"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 61
Columbus 7, Isles 0
Nick Foligno and Josh Anderson each scored twice as the Columbus Blue Jackets snapped the Islanders' three game winning streak with a 7-0 win before a sellout crowd of 18,183 at Nationwide Arena.
The loss drops the Isles out of a playoff spot (tied in points with Boston, but losing the ROW tie-breaker).
The Scoring:
1ST PERIOD
05:19 Columbus Jack Johnson (3) ASST: David Savard (12), Markus Hannikainen (1) 0-1
12:21 Columbus Boone Jenner (12) ASST: Cam Atkinson (24), Brandon Dubinsky (22) 0-2
18:17 Columbus Nick Foligno (21) ASST: Alexander Wennberg (39), Brandon Saad (24) 0-3
2ND PERIOD
04:31 Columbus Josh Anderson (12) ASST: Boone Jenner (11), William Karlsson (16) 0-4
17:44 Columbus Josh Anderson (13) 0-5
3RD PERIOD
06:06 Columbus Nick Foligno (22) ASST: David Savard (13), Alexander Wennberg (40) 0-6
13:30 Columbus David Savard (3) ASST: Sam Gagner (21), Brandon Saad (25) 0-7
The Skinny:
The Isles fall to 12-5-2 under Interim Coach Doug Weight …Since opening the season 6-10-4, Isles are 23-12-6 in their last 41 games…The Isles had three different three game winning streaks since mid-January but have not been able to extend any of them to four games…Jack Johnson's goal ended an Islander/Thomas Greiss shutout streak at 105:20…Columbus scored 7 goals vs. the Isles for the 2nd time in their history.
Thankfully These Don't Happen That Often
It's only the 5th time in Islander history that they have been shutout by a score of 7-0 or worse.
Lots of +'s and -'s
All 7 Blue Jacket goals were at even-strength. Stephen Gionta (13:39) was the only Islander not on-ice for at least one Columbus goal. Nick Leddy went -4. Two Blue Jackets: Jack Johnson and David Savard both went +5. They are the first teammates to go +5 against the Isles since March 17, 2007 when three Florida Panthers (Mike van Ryan, Ruslan Salei and Olli Jokinen did so) …Columbus finished with 45 shots; it was their most ever in a game against the Isles.
Playoff Chase:
| Metropolitan | GP | PTS | |||||
| 1. Washington | 61 | 89 | |||||
| 2. Pittsburgh | 60 | 84 | |||||
| 3. NY Rangers | 61 | 82 | |||||
| Atlantic | GP | PTS | |||||
| 1. Montréal | 62 | 74 | |||||
| 2. Ottawa | 59 | 70 | |||||
| 3. Toronto | 61 | 69 | |||||
| | | | |||||
| Wild Card | GP | PTS | |||||
| 1. Columbus | 59 | 81 | |||||
| 2. Boston | 61 | 68 | |||||
| 3. ISLANDERS | 61 | 68 | |||||
| 4. Florida | 60 | 66 | |||||
| 5. Philadelphia | 61 | 63 | |||||
| 6. Tampa Bay | 60 | 62 | |||||
| 7. Buffalo | 61 | 62 | |||||
| 8. New Jersey | 61 | 61 | |||||
| 9. Carolina | 57 | 58 | |||||
| 10. Detroit | 60 | 58 | |||||
The Bruins are currently seeded ahead of the Isles, based on the ROW tie-breaker.
Last 30
The Isles are now 18-8-4 in their last 30 games (since December 20th vs. Boston). In those games, the PP is 17-88(19.3%) and the penalty kill is 12-71 (83.0%).
#1 is #1 (aka The Greiss is Right)
Thomas Greiss has started 22 of the last 26 games (12-7-3 with three shutouts) and 24 of the last 31 games (14-7-3 with three shutouts). He has allowed two goals or less in 17 of his last 24 games.
Weight-Lifted (Isles leading scorers since 1/19)
| | | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | +/- |
| 1 | John Tavares | 18 | 7 | 13 | 20 | +7 |
| 2 | Anders Lee | 17 | 8 | 8 | 16 | +2 |
| 3 | Josh Bailey | 18 | 6 | 8 | 14 | +5 |
| 4 | Ryan Strome | 18 | 5 | 6 | 11 | -1 |
| Brock Nelson | 18 | 4 | 7 | 11 | -1 | |
| Nick Leddy | 18 | 2 | 9 | 11 | +3 | |
| 7 | Andrew Ladd | 15 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| 8 | Jason Chimera | 18 | 7 | 1 | 8 | +2 |
The Long Road Ahead
The Isles are playing 17 of their final 24 on the road, including nine consecutive road games for the first time in their history. The Isles are 2-1-0 in this stretch:
· 2/21 at Red Wings (Won 3-1)
· 2/23 at Canadiens (Won 3-0)
· 2/25 at Blue Jackets (Lost 0-7)
· 3/2 at Stars
· 3/3 at Blackhawks
· 3/5 at Flames
· 3/7 at Oilers
· 3/9 at Canucks
· 3/11 at Blues
Home is Where the Heart Is
The Isles have earned points in their last 11 home games (9-0-2). It's their longest point streak at home in the post-Cup era. The last time the Isles had a longer streak was in 1982; the Isles ended the 1981-82 season with a 23-game unbeaten streak (21-0-2). That streak began on January 2, 1982 and was extended to 30 games over two seasons (28-0-2).
The last time that the Isles had a point streak of at least ten home games in a single season was in 1989-90, when they also earned points in ten straight games (12/16/1989 – 1/28/1990).
Longest Point Streaks in Post -Cup Era
11 – CURRENT (9-0-2)
10 - 12/16/89-01/28/90 (9-0-1)
10 – 3/24/13-10/17/13 (7-0-3 – Multi-season Streak)
The Shots
Isles 9-10-5=24
Columbus 17-16-12=45
The Isles are 14-7-4 when they outshoot their opponents and 3-2-0 when the shots are even but are 12-14-5 when they are outshot.
Home and Road
The Islanders are 29-22-10 overall; 20-8-6 at home and 9-14-4 on the road.
Columbus is 38-16-5 overall; 22-9-1 at home and 16-7-4 on the road.
By Division & Conference
The Isles are 9-8-4 in Division games and 20-14-6 in games versus other divisions (9-9-3 vs. Atlantic, 5-2-1 vs. Central and 6-3-2 vs. Pacific). The Isles are 18-17-7 against the East and 11-5-3 against the West.
In the Nets
Thomas Greiss made 14 saves before replaced after the first intermission. Greiss falls to 20-12-3 on the season and 5-4-2 in his career against Columbus. JF Berube stopped 24 of 28 in relief.
Joonas Korpisalo made 24 saves and improves to 5-1-0 on the season and 1-0-1 in his career against the Isles. It was his first career shutout.
Power Plays
The Isles did not have a power play, while Columbus was 0-2.
The Isles are 13-6-6 when they score at least one power play goal and 16-16-4 when they do not. The Isles are 11-11-5 when they allow at least one power play goal and 18-11-5 when they do not.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 28-5-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-17-7 when they do not.
One Goal Games
The Isles are 8-8-10 in games decided by a single goal including 4-8-0 in regulation. They are 3-7 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 4-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game (including one game that they allowed a goal after scoring an empty-netter).
First Goal
The Isles are 20-6-6 when they score first and are 9-16-4 when they allow the opening goal.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 4-6-1 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 4-3-4 on the back-end.
The Isles will play 16 sets of back-to-backs this season. The next back-to-back set is March 2nd in Dallas and March 3rd in Chicago.
Tired vs. Rested
· The Isles are 3-1-3 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 20-16-4 when both teams are rested.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Dennis Seidenberg (22:26); Columbus: David Savard (22:35)
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (5-0-0), Nick Leddy (13-16-8), John Tavares (2-1-0), Johnny Boychuk (6-4-1), Dennis Seidenberg (1-1-1), Calvin de Haan (1-0-0), Tied (1-0-0).
John Tavares led the Isles forwards with 19:31 of ice-time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (22-14-8), 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 26, Columbus 25 (51%).
Bracken Kearns won 7 of 11 for the Isles; Sam Gagner won 8 of 12 for Columbus.
Face-offs by period: 1st period- 8/15; 2nd period 14/24; 3rd period 4/12
Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 25/48; Power play 0/0; Penalty kill 1/3.
Hit Count
Isles 14, Columbus 16. Johnny Boychuk led the Isles with three hits; Boone Jenner had 4 for Columbus.
Fights
There were no fights. Season total – 11: (Hamonic 3, Mayfield 2, Strome 2, Boychuk 1, Chimera 1, deHaan 1, Hickey 1).
Blocked Shots
The Isles were credited with 16 blocked shots; Johnny Boychuk led the Isles with five hits.
For the Corsi Crowd
All situations: Isles 44, Columbus 71
5-on-5 Isles 43, Columbus 65
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: John Tavares +5; John Tavares 57%
Columbus: Jack Johnson +15
Ironmen
Jason Chimera – 167 (including 106 for the Capitals); Josh Bailey 128, Brock Nelson 75, Calvin deHaan 64, John Tavares 61
Scratches
Adam Pelech, Cal Clutterbuck (injured),
Injured Reserve: Travis Hamonic, Casey Cizikas, Shane Prince
Total games lost: 120
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900
….
10. Billy Harris 623 *** 11. Stefan Persson 622 *** 12. Josh Bailey 618
…
15 Garry Howatt 596 *** 16. John Tonelli 594 *** 17. John Tavares 571
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310
…
7. Bob Bourne 238 *** 8. Bob Nystrom 235 **** 9. John Tavares 230
…
25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Ed Westfall, Benoit Hogue and Josh Bailey 105
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553
…
8. Stefan Persson 317 *** 9. Bob Bourne 304 *** 10. John Tavares 293
…
16. Frans Nielson and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 18. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 19. Josh Bailey 188
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052
…
6. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 7. John Tonelli 544 *** 8. Bob Bourne 542 *** 9. John Tavares 5231
…
19. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 20. Mariusz Czerkawski 295 *** 21. Josh Bailey 293
Late Heroes
The Isles have scored three times in the final two minutes 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
· 2/6 – Tor Maple Leafs – Andrew Ladd (18:31); Isles won in overtime
Fit to Be Tied
The Isles have allowed the final goal of regulation in 10 of their 14 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 12 of their 22 regulation losses (and 22 of their 32overall losses) but have allowed the lead goal in the final 3 minutes of regulation seven times (including one game they rallied to win):
· 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)
· 2/3 – Det Red Wings – Danny DeKeyser (19:32)
· 2/6 – Tor Maple Leafs – Michael Nylander (17:59) (Isles won game in OT)
Season Series Stats
Columbus leads the season series two games to one (and four points to two). The final meeting will be in Brooklyn on March 18th.
The Isles were outscored 11-0 in the last 4 periods in Columbus. Those are the only two Isles regulation losses in the last 12 games against Columbus (8-2-2)
On The Farm
Bridgeport was swept in a home-and-home series with Providence, losing 2-1 on Friday and 4-3 on Saturday. The Sound Tigers, who had gone 15-1-0-0 in their prior 16 games, fell to 33-18-1-1 on the season.
Andrew Rowe scored Bridgeport's only goal on Friday; Tanner Fritz, Michael Dal Colle and Josh Ho-Sang scored on Saturday.
Bracken Kearns, on recall to the Isles, leads the Sound Tigers in goals (18) and points (18-22-40). Steve Bernier (inured) leads the players on the current roster with 14 goals while Joshua Ho-Sang leads the current roster with 35 points and also lead the team with 25 assists. Ryan Pulock leads the defense with 10 goals (10-16-26 in only 32 games) while Jaroslav Halak leads the team in wins (13-2-2).
Bridgeport host Hershey at 3pm on Sunday.
Up Next
FRIDAY, MARCH 2nd –ISLANDERS AT DALLAS– 8:30PM
[MSG+2 (Isles Game Night begins at 8:00), WNYM 970AM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]
Following a few days at home to rest, the Isles begin the second part of this long road trip on Friday in Dallas. The remaining six games on the trip will be played in a 10-day span.
The Isles blanked the Stars 3-0 in Doug Weight's debut on January 19th. The Stars won the last meeting in Dallas by the same score last March 19th.
The Isles are 5-1-1 in their last 7 with Dallas and are 2-1-1 in their last four games in the Lone Star State.
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
