The Skinny on Mathew Barzal's November

Mathew Barzal had an impressive November, going 3-14-17 as the Isles went 8-3-1 for the month.

Barzal had 7 assists in the first three games of month, including an Islander-rookie 5 assists vs. Colorado.  After being held pointless in the Isles' trip to Dallas and St. Louis, Barzal has had points in the last 7 games  (3-7-10), marking the first 7+ game point streak by an Islander rookie since Kyle Okposo (8 games) in 2009.  Barzal also had points in all 5 home games this month (2-9-11) and will carry a 6-game home-ice point streak into Friday's game.

Barzal's biggest competition is likely to be Chicago's Alex DeBrincat (10-4-14 in 13 games this month) and Vancouver's Brock Boeser (11-5-16 in 15 games this month).

Longest Isles Rookie point streaks Last 30 years (As seen on NHL Network)

8 - Kyle Okposo 2008-09   (10 points)

8 - Niklas Andersson 1995-96 (8 points) (First 8 games as an Islander)

7 - Mathew Barzal CURRENT (10 points)

7- Derek King 1987-88  (9 points)

Islander Rookies of the Month (since 1983-84)

Pat LaFontaine   March, 1984

David Volek       December, 1988

Trent Hunter      December, 2003

Michael Grabner February, 2011

Anders Lee       February, 2015

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, Vancouver 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 24

Isles 5, Vancouver 2

Calvin deHaan and Jordan Eberle scored 60 seconds apart late in the first period to break a 1-1 tie as the Islanders stretched their winning streak to four games and their home point streak to 10 games (8-0-2) with a 5-2 victory over Vancouver before a crowd of 11,194 at Barclays Center.  

It was the third goal in as many games for Eberle, and the 400th point of his NHL career.  All ten of Eberle's goals have come in the last 14 games.

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

05:23 New York SHG - Andrew Ladd (6) ASST: Adam Pelech (8), John Tavares (12) 1-0

06:25 Vancouver PPG - Thomas Vanek (6) ASST: Loui Eriksson (6), Sam Gagner (7) 1-1

16:42 New York Calvin de Haan (1) ASST: Joshua Ho-Sang (8), Alan Quine (2) 2-1

17:42 New York Jordan Eberle (10) ASST: Mathew Barzal (18), Johnny Boychuk (5) 3-1

2ND PERIOD

03:46 New York Anders Lee (13)     4-1

06:33 Vancouver SHG - Bo Horvat (10) ASST: Christopher Tanev (4) 4-2

3RD PERIOD

13:35 New York John Tavares (16) ASST: Anders Lee (12), Adam Pelech (9) 5-2

The Skinny: 

The Isles scored the first goal for the 10th time in 24 games (10-0-0) and also remain perfect in games they lead after one period (9-0-0) and after two periods (11-0-0) … The Isles failed to score a power play goal for the first time in seven games … John Tavares' two points (15-13-28) ties him for the team point lead with Josh Bailey (5-23-28). …  Mathew Barzal's assist extended his point streak to seven games; he now has 24 points, which leads all NHL rookies (Vancouver's Brock Boeser has 22) …An Islander defenseman has earned a point on 15 of the team's last 17 goals.… Barzal's 18 assists are already the most by an Islander rookie since 2010-11 (Travis Hamonic 21, Michael Grabner 18)… Jaroslav Halak recorded his 75th victory as an Islander (6th all-time) as he played in his 136th Isles game (tying Roland Melanson for 7th place)…Adam Pelech's two assists give him 9 points, which is second among Islander defensemen….Daniel Sedin played in his 1,250th game…The Isles have won 7 out of 8 games for the first time since November 28-December 13, 2015 (7-0-1) …Nine of Tavares' goals have come into the third period; that leads the NHL in that category…With their goals tonight, John Tavares are on pace to combine for 100 goals this season (56 for Tavares and 44 for Lee); Jason Blake is the only Islander to score 40 goals in a season in the last 20 years…Despite missing 10 games this season, Joshua Ho-Sang has moved into the top 20 in rookie scoring and the top 10 in rookie assists.

It's Still Early But…

The Isles spent about 5 minutes this evening in first place in the Metropolitan Division (tied with New Jersey in points, but with more ROWs).  When Columbus won their shootout, the Jackets moved into 1st place, one point ahead of both the Isles and Devils.

Five's Alive

The Isles have scored at least five goals in seven of their eight home wins this season (all but the 4-3 OT win vs. the Flyers on November 22nd) and in 11 games overall (all wins).  The Isles scored five goals (including shootout winners) in only 10 games all last season.

The Isles have won 37 straight games when scoring 5+ goals, and are 90-1-0 in their last 91 when scoring at least five.

First Things First

The Isles have scored first nine times this season (10-0-0).  It's the first time that the Isles have won at least ten straight games (single season) that they scored first since December 16, 2010 – February 21, 2011 (11-0-0).

The Isles also won the last 5 games that they scored first last season, giving them a franchise-record 15 straight wins when the Isles score first.  The Isles won 14 straight games when scoring first between January 4 – February 25, 1982, including in 12 games of their 15-game winning streak.

The Streaking Barzal

Mathew Barzal finished the month as hot as he started it.  Barzal became the first Islander rookie since Kyle Okposo (8 games in 2008-09) to record points in at least seven consecutive games. Barzal recorded 14 assists in the month; entering play today no other NHL player had more than 14 assists this month.

You Can't Stop Barzal, Unless You Hook or Hold Him 

Mathew Barzal drew his 12th opposition penalty when Michael Del Zotto tripped him in the first period.  Among rookies, only Nico Hischier (13) has drawn more opposition penalties.

Yet Another Shorty

The Isles allowed their NHL-high eighth shorthanded goal of the season; it's the first time that they have allowed eight shortys in a season since 2007-08, when they allowed 15.  The Isles are now half-way to matching the club record of 16 shortys allowed, set in 1997-98.

A Favorable Comparison

The Isles are 15-7-2 this season; they were 9-10-5 through 24 games last season and won only 15 of their first 39 games last season (15-16-8).  The Isles did not go 8 games over .500 for the first time last season until their 50th game (29-21-10).

Chasing Patty

John Tavares' two points give him 565 points, leaving him just one point behind Pat LaFontaine for 6th place on the all-time Isles list.

Leddy(ing) the Way

Nick Leddy's points streak ended at four games.  With 21 points in 24 games this season, Leddy is averaging .88 points/game.  The last Islander defensemen to have that high of an average was Marc Andre-Bergeron (21 points/ 23 games =.91 in 2006-07).  No Islander defenseman without the surname of Potvin has ever averaged .91 points/game over a full season (Denis did it 10 times and Jean once).

Born in the USA

Anders Lee now has 97 career goals. Only four American-born players have scored 100 goals for the Islanders (Pat LaFontaine-287, Kyle Okposo-139, Jason Blake-127, Mark Parrish-118)

Lots of Wins

Jaroslav Halak recorded his 219th career win, passing Arturs Irbe and tying John Ross Roach for 69th place on the all-time NHL win list.   Next up: Ilya Bryzgalov (221).

Greiss, Greiss, Baby

Thomas Greiss is 8-2-2 on the season (8-1-2 in his last 11 games).  Greiss has won five straight and is 6-0-1 in his last 7 games.

Fastest to 35

Doug Weight is now 39-19-6 as an NHL coach. On November 18 in Tampa Bay, he reached 35 wins faster than any coach in Islander history:

Fewest Games to 35 Wins by an Islander Coach:

59 – Doug Weight

71 – Peter Laviolette 2001-02 (35-25-7-4)

73 – Ted Nolan 2006-07 (35-27-11)

76—Steve Stirling 2003-04 (35-27-10-4)

The Shots

Isles      12-13-11=36

Vancouver 8-6-11=25

The Isles are 5-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 10-4-0 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 an Islander goal due to an offside so far this season.

November to Remember

The Isles finish November with an 8-3-1 record.  Since 1988, the Isles have won more than eight games in November only once (11-3-0 in 2014-15).

Home and Road

The Islanders are 15-7-2 overall; 8-0-2 at home and 7-7-0 on the road.  

Vancouver is 11-10-4 overall; 3-5-3 at home and 8-5-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 4-3-0 in Division games and 11-4-2 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 7-3-0 against the East and 8-4-2 against the West.

Our House

The Isles are 8-0-2 at home, matching their best-ever record through 10 home games (8-0-2 in 1978-79 and 9-1-0 in 1984-85).

The Isles are 5-0-2 vs. the Western Conference at Barclays Center this season and are 26-4-5 all-time at Barclays against the West.

Most Points Through 10 Home Games

18- 2017-18

18- 1978-79

18- 1984-85

In the Nets

Jaroslav Halak made 23 saves as he improves to 7-5-0 on the season and 7-5-2 in his career against Vancouver.

Anders Nilsson made 31 saves but falls to 5-2-1 on the season and 0-3-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play; Vancouver was 1-2.  Both teams also allowed a shorthanded goal

The Isles are 10-2-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 5-5-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 98-4-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-3-2 when they do not.    

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 14-2-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-5-2 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 4-3-2 in games decided by a single goal including 1-3 in regulation. They are 2-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 4-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal 

The Isles are 10-0-0 when they score first and are 5-7-2 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 3-2-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 3-2-0 on the back-end.  The next back-to-back set is December 4th in Florida and December 5th in Tampa Bay.

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 1-2-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 4-0-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 

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

• The Isles are 8-5-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (21:41); Vancouver: Ben Hutton (22:20)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (3-1-1), Nick Leddy (8-5-0), John Tavares (2-1-0), Calvin deHaan (2-0-0).

John Tavares led the forwards in ice-time (16:57). Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (14-5-2), Josh Bailey (1-0-0), Brock Nelson (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 34, Vancouver 27 (56%). 

Alan Quine and Anthony Beauvillier each won 6 of 10 for the Isles; Henrik Sedin won 8 of 15 for Vancouver.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 9/19; 2nd period 14/21; 3rd period 11/21.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 29/50; Power play 3/7; Penalty kill 2/4.

Hit Count

Isles 22 (Cal Clutterbuck -5) 

Vancouver 21(Alexander Edler and Christopher Tanev had 3)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 2: (Boychuk 1, Mayfield 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 16 shots; Adam Pelech led the team with five. 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 59, Vancouver 51

5-on-5 Isles 53, Vancouver 43

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Johnny Boychuk +7

Vancouver: Brendan Gaunce +4

Night and Day 

The Isles are 14-7-1 in night games and 1-0-1 in matinees.  The Isles, who went 2-3-1 in matinees last season, will play six matinees this season; the next one is December 23rd vs. Winnipeg (1pm).

Ironmen

Jason Chimera – 212 (including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 175 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 173, Calvin deHaan 109, Nick Leddy 101.

Century Club

Calvin deHaan and Nick Leddy have joined a select group of Islander defensemen who have played at least 100 consecutive regular season games:

1. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979 262

2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220 (*)(**)

3. Gerry Hart 3/1/1975-11/22/1977 198

4. Andrew MacDonald 12/19/2011- 3/2/2014 164 (**)

5. Janne Niinimaa 3/13/2004-1/7/2006 136 (**)

6. Ken Morrow 3/1/1980-12/29/1981 134 (*)

7. Mark Streit 10/8/2011-4/26/2013 130

8. Travis Hamonic 2/24/2012-1/12/2014 117

9. Travis Hamonic 11/24/2010– 2/4/2012 113 (*)

10.Jean Potvin 10/23/1975-1/2/1977 110

11. Calvin deHaan 4/7/2016- CURRENT 109

12 Kenny Jonsson 12/26/1996-2/4/1998 104

13. Thomas Hickey 4/26/2013- 11/22/2014 103

14. Nick Leddy 10/23/2016 – CURRENT 101

(*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches

(Nikolay Kulemin -IR), (Shane Prince-IR), Dennis Seidenberg, Ryan Pulock, (Casey Cizikas – injured)

Total games lost: 54.

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 663 *** 10. Derek King 638 *** 11. Billy Harris 623 *** 12. Stefan Persson 622 *** 13. John Tavares 611

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 251

…

22.  Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Josh Bailey 111

…

29. Anders Kallur 101*** 30. Trent Hunter 99 ***31. Anders Lee 97

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 314

…

15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 223

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 565

…

17. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 18. Josh Bailey 334

Games Played (Goalies)

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282

…

6. Glenn Healy 176 *** 7. Roland Melanson and Jaroslav Halak 136 *** 9. Mark Fitzpatrick 129 ***

10. Garth Snow 127 *** 11.  Evgeni Nabokov 123 *** 12. Thomas Greiss 104

Wins (Goalie)

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130***4. Kelly Hrudey 106 ***

5. Rollie Melanson 77 *** 6. Jaroslav Halak 75*** 7. Glenn Healy 66 *** 8.  Tommy Salo 62 *** 

9. Evgeni Nabokov and Thomas Greiss 57

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series one game to none (and two points to none).  The teams will conclude the season series on March 5th in Vancouver.

The Isles have won four straight from Vancouver and are 4-0-1 in the last five against the Canucks; the four-game win streak is the Isles' longest against the Canucks since they won five straight between October 1987 and October 1988.

On the Farm

Ryan Bourque scored twice, the latter with 35 seconds to play forcing overtime as the Sound Tigers rallied for a 3-2 shootout victory over the Hershey Bears on Sunday.  Ryan's brother Chris had both goals for Hershey.   

Casey Bailey had the shootout winner as the Sound Tigers completed a five- point weekend and extended their point streak to six games (5-0-1-0).  Bridgeport is now 11-7-1-0 on the season and 8-2-1-0 in their last 11 games. Christopher Gibson made 33 saves to earn the win.

Tanner Fritz had a shootout goal and added an assist; he continues to lead Bridgeport with 19 points (4-15-19); Scott Eansor leads the team in goals with 8.  

Bridgeport opens a home-and-home series in Utica on Friday, before returning home to face Utica on Saturday.  The Sound Tigers will also host Providence at 3pm on Sunday.

 

Up Next

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1st –OTTAWA AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM 

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

The Isles look to extend the winning streak to five games as they welcome the Ottawa Senators to Brooklyn on Friday.  It's the second of three meetings between the teams this season; the Isles defeated the Sens 2-1 this past Saturday in Ontario.

The Isles are 4-2-0 in their last six vs. Ottawa and will be looking for their third straight win over the Sens.

After Friday's game, the team will not meet again until March 27th in Ottawa.

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 2, Ottawa 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 23

Isles 2, Ottawa 1

Jordan Eberle scored what proved to be the game-winning goal with 5:50 to play and Jaroslav Halak made 31 saves as he came within 4:21 of a shutout as the Islanders made this a Thanksgiving weekend to remember with their third straight victory as they defeated the Ottawa Senators 2-1 before a crowd of 17,276 at Canadian Tire Center.  

It was the second goal in as many games for Eberle, whose nine goals have all come in the last 13 games.

Matt Duchene scored his first goal as a Senator but the Sens still suffered their sixth straight loss (0-5-1, including four straight regulation defeats).

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

No Scoring

2ND PERIOD

08:06 New York PPG - Anders Lee (12) ASST: Josh Bailey (23), Nick Leddy (13) 1-0

3RD PERIOD

14:10 New York Jordan Eberle (9) ASST: Nick Leddy (14), Mathew Barzal (17) 2-0

15:39 Ottawa PPG - Matt Duchene (5) ASST: Mark Stone (10), Mike Hoffman (11) 2-1

The Skinny: 

The Isles scored the first goal for the 9th time in 23 games (9-0-0) … The Isles scored a power play goal for the sixth straight game for the first time since February 2016 (6 games) …Josh Bailey leads the team in assists and points (5-23-28) while John Tavares continues to lead in goals and is two points behind Bailey (15-11-26) …  Mathew Barzal's assist extended his point streak to six games; he now has 23 points, which leads all NHL rookies (Vancouver's Brock Boeser point has 22) …An Islander defenseman has earned a point on 11 of the team's last 12 goals.… The Isles improved to 4-3-2 in one-goal games with their first regulation win by a single goal this season; they are 10-4 in games decided by 2+ goals…Nick Leddy recorded his 8th multi-point game of the season; he leads all NHL defenseman in that category…Barzal's 17 assists are already the most by an Islander rookie since 2010-11 (Travis Hamonic 21, Michael Grabner 18)…The Isles are 10-0-0 when leading after two periods…Mike Hoffman recorded his 100th career assist on the Sens' only goal.

The Correction:

I noted yesterday that the Isles had last scored overtime goals in consecutive games on December 22/26, 2007; the Isles also did this on October 18/21, 2010 in Toronto and Tampa Bay.

The Injury

Casey Cizikas suffered a lower body injury early in the second period.  He played one shift late in the second period and did not return for the third.

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

The Isles improve to 7-0-0 on Saturdays; it's the first time since 2006 that they have won seven straight on Saturday (8-0-0 from 1/28 -4/15/2006).

The Isles are 5-0-0 on the road on Saturdays; that matches the club record for successive Saturday road wins in a single season (also 1992-93). Including their victory in New Jersey in game 81 last season, the Isles have won six straight Saturday road games for the first time in their history.

First Things First

The Isles have scored first nine times this season (9-0-0).  It's the first time that the Isles have won at least nine straight games (single season) that they scored first since December 16, 2010 – February 21, 2011 (11-0-0).

The Isles also won the last 5 games that they scored first last season, giving them 14 straight wins when the Isles score first.  This matches the club record – the Isles won 14 straight games when scoring first between January 4 – February 25, 1982, including in 12 games of their 15-game winning streak.

A Favorable Comparison

The Isles are 14-7-2 this season; they were 9-10-4 through 23 games last season and won only 14 of their first 35 games last season (14-15-6).

Passing Jonsson

Josh Bailey's assist on the opening goal was his 334th point, passing Tomas Jonsson for 18th place on the all-time Isles list.  

Chasing Patty

John Tavares has 563 points, leaving him just three points behind Pat LaFontaine for 6th place on the all-time Isles list.

Leddy(ing) the Way

Nick Leddy's assist on the opening goal was his 111th as an Isle, breaking a tie with Roman Hamrlik for 10th place on the all-time defense Iist.

With 21 points in 23 games this season, Leddy is averaging .91 points/game.  The last Islander defensemen to have that high of an average was Marc Andre-Bergeron (21 points/ 23 games =.91 in 2006-07).  No Islander defenseman without the surname of Potvin has ever averaged .91 points/game over a full season (Denis did it 10 times and Jean once).

Top 70 Record

Jaroslav Halak recorded his 218th career win, tying Arturs Irbe for 70th place on the all-time NHL win list.   Next up: John Ross Roach (219) and Ilya Bryzgalov (221).

Greiss, Greiss, Baby

Thomas Greiss is 8-2-2 on the season (8-1-2 in his last 11 games).  Greiss has won five straight and is 6-0-1 in his last 7 games.

Fastest to 35

Doug Weight is now 38-19-6 as an NHL coach. On November 18 in Tampa Bay, he reached 35 wins faster than any coach in Islander history:

Fewest Games to 35 Wins by an Islander Coach:

59 – Doug Weight

71 – Peter Laviolette 2001-02 (35-25-7-4)

73 – Ted Nolan 2006-07 (35-27-11)

76—Steve Stirling 2003-04 (35-27-10-4)

The Shots

Isles     9-6-9=24

Ottawa 8-8-16=32

The Isles are 4-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 10-4-0 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 an Islander goal due to an offside so far this season.

Busy Stretch

This was the final game of a stretch in which the Isles played 6 games in 10 days, changing cities between each game and playing two sets of three games in four days, with the four road games being played in two sets of back-to-backs.  The Isles went 5-1-0 in this stretch.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 14-7-2 overall; 7-0-2 at home and 7-7-0 on the road.  

Ottawa is 8-8-6 overall; 4-5-5 at home and 4-3-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 4-3-0 in Division games and 10-4-2 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 7-3-0 against the East and 7-4-2 against the West.

Our House

The Isles are 7-0-2 at home, matching their best-ever record through 9 home games (7-0-2 in 1978-79 and 8-1-0 in 1984-85).

The Isles are 4-0-2 vs. the Western Conference at Barclays Center this season and are 25-4-5 all-time at Barclays against the West.

Most Points Through 9 Home Games

16- 2017-18

16- 1978-79

16- 1984-85

In the Nets

Jaroslav Halak made 31 saves as he improves to 6-5-0 on the season and 7-6-3 in his career against Ottawa.

Craig Anderson made 22 saves but falls to 7-8-3 on the season and 8-7-3 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-5 on the power play; Ottawa was 1-6.  

The Isles are 10-2-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-5-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 8-4-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-3-2 when they do not.    

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 13-2-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-5-2 when they do not.  This was the Isles' first win while scoring 2 goals or fewer since a 2-1 overtime win in Nashville late last season.

One Goal Games

The Isles are 4-3-2 in games decided by a single goal including 1-3 in regulation. They are 2-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 4-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal 

The Isles are 9-0-0 when they score first and are 5-7-2 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

Including tonight, the Isles are 3-2-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 3-2-0 on the back-end.  The next back-to-back set is December 5th in Florida and December 6th in Tampa Bay.

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 1-2-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 4-0-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 

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

• The Isles are 7-5-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: John Tavares (23:10); Ottawa: Erik Karlsson (26:48)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (3-1-1), Nick Leddy (7-5-0), John Tavares (2-1-0), Calvin deHaan (2-0-0).

Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (13-5-2), Josh Bailey (1-0-0), Brock Nelson (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 26, Ottawa 28 (48%). 

Casey Cizikas won 5 of 7 for the Isles; Matt Duchene won 9 of 15 for Ottawa.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 10/19; 2nd period 6/19; 3rd period 10/16.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 18/33; Power play 3/9; Penalty kill 5/12.

Hit Count

Isles 12 (Cal Clutterbuck -3) 

Ottawa 16 (Bobby Ryan and Gabriel Dumont had 3)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 2: (Boychuk 1, Mayfield 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 13 shots; Adam Pelech led the team with three. 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 47, Ottawa 58 (including 15-0 Ottawa in the final 5:50 after Eberle's goal)

5-on-5 Isles 34, Ottawa 30

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Johnny Boychuk +9

Ottawa: Three with +3

Night and Day 

The Isles are 13-7-1 in night games and 1-0-1 in matinees.  The Isles, who went 2-3-1 in matinees last season, will play six matinees this season; the next one is December 23rd vs. Winnipeg (1pm).

Ironmen

Jason Chimera – 211 (including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 174(including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 172, Calvin deHaan 108. 

Scratches

(Nikolay Kulemin -IR), (Shane Prince-IR), Dennis Seidenberg, Ryan Pulock, Anthony Beauvillier

Total games lost: 51.

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 662 *** 10. Derek King 638 *** 11. Billy Harris 623 *** 12. Stefan Persson 622 *** 13. John Tavares 610

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 250

…

22.  Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Josh Bailey 111

…

29. Anders Kallur 101*** 30. Trent Hunter 99 ***31. Anders Lee 96

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 313

…

15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 223

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 563

…

17. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 18. Josh Bailey 334

Games Played (Goalies)

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282

…

6. Glenn Healy 176 *** 7. Roland Melanson 136 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 135 *** 9. Mark Fitzpatrick 129 ***

10. Garth Snow 127 *** 11.  Evgeni Nabokov 123 *** 12. Thomas Greiss 104

Wins (Goalie)

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130***4. Kelly Hrudey 106 ***

5. Rollie Melanson 77 *** 6. Jaroslav Halak 74*** 7. Glenn Healy 66 *** 8.  Tommy Salo 62 *** 

9. Evgeni Nabokov and Thomas Greiss 57

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series one game to none (and two points to none).  The teams will meet again on January 4th in Ottawa and Friday in Brooklyn and on March 27th in Ottawa.

The Isles are 7-3-1 in their last 11 visits to Ottawa, including a 3-1 record in overtime/shootouts.  

On the Farm

Travis St. Denis scored his 6th goal of the season with 10.0 seconds to play to force overtime but Bridgeport fell 5-4 in extra time to Lehigh Valley on Saturday. The OT loss extends the Sound Tigers' point streak to five games (4-0-1-0) but ends their four-game winning streak.  Bridgeport is now 10-7-1-0 on the season and 7-2-1-0 in their last ten games. 

Tanner Fritz had a goal and an assist; he continues to lead Bridgeport with 18 points (4-14-18); Scott Eansor leads the team in goals with 8.  Kristers Gudlevskis made 19 saves but is charged with the OT loss.

The "3-in-3" weekend concludes in Hershey on Sunday at 5:00. 

Up Next

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28th –VANCOUVER AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM 

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

The Isles look to extend the winning streak to four games as they entertain the Vancouver Canucks in the final game of the Canucks' metro-area tour.  Vancouver dropped a 3-2 game in New Jersey on Friday and visits Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon.

The Isles have won three straight from Vancouver and are 3-0-1 in the last four against the Canucks; the three-game win streak is the Isles' longest against the Canucks since they won five straight between October 1987 and October 1988.

This will be the first meeting between rookies Mathew Barzal and Brock Boeser.  Barzal has a 1-point lead in the rookie scoring race over Boeser heading into Vancouver's game on Sunday.

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, Philadelphia 4 (OT)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 22

Isles 5, Philadelphia 4 (OT)

Nick Leddy scored his 2nd career overtime goal (first as an Isle) as the Islanders completed a sweep of a home-and home series and defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 before a crowd of 19,643 at Wells Fargo Center.  

Jordan Eberle and Andrew Ladd both scored third period goals as the Isles rallied from a multi-goal deficit after 40 minutes to win a road game for the first time since March 9, 2015 (0-22-1).

The Flyers had scored four second period goals to take a 4-2 lead; it's the first time since a 5-4 win in Dallas on December 3, 2011 that the Isles earned a point in a game that they allowed four goals in a period (0-20-0).

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

19:43 New York Mathew Barzal (6) ASST: Andrew Ladd (6), Scott Mayfield (3) 1-0

2ND PERIOD

03:49 Philadelphia Claude Giroux (10) ASST: Robert Hagg (3) 1-1

06:28 Philadelphia Wayne Simmonds (7) ASST: Shayne Gostisbehere (16), Nolan Patrick (3)1-2

07:56 New York Cal Clutterbuck (4) ASST: Dennis Seidenberg (3), Scott Mayfield (4) 2-2

12:11 Philadelphia Shayne Gostisbehere (2) ASST: Jakub Voracek (21), Claude Giroux (15) 2-3

12:30 Philadelphia Sean Couturier (13) ASST: Jakub Voracek (22), Claude Giroux (16) 2-4

3RD PERIOD

4:12 New York PPG - Jordan Eberle (8) ASST: Josh Bailey (22), Adam Pelech (8) 3-4

12:11 New York Andrew Ladd (5) ASST: Jordan Eberle (8), Mathew Barzal (16) 4-4

OT PERIOD

02:44 New York Nick Leddy (6) ASST: Joshua Ho-Sang (6), John Tavares (11) 5-4

The Skinny: 

The Isles scored the first goal for the 8th time in 22 games (8-0-0) …The four Flyer goals in the 2nd period were the most allowed by the Isles in any period this season… The Isles scored a power play goal for the fifth straight game for the first time since February 2016 (6 games) …Josh Bailey leads the team in assists and points (5-22-27) while John Tavares continues to lead in goals and is one point behind Bailey (15-11-26) …  Mathew Barzal's goal extended his point streak to five games and tied him with Vancouver's Brock Boeser for the NHL rookie point lead…An Islander defenseman had earned a point on 8 straight goals before Andrew Ladd's tally… Mathew Barzal extended his point streak to five games (3-5-8) while John Tavares extended his streak to four games (2-5-7)…The Isles improved to 3-3-2 in one-goal games; they are 10-4 in games decided by 2+ goals…The Isles last scored overtime goals in consecutive games on December 22/26, 2007…The Isles are lost their last five Black Friday games (0-4-1), scoring a combined total of six goals…Claude Giroux had 3 points in the second period, giving him 601 career points, including 46 (16-30-46) in 43 games against the Isles.

The Penalty Shot

Flyer rookie Nolan Patrick failed on a first period penalty shot.  It was the first penalty shot in an Islander game this season.  Thomas Greiss has faced the last five Islander penalty shots, stopping four of them.

It was the first Flyer penalty shot against the Islanders since November 18, 1984, when Kelly Hrudey stopped Ron Sutter.  Rick MacLeish scored against Billy Smith in 1978 in the only other regular season Flyer penalty shot against the Isles.

As a team, the Isles have stopped 11 of the last 12 penalty shots that they have faced.

First Things First

The Isles have scored first eight times this season (8-0-0).  It's the first time that the Isles have won eight straight games (single season) that they scored first since March 24-April 16,2013 (also 8-0-0).

The Isles also won the last 5 games that they scored first last season, giving them 13 straight wins when the Isles score first.  This is one game shy of the club record – the Isles won 14 straight games when scoring first between January 4 – February 25, 1982, including in 12 games of their 15 game winning streak.

A Favorable Comparison

The Isles are 13-7-2 this season; they were 8-10-4 through 22 games last season and won only 13 of their first 33 games last season (13-14-6).

Catching Jonsson

Josh Bailey's assist was his 333rd point, tying Tomas Jonsson for 18th place on the all-time Isles list.  

Chasing Patty

John Tavares' assist on the overtime goal give him 563 points, leaving him just three points behind Pat LaFontaine for 6th place on the all-time Isles list.

Leddy(ing) the Way

Nick Leddy's winning goal was his 142nd point as an Islander, breaking a tie with Dave Lewis for 10th place on the all-time Islander defensemen scoring list.  Leddy also has 110 Islander assists, tied with Roman Hamrlik for 10th place on the all-time defense Iist.

With 19 points in 22 games this season, Leddy is averaging .86 points/game.  The last Islander defensemen to have that high of an average was Marc Andre-Bergeron (21 points/ 23 games =.91 in 2006-07).  No Islander defenseman has had an average as high as Leddy over a full season since Jeff Norton (53 points/ 60 games =.88) in 1989-90.

Greiss, Greiss, Baby

Thomas Greiss is 8-2-2 on the season (8-1-2 in his last 11 games).  Greiss has won five straight and is 6-0-1 in his last 7 games.

Fastest to 35

Doug Weight is now 37-19-6 as an NHL coach. On November 18 in Tampa Bay, he reached 35 wins faster than any coach in Islander history:

Fewest Games to 35 Wins by an Islander Coach:

59 – Doug Weight

71 – Peter Laviolette 2001-02 (35-25-7-4)

73 – Ted Nolan 2006-07 (35-27-11)

76—Steve Stirling 2003-04 (35-27-10-4)

The Shots

Isles             7-11-16-3=37

Philadelphia 10-7-12-1=30

The Isles are 4-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 9-4-0 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 an Islander goal due to an offside so far this season.

Busy Stretch

This was the fifth game of a stretch in which the Isles will play 6 games in 10 days, changing cities between each game and playing two sets of three games in four days, with the four road games being played in two sets of back-to-backs.  The Isles are 4-1-0 in this stretch.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 13-7-2 overall; 7-0-2 at home and 6-7-0 on the road.  

Philadelphia is 8-9-6 overall; 4-4-4 at home and 4-5-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 4-3-0 in Division games and 9-4-2 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 6-3-0 against the East and 7-4-2 against the West.

Our House

The Isles are 7-0-2 at home, matching their best-ever record through 9 home games (7-0-2 in 1978-79 and 8-1-0 in 1984-85).

The Isles are 4-0-2 vs. the Western Conference at Barclays Center this season and are 25-4-5 all-time at Barclays against the West.

Most Points Through 9 Home Games:

16- 2017-18

16- 1978-79

16- 1984-85

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 26 saves as he improves to 8-2-2 on the season and 5-2-2 in his career against Philadelphia.

Brian Elliott also made 32 saves; he is 6-5-5 on the season and 5-1-6 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

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

The Isles are 9-2-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-5-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 7-4-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-3-2 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 13-2-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-5-2 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 3-3-2 in games decided by a single goal including 0-3 in regulation. They are 2-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 4-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal 

The Isles are 8-0-0 when they score first and are 5-7-2 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

Including today, the Isles are 3-2-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 2-2-0 on the back-end.  This back-to-back set concludes Saturday in Ottawa. The next back-to-back set is December 5th in Florida and December 6th in Tampa Bay.

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 0-2-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 4-0-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 

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

• The Isles are 7-5-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (25:58); Philadelphia: Ivan Provorov (25:34)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (3-1-1), Nick Leddy (7-5-0), John Tavares (1-1-0), Calvin deHaan (2-0-0).

John Tavares led the forwards in ice-time (22:40). Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (12-5-2), Josh Bailey (1-0-0), Brock Nelson (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 21, Philadelphia 37 (36%). 

No Isle who took more than three draws won more than he lost; Valtteri Filippula won all nine draws he took for Philadelphia.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 7/19; 2nd period 4/15; 3rd period 8/21; Overtime 2/3.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 19/52; Power play 2/4; Penalty kill 0/2.

Hit Count

Isles 24 (Cal Clutterbuck -6) 

Philadelphia 35 (Samuel Morin and Ivan Provorov had 4)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 2: (Boychuk 1, Mayfield 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 18 shots; three players each had three. 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 67, Philadelphia 65

5-on-5 Isles 49, Philadelphia 53

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Jordan Eberle +9

Philadelphia: Samuel Morin +12

Night and Day 

The Isles are 12-7-1 in night games and 1-0-1 in matinees.  The Isles, who went 2-3-1 in matinees last season, will play six matinees this season; the next one is December 23rd vs. Winnipeg (1pm).

Ironmen

Jason Chimera – 210 (including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 173 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 171, Calvin deHaan 107. 

Scratches

(Nikolay Kulemin -IR), (Shane Prince-IR), Thomas Hickey, Alan Quine, Ryan Pulock

Total games lost: 49.

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 661 *** 10. Derek King 638 *** 11. Billy Harris 623 *** 12. Stefan Persson 622 *** 13. John Tavares 609

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 250

…

22.  Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Josh Bailey 111

…

29. Anders Kallur 101*** 30. Trent Hunter 99 ***31. Mikko Makela, David Volek and Anders Lee 95

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 313

…

15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 222

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 563

…

17. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 18. Tomas Jonsson and Josh Bailey 333

Games Played (Goalies)

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282

…

6. Glenn Healy 176 *** 7. Roland Melanson 136 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 134 *** 9. Mark Fitzpatrick 129 ***

10. Garth Snow 127 *** 11.  Evgeni Nabokov 123 *** 12. Thomas Greiss 104

Wins (Goalie)

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130***4. Kelly Hrudey 106 ***

5. Rollie Melanson 77 *** 6. Jaroslav Halak 73 *** 7. Glenn Healy 66 *** 8.  Tommy Salo 62 *** 

9. Evgeni Nabokov and Thomas Greiss 57

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series two games to none (and four points to two).  The teams will meet again on January 4th in Philadelphia and April 3rd in Brooklyn.

This was the 20th home-and-home series between the team, and only the third to end in an Islander sweep.  The last time the Isles swept a home-and-home series from Philadelphia was on January 7 – 9, 1982; the 15-game win streak began two weeks later.

The Isles have won 4 of their last 7 games in Philadelphia (3 in OT/SO).  Overall, the Isles are 3-1-2 in their last six games against the Flyers and 9-5-2 in the last 16.

 

On the Farm

Bridgeport got goals from seven different players and improved to 10-7-0-0 on the season with a 7-3 win on Friday against Hartford; the Sound Tigers are 7-2-0-0 in their last nine games. 

Tanner Fritz continues to lead Bridgeport with 16 points (3-13-16); Scott Eansor scored his team-leading eighth goal.  Christopher Gibson made 18 saves to improve to 6-1-0 in his last seven games.

This was the first game of a "3-in-3" weekend; road games in Lehigh Valley and Hershey on Saturday and Sunday complete the weekend.

 

Up Next

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25th –ISLANDERS AT OTTAWA 7:00PM 

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

The Isles head to the Canadian capital to take on the Ottawa Senators.  It's the first of two meetings this week with the Sens as the teams will also play on Friday in Brooklyn.

Last season Ottawa won the first two meetings between the teams before the Isles won 4-2 in the regular season finale. Jason Chimera scored an empty netter to reach 20 goals on the season.

The Isles are 6-3-1 in their last 10 visits to Ottawa, including a 3-1 record in overtime/shootouts.

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, Philadelphia 3 (OT)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 21

Isles 4, Philadelphia 3 (OT)

Josh Bailey's scored his 5th career overtime goal and added two assists as the Islanders defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 before a crowd of 12,462 at Barclays Center.  Bailey's winner, set up expertly by John Tavares, allowed his to complete his fourth 3-point game of the season.

The Isles have won 4 out of their last 5 games and remain unbeaten in regulation at Barclays Center (7-0-2).  It's only the 2nd time in franchise history that the Isles have gone 9 games into the home season without suffering a regulation loss.

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

06:02 Philadelphia Taylor Leier (1) ASST: Travis Sanheim (4), Scott Laughton (4) 0-1

18:53 New York PPG - Mathew Barzal (5) ASST: Josh Bailey (20), Nick Leddy (12) 1-1

2ND PERIOD

00:46 Philadelphia Michael Raffl (1) ASST: Sean Couturier (11), Ivan Provorov (8) 1-2

07:13 New York PPG - Johnny Boychuk (3) ASST: Josh Bailey (21), John Tavares (9) 2-2

11:05 New York Joshua Ho-Sang (2) ASST: Adam Pelech (7), Anthony Beauvillier (3) 3-2

13:54 Philadelphia PPG - Jakub Voracek (7) ASST: Wayne Simmonds (7), Claude Giroux (14) 3-3

3RD PERIOD

No Scoring

OT PERIOD

00:32 New York Josh Bailey (5) ASST: John Tavares (10), Nick Leddy (13) 4-3

The Skinny: 

The Isles allowed the first goal for the 14th time in 21 games… The Isles converted twice on the power play, including a 5-on-3 goal by Johnny Boychuk…Josh Bailey leads the teams in assists and points (5-21-26) while John Tavares continues to lead in goals and is one point behind Bailey (15-10-25) …  Bailey recorded his team-leading 9th multi-point game while Tavares added his 8th and Leddy chipped in his 7th multi-point game.... Mathew Barzal scored on the power play; he is one point behind Vancouver's Brock Boeser for the NHL rookie point lead…An Islander defenseman earned a point on each goal; Nick Leddy's two helpers improved his totals to 5-13-18…This was the Isles' first overtime win against the Flyers since February 27, 2007; no current Islander was on the roster that night when Trent Hunter scored the overtime winner…Each of the first two Flyer goals were scored by a forward who entered the game with no goals this season; Taylor Leier's goal was his first in 25 games; Michael Raffl scored for the first time in 43 games…Mathew Barzal extended his point streak to four games (2-4-6) while John Tavares extended his to three games (2-4-6)…The Isles improved to 2-3-2 in one-goal games; they are 10-4 in games decided by 2+ goals…The Isles scored twice on the power play; they are 8-32 (25.0% on the power play at home this season.

Most Overtime Goals by an Islander

• John Tavares. 9

• Kyle Okposo  6

• Thomas Hickey 5

• Josh Bailey 5

• Pierre Turgeon 4

A Favorable Comparison

The Isles are 12-7-2 this season; they were 7-10-4 through 21 games last season and won only 12 of their first 32 games last season (12-14-6).

Moving up the NHL Leader Boards 

• Josh Bailey (26) and John Tavares (25) are both in the top 15 in points

• John Tavares remains 2nd in goals (15)

• Anders Lee is tied-10th in goals (11)

• Josh Bailey is tied-2nd in assists with 21 and tied-2nd in power play assists with 10.

• Mathew Barzal leads all rookies in assists with 15 and is tied for 2nd in points with 20.  He has 8 power play points (one shy of Brock Boeser's 9 for the rookie lead).

• Nick Leddy is now tied-3th in defenseman points (18)

 

Bails Passes Ziggy!

Josh Bailey's three points gives him 332 points as an Islander, passing Ziggy Palffy for 19th place on the all-time Isles list.  Josh is one point behind Kenny Jonsson's 333 point total.

Chasing Patty

John Tavares' two assists give him 562 points, just four points behind Pat LaFontaine for 6th place on the all-time Isles list.

Leddy(ing) the Way

Nick Leddy now has recorded at least 7 multiple point games in each of his four seasons as an Islander.  He is the first Islander defensemen since Denis Potvin to do so in at least four seasons.   Leddy's two assists give him 141 points as an Islander, tying Dave Lewis for 10th place on the all-time Islander defensemen scoring list.  He also now has 110 Islander assists, tying Roman Hamrlik for 10th place on the all-time defense Iist.

With 18 points in 21 games this season, Leddy is averaging .86 points/game.  The last Islander defensemen to have that high of an average was Marc Andre-Bergeron (21 points/ 23 games =.91 in 2006-07).  No Islander defenseman has had an average as high as Leddy over a full season since Jeff Norton (53 points/ 60 games =.88) in 1989-90.

Greiss, Greiss, Baby

Thomas Greiss is 7-2-2 on the season (7-1-2 in his last 10 games).  Greiss has won four straight and is his 5-0-1 in his last 6 games.

Fastest to 35

Doug Weight is now 36-19-6 as an NHL coach. On November 18 in Tampa Bay, he reached 35 wins faster than any coach in Islander history:

Fewest Games to 35 Wins by an Islander Coach:

59 – Doug Weight

71 – Peter Laviolette 2001-02 (35-25-7-4)

73 – Ted Nolan 2006-07 (35-27-11)

76—Steve Stirling 2003-04 (35-27-10-4)

The Shots

Isles             16-13-8-2=39

Philadelphia 12-10-16-0=38

The Isles are 3-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 9-4-0 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 an Islander goal due to an offside so far this season.

Busy Stretch

This was the fourth game of a stretch in which the Isles will play 6 games in 10 days, changing cities between each game and playing two sets of three games in four days, with the four road games being played in two sets of back-to-backs.  The Isles are 3-1-0 in this stretch.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 12-7-2 overall; 7-0-2 at home and 5-7-0 on the road.  

Philadelphia is 8-9-5 overall; 4-4-3 at home and 4-5-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 3-3-0 in Division games and 9-4-2 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 5-3-0 against the East and 7-4-2 against the West.

Our House

The Isles are 7-0-2 at home, matching their best-ever record through 9 home games (7-0-2 in 1978-79 and 8-1-0 in 1984-85).

The Isles are 4-0-2 vs. the Western Conference at Barclays Center this season and are 25-4-5 all-time at Barclays against the West.

Most Points Through 9 Home Games

16- 2017-18

16- 1978-79

16- 1984-85

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 35 saves as he improves to 7-2-2 on the season and 4-2-2 in his career against Philadelphia.

Brian Elliott also made 35 saves; he is 6-5-4 on the season and 5-1-5 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 2-5 on the power play; Philadelphia was 1-2.  

The Isles are 8-2-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-5-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 7-4-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-3-2 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 12-2-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-5-2 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 2-3-2 in games decided by a single goal including 0-3 in regulation. They are 1-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 4-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal 

The Isles are 7-0-0 when they score first and are 5-7-2 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 2-2-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 2-2-0 on the back-end.  The next back-to-back set is November 24th in Philadelphia and November 25th in Ottawa.

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 0-2-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 4-0-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 

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

• The Isles are 6-5-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (24:12); Philadelphia: Ivan Provorov (23:32))

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (3-1-1), Nick Leddy (6-5-0), John Tavares (1-1-0), Calvin deHaan (2-0-0).

Josh Bailey led the forwards in ice-time (20:54). Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (11-5-2), Josh Bailey (1-0-0), Brock Nelson (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 35, Philadelphia 32 (52%). 

Casey Cizikas won 12 of 15 for the Isles; Valtteri Filippula won 8 of 12 for Philadelphia.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 9/21; 2nd period 13/27; 3rd period 12/18; Overtime 1/1.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 28/54; Power play 4/9; Penalty kill 3/4.

Hit Count

Isles 10 (Cal Clutterbuck -4) 

Philadelphia 19 (Four with 3)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 2: (Boychuk 1, Mayfield 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 10 shots; Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech each had two. 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 72, Philadelphia 57

5-on-5 Isles 58, Philadelphia 48

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Jordan Eberle, Mathew Barzal and Andrew Ladd +12

Philadelphia: Travis Sanheim +8

Night and Day 

The Isles are 12-7-1 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 – 209 (including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 172 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 170, Calvin deHaan 106. 

Scratches

(Nikolay Kulemin -IR), (Shane Prince-IR), Thomas Hickey, Alan Quine, Ryan Pulock

Total games lost: 47.

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 660 *** 10. Derek King 638 *** 11. Billy Harris 623 *** 12. Stefan Persson 622 *** 13. John Tavares 608

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 250

…

22.  Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Josh Bailey 111

…

29. Anders Kallur 101*** 30. Trent Hunter 99 ***31. Mikko Makela, David Volek and Anders Lee 95

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 312

…

15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 221

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 562

…

17. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 18. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 19. Josh Bailey 332

Games Played (Goalies)

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282

…

6. Glenn Healy 176 *** 7. Roland Melanson 136 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 134

…

11.  Evgeni Nabokov 123 *** 12. Chris Osgood and Thomas Greiss 103

Wins (Goalie)

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130***4. Kelly Hrudey 106 *** 5. Rollie Melanson 77 *** 6. Jaroslav Halak 73

…

8.  Tommy Salo 62***9. Evgeni Nabokov 57***10. Thomas Greiss 56

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series one game to none (and two points to one).  The teams will meet again on Friday in Philadelphia.

The Isles improve to 2-2-2 all-time vs. Philadelphia at Barclays Center.  Both Islander wins have come on Thanksgiving Eve (2015 and 2017).

 

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 9-7-0-0 heading into a Friday game at home against Hartford; the Sound Tigers are 6-2-0-0 in their last eight games. 

Tanner Fritz continues to lead Bridgeport with 16 points (3-13-16); Scott Eansor and Steve Bernier lead the team in goals with 7.

Friday's game is the first of a "3-in-3" weekend, with road games in Lehigh Valley and Hershey on Saturday and Sunday completing the weekend.

 

Up Next

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24th –ISLANDERS AT PHILADELPHIA 4:00PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 3:30PM), WFAN 660AM/101.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM]

The Isles complete the home-and-home series with the Flyers in a Black Friday Matinee.  This is the first home-and-home series between the teams since 2005 and the 19th all-time between the squads.

The Isles are 6-7-0 in their last 13 visits to Philadelphia, including four Islander shootout wins.  A win would give them only their second home-and home sweep of the Flyers and their first in nearly 36 years (1/7-1/9/1982).

The Isles will return to Philadelphia on January 4th and then will host the Flyers during the final week of the regular season to complete the season series.  

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: Carolina 4, Isles 2

“The Skinny”

By Eric Hornick

Game 20
Carolina 4, Isles 2
Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen scored goals before the game was four minutes old to give Carolina a 2-0 lead, and despite a strong 2nd period the Isles could never catch them, as the Hurricanes defeated the Isles 4-2 before a crowd of 11,390 at PNC Arena in Raleigh.

The loss snapped an Islander three-game winning streak and deprived the Isles (9-4-1 in their last 14 games) of an opportunity to move into first place in the Metropolitan Division.

The Scoring:
1ST PERIOD
01:50 Carolina PPG - Sebastian Aho (4) ASST: Teuvo Teravainen (11), Justin Faulk (3) 0-1
03:40 Carolina Teuvo Teravainen (7) ASST: Sebastian Aho (12), Noah Hanifin (7) 0-2
10:44 New York Nick Leddy (5) 1-2
17:13 Carolina Elias Lindholm (5) ASST: Phillip Di Giuseppe (1), Jeff Skinner (4) 1-3

2ND PERIOD
17:40 Carolina PPG - Teuvo Teravainen (8) ASST: Justin Faulk (4), Sebastian Aho (13) 1-4

3RD PERIOD
13:13 New York PPG - John Tavares (15) ASST: Nick Leddy (11), Mathew Barzal (15) 2-4

The Skinny:
Both Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen finished with three points…Aho now has a goal in four straight games while Teravainen has an assist if four straight…John Tavares’ late tally was the 250th of his NHL career and gave him a share of the team lead in points (with Josh Bailey -23 points)... Mathew Barzal assisted on the tally, as he took over the NHL lead in rookie scoring…The Isles have scored 72 goals (not including shootout goals in their first 20games; it’s their highest goal total through 20 games in 30 years (89 in 1987-88)…Carolina had a 2-0 lead before the Isles had a shot on goal… The Isles are 11-7-2 this season; they were 6-10-4 through 20 games last season and won only 11 of their first 31 games last season (11-14-6)… The Isles allowed three goals in a period for the third straight game…Carolina is the least penalized team in the NHL but the Isles had a season-high seven power plays…Tavares now has 21 career goals against Carolina (his highest total vs. any opponent); among active players only Jaromir Jagr and Alex Ovechkin have more goals against the Canes…Cam Ward recorded his 23rd career win against the Isles and his 298th career win…Jaroslav Halak suffered his third straight loss.

Moving up the NHL Leader Boards
• John Tavares (23 points), Josh Bailey (23) and Anders Lee (21) are all now in the top 20 in points
• John Tavares remains 2nd in goals (15)
• Anders Lee is tied-7th in goals (11)
• Josh Bailey is 5th in assists with 19 and tied for the team lead with 23 points (4-19-23)
• Mathew Barzal now leads all rookies in both points:19 and assists: 15. He has 7 power play points (one shy of Will Butcher’s 8 for the rookie lead).
• Nick Leddy is now tied-8th in defenseman points (16)

Greiss, Greiss, Baby
Thomas Greiss is 6-2-2 on the season (6-1-2 in his last 9 games). Greiss has won three straight and is his 4-0-1 in his last 5 games.

Fastest to 35
Doug Weight is now 35-19-6 as an NHL coach. On November 18 in Tampa Bay, he reached 35 wins faster than any coach in Islander history:

Fewest Games to 35 Wins by an Islander Coach:
59 – Doug Weight
71 – Peter Laviolette 2001-02 (35-25-7-4)
73 – Ted Nolan 2006-07 (35-27-11)
76—Steve Stirling 2003-04 (35-27-10-4)

The Shots
Isles 6-11-12=29
Carolina 16-6-10=32

The Isles are 2-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 9-4-0 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 an Islander goal due to an offside so far this season.

Busy Stretch
This was the third game of a stretch in which the Isles will play 6 games in 10 days, changing cities between each game and playing two sets of three games in four days, with the four road games being played in two sets of back-to-backs. The Isles are 2-1-0 in this stretch.

Home and Road
The Islanders are 11-7-2 overall; 6-0-2 at home and 5-7-0 on the road.
Carolina is 9-6-4 overall; 4-2-3 at home and 5-4-1 on the road.

By Division & Conference
The Isles are 2-3-0 in Division games and 9-4-2 in games versus other divisions. The Isles are 4-3-0 against the East and 7-4-2 against the West.

Our House
The Isles are 6-0-2 at home, matching their best home start since 1978-79 (7-0-1).

The Isles are 4-0-2 vs. the Western Conference at Barclays Center this season and are 25-4-5 all-time at Barclays against the West.

Most Points Through 8 Home Games
15- 1978-79
14- 2017-18
14- 1986-87
14-1984-85
14- 1982-83
14- 1976-77

If the Islanders can beat Philadelphia on Wednesday they will match their best-ever record through 9 home games (7-0-2 in 1978-79 and 8-1-0 in 1984-85).

In the Nets
Jaroslav Halak made 28 saves but falls to 5-5-0 on the season and 3-5-1 in his career against Carolina.

Cam Ward made 27 saves as he improves to 3-2-0 on the season and 23-4-5 in his career against the Isles.

Power Plays
The Isles were 1-7 on the power play; Carolina was 2-5.
The Isles are 7-2-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-5-2 when they do not. The Isles are 6-4-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-3-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 11-2-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-5-2 when they do not.

One Goal Games
The Isles are 1-3-2 in games decided by a single goal including 0-3 in regulation. They are 0-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 4-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal
The Isles are 7-0-0 when they score first and are 4-7-2 when they allow the opening goal.

Back-to-Backs
Including tonight, the Isles are 2-2-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 2-2-0 on the back-end. The next back-to-back set is November 24th in Philadelphia and November 25th in Ottawa.

Tired vs. Rested
• The Isles are 0-2-0 when both teams played the night before.
• The Isles are 3-0-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not.
• The Isles are 2-0-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.
• The Isles are 6-5-2 when both teams are rested.

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Nick Leddy (23:39); Carolina: Jaccob Slavin (24:41)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (3-1-1), Nick Leddy (5-5-0), John Tavares (1-1-0), Calvin deHaan (2-0-0).

Mathew Barzal led the forwards in ice-time (21:46). Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (11-5-2), Brock Nelson (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-0).

Face-offs
Isles 22, Carolina 34 (39%).

No Isles who took more than two draws won more than he lost; Derek Ryan won 9 of 10 for Carolina.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 7/21; 2nd period 8/18; 3rd period 7/17.
Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 10/34; Power play 6/12; Penalty kill 6/10.

Hit Count
Isles 24 (Andrew Ladd & Johnny Boychuk - 3)
Carolina 27 (Brett Pesce -4)

Fights
There were no fights. Season total – 2: (Boychuk 1, Mayfield 1).

Blocked Shots
The Isles blocked 9 shots; Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk each had two.

For the Corsi Crowd
All situations: Isles 61, Carolina 56
5-on-5 Isles 38, Carolina 37

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Calvin deHaan +9
Carolina: Brock McGinn +6

Night and Day
The Isles are 11-7-1 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 – 208 (including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 171 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 169, Calvin deHaan 105.

Scratches
(Nikolay Kulemin -IR), (Shane Prince-IR), Scott Mayfield, Dennis Seidenberg, Cal Clutterbuck (sick)

Total games lost: 45.

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 659 *** 10. Derek King 638 *** 11. Billy Harris 623 *** 12. Stefan Persson 622 *** 13. John Tavares 606
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 250
…
22. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Josh Bailey 110
…
29. Anders Kallur 101*** 30. Trent Hunter 99 ***31. Mikko Makela, David Volek and Anders Lee 95

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 310
…
15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 219

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 560
…
17. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 18. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 19. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 20. Josh Bailey 329

Games Played (Goalies)
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282
…
6. Glenn Healy 176 *** 7. Roland Melanson 136 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 134
…
11. Evgeni Nabokov 123 *** 12. Chris Osgood 103 *** 13. Thomas Greiss 102

Wins (Goalie)
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130***4. Kelly Hrudey 106 *** 5. Rollie Melanson 77 *** 6. Jaroslav Halak 73
…
8. Tommy Salo 62… 9. Evgeni Nabokov 57…10. Thomas Greiss 55

Season Series Stats
The season series is tied one game to one (and two points to two). The teams will meet again on February 16th in Carolina and on March 18th in Brooklyn.

This was only the third regulation loss in the Isles’ last 9 games in Carolina (6-3-0).

On the Farm
Bridgeport is 9-7-0-0 following a 2-1 win over Springfield on Sunday. Devon Toews scored his fourth goal in the last three games while Kristers Gudlevskis came with four seconds of a shutout as Bridgeport improved to 6-2-0 in their last eight games.

Tanner Fritz, added an assist as he continues to lead Bridgeport with 16 points (3-13-16); Scott Eansor and Steve Bernier lead the team in goals with 7.

Bridgeport is off until Friday; the Sound Tigers have a “3-in-3” weekend upcoming, with a home game against Hartford on Friday and road games with Lehigh Valley and Hershey on Saturday and Sunday.

Up Next
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd –PHILADELPHIA AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM
[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30PM), WNYM 970AM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9PM]

The Isles return home to begin a home-and-home series with the Philadelphia Flyers in the first meetings of the season between the long-term rivals.

The Flyers have won four straight games in Brooklyn, including one in overtime and another in a shootout. Overall, the Isles are 1-2-2 all-time against the Flyers at Barclays Center.

The home-and-home series concludes with a Black Friday matinee at 4pm in Philadelphia.

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.

The Skinny: Isles 5, Tampa Bay 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 19

Isles 5, Tampa Bay 3

Anders Lee scored two goals to help the Isles build a 4-0 lead and Thomas Greiss made 36 saves as the Isles held off a fierce Lightning rally to defeat Tampa Bay 5-3 before a sellout crowd of 19,092 at Amalie Arena in Tampa.

The Isles are 9-3-1 in their last 13 games. They have won three straight games, all with Greiss in goal, and have closed within one point of the Metropolitan Division lead.

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

00:51 New York Andrew Ladd (4) ASST: John Tavares (7), Joshua Ho-Sang (5) 1-0

10:25 New York Anders Lee (10) ASST: John Tavares (8), Josh Bailey (17) 2-0

2ND PERIOD

07:09 New York Brock Nelson (6) ASST: Jason Chimera (3), Adam Pelech (6) 3-0

3RD PERIOD

01:05 New York PPG - Anders Lee (11) ASST: Josh Bailey (18), Mathew Barzal (14) 4-0

03:13 Tampa Bay Yanni Gourde (5) ASST: Brayden Point (11), Slater Koekkoek (2) 4-1

03:26 Tampa Bay Ondrej Palat (5) ASST: Brayden Point (12), Andrei Vasilevskiy (1) 4-2

16:24 Tampa Bay Yanni Gourde (6) ASST: Ondrej Palat (7), Dan Girardi (4) 4-3

19:38 New York EN - John Tavares (14) ASST: Casey Cizikas (4), Josh Bailey (19) 5-3

The Skinny: 

The Isles scored the first goal for the third straight game; the Isles are 7-0-0 when they score first, 7-0-0 when they lead after one period, and 9-0-0 when they lead after two periods…Andrew Ladd's goal was the earliest for the Isles this season and the first in the opening minute since Adam Pelech did so vs. Winnipeg last March… The Isles have scored at least five goals nine times in the first 19 games for the first time since the 1984-85 season, when they did so 13 times…Both John Tavares (1-2-3) and Josh Bailey (0-3-3) had three-point games; it was Tavares' 249th NHL goal… Anders Lee recorded his 16th career 2-goal game.  It was his first two-goal game against Jon Cooper, who coached Lee in the USHL… The Isles have scored at least two first period goals in three consecutive games for the first time since February, 2015…Anders Lee now had 12 points in the third period this season, tying Steven Stamkos for the NHL lead… The Isles have scored 71 goals in their first 19 games; it's their highest goal total through 19 games in 30 years (83 in 1987-88)…The Isles had the game's first six shots, but didn't have a shot on goal for the remainder of the first period after Anders Lee's goal…The Lightning have sold out their last 120 home games…Andrei Vasilevskiy suffered his first regulation loss since October 7 (13-0-1)..Yanni Gourde's first goal ended a 64:05 shutout streak for Thomas Greiss, during which the Isles had scored seven times…Brock Nelson scores his first goal in 10 games; Jason Chimera assisted on the tally for his first point since October 9th…The Isles are 11-6-2 this season; they won only 11 of their first 31 games last season (11-14-6)…The Isles allowed three 2nd period goals on Thursday and three 3rd period goals in this game, both wins.  Prior to Thursday, the Isles had gone 0-15-1 in the last 16 games they allowed three goals in a period.

3 For 3 For 12

Josh Bailey recorded his third 3-assist game of the season; Blake Wheeler is the only other NHL player with three 3-assist games this season. It's the fifth time in the last 24 seasons that an Islander has three 3 games with at least 3 assists (Pat LaFontaine -2x, Jeff Norton, John Tavares). Vladimir Malakhov is the last Islander with four 3-assist games in a season (1993-94).

Bailey now has seven career 3-assist games.  Since 1994-95, only John Tavares (9) and Alexei Yashin (7) have as many in an Islander uniform.

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

The Isles improve to 6-0-0 on Saturdays; it's the first time since 2006 that they have won six straight on Saturday.

First Time in a Ridiculously Long Time

The Isles have scored at least five goals in three straight games.  It's the first time (excluding shootout tallies) that they have done this since January 30- February 4, 1996.

Moving up the NHL Leader Boards (does not include late games)

• John Tavares (22 points), Josh Bailey (23) and Anders Lee (21) are all now in the top 20 in points

• John Tavares remains 2nd in goals (14)

• Anders Lee is tied-7th in goals (11)

• Josh Bailey is now 5th in assists with 19 and leads the team with 23 points (4-19-23)

• Mathew Barzal is now tied-1st in rookie points:18 (with Arizona's Clayton Keller) and is tied-1st in rookie assists:14 (with NJ's Will Butcher)

Greiss, Greiss, Baby

Thomas Greiss improves to 6-2-2 on the season (6-1-2 in his last 9 games).  Greiss has won three straight and is his 4-0-1 in his last 5 games.

Facing 35

Greiss improves to 4-0-1 this season when facing at least 35 shots.  He is 15-4-7 as an Islander and 25-8-9 in his career when facing 35 or more.

Fastest to 35

Doug Weight is now 35-18-6 as an NHL coach. On November 18 in Tampa Bay, he reached 35 wins faster than any coach in Islander history:

Fewest Games to 35 Wins by an Islander Coach:

59 – Doug Weight

71 – Peter Laviolette 2001-02 (35-25-7-4)

73 – Ted Nolan 2006-07 (35-27-11)

76—Steve Stirling 2003-04 (35-27-10-4)

60 Over (NHL) .500

The Isles are now 1549-1489-481 all-time, making their record 60 games over NHL-.500.  The last time the Isles were 60 games over was on November 28, 1999 when a 2-1 win over Boston raised their record to 958-898-304.  A couple of current NHL players probably remember that game: Zdeno Chara scored the winning goal and Roberto Luongo made 43 saves in his NHL debut.

 

The Shots

Isles            10-14-8=32

Tampa Bay 12-13-14=39

The Isles are 2-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 9-3-0 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 an Islander goal due to an offside so far this season.

Busy Stretch

This was the second game of a stretch in which the Isles will play 6 games in 10 days, changing cities between each game and playing two sets of three games in four days, with the four road games being played in two sets of back-to-backs.  The Isles are 2-0-0 in this stretch.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 11-6-2 overall; 6-0-2 at home and 5-6-0 on the road.  

Tampa Bay is 15-3-2 overall; 8-2-1 at home and 7-1-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 2-2-0 in Division games and 9-4-2 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 4-2-0 against the East and 7-4-2 against the West.

Our House

The Isles are 6-0-2 at home, matching their best home start since 1978-79 (7-0-1).  

The Isles are 4-0-2 vs. the Western Conference at Barclays Center this season and are 25-4-5 all-time at Barclays against the West.

Most Points Through 8 Home Games

15- 1978-79

14- 2017-18

14- 1986-87

14-1984-85

14- 1982-83

14- 1976-77

If the Islanders can beat Philadelphia on Wednesday they will match their best-ever record through 9 home games (7-0-2 in 1978-79 and 8-1-0 in 1984-85).

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 36 saves as he improves to 6-2-2 on the season and 4-2-0 in his career against Tampa Bay.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves but falls to 14-2-1 on the season and 2-2-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-2 on the power play; Tampa Bay was 0-1.  

The Isles are 7-1-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-5-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 6-3-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 5-3-2 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 11-2-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-4-2 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 1-3-2 in games decided by a single goal including 0-3 in regulation. They are 0-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 4-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal 

The Isles are 7-0-0 when they score first and are 4-6-2 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

Including tonight, the Isles are 2-2-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 2-1-0 on the back-end.  This back-to-back sets concludes Sunday in Carolina; the next back-to-back set is November 24th in Philadelphia and November 25th in Ottawa.

Tired vs. Rested

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

• The Isles are 3-0-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 

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

• The Isles are 6-5-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (23:17); Tampa Bay: Victor Hedman (24:42)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (3-1-1), Nick Leddy (5-4-0), John Tavares (1-1-0), Calvin deHaan (2-0-0).

John Tavares led the forwards in ice-time (18:47). Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (11-5-2), Brock Nelson (0-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 23, Tampa Bay 31 (43%). 

Casey Cizikas won 11 of 20 for the Isles but his teammates won only 12 of 34; Brayden Point won 13 of 18 for Tampa Bay.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 6/18; 2nd period 6/16; 3rd period 11/20.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 21/47; Power play 1/3; Penalty kill 1/4.

Hit Count

Isles 23 (Five players with 3) 

Tampa Bay 24 (Ryan Callahan-5)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 2: (Boychuk 1, Mayfield 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 17 shots; Calvin deHaan led the way with 4. 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 56, Tampa Bay 73

5-on-5 Isles 48, Tampa Bay 61

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Brock Nelson +5

Tampa Bay: Vladislav Namestnikov +17

Night and Day 

The Isles are 11-6-1 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 – 207 (including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 170 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 168, Calvin deHaan 104, 

Scratches

(Nikolay Kulemin -IR), (Shane Prince-IR), Scott Mayfield, Dennis Seidenberg, Cal Clutterbuck (sick)

Total games lost: 42

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 658 *** 10. Derek King 638 *** 11. Billy Harris 623 *** 12. Stefan Persson 622 *** 13. Frans Nielsen and. John Tavares 606

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 249

…

22.  Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Josh Bailey 110

…

31. Mikko Makela, David Volek and Anders Lee 95

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 310

…

15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 219

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 559

…

17. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 18. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 19. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 20. Josh Bailey 329

Games Played (Goalies)

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282

…

6. Glenn Healy 176 *** 7. Roland Melanson 136 *** 8. Jaroslav Halak 133

…

11.  Evgeni Nabokov 123 *** 12. Chris Osgood 103 *** 13. Thomas Greiss 102

Wins (Goalie)

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130***4. Kelly Hrudey 106 *** 5. Rollie Melanson 77 *** 6. Jaroslav Halak 73

…

8.  Tommy Salo 62… 9. Evgeni Nabokov 57…10. Thomas Greiss 55

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series one game to none (and two points to 0).  The teams will meet again on December 5 in Tampa Bay before concluding their season series in Brooklyn on March 22nd.

While the Lightning swept last season's series, the Isles are 9-5-2 in the last 16 regular season games against the Bolts.

 

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 8-7-0-0 following a 5-2 win over Charlotte on Saturday.  Devon Toews scored his third goal in the last two games while fellow Quinnipiac alum Travis St. Denis scored twice. Christopher Gibson made 14 saves to improve to 5-4-0 on the season and lower his GAA to 2.12.

 

Tanner Fritz, added an assist as he continues to lead Bridgeport with 15 points (3-12-15); Scott Eansor and Steve Bernier lead the team in goals with 7.

Bridgeport hosts Springfield on Sunday (3pm).

 

Up Next

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19th –ISLANDERS AT CAROLINA 5:00PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 46:30PM), WNYM 970AM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9PM]

The Isles conclude the back-to-back set, and the road trip, with their second matchup of the week with the Carolina Hurricanes.  The Isles scored three third period goals on Thursday to rally for a 6-4 win; it was their third straight win over Carolina, dating back to last season. 

The Isles are only one point behind New Jersey/Columbus/Pittsburgh; all three of those teams are idle on Sunday so the Isles will move into first place in the Metropolitan Division with a victory.

The Isles have had more success against the Canes in Carolina than in New York in recent years.  The Isles are 6-2-0 in their last eight games in Raleigh.

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