The Skinny: Nashville 5, Isles 4 (OT)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 54

Nashville 5, Isles 4 (OT)

Ryan Johansen scored the tying goal with 43 seconds to play and Roman Josi added his fourth career overtime tally as the Nashville Predators rallied a 4-2 deficit for a 5-4 victory over the Islanders before a crowd of 10,217 at Barclays Center.

The point that the Islanders earned moved them back into the 2nd wild card spot; it's the first time since January 15th that the Isles own a playoff berth.

Jaroslav Halak made 42 saves as he faced at least 35 shots for the 11th consecutive home game.  The Isles are 2-5-1 in their last eight home games.

The Scoring: 

1ST PERIOD

04:55 New York PPG - John Tavares (27) ASST: Josh Bailey (44), Anders Lee (16) 1-0

11:59 Nashville Kevin Fiala (16) ASST: Kyle Turris (22), Craig Smith (14) 1-1

13:27 Nashville Kevin Fiala (17) ASST: Nick Bonino (6), Ryan Ellis (3) 1-2

14:05 New York Ryan Pulock (5) ASST: Andrew Ladd (11), Brock Nelson (8) 2-2

17:03 New York Casey Cizikas (6) ASST: Jason Chimera (9) 3-2

2ND PERIOD

03:39 New York Nick Leddy (8) ASST: Andrew Ladd (12), Brock Nelson (9) 4-2

16:25 Nashville Calle Jarnkrok (12) ASST: Scott Hartnell (6), Mattias Ekholm (18) 4-3

3RD PERIOD

19:17 Nashville Ryan Johansen (6) ASST: P.K. Subban (28), Viktor Arvidsson (17) 4-4

OT PERIOD

03:42 Nashville Roman Josi (9) ASST: Nick Bonino (7) 4-5

The Skinny 

The Isles are 11-15-4 in their last 30 games … The Isles were outshot 18-11 in the opening period and how now been outshot 652-522 in the first period this season… Including shootout winners, the Isles have scored 181 goals in the first 54 games (first time since 1993-94 when they had 184) and allowed 197 goals (highest since 1995-96, when they allowed 209) … The Isles, have allowed a franchise-record 146 shots over the last three games, and an NHL-high 1,922 on the season…Nick Leddy scored for the second straight game … The Preds are 9-1-1 in their last 11 games, outscoring opponents 36-21 and took over 1st place in the Central Division with the victory…Pekka Rinne has won eight straight games…Nashville's defense combined for 25 shots, including 9 from PK Subban.  Subban is the first defenseman with at least nine shots in a game against the Isles since Sergei Gonchar had 12 shots for Pittsburgh against the Isles on February 4, 2006…Casey Cizikas' goal was his first since December 14th; Ryan Johansen's tying goal was his first goal since December 23rd…The Predators have scored at least five goals in three straight games…A scoring change gave Nick Bonino his 200th career point; he added his 201st point on the winning goal.

The Injury

Scott Mayfield left the game midway through the first period with a lower body injury and did not return.  He played only 2:20 before his departure, leading to four of the other five defenseman playing at least 21:01.

The Ice-Time

Nick Leddy led the Islanders in ice-time, which is not unusual. Leddy however played a career high 29:49, (previous high 29:26 in playoff-clinching win vs. Washington on April 4, 2016).  Adam Pelech also played a career high 26:56.

Leddy is the first Islander to play at least 29:49 since Travis Hamonic played 30:30 and Calvin deHaan played 30:28 on March 27, 2014 vs. Tampa Bay.

Another Busy Night for Jaro

Jaroslav Halak faced 47 shots and stopped 42; since December 1st, Halak has faced 844 shots.  This is 98 more than any other goaltender in that span (Henrik Lundqvist has faced 746). 

Barzal Closing in on All-time Top 3 in Isles Rookie Scoring

Barzal is the 14th Islander rookie to have 50 points in a season; however only four have had more than 54 points (Bryan Trottier 95, Mike Bossy 91, David Volek 59, Stefan Persson 56).  Barzal needs only 7 points 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. Bryan Berard 40 1996-97

4. Mike Bossy 38 1977-78

Vladimir Malakhov 38 1992-93

6. MATHEW BARZAL 37 2017-18 

Denis Potvin 37 1973-74

Most Points by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 95 1975-76

2. Mike Bossy 91 1977-78

3. David Volek 59 1988-89

4. Stefan Persson 56 1977-78

5. Denis Potvin 54 1973-74

Pat LaFontaine 54 1984-85

John Tavares 54 2009-10

8. MATHEW BARZAL 53 2017-18 

(John Tonelli had 39 assists and 56 points in his first year with the Isles but was not a rookie due to prior WHA experience)

Hey Josh, You're an All-Star

Josh Bailey's assist gave him totals of 13-44-57 on the season, setting new career highs in both assists and points. 

200 Point Club

John Tavares' goal was his 200th career power play point.  He is the 5th Islander to reach that mark:

1. Denis Potvin 127-332-459

2. Bryan Trottier 158-257-415

3. Mike Bossy 180-198-378

4. Stefan Persson 30-182-212

5. John Tavares 79-121-200

One and (Usually) Done

The Isles are 15-0-1 this season when leading after one period.  Dating back to last season the Isles are 22-0-2 in their last 24 games when leading after twenty minutes.  Their February 5th overtime loss to the Predators ended a 19-game winning streak when scoring first.

Five's Alive

The Isles have scored at least five goals nine times at home (8-1-0) and sixteen times overall (15-1-0). 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 seven times at home (0-5-2) and fifteen times overall (0-13-2).  

First Things First

The Isles have scored first 21 times this season (17-3-1). 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 17-3-1 when they score first and are 9-19-5 when they allow the opening goal. 

This Year vs. Last Year

The Isles are 26-22-6 (58 points) this season; they were 25-19-10 (60points) through 54 games last season.

Lots of Wins

Jaroslav Halak has 228 career wins; he is tied with Antti Niemi for 65th on the all-time NHL win list.  

Fastest to 50

Doug Weight is now 50-34-10 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       11-9-7-1=28

Nashville 18-19-6-4=47

The Isles are 7-6-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 19-15-3 when they are outshot.  (The club record for wins while being outshot in one season is 25, set by the 1983-84 team)

The Isles have allowed at least 30 shots in 20 consecutive games; it's the longest such streak in club history.  They hadn't had a streak of longer than 7 games since 2010.

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 26-22-6 overall; 14-8-4 at home and 12-14-2 on the road.  

Nashville is 32-12-7 overall; 18-5-3 at home and 14-7-4 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 8-7-1 in Division games and 18-15-5 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 14-15-1 against the East and 12-7-5 against the West.  

Our House

The Isles are 14-8-4 at home; they are 7-7-0 against the East and 7-1-4 against the West.  All-time the Isles are 28-5-7 all-time at Barclays against the West.

In the Nets

Jaroslav Halak made 42 saves; he is 16-15-4 on the season and 14-3-5 in his career against Nashville. 

Pekka Rinne made 24 saves and improves to 27-8-3 on the season and 5-3-2 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-4 on the power play in 6:51 of PP time; Nashville was 0-3 on the power play in 6:00 of PP time (including a 1:38 4-on-3).

The Isles are 15-8-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 11-14-4 when they do not.  The Isles are 15-15-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 11-7-4 when they do not.    

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 24-6-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-16-3 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 11-4-6 in games decided by a single goal including 3-4 in regulation. They are 5-5 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 5-5-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 3-7-0 on the back-end. The Isles will play two sets of back-to-backs in February (February 8 in Buffalo – February 9 vs. Detroit; 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 2-4-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 16-14-6 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (29:49 – CAREER HIGH); Nashville: Roman Josi (27:45).

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards in ice-time (21:33). 

Face-offs

Isles 31, Nashville 31 (50%).

Casey Cizikas won 5 of 6 for the Isles; Kyle Turris won 6 of 8 for Nashville.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 12/24; 2nd period 12/24; 3rd period 6/11; Overtime 3-3.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 25/50, Power play 4/6, Penalty kill 2/6.

Hit Count

Isles 13 (Andrew Ladd-3)

Nashville 19 (Scott Hartnell -4)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 9: (Boychuk 1, Mayfield 1, Cizikas 1, Chimera 1, Prince 1, Bailey 1, Eberle 1, Nelson 1, Johnston 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 13 shots (Ryan Pulock-4)

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 48, Nashville 73.

5-on-5 Isles 35, Nashville 44.

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Mathew Barzal +5

Nashville: Nick Bonino +9

Night and Day 

The Isles are 22-22-5 in night games and 4-0-1 in matinees.  The Isles, who went 2-3-1 in matinees last season have only one matinee remaining this season: February 19th vs Minnesota (1pm).

Ironmen

Overall: Jason Chimera 242 (including 106 for the Capitals), Jordan Eberle 205 (including 151 for the Oilers: 

As Isles: Jason Chimera 136, Nick Leddy 131.

Century Club

Nick Leddy is only the 8th defenseman in Islander history to have played at least 130 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. Nick Leddy 10/23/2016 – CURRENT 131

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), (Johnny Boychuk -IR), (Shane Prince- IR), Dennis Seidenberg, Ross Johnston, Tanner Fritz (Injured)

Total games lost: 171

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

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

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 689*** 10. John Tavares 641

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 262

…

18. Jason Blake 127 *** 19. Duane Sutter 121 *** 20. Josh Bailey, Frans Nielsen and Alexei Yashin 119 *** 23. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 26. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 27. Anders Lee 110

Assists

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

5. John Tonelli 338 *** 6. John Tavares 334

…

13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Billy Harris 259 *** 15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Josh Bailey 244

Points

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

5. Brent Sutter 610 *** 6. John Tavares 596

…

13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Kyle Okposo & Stefan Persson 369 *** 16. Josh Bailey 363

Games Played (Goalies)

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

…

6. Glenn Healy 176 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 159 *** 8. Roland Melanson 136*** 9. Mark Fitzpatrick 129 ***

10. Garth Snow 127 *** 11.  Evgeni Nabokov 123 *** 12. Thomas Greiss 113

Wins (Goalie)

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

5. Jaroslav Halak 84 *** 6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Glenn Healy 66 *** 8.  Tommy Salo 62 *** 

9. Thomas Greiss 59

Season Series Stats

The teams split the season series one game to one (the Isles earned three points to Nashville's two).  

Overall, the Isles are 6-2-1 in the last nine games against Nashville.

On the Farm

Bridgeport owns a 23-17-4-2 record and have moved into 4th place (and the final playoff spot) in their division.

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 17-9-2 in the nets with 2 shutouts.

The Sound Tigers have an 11am game in Hartford on Wednesday before returning home to host Providence on Saturday and host Syracuse on Sunday.

Up Next

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8th –ISLANDERS AT BUFFALO 7:00PM 

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

The Isles will look to sweep the season series as they head to Buffalo for the only time this season.  The Isles defeated the Sabres 6-3 in the home opener and then got a Mathew Barzal overtime goal to defeat Buffalo on December 27th.

Overall, the Isles are 10-1-5 in their last 16 games against the Sabres, including 5-0-3 in their last eight trips to Buffalo.  The Isles have defeated Buffalo in four straight meetings and are 5-0-2 in their last seven games against the Sabres.

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