The Skinny: Isles 4, Los Angeles 3 (OT)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 33

Isles 4, Los Angeles 3 (OT)

Jordan Eberle scored 1:54 into overtime and John Tavares recorded his second consecutive three-point game as the Islanders overcame a tying goal by Anze Kopitar with just 13 seconds to play in regulation and defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 before a Star Wars Night crowd of 13,087 at Barclays Center.

John Tavares and Anders Lee scored third period goals as the Isles rallied from a 2-1 second intermission deficit.  Eberle's 3rd career overtime goal (and first as an Islander) gave the Isles their third win of the season when trailing after two periods and snapped the first 2-game regulation losing streak of the season.

The Scoring: 

1ST PERIOD

12:56 Los Angeles Oscar Fantenberg (2) ASST: Tanner Pearson (14), Tyler Toffoli (9) 0-1

17:11 Los Angeles PPG - Tyler Toffoli (15) ASST: Drew Doughty (20), Darcy Kuemper (1) 0-2

19:10 New York Josh Bailey (9) ASST: Calvin de Haan (11), John Tavares (20) 1-2

2ND PERIOD

No Scoring

3RD PERIOD

04:15 New York PPG - John Tavares (19) ASST: Anders Lee (15), Josh Bailey (31) 2-2

16:44 New York Anders Lee (20) ASST: Ryan Pulock (4), John Tavares (21) 3-2

19:47 Los Angeles Anze Kopitar (17) ASST: Dustin Brown (15), Alec Martinez (7) 3-3

OT PERIOD

01:54 New York Jordan Eberle (13) ASST: Mathew Barzal (21) 4-3

The Skinny  

The Isles allowed the first goal for the 22nd time in 33 games (7-12-3); the Isles have scored the first goal fewer times than any other team in the NHL … Josh Bailey (9-31-40) and John Tavares are now tied for the team scoring lead with John Tavares (19-21-40); the linemates have combined for 17 points on the last 11 Islander goals... Both Bailey and Anders Lee now have five-game point streaks while Bailey and Tavares are two of the six players in the NHL with 40 points… Bailey now has 13 multi-point games, Tavares has 12 and Lee has 11…John Tavares has three consecutive multi-assist games and two consecutive three point games…Josh Bailey has three consecutive multi-point games; his 31 assists are already the second-highest total of his career…The score has been 2-0 at some point of each of the last five Islander games…The Isles remain at 20.2% on the power play; the Isles haven't finished a season with a 20% power play efficiency since the 1993-94 season…Including shootout winners, the Isles have scored 118 goals in the first 33 games (most since 1993-94, when they had scored 124) and allowed 114 goals (tied-highest since 2013-14, when they allowed 117)…The Isles outscored LA 2-1 in the third period; the Isles have outscored opponents 42-31 in the final session…Jordan Eberle is the third Islander to score an overtime goal this season, joining Josh Bailey and Nick Leddy…The Isles rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win for the first time March 14, 2017 in Carolina (also in overtime)…Dustin Brown played in his 998th NHL game…It was only the second time this season that Darcy Kuemper allowed four goals, and in both cases the fourth goal was scored in overtime…The Isles improved to 3-10-1 when trailing after one period and 3-11-1 when trailing after two periods. Only Vegas (4-5-1) has more wins than the Isles when trailing after two periods. Mathew Barzal assisted on Eberle's overtime goal and continues to lead all rookies in assists with 21; Travis Hamonic had 21 as a rookie in 2010-11 but no Islander has had more since John Tavares had 30 in 2009-10.

Leading goal scorers in NHL

1. Alex Ovechkin 23

       Nikita Kucherov 23

3 Anders Lee 20

4 John Tavares 19

December Leaders

Anders Lee is one of two players with 7 goals this month (Nathan MacKinnon is the other).  Josh Bailey and John Tavares are two of the five players with 12 points this month (Artemi Panarin, Tyler Johnson and Alex Ovechkin).

Christmas Club 

Anders Lee has 20 goals and John Tavares has 19 goals; Lee is the first Islander to score 20 goals before Christmas since 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.

Tavares and Lee are the first Islander teammates to score 19 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 19 goals by December 16th.

Casey on the Draw

Casey Cizikas has won 32 of 46 draws over the last three games (69.6%), including 11 of 14 tonight.  He won all four of his draws while shorthanded, becoming the first Islander in seven years (Zenon Konopka 11-3-2010 vs. Carolina) to take at least four face-offs shorthanded and win them all.  

Casey is a team-best 53.4% on draws and a team-best 46.2% while shorthanded.

While the Isles are 26th in draws this season, they are 13th since the start of December.

Good Bye, Old Friends

Josh Bailey's assist on John Tavares' goal was his 231st, breaking a tie with both Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen for 16th place on the all-time Isles list.

Moving On Up

John Tavares recorded two assists, tying Brent Sutter for 7th place on the all-time Isles list.  Thomas Greiss recorded his 58th win, breaking a tie with Evgeni Nabokov for 9th place on the 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 18-12-3 this season; they were 13-14-6 through 33 games last season and won only 18 of their first 43 games last season (18-17-8).  Their 18th win came in Doug Weight's first 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 9-4-2 on the season (9-3-2 in his last 14 decisions). Greiss is 6-2-0 in his last eight decisions and is 7-2-1 in his last 10 decisions.

Fastest to 40

Doug Weight is now 42-23-7 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            14-10-8-1=33

Los Angeles 10-8-10-1=29

The Isles are 6-4-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 12-7-1 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 final game of a stretch in which the Isles played eight games in 13 days.  The Isles went 3-4-1 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 L 4-6

12/16- Vs. Kings W 4-3 (OT)

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 first game of a five game homestand.  The Isles are 1-0-0 in this stretch:

12/16- Vs. Kings W 4-3 (OT)

12/19 – Vs. Red Wings

12/21 -  Vs. Ducks

12/23 – Vs. Jets (1pm)

12/27 – Vs. Sabres

Home and Road

The Islanders are 18-12-3 overall; 10-2-2 at home and 8-10-1 on the road.  

Los Angeles is 20-10-4 overall; 10-5-2 at home and 10-5-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 5-4-1 in Division games and 13-8-2 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 9-7-1 against the East and 9-5-2 against the West.

Our House

The Isles are 10-2-2 at home; they are 4-1-0 against the East and 6-1-2 against the West.  All-time the Isles are 27-5-5 all-time at Barclays against the West.

Most Points Through 14 Home Games

24- 1978-79

23- 1974-75

22- 1977-78

22- 2017-18

22- 2014-15

22- 1984-85

22- 1981-82

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 26 saves and improves to 9-4-2 on the season and 4-3-0 in his career against Los Angeles.  

Darcy Kuemper made 29 saves; he remains unbeaten this season in regulation time (5-0-3) and is 1-1-1 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-5 on the power play in 8:01 of PP time; Los Angeles was 1-3 in 4:27 of PP time. 

The Isles are 11-6-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 7-6-3 when they do not.  The Isles are 11-8-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 7-4-2 when they do not.    

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 17-4-1 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 6-4-3 in games decided by a single goal including 1-4 in regulation. They are 3-2 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 4-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal 

The Isles are 11-0-0 when they score first and are 7-12-3 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 4-3-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 3-4-0 on the back-end. 

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 5-0-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 

• The Isles are 2-2-0 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 (24:30); Los Angeles: Jake Muzzin (26:04)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (3-1-1), Nick Leddy (11-10-1), John Tavares (2-1-0), Calvin deHaan (2-0-0).

Josh Bailey led the forwards in ice-time (22:06). Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (16-9-3), Josh Bailey (2-0-0), Brock Nelson (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-2-0).

Face-offs

Isles 40, Los Angeles 23 (63%). 

Casey Cizikas won 11 of 14 for the Isles; No King who took more than three draws won as many as he lost.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 13/21; 2nd period 9/18; 3rd period 17/23; Overtime 1/1.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 29/48; Power play 5/8; Penalty kill 6/7.

Hit Count

Isles 24 (Jason Chimera-5)

Los Angeles 31 (Jake Muzzin-5)

Fights

Jason Chimera fought Trevor Lewis in the second period. Season total – 4: (Boychuk 1, Mayfield 1, Cizikas 1, Chimera 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 12 shots; Johnny Boychuk led the way with four.

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 63, Los Angeles 56

5-on-5 Isles 47, Los Angeles 41

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Jordan Eberle +11

Los Angeles:  Oscar Fantenberg +7

Night and Day 

The Isles are 17-12-2 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 – 221 (including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 184 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 182, Calvin deHaan 118, Nick Leddy 110.

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. Calvin deHaan 4/7/2016- CURRENT 118

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

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

11. Nick Leddy 10/23/2016 – CURRENT 110

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

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: 77

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

Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have allowed a goal once in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or win a game:

12/16 – LA Kings – Anze Kopitar (19:47); tied game, but Isles won 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 672 *** 10. Derek King 638 *** 11. Billy Harris 623 *** 12. Stefan Persson 622 *** 13. John Tavares 620

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 254

…

22.  Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 25. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 26. Josh Bailey 115 *** 27. Benoit Hogue and Ed Westfall 105 *** 29. Anders Lee 104

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 and John Tavares 323

…

15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Josh Bailey 231

Points

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

5. Brent Sutter 610 *** 6. John Tavares 577

…

14. Kyle Okposo & Stefan Persson 369 *** 16. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 17.  Josh Bailey 346

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 108

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. Thomas Greiss 58

Season Series Stats

The teams split the season series one game to one (Los Angeles earned three points to the Isles' two). 

This was the first Islander overtime win over Los Angeles since Mark Streit beat the Kings at the Coliseum on February 11th.

The home team has won all five meetings between the teams over the last three seasons.

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 13-11-1-1 following a 5-4 loss in Springfield on Friday and a 3-2 overtime win over Wilkes Barre-Scranton on Saturday.

Tanner Fritz continues to lead Bridgeport with 28 points (8-20-28); Rookie Scott Eansor leads the team in goals with 12. Christopher Gibson is 9-6-0 in the nets after earning the win in relief on Saturday, while Krister Gudlevskis is 4-5-2.

Bridgeport hosts Lehigh Valley at 3pm on Sunday  

Up Next

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19th –DETROIT AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM 

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

The homestand continues as the Isles face the Detroit Red Wings for the first time this season.  The Red Wings have taken 2-out-of-3 from the Isles in each of the last two seasons and Petr Mrazek owns five wins over the Isles in the past three seasons.

This is the first of two meetings in Brooklyn this season; the Red Wings return on February 9th.  The Isles won't visit Little Caesars Arena until April 7th, which is the final day of the regular season.

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