The Skinny: Isles 6, Vegas 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 12

Isles 6, Vegas 3

In their first game against Vegas, John Tavares and Josh Bailey both rolled 11s.  Tavares' two goals gave him 11 while Bailey's three assists also gave him 11 as the Isles rebounded from allowing an early shorthanded goal to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights 6-3 in the first-ever meeting of the teams before a crowd of 11,113 at Barclays Center.

The Isles connected twice on the power play in the second period, giving them five power play goals in the last two games.

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

09:31 Vegas SHG - William Karlsson (3) ASST: Cody Eakin (5) 0-1

13:50 New York Andrew Ladd (3) ASST: Nick Leddy (5), Johnny Boychuk (3) 1-1

15:46 Vegas PPG - Alex Tuch (3) ASST: Colin Miller (5), Brad Hunt (6) 1-2

2ND PERIOD

14:50 New York PPG - John Tavares (10) ASST: Nick Leddy (6), Josh Bailey (9) 2-2

17:44 New York PPG - Mathew Barzal (3) ASST: Anders Lee (5), Josh Bailey (10) 3-2

3RD PERIOD

04:44 New York Cal Clutterbuck (2) ASST: Dennis Seidenberg (1), Nikolay Kulemin (2) 4-2

08:26 New York Nikolay Kulemin (1) ASST: Dennis Seidenberg (2) 5-2

12:38 New York John Tavares (11) ASST: Josh Bailey (11), Anders Lee (6) 6-2

14:41 Vegas PPG - Colin Miller (2) ASST: Brad Hunt (7), Alex Tuch (2) 6-3

The Skinny: 

The Isles allowed the first goal for the 9th time in the first 12 games … John Tavares recorded his fourth mutil-goal game of the month; his 15 points this season have come in just five games…Tavares is now second in NHL with his 11 goals; he is the first Islander since Mark Parrish to score 11 times in October… Josh Bailey extended his point streak to seven games (matching a career high) and his assist streak to six games; Bailey's 11 assists are the most in October for any Islander since Robert Reichel in 1997-98 (12)… The Isles' defense contributed five assists…Mathew Barzal recorded his first power play goal; he has seven points in the last seven games…Anders Lee added two assists for the second straight game as he extended his point streak to six games; he had only two multi-assist games last season... Tavares is now 45-42-87 in 85 career October games… The Isles have scored 21 of their 44 goals in the third period, outscoring opponents 21-12…The Isles had four players with multiple assists and six players with multiple points…The loss denied Vegas from becoming the first team in NHL history to win six straight in their inaugural season…Vegas lost goalie Oscar Dansk to injury in the second period.  Maxime Lagace became the fourth goalie to appear in Vegas' first 10 games as he made his NHL debut…Nikolay Kulemin scored for the first time since March 22nd at The Garden against the Rangers…The Isles end October with at least seven wins for the first time since going 9-0-1-1 in 2001…Vegas had allowed only two second period goals in the first nine games and entered play having allowed an NHL-low 19 goals…The Isles are 5-1-0 in their last six, and the power play has performed at a 30.4% clip (7-23) during that stretch…. The Isles 7th win last season came in game 21 (7-10-4); John Tavares scored his 11th goal last season on New Year's Eve.

Hey Josh Bailey, Can You Assist on Some More Goals?

Josh Bailey's 6-game assist streak and 7-game point streak are the longest current streaks in the NHL; ten of Bailey's 11 assists have come during the six-game streak.  Bailey recorded his 2^nd 3-assist game of the season; the last Islander to record two 3-assist games in October was Vladimir Malakhov in 1993-94.

Bailey's 6-game assist streak is the longest by an Islander since Frans Nielsen had a 6-game streak in 2014 (1/14-1/23/14; 6 assists) while the 7-game point streak is his longest since John Tavares had a 7-game streak in 2016 (2/6-2/16/16; 5-6-11).

The Islander club record for consecutive games with an assist is 9 (shared by several).

Total Team Effort

For the second straight game, six different Islanders recorded multiple points (only Tavares and Lee did it in both game) Prior to Saturday, the Isles had gone 7 ½ years without having six players record multiple points (April 1, 2010 vs. Philadelphia).

Fastest to 30

Doug Weight is now 31-16-5 as an NHL coach. On October 28 in Nashville, he reached 30 wins faster than any coach in Islander history:

Fewest Games to 30 Wins by an Islander Coach:

51 – Doug Weight

60 – Peter Laviolette 2001-02 (30-20-7-3)

61 – Ted Nolan 30-23-8

These Guys Can Score

The Isles have scored at least one goal in 11 straight periods, have scored a second period goal in eight straight games and have scored 14 goals in the third period of the last five games.

The Isles have scored at least four goals in 5 straight games (six straight games if you include a 4-3 shootout win vs. the Rangers)

 

 (Other) First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles are 4-0-1 in their first five home games.  It is their best home start since opening 5-0-0 in 1982-83.

• The Isles have scored 5 power play goals in a 2-game span for the first time since January 29-31, 2013 (2 at Pittsburgh, 3 at New Jersey)

• The Isles have allowed 6 shorthanded goals in a month for the second time in their history (April 1995)

• The Isles have scored at least 6 goals in consecutive games for the first time since February 11-13, 2011 (9-3 vs Pittsburgh, 7-6 (OT) @ Buffalo)

• John Tavares is the first Islander in at least 30 years to have 4 multi-goal games in October; the only other NHL players to do so in the last 25 years are Alex Ovechkin (6) and Ilya Kovalchuk (4), both in Tavares' rookie season of 2009-10.

Most Hat Tricks by an Islander

1. Mike Bossy -39

2. Bryan Trottier -16

3. JOHN TAVARES -8

        Pierre Turgeon -8

Most Natural Hat Tricks by an Islander 

1. Derek King – 4

2. JOHN TAVARES -2 

        Mike Bossy -2 

        Bryan Trottier -2

        Jason Blake -2

Even with Grabner

Anders Lee has 90 goals as an Islander, tying Michael Grabner for 37th on the team's all-time list. 

Three Over NHL-.500

The win pushes the Isles three games over NHL-.500 for the second time this season (7-4-1).  The Isles did not go two games over NHL-.500 last season at any point until a January 24st win vs. Columbus.  

The Isles are now 58 games over all-time NHL .500 for the first time since they were blanked by Calgary 5-0 on December 2, 1999.  Islander goalie coach Fred Brathwaite earned the shutout in that game for the Flames.

 

The Shots

Isles     10-13-7=30

Vegas  15-11-8=34

The Isles are 1-1-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 6-2-0 when they are outshot.

Offside Challenges

The Isles have challenged twice and been successful once.

10/10 vs STL Blues – unsuccessful; Isles killed ensuing power play.

10/12 @ Ana Ducks -- successful

The opponents have not challenged so far this season.

Go West, Young Men

This was the tenth game of a stretch in which the Isles will play 13 of 15 games against Western Conference opponents.  The Isles are 6-3-1 in this stretch; the only Eastern Conference opponents they will face during this stretch are the Rangers (4-3 SO Win) and Capitals (11/2 in DC).

Home and Road

The Islanders are 7-4-1 overall; 4-0-1 at home and 3-4-0 on the road.  

Vegas is 8-2-0 overall; 6-1-0 at home and 2-1-0 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 1-1-0 in Division games and 6-3-1 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 2-1-0 against the East and 5-3-1 against the West.

Our House

The Isles are 4-0-1 at home; it's their best home start since 1982-83 (5-0-0).  The Isles are 3-0-1 vs. the Western Conference at Barclays Center this season and are 25-4-4 all-time at Barclays against the West.

In the Nets

Jaroslav Halak made 31 saves and improves to 5-2-0 on the season.  He is 1-0-0 in his career against Vegas.

Oscar Dansk made 17 saves before leaving following Tavares' first goal due to injury.  Maxime Lagace stopped 7 of 11 shots to take the loss in his NHL debut. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 2-5 on the power play, allowing a shorthanded goal while Vegas was also 2-5.  

The Isles are 4-0-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-4-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 5-2-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 2-2-1 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 7-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-3-1 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 1-2-1 in games decided by a single goal including 0-2 in regulation. They are 0-0 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 2-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal 

The Isles are 3-0-0 when they score first and are 4-4-1 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 1-1-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 1-1-0 on the back-end.  The next back-to-back set is November 10th in Dallas and November 11th in St. Louis.

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 0-1-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 2-0-0 when they are rested and their opponents are not. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 4-3-1 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (22:42); Vegas: Nate Schmidt (22:08)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (2-1-1), Nick Leddy (32-2-0), John Tavares (1-1-0). Calvin deHaan (1-0-0).

John Tavares led the forwards in ice-time (19:52). Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (7-4-1).

Face-offs

Isles 31, Vegas 27 (52%).  

Mathew Barzal won 6 of 8 for the Isles; Pierre-Edouard Bellemare won 9 of 13 for Vegas.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 7/14; 2nd period 17/26; 3rd period 7/18.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 23/44; Power play 4/8; Penalty kill 4/6.

Hit Count

Isles 15 (Cal Clutterbuck -5) 

Vegas 11 (Erik Haula-3)

Fights

None.  Season total – 1: (Boychuk 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 23 shots; Adam Pelech led the team with 5. 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 54, Vegas 68 

5-on-5 Isles 42, Vegas 50

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Jordan Eberle +9

Vegas: William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault +11

Night and Day 

The Isles are 7-4-0 in night games and 0-0-1 in matinees.  The Isles, who went 2-3-1 in matinees last season, will play six matinees this season.

Ironmen

Jason Chimera – 200(including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 163 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 161, Calvin deHaan 97

Scratches

(Shane Prince-IR), Alan Quine-Conditioning, Scott Mayfield, Thomas Hickey

Total games lost: 25

Late Hero

The Isles have scored once in the final minute of regulation to either tie or win a game:

10/9 – STL Blues – Anders Lee (19:00); tied game, but Isles lost in shootout

7-11

The Isles have used 7 defensemen twice this season (10/19 @NYR, 10/21 vs SJ) and are 2-0-0 in those games.  Under Doug Weight, the Isles are 6-0-0 when they dress seven natural defensemen.

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

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

…

7.  Patrick Flatley 712 *** Brent Sutter 694 *** 9. Josh Bailey 651 *** 10. Derek King 638 *** 11. Billy Harris 623 *** 12. Stefan Persson 622 *** 13. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 14. John Tavares 599

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. John Tavares 246

…

22.  Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Josh Bailey 109

…

36. Travis Green 92 *** 37. Michael Grabner and Anders Lee 90

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553*** 4. Clark Gillies 359***

5. John Tonelli 338 *** 6. Patrick Flatley 328 *** 7. Brent Sutter 323 *** 8. Stefan Persson 317 *** 9. John Tavares 306

…

15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 211

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052 *** 4. Clark Gillies 663 ***

5. Brent Sutter 610 *** 6. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 7. John Tavares 552

…

17. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 18. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 19. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 20. Josh Bailey 320

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series one game to none (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will conclude the season series on January 25th in Las Vegas.

On the Farm

Bridgeport finished October with a 3-5-0 record. 

The Sound Tigers are off until Friday, when they begin a 3-in-3 weekend in Providence.  The weekend will also end in Providence, but Bridgeport will host Springfield on Saturday.

Up Next

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2nd –ISLANDERS AT WASHINGTON 7:00PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30PM), WFAN 660/101.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM]

It's been a long time since the Isles have faced the Washington Capitals; nine months and two days to be exact.  The Isles head to DC for the first meeting this season with Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals.

While Alex Ovechkin has been scoring (10 goals) and helping (5 assists, plus a coat donation to a homeless man in Edmonton) the reigning President's Trophy champions have struggled, going 5-6-1 in their first 12, including 1-3-0 at the newly renamed Capital One Arena.

Last season, the Isles split a pair of games in DC and won the season series 3 games to 2.  While the Isles haven't won all that often in Washington in the Tavares era, they have earned points in 10 of 16 (5-6-5).

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 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

Extra Skinny

Two last ones for the evening (or early morning)

The Isles scored 2 goals in a 42 second span tonight; that wasn't all that unusual but the fact that it spanned two periods certainly was.

I believe that it's only the 2nd time in Isles history that they have scored in the final 30 seconds of one period and then the first 30 seconds seconds of the next.

On 2/3/1983 Brent Sutter beat Chico Resch at 19:53 of the 2nd period and then John Tonelli beat Lindsey Middlebrook at 22 seconds of the third as the Isles walloped New Jersey 7-2 at Brendan Byrne (not Burke) Arena.  That also make Juuse Soros the first goalie to ever allow goals in the final 30 seconds of one period and the first 30 seconds of the next to the Islanders.

NHL PR also noted that Tavares is the 3rd player in Isles history to record hat tricks twice in a period of 3 games or less.

Bossy did it 3 times (once in the 78-79 season and twice in the 50 in 50 1980-81 campaign); Ziggy Palffy did it in consecutive games in March 1996.

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

The Skinny: Isles 6, Nashville 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 11

Isles 6, Nashville 2

The Isles scored power play goals in each period and John Tavares scored three third period goals for his 2nd career natural hat trick as the Islanders earned a split of their two-game road trip as they defeated the defending Western Conference champion Nashville Predators 6-2 before a sellout crowd of 17,113 at Bridgestone Arena.

Jordan Eberle scored his first two goals as an Islander, and Ryan Pulock added a goal and an assist, both on the power play.

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

04:21 New York PPG - Jordan Eberle (1) ASST: Ryan Pulock (2), Anthony Beauvillier (1) 1-0

2ND PERIOD

03:55 Nashville Filip Forsberg (8) ASST: Kevin Fiala (5), Mattias Ekholm (3) 1-1

09:49 New York PPG - Ryan Pulock (1) ASST: Anthony Beauvillier (2), Brock Nelson (2) 2-1

19:30 New York Jordan Eberle (2) ASST: Mathew Barzal (4), Brock Nelson (3) 3-1

3RD PERIOD

00:12 New York John Tavares (7) ASST: Anders Lee (3) 4-1

02:52 New York John Tavares (8) ASST: Anders Lee (4), Jordan Eberle (8) 5-1

07:26 New York PPG - John Tavares (9) ASST: Nick Leddy (4), Josh Bailey (8) 6-1

13:57 Nashville PPG - Craig Smith (3) ASST: Mattias Ekholm (4), Colton Sissons (1) 6-2

The Skinny: 

The Isles scored the first goal for only the 3rd time in the first 11 games … John Tavares recorded his eighth career hat trick (and second hat trick of the week); his 13 points this season have come in just four games…Tavares is now third in NHL with his 9 goals; he is the first Islander since Mariusz Czerkawski is 2003-04 to score 9 times in the Isles' first 11 games… Jordan Eberle's first two Islander goals produced his 24th career multi-goal game…Josh Bailey extended his point streak to six games and his assist streak to five games… After not scoring in the first eight games, the Isles defense scored for the 3rd  straight game and had three points …The Isles held the opposition under three goals for the second time this season …Mathew Barzal has six points in the last six games…Anders Lee assisted on Tavares' first two goals as he extended his point streak to five games...Filip Forsberg has points on 13 of Nashville's 27 goals this season (48.1%) and is now 3-3-6 in 8 games vs. New York after scoring his 99th career goal tonight…The Isles scored 6 goals in Nashville for the first time since their first visit there (11/21/98)…The Isles scored 6 goals in a road game only once last season (12/31/16 in Winnipeg)…Eberle is the 363rd Islander to score a goal, and the 302nd to score at least 2… The Isles 6th win last season came in game 18 (6-8-4); they won only 6 of their first 20 games last season (6-10-4) …Tavares is now 43-42-85 in 84 career October games…The Isles have scored 18 of their 38 goals in the third period, outscoring opponents 18-11…The Preds had killed 19 of 20 before allowing 3 PP goals tonight…The Isles had three players with two assists and six players with multiple points.

Total Team Effort

Six different Islanders recorded multiple points (Tavares/Lee/Eberle/Beauvillier/Pulock/Nelson). It's the first time since April 1, 2010 vs. Philadelphia that the Isles have had six players with multiple points (Tavares/Nielsen/Hunter/Sim/Bergenheim/Comeau) and the first time that they had done so on the road since December 3, 2006 at Madison Square Garden (Kozlov/ Simon/Sillinger/Satan/Park/Hilbert).

Fastest to 30

Doug Weight is now 30-16-5 as an NHL coach. He has reached 30 wins faster than any coach in Islander history:

Fewest Games to 30 Wins by an Islander Coach:

51 – Doug Weight

60 – Peter Laviolette 2001-02 (30-20-7-3)

61 – Ted Nolan 30-23-8

These Guys Can Score

The Isles have scored at least one goal in eight straight periods, have scored a second period goal in seven straight games and have scored 11 goals in the third period of the last four games.

The Isles have scored at least four goals in 4 straight games (five straight games if you include a 4-3 shootout win vs. the Rangers)

 

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night

The Isles are 4-0-0 on Saturday's this season; they won only three Saturday games all last season (3-8-5).  

(Other) First Times in a Long Time

Ryan Pulock is the first Islander rookie with a power play goal and power play assist in the same game since John Tavares (March 19, 2010 @ Anaheim); he is the first rookie defenseman to do so since Bryan Berard (November 21, 1995 @ Phoenix).

The Isles scored three power play goals in a road game for the first time since March 10, 2014 in Vancouver. 

The Isles scored a power play goal in each period for the first time since February 11, 2013 vs. Carolina; they hadn't scored power play goals in each period of a road game since February 14, 2008 in Toronto.

Tavares' goal at 12 seconds was the earliest for the Isles in any period since February 16, 2015, when Tavares scored 11 seconds into a game against the Rangers.

JT Passes Jonsson 

John Tavares played in his 598th Islander game, passing Kenny Jonsson for 14th in club history among Isles skaters. 

Most Hat Tricks by an Islander

1. Mike Bossy -39

2. Bryan Trottier -16

3. JOHN TAVARES -8

        Pierre Turgeon -8

Most Natural Hat Tricks by an Islander 

1. Derek King – 4

2. JOHN TAVARES -2 

        Mike Bossy -2 

        Bryan Trottier -2

        Jason Blake -2

Even with Grabner

Anders Lee has 90 goals as an Islander, tying Michael Grabner for 37th on the team's all-time list. 

Back to Two Over NHL-.500

The win pushes the Isles two games over NHL-.500 for the second time this season (6-4-1).  The Isles did not go two games over NHL-.500 last season at any point until a January 21st win vs. Los Angeles  

 

The Shots

Isles        7-11-5=23

Nashville 6-12-12=30

The Isles are 1-1-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 5-2-0 when they are outshot.

Offside Challenges

The Isles have challenged twice and been successful once.

10/10 vs STL Blues – unsuccessful; Isles killed ensuing power play.

10/12 @ Ana Ducks -- successful

The opponents have not challenged so far this season.

Go West, Young Men

This was the ninth game of a stretch in which the Isles will play 13 of 15 games against Western Conference opponents.  The Isles are 5-3-1 in this stretch; the only Eastern Conference opponents they will face during this stretch are the Rangers (4-3 SO Win) and Capitals (11/2 in DC).

Home and Road

The Islanders are 6-4-1 overall; 3-0-1 at home and 3-4-0 on the road.  

Nashville is 5-4-2 overall; 3-1-1 at home and 2-3-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 1-1-0 in Division games and 5-3-1 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 2-1-0 against the East and 4-3-1 against the West.

Our House

The Isles are 3-0-1 at home, matching their best home start since 1984-85 (also 3-0-1 in 2015-16).  The Isles are 1-0-1 vs. the Western Conference at Barclays Center this season and are 23-4-4 all-time at Barclays against the West.

In the Nets

Jaroslav Halak made 28 saves and improves to 4-2-0 on the season.  He is 14-3-4 in his career against Nashville, with a 1.81 GAA and a .929 save percentage.  His 1.81 GAA is the best of any goaltender against the Preds.

Juuse Saros made 17 saves but falls to 0-3-0 on the season and 1-1-0 in his career against the Isles.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 3-5 on the power play, while Nashville was 1-4.  

The Isles are 3-0-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-4-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 4-2-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 2-2-1 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 6-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-3-1 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 1-2-1 in games decided by a single goal including 0-2 in regulation. They are 0-0 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 2-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal 

The Isles are 3-0-0 when they score first and are 3-4-1 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 1-1-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 1-1-0 on the back-end.  The next back-to-back set is November 10th in Dallas and November 11th in St. Louis.

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 0-1-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 2-0-0 when they are rested and their opponents are not. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 3-3-1 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (24:19); Nashville: PK Subban (22:57)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (2-1-1), Nick Leddy (2-2-0), John Tavares (1-1-0). Calvin deHaan (1-0-0).

John Tavares led the forwards in ice-time (17:33). Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (6-4-1)

Face-offs

Isles 22, Nashville 34 (39%).  

Mathew Barzal won 3 of 5 for the Isles; Colton Sissons won 7 of 10 for Nashville.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 6/14; 2nd period 4/18; 3rd period 12/24.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 17/41; Power play 3/6; Penalty kill 2/9.

Hit Count

Isles 18 (Dennis Seidenberg & Nikolay Kulemin – 4 each) 

Nashville 19 (Alexei Emelin -4)

Fights

None.  Season total – 1: (Boychuk 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 14 shots; Calvin deHaan led the way with 4. 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 43, Nashville 55 (After the Isles took a 6-1 lead, Nashville had 16 of the final 19) 

5-on-5 Isles 34, Nashville 36

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Anders Lee and John Tavares +6

Nashville: Auston Watson +7

Night and Day 

The Isles are 6-4-0 in night games and 0-0-1 in matinees.  The Isles, who went 2-3-1 in matinees last season, will play six matinees this season.

Ironmen

Jason Chimera – 199 (including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 162 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 160, Calvin deHaan 96

Scratches

(Shane Prince-IR), Alan Quine-Conditioning, Scott Mayfield, Thomas Hickey

Total games lost: 23

Late Hero

The Isles have scored once in the final minute of regulation to either tie or win a game:

10/9 – STL Blues – Anders Lee (19:00); tied game, but Isles lost in shootout

7-11

The Isles have used 7 defensemen twice this season (10/19 @NYR, 10/21 vs SJ) and are 2-0-0 in those games.  Under Doug Weight, the Isles are 6-0-0 when they dress seven natural defensemen.

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

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

…

7.  Patrick Flatley 712 *** Brent Sutter 694 *** 9. Josh Bailey 650 *** 10. Derek King 638 *** 11. Billy Harris 623 *** 12. Stefan Persson 622 *** 13. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 14. John Tavares 598

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. John Tavares 244

…

22.  Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Josh Bailey 109

…

36. Travis Green 92 *** 37. Michael Grabner and Anders Lee 90

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553*** 4. Clark Gillies 359***

5. John Tonelli 338 *** 6. Patrick Flatley 328 *** 7. Brent Sutter 323 *** 8. Stefan Persson 317 *** 9. John Tavares 306

…

15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 208

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052 *** 4. Clark Gillies 663 ***

5. Brent Sutter 610 *** 6. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 7. John Tavares 550

…

17. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 18. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 19. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 20. Josh Bailey 317

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series one game to none (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will conclude the season series on February 5th in Brooklyn.

The Isles have won two straight from the Preds, both in Nashville and are 6-2-0 in their last 8 games against the Preds.

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 3-5-0 following a split of games Friday and Saturday.  The Sound Tigers got goals from five different players in a 5-1 win in Hartford on Friday; Josh Ho-Sang scored 81 seconds into the game.  On Saturday, the Sound Tigers dropped a 5-2 decision to Wilkes-Barre; Ben Holmstrom and Steve Bernier had the Bridgeport goals. 

The Sound Tigers are off until Friday, when they begin a 3-in-3 weekend in Providence.  The weekend will also end in Providence, but Bridgeport will host Springfield on Saturday.

Up Next

MONDAY, OCTOBER 30th – VEGAS AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30PM), WNYM 970AM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]

The Isles return home for a single game and it is their first-ever meeting with the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Golden Knights have won 5 straight games (matching a record for a team in their first NHL season that was originally established by the NY Rangers) and are coming off a 7-0 Nevada Day win over Colorado to cap a 6-1-0 homestand.

Overall, Vegas is 8-1-0 and is a perfect 2-0-0 on the road.  (The Islanders won 8 of their first 65 games in 1972-73 (8-52-5).

The Isles will make their first visit to Sin City on January 25th.

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 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

The Skinny: Minnesota 6, Isles 4

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 10

Minnesota 6, Isles 4

Luke Kunin and Zack Mitchell each scored their first career NHL goals and the Minnesota Wild got shorthanded goals from both Kunin and Eric Staal as they defeated the Isles 6-4 before a sellout crowd of 18,824 at Xcel Energy Center.

Minnesota scored three goals in a 2:30 span of the first and two others in a 1:57 span of the third.  

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

04:56 Minnesota Marcus Foligno (2) ASST: Jared Spurgeon (5) 0-1

06:09 Minnesota Jason Zucker (3) ASST: Mikael Granlund (1) 0-2

07:26 Minnesota SHG - Eric Staal (4) 0-3

10:49 New York Anthony Beauvillier (2) ASST: Johnny Boychuk (1), Josh Bailey (5) 1-3

2ND PERIOD

07:17 Minnesota SHG - Luke Kunin (1) ASST: Eric Staal (3) 1-4

18:31 New York Nick Leddy (1) ASST: Mathew Barzal (3), Josh Bailey (6) 2-4

3RD PERIOD

04:14 Minnesota Zack Mitchell (1) ASST: Daniel Winnik (1), Jared Spurgeon (6) 2-5

06:11 Minnesota Jonas Brodin (1) ASST: Marcus Foligno (3), Joel Eriksson Ek (2) 2-6

10:09 New York Anders Lee (6) ASST: Nick Leddy (3), Josh Bailey (7) 3-6

19:56 New York Mathew Barzal (2) ASST: Johnny Boychuk (2), Cal Clutterbuck (3) 4-6

The Skinny: 

The Isles allowed the first goal for the 8th time in the first 10 games … Josh Bailey matched a career high with three assists and passed Jordan Eberle for the team lead in assists (6) …Bailey now has 10 points on the season, tying John Tavares for the club lead; Bailey also extended his assist streak to four games and his point streak to five games … After not scoring in the first eight games, the Isles defense scored for the 2nd straight game and had points on all four goals…The Isles, who allowed a season-high six goals, have allowed at least three goals in 9 of the first 10 games…Mathew Barzal's late goal created his first career multi-goal game… Jonas Brodin's goal was his first in 47 games…Nick Leddy had a career-high 8 shots on goal; it was the most by an Islander this season. No Islander defenseman has had more than eight shots on goal in a game since Roman Hamrlik had nine vs. Washington on March 23, 2004…Anders Lee tied John Tavares for the team lead in goals (6) as he extended his point streak to four games...The Wild have scored at least four goals in six of their first eight games…Devyn Dubnyk recorded his 110th win since the start of the 2014-15 season; only Braden Holtby (135) has more in that span…Eric Staal's goal was his 24th against the Isles; he also has 24 assists in 49 career games against the Isles…The Isles are 0-13-1 in the last 14 games, dating back to last season, that they have allowed at least three goals in a period. ..The Wild scored two shorthanded goals for only the 3rd time in their history (and the first since 4-11-2009 in Columbus)

First Times in a Long Time

The Isles allowed six goals in Minnesota for the first time since October 5, 1989, when they lost 6-5 to the North Stars.  It was the first of 1,499 NHL games for future HHOFer Mike Modano.

The Isles allowed shorthanded goals in each of their first two games against the Wild, both in 2001.  They had not allowed a shorty to Minnesota since then, until allowing two tonight.

Oh, Those Shorthanded Goals

The Isles allowed two shorthanded goals for the second time this season and now have allowed five shorthanded goals in 62:07 of power play time this season.  The Isles have been outscored 5-2 on their own power play this season.

JT Passes Howatt, Ties Jonsson 

John Tavares played in his 597th Islander game, passing Garry Howatt and tying Kenny Jonsson for 14th in club history among Isles skaters. 

Catching Grabner

Anders Lee scored his 90th goal as an Islander, tying Michael Grabner for 37th on the team's all-time list. 

The Shots

Isles           11-9-13=33

Minnesota  16-6-11=33

The Isles are 1-1-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 4-2-0 when they are outshot.

Offside Challenges

The Isles have challenged twice and been successful once.

10/10 vs STL Blues – unsuccessful; Isles killed ensuing power play.

10/12 @ Ana Ducks -- successful

The opponents have not challenged so far this season.

Go West, Young Men

This was the eighth game of a stretch in which the Isles will play 13 of 15 games against Western Conference opponents.  The Isles are 4-3-1 in this stretch; the only Eastern Conference opponents they will face during this stretch are the Rangers (4-3 SO Win) and Capitals (11/2 in DC).

Home and Road

The Islanders are 5-4-1 overall; 3-0-1 at home and 2-4-0 on the road.  

Minnesota are 3-3-2 overall; 1-1-1 at home and 2-2-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 1-1-0 in Division games and 4-3-1 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 2-1-0 against the East and 3-3-1 against the West.

Our House

The Isles are 3-0-1 at home, matching their best home start since 1984-85 (also 3-0-1 in 2015-16).  The Isles are 1-0-1 vs. the Western Conference at Barclays Center this season and are 23-4-4 all-time at Barclays against the West.

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 27 saves but falls to 2-2-1 on the season and 3-3-0 in his career against Minnesota. 

Devyn Dubnyk made 29 saves, to improve to 2-3-1 on the season and 4-4-0 in his career against the Isles.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-5 on the power play, allowing two shorthanded goals; Minnesota was 0-3.  

The Isles are 2-0-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-4-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 3-2-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 2-2-1 when they do not.    

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 5-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-3-1 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 1-2-1 in games decided by a single goal including 0-2 in regulation. They are 0-0 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 2-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal 

The Isles are 2-0-0 when they score first and are 3-4-1 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 1-1-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 1-1-0 on the back-end.  The next back-to-back set is November 10th in Dallas and November 11th in St. Louis.

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 0-1-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 when they are rested and their opponents are not. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 3-3-1 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (22:53); Minnesota: Ryan Suter (26:48)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (2-1-1), Nick Leddy (1-2-0), John Tavares (1-1-0). Calvin deHaan (1-0-0).

John Tavares led the forwards in ice-time (21:28). Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (5-4-1)

Face-offs

Isles 33, Minnesota 32 (51%).  

Casey Cizikas won 10 of 15 for the Isles; Mikko Koivu won 18 of 28 for Minnesota.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 14/27; 2nd period 6/13; 3rd period 13/25.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 27/47; Power play 4/12; Penalty kill 2/6.

Hit Count

Isles 10 (3 with 2) 

Minnesota 11 (Marcus Foligno 5)

Fights

None.  Season total – 1: (Boychuk 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 4 shots; it's their fewest blocks in a game since October 30, 2014 in Colorado (also 4). 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 67, Minnesota 47 (After Minnesota had 19 of the first 20, the Isles had 66 of the final 94)

5-on-5 Isles 54, Minnesota 31

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Andrew Ladd and Johnny Boychuk +15

Minnesota: Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker +8

Night and Day 

The Isles are 5-4-0 in night games and 0-0-1 in matinees.  The Isles, who went 2-3-1 in matinees last season, will play six matinees this season.

Ironmen

Jason Chimera – 198 (including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 161 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 159, Calvin deHaan 95

Scratches

(Shane Prince-IR), Alan Quine-Conditioning, Dennis Seidenberg, Ryan Pulock

Total games lost: 22

Late Hero

The Isles have scored once in the final minute of regulation to either tie or win a game:

10/9 – STL Blues – Anders Lee (19:00); tied game, but Isles lost in shootout

7-11

The Isles have used 7 defensemen twice this season (10/19 @NYR, 10/21 vs SJ) and are 2-0-0 in those games.  Under Doug Weight, the Isles are 6-0-0 when they dress seven natural defensemen.

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

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

…

7.  Patrick Flatley 712 *** Brent Sutter 694 *** 9. Josh Bailey 649 *** 10. Derek King 638 *** 11. Billy Harris 623 *** 12. Stefan Persson 622 *** 13. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 14. Kenny Jonsson and John Tavares 597

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. John Tavares 241

…

22.  Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Josh Bailey 109

…

36. Travis Green 92 *** 37. Michael Grabner and Anders Lee 90

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553*** 4. Clark Gillies 359***

5. John Tonelli 338 *** 6. Patrick Flatley 328 *** 7. Brent Sutter 323 *** 8. Stefan Persson 317 *** 9. John Tavares 306

…

15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 207

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052 *** 4. Clark Gillies 663 ***

5. Brent Sutter 610 *** 6. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 7. John Tavares 547

…

17. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 18. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 19. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 20. Josh Bailey 316

Season Series Stats

Minnesota leads the season series one game to none (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will conclude the season series on President's Day (February 19th) in Brooklyn.

The Isles have lost two straight games in Minnesota but are 7-4-1 in their last 12 games against the Wild.

On the Farm

Bridgeport are 2-4-0 heading into Friday's game in Hartford.  The Sound Tigers are coming off a 6-3 victory over Hartford on Sunday.  The Sound Tigers got goals from six different players, including Scott Eansor. Eansor is tied for the AHL lead (and the AHL rookie lead) with seven goals on the season.

The Sound Tigers will host Wilkes-Barre on Saturday.   

Up Next

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28th - ISLANDERS AT NASHVILLE 8:00PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 7:30PM), WNYM 970AM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]

The Isles conclude the 2-game trip as they face the reigning Clarence Campbell Bowl winners, the Nashville Predators.   The Preds finished with the exact same record as the Isles last season but made the playoffs and went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.

The teams have split a pair of games each of the last two seasons; the Isles' win last season came in Music City on a Thomas Hickey overtime goal.  Overall, the Isles are 5-2-0 in their last 7 games vs. the Preds.

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 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

The Skinny: Isles 5, Arizona 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 9

Isles 5, Arizona 3

John Tavares recorded his 7th career hat trick and added an assist for his 10th career 4-point game as the Isles earned their third straight win as they defeated the Arizona Coyotes 5-3 before a crowd of 9,795 at Barclays Center.

Adam Pelech had three primary assists as he became the youngest Islander defensemen with a three-assist game since Kenny Jonsson as the Isles improved to 3-0-1 at home, matching their best home start in 33 years.  

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

04:47 Arizona PPG - Anthony Duclair (2) ASST: Clayton Keller (3), Derek Stepan (5) 0-1

2ND PERIOD

03:41 New York John Tavares (4) ASST: Jordan Eberle (5) 1-1

14:25 New York John Tavares (5) ASST: Adam Pelech (2), Jordan Eberle (6) 2-1

3RD PERIOD

01:32 Arizona Mario Kempe (2) ASST: Tobias Rieder (2), Christian Dvorak (3) 2-2

04:21 New York PPG - Brock Nelson (5) ASST: Adam Pelech (3), Josh Bailey (4) 3-2

08:57 Arizona Nick Cousins (1) ASST: Clayton Keller (4), Adam Clendening (1) 3-3

12:41 New York John Tavares (6) ASST: Adam Pelech (4), Calvin de Haan (5) 4-3

17:03 New York Scott Mayfield (1) ASST: John Tavares (4), Anders Lee (2) 5-3

The Skinny: 

The Isles allowed the first goal for the 7th time in the first nine games and the Coyotes scored first for the 7th time in nine games… John Tavares recorded his 36th career multi-goal game and his 42nd career 3+-point game… The Isles have outscored opponents 13-8 in the third period… Jordan Eberle is now the team leader in assists (6) after his first multi-point game as an Islander  … Brock Nelson scored for the 17th time in 46 career October games; his power play goal was the first by the Isles at home this season … Scott Mayfield's insurance goal was the first goal for the Islanders defense this season (latest into a season without a d-men goal since 1996-97, when they scored in their 11th game)..Rookie Clayton Keller,  the Coyotes leading scorer (6-4-10), recorded his first career multi-assist game…The Isles defense contributed 5 points (1-4-5)…The Coyotes are 0-8-1 to open the season, including seven straight regulation losses; only 2 teams since the end of World War II have opened with a winless streak of 11 games (1973-74 North Stars 0-5-6; 1995-96 Sharks 0-7-4) …Nick Cousins' goal was his first with Arizona…The Isles 5th win last season came in game 13 (5-6-2); they won only 5 of their first 17 games last season (5-8-4).

Lots of Goals 

The Isles have scored at least five goals in consecutive games for the first time since February 14-16, 2016 (W 6-3 CBJ, L 5-6 NYR).  Since that loss the Isles have won 29 straight games in which they scored 5 goals.  The Isles hadn't scored 5+ goals in consecutive regulation wins since January 6-7, 2014 (W 7-3 Dal, W 5-3 @TOR).

The Isles have also scored 3 goals in consecutive third periods for the first time since October 17-20, 2015 (vs SJS, at CBJ).

Comeback Kids

Since 2013-14, the Isles have won 68 games after allowing the first goal -- most in the NHL.

Most wins after allowing first goal (since 2013-14)

1 ISLES 68

2 Canucks 65 

   Ducks     65 

4 Penguins 63 

5 Kings 62  

   Lightning 62 

Two Over NHL-.500

The win pushes the Isles two games over NHL-.500 for the first time this season (5-3-1).  The Isles did not go two games over NHL-.500 last season at any point until a January 21st win vs. Los Angeles  

 

JT Passes Bourne and Tonelli, Ties Howatt 

John Tavares played in his 596th Islander game, tying Garry Howatt for 15th in club history among Isles skaters. 

JT's first goal was his 239th, breaking a tie with Bob Bourne for 7th place in goals.  His second goal was his 544th point, passing John Tonelli for 7th place in that category.

Chasing Grabner

Anders Lee has 89 goals as an Islander, one behind Michael Grabner for 37th on the team's all-time list. 

The Shots

Isles          6-11-8=25

Arizona   14-9-12=35

The Isles are 1-1-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even, and 4-2-0 when they are outshot.

Offside Challenges

The Isles have challenged twice and been successful once.

10/10 vs STL Blues – unsuccessful; Isles killed ensuing power play.

10/12 @ Ana Ducks -- successful

The opponents have not challenged so far this season.

Go West, Young Men

This was the seventh game of a stretch in which the Isles will play 13 of 15 games against Western Conference opponents.  The Isles are 4-2-1 in this stretch; the only Eastern Conference opponents they will face during this stretch are the Rangers (4-3 SO Win) and Capitals (11/2 in DC).

Home and Road

The Islanders are 5-3-1 overall; 3-0-1 at home and 2-3-0 on the road.  

Arizona are 0-8-1 overall; 0-4-1 at home and 0-4-0 on the road.  

It's Early But…

The Isles win moved them into third place in the Metropolitan Division; the Isles are two points behind the Penguins and one point behind the Devils.

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 1-1-0 in Division games and 4-2-1 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 2-1-0 against the East and 3-2-1 against the West.

Our House

The Isles are 3-0-1 at home, matching their best home start since 1984-85 (also 3-0-1 in 2015-16).  The Isles are 1-0-1 vs. the Western Conference at Barclays Center this season and are 23-4-4 all-time at Barclays against the West.

In the Nets

Jaroslav Halak made 32 saves to improve to 3-2-0 on the season and 8-3-1 in his career against Arizona. 

Louie Domingues made 20 saves, but falls to 0-5-0 on the season and 2-2-0 in his career against the Isles.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play; Arizona was 1-3.  

The Isles are 2-0-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-3-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 3-2-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 2-1-1 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 5-0-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-3-1 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 1-2-1 in games decided by a single goal including 0-2 in regulation. They are 0-0 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 2-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal 

The Isles are 2-0-0 when they score first and are 3-3-1 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 1-1-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 1-1-0 on the back-end.  The next back-to-back set is November 10th in Dallas and November 11th in St. Louis.

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 0-1-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 when they are rested and their opponents are not. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 3-2-1 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Johnny Boychuk (23:57); Arizona: Oliver Ekman-Larsson (25:55)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (2-1-1), Nick Leddy (1-1-0), John Tavares (1-1-0). Calvin deHaan (1-0-0).

John Tavares led the forwards in ice-time (16:53). Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (5-3-1)

Face-offs

Isles 33, Arizona 40 (45%).  

John Tavares won 12 of 18 for the Isles; Brad Richardson won 9 of 11 for Arizona.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 8/21; 2nd period 11/24; 3rd period 14/28.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 27/66; Power play 3/3; Penalty kill 3/4.

Hit Count

Isles 16 (Cal Clutterbuck and Jason Chimera each had 3) 

Arizona 21 (Nick Cousins 4)

Fights

None.  Season total – 1: (Boychuk 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 17 shots; Johnny Boychuk led the Isles with 4.

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 49, Arizona 64 

5-on-5 Isles 44, Arizona 51

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Calvin deHaan +2

Arizona: Oliver Ekman-Larsson +14

Night and Day 

The Isles are 5-3-0 in night games and 0-0-1 in matinees.  The Isles, who went 2-3-1 in matinees last season, will play six matinees this season.

Ironmen

Jason Chimera – 197 (including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 160 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 158, Calvin deHaan 94 

Scratches

(Alan Quine-IR, Shane Prince-IR), Joshua Ho-Sang, Dennis Seidenberg, Ryan Pulock

Total games lost: 21

Late Hero

The Isles have scored once in the final minute of regulation to either tie or win a game:

10/9 – STL Blues – Anders Lee (19:00); tied game, but Isles lost in shootout

7-11

The Isles have used 7 defensemen twice this season (10/19 @NYR, 10/21 vs SJ) and are 2-0-0 in those games.  Under Doug Weight, the Isles are 6-0-0 when they dress seven natural defensemen.

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

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

…

7.  Patrick Flatley 712 *** Brent Sutter 694 *** 9. Josh Bailey 648 *** 10. Derek King 638 *** 11. Billy Harris 623 *** 12. Stefan Persson 622 *** 13. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 14. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 15. Garry Howatt and John Tavares 596

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. John Tavares 241

…

22.  Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Josh Bailey 109

…

36. Travis Green 92 *** 37. Michael Grabner 90 *** 38 Anders Lee 89

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553*** 4. Clark Gillies 359***

5. John Tonelli 338 *** 6. Patrick Flatley 328 *** 7. Brent Sutter 323 *** 8. Stefan Persson 317 *** 9. John Tavares 306

…

15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 204

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052 *** 4. Clark Gillies 663 ***

5. Brent Sutter 610 *** 6. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 7. John Tavares 547

…

17. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 18. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 19. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 20. Josh Bailey 313

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series one game to none (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will conclude the season series on January 22nd in Phoenix.

It has been nearly 15 years since the Isles were beaten by the Coyotes at home; the then-Phoenix Coyotes captured a 3-2 win on October 29, 2002 at the Coliseum as Landon Wilson beat Garth Snow for the winner with just 3:31 to play.  Since then the Isles are 7-0-1 in their last eight home games against the Coyotes.

On the Farm

Bridgeport improved to 2-4-0 on Sunday with a 6-3 victory over Hartford.  The Sound Tigers got goals from six different players, including Scott Eansor. Eansor is tied for the AHL lead (and the AHL rookie lead) with seven goals on the season.

The Sound Tigers visit Hartford on Friday before returning home to host Wilkes-Barre on Saturday.   

Up Next

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26th - ISLANDERS AT MINNESOTA 8:00PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 7:30PM), WNYM 970AM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]

The Isles look to extend their winning streak to four games as they begin a two-game road trip on Thursday in St. Paul against the Wild.

The teams split a pair of games last season, with the home team winning both match-ups.  Overall, the Isles are 7-3-1 in the last 11 games against Minnesota.

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 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

The Skinny: Isles 5, San Jose 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 8

Isles 5, San Jose 3

Anders Lee scored two goals and added an assist, and John Tavares recorded his second three-point game of the season as the Isles overcame a Logan Couture hat trick and defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-3 before an Alumni Night crowd of 11,877 at Barclays Center.

Josh Bailey had the prettiest goal of the night and added an assist as the Isles improved to 2-0-1 at home and went over NHL-.500 overall (4-3-1) for the first time this season.

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

No Scoring

2ND PERIOD

06:26 San Jose PPG - Logan Couture (4) ASST: Brent Burns (3), Joe Thornton (4) 0-1

07:33 New York Anders Lee (4) ASST: Nick Leddy (2), John Tavares (2) 1-1

08:31 New York Josh Bailey (3) 2-1

12:44 San Jose Logan Couture (5) ASST: Jannik Hansen (1), Brenden Dillon (3) 2-2

3RD PERIOD

03:12 New York Andrew Ladd (2) ASST: Mathew Barzal (2), Josh Bailey (3) 3-2

11:47 New York Anders Lee (5) ASST: John Tavares (3), Cal Clutterbuck (2) 4-2

18:08 San Jose Logan Couture (6) ASST: Brent Burns (4), Joe Thornton (5) 4-3

19:04 New York EN - John Tavares (3) ASST: Anders Lee (1), Calvin de Haan (4) 5-3

The Skinny: 

The Isles allowed the first goal for the 6th time in the first eight games… John Tavares snapped his 5-game pointless streak (longest since 2011) with three points; it was his 41st career 3-point game (matching his total from all last season…Tavares ended the night tied for the team lead in scoring with Anders Lee and Josh Bailey… The Isles used seven defensemen for the second time this season; the Isles improved to 6-0-0 under Doug Weight when dressing seven defensemen…Andrew Ladd, Mathew Barzal and Bailey combined for the lead goal in the third period; all three players extended point streaks to three…The Isles have outscored opponents 10-6 in the third period and have now scored three empty-net goals this season…Brent Burns had 8 shots on goal but went -3; he is only the second Shark to ever do that (Jonathan Cheechoo in 2007 vs Anaheim)…Burns is the 10th Isles opponent to have 8 shots and go -3 (or worse); however, prior to Burns only Guy LaPointe (12/27/79 for Montreal) and Marc Tardif (3/31/80 in Quebec) had ever had 8 shots and 2 points, with a rating of -3 or worse, in a game against the Isles…Calvin deHaan tied Jordan Eberle and Joshua Ho-Sang for the team lead in assists (4)…Anders Lee is now 7-2-9 in eight career games against San Jose; he has scored in 4 straight games against the Sharks and in all four of his career home games against the Sharks…With his two assists tonight, Joe Thornton is just one point behind Jari Kurri for 20th place on the all-time NHL point list.

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night

The Isles are 3-0-0 on Saturday’s this season; they won only three Saturday games all last season (3-8-5).  (h/t Cord Lehman)

Over NHL-.500

The win pushes the Isles over NHL-.500 for the first time this season (4-3-1).  The Isles were not over NHL-.500 last season at any point until a 3-2 win over St. Louis on December 8th pushed their record to 11-10-5.   The Isles could move two games over NHL-.500 on Tuesday; a win on January 21st vs. Los Angeles was the first time last season that the Isles were two games over NHL-.500.

Tavares, Bourne and Tonelli

John Tavares played in his 595th Islander game, passing another JT (John Tonelli) for 16th in club history among Isles skaters. 

John Tavares is 238-305=543 in his Islander career, as compared to Bob Bourne's 238-304=542 totals.  He tied Bourne for 7th in goals, and passed Bourne for 9th in assists and 8th in points.  Tavares is just one point behind Tonelli for 7th place on the points list.

Passing Royalty

Anders Lee's first goal was his 88th as an Islander, passing Butch Goring for 38th on the team's all-time list. Lee, who matched his career high with two goals, also passed the 150-point mark (he now has 151). 

Tipping the Cap

Logan Couture recorded his second career hat trick, scoring a power play goal, and even strength goal, and a sixth attacker goal.  It was the first hat trick ever for a Shark against the Islanders.

It is the 139th hat trick allowed by the Islanders and the 19th time that the Isles have recorded a regulation win in a game they allowed a hat trick.  All-time, the Isles improve to 19-109-11 when allowing a hat trick. 

Coach Could Play, Too!

Tonight, in Tampa Bay, both Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov recorded points for the 9th straight game to start the season, becoming the first teammates to do so since Doug Weight and Pavel Dimitra did so for the 2001-02 St. Louis Blues.

The Shots

Isles          9-8-6=23

San Jose   6-9-16=31

The Isles are 1-1-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even, and 3-2-0 when they are outshot.

Offside Challenges

The Isles have challenged twice and been successful once.

10/10 vs STL Blues – unsuccessful; Isles killed ensuing power play.

10/12 @ Ana Ducks -- successful

The opponents have not challenged so far this season.

Go West, Young Men

This was the sixth game of a stretch in which the Isles will play 13 of 15 games against Western Conference opponents.  The Isles are 3-2-1 in this stretch; the only Eastern Conference opponents they will face during this stretch are the Rangers (4-3 SO Win) and Capitals (11/2 in DC).

Home and Road

The Islanders are 4-3-1 overall; 2-0-1 at home and 2-3-0 on the road.  

San Jose are 3-4-0 overall; 2-3-0 at home and 1-1-0 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 1-1-0 in Division games and 3-2-1 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 2-1-0 against the East and 2-2-1 against the West.

Our House

The Isles are 2-0-1 at home, matching their best home start since 2003-04 (also 2-0-1 in 2010-11 and 2015-16.  The Isles are 1-0-1 vs. the Western Conference at Barclays Center this season and are 22-4-4 all-time at Barclays against the West.

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 28 saves to improve to 2-1-1 on the season with both wins coming against the Sharks; he 3-1-0 in his career against San Jose. 

Aaron Dell made 22 saves, but falls to 0-2-0 on the season, with both losses coming to the Isles.  Dell is 2-2-0 in his career against the Isles.

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play; San Jose was 1-4.  

The Isles are 1-0-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-3-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 2-2-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 2-1-1 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 4-0-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-3-1 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 1-2-1 in games decided by a single goal including 0-2 in regulation. They are 0-0 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 2-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

The Isles were 15-10-12 in one-goal games last season.

First Goal 

The Isles are 2-0-0 when they score first and are 2-3-1 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 1-1-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 1-1-0 on the back-end.  The next back-to-back set is November 10th in Dallas and November 11th in St. Louis.

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 0-1-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 when they are rested and their opponents are not. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 2-2-1 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Calvin deHaan (20:22); San Jose: Brent Burns 24:33

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (1-1-1), Nick Leddy (1-1-0), John Tavares (1-1-0). Calvin deHaan (1-0-0).

John Tavares led the forwards in ice-time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (4-3-1)

Face-offs

Isles 28, San Jose 27 (51%).  

Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal each won 5 of 8 for the Isles; Joe Thornton won 10 of 15 for San Jose.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 6/12; 2nd period 11/23; 3rd period 11/20.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 23/45; Power play 2/3; Penalty kill 3/7.

Hit Count

Isles 15 (Cal Clutterbuck 4, raising his career total to 2,600) 

San Jose 13 (Brendan Dillon 3) 

Fights

None.  Season total – 1: (Boychuk 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 17 shots; Calvin deHaan led the Isles with 6.

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 50, San Jose 63 (including 14-0 Sharks over a five-minute portion of the 3rd period.

5-on-5 Isles 43, San Jose 49

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Andrew Ladd +11

San Jose: Brent Burns +10

Night and Day 

The Isles are 4-3-0 in night games and 0-0-1 in matinees.  The Isles, who went 2-3-1 in matinees last season, will play six matinees this season.

Ironmen

Jason Chimera – 196 (including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 159 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 157, Calvin deHaan 93 

Scratches

(Alan Quine-IR, Shane Prince-IR), Joshua Ho-Sang, Scott Mayfield, Nikolay Kulemin

Total games lost: 19

Late Hero

The Isles have scored once in the final minute of regulation to either tie or win a game:

10/9 – STL Blues – Anders Lee (19:00); tied game, but Isles lost in shootout

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

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

….

8. Brent Sutter 694 *** 9. Josh Bailey 647

…

13. Frans Nielsen 606…14. Kenny Jonsson 597… 15. Garry Howatt 596 *** 16. John Tavares 595

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 and John Tavares 238

…

22.  Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Josh Bailey 109

…

36. Travis Green 92 *** 37. Michael Grabner 90 *** 38 Anders Lee 89

Assists

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

…

7. Brent Sutter 323 *** 8. Stefan Persson 317 *** 9. John Tavares 305

…

15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 203

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052

…

6. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 7. John Tonelli 544 *** 8. John Tavares 543

…

17. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 18. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 19. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 20. Josh Bailey 312

Season Series Stats

The Isles sweep the season series two games to none (and 4 points to 0).  It's the second time in three seasons that the Isles have swept the Sharks.

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 1-4-0 following losses in Lehigh Valley on Friday (5-2) and in their home opener to Laval on Saturday (6-3).  Scott Eansor, who came to camp on a PTO, leads the Sound Tigers (and is second amongst AHL rookies) with six goals in five games while Tanner Fritz has added 1-4-5.  

The Sound Tigers host Hartford Sunday.   

Up Next

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24th - ARIZONA AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30PM), WNYM 970AM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]

The Isles look to extend their winning streak to three games as they welcome Derek Stepan and the Arizona Coyotes to Brooklyn.  The Coyotes are winless (0-7-1) and have lost six straight games in regulation.

It has been nearly 15 years since the Isles were beaten by the Coyotes at home; the then-Phoenix Coyotes captured a 3-2 win on October 29, 2002 at the Coliseum as Landon Wilson beat Garth Snow for the winner with just 3:31 to play.  Since then the Isles are 6-0-1 in their last seven home games against the Coyotes.

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 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

The Skinny: Isles 4, Rangers 3 (shootout)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 7

Isles 4, Rangers 3 (SO)

Matthew Barzal scored his first NHL goal early in the second period to give the Isles a 3-1 lead and following a Ranger comeback, Jordan Eberle and John Tavares added shootout tallies as the Isles defeated the Rangers 4-3 before a sellout crowd of 18,006 at Madison Square Garden. 

Anders Lee had opened the scoring in the first period as the Isles scored on the power play for the first time this season.  The Isles earn a split of the four-game road trip (2-2-0) and regain NHL-.500 (3-3-1).

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

02:40 Isles PPG - Anders Lee (3) ASST: Ryan Pulock (1), Jordan Eberle (4) 1-0

05:02 Rangers David Desharnais (2) ASST: Kevin Shattenkirk (5), Marc Stael (2) 1-1

06:06 Isles Brock Nelson (4) ASST: Andrew Ladd (3) 2-1

2ND PERIOD

01:15 Isles Mathew Barzal (1) ASST: Calvin de Haan (3), Josh Bailey (2) 3-1

3RD PERIOD

03:29 Rangers Mats Zuccarello (2) ASST: Brendan Smith (1) 3-2

14:06 Rangers Kevin Hayes (2) ASST: Jester Fast (1), Ryan McDonagh (3) 3-3

OT PERIOD

No Scoring

The Shootout

Rangers Goal - Mats Zuccarello

Isles Goal - Jordan Eberle

Rangers Missed - Mika Zibanejad

Isles Goal - John Tavares (Game Deciding Goal)

Rangers Missed - David Desharnais

The Isles improve to 72-57 all-time in shootouts, including 8-1 all-time against the Rangers.  The Isles have won seven straight shootouts against the Rangers since the Blueshirts' only win (March 5, 2007). Only Pittsburgh (73) has more all-time shootout wins than the Isles.

The Skinny:

Ryan Pulock made his season debut and assisted on Anders Lee's power play goal…The Isles scored the first goal for only the 2nd time in the first seven games… Brock Nelson scored for the third time in four games to retake the team lead in goals; he has scored 16 times in 44 career October games…John Tavares was held pointless for the fifth straight game…Since joining the Isles, Jaroslav Halak has beaten the Rangers eight times; this is the most of any goalie vs. the Rangers (Carey Price has seven wins)…Henrik Lundqvist is 1-7-2 in his last 10 decisions against the Isles…The Isles used seven defensemen for the first time this season; the Isles improved to 5-0-0 under Doug Weight when dressing seven defensemen…Weight has won all three games he has coached against the Rangers…The Isles have won four straight against the Rangers (and 8 of 9)…The Isles scored twice in the first 6:06 after tallying only three goals in the first period of the first six games…Lee's power play goal leaves Anaheim as the only NHL team without a power play goal this season…The Rangers have allowed 13 goals in the first period (most in the NHL)…John Tavares improved to 16-55 (29.1%) in shootouts with his 5th career game deciding goal; Tavares has scored a shootout goal in all three Islander shootout wins over the last two seasons. 

Barzal, Barzal… Mathew Barzal

Mathew Barzal became the 5th Islander to score his first regular season goal at Madison Square Garden, joining Ken Leiter, Jason Krog, Nate Thompson and Brian Strait.  Barzal is the 362nd Islander to score a goal; only 300 of them scored a second goal.

Matching Royalty

Anders Lee's goal was his 87th as an Islander, tying Butch Goring for 38th on the team's all-time list. John Tavares played in his 594th Islander game, tying another JT (John Tonelli) for 16th in club history among Isles skaters.

Beating The King

Jaroslav Halak improved to 8-3-0 as an Islander against the Rangers; Jaro is 11-1-0 in his last 12 head-to-head matchups with Henrik Lundqvist with a 1.53 goals against average and a .956 save percentage in those 12 games.

Most Games Without Isles Scoring a Power Play Goal (Start of Season)

• 7 - 1973-74

• 6 - 1977-78

• 6 - 2017-18

The Shots

Isles          13-10-13-2=38

Rangers    12-12-13-4=41

The Isles are 1-1-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even, and 2-2-0 when they are outshot.

Offside Challenges

The Isles have challenged twice and been successful once.

10/10 vs STL Blues – unsuccessful; Isles killed ensuing power play.

10/12 @ Ana Ducks -- successful

The opponents have not challenged so far this season.

Go West, Young Men

This was the fifth game of a stretch in which the Isles will play 13 of 15 games against Western Conference opponents.  The Isles are 2-2-1 in this stretch; the only Eastern Conference opponents they will face during this stretch are the Rangers (4-3 SO Win) and Capitals (11/2 in DC).

Chasing Bourne

John Tavares is 237-303=540 in his Islander career, leaving him one goal, one assist and two points behind Bob Bourne on the all-time Islander lists.

Career goals as an Islander:

7. Bob Bourne 238

8. John Tavares 237

9. Bobby Nystrom 235

Home and Road

The Islanders are 3-3-1 overall; 1-0-1 at home and 2-3-0 on the road.  

The Rangers are 1-5-2 overall; 1-3-2 at home and 0-2-0 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 1-1-0 in Division games and 2-2-1 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 2-1-0 against the East and 1-2-1 against the West.

In the Nets

Jaroslav Halak made 38 saves to improve to 2-2-0 on the season; he is 29-28 all-time in shootouts and is 15-7-0 in his career against Rangers. 

Henrik Lundqvist made 35 saves; he is 1-3-2 on this season. Lundqvist is now 56-42 all-time in shootouts and 30-19-7 in his career against the Isles.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play; the Rangers were 0-1.  

The Isles are 1-0-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 2-3-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 1-2-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 2-1-1 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 3-0-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-3-1 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 1-2-1 in games decided by a single goal including 0-2 in regulation. They are 0-0 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 1-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

The Isles were 15-10-12 in one-goal games last season.

First Goal 

The Isles are 2-0-0 when they score first and are 1-3-1 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 1-1-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 1-1-0 on the back-end.  The next back-to-back set is November 10th in Dallas and November 11th in St. Louis.

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 0-1-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 0-0-0 when they are rested and their opponents are not. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 2-2-1 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: John Tavares (24:23); Rangers: Kevin Shattenkirk (23:13)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (1-1-1), Nick Leddy (1-1-0), John Tavares (1-1-0)

Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (3-3-1)

Face-offs

Isles 33, Rangers 28 (54%).  

Casey Cizikas won 15 of 22 for the Isles; David Desharnais won 8 of 10 for the Rangers.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 11/21; 2nd period 7/14; 3rd period 11/22; Overtime 4/4.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 29/56; Power play 3/4; Penalty kill 1/1.

Hit Count

Isles 20 (Jason Chimera 4)

Rangers 29 (Jesper Fast and Jimmy Vesey 5) 

Fights

None.  Season total – 1: (Boychuk 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 9 shots; Anders Lee and Brock Nelson led the Isles with 2.

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 61, Rangers 63 

5-on-5 Isles 48, Rangers 56

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Calvin de Haan +16

Rangers Brady Skjei and Jimmy Hayes +7

Day and Night

The Isles are 3-3-0 in night games and 0-0-1 in matinees.  The Isles, who went 2-3-1 in matinees last season, will play six matinees this season.

Ironmen

Jason Chimera – 195 (including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 158 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 156, Calvin deHaan 92 

Scratches

(Alan Quine-IR, Shane Prince-IR), Anthony Beauvillier, Dennis Seidenberg, Nikolay Kulemin

Total games lost: 17

Late Hero

The Isles have scored once in the final minute of regulation to either tie or win a game:

10/9 – STL Blues – Anders Lee (19:00); tied game, but Isles lost in shootout

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

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

….

8. Brent Sutter 694 *** 9. Josh Bailey 646

…

13. Frans Nielsen 606…14. Kenny Jonsson 597… 15. Garry Howatt 596 *** 16. John Tonelli and John Tavares 594

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. John Tavares 237

…

22.  Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Josh Bailey 109

…

36. Travis Green 92 *** 37. Michael Grabner 90 *** 38. Butch Goring and Anders Lee 87

Assists

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

…

7. Brent Sutter 323 *** 8. Stefan Persson 317 *** 9. Bob Bourne 304 *** 10. John Tavares 303

…

15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 201

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 540

…

17. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 18. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 19. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 20. Josh Bailey 310

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series one game to none (and 2 points to 1).  The teams will next meet on January 13 at the Garden before the series moves to Brooklyn on February 15th and April 5th.

The Isles are 8-1-0 in their last nine games against the Rangers; it's the first time that they have won 8 of 9 in regular season play from the Rangers.  The Isles also improve to 9-2-0 in their last 11 games at Madison Square Garden.  That streak began with the Isles' last shootout win over the Rangers (February 14, 2013, also by a 4-3 score).

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 1-2-0 heading into Friday's game at Lehigh Valley.  The Sound Tigers will host Laval in their home opener on Saturday night. 

Up Next

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21st — SAN JOSE AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30PM), WFAN 660/101.9FM (*), 88.7 WRHU-FM]

*Isles will air on WCBS 880AM if Yankees are playing

The Isles begin a two game homestand as they host the San Jose Sharks.  It will be the second (and final) meeting of the season between the teams.  

The Isles defeated the Sharks 3-1 in San Jose and will be looking to sweep the season series for the second time in three seasons.  The Sharks will play New Jersey on Friday before facing the Isles on Saturday.

Meetings between these teams tend to produce a limited number of power plays.  The Isles have had no more than three power plays in the last eight games and have been shorthanded only ten times in that span.

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 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