The Skinny: Dallas 5, Isles 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 31

Dallas 5, Isles 2

Tyler Pitlick scored two goal and Jamie Benn added a goal and an assist as the Dallas Stars built a 5-0 lead and defeated the Isles 5-2 before a crowd of 10,316 at Barclays Center.

Kari Lehtonen made 32 saves to record his 300th NHL victory; he's the 2nd NHL goalie to do so in two nights (Cam Ward did it Tuesday).  Anders Lee had both goals for the Isles, as he re-took the team goal lead from John Tavares.

The Scoring: 

1ST PERIOD

07:37 Dallas Tyler Pitlick (4) ASST: Dan Hamhuis (7), Jamie Benn (15) 0-1

15:46 Dallas Alexander Radulov (10) ASST: Jason Spezza (7), Mattias Janmark (9) 0-2

2ND PERIOD

01:01 Dallas Remi Elie (4) ASST: Devin Shore (11), John Klingberg (22) 0-3

09:21 Dallas Jamie Benn (13) ASST: Julius Honka (1) 0-4

3RD PERIOD

00:21 Dallas Tyler Pitlick (5) ASST: John Klingberg (23), Jamie Benn (16) 0-5

01:06 New York Anders Lee (18) ASST: Josh Bailey (29), John Tavares (15) 1-5

16:28 New York PPG - Anders Lee (19) ASST: John Tavares (16), Josh Bailey (30) 2-5

The Skinny  

The Isles allowed the first goal for the 20th time in 31 games (6-11-3) …The Isles killed the only Dallas  power play, and connected for their first power play goal in four games on Lee's second tally… Jaroslav Halak was pulled after the fourth Dallas goal and suffered his first defeat in a start at Barclays Center this season(5-1-0); it's the first time he has been pulled from a game since December 29, 2016 in Minnesota… Josh Bailey (5-30-35) retained his one point lead over John Tavares (18-16-34) as both players earned two assists; it's the third time in his career that Bailey has recorded at least 30 assists…Bailey's first assist was his team-leading 13th primary assist; with the 2 points he passed Pierre Turgeon for 17th place on the Isles scoring list (341-340).  .. Tavares' two assists allowed him to pass Stefan Persson for 8th place in team assists (318-317)...In addition to recording his 300th win, Lehtonen also passed Miikka Kiprusoff for 1st place on the all-time list of Finnish-born goalies…Anders Lee recorded his team leading 5th multi-goal game…Josh Bailey moved into a tie for the NHL lead in assists (30) and also now leads the NHL in assists/60 minutes (3.26)…Both Bailey and Lee now have three-game point streaks... John Klingberg had two assists; he leads NHL defensemen with 27 points…Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock, who earlier this season passed Al Arbour in wins, recorded his 799th victory.

Leading goal scorers in NHL

1. Alex Ovechkin 21

2. Nikita Kucherov 20

3. Anders Lee 19

4. John Tavares 18

5. Sean Monahan 17

Club 19-18

Anders Lee has 19 goals and John Tavares has 18 goals and; no Islander had reached 19 goals before Christmas since 2006 when Jason Blake did so.

Tavares and Lee are the first Islander teammates to score 18 goals before Christmas in 25 years (Derek King and Pierre Turgeon in 1992-93) and are the first teammates since Mike Bossy and Brent Sutter in 1984-85 to have scored 18 goals by December 13th.

Lee needs one goal and Tavares needs two goals to reach 20.  The last Islander to score 20 goals before Christmas was Ziggy Palffy in 1996-97; the only time in club history that Islander teammates had 20 goals before Christmas was in 1977-78, when Mike Bossy (then a rookie) and Bryan Trottier did so.

Hello Old Friends

Josh Bailey's two assists give him 230, tying him with both Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen for 16th place on the all-time Isles list.

Five's Alive

The Isles have scored at least five goals eight times at home (7-1-0) and twelve times overall (11-1-0). The Isles have also scored one shootout winner for a five goal of the game (not included above). The Isles scored five goals (including shootout winners) in only 10 games all last season.

First Things First

The Isles have scored first eleven times this season (11-0-0).  It's the first time that the Isles have won at least eleven 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 16 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.

A Favorable Comparison

The Isles are 17-11-3 this season; they were 11-14-6 through 31 games last season and won only 17 of their first 42 games last season (17-17-8).  Their 17th win came in Jack Capuano's final game as Islander head coach. 

Lots of Wins

Jaroslav Halak has 221 career wins; he is tied with Ilya Bryzgalov for 68th place on the all-time NHL win list.   

Greiss, Greiss, Baby

Thomas Greiss is 8-3-2 on the season (8-2-2 in his last 12 decisions). Greiss is 5-1-0 in his last six decisions and is 6-1-1 in his last 8 decisions.

Fastest to 40

Doug Weight is now 41-23-7 as an NHL coach. On December 4 in Florida, he reached 40 wins faster than any coach in Islander history:

Fewest Games to 40 Wins by an Islander Coach:

66 – Doug Weight (40-20-6)

80– Peter Laviolette 2001-02 (40-28-8-4)

82 – Ted Nolan 2006-07 (40-30-12)

86—Steve Stirling 2003-04 (40-31-11-4)

The Shots

Isles             15-5-14=34

Dallas          14-10-3=27

The Isles are 5-4-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 12-6-1 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 December

This was the sixth game of a stretch in which the Isles will play eight games in 13 days.  The Isles are 2-3-1 in this stretch:

12/4 - @ Panthers W 5-4 (SO)

12/5 - @ Lightning L 2-6

12/7 - @ Penguins L 3-4 (OT)

12/9 - @ Bruins L 1-3

12/11- Vs. Caps W 3-1

12/13- Vs. Stars L 2-5

12/14 - @ Blue Jackets

12/16- Vs. Kings

The Isles are playing 15 games this month, matching their record for most December games (done several other times).  

Home for the Holidays

This was the second game of a stretch in which the Isles will play seven out of eight games on home-ice.  The Isles are 1-1-0 in this stretch:

12/11- Vs. Caps W 3-1

12/13- Vs. Stars L 2-5

12/14 - @ Blue Jackets

12/16- Vs. Kings

12/19 – Vs. Red Wings

12/21 -  Vs. Ducks

12/23 – Vs. Jets (1pm)

12/27 – Vs. Sabres

Home and Road

The Islanders are 17-11-3 overall; 9-2-2 at home and 8-9-1 on the road.  

Dallas is 18-13-1 overall; 10-4-0 at home and 8-9-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 5-3-1 in Division games and 12-8-2 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 9-6-1 against the East and 8-5-2 against the West.

Our House

The Isles are 9-2-2 at home; they are 4-1-0 against the East and 5-1-2 against the West.  All-time the Isles are 26-5-5 all-time at Barclays against the West.

Most Points Through 13 Home Games

22- 1984-85

22- 1978-79

21- 1974-75

21- 1977-78

20- 2017-18

20- 2014-15

20- 1982-83

20- 1981-82

In the Nets

Jaroslav Halak made 16 saves before being pulled after Dallas' fourth goal; Jaro falls to 9-8-1 on the season and 4-7-1 in his career against Dallas.  Thomas Greiss stopped 6 of 7 in relief.

Kari Lehtonen made 32 saves as he improved to 5-4-1 overall and 8-6-1 against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-2 on the power play in 2:37 of PP time; Dallas was 0-1 in 2:00 of PP time. 

The Isles are 10-5-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 7-6-3 when they do not.  The Isles are 10-7-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 7-4-2 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 16-3-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-8-2 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 5-4-3 in games decided by a single goal including 1-4 in regulation. They are 2-2 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 4-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal 

The Isles are 11-0-0 when they score first and are 6-11-3 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

Including tonight, the Isles are 4-3-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 3-3-0 on the back-end. This set concludes in Columbus on Thursday. The next back-to-back set is January 4th in Philadelphia and January 5th vs. Pittsburgh.

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 2-1-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 9-8-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (22:58); Dallas: Dan Hamhuis (23:29)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (3-1-1), Nick Leddy (10-9-1), John Tavares (2-1-0), Calvin deHaan (2-0-0).

John Tavares led the forwards in ice-time (19:11). Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (16-8-3), Josh Bailey (1-0-0), Brock Nelson (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-2-0).

Face-offs

Isles 34, Dallas 24 (59%). 

Casey Cizikas won 8 of 12 for the Isles; Jason Spezza won 9 of 13 for Dallas.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 13/21; 2nd period 9/15; 3rd period 12/22.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 30/52; Power play 2/3; Penalty kill 2/3

Hit Count

Isles 25 (Casey Cizikas-5)

Dallas 27 (Three with 4)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 3: (Boychuk 1, Mayfield 1, Cizikas 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 9 shots; Calvin deHaan led the team with 4.

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 53, Dallas 44 (including 23-7 in the Isles favor in the third period)

5-on-5 Isles 47, Dallas 38

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Johnny Boychuk & Anthony Beauvillier +8

Dallas: Mattias Janmark +5

Night and Day 

The Isles are 16-11-2 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 – 219 (including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 182 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 180, Calvin deHaan 116, Nick Leddy 108.

Century Club

Calvin deHaan and Nick Leddy have joined a select group of defensemen in Islander history 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. Calvin deHaan 4/7/2016- CURRENT 116

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

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

12. Nick Leddy 10/23/2016 – CURRENT 108

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

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches

(Nikolay Kulemin -IR), (Thomas Hickey-IR), Shane Prince-conditioning, Alan Quine, Dennis Seidenberg

Total games lost: 73

Late Heroes

The Isles have scored twice in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or win a game:

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

12/7 – PIT Penguins – Brock Nelson (18:50); tied game, but Isles lost in overtime

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 *** 8. Brent Sutter 694 *** 9. Josh Bailey 670 *** 10. Derek King 638 *** 11. Billy Harris 623 *** 12. Stefan Persson 622 *** 13. John Tavares 618

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 253

…

22.  Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Josh Bailey 111 *** 27. Benoit Hogue and Ed Westfall 105 *** 29. Anders Lee 103

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. John Tavares 318

…

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

Points

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

5. Brent Sutter 610 *** 6. John Tavares 571

…

14. Kyle Okposo & Stefan Persson 369 *** 16. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 17.  Josh Bailey 341

Games Played (Goalies)

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

…

6. Glenn Healy 176 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 142 *** 8. Roland Melanson 136*** 9. Mark Fitzpatrick 129 ***

10. Garth Snow 127 *** 11.  Evgeni Nabokov 123 *** 12. Thomas Greiss 106

Wins (Goalie)

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

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

9. Evgeni Nabokov and Thomas Greiss 57

Season Series Stats

Dallas sweeps the season series two games to none (and four points to zero). 

The loss ended an Islander 4-game home winning streak vs. Dallas and was the Stars' first win in New York against the Isles since December 15, 2011.

The Stars, who scored the first ten goals of the season series, earned consecutive regulation wins over the Isles for the first time since October 23, 2008 – January 8, 2010.

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 12-10-1-1 on the season heading into a 3-game in 3-day weekend as the Sound Tigers visit Springfield on Friday, host Wilkes Barre-Scranton on Saturday and host Lehigh Valley at 3pm on Sunday.

Tanner Fritz continues to lead Bridgeport with 24 points (8-17-25; Bernier and Rookie Scott Eansor lead the team in goals with 10. Christopher Gibson is 8-5-0 in the nets, while Krister Gudlevskis is 4-5-2.  

Up Next

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14th –ISLANDERS AT COLUMBUS 7:00PM 

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

The Isles head to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets in their final road game before Christmas.

It's the second meeting of the season between the squads, and the Isles will be looking for a split of the Ohio portion of the season series after the Jackets beat the Isles 5-0 on Opening Night.  Overall, the Isles have been outscored 18-2 in dropping three straight games in Columbus.

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