The Skinny: Toronto 4, Isles 3 (SO)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 62

Toronto 4, Isles 3 (SO)

Auston Matthews scored the tying goal was 3:29 to play and Tyler Bozak scored the only goal of the shootout as the Toronto Maple Leafs overcame three points from Mathew Barzal to defeat the Isles 4-3 before a sellout crowd of 18,856 at Air Canada Center.

Islander rookies Ryan Pulock and Mathew Barzal scored 3:06 apart in the first period to give the Isles a 2-0 lead.  Barzal finished with at least three points for the eighth time this season as he took over the club lead in assists (48, to Josh Bailey's 47) and points (65, to John Tavares' 64).

 

Toronto has won eight straight games at home; it's their longest home winning streak since 2007.

 

The Scoring: 

1ST PERIOD

08:39 New York Ryan Pulock (6) ASST: Thomas Hickey (13), Mathew Barzal (47) 1-0

11:45 New York Mathew Barzal (17) ASST: Anthony Beauvillier (8), Sebastian Aho (3) 2-0

17:39 Toronto Mitchell Marner (15) ASST: Nazem Kadri (21), Patrick Marleau (14) 2-1

2ND PERIOD

No Scoring

3RD PERIOD

01:28 Toronto Morgan Rielly (6) ASST: Connor Brown (11), James van Riemsdyk (14) 2-2

03:07 New York Jordan Eberle (21) ASST: Mathew Barzal (48), Anthony Beauvillier (9) 3-2

16:31 Toronto Auston Matthews (28) ASST: Jake Gardiner (34), Zach Hyman (21) 3-3

OT PERIOD

No Scoring

The Shootout:

Toronto Goal - Tyler Bozak (game deciding goal)

New York Missed - Jordan Eberle

Toronto Missed - William Nylander

New York Missed - Mathew Barzal

Toronto Missed - Mitchell Marner

New York Missed - John Tavares

The Skinny  

Isles are 14-19-5 in their last 38 games … Including shootout winners, the Isles have scored 206 goals in the first 62 games (highest since 1993-94 when they had 210) and allowed 223 goals (first time since 1995-96, when they also allowed 240) … The Isles are 4-4-2 in February …The Isles allowed only 31 shots; it's the 2nd fewest shots (22 in Buffalo) that they have allowed since December 19th vs Detroit…Jordan Eberle passed last season's total with his 21st goal; Mathew Barzal has assisted on 16 of the 21. ..Barzal now has eight game with at least three points; Bryan Trottier holds the club record with nine…Nazem Kadri's 1st period assist was his 300th NHL point… Andrew Ladd played in his 900th NHL game….Every Islander but Ross Johnston had at least one shot on goal   …The Isles tied Columbus in points for the final playoff spot; however, the Blue Jackets hold the spot because the Isles have played one additional game…Toronto is 3-12-0 in games they trail after one period, with all three wins in overtime or shootouts…The Leafs are 6-1 in shootouts and are 12-2-0 in their last 14 games…Mitch Marner scored his 10th goal in the last 16 games; he has not gone consecutive games without a goal in that stretch.

The Injury 

Austin Mathews left the game after a collision late in regulation; he did not return.

 

Lots of Rubber for Jaro

Since December 1st, Jaroslav Halak has faced 1079 shots.  This is 84 more than any other goaltender in that span (Frederik Andersen has faced 995). 

Barzal Is Highest Scoring Isles Rookie in 40 Years

Mathew Barzal is the third highest-scoring rookie in Islander history; with 61 assists in 82 games, he is on pace for a rookie franchise record-tying 63 assists: 

Most Assists by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 63 1975-76

2. Stefan Persson 50 1977-78

3. MATHEW BARZAL 48 2017-18 

Most Points by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 95 1975-76

2. Mike Bossy 91 1977-78

3. MATHEW BARZAL 65 2017-18 

Over the last 10 seasons, no rookie has more assists than Barzal. (Nicklas Backstrom had 55 assists and Patrick Kane had 51 assists in 2007-08.)

Denis Potvin is the only rookie to ever lead the Isles in assists; Billy Harris, Potvin, Trent Hunter (tied) and John Tavares are the only rookies to ever lead the Isles in point.

Countdown to 50

Mathew Barzal has 48 assists and Josh Bailey has 47. 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).

Three's Company

Mathew Barzal has eight games of at least three points this season (five games with three points and three games with five points). Since 1993-94, only Sidney Crosby (11 times), Artemi Pararin (10 times) and Alex Ovechkin (8 times) have done so as often in their rookie seasons.

One and (Usually) Done

The Isles are 16-2-2 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 26 times this season (19-5-2). 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 19-5-2 when they score first and are 10-21-5 when they allow the opening goal. 

This Year vs. Last Year

The Isles are 29-26-7 (65 points) this season; they were 30-22-10 (70 points) through 62 games last season.  

Lots of Wins

Jaroslav Halak has 230 career wins; he is tied with Antti Niemi, 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 53-38-11 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      13-7-11-4=35

Toronto 7-10-10-4=31

The Isles are 7-9-4 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 29-26-7 overall; 16-11-4 at home and 13-15-2 on the road.  

Toronto is 38-20-5 overall; 21-8-2 at home and 17-12-3 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 10-8-1 in Division games and 19-18-6 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 17-17-2 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 28 saves; he is 18-19-5 on the season and 8-3-4 in his career against Toronto. 

Frederik Andersen made 32 saves to improve to 31-16-4 on the season and 5-1-1 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play in 4:00 of PP time; Toronto was 0-3 on the power play in 6:00 of PP time.

The Isles are 17-10-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 12-16-5 when they do not.  The Isles are 16-18-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 13-8-5 when they do not.    

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 27-8-4 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 12-6-7 in games decided by a single goal including 3-6 in regulation. They are 6-5 in games decided in overtime and are 3-2 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 17-18-7 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (23:48); Toronto: Morgan Rielly (23:26)

Josh Bailey led Isles forwards in ice-time (19:11) 

Face-offs

Isles 29, Toronto 34 (46%).

John Tavares won 13 of 19 for the Isles; Tyler Bozak won 11 of 14 for Toronto.

 

Face-offs by period: 1st period 12/18; 2nd period 5/17; 3rd period 11/24; Overtime 1/4.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 24/50, Power play 2/3, Penalty kill 3/10.

Hit Count

Isles 30 (Adam Pelech-6)

Toronto 18 (Zach Hyman-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 (Ryan Pulock & Adam Pelech-4)

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 60, Toronto 59.

5-on-5 Isles 49, Toronto 42.

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Thomas Hickey +8

Toronto: Travis Dermott +6

Night and Day 

The Isles are 25-25-6 in night games and 4-1-1 in matinees.  All remaining games this season will be played at night.

Ironmen

Overall: Jordan Eberle 213 (including 152 for the Oilers): 

As Isles: Nick Leddy 139, Anders Lee 98, Brock Nelson 75, Jordan Eberle/Mathew Barzal/John Tavares 62.

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 139

(*) 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: 204

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 697*** 9. Brent Sutter 694 *** 10. John Tavares 649

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 166 *** 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

Toronto leads the season series two games to none (and four points to one). The season series will conclude in Brooklyn on March 30th.

The Isles are 0-2-2 over the past three seasons in Toronto.

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 24-20-5-3 heading into Friday's game in Providence.

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 returns home to face Charlotte on both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

Up Next

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24th – ISLANDERS AT NEW JERSEY 8:00PM 

[MSG+2 (Islander pre-game at 7:30PM), WMCA 570AM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM]

The Devils will raise Patrik Elias' jersey to the rafter and then entertain the Isles in Newark.  It's the third meeting of the teams this season; the teams split a pair of games in Brooklyn in January, with the Isles' win coming in a shootout. 

The Isles are 8-1-1 in their last 10 trips to Newark; the teams will complete their season series at Prudential Center on March 31st.

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