The Skinny: Minnesota 5, Isles 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 61

Minnesota 5, Isles 3 

The Minnesota Wild scored three goals in a 4:12 span of the second period to overcome a 2-1 deficit and held on to defeat the Isles 5-3 before a holiday crowd of 15,342 at Barclays Center.

Anders Lee and Tanner Fritz each had milestone goals in the second period for the Islanders; it was Lee's 30th goal of the season and the first of Fritz' NHL career.

Joel Eriksson Ek scored his first goal since opening night to end the Isles' shutout streak at 140:18; Islander goalies had stopped 102 consecutive shots in that span.

The Scoring: 

1ST PERIOD

07:02 Minnesota Joel Eriksson Ek (2) ASST: Charlie Coyle (16), Tyler Ennis (9) 0-1

19:15 New York Ross Johnston (3) ASST: Johnny Boychuk (7), Casey Cizikas (8) 1-1

2ND PERIOD

01:57 New York Anders Lee (30) ASST: Thomas Hickey (12), Ryan Pulock (14) 2-1

09:54 Minnesota Matt Cullen (6) ASST: Ryan Suter (31), Matt Dumba (22) 2-2

12:17 Minnesota Jason Zucker (24) ASST: Ryan Suter (32), Matt Dumba (23) 2-3

14:06 Minnesota Tyler Ennis (8) ASST: Matt Cullen (9), Jared Spurgeon (23) 2-4

16:31 New York Tanner Fritz (1) ASST: Anders Lee (18), Sebastian Aho (2) 3-4

3RD PERIOD

16:38 Minnesota Jason Zucker (25) ASST: Eric Staal (27) 3-5

The Skinny 

Tanner Fritz is the 366th player in Islander history to score a goal…The Isles are 14-19-4 in their last 37 games … Including shootout winners, the Isles have scored 203 goals in the first 61 games (highest since 1993-94 when they had 206) and allowed 219 goals (first time since 1995-96, when they also allowed 234) … The Isles fall to 4-4-1 in February as they failed to win a third consecutive game for the first time since mid-January…The Isles allowed only 32 shots; it's the fewest shots that they have allowed in a home game since December 19th vs Detroit…Eric Staal's late assist was his 899th NHL point (and 49th vs. the Isles)..Ryan Pulock finished with a career-high 7 shots on goal (and 12 attempts).   He is the first Islander rookie defenseman since Travis Hamonic (4-9-11 vs Pittsburgh) to have at least 7 shots on goal…The Isles PP went 0-9 vs. Minnesota this season…The Wild are 4-1-2 in their last seven games…The Wild's defense contributed five assists; Minnesota leads the NHL with 143 points from the backline… The Isles finished with a +25-shot attempt differential (75-50); it was their best home differential in over two years (1/17/2016 vs. Vancouver) … Cullen, who turned 41 in November, is the oldest opponent to score vs. Isles since Jaromir Jagr did so on March 1, 2014 (just after his 42nd birthday).  Cullen is the oldest player in the NHL…The loss dropped the Isles out of a playoff spot; while tied in points with Carolina, the Isles have played one additional game.

Look at Me, I'm Anders Lee!

Anders Lee reached 30 goals for the 2nd straight season; dating back to November 20, 2016, Lee's 63 goals are the most by any NHL player. Lee also added an assist for his first multi-point game since December 29th.

Lee joins John Tavares in the 30-goal club.  It’s the first time since 1992-93 that the Isles have had two players with 30 goals before the end of February (Turgeon and King).

A Salute to Dad

The Wild's Zach Parise has a new son, who was born 11 days ago.  The Parise's third child was given the name Theodore Jean-Paul Parise; JP Parise scored one of the most famous goals in Islander history when he tallied at :11 of overtime to eliminate the Rangers in 1975. 

Lots of Rubber for Jaro

Since December 1st, Jaroslav Halak has faced 1048 shots.  This is 90 more than any other goaltender in that span (Henrik Lundqvist has faced 958). 

Barzal Is Highest Scoring Isles Rookie in 40 Years

Mathew Barzal is 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 46 2017-18 

Most Points by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 95 1975-76

2. Mike Bossy 91 1977-78

3. MATHEW BARZAL 62 2017-18 

Over the last 10 seasons, Artemi Panarin (then with Chicago) is the only rookie with more assists than Barzal's 46.  Panarin finished his campaign with 47.  (Nicklas Backstrom had 55 assists and Patrick Kane had 51 assists in 2007-08.)

Countdown to 50

Josh Bailey has 47 assists and Mathew Barzal has 46. 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 16-2-1 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 nine times at home (1-6-2) and seventeen times overall (1-14-2).  

First Things First

The Isles have scored first 25 times this season (19-5-1). 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 19-5-1 when they score first and are 10-21-5 when they allow the opening goal. 

This Year vs. Last Year

The Isles are 29-26-6 (64 points) this season; they were 29-22-10 (68 points) through 61 games last season.  

Lots of Wins

Jaroslav Halak has 230 career wins; he is tied with Corey Crawford and Martin Biron for 62nd on the all-time NHL win list; Chico Resch owns 231 NHL wins.

Fastest to 50

Doug Weight is now 53-38-10 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         12-6-17=35

Minnesota 11-12-9=32

The Isles are 7-9-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 22-16-3 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 four times and been successful three times.  The Isles are 2-1-0 in games they win the challenge and are 0-0-1 in games they lose the challenge.

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

• 10/12 @ Ana Ducks – successful

• 1/15 @ Mtl Canadiens – successful 

• 2/16 @ Car Hurricanes - successful

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

Home and Road

The Islanders are 29-26-6 overall; 16-11-4 at home and 13-15-2 on the road.  

Minnesota is 32-20-7 overall; 20-5-6 at home and 12-15-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 10-8-1 in Division games and 19-18-5 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 17-17-1 against the East and 12-9-5 against the West.  

Our House

The Isles are 16-11-4 at home; they are 9-8-0 against the East and 7-3-4 against the West.  All-time the Isles are 28-7-7 all-time at Barclays against the West.

In the Nets

Jaroslav Halak made 27 saves but falls to 18-19-4 on the season and 3-3-4 in his career against Minnesota. 

Devyn Dubnyk made 32 saves and improves to 24-11-5 on the season and 5-4-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-4 on the power play in 7:23 of PP time; Minnesota was 0-1 on the power play in 2:00 of PP time.

The Isles are 17-10-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 12-16-4 when they do not.  The Isles are 16-18-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 13-8-4 when they do not.    

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 27-8-3 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 6-6-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 5-7-0 on the back-end. The Isles will play four sets of back-to-backs in March, beginning March 2nd vs. Montreal and March 3rd in Pittsburgh. 

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 2-3-0 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 17-18-6 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (22:23); Minnesota: Ryan Suter (30:04)

Anders Lee led Isles forwards in ice-time (19:30) 

Face-offs

Isles 34, Minnesota 29 (54%).

Mathew Barzal won 7 of 11 for the Isles; Eric Staal won 8 of 12 for Minnesota.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 10/27; 2nd period 12/17; 3rd period 12/19.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 27/51, Power play 6/11, Penalty kill 1/1.

Hit Count

Isles 25 (Cal Clutterbuck-5)

Minnesota 29 (Joel Eriksson Ek-4)

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 13 shots (Ryan Pulock & Thomas Hickey -3)

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 75, Minnesota 50.

5-on-5 Isles 58, Minnesota 45.

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: 3 with +10

Minnesota: 3 with +5

Night and Day 

The Isles are 25-25-5 in night games and 4-1-1 in matinees.  All remaining games this season will be played at night.

Ironmen

Overall: Jordan Eberle 212 (including 152 for the Oilers): 

As Isles: Nick Leddy 138, Anders Lee 97, Brock Nelson 74, Jordan Eberle/Mathew Barzal/John Tavares 61.

Top 5 Club

Nick Leddy now hold the fifth longest consecutive game streak in Islander history for a defenseman: 

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. Nick Leddy 10/23/2016 – CURRENT 138

(*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches

(Nikolay Kulemin -IR), (Calvin deHaan-IR), (Shane Prince- IR), (Scott Mayfield - IR), (Thomas Greiss-IR), Alan Quine, Jason Chimera, Dennis Seidenberg

Total games lost: 199

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. Josh Bailey 696*** 9. Brent Sutter 694 *** 10. John Tavares 648

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 265

…

18. Jason Blake 127 *** 19. Duane Sutter and Josh Bailey 121 *** 21 Frans Nielsen and Alexei Yashin 119 *** 23. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 26. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 27. Anders Lee 114

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

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

5. Brent Sutter 610 *** 6. John Tavares 601

…

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 165 *** 8. Roland Melanson 136*** 9. Mark Fitzpatrick 129 ***

10. Garth Snow 127 *** 11.  Evgeni Nabokov 123 *** 12. Thomas Greiss 115

Wins (Goalie)

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

5. Jaroslav Halak 86 *** 6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Glenn Healy 66 *** 8.  Tommy Salo 62 *** 

9. Thomas Greiss 60

Season Series Stats

Minnesota wins the season series two games to none (and four points to zero). 

This was the Wild's first win ever at Barclays Center; the Wild have won the last three meetings between the teams overall.

On the Farm

Christopher Gibson made 22 saves for his second consecutive shutout, and Travis St. Denis scored twice and Bridgeport blanked Hartford 4-0 on Sunday, improving their record to 24-20-5-3. 

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 (also on recall to the Isles) is 18-11-3 in the nets with 4 shutouts.

Bridgeport visits Providence on Friday and then hosts Charlotte on both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

Up Next

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd –ISLANDERS AT TORONTO 7:30PM 

[MSG+2 (Islander pre-game at 7:00PM), WNYM 970AM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM]

The Isles begin a three-game road trip (and start a stretch of 7 out of 8 on the road) as they head to Toronto to visit the Maple Leafs.

The Isles will look to avenge a 5-0 defeat back on January 31st and will be looking for their first win in Toronto under Doug Weight (0-2-0).

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