit.

 

#1 is #1 (aka The Greiss is Right)

Thomas Greiss has started 10 of the last 11 games (5-2-3 with a 2.08 GAA and a 93.5 save percentage) and 12 of the last 16 games (7-2-3 with a 1.99 GAA and a 94.02 save percentage).  In the last ten games that he started he has allowed only 21 goals, and 7 of those came in one game.  He has allowed two goals or less in 10 of his last 12 games.

 

Last Long Homestand

The Isles are ending January by playing six straight home games.  The Isles are 3-0-1 in this stretch.

 

1/19 vs Stars (W 3-0)

1/21 vs. Kings (W 4-2)

1/22 vs. Flyers (L/OT 3-2)

1/24 vs. Blue Jackets (W 4-2)

1/26 vs. Canadiens

1/31 vs. Capitals

 

Following this homestand, the Isles will play 22 of their final 34 on the road and will not have a homestand longer than two games.

 

The Shots

Isles           9-12-8=29

Columbus  8-6-9=23

 

The Isles are 10-4-3 when they outshoot their opponents and 2-2-0 when the shots are even but are 8-12-5 when they are outshot.

 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 20-17-9 overall; 14-8-5 at home and 6-9-4 on the road. 

Columbus is 32-11-4 overall; 18-5-1 at home and 14-6-3 on the road.  

 

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 5-7-2 in Division games and 15-11-6 in games versus other divisions (5-6-3 vs. Atlantic, 4-2-1 vs. Central and 6-3-2 vs. Pacific).   The Isles are 10-13-5 against the East and 10-5-3 against the West.

 

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 21 saves to improve to 13-7-3 on the season and 5-3-2 in his career against Columbus.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves before being removed after the final Islander goal; he falls to 28-8-2 on the season and 12-5-0 in his career against the Isles.  Joonas Korpisalo stopped all five shots he saw in relief.

Power Plays

The Isles went 0-1 on the power play, while Columbus, who has the NHL's best power play, did not have an opportunity.

The Isles are 7-5-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 13-12-4 when they do not.  The Isles are 6-9-5 when they allow at least one power play goal and 14-8-4 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 19-4-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-13-7 when they do not. 

One Goal Games

The Isles are 6-6-9 in games decided by a single goal including 3-6-0 in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 in shootouts.  The Isles are 2-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal

The Isles are 15-4-7 when they score first and are 5-12-3 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 4-3-1 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 2-3-3 on the back-end. 

The Isles will play 16 sets of back-to-backs this season.  The next back-to-back set will be on February 3^rd in Detroit and February 4^th at home against Carolina.

 

Tired vs. Rested

·        The Isles are 1-1-2 when both teams played the night before.

·        The Isles are 5-3-2 when they are rested and their opponents are not.

·        The Isles are 1-2-1 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.

·        The Isles are 13-11-4 when both teams are rested.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (23:35); Columbus: Seth Jones (24:18)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (5-0-0), Nick Leddy (11-13-7), John Tavares (2-1-0), Johnny Boychuk (1-3-1), Dennis Seidenberg (1-0-1)

Shane Prince led the Isles forwards with 17:17 of ice-time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (13-9-7), Josh Bailey (4-5-2), Casey Cizikas (1-0-0), Cal Clutterbuck (0-1-0), Brock Nelson (1-2-0), Shane Prince (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 32, Columbus 33 (49%). 

Alan Quine won 9 of 13 for the Islanders; Alexander Wennberg won 10 of 17 for Columbus.

The Isles won 23 of 45 in the final two periods after winning only 9 of 20 draws in the first period.

The Isles won 31 of 63 draws at even strength, 1 of 2 on the power play and 0 of 0 on the penalty kill.  

Hit Count

Isles 23, Columbus 24.  Cal Clutterbuck led the Isles with five hits; Brandon Dubinsky led Columbus with six.

Fights

Jason Chimera fought Lukas Sedlak late in the first period. It was only the second fight by an Islander forward this season.

Season total – 9: (Boychuk 1, deHaan 1, Hamonic 3, Mayfield 1, Hickey 1, Strome 1, Chimera 1).

 

Blocked Shots

The Isles were credited with 16 blocked shots, including four from Casey Cizikas.

For the Corsi Crowd

All situations: Isles 49, Columbus 50 (including 11-1 Columbus in the final eight minutes of the third period)

5-on-5 Isles 42, Columbus 47

 

5-on 5 leaders:

Isles: Josh Bailey & John Tavares +11; Josh Bailey 74%

Columbus: Seth Jones +12

 

Ironmen

Jason Chimera – 152 (including 106 for the Capitals); Josh Bailey 113

 

Scratches

Anthony Beauvillier (injured), Anders Lee (ill), Scott Mayfield

 

Injured Reserve: Travis Hamonic

Total games lost: 82

 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1.      Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900

….

12. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 13. Josh Bailey 603 *** 14. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 15 Garry Howatt 596 *** 16. John Tonelli 594 *** 17. John Tavares 556

Goals

1.      Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310

…

7. Bob Bourne 238 *** 8. Bob Nystrom 235 **** 9. John Tavares 226

Assists

1.      Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553

…

9. Bob Bourne 304 *** 10. Derek King 288 *** 11. John Tavares 283

…

18. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 19. Ed Westfall and Josh Bailey 181

Points

1.      Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052

…

8. Bob Bourne 542 *** 9. Bobby Nystrom 513 *** 10. John Tavares 509

…

21. Duane Sutter 292 *** 22. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 23. Ed Westfall 286 *** 24 Josh Bailey 281

Last Minute Heroes

The Isles have scored twice in the final minute of regulation to either tie or win a game:

·        11/25 – SJ Sharks -- Nick Leddy (19:02); tied game, but Isles lost in regulation

·        11/30 – Pit Penguins – Anders Lee (19:33); Game Winning goal

 

Fit to Be Tied

The Isles have allowed the final goal of regulation in 10 of their 12 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 11 of their 17 regulation losses (and 20 of their 26 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)

 

Season Series Stats

The season series is tied one game to one (and two points to two). The remaining meetings between the teams are in Columbus on February 25^th and in Brooklyn on March 18.

 

The Isles are 3-0-0 against Columbus at Barclays Center and are 8-0-3 against the Jackets in the last 11 home games.

 

On The Farm

The Sound Tigers are 22-15-1-1 this season heading into Wednesday's game with Providence, which will be the third game of an 8- game homestand.

 

Bracken Kearns leads the Sound Tigers in both goals and points (16-17-33).  Rookie Devon Toews leads the team with 21 assists and is second on the team in points (4-21-25).  Ryan Pulock leads the defense with 5 goals (5-9-14 in only 18 games).

 

Up Next

THURSDAY, JANUARY 26th –MONTREAL AT ISLANDERS -  7:00PM

[MSG+ (Isles pre-game at 6:30), WNYM 970, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]

The Isles will look for their first win against the Canadiens in the last three seasons when they host Montreal in the final game before the All-Star Break.

 

The teams have met seven times since the start of the 2014-15 season and Montreal has won all seven, in regulation, by a combined total of 28-14.   The Canadiens have also won six straight in New York (one in overtime) against the Isles, including a 3-2 win on October 26^th, when Shea Weber broke the tie with 2:57 to play.

 

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 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