The Skinny: Isles 4, Buffalo 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

 

Game 78

Isles 4, Buffalo 2

Anders Lee scored two third period goals to break a 2-2 tie as the Isles defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 before a sellout crowd of 19,070 at KeyBank Center.

 

Cal Clutterbuck and Joshua Ho-Sang also scored for the Isles; Evander Kane and Zemgus Girgensons scored for the Sabres

 

With the win, the Isles climbed within seven points of Toronto and Ottawa for the 2^nd Wild Card spot.  Their tragic number remains 4.

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

09:31    New York         Cal Clutterbuck (5) ASST: Nick Leddy (31)         1-0

 

2ND PERIOD

10:08    Buffalo              Evander Kane (27) ASST: C.J. Smith (1) 1-1

11:04    New York         Joshua Ho-Sang (4) ASST: Dennis Seidenberg (16)       2-1

 

3RD PERIOD

05:17    Buffalo              Zemgus Girgensons (7) ASST: Matt Moulson (18), William Carrier (3)            2-2

09:19    New York         Anders Lee (30) 3-2

14:33    New York         Anders Lee (31) 4-2

The Skinny:

The Isles are 20-12-4 (.611) under Interim Coach Doug Weight …Since opening the season 6-10-4, Isles are 31-19-8 in their last 58 games…The Isles are 5-6-1 in the last 12 games... The Isles opened the scoring for the 41^st time this season…Anders Lee recorded his 12^th two-goal game; he has never had an NHL hat trick; he reached, and exceeded 30 goals, for the first time in his career.  Lee is the first Islander other than John Tavares to scored 30 goals since Matt Moulson had three consecutive 30-goal seasons (2009-10 to 2011-12) … Connor Jones made his NHL debut for the Isles, playing 11:13 and going +1.  He hit a goal post in an empty net situation late in the game…CJ Smith recorded an assist for Buffalo in his NHL debut.

 

Flying since Thanksgiving

Anders Lee has scored 30 goals in his last 59 games (since November 23rd).  Only 4 players in the NHL have more goals in that span:  Brad Marchand (33), Auston Matthews (32), Max Pacioretty (31) and Sidney Crosby (31).

 

Missing the Captain

John Tavares missed his first game of the season; it was the first time he sat out due to injury since he was injured at the 2014 Olympics and missed the remainder of the NHL's regular season. (He played 78 games last year, missing three due to illness early in the season before sitting out the final game of the regular season.)

 

Experience Counts … 18 Times

Jason Chimera is only the second Islander age 36 or over to score 18 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.

 

This Generation's Mr. Islander Is Tied with Mr. Islander

John Tavares has 235 career goals, tying him with Bobby Nystrom for eighth place on the club's all-time list.

 

Career goals as an Islander:

7. Bob Bourne 238

8. Bobby Nystrom 235

8. John Tavares 235

 

One Goal Games

The Isles are 14-10-12 in one-goal games, winning only 14 of the 36 games (.389).  That .389 percentage in 1-goal games won is tied with Toronto for the lowest in the NHL – the Leafs are 14-7-15 in 1-goal games.  (The Isles were 21-6-10 in one-goal games last season.)

 

The Stretch Run

The Isles are playing their final 11 regular-season games in a span of 19 days.  The Isles are 4-3-0 in this stretch (1-2-0 at home and 3-1-0 on the road), with five of the seven games decided by empty net or less:

 

·        March 22 @ Pittsburgh (Won 3-2)

·        March 24 @ Penguins (Won 4-3 OT)

·        March 25 Vs Bruins (Lost 2-1)

·        March 27 Vs Predators (Lost 3-1)

·        March 30 @ Flyers (Lost 6-3)

·        March 31 Vs Devils (Won 2-1)

·        April 2 @ Sabres (Won 4-2)

·        April 4 @ Predators

·        April 6 @ Hurricanes

·        April 8 @ Devils

·        April 9 Vs Senators

 

Changing Times

Beginning with the March 31st game vs. New Jersey, each of the final six Islander games will start at a different (Eastern) time.  Both the game in Nashville and the game in Carolina will start at 7pm local time, but the Nashville game will be at 8pm Eastern.

 

58 in 47

The Isles are now 26-15-6 in their last 46 games (since December 20^th vs. Boston). In those games, the PP is 22-137 (16.1%) and the penalty kill is 18-113 (84.1%).

 

Jaro, Jaro

Jaroslav Halak is 3-1-0 since his recall from Bridgeport (and 3-0-0 as a starter).  He has played to a 2.03 GAA and 93.6 save percentage in those four games.

 

In Goal, #1

Thomas Greiss has played in 17 of the last 20 games (7-7-2 with one no decision), in 36 of the last 43 games (17-13-5 with one no-decision and three shutouts) and 38 of the last 47 games (19-13-5 with one no-decision and three shutouts). Greiss has appeared in a career high 50 games, and set career highs for both wins (25) and shutouts (3).

 

50 Game Club

Thomas Greiss is the 11^th different Islander goalie to appear in 50 games in a season.  Rick DiPietro did it four times and Tommy Salo did so three times.  The other eight, and now Greiss, have done so once.  An Isles goalie has appeared in more than 53 games only 9 times (3 by DiPietro, 2 by Salo, and once by Smith, Osgood, Hextall, and Halak).

 

Let's Hear It for the Ladd

Andrew Ladd has 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 now five points shy of 500 for his career (231-264-495) and is tied in career goals with two Original Islanders: Ed Westfall and Billy Harris on the all-time NHL list.

 

Weight Lifted

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

		Games	Goals	Assists	Points	+/-
1	John Tavares	35	12	22	34	+3
2	Anders Lee	35	16	11	27	+1
3	Josh Bailey	36	7	16	23	+2
4	Nick Leddy	36	4	17	21	0
5	Brock Nelson	35	8	9	17	-7
	Andrew Ladd	33	13	4	17	-6
7	Ryan Strome	30	7	9	16	-3
8	Jason Chimera	36	10	4	14	+4

 

A Different Road

The Isles are 14-11-2 in their last 27 road games, after winning only 2 of their first 11 road games (2-6-3). They are 9-4-1 in their last 14 road games after going 7-13-4 in their first 24 on the road.

 

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       12-8-6=26

Buffalo   6-15-15=37

 

The Isles are 18-10-5 when they outshoot their opponents and 3-3-0 when the shots are even but are 16-17-6 when they are outshot.

 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 37-29-12 overall; 21-12-7 at home and 16-17-5 on the road.  

Buffalo is 32-33-12 overall; 19-13-6 at home and 20-13-6 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 13-10-5 in Division games and 24-19-7 in games versus other divisions (10-10-3 vs. Atlantic, 6-5-2 vs. Central and 8-4-2 vs. Pacific).   The Isles are 23-20-8 against the East and 14-9-4 against the West.

 

In the Nets

Jaroslav Halak made 35 saves to improve to 9-9-5 on the season and 8-2-0 in his career against Buffalo

Robin Lehner made 22 saves but falls to 22-24-8 on the season and 3-2-2 in his career against the Isles.

Power Plays

The Isles went 0-1 on the power play; Buffalo was 0-4.

The Isles are 16-7-6 when they score at least one power play goal and 21-22-6 when they do not.  The Isles are 14-14-5 when they allow at least one power play goal and 23-15-7 when they do not.    

 

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 35-8-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-21-9 when they do not.  The only Islander wins when not scoring 3 goals were on November 28^th vs. Calgary (2-1 in OT) and March 31 vs. Pittsburgh (2-1).

 

One Goal Games

The Isles are 14-10-12 in games decided by a single goal including 7-10 in regulation. They are 5-8 in games decided in overtime and are 2-4 in shootouts.  The Isles are 4-2 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 24-9-8 when they score first and are 13-20-4 when they allow the opening goal.

 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 6-8-1 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 6-4-5 on the back-end. 

The Isles will conclude the regular season with back-to-back games on April 8^th-9^th (at Devils, vs Senators)

 

Tired vs. Rested

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

·        The Isles are 7-4-2 when they are rested and their opponents are not.

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

·        The Isles are 24-21-5 when both teams are rested.

 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (23:23); Buffalo: Rasmus Ristolainen (26:23)

 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (7-0-0), Nick Leddy (15-21-9), John Tavares (2-1-0), Johnny Boychuk (8-4-1), Dennis Seidenberg (1-1-1), Calvin de Haan (3-2-1), Tied (1-0-0).

 

Andrew Ladd led the Isles forwards with 16:44 of ice-time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (28-21-10), 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), Andrew Ladd (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 26, Buffalo 33 (44%). 

 

Stephen Gionta won 8 of 14 for the Isles; Ryan O'Reilly won 20 of 27 for Buffalo.

 

Face-offs by period: 1^st period- 11/19; 2^nd period 4/18; 3^rd period 11/22

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 24/51; Power play 1/1; Penalty kill 1/7.

 

Hit Count

Isles 24, Buffalo 16.  Anders Lee led the Isles with five hits; Rasmus Ristolainen and Marcus Foligno led Buffalo with three).

 

Fights

There were no fights.  Season total – 17: (Hamonic 4, Mayfield 3, Chimera 2, Strome 2, Lee 2, Boychuk 1, deHaan 1, Hickey 1, Ladd 1).

 

Blocked Shots

The Isles were credited with 11 blocked shots; Calvin de Haan led the Isles with four.

 

For the Corsi Crowd

All situations: Isles 44, Buffalo 57

5-on-5 Isles 38, Buffalo 46

 

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Stephen Gionta +6; Stephen Gionta 67%

Buffalo: Tyler Ennis +14

 

Ironmen

Jason Chimera – 184 (including 106 for the Capitals); Josh Bailey 145, Calvin deHaan 81

 

Scratches

Scott Mayfield, JF Berube, Nikolay Kulemin (injured), Ryan Strome (injured), Casey Cizikas (injured), Travis Hamonic (injured), John Tavares (injured)

 

Total games lost: 175

 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

 

Games Played (skaters)

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

….

1.      Brent Sutter 694 *** 9. Derek King 638 *** 10. Josh Bailey 635

…

15 Garry Howatt 596 *** 16. John Tonelli 594 *** 17. John Tavares 587

 

Goals

1.      Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 *** 4. Clark Gillies 304***

5. Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter 287 *** 7. Bob Bourne 238 *** 8. Bob Nystrom and John Tavares 235

…

25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Josh Bailey 106

 

Assists

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

…

8. Stefan Persson 317 *** 9. Bob Bourne 304 *** 10. John Tavares 302

…

16. Frans Nielson and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 196

 

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 537

…

18. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 19. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 20. Josh Bailey 302

 

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 13 of their 19 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 finish the season with a record of 2-3-1 in day games (0-0-1 at home and 2-3-0 on the road):

 

·        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 (won 4-2)

 

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 two games to one (and 5 points to 2). 

 

The Isles are 8-1-5 in their last 14 games against the Sabres, including 5-0-3 in Buffalo.

 

On The Farm

Bridgeport is 42-24-3-1 on the season following a 4-2 win in Hershey on Saturday.  The win moved the Sound Tigers one point ahead of Hershey in the battle for the final playoff spot.

 

Darren Nowick, who had spent most of the season in the ECHL scored twice; Kane Lafranchise and Carter Vergaehe had the other Sound Tiger goals.  Eamon McAdam made 29 saves for his third straight win.

 

Bracken Kearns leads the Sound Tigers in goals (23) and points (23-25-48). Rookie Devon Toews leads the team in assists with 37.  Ryan Pulock leads the defense with 13 goals and 42 points (13-29-42).

 

The Sound Tigers got help from Lehigh Valley on Sunday, when they beat Hershey.  Bridgeport now holds a game-in-hand over the Bears; the Sound Tigers host Springfield in a school-day matinee (11am) on Tuesday.

 

Up Next

TUESDAY, APRIL 4th –ISLANDERS AT NASHVILLE– 8:00PM

[MSG+/MSG GO (Isles Pre-Game begins at 7:30), WNYM 970, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]

 

The Isles play their final game against the Western Conference on Tuesday when they face the Nashville Predators for the second time in just over a week.

 

Bridgestone Arena has been a difficult spot for the Isles to win ever since the Preds entered the NHL; the Isles are 1-7-0 in their last eight trips and are just 3-8-0 all-time in Music City.

 

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