The Skinny: Philadelphia 6, Isles 4

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 41   

Philadelphia 6, Isles 4

The Philadelphia Flyers scored 3 goals in a 4:48 span of the 2nd period and then held on, as they defeated the Islanders 6-4 before a crowd of 19,358 at Wells Fargo Center.

The Isles scored twice in the third period to make the game interesting, but the Flyers added an empty-netter in the final seconds to preserve their victory.

The loss, coupled with Carolina's win in Pittsburgh, leaves the Isles two points out of a playoff spot as the Canes now have 46 points in 40 games to the Isles' 44 points in 41 games.

The Scoring: 

1ST PERIOD

08:38 Philadelphia PPG - Sean Couturier (19) ASST: Jakub Voracek (39), Claude Giroux (34) 0-1

15:37 New York Cal Clutterbuck (5) ASST: Nick Leddy (21), Dennis Seidenberg (4) 1-1

2ND PERIOD

01:36 Philadelphia Michael Raffl (7) ASST: Ivan Provorov (11), Shayne Gostisbehere (22) 1-2

02:16 Philadelphia Wayne Simmonds (13) ASST: Robert Hagg (5), Jordan Weal (7) 1-3

06:24 Philadelphia PPG - Ivan Provorov (6) ASST: Nolan Patrick (6), Brandon Manning (5) 1-4

12:26 New York Cal Clutterbuck (6) ASST: Shane Prince (1), Dennis Seidenberg (5) 2-4

13:56 Philadelphia Travis Konecny (5) ASST: Sean Couturier (19) 2-5

3RD PERIOD

06:02 New York PPG - John Tavares (22) ASST: Nick Leddy (22), Mathew Barzal (24) 3-5

14:35 New York Ryan Pulock (3) 4-5

19:47 Philadelphia EN - PPG - Ivan Provorov (7) ASST: Claude Giroux (35), Jakub Voracek (40) 4-6

The Skinny 

The Isles have allowed 47 first period goals (most in the NHL) and have allowed the opening goal in an NHL-high 27 of 41 games…Cal Clutterbuck's first period goal was his 200th NHL point; his 2nd period goal gave him his 5th multi-goal game. John Tavares tied Josh Bailey for the team scoring lead; each player finished the first half with 50 points… Tavares' goal was the 50th scored by the Isles in the 3rd period this season…Both Bailey and Jordan Eberle were involved in third period fights; they had been in only previous one NHL fight (Bailey vs. Pascal Dupuis in 2011 Brawl game vs Pittsburgh) combined… Including shootout winners, the Isles have scored 141 goals in the first 41 games (first time since 1993-94 when they had 147) and allowed 150 goals (highest since 199-596, when they allowed 153)…The Isles have allowed a power play goal in 9 straight road games (15-33, 54.6% PK)…The Isles have allowed at least one third period goal in 17 straight games; it's the longest such streak since they allowed a goal in 21 third periods over parts of two seasons (2011-12 & 2012-13).. By NHL accounting, this was the 1,500th loss in team history (1558-1500-483… The Isles are 5-10-2 in their last 17 games…This was only the 7th divisional game for the Flyers (2-1-4) …The Isles power play is 4-9 vs. Philadelphia this season…Jakub Voracek had two assists to regain the NHL assist lead from Josh Bailey (40-38) …The Flyers scored 6 goals in a game for the first time since October 14 (8-2 win vs. Washington).

First Times in (Thankfully) a Long Time

The Isles have lost 4 straight for the first time since March 2015.   The Isles have lost 5 straight road games (and are pointless in 7 straight on road) for the first time since a 10-game road losing streak in November/December 2013.

Five's Alive

The Isles have scored at least five goals nine times at home (8-1-0) and thirteen times overall (12-1-0). The Isles have also scored one shootout winner for a fifth goal of the game (not included above). The Isles scored five goals (including shootout winners) in only 10 games all last season.

Five's Trouble

The Isles have allowed at least five goals five times at home (0-4-1) and twelve times overall (0-11-1).  They have allowed at least five goals in all four of their regulation losses at home.

First Things First

The Isles have scored first fourteen times this season (13-1-0). The Isles won the first eleven times they scored first this season and had won a franchise-record 16 straight dating back to last season.

First Goal 

The Isles are 13-1-0 when they score first and are 7-16-4 when they allow the opening goal. 

This Year vs. Last Year

The Isles are 20-17-4 this season; they were 16-17-8 through 41 games last season and won only 20 of their first 46 games last season (20-17-9).  Their 20th win came in Doug Weight's fourth game as Islander head coach. 

Lots of Wins

Jaroslav Halak has 223 career wins, leaving him two wins shy of Ken Wregget for 67th place on the all-time NHL win list.   

Greiss, Greiss, Baby

Thomas Greiss is 9-6-2 on the season, including 6-4-0 in his last nine decisions.

Fastest to 40

Doug Weight is now 44-29-8 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              6-8-17=31

Philadelphia 11-14-7=32

The Isles are 6-6-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 14-10-2 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.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 20-17-4 overall; 12-4-3 at home and 8-13-1 on the road.  

Philadelphia is 17-15-8 overall; 9-8-4 at home and 8-7-4 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 5-5-1 in Division games and 15-12-3 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 10-10-1 against the East and 10-7-3 against the West.  

Our House

The Isles are 12-4-3 at home; they are 5-3-0 against the East and 7-1-3 against the West.  All-time the Isles are 28-5-6 all-time at Barclays against the West.

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 26 saves; he is 9-6-2 on the season and 5-3-2 in his career against Philadelphia.

Brian Elliott made 27 saves in his 15th straight start.  He is 15-10-7 on the season and 6-1-6 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-1 on the power play in 0:40 of PP time; Philadelphia was 3-5 in 6:47 of PP time. 

The Isles are 12-8-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-9-3 when they do not.  The Isles are 11-12-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 9-5-2 when they do not.    

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 19-6-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-11-2 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 7-4-4 in games decided by a single goal including 1-4 in regulation. They are 4-3 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 4-3 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs

Including tonight, the Isles are 4-4-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 3-4-0 on the back-end. This back-to-back set concludes on Friday vs. Pittsburgh. The next back-to-back set is January 15th in Montreal and January 16th vs. New Jersey.

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 11-13-4 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Dennis Seidenberg (23:00); Philadelphia: Claude Giroux (22:29)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Johnny Boychuk (4-1-1), Nick Leddy (11-14-2), John Tavares (2-1-0), Calvin deHaan (2-0-0), Dennis Seidenberg (1-0-0).

John Tavares led the forwards in ice-time (20:27). Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (17-11-4), Josh Bailey (2-1-0), Brock Nelson (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-2-0), Andrew Ladd (1-1-0), Anders Lee (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 31, Philadelphia 31 (50%) 

No Islander who took multiple face-offs won more than he lost; Claude Giroux won 7 of 8 for Philadelphia.

 

Face-offs by period: 1st period 9/15; 2nd period 7/21; 3rd period 15/26.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 29/55, Power play 0/1; Penalty kill 2/6.

Hit Count

Isles 23 (Dennis Seidenberg -4)

Philadelphia 23 (Brandon Manning-4)

Fights

Shane Prince fought Travis Konecny in the first period, Josh Bailey fought Sean Couturier and Jordan Eberle fought Scott Laughton in the third period. Season total – 7: (Boychuk 1, Mayfield 1, Cizikas 1, Chimera 1, Prince 1, Bailey, Eberle 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 17 shots; Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech led the way with three.

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 59, Philadelphia 66 (including 17-3 in Philly's favor to open the game)

5-on-5 Isles 51, Philadelphia 55.

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Ryan Pulock +6

Philadelphia: Wayne Simmonds +7

Night and Day 

The Isles are 18-17-3 in night games and 2-0-1 in matinees.  The Isles, who went 2-3-1 in matinees last season, will play six matinees this season; the next ones are January 7th vs New Jersey and January 13 at the Rangers (both 1pm).

Ironmen

Jason Chimera – 229 (including 106 for the Capitals), Jordan Eberle 192 (including 151 for the Oilers), Josh Bailey 190, Nick Leddy 118.

Century Club

Nick Leddy has 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- 12/16/2017 118

   Nick Leddy 10/23/2016 – CURRENT 118

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

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

12. 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), (Calvin deHaan-IR), (Johnny Boychuk -IR), Sebastian Aho, Alan Quine

Total games lost: 103

Late Heroes

The Isles have scored three times 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

12/27- BUF Sabres – Josh Bailey (18:51); tied game, and Isles won in overtime

Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have allowed a goal twice 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

12/21—Ana Ducks – Rickard Rakell (18:45); tied game and Ducks 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 680 *** 10. Derek King 638 *** 11. John Tavares 628

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 257

…

20. Frans Nielsen and Alexei Yashin 119 *** 22. Josh Bailey, Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 26. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 27. Anders Lee 107

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553*** 4. Clark Gillies 359***5. John Tonelli 338 *** 6. John Tavares 330

…

13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Billy Harris 259 *** 15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Josh Bailey 238

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052 *** 4. Clark Gillies 663 ***5. Brent Sutter 610 *** 6. John Tavares 587

…

13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Kyle Okposo & Stefan Persson 369 *** 16. Josh Bailey 356

Games Played (Goalies)

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

…

6. Glenn Healy 176 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 148 *** 8. Roland Melanson 136*** 9. Mark Fitzpatrick 129 ***

10. Garth Snow 127 *** 11.  Evgeni Nabokov 123 *** 12. Thomas Greiss 111

Wins (Goalie)

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

5. Jaroslav Halak 79 *** 6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Glenn Healy 66 *** 8.  Tommy Salo 62 *** 

9. Thomas Greiss 58

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series two games to one (each team has earned four points).  The final meeting of the season will be in Brooklyn on April 3rd.

The Isles have split a pair of games in Philadelphia in each of the last four seasons (although the Flyers are 4-1-3 in those eight games.

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 16-12-3-1 on the season following a 3-2 overtime loss in Wilkes-Barre-Scranton on Wednesday, 

Tanner Fritz led Bridgeport with 35 points (10-25-35) at the time of his recall; Rookie Scott Eansor leads the team in goals with 13. Christopher Gibson is 12-6-2 in the nets with 2 shutouts; he has allowed only five goals in his last four starts.

The Sound Tigers visit Rochester on Friday and Toronto on Saturday as they continue a stretch where they are playing 6 of 8 on the road.

Up Next

FRIDAY, JANUARY 5th –PITTSBURGH AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM 

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

The Isles open the second half of their season with a visit from the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

This will be the second meeting of the season between the teams.  The Isles rallied to force overtime on December 7th in Pittsburgh before the Penguins prevailed on a Matt Hunwick goal.

The Isles are 2-0-2 in their last four games against the Penguins; it matches their longest point streak against Pittsburgh in the Crosby era.  The last time the Isles earned a point streak in five straight against the Penguins was when they went 7-0-4 in 11 games in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 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