The Skinny: Ottawa 6, Isles 5

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 25

Ottawa 6, Isles 5

Ryan Dzingel finished what he started.   Dzingel scored the game's 1st and 11th goals as Ottawa snapped the Islanders' four game winning streak and handed New York their first regulation loss on home-ice this season, defeating the Isles 6-5 before a crowd of 11,797 at Barclays Center.  

All but Dzingel's second goal were scored in the first 40 minutes as the Isles and their opponent each scored at least 5 goals in the opening two periods for the first time since December 23, 1989 vs. Pittsburgh.

It was an expensive night in the standings for the Isles as Columbus, New Jersey, Pittsburgh and the Rangers all won.

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

08:32 Ottawa    Ryan Dzingel (7) ASST: Nate Thompson (4) 0-1

09:41 Ottawa    Zack Smith (1) ASST: Matt Duchene (7) 0-2

12:13 New York Anthony Beauvillier (3) ASST: Jason Chimera (4), Cal Clutterbuck (5) 1-2

14:27 New York PPG - Anders Lee (14) ASST: Josh Bailey (24), Nick Leddy (15) 2-2

18:55 Ottawa    Bobby Ryan (1) ASST: Dion Phaneuf (7) 2-3

2ND PERIOD

03:01 New York  Anders Lee (15) ASST: John Tavares (13), Josh Bailey (25) 3-3

04:17 New York  Andrew Ladd (7) ASST: Jordan Eberle (9) 4-3

08:26 Ottawa      Thomas Chabot (1) ASST: Bobby Ryan (7), Mark Stone (11) 4-4

08:40 New York   Jason Chimera (1) 5-4

11:49 Ottawa PPG - Mike Hoffman (9) ASST: Thomas Chabot (4), Cody Ceci (3) 5-5

3RD PERIOD

01:38 Ottawa PPG - Ryan Dzingel (8) ASST: Thomas Chabot (5), Dion Phaneuf (8) 5-6

The Skinny: 

The loss ends a 10-game home point streak to begin the season (8-0-2); counting the final two home games last season the Isles had gone 10-0-2 in their last 12 home games… Eight of the game's first nine goals were scored in pairs, coming no more than 2:14 apart…Anders Lee's first goal was on the power play; the Isles have scored a power play goal in eight of the last nine games; Lee now has a 3-game goal streak (4 goals) … Josh Bailey had two assists to regain the team scoring lead (5-25-30) over John Tavares (16-13-29); Bailey is now only one assist behind Steven Stamkos for the NHL lead…Jordan Eberle has a four-game point streak…  Mathew Barzal was held pointless, ending the longest active point streak in the NHL (7) … Barzal's 18 assists are already the most by an Islander rookie since 2010-11 (Travis Hamonic 21, Michael Grabner 18) … Jaroslav Halak he played in his 137th Isles game (passing Roland Melanson for 7th place) …Anders Lee again matched his career high with two goals; he now has 99 career goals.  With Lee's goals tonight, Lee and John Tavares are on pace to combine for 102 goals this season (53 for Tavares and 49 for Lee); Jason Blake is the only Islander to score 40 goals in a season in the last 20 years…Nick Leddy had an assist, leaving him only one point behind John Klingberg for the defenseman scoring lead… Erik Karlsson is now pointless in eight straight games; he was -3 in this game and is -11 in those eight games…The Sens snapped a 5-game regulation losing streak and a 7-game winless streak (0-6-1); it was their first win in North America since November 2nd as both of their wins in the interim had come in Sweden…Four different players (3 Sens and Jason Chimera) sored their first goal of the season…In their last eight games, Ottawa's power play is 3-9 vs the Isles and 0-20 vs. everybody else.

Leading goal scorers in NHL

1. Alex Ovechkin 18

2. Nikita Kucherov 17

3. John Tavares 16

4. Anders Lee 15

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 scored five goals (including shootout winners) in only 10 games all last season.

The Isles had won 37 straight games when scoring 5+ goals, and were 90-1-0 in their last 91 when scoring at least five before the loss tonight.

First Things First

The Isles have scored first ten 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.

A Favorable Comparison

The Isles are 15-8-2 this season; they were 10-10-5 through 25 games last season and won only 15 of their first 39 games last season (15-16-8).  

Catching Patty

John Tavares' assist gives him 566 points, tying Pat LaFontaine for 6th place on the all-time Isles list.

Leddy(ing) the Way

Nick Leddy's assist give him 22 points in 25 games this season (.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 99 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 has 219 career wins, tying John Ross Roach for 69th place on the all-time NHL win list.   He is two wins behind Ilya Bryzgalov (221).  Halak allowed only one goal but was charged with the loss.

Greiss, Greiss, Baby

Thomas Greiss is 8-2-2 on the season (8-1-2 in his last 11 decisions).  Greiss has won five straight decisions and is 6-0-1(with 1 no decision) in his last 8 games.

Fastest to 35

Doug Weight is now 39-20-6 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      9-16-12=37

Ottawa 11-14-11=36

The Isles are 5-3-2 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 December

The Isles will play 15 games in December, matching their record for most December games (done several other times).  Beginning on Monday in Florida, the Isles will play eight games in 13 days.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 15-8-2 overall; 8-1-2 at home and 7-7-0 on the road.  

Ottawa is 9-9-6 overall; 4-5-5 at home and 5-4-1 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 7-4-0 against the East and 8-4-2 against the West.

Our House

The Isles are 8-1-2 at home.

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 11 Home Games

20- 1984-85

19- 1978-79

18- 2017-18

18- 2014-15

18- 1982-83

18- 1974-75

In the Nets

Thomas Halak made 15 saves on 20 shots before he was replaced after Ottawa's 5th goal.

Jaroslav Halak made 14 saves but falls to 7-6-0 on the season and 7-7-3 in his career against Ottawa.

Craig Anderson made 13 saves on 18 shots before he was replaced after the Isles' 5th goal.  Mike Condon stopped all 19 shots he faced in relief to earn the victory.  Condon, who won for the first time since October 14, is 2-1-3 on the season and 3-1-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play; Ottawa was 2-3.  

The Isles are 10-3-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 5-5-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 9-5-0 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 14-3-0 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 4-4-2 in games decided by a single goal including 1-4 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 5-8-2 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 8-6-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (22:09); Ottawa: Matt Duchene (23:01)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (3-1-1), Nick Leddy (8-6-0), John Tavares (2-1-0), Calvin deHaan (2-0-0).

John Tavares led the forwards in ice-time (21:21). Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (14-6-2), Josh Bailey (1-0-0), Brock Nelson (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 27, Ottawa 29 (48%). 

Anthony Beauvillier won 6 of 10 for the Isles (for the second straight game); Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 8 of 12 for Ottawa.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 11/20; 2nd period 10/22; 3rd period 6/14.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 21/48; Power play 2/4; Penalty kill 4/8

Hit Count

Isles 17 (Cal Clutterbuck -3) 

Ottawa 23(Dion Phaneuf -3)

Fights

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

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 12 shots; Calvin deHaan led the team with four. 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 57, Ottawa 60

5-on-5 Isles 41, Ottawa 45

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Anders Lee +4

Ottawa: Codi Ceci and Zack Smith +5

Night and Day 

The Isles are 14-8-1 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 – 213 (including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 176 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 174, Calvin deHaan 110, Nick Leddy 102.

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

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

     Calvin deHaan 4/7/2016- CURRENT 110

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 102

(*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches

(Nikolay Kulemin -IR), (Shane Prince-IR), Thomas Hickey, Scott Mayfield, (Casey Cizikas – injured)

Total games lost: 57.

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 664 *** 10. Derek King 638 *** 11. Billy Harris 623 *** 12. Stefan Persson 622 *** 13. John Tavares 612

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 and Anders Lee 99

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 315

…

15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 225

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 and John Tavares 566

…

17. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 18. Josh Bailey 336

Games Played (Goalies)

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

…

6. Glenn Healy 176 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 137 *** 8. Roland Melanson 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 season series is even at one game each, with the road team holding each victory.  The teams will conclude the season series on March 27th in Ottawa.

On the Farm

Tanner Fritz capped a five-point game with an overtime goal in the final seconds of the extra session as the Sound Tigers rallied for a 7-6 overtime victory over the Utica Comets on Friday night.  

Steve Bernier added a goal and two assists as the Sound Tigers extended their point streak to seven games (6-0-1-0).  Bridgeport is now 12-7-1-0 on the season and 9-2-1-0 in their last 12 games. Christopher Gibson made 25 saves to earn the win.

Fritz continues to lead Bridgeport with 24 points (6-18-24); Scott Eansor leads the team in goals with 9.  

Bridgeport concludes the home-and-home series by hosting Utica on Saturday.  The Sound Tigers will also host Providence at 3pm on Sunday.

 

Up Next

MONDAY, DECEMBER 4th –ISLANDERS AT FLORIDA  7:30PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 7:00PM), WNYM 970AM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM]

The Isles begin a four-game road trip as they visit the Florida Panthers in the first of three meetings between the teams this season.  

The Isles went 1-1-1 vs. Florida last season, earning their 16th win of the season against the Cats on January 13th.  They will be looking for their 16th win of this season on Monday.

The Isles are 4-5-3 in the last four seasons against the Panthers, winning just once in each season.

Jack Capuano, the 2nd winningest coach in Islander history, is now an assistant coach for the Panthers.

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