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