The Skinny: Isles 5, Calgary 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 69

Isles 5, Calgary 2

Johnny Boychuk scored a goal, added two assists and went +5 while Christopher Gibson made 50 saves as the Isles snapped their eight-game winless streak (0-4-4) with a 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames before a crowd of 19,108 at Scotiabank Saddledome.

The Isles conclude their road trip with a 1-0-3 record; nine of their final 13 games are at home.

 

The Scoring: 

1ST PERIOD

02:14 New York Nick Leddy (10) ASST: Casey Cizikas (9) 1-0

02:32 New York Johnny Boychuk (5) ASST: Casey Cizikas (10), Ross Johnston (3) 2-0

07:23 Calgary Johnny Gaudreau (21) ASST: Sean Monahan (31) 2-1

10:25 New York Jordan Eberle (24) ASST: Johnny Boychuk (8), John Tavares (37) 3-1

2ND PERIOD

00:50 New York Anders Lee (32) ASST: Johnny Boychuk (9), Nick Leddy (30) 4-1

3RD PERIOD

07:24 Calgary Mark Giordano (13) ASST: Dougie Hamilton (25), Johnny Gaudreau (58) 4-2

19:49 New York EN - Anders Lee (33) ASST: John Tavares (38) 5-2

The Skinny  

Isles are 15-22-8 since December 1st and go back over NHL-.500 (30-29-10) …The Isles scored first for the 4th straight game and for the 7th time in the last eight games… The Isles had scored three goals or fewer in 12 straight games (2-6-4)… John Tavares had two assists… Christopher Gibson has stopped 132 of 138 shots (.957) in his three NHL appearances (1.90 GAA) this season…Johnny Gaudreau established a new career high in points (79) and tied for the league lead in assists (58)…Casey Cizikas tied a career high with two assists…Johnny Boychuk recorded his 2nd career three-point game (10-10-2014 vs. Carolina, in his Isles' debut) and finished the game +5...Mathew Barzal drew his 35th penalty – by far the most on the team, and 2nd in the NHL to Calgary's Matthew Tkachuk…It was the 20th 2-goal game for Anders Lee, matching a career high…Anders Lee is now one goal shy of his career high, set last season.  Lee is the first Islander winger since Ziggy Palffy to score at least 33 goals in consecutive seasons and his two goals allowed him to tie, and then pass, Ray Ferraro for 26th place on the all-time Isles goal list…The Isles scored twice in the first three minutes for the second time this season; it was the earliest this season that the Isles scored three goals (10:25) and four goals (20:50)…The Isles are seven points out of the last playoff spot in the East, while Calgary is two points out of a playoff spot in the West.  The Isles own Calgary's first and second round picks in this June's entry draft…The Isles have killed 22/24 (91.7%) in their last 11 games…Johnny Boychuk went +5 for the second time this season; prior to this year, no Islander defenseman had gone +5 in a game since Joe Reekie (2x) and Gerald Diduck did so in the 1989-90 season…Ross Johnston was on-ice for the first two Islander goals; the Isles are 6-6-2 in games that he plays.

More History for Gibson 

Christopher Gibson faced at least 50 shots for the 2nd time in his career and became only the 2nd Islander rookie to make 50 saves:

60 – Billy Smith 11/22/72 @ Philadelphia (55 saves)

52 - Christopher Gibson 3/11/18 @ Calgary (50 saves)

51 – Kevin Poulin 1/11/11 Vs. Vancouver (48 saves)

50 – Christopher Gibson 3/3/18 @ Pittsburgh (47 saves)

Gibson was the first NHL rookie to face 52 shots in a game since Frederik Anderson did so for Toronto on March 2, 2014 and is the first rookie to make at least 50 saves in a game since Devyn Dubnyk do so for Edmonton on April 10, 2010.

The Save and Shots Records are "Finnished"

Christopher Gibson made 50 saves, breaking his own record for Finnish rookie netminders set eight days ago.  Gibson faced 52 shots, breaking the record of 50 that he shared for eight days with Pekka Rinne.

50 Save Wins

Shots are official since the 1955/56 season. The Isles are the 1st team since then to win 3 games in a season with any goalie making 50+ saves, let alone three different goalies making 50 + saves!

Prior to this season, the Isles had only three wins in their history in which their goalie made 50 saves.  They now have six all-time, which ties record held by Florida (4 of 6 by Luongo).

The 6 by the Isles have come from 6 different goalies (Healy, Felix Potvin and Roloson are the ones from before this season).

Lots of Shots

The Isles just the 1993-94 Los Angeles Kings as the only teams in the last 30 years to allow 50 or more shots at least six times in a season.  The Original Islanders allowed at least 50 shots three times; no Islander team in the interim had done so more than twice.

Most times allowing 50+ shots (since 1972-73)

6-  1975/76 Caps 

6-  1975/76 Scouts

6-  1976/77 Rockies

6-  1981/82 Rockies

6-  1993/94 Kings 

6-  2017/18 Isles

The last team to allow at least 50 shots in a game seven times was the 1970-71 Buffalo Sabres.

Hall-of Fame Company

John Tavares' first period assist was his 339th as an Isle, breaking a tie with John Tonelli for 5th all-time.  The four guys ahead of him all have jerseys hanging at Barclays Center (Trottier-Potvin-Bossy-Gillies); all four are also in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

40-40-40 Club

Nick Leddy is the third defenseman in Islander history to record at least three consecutive 40-point seasons:

Denis Potvin – 15 seasons

Tomas Jonsson - 4 seasons

Nick Leddy - 3 seasons 

Barzal Is Highest Scoring Isles Rookie in 40 Years

Mathew Barzal is the third highest-scoring rookie in Islander history; with 51 assists in 69 games, he is on pace for 60 assists: 

Most Assists by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 63 1975-76

2. MATHEW BARZAL 51 2017-18 

Most Points by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 95 1975-76

2. Mike Bossy 91 1977-78

3. MATHEW BARZAL 69 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 seven rookies since 1995 with at least 51 assists in a season.  You'll recognize the names!

1. Sidney Crosby PIT 2005-06 63

2. Nicklas Backstrom WSH 2007-08 55

3. Alex Ovechkin WSH 2005-06 54

4. Evgeni Malkin PIT 2006-07 52

5. MATHEW BARZAL NYI 2017-18 51

  Patrick Kane CHI 2007-08 51

  Scott Gomez NJD 1999-00 51

32 (and 33) Goals

Anders Lee now has 33 goals and John Tavares has 31.  With Tavares' next goal, they will be the first Islander teammates with at least 32 goals since Pierre Turgeon, Steve Thomas and Benoit Hogue all did so in 1993-94.

51 Helpers

Mathew Barzal has 51 assists and Josh Bailey has 48. Barzal is the first Islander to reach 51 assists since Pierre Turgeon had 56 assists in 1993-94.

When Bailey reaches 50, the Isles will have teammates with 50 assists for the first time since Mike Bossy (62) and Bryan Trottier (59) did so in 1985-86.

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.

One and Done

The Isles are 16-2-4 this season when leading after one period.  

Five's Alive

The Isles have scored at least five goals ten times at home (9-1-0) and eighteen times overall (17-1-0). 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 ten times at home (1-7-2) and eighteen times overall (1-15-2).  

First Things First

The Isles have scored first 32 times this season (20-7-5). The Isles won the first eleven times they scored first this season but are only 9-7-5 in the last 21 games that they scored first.

First Goal 

The Isles are 20-7-5 when they score first and are 10-22-5 when they allow the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles       10-13-4=27

Calgary 14-19-19=52

The Isles are 7-11-5 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 23-17-5 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 30-29-10 overall; 16-12-4 at home and 14-17-6 on the road.  

Calgary is 34-26-10 overall; 14-16-4 at home and 20-10-6 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 10-9-2 in Division games and 20-20-8 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 17-20-3 against the East and 13-9-7 against the West.  

Our House

The Isles are 16-12-4 at home; they are 9-9-0 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

Christopher Gibson made 50 saves to improve to 1-0-2 on the season and 1-0-0 in his career against Calgary.

Mike Smith made 22 saves but falls to 23-17-6 on the season and 5-4-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-1 on the power play in 2:00 of PP time; Calgary was 0-4 on the power play in 8:00 of PP time.

The Isles are 17-11-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 13-18-7 when they do not.  The Isles are 16-19-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 14-10-7 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 28-9-5 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-20-5 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 12-7-10 in games decided by a single goal including 3-7 in regulation. They are 6-7 in games decided in overtime and are 3-3 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 6-7-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 5-7-1 on the back-end. The Isles next back-to-back set will be a home-and-home with Washington on March 15th-16th. Overall, the Isles will play four sets of back-to-backs this month. 

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

• The Isles are 18-21-9 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Johnny Boychuk (21:05); Calgary: Dougie Hamilton (26:00)

John Tavares led Isles forwards with 19:00 of ice-time.

Face-offs

Isles 30, Calgary 42 (42%).

Casey Cizikas won 9 of 15 for the Isles; Sean Monahan won 16 of 24 for Calgary.

 

Face-offs by period: 1st period 13/21; 2nd period 7/21; 3rd period 10/30.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 25/61, Power play 0/2, Penalty kill 5/9.

Hit Count

Isles 17 (Ryan Pulock-4).  

Calgary 15 (Garnet Hathaway-3)

Fights

Ross Johnston fought Garnet Hathaway in the second period. Season total – 13: (Johnston 3, Boychuk 2, Mayfield 1, Cizikas 1, Chimera 1, Prince 1, Bailey 1, Eberle 1, Nelson 1, Clutterbuck 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 20 shots (Thomas Hickey-4)

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 48, Calgary 94 (including 68-26 in Calgary's favor in the final 40 minutes)

5-on-5 Isles 43, Calgary 73.

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Jordan Eberle +5

Calgary: Matthew Tkachuk +16

Night and Day 

The Isles are 26-28-9 in night games and 4-1-1 in matinees.  All remaining games this season will be played at night.

Ironmen

Nick Leddy 146, Anders Lee 105, Brock Nelson 82, Mathew Barzal/John Tavares 69.

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 146

(*) 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), Sebastian Aho, Chris Wagner, Dennis Seidenberg  

Total games lost: 247

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

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 

…

7.  Patrick Flatley 712 *** 8. Josh Bailey 704*** 9. Brent Sutter 694 *** 10. John Tavares 656

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 266

…

18. Jason Blake 127 *** 19. Josh Bailey 122 *** 20. Diane Sutter 120 *** 21 Frans Nielsen and Alexei Yashin 119 *** 23. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 26. Anders Lee 117

Assists

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

5.  John Tavares 340

…

13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Billy Harris 259 *** 15. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 16. Josh Bailey 248

Points

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

5. Brent Sutter 610 *** 6. John Tavares 606

…

13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 370 

Games Played (Goalies)

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

…

6. Glenn Healy 176 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 170 *** 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

The teams split the season series one game to one (and two points to two). 

The Isles are 6-2-0 in their last eight games against the Flames and have won six of the last nine in Calgary.

On the Farm

Bridgeport won out of three this weekend to improve to 30-23-5-3 on the season as they pursue the final playoff spot in their division. The Sound Tigers split a home-and-home with Lehigh Valley (with the road team winning both games) and then rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to beat Springfield 5-4.

Tanner Fritz (on recall to the Isles) leads Bridgeport with 37 points (10-27-37); Travis St. Denis has taken over the team lead in goals with 17 and is 32 points leads all current players. Christopher Gibson (also on recall to the Isles) is 18-11-3 in the nets with 4 shutouts.

The Sound Tigers are five points behind Charlotte, but they hold a game-in-hand. Bridgeport hosts Rochester on Thursday before visiting Hershey on Friday and Providence on Sunday afternoon.

Up Next

THURSDAY, MARCH 15th –WASHINGTON AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM 

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

There are only 13 games remaining in the regular season, and the Isles will play nine of them at Barclays Center, beginning with the front-end of a home-and-home with Washington on Thursday night.

The teams haven't played in three months; each team owns a home-ice win so far this season.

The Isles have won the last three games in Brooklyn between the squads; it's their longest home-ice win streak against the Caps since 2004-2007 when they won five straight games.  Overall, the Isles are 5-3-0 in their last eight games against the reigning Presidents Trophy champions.

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