The Skinny: Pittsburgh 4, Isles 3 (OT)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 28

Pittsburgh 4, Isles 3 (OT)

Matt Hunwick scored 1:29 into overtime to break a 3-3 tie as the Pittsburgh Penguins survived a late Islander rally to defeat the Isles 4-3 before a sellout crowd of 18,433 at PPG Paints Arena.

Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson each scored their 8th goal of the season in the final 4:53 of the third period to force the extra session.

The Scoring: (reflecting a next day scoring change on the Penguins’ first goal)

1ST PERIOD

12:17    Pittsburgh         PPG - Kris Letang (2) ASST: Evgeni Malkin (18) , Sidney Crosby (18) 0-1

2ND PERIOD

05:53    New York         Jordan Eberle (12) ASST: Ryan Pulock (3), Nick Leddy (18)        1-1

3RD PERIOD

07:29    Pittsburgh         PPG - Phil Kessel (14) ASST: Kris Letang (22), Sidney Crosby (19)            1-2

08:01    Pittsburgh         Riley Sheahan (2) ASST: Carl Hagelin (3)          1-3

15:07    New York         Mathew Barzal (8) ASST: Scott Mayfield (5), Casey Cizikas (5)   2-3

18:50    New York         Brock Nelson (8) ASST: Andrew Ladd (7), Thomas Hickey (4)     3-3

OT PERIOD

01:29    Pittsburgh         Matt Hunwick (3) ASST: Bryan Rust (12) 3-4

The Skinny (also reflecting the scoring change):

The Isles have allowed the first goal in each of the last four games, in 6 of the last 9 and in 18 of the first 28 games…. Nick Leddy had an assist for the fourth straight game, he is tied with Drew Doughty and John Klingberg for the defenseman point scoring lead… Jordan Eberle scored for the 12^th time in the last 18 games; it was the Isles 100^th goal (excluding shootout winners) of the season...  The Penguins have sold-out 498 consecutive games… Mathew Barzal continues to lead all rookies in scoring with 27 points (8-19-27) … The Isles have allowed two power play goals in each of the last four games (and ten power play goals total in the last six games)…It’s the first time since October 2006 that the Isles have allowed multiple power play goals in four straight games…Sidney Crosby now has an 11 game point streak vs the Isles(7-11-18)…Kris Letang has 11 points in his last eight games against the Isles (3-8-11)…The Isles’ late rally preserved two streaks – the Isles have earned a point in the game following every loss by at least three goals under Doug Weight (8-0-1) and have not lost consecutive games in regulation this season...The Isles have now outscored the opposition 4-0 in 6-on-5 situations…Jake Guentzel lost credit for a first period goal on the scoring change; it was changed to reflect that it had gone in off an Islander defenseman.

3 x 12

The Isles have three players with at least 12 goals.  It is only the 2nd time in 24 years that that has happened by December 7th (2006-07: Miroslav Satan, Jason Blake, Alexei Yashin)

Two Late Goals

It's the first time since April 7, 2015 in Philadelphia that the Isles have scored twice in the final five minutes to tie a game; the Flyers won that game in the final seconds of regulation.

The last time that the Isles scored twice in the final five minutes to force overtime was on December 27, 2008 vs. Buffalo.  Mike Comrie and Chris Campoli had the goals in a game the Isles eventually lost in a shootout.

Had the Isles won the game in overtime, it would have been the first time that they had done so after scoring twice in the final five minutes to force overtime since February 3, 2004 vs Vancouver.  The Isles rallied from a 3-1 deficit in that game to take a 4-3 lead; after Henrik Sedin forced overtime, Adrian Aucoin had the winning tally.

Leading goal scorers in NHL

1. Alex Ovechkin 21

2. Nikita Kucherov 19

3. John Tavares 17

4. Sean Monahan 17

5. Anders Lee 16

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 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 16-9-3 this season; they were 11-12-5 through 28 games last season and won only 16 of their first 41 games last season (16-17-8).  

Leddy(ing) the Way

Nick Leddy's assist give him 24 points in 28 games this season (.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 without the surname of Potvin has ever averaged .91 points/game over a full season (Denis did it 10 times and Jean once).

Lots of Wins

Jaroslav Halak has 220 career wins; he is one win behind 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 had won five straight decisions and was 6-0-1(with 1 no decision) in his last 8 games prior to today.

Fastest to 40

Doug Weight is now 40-21-7 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          6-13-6-1=26

Pittsburgh  15-7-7-3=32

The Isles are 5-3-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 11-5-1 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 third game of a stretch in which the Isles will play eight games in 13 days.  The Isles are 1-1-1 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

12/11- Vs. Caps

12/13- Vs. Stars

12/14 - @ Blue Jackets

12/16- Vs. Kings

The game in Columbus on December 14th is the only road game in an 8-game stretch between December 11th and December 27th.

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

Home and Road

The Islanders are 16-9-3 overall; 8-1-2 at home and 8-8-1 on the road.  

Pittsburgh is 16-11-3 overall; 10-3-1 at home and 6-8-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 4-3-1 in Division games and 12-6-2 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 8-5-1 against the East and 8-4-2 against the West.

Our House

The Isles are 8-1-2 at home; they are 3-1-0 against the East and 5-0-2 against the West.  All-time the Isles 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

Jaroslav Halak made 28 saves; he is 8-6-1 on the season and 8-5-2 in his career against Pittsburgh.  

Tristan Jarry made 23 saves to improve to 5-1-2 on the season and 1-0-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-4 on the power play; Pittsburgh was 2-2x.  

The Isles are 10-4-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 6-5-3 when they do not.  The Isles are 10-6-1 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 15-3-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-6-2 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 4-0 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 6-9-3 when they allow the opening goal. 

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 4-2-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 3-3-0 on the back-end.  The next back-to-back set is December 13th vs. Dallas and December 14th in Columbus; that is the last back-to-back set until mid-January.

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 9-6-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (25:13); Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (24:31)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (3-1-1), Nick Leddy (9-7-1), John Tavares (2-1-0), Calvin deHaan (2-0-0).

John Tavares led the forwards in ice-time (21:40). Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (15-7-3), Josh Bailey (1-0-0), Brock Nelson (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 32, Pittsburgh 28 (53%). 

John Tavares won 13 of 23 for the Isles; Evgeni Malkin won 8 of 13 for Pittsburgh.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 7/17; 2nd period 14/23; 3rd period 10/18; Overtime 1/2

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 27/50; Power play 4/8; Penalty kill 1/2

Hit Count

Isles 30 (Anders Lee -4) 

Pittsburgh 23 (Ryan Reaves -6)

Fights

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

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 13 shots; Adam Pelech had 3. 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 56, Pittsburgh 58 (including 12-0 Isles late in regulation)

5-on-5 Isles 38, Pittsburgh 50

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Ryan Pulock +6

Pittsburgh: Jake Guentzel +9

Night and Day 

The Isles are 15-9-2 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 – 216 (including 106 for the Capitals); Jordan Eberle 179 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 177, Calvin deHaan 113, Nick Leddy 105.

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 113

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 105

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), (Shane Prince-IR), (Johnny Boychuk-injured), (Alan Quine - injured), Dennis Seidenberg

Total games lost: 61.

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 *** Brent Sutter 694 *** 9. Josh Bailey 667 *** 10. Derek King 638 *** 11. Billy Harris 623 *** 12. Stefan Persson 622 *** 13. John Tavares 615

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 252

…

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 Kallur 101*** 30. Anders Lee 100

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 316

…

15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 ***18. Josh Bailey 226

Points

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

5. Brent Sutter 610 *** 6. John Tavares 568

…

16. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 17. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 18. Josh Bailey 337

Games Played (Goalies)

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

…

6. Glenn Healy 176 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 139 *** 8. Roland Melanson 136*** 9. Mark Fitzpatrick 129 ***

10. Garth Snow 127 *** 11.  Evgeni Nabokov 123 *** 12. Thomas Greiss 105

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 76*** 7. Glenn Healy 66 *** 8.  Tommy Salo 62 *** 

9. Evgeni Nabokov and Thomas Greiss 57

Season Series Stats

The Penguins lead the series one game to none (and two points to one). The teams will next meet on January 5th in Brooklyn before playing a pair of games in March.

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 12-8-1-1 on the season, including 9-3-1-1 in their last 14 games. 

Although he lost an assist after a mid-week scoring change, Tanner Fritz continues to lead Bridgeport with 24 points (7-17-24); Rookie Scott Eansor leads the team in goals with 10. Christopher Gibson is 8-4-0 in the nets, while Krister Gudlevskis is 4-4-2.  

Bridgeport visits Springfield Saturday and then hosts Rochester at 3pm on Sunday.

Up Next

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9th –ISLANDERS AT BOSTON  7:00PM 

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

The road trip concludes as the Isles face the Bruins in Boston.  It's the first of three meetings on the season between the teams, and all three games will be in a period of six weeks.

The Isles won both games in Boston last season behind the goaltending of Thomas Greiss.  Greiss faced 50 shots in a 4-2 win in December and then blanked the Bruins 4-0 in Jack Capuano's final game as Islander coach.

The road team has had the upper hand in recent battles between the teams; the Isles have won 5 of 7 and 6 of 9 in Boston, but are only 1-8-0 in the last 9 at home, including 0-3-0 at Barclays Center.

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