The Skinny: Florida 3, Isles 0

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 76

Florida 3, Isles 0

James Reimer made 32 saves and Keith Yandle added a goal and an assist as the Florida Panthers blanked the Isles 3-0 before a crowd of 10,951 at Barclays Center.

The loss mathematically eliminated the Islanders from playoff consideration for the second straight season.

 

The Isles are 5-14-1 at home in 2018.

 

The Scoring: 

1ST PERIOD

11:38 Florida Keith Yandle (8) ASST: Evgenii Dadonov (34), Aleksander Barkov (49) 1-0

2ND PERIOD

01:47 Florida PPG - Nick Bjugstad (18) ASST: Jamie McGinn (13), Aaron Ekblad (18) 2-0

06:09 Florida Evgenii Dadonov (24) ASST: Keith Yandle (44), James Reimer (1) 3-0

3RD PERIOD

No Scoring

The Skinny  

Isles are 16-28-8 since December 1st and fall a season-low four games below NHL-.500 (31-35-10) …John Tavares' point streak ended at five games (1-8-9) … Anders Lee's point streak ended at four games (5-1-6) …The Isles went 0-4 on the power play despite having 11 shots on goal.  The power play is still operating at 22.0%; the Isles haven't converted 20% of their power plays over a full season since 1993-94 (20.1%)… The Panthers blanked the Isles for the first time since October 8, 2011 as they improve to 10-3-1 in March and 20-6-1 in their last 27 games... The Isles are 2-10-4 in their last 16 games…James Reimer has won five straight starts; he has reached 20 wins for the first time since his rookie season (2010-11) … Keith Yandle played in his 707th consecutive game (longest active streak) …Micheal Haley played his 200th NHL game.

Lottery Update

In addition to their own picks, the Isles own Calgary's first two picks in the upcoming entry draft.  The Flames were also eliminated from playoff contention on Monday night. At the end of play Monday, the Isles held the 8th and 12th picks heading into the upcoming draft lottery.

Barzal Is Highest Scoring Isles Rookie in 40 Years

Mathew Barzal is the third highest-scoring rookie in Islander history; with a team-leading 56 assists and 76 points in 76 games, he is on pace for 60 assists and 82 points: 

Most Assists by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 63 1975-76

2. MATHEW BARZAL 56 2017-18 

Most Points by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 95 1975-76

2. Mike Bossy 91 1977-78

3. MATHEW BARZAL 76 2017-18 

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 points.

Nice Company

Mathew Barzal is one of only six rookies since 1983-84 with at least 56 assists in a season.   

1. Joe Juneau BOS 1992-93 70

2. Sidney Crosby PIT 2005-06 63

3. Sergei Makarov CGY 1989-90 62

4. Mario Lemieux PIT 1984-85 57

5. Teemu Selanne WPG 1992-93 56

MATHEW BARZAL NYI 2017-18 56

He is also one of only six rookies since 2000-01 with at least 76 points.

More points by a rookie: last 18 seasons

1 Alex Ovechkin WSH 2005-06 106

2 Sidney Crosby PIT 2005-06 102

3 Evgeni Malkin PIT 2006-07   85

4 Paul Stastny COL 2006-07   78

5 Artemi Panarin CHI 2015-16   77

6 MATHEW BARZAL NYI 2017-18   76

33 Goal Club

Anders Lee has 38 goals and John Tavares has 33.  They are the first Islander teammates with at least 33 goals since Pierre Turgeon, Steve Thomas and Benoit Hogue all did so in 1993-94 and the first to combine for at least 71 goals since Ziggy Palffy (48) and Bryan Smolinski (28) had 76 in 1996-97.

38 Goal Club

Anders Lee is only the 3rd Islander in the last 20 years to score 38 goals in a season:

1. Jason Blake 40 2006-07

2. John Tavares 38 2014-15

      ANDERS LEE 38 2017-18

Lee is also the first Islander with multiple 34+ goal seasons since Ziggy Palffy (1995-76 to 1997-78). 

56 Helpers

Mathew Barzal has 56 assists; it's the most by an Islander since Pierre Turgeon also had 56 assists in 1993-94.  Turgeon had 74 helpers in 1992-93, which is the most by an Islander in the Post-Cup era.

Two Over 50

Barzal and Josh Bailey are the first Islander teammates with more than 50 assists since Mike Bossy (62) and Bryan Trottier (59) did so in 1985-86.

Pulock Moving up on Rookie Season Lists Too!

Pulock has 9 goals on the season; only two rookie defensemen (Denis Potvin-17 and Vladimir Malakhov-14) have scored more goals.  Ken Leiter, Chris Campoli and Tomas Jonsson also finished their rookie seasons with 9 goals.

Four of Pulock's goals have come on the power play.  Among Islander rookie defensemen, only Malakhov (7) and Potvin (6) have more.  Ken Leiter also scored four power play goals as a rookie.

Pulock is only the 8th Islander rookie defenseman to record 29 points in his rookie season. Ken Leiter also had 29 points.

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 Panarin (10 times) and Alex Ovechkin (8 times) have done so as often in their rookie seasons.

Five's Alive

The Isles have scored at least five goals 11 times at home (9-2-0) and 19 times overall (17-2-0). The Isles have also scored two shootout winners for a fifth goal of the game (not included above). 

Five's Trouble

The Isles have allowed at least five goals 12 times at home (1-9-2) and 21 times overall (1-18-2).  

First Things First

The Isles have scored first 34 times this season (21-8-5). The Isles won the first eleven times they scored first this season but are only 10-8-5 in the last 23 games that they scored first.

First Goal 

The Isles are 21-8-5 when they score first and are 10-27-5 when they allow the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    10-11-11=32

Florida 16-19-6=41

The Isles are 8-14-5 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 23-20-5 when they are outshot.  (The club record for wins while being outshot in one season is 25, set by the 1983-84 team)

Home and Road

The Islanders are 31-35-10 overall; 17-17-4 at home and 14-18-6 on the road.  

Florida is 39-28-7 overall; 23-11-3 at home and 16-17-4 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 11-12-2 in Division games and 20-23-8 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 18-25-3 against the East and 13-10-7 against the West.  

Our House

The Isles are 17-17-4 at home; they are 10-13-0 against the East and 7-4-4 against the West.  However, after opening the season 8-0-2 on home ice, the Isles are 9-17-2 in their last 28 games in Brooklyn.

In the Nets

Christopher Gibson made 38 saves but falls to 2-2-2 on the season in his first career appearance against Florida. 

James Reimer made 32 saves and improves to 20-13-5 on the season and 5-2-2 in his career against the Isles. Reimer recorded his 21st career shutout and first against the Islanders.

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-4 on the power play in 7:24 of PP time; Florida was 1-6 on the power play in 10:22 of PP time.

The Isles are 18-14-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 13-21-7 when they do not.  The Isles are 16-24-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-11-7 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 29-13-5 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-22-5 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 12-9-10 in games decided by a single goal including 3-9 in regulation. They are 6-7 in games decided in overtime and are 3-3 in shootouts.  The Isles are 4-4 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 6-9-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 5-8-1 on the back-end.   This back-to-back set concludes on Tuesday in Ottawa. The final back-to-back set of the season will be on March 30th vs. Florida and March 31st in New Jersey.

 

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 2-4-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 6-2-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 

• The Isles are 3-4-1 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 19-25-9 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Adam Pelech (20:22); Florida: Keith Yandle (23:58)

John Tavares led Isles forwards with 19:15 of ice-time.

Face-offs

Isles 30, Florida 31 (49%).

Brock Nelson won 6 of 10 for the Isles; Vincent Trocheck won 10 of 13 for Florida.

 

Face-offs by period: 1st period 9/20; 2nd period 12/25; 3rd period 9/16.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 17/41, Power play 6/8, Penalty kill 7/12.

Hit Count

Isles 14 (4 with 2)  

Florida 14 (3 with 2)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 14: (Johnston 4, Boychuk 2, Mayfield 1, Cizikas 1, Chimera 1, Prince 1, Bailey 1, Eberle 1, Nelson 1, Clutterbuck 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 17 shots (Adam Pelech-4))

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 58, Florida 77 

5-on-5 Isles 41, Florida 51

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Brock Nelson +5

Florida: Mike Matheson +11

Night and Day 

The Isles are 27-34-9 in night games and 4-1-1 in matinees.   All remaining games this season will be played at night.

Ironmen

Nick Leddy 153, Anders Lee 112, Brock Nelson 89, Mathew Barzal/John Tavares 76.

Top 5 Club

Nick Leddy now holds 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 153

(*) 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-IR), Casey Cizikas-INJ, Dennis Seidenberg 

Total games lost: 290

Late Heroes

The Isles have scored five 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

3/5 – VAN Canucks – Jordan Eberle (18:56); tied game, but Isles lost in overtime

Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have allowed a goal six 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

3/9 – EDM Oilers – Connor McDavid (18:10); tied game and Oilers won in shootout

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.

7-11

The Isles have used 7 defensemen four times this season (10/19 @NYR, 10/21 vs SJ, 1/16 vs. NJ, 3/2 vs. MTL) and are 2-2-0 in those games.  Under Doug Weight, the Isles are 6-2-0 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 

…

6. Mike Bossy 752 *** 7.  Patrick Flatley 712 *** 8. Josh Bailey 711*** 9. Brent Sutter 694 *** 10. John Tavares 663

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 268

…

17. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 18. Jason Blake 127 *** 19. Josh Bailey 124 *** 20. Anders Lee 122 

Assists

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

5.  John Tavares 347

…

13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Billy Harris 259 *** 15. Josh Bailey 251

Points

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

5.  John Tavares 615

…

13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 375 

Games Played (Goalies)

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 *** 4. Kelly Hrudey 241 ***

5. Tommy Salo 187 *** 6. Glenn Healy 176 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 175 

…

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

Florida wins the season series two games to one (and five points to two). 

Florida has won four of the five regular season games in Brooklyn between the teams, but the Isles won all three playoff games at Barclays Center in 2016.

On the Farm

Bridgeport improved to 32-26-5-3 with 6-3 win in Wilkes Barre-Scranton on Sunday.  Travis St. Denis and Ryan Bourque each scored a pair of goals while Eamon McAdam made 24 saves.

 

St. Denis leads the team in both goals (22) and points (41). Christopher Gibson (on recall to the Isles) is 18-11-3 in the nets with 4 shutouts.

Bridgeport closes out March with three games in four days.  The Sound Tigers host Hershey on Wednesday before heading to Springfield on Friday and Hartford on Saturday.

 

Up Next

TUESDAY, MARCH 27th –ISLANDERS AT OTTAWA 7:30PM 

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

The Islanders head to the Canadian Capital for a game with Ottawa on Tuesday.  The teams have split a pair of games this season with the road team winning both games.  

The Isles won 2-1 in Ottawa on November 25th; it's one of only two games that the Isles have won when two goals or fewer, but it was the Sens' 6-5 win on December 1st in Brooklyn that put an end to the Isles' 8-0-2 home start.

This is the Isles' final game in Canada this season; the Isles are 3-3-3 North of the Border so far this year.

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