The Skinny: Columbus 4, Isles 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 58

Columbus 4, Isles 1   

Oliver Bjorkstrand and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored second period power play goals as the Columbus Blue Jackets erased a 1-0 Islander lead and defeated the Isles 4-1 before a crowd of 10,232 at Barclays Center.

John Tavares had given the Isles a 1-0 lead with a power play goal of his own in the first period.  It was his 29th goal of the season, tying Anders Lee for the team lead, and the 600th point of his career.

The Isles were outshot 51-30; it's only the fifth time in franchise history that they have allowed at least 50 shots.

 

The Scoring: 

1ST PERIOD

17:51 New York PPG - John Tavares (29) ASST: Anders Lee (17), Josh Bailey (47) 1-0

2ND PERIOD

06:02 Columbus PPG - Oliver Bjorkstrand (10) ASST: Zach Werenski (12),Pierre-Luc Dubois (14) 1-1

19:03 Columbus PPG - Pierre-Luc Dubois (13) ASST: Zach Werenski (13),Oliver Bjorkstrand (21) 1-2

3RD PERIOD

06:01 Columbus Brandon Dubinsky (5) ASST: Boone Jenner (11), Josh Anderson (11) 1-3

06:44 Columbus Cam Atkinson (9) ASST: Artemi Panarin (31), Zach Werenski (14) 1-4

The Skinny 

The Isles are 12-18-4 in their last 34 games … Including shootout winners, the Isles have scored 194 goals in the first 58 games (first time since 1993-94 when they had 195) and allowed 214 goals (highest since 1995-96, when they allowed 223) … The Isles have allowed at least 35 shots in fourteen straight home games and Jaroslav Halak has faced …John Tavares went 17-5 on the draw, one game after winning a season-high 19 face-offs…This was the first of the five games played in Brooklyn this month that the team that trailed after two periods lost…The Blue Jackets tied their club record for shots on goal in a period (26); they had set the record 10 days ago in their last visit to Brooklyn…It was only the third time all season that Columbus scored two power play goals in a game…The Isles have scored 24 of their 40 power play goals at home…Five of Columbus' 24 power play goals this season have come against the Isles…Artemi Panarin (0-7-7) and Oliver Bjorkstrand (1-6-7) each had seven points vs. the Isles this season; Josh Bailey (4-1-5) and John Tavares (1-4-5) each had five for the Isles.

Lots of Shots (Against)

The Isles allowed at least 50 shots for the third time this season, matching the franchise record set in 1972-73. The 51 shots allowed by the Isles are a Barclays Center record.  It was only the 5th time in Islander history that they have allowed at least 50 shots on home-ice.

Lots of Rubber for Jaro

Jaroslav Halak faced 51 shots and stopped 47; since December 1st, Halak has faced 966 shots.  This is 107 more than any other goaltender in that span (Henrik Lundqvist has faced 859). 

Six For 600

John Tavares is the 6th Islander to record at least 600 career points:

1. Bryan Trottier 1353 

2. Mike Bossy 1126 

3. Denis Potvin 1052 

4. Clark Gillies 663

5. Brent Sutter 610

6. John Tavares 600

Barzal Rising Fast on All-time Isles Rookie Scoring

Mathew Barzal needs only 1 point to become the third highest-scoring rookie in Islander history.

Most Assists by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 63 1975-76

2. Stefan Persson 50 1977-78

3. MATHEW BARZAL 43 2017-18 

Most Points by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 95 1975-76

2. Mike Bossy 91 1977-78

3. David Volek 59 1988-89

  MATHEW BARZAL 59 2017-18 

Over the last 10 seasons, Artemi Panarin (then with Chicago) is the only rookie with more assists than Barzal's 43.  Panarin finished his campaign with 47.

Countdown to 50

Josh Bailey has 47 assists and Mathew Barzal has 43. No Islander has had 50 assists since John Tavares reached the mark in 2011-12; Pierre Turgeon is the only Islander to exceed 50 assists in the last 28 seasons (74 in 1992-93 and 56 in 1993-94).

One and (Usually) Done

The Isles are 15-2-1 this season when leading after one period.  Their February 5th overtime loss to the Predators ended a 19-game winning streak when scoring first and their February 11th regulation loss to the Flames ended a 22-0-2 streak dating back to last season in which they have earned points.

 

Five's Alive

The Isles have scored at least five goals ten times at home (9-1-0) and seventeen times overall (16-1-0). The Isles have also scored two shootout winners 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 eight times at home (1-5-2) and sixteen times overall (1-13-2).  

First Things First

The Isles have scored first 23 times this season (17-5-1). 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 17-5-1 when they score first and are 10-20-5 when they allow the opening goal. 

This Year vs. Last Year

The Isles are 27-25-6 (60 points) this season; they were 27-21-10 (64 points) through 58 games last season.

Lots of Wins

Jaroslav Halak has 229 career wins; he is once again tied with Antti Niemi for 64th on the all-time NHL win list.  Corey Crawford and Martin Biron each have 230 NHL wins while Chico Resch owns 231.

Fastest to 50

Doug Weight is now 51-37-10 as an NHL coach. On February 3rd vs. the Blue Jackets, he reached 50 wins faster than any coach in Islander history:

Fewest Games to 50 Wins by an Islander Coach:

93 – Doug Weight (50-34-9)

98 – Ted Nolan 2006-07 & 2007-08 (50-36-12)

102- Terry Simpson 1986-87 & 1987-88 (50-39-13)

103– Peter Laviolette 2001-02 & 2002-03(50-39-10-4)

106—Steve Stirling 2003-04 & 2005-06 (50-40-11-5)

The Shots

Isles           11-7-12=30

Columbus 26-15-10=51

The Isles are 7-8-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 20-16-3 when they are outshot.  (The club record for wins while being outshot in one season is 25, set by the 1983-84 team)

Offside Challenges

The Isles have challenged three times and been successful twice.

10/10 vs STL Blues – unsuccessful; Isles killed ensuing power play.

10/12 @ Ana Ducks – successful

1/15 @ Mtl Canadiens – successful 

The opponents have not yet challenged an Islander goal due to an offside this season.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 27-25-6 overall; 15-10-4 at home and 12-15-2 on the road.  

Columbus is 29-23-4 overall; 17-10-1 at home and 12-13-3 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 8-8-1 in Division games and 19-17-5 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 15-17-1 against the East and 12-8-5 against the West.  

Our House

The Isles are 15-10-4 at home; they are 8-8-0 against the East and 7-2-4 against the West.  All-time the Isles are 28-6-7 all-time at Barclays against the West.

In the Nets

Jaroslav Halak made 47 saves but falls to 17-18-4 on the season and 13-6-3 in his career against Columbus. 

Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves to improve to 24-18-4 on the season and 15-5-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play in 4:35 of PP time; Columbus was 2-4 on the power play in 6:33 of PP time.

The Isles are 16-10-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 11-15-4 when they do not.  The Isles are 16-18-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 11-7-4 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 25-7-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-18-3 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 12-6-6 in games decided by a single goal including 3-6 in regulation. They are 6-5 in games decided in overtime and are 3-1 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

The Isles are 5-6-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 4-7-0 on the back-end. The Isles will play only one other set of back-to-backs in February (February 15 vs Rangers – February 16 in Carolina)

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 1-3-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 6-1-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 

• The Isles are 3-4-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 16-17-6 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Thomas Hickey (22:02); Columbus: Seth Jones (23:22).

John Tavares led Isles forwards in ice-time (18:48) 

Face-offs

Isles 42, Columbus 25 (63%).

John Tavares won 17 of 22 for the Isles (giving him 46 of 63 over the last three games); Nick Foligno won 3 of 6 for Columbus.

 

Face-offs by period: 1st period 20/24; 2nd period 12/21; 3rd period 10/22.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 34/55, Power play 4/5, Penalty kill 4/7.

Hit Count

Isles 18 (Cal Clutterbuck -5)

Columbus 14 (Boone Jenner -6)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 11: (Boychuk 2, Johnston 2, Mayfield 1, Cizikas 1, Chimera 1, Prince 1, Bailey 1, Eberle 1, Nelson 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 19 shots (Johnny Boychuk -4)

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 56, Columbus 86.

5-on-5 Isles 47, Columbus 69.

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Jason Chimera +4

Columbus: Jack Johnson and Markus Nutivaara +14

Night and Day 

The Isles are 23-25-5 in night games and 4-0-1 in matinees.  The Isles have only one matinee remaining this season: February 19th vs Minnesota (1pm).

Ironmen

Overall: Jason Chimera 246 (including 106 for the Capitals), Jordan Eberle 209 (including 151 for the Oilers: 

As Isles: Jason Chimera 140, Nick Leddy 135. Eberle, Mathew Barzal, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and John Tavares have also played in every game this season.

Century Club

Nick Leddy is only the 6th defenseman in Islander history to play at least 135 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. Nick Leddy 10/23/2016 – CURRENT 135

7. Ken Morrow 3/1/1980-12/29/1981 134 (*)

8. Mark Streit 10/8/2011-4/26/2013 130

9. Calvin deHaan 4/7/2016- 12/16/2017 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), (Shane Prince- IR), (Scott Mayfield - IR), Alan Quine, Tanner Fritz, Dennis Seidenberg

Total games lost: 188

Late Heroes

The Isles have scored four times in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or take the lead:

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

2/9 – DET Red Wings – Josh Bailey (18:11); took lead, Isles allowed tying goal but then won in overtime.

Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have allowed a goal five times 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

2/6 – NAS Predators – Ryan Johansen (19:17); tied game and Predators won in overtime

2/9 – DET Red Wings – Mike Green (19:31); tied game but Isles won in overtime.

2/11- CLG Flames – Mathew Tkachuk (18:55); won game

7-11

The Isles have used 7 defensemen three times this season (10/19 @NYR, 10/21 vs SJ, 1/16 vs. NJ) and are 2-1-0 in those games.  Under Doug Weight, the Isles are 6-1-0 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 693** 10. John Tavares 645

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 264

…

18. Jason Blake 127 *** 19. Duane Sutter 121 *** 20. Josh Bailey 120 *** 21 Frans Nielsen and Alexei Yashin 119 *** 23. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 26. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 27. Anders Lee 113

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553*** 4. Clark Gillies 359***

5. John Tonelli 338 *** 6. John Tavares 336

…

13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Billy Harris 259 *** 15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Josh Bailey 247

Points

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

5. Brent Sutter 610 *** 6. John Tavares 600

…

13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Kyle Okposo & Stefan Persson 369 *** 16. Josh Bailey 367

Games Played (Goalies)

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

…

6. Glenn Healy 176 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 163 *** 8. Roland Melanson 136*** 9. Mark Fitzpatrick 129 ***

10. Garth Snow 127 *** 11.  Evgeni Nabokov 123 *** 12. Thomas Greiss 114

Wins (Goalie)

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

5. Jaroslav Halak 85 *** 6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Glenn Healy 66 *** 8.  Tommy Salo 62 *** 

9. Thomas Greiss 59

Season Series Stats

Columbus wins the season series three games to one (and six points to two).  This was the Jackets' first regulation win in New York since November 29, 2002, ending an Isles' 9-0-4 streak against Columbus.

On the Farm

Bridgeport fell to 23-20-5-2 with a 5-0 home ice defeat Tuesday to Lehigh Valley.  The Sound Tigers were blanked despite having 40 shots on goal. 

Tanner Fritz (on recall to the Isles) leads Bridgeport with 37 points (10-27-37); Rookie Scott Eansor leads the team in goals with 16. Christopher Gibson is 17-11-2 in the nets with 2 shutouts.

Bridgeport visits Providence on Friday and then hosts Hartford on Sunday afternoon.

Up Next

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15th –RANGERS AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM 

[MSG+2 (Islander pre-game at 6:30PM), WFAN 660AM/101.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM]

The Isles will look to break their two-game losing streak as they welcome the Rangers to Brooklyn for the first time this season.

The Isles won both meetings on Broadway earlier this season (4-3 in a shootout and 7-2) and will be looking for their 6th straight win overall against the Rangers.

The Isles are 9-1-0 against the Rangers the last three seasons, including a perfect 4-0-0 at Barclays Center.  It's the first time in their long rivalry that the Isles have won 9 out of 10 from the Blueshirts.

 

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 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