The Skinny: Isles 4, Los Angeles 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

 

Game 44

Isles 4, Los Angeles 2

Anders Lee scored two goals, both on the power play, including the game-winner midway through the third period, as the Isles stretched their winning streak to three games with a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings before a near-capacity crowd of 15,138 at Barclays Center.

 

Jason Chimera scored on the Isles' first shot of the game and John Tavares added an empty-net goal on the Isles' final shot as the Isles improved to 2-0-0 under interim coach Doug Weight.

 

Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty scored in the third period for Los Angeles, with Carter's goal breaking an Islander shutout streak of 166:44.

 

The Scoring:                                                                           

1ST PERIOD

02:30    New York  Jason Chimera (9) ASST: Stephen Gionta (1) 1-0

 

2ND PERIOD

07:09    New York PPG - Anders Lee (16) ASST: John Tavares (17), Nick Leddy (15)       2-0

 

3RD PERIOD

00:37    Los Angeles     PPG - Jeff Carter (24) ASST: Drew Doughty (17), Anze Kopitar (21)            2-1

04:06    Los Angeles     Drew Doughty (8) ASST: Andy Andreoff (1), Trevor Lewis (9)      2-2

09:31    New York  PPG - Anders Lee (17) ASST: Nick Leddy (16), Josh Bailey (24)         3-2

19:16    New York  EN - PPG - John Tavares (19) ASST: Nikolay Kulemin (8), Thomas Hickey (9)        4-2

The Skinny:

The Isles scored the first goal for the 20th time in the last 25 games; the Isles have outscored their opponents 40-33 in the first period…  The Isles are 15-0-3 when leading after two periods.… The Isles moved two games over NHL-.500 (19-17-8) for the first time this season and climbed within 5 points of the last playoff spot… The Isles had 36 shots on goal for the second straight game; it's the first time since January 2 – 3, 2016 that the Isles have had at least 36 shots on goal in consecutive games….Anders Lee recorded his 4^th multi-goal game of the season and the 9^th of his career; it was the first time Lee scored twice on the power play; Lee also extended his point streak to four games (3-3-6).  13 of Lee's 67 goals have been game-winners.…Jason Chimera has scored four goals in the last five games and 8 goals in his last 23 games…The Isles improve to 20-2-3 all-time in Brooklyn against Western Conference opponents, including 8-2-1 this season…JF Berube, who was drafted by the Kings, recorded his first victory of the season (1-2-1)…John Tavares was NOT on the ice for the Kings' power play goal; he has not been on-ice for an opponent's PP goal since he started killing penalties on a regular basis on December 20^th…Stephen Gionta recorded his first point as an Islander…John Tavares' empty net goal gives him 8 goals in his last five games.

 

It's a Power Play Goal.. Goal… Goal!

The Isles entered the game with only six power play goals at home in 24 games this season, but scored three power plays tonight, including two from Anders Lee.

 

The Isles scored multiple power play goals for the first time this season, ending a 61-game streak in which they scored no more than 1 power play goal (March 8, 2016 vs Pittsburgh); it was the first time the Isles scored three power play goals since March 29, 2015 vs. Detroit, when they did so at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Shutout Streaks

The Isles extended their shutout streak to 166:44, before Jeff Carter ended the streak.

 

It's the third longest streak in club history:

·        199:14  March 31-April 8, 1998 (includes club-record 3 consecutive shutouts)

·        193:48  November 6 – November 14, 2014 (includes 2 shutouts)

·        166:44 January 14- January 21, 2016 (includes 2 shutouts)

 

Good Start for Coach Weight Continues

The Isles are 2-0-0 under Coach Weight, matching the team's best start following a mid-season coaching change:

 

·        Rick Bowness    1/24/97  W 5-2 @ Hartford, 1/25/97 W 3-2 vs. Chicago (replaced Mike Milbury)

·        Bill Stewart        1/21/99  W 5-2 @ Pittsburgh, 1/26/99 W 4-1 vs. Boston  (replaced Mike Milbury)

·        Doug Weight    1/19/17  W 3-0 vs. Dallas , 1/21/17 W 4-2 vs. Los Angeles (replaced Jack Capuano)

 

The only Islander coaches to have earned points in their first three games as head coach are:

·        Peter Laviolette (who won his first four and went 9-0-1-1 in his first 11 games in 2001)

·        Lorne Henning (who opened win, tie, win in three games in 1995)

 

Countdown to 1,000

Jason Chimera played in his 995^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 had the night off after starting eight straight games (4-2-2 with a 1.99 GAA and a 93.6 save percentage) and 10 of the previous 13 games (6-2-2 with a 1.89 GAA and a 94.2 save percentage).  In the eight straight games that he started he allowed only 16 goals, and 7 of those came in one game.  He has allowed two goals or less in 9 of his last 10 games.

 

Last Long Homestand

The Isles are ending January by playing six straight home games.  The Isles are 2-0-0 in this stretch.

 

1/19 vs Stars (W 3-0)

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

1/22 vs. Flyers

1/24 vs. Blue Jackets

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                 8-10-18=36

Los Angeles      14-13-9=36

 

The Isles are 9-4-3 when they outshoot their opponents and 2-2-0 when the shots are even but are 8-11-5 when they are outshot.

 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 19-17-8 overall; 13-8-4 at home and 6-9-4 on the road. 

Los Angeles is 23-19-4 overall; 14-8-1 at home and 8-12-3 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 4-6-2 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 9-12-5 against the East and 10-5-3 against the West.

 

In the Nets

Jean-Francois Berube made 34 saves as he improved to 1-2-1 on the season in his first career appearance against Los Angeles.

Peter Budaj made 34 saves but falls to 20-14-3 on the season and 1-2-1 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles went 3-5 on the power play, while Los Angeles went 1-2.

The Isles are 76-5-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 12-12-3 when they do not.  The Isles are 6-9-5 when they allow at least one power play goal and 13-8-3 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 18-4-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-13-6 when they do not. 

One Goal Games

The Isles are 6-6-8 in games decided by a single goal including 3-6-0 in regulation. They are 2-5 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 15-4-6 when they score first and are 4-12-3 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

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

The Isles will play 16 sets of back-to-backs this season.  This back-to-back set will conclude on Sunday vs. Philadelphia.

 

Tired vs. Rested

·        The Isles are 1-1-1 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 12-11-4 when both teams are rested.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (24:49); Los Angeles: Drew Doughty (26:26)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (5-0-0), Nick Leddy (10-13-6), John Tavares (2-1-0), Johnny Boychuk (1-3-1), Dennis Seidenberg (1-0-1)

John Tavares led the Isles forwards with 19:16 of ice-time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (13-9-6), Josh Bailey (4-5-2), Casey Cizikas (1-0-0), Cal Clutterbuck (0-1-0), Brock Nelson (1-2-0)

Face-offs

Isles 33, Los Angeles 43 (43%). 

No Islander won more than he lost; Jeff Carter won 16 of 21 for Los Angeles.

The Isles split 44 draws in the first two periods but won only 11 of 32 draws in the third period.

The Isles won 29 of 67 draws at even strength, 3 of 5 on the power play and 1 of 4 on the penalty kill.  

Hit Count

Isles 28, Los Angeles 25.  Casey Cizikas led the Isles with four hits; Derek Forbert and Jordan Nolan led Los Angeles with four.

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 8: (Boychuk 1, deHaan 1, Hamonic 3, Mayfield 1, Hickey 1, Strome 1).

 

Blocked Shots

The Isles were credited with 10 blocked shots, including two from Adam Pelech and Calvin deHaan.

For the Corsi Crowd

All situations: Isles 66, Los Angeles 60 (including 27-14 Isles in the third period.

5-on-5 Isles 56, Los Angeles 50

 

5-on 5 leaders:

Isles: Thomas Hickey +8; Shane Prince 63%

Los Angeles: Kevin Gravel +4

 

Ironmen

Jason Chimera – 150 (including 106 for the Capitals); Josh Bailey 111

 

Scratches

Johnny Boychuk(injured), Andrew Ladd (injured), Cal Clutterbuck (injured)

 

Injured Reserve: Travis Hamonic

Total games lost: 77

 

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 601 *** Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 15 Garry Howatt 596 *** 16. John Tonelli 594 *** 17. John Tavares 554

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 281

…

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 507

…

21. Duane Sutter 292 *** 22. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 23. Ed Westfall 286 *** 24 Josh Bailey 280

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 nine of their 11 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 19 of their 25 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 team split the season series one game to one (and two points to two).

The Isles improve to 3-5-0 in their last eight against Los Angeles and improve 7-14-2 in their last 23 against the Kings.

 

On The Farm

The Sound Tigers are 21-15-1-1 this season after wins both Friday and Saturday.

 

On Friday, Andrew Rowe, Steve Bernier and Bracken Kearns each had three points in a 5-3 win in Springfield.  On Saturday, Ryan Pulock had a goal and two assists while Jaroslav Halak made 30 saves in a 4-3 win over Toronto.

 

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 17 games).

 

The Sound Tigers look to complete a sweep of their 3-in-3 weekend on Sunday afternoon when they host Rochester.

 

Up Next

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22nd –PHILADELPHIA AT ISLANDERS -  6:00PM

[MSG+ (Isles pre-game at 5:30), WNYM 970AM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]

The Isles will look to extend their winning streak to a season-high four games as they entertain the Philadelphia Flyers in the back-end of a back-to-back set for both clubs.

 

This is the second of four meetings between the teams this season, and the final meeting in Brooklyn.  Jakub Voracek scored a last-minute tying goal in a 3-2 shootout win for Philadelphia back on November 3^rd.

 

No Islander goalie has ever recorded three consecutive shutouts, which will be in play if Thomas Greiss starts the game.

 

The Flyers have won all three of their visits to Barclays Center (Isles are 0-2-1); the Isles scored only five goals in four losses (0-3-1) to the Flyers in calendar year 2016.

 

And Finally….

Many thanks to my MSG Networks colleagues, who made my 35^th anniversary of Islander television such a special night for my family and I.  From the kind words of Brendan, Butch and Shannon to videotaped tributes from Jiggs, Howie and Billy, it was a truly memorable evening. Special thanks to the people you don't know, but should – our extraordinarily talented production team (Jim, Dave, Charlie, Sarah, Al, Glenn, JT and many others) for their work, and their friendship.

 

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