The Skinny: Isles 3, Rangers 2

"The Skinny"

 

By Eric Hornick

 

Game 72

Isles 3, Rangers 2

Nikolay Kulemin and Andrew Ladd both scored third period power plays goals as the Isles rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Rangers 3-2 before a sellout crowd of 18,006 at Madison Square Garden.

 

It's the first time since February 23, 2016 that the Isles have scored two power play goals in a road game, and the first time they have done so at Madison Square Garden since December 22, 2011.

 

The win is the Isles' first in regulation in seven games (3-3-1); the Rangers are winless in their last seven at home (0-5-2).

 

With the win, the Isles move within two points of Boston for the 2^nd Wild Card spot; the Isles also hold one game in hand. The Isles also move three points ahead of Tampa Bay.  Boston has 9 games to play, the Lightning 10 and the Isles 10.   

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

No Scoring

 

2ND PERIOD

02:46    NYR     PPG - Mats Zuccarello (15) ASST: Mika Zibanejad (18), Derek Stepan (36)            0-1

03:40    New York Anders Lee (27) ASST: Anthony Beauvillier (12), Nick Leddy (29)         1-1

06:36    NYR     Rick Nash (20) ASST: Oscar Lindberg (12), Nick Holden (22)      1-2

 

3RD PERIOD

05:01    New York PPG - Nikolay Kulemin (12) ASST: Anthony Beauvillier (13), Joshua Ho-Sang (4) 2-2

12:38    New York PPG - Andrew Ladd (20) ASST: Anders Lee (17), John Tavares (35)    3-2

The Skinny:

The Isles are 17-9-4 (.633) under Interim Coach Doug Weight …Since opening the season 6-10-4, Isles are 28-16-8 in their last 52 games…The Isles are 8-5-2 in the last 15 games... Thomas Greiss leads all goalies this month in minutes (580) and is tied with Devyn Dubnyk in games (11) …  Scott Mayfield fought Tanner Glass in the 2^nd period; it was the 2^nd straight Isles game with a fight, after having gone a month without one. …Anders Lee tied John Tavares for the team lead in goals (27) ….The Rangers suffered their 4^th regulation loss (25-4-0) in games they led after two periods; it's the second straight time that the Isles rallied for a third period come-from-behind win against the Rangers in a nationally televised game (also 12-1-15 at Barclays)…John Tavares was charged with three minor penalties for the second time in his career (2-5-11 vs Ottawa); his assist on the winning goal extended his point streak to four games….Nikolay Kulemin and Andrew Ladd had combined for one power play goal this season (by Ladd) prior to tonight…Dennis Seidenberg was a healthy scratch for the first time this season.

The Injury

Ryan Strome was injured in a second period collision with Brady Skjei and did not return. Coach Weight noted after the game that Strome "… won't be with us for the weekend and probably longer."

 

Let's Hear It for the Ladd

Andrew Ladd reached the 20-goal mark for the 4^th straight season and the sixth straight full season (he had 18 goals in the lockout year).  He is one of 21 players to reach 20-goals in each of the last four seasons and one of only 14 to do so six times in the last seven seasons.  He is six points shy of 500 for his career (230-264-494) and his next goal will tie him with two Original Islanders: Ed Westfall and Billy Harris on the all-time NHL goal list.

 

7-11

Seven-eleven will always be magical to Islander fans; perhaps it's appropriate that Joshua Ho-Sang now has seven points (3-4-7) in his first eleven NHL games.

 

Speaking of 7:11

John Tavares has 234 career goals, leaving him just one goal behind Bobby Nystrom for eighth place on the all-time list.

 

Career goals as an Islander:

7. Bob Bourne 238

8. Bobby Nystrom 235

9. John Tavares 234

 

The 300 Point Club

Josh Bailey remains one point shy of becoming the 6th player from his draft class to reach 300 points:

(Stamkos, Karlsson, Eberle, Doughty, and Stepan have already done so.)  His next point will also be his 50^th point of the season.

 

The 300 Assist Club

John Tavares recorded his 299^th assist on the winning goal.  He needs just one assist to become just the 10^th player to record 300 assists as an Islander.

 

Experience Counts … 17 Times

Jason Chimera is only the second Islander age 36 or over to score 17 goals in a season; Bill Guerin, who turned 37 early in the 2007-08 season, scored 23 times that season.  Guerin also scored 16 times the next season, before being dealt to Pittsburgh.

A Big One Goal Win

The Isles are 12-9-12 in one-goal games, winning only 12 of the 33 games (.364).  That .364 percentage of 1-goal games won is the second lowest in the NHL – just ahead of Toronto (.353).  (The Isles were 21-6-10 in one-goal games last season.)

 

Tough Stretch

This was the second of three straight games against three of the top four teams in the East (and three of the top seven teams in the NHL).  The Isles are 1-0-1 in this stretch:

 

March 18 vs. Blue Jackets (lost 3-2 OT)

March 22 @ Rangers (Won 3-2)

March 24 @ Penguins

 

Like tonight, the Isles will catch both the Penguins on the back-half of back-to-backs for their opponent.

 

Most points in NHL since January 19^th (Weight's First Game)

1	Penguins	28	18	6	4	40
2	Blackhawks	26	19	6	1	39
3	Capitals	28	18	8	2	38
	Islanders	30	17	9	4	38
	Senators	30	17	9	4	38
6	Rangers	29	17	9	3	37

Playoff Chase

	Metropolitan			GP		PTS
1.      X-Washington		72			102
2.      X-Pittsburgh		72			101
3.      X-Columbus		72			100
Atlantic			GP		PTS
1.      Montréal			73		91
2.      Ottawa			72		88
3.      Toronto			72		83
Wild Card			GP		PTS
1.      NY Rangers			74		94
2.      Boston			73		82
3.      ISLANDERS			72		80
4.      Tampa Bay			72		77
5.      Carolina			71		75
6.      Philadelphia			72		74
7.      Florida			72		73
8.      Buffalo			74		72

 

Thursday's games

Tampa Bay @ Boston 7:00

Columbus @ Washington 7:00

New Jersey @ Toronto 7:30

Carolina @ Montreal 7:30

Pittsburgh @ Ottawa 7:30

Arizona @ Florida 7:30

Philadelphia @ Minnesota 8:00

 

Friday's games

Isles @ Pittsburgh 7:00

Tampa Bay @ Detroit 7:30

 

Saturday's games

Boston @ Isles 7:00

Philadelphia @ Columbus 2:00

Arizona @ Washington 7:00

Carolina @ New Jersey 7:00

Toronto @ Buffalo 7:00

Ottawa @ Montreal 7:00

Chicago @ Florida 7:00

NY Rangers @ Los Angeles 10:30

 

Sunday's games

Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh 7:00

NY Rangers @ Anaheim 9:00

 

Monday's games

Nashville @ Isles 7:00

Detroit @ Carolina 7:00

Florida @ Buffalo 7:00

Chicago @ Tampa Bay 7:30

 

Tuesday's games

Nashville @ Boston 7:00

Detroit @ Carolina 7:00

Buffalo @ Columbus 7:00

Ottawa @ Philadelphia 7:00

Florida @ Tampa Bay 7:30

Dallas @ Montreal 7:30

Washington @ Minnesota 8:00

NY Rangers @ San Jose 10:30

  

52 in 41

The Isles are now 23-12-6 in their last 41 games (since December 20^th vs. Boston), which represents a.  104 point pace in that stretch. In those games, the PP is 21-116 (18.1%) and the penalty kill is 16-97 (16.5%).

 

In Goal, #1

Thomas Greiss has played in 14 straight games (7-5-2), 33 of the last 37 games (17-11-5 with three shutouts) and 35 of the last 41 games (19-11-5 with three shutouts). Greiss has already appeared in a career high 45 games, and set career highs for both wins (24) and shutouts (3).

 

Weight Lifted

Isles leading scorers since Doug Weight became the Isles' interim coach:

		Games	Goals	Assists	Points	+/-
1	John Tavares	30	11	19	30	+5
2	Anders Lee	29	12	11	23	+1
3	Josh Bailey	30	6	14	20	+7
4	Nick Leddy	30	4	15	19	+3
5	Andrew Ladd	27	12	4	16	-2
	Ryan Strome	30	7	9	16	-3
7	Brock Nelson	29	7	8	15	-5
8	Jason Chimera	30	9	4	13	+5

 

A Different Road

The Isles are 12-10-2 in their last 24 road games, after winning only 2 of their first 11 road games (2-6-3).

 

Solid at Home

The Isles have earned points in 12 of their last 14 home games (9-2-3), although they are 0-2-1 in their last three home games.

 

Longest Home-Ice Point Streaks in Post -Cup Era

11 – 1/19/17 - 2/19/17 (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        9-12-7=28

Rangers 11-14-11=36

 

The Isles are 16-8-5 when they outshoot their opponents and 3-3-0 when the shots are even but are 15-16-6 when they are outshot.

 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 34-26-12 overall; 20-10-7 at home and 14-16-5 on the road. 

The Rangers are 45-25-4 overall; 19-16-3 at home and 26-9-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 11-9-5 in Division games and 23-17-7 in games versus other divisions (9-9-3 vs. Atlantic, 6-4-2 vs. Central and 8-4-2 vs. Pacific).   The Isles are 20-18-8 against the East and 14-8-4 against the West.

 

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 34 saves to improve to 25-16-5 on the season and 3-0-1 in his career against the Rangers.

Antti Raanta made 25 saves but falls to 15-8-2 on the season and 0-2-0 in his career against the Isles.

Power Plays

The Isles went 2-4 on the power play; the Rangers were 1-5.

The Isles are 15-7-6 when they score at least one power play goal and 19-19-6 when they do not.  The Isles are 13-13-5 when they allow at least one power play goal and 21-13-7 when they do not.    

 

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 33-7-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-19-9 when they do not.

 

One Goal Games

The Isles are 12-9-12 in games decided by a single goal including 6-9-0 in regulation. They are 5-8 in games decided in overtime and are 1-4 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 22-8-8 when they score first and are 12-18-4 when they allow the opening goal.

 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 5-7-1 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 5-3-5 on the back-end. 

The Isles will play 16 sets of back-to-backs this season. The next back-to-back set is March 24th in Pittsburgh and March 25th vs. Boston.

 

Tired vs. Rested

·        The Isles are 4-1-3 when both teams played the night before.

·        The Isles are 6-4-2 when they are rested and their opponents are not.

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

·        The Isles are 23-19-5 when both teams are rested.

 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Travis Hamonic (24:03); Rangers: Ryan McDonagh (27:27))

 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (7-0-0), Nick Leddy (13-19-9), John Tavares (2-1-0), Johnny Boychuk (7-4-1), Dennis Seidenberg (1-1-1), Calvin de Haan (3-1-1), Tied (1-0-0).

 

John Tavares led the Isles forwards with 22:00 of ice-time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (27-18-10), 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 36, Rangers 34 (51%). 

 

Ryan Strome won 4 of 5 for the Isles (all in the third period); Derek Stepan won 14 of 25 for the Rangers.

 

Face-offs by period: 1^st period- 13/21; 2^nd period 14/28; 3^rd period 9/21

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 28/57; Power play 4/5; Penalty kill 4/8.

Hit Count

Isles 25, Rangers 25.  Calvin de Haan led the Isles with four hits; Chris Kreider had five hits for the Rangers.

 

Fights

Scott Mayfield fought Tanner Glass in the 2^nd period.  Season total – 13: (Hamonic 3, Mayfield 3, Strome 2, Boychuk 1, Chimera 1, deHaan 1, Hickey 1, Ladd 1).

 

Blocked Shots

The Isles were credited with 14 blocked shots; Travis Hamonic and Scott Mayfield led the Isles with three.

 

For the Corsi Crowd

All situations: Isles 53, Rangers 71

5-on-5 Isles 41, Rangers 54

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Joshua Ho-Sang +2; Joshua Ho-Sang 54%

Rangers: Mats Zuccarello +17

 

Ironmen

Jason Chimera – 178 (including 106 for the Capitals); Josh Bailey 139, Calvin deHaan 75, John Tavares 72

 

Scratches

Dennis Seidenberg, Johnny Boychuk (injured), Alan Quine, Shane Prince (injured), Steven Gionta

Total games lost: 155

 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

 

Games Played (skaters)

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

….

9.      Brent Sutter 694 *** 9. Derek King 638 *** 10. Josh Bailey 629

…

15 Garry Howatt 596 *** 16. John Tonelli 594 *** 17. John Tavares 582

 

Goals

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

…

7. Bob Bourne 238 *** 8. Bob Nystrom 235 **** 9. John Tavares 234

…

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 299

…

16. Frans Nielson and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 194

 

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 532

…

18. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 19. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 20. Josh Bailey 299

 

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

 

Late Losses

The Isles 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)

 

Fit to Be Tied

The Isles have allowed the final goal of regulation in 12 of their 18 games that have gone to overtime this season, including four 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

·        3/10 – Van Canucks – Troy Stecher (19:40); Isles won in OT

 

Better at Night

The Isles are 1-3-1 in day games (0-0-1 at home and 1-3-0 on the road) this season with one game to play:

 

·        11/25 - at SJ Sharks (lost 2-3)

·        1/16 – at Bos Bruins (won 4-0)

·        2/11 – at Ott Senators (lost 0-3)

·        3/5 -  at Cal Flames (lost 2-5)

·        3/18 – vs Col Blue Jackets (lost/OT 2-3)

·        4/2 – at Buf Sabres

 

The Isles went 3-4-2 in day games last season (3-1-1 at home and 0-3-1 on the road).

 

Season Series Stats

The Isles win the season series three games to one (and 6 points to 2).

 

The Isles are 7-1-0 in their last eight games against the Rangers, including a perfect 4-0-0 at Barclays Center.  The eight games match their all-time best stretch against the Blueshirts October 23 1977- December 23, 1978 (7-1-0); the Isles have also won five of six (and 8 out of 10) at Madison Square Garden.

 

The Rangers' only win in that stretch came on Opening Night of this season, with the Rangers winning 5-3 on Garden ice. 

 

On The Farm

Bridgeport is 39-22-2-1 on the season (and 21-8-1-0 in their last 30) following a 3-1 loss to Hershey on Sunday and a 3-1 win in Albany on Wednesday. 

 

In Sunday's loss, Ross Johnston scored Bridgeport's only goal while Jaroslav Halak stopped 18 of 20 shots.   In Wednesday's win, Ryan Pulock scored the winning goal and Halak made 28 saves. Bracken Kearns scored his team-leading 22^nd goal for the Sound Tigers.

 

Kearns leads the Sound Tigers in goals (22) and points (22-24-46). Rookie Devon Toews leads the team in assists with 35.  Pulock leads the defense with 12 goals (13-23-36 in only 44 games, including five game-winning goals – which is tied for the AHL lead among defensemen) while Halak leads the team in wins (17-7-3).

 

Bridgeport plays game two and three of their six-game road trip on Saturday in Hartford and on Sunday in Lehigh Valley.

 

Up Next

FRIDAY, MARCH 24th –ISLANDERS AT PITTSBURGH– 7:00PM

[MSG+/MSG GO (Isles Pre-Game begins at 6:30), WNYM 970 AM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]

 

The Isles head to Pittsburgh for their final meeting of the regular season with the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

 

If it seems like it's been a long time since the teams have met, it has been nearly four months since Anders Lee's late goal gave the Isles a 5-3 win at Barclay's Center to close out November.  Overall the Isles are 1-1-1 against the Penguins this season, and can win the season series with a regulation win.

 

The Isles are 0-2-1 in Pittsburgh since winning the penultimate game of the Coliseum era, back on April 10, 2015.

 

The Isles are 11-26-11 all-time in games following a win at Madison Square Garden, although they are 4-2-1 in their last seven games following a win on Broadway.

 

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