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The Skinny: Isles 6, Toronto 3

"The Skinny"  By Eric Hornick Game 34 Isles 6, Toronto 3 The Isles jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 4:48 and the Maple Leafs ...

Thursday, February 23, 2017

The Skinny: Isles 3, Montreal 0

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick
 
Game 60
Isles 3, Montreal 0
Rookie Anthony Beauvillier scored on his third shift in his first game in his home province and Thomas Greiss made 24 saves for his third shutout of the season (all since January 16th) as the Isles blanked the Canadiens 3-0 before a sellout crowd of 21,288 at the Bell Centre.
 
Anders Lee and John Tavares had the other Islander goals, while Josh Bailey assisted on both of them.  The Isles' top line has now combined for 50 points (22-28-50) in 18 games under Interim Coach Doug Weight (12-4-2).
 
The Scoring:
1ST PERIOD
05:28    New York         Anthony Beauvillier (6) ASST: Brock Nelson (20), Nick Leddy (23)            1-0
 
2ND PERIOD
05:58    New York         Anders Lee (23) ASST: Josh Bailey (30), John Tavares (29)        2-0
 
3RD PERIOD
19:01    New York         EN - John Tavares (23) ASST: Josh Bailey (31), Brock Nelson (21)            3-0

The Skinny:
The Isles scored the first goal for the second straight game, after allowing the opening tally in seven straight games… Since opening the season 6-10-4, Isles are 23-11-6 in their last 40 games…The Isles have won three straight games for the third time since mid-January…The Isles killed Montreal's only power play after allowing a power play goals in five straight games … John Tavares' empty-netter gives him 12 goals in the last 21 games… The Isles are 23-0-4 when leading after two periods… The Canadiens have sold out 528 consecutive games… Claude Julien coached his 1,000th NHL game…It's only the 2nd time that the Isles have shutout the Canadiens in Montreal (April 10, 2014 by Evgeni Nabokov)…  The Isles are 10-3-0 when Scott Mayfield is in the lineup…The Isles did not allow a first period goal for the first time since January 25th (also vs. Montreal) and will carry a shutout streak of 100:01 into Saturday's game…Thomas Greiss now has 43 wins as an Islander, just one fewer than Garth Snow; he has reached the 20-win mark for the 2nd consecutive season…The Canadiens have been blanked 4 times in their last 8 games …Montreal is 19-20-7 in their last 46 games following a 13-1-1 start.
 
Multiple 20-Win Seasons by an Islander
1.      Billy Smith 8
2.      Chico Resch 5
3.      Rick DiPietro 4
4.      Roland Melanson 3
5.      Kelly Hrudey, Tommy Salo and Thomas Greiss 2
 
The Disallowed Goals:
Montreal had a pair of goals disallowed 56 seconds apart in the third period.
 
Career Year
Josh Bailey had two assists, giving him 31 assists and 43 points on the season, setting new career highs in both categories. Bailey also passed Duane Sutter for 21st place on the all-time point list (293) and is just 7 points shy of 300.
 
Most Goals Since November 23rd
1.      Max Pacioretty 24
2.      Anders Lee/Auston Matthews 22
3.      Vladimir Tarasenko/Evander Kane/Sidney Crosby 21

Best Records since December 20th
1.      Capitals 21-4-4       (.793)
2.      Wild 21-6-2             (.759)
3.      Isles 18-7-4            (.690)
4.      Penguins 17-7-3      (.685)

NHL Scoring Leaders Since January 13th
   Player                        GP       G         A          P
1 John Tavares             21        12        13        25
   Nicklas Backstrom     18        7          18        25
3 Mikael Granlund         19        9          14        23
   Mark Scheifele           19        6          17        23
5 Nazem Kadri              21        9          13        22
 
(Filip Forsberg is the other NHL player with 12 goals in that span)
 
Most Shutouts Since January 16th
1.      Thomas Greiss 3
          Peter Budaj 3
            Mike Condon 3
         Carter Hutton 3
 
Playoff Chase: (excludes Boston – LA)

 
Metropolitan
GP
PTS
1.   Washington
59
87
 
2.   Pittsburgh
59
82
 
3.   NY Rangers
60
80
 
 
 
 
Atlantic
GP
PTS
 
 
1.      Montréal
61
72
 
 
2.      Ottawa
58
70
 
 
3.      Toronto
60
68
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wild Card
GP
PTS
 
 
1.      Columbus
58
79
 
 
2.      NY Islanders
60
68
 
 
3.      Florida
59
66
 
 
4.      Boston
60
66
 
 
5.      Philadelphia
60
63
 
 
6.      Buffalo
60
62
 
 
7.      Tampa Bay
60
62
 
 
8.      New Jersey
60
60
 
 
9.      Detroit
60
58
 
 
10.   Carolina
56
56
 

 Last 29
The Isles are now 18-7-4 in their last 29 games (since December 20th vs. Boston).  In those games, the PP is 17-88(19.3%) and the penalty kill is 12-69 (82.6%).   The Isles have had 19 more power plays than their opponents over that span, which is the largest difference in the NHL
 
#1 is #1 (aka The Greiss is Right)
Thomas Greiss has started 21 of the last 25 games (12-6-3 with three shutouts) and 23 of the last 30 games (14-6-3 with three shutouts).  He has allowed two goals or less in 17 of his last 23 games.
 
Weight-Lifted (Isles leading scorers since 1/19)
 
 
Games
Goals
Assists
Points
+/-
1
John Tavares
18
7
13
20
+8
2
Anders Lee
17
8
8
16
+4
3
Josh Bailey
18
6
8
14
+7
4
Ryan Strome
18
5
6
11
+1
Brock Nelson
18
4
7
11
+1
Nick Leddy
18
2
9
11
+7
7
Andrew Ladd
15
8
2
10
+2
8
Jason Chimera
18
7
1
8
+5
 
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 2-0-0 in this stretch:
 
·        2/21 at Red Wings (Won 3-1)
·        2/23 at Canadiens (Won 3-0)
·        2/25 at Blue Jackets
·        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     13-8-3=24
Montreal 8-8-8=24
 
The Isles are 14-7-4 when they outshoot their opponents and 3-2-0 when the shots are even but are 12-13-5 when they are outshot.
 
Home and Road
The Islanders are 29-21-10 overall; 20-8-6 at home and 9-13-4 on the road. 
Montreal is 32-21-8 overall; 18-9-4 at home and 14-12-4 on the road.  
 
By Division & Conference
The Isles are 9-7-4 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 18-16-7 against the East and 11-5-3 against the West.
 
In the Nets
Thomas Greiss made 24 saves as he improves to 20-11-3 on the season and 2-3-0 in his career against Montreal.
Carey Price made 21 saves but falls to 25-16-5 on the season and 11-5-3 in his career against the Isles.
 
Power Plays
The Isles went 0-2 on the power play, while Montreal was 0-1.
The Isles are 13-6-6 when they score at least one power play goal and 16-15-4 when they do not.  The Isles are 11-11-5 when they allow at least one power play goal and 18-10-5 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 1-16-7 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 9-15-4 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 20-15-4 when both teams are rested.
 
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Nick Leddy (24:10); Montreal: Jeff Petry (22:31)
 
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 (1-0-1), Calvin de Haan (1-0-0), Tied (1-0-0).
 
John Tavares led the Isles forwards with 21:24 of ice-time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (22-13-8), 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 27, Montreal 32 (46%). 
 
John Tavares won 14 of 23 for the Isles but his teammates won only 13 of 36; Alex Galchenyuk won 9 of 14 for Montreal.
 
Face-offs by period: 1st period- 12/25; 2nd period 6/15; 3rd period 9/19
 
Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 22/52; Power play 3/5; Penalty kill 2/2.
 
Hit Count
Isles 36, Montreal 32.  Bracken Kearns and Anders Lee led the Isles with five hits; Jeff Petry and Andrew Shaw had five hits for Montreal.
 
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 27 blocked shots; Calvin deHaan led the Isles with five hits.
 
For the Corsi Crowd
All situations: Isles 46, Montreal 61
5-on-5 Isles 38, Montreal 55
 
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Nick Leddy +2; Nick Leddy 52%
Montreal: Tomas Plekanec +12
 
Ironmen
Jason Chimera – 166 (including 106 for the Capitals); Josh Bailey 127, Brock Nelson 74, Calvin deHaan 63, John Tavares 60
 
Scratches
Adam Pelech, Cal Clutterbuck (injured),
 
Injured Reserve: Travis Hamonic, Casey Cizikas, Shane Prince
Total games lost: 116

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 617
15 Garry Howatt 596 *** 16. John Tonelli 594 *** 17. John Tavares 570
 
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 21 regulation losses (and 22 of their 31 overall 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
The Isles win the season series two games to one (and four points to two). 
 
The Isles have won 2 straight from Montreal after losing the previous seven games.  It's the first time since February 3 – 24, 2007 that the Isles have won consecutive games, both in regulation, from Montreal.
 
On The Farm
Bridgeport, behind 12 straight wins from Jaroslav Halak, is 33-16-1-1 on the season and 15-1-0-0 in their last 16 games.
 
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 33 points and is tied with fellow rookie Devon Toews for the team lead with 24 assists.  Pulock leads the defense with 10 goals (10-14-24 in only 30 games) and is tied for the AHL defense lead with 4 game-winning goals (all in the last 4 weeks).  Jaroslav Halak leads the team in wins (13-1-2).
 
Bridgeport visits Providence on Friday before hosting the P-Bruins on Saturday.  Hershey returns to Bridgeport Sunday at 3pm.

Up Next
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25th –ISLANDERS AT COLUMBUS– 5:00PM
[MSG+2 (Isles Game Night begins at 4:30), WNYM 970AM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]
This club-record nine game road trip is divided into two parts and the Isles will look to complete the first part of a trip with a perfect 3-0-0 record as they face the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.
 
The teams have split a pair of games this season, with Columbus snowballing the Isles in the third period of a 6-2 win on December 10th and the Isles winning in Brooklyn, 4-2 on January 24th
 
That December 10th loss is the only one the Isles have suffered in regulation to Columbus in their last 10 meetings (8-0-2).
 
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

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