The Skinny: New Jersey 4, Isles 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 79

New Jersey 4, Isles 3

Travis Hall scored twice but it was Blake Coleman's shorthanded goal late in the difference that proved to be the difference as the New Jersey Devils held on for a 4-3 win over the Isles before a sellout crowd of 16,514 at Prudential Center.

The Devils improve to 4-0-1 in their last five games while the Isles fall to 2-8-0 in their last ten games.

 

The Scoring: 

1ST PERIOD

01:15 New York Tanner Fritz (3) ASST: Brandon Davidson (3), John Tavares (47) 1-0

07:54 New Jersey Stefan Noesen (13) ASST: Blake Coleman (11), Will Butcher (38) 1-1

2ND PERIOD

00:41 New Jersey PPG - Taylor Hall (35) ASST: Will Butcher (39), Kyle Palmieri (18) 1-2

09:08 New Jersey Taylor Hall (36) ASST: Stefan Noesen (14) 1-3

13:19 New York PPG - Anthony Beauvillier (19) ASST: Mathew Barzal (59), Brock Nelson (15) 2-3

18:58 New Jersey SHG - Blake Coleman (13) ASST: Mirco Mueller (4), Michael Grabner (9) 2-4

3RD PERIOD

16:21 New York Chris Wagner (7) ASST: Johnny Boychuk (12), Nick Leddy (32) 3-4

The Skinny  

Isles are 17-30-8 since December 1st …Chris Wagner scored his first goal as an Islander (12th game); he is the 368th Islander to score a goal… Anthony Beauvillier's goal gives the Isles six players with at least 19 goals for the first time since 1993-94; Beauvillier has more than doubled last season's goal output (9)... Anders Lee was held goalless for the second straight game as he remains at 39 goals …The Isles went 1-2 on the power play.  The power play is operating at 23.0%; the Isles will finish the season having converted 20% of their power plays over a full season for the first time since 1993-94 (20.1%)… The Isles are 3-12-4 in their last 19 games… Josh Bailey sat out a second straight game with an injury; he remains tied with Patrick Flatley for 7th place on the all-time Isles games played list (712)…A goal was deflected into the Isles' goal off an Islander defenseman for the fifth straight game …With the loss, the Isles are guaranteed to figure under NHL-.500 for the first time since 2013-14…Blake Coleman's goal was the 11th shorty scored by the Devils and was the 11th allowed by the Isles…Taylor Hall extended his latest point streak to seven games (5-7-12) as he extended his career high totals in both goals (36) and points (88); Hall had points in 34 of his last 37 appearances…The Devils are 50-0-12 the last two seasons when leading after two periods…The Isles finished March with a 3-9-3 record.

 

Lottery Update

In addition to their own picks, the Isles own Calgary's first two picks in the upcoming entry draft.  At the end of play Saturday, the Isles held the 7th pick and either the 11th or 12th pick (based on the results of Edmonton-Calgary game) heading into the upcoming draft lottery, giving them a 9.0% (or 9.5%) chance of winning the 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 59 assists and 79 points in 79 games, he is on pace for 61 assists and 82 points: 

Most Assists by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 63 1975-76

2. MATHEW BARZAL 59 2017-18 

Most Points by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 95 1975-76

2. Mike Bossy 91 1977-78

3. MATHEW BARZAL 79 2017-18 

Barzal will join Denis Potvin as the only rookies to ever lead the Isles in assists; he is two points behind John Tavares for the club lead in points.  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 four rookies since 1983-84 with at least 59 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. MATHEW BARZAL NYI 2017-18 59

He is also one of only four rookies since 2000-01 with at least 79 points.

More points by a rookie: last 18 seasons

1 Alex Ovechkin WSH2005-06 106

2 Sidney Crosby PIT 2005-06 102

3 Evgeni Malkin PIT 2006-07   85

4 MATHEW BARZAL NYI 2017-18   79

(Barzal passed Paul Stastny, who finished his rookie season with 78 points.)

34 Goal Club

Anders Lee has 39 goals and John Tavares has 34.  They are the first Islander teammates with at least 34 goals since Pierre Turgeon, Steve Thomas and Benoit Hogue all did so in 1993-94 and the first to combine for at least 73 goals since Ziggy Palffy (48) and Bryan Smolinski (28) had 76 in 1996-97.

39 Goal Club

Anders Lee is only the 2nd Islander in the last 20 years to score 39 goals in a season:

1. Jason Blake 40 2006-07

2.    ANDERS LEE 39 2017-18

Lee is also the first Islander with multiple 34+ goal seasons since Ziggy Palffy (1995-96 to 1997-98). 

59 Helpers

Mathew Barzal has 59 assists; it's the highest total by an Islander since Pierre 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 13 times at home (1-10-2) and 22 times overall (1-19-2).  

First Things First

The Isles have scored first 37 times this season (22-10-5). The Isles won the first eleven times they scored first this season but are only 11-10-5 in the last 26 games that they scored first.

First Goal 

The Isles are 22-10-5 when they score first and are 10-27-5 when they allow the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles           12-11-7=30

New Jersey 15-10-10=35

The Isles are 8-15-5 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 24-21-5 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 32-37-10 overall; 17-18-4 at home and 15-19-6 on the road.  

New Jersey is 41-28-9 overall; 21-14-4 at home and 20-14-5 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 11-13-2 in Division games and 21-24-8 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 19-27-3 against the East and 13-10-7 against the West.  

Our House

The Isles are 17-18-4 at home; they are 10-14-0 against the East and 7-4-4 against the West.  However, after opening the season 8-0-2 on home ice, the Isles are 9-18-2 in their last 29 games in Brooklyn.

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 31 saves but falls to 11-8-2 on the season and 2-4-0 in his career against the Isles. It was his 1st appearance since being injured in a shutout win in Carolina on February 16th.

Keith Kinkaid made 27 saves and improves to 23-10-3 on the season and 3-3-2 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-2 on the power play in 3:57 of PP time, but they allowed a shorthanded goal; New Jersey was 1-2 on the power play in 3:30 of PP time.

The Isles are 19-16-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 13-21-7 when they do not.  The Isles are 17-26-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-11-7 when they do not.    

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 30-15-5 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 13-11-10 in games decided by a single goal including 4-11 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 6-10-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 6-9-1 on the back-end.   This was the final back-to-back set of the season.

 

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 3-4-0 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 3-5-1 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 19-26-9 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Mathew Barzal (21:51); New Jersey: Sami Vatanen (27:15)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 21:51 of ice-time.

Face-offs

Isles 40, New Jersey 30 (57%).

Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson each won 10 of 15 for the Isles; no Devil who took multiple draws won more than he lost.

 

Face-offs by period: 1st period 12/27; 2nd period 13/21; 3rd period 15/22.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 38/58, Power play 0/4, Penalty kill 2/8.

Hit Count

Isles 13 (Chris Wagner-3)  

New Jersey 31 (Blake Coleman-5)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 15: (Johnston 4, Boychuk 2, Mayfield 1, Cizikas 1, Chimera 1, Prince 1, Bailey 1, Eberle 1, Nelson 1, Clutterbuck 1, Seidenberg 1).

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 6 shots (6 with 1).

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 50, New Jersey 51 

5-on-5 Isles 41, New Jersey 42

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: John Tavares +6

New Jersey: Taylor Hall +8

Night and Day 

The Isles are 28-36-9 in night games and 4-1-1 in matinees.   All remaining games this season will be played at night.

Ironmen

Anders Lee 115, Brock Nelson 92, Mathew Barzal/John Tavares 79.

Scratches

(Nikolay Kulemin -IR), (Calvin deHaan-IR), (Shane Prince- IR), (Alan Quine-IR), Casey Cizikas-INJ, Josh Bailey-INJ, Jaroslav Halak, Scott Mayfield, Dennis Seidenberg

Total games lost: 310

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 six times this season (10/19 @NYR, 10/21 vs SJ, 1/16 vs. NJ, 3/2 vs. MTL, 3/30 vs. TOR, 3/31 @NJ) and are 2-4-0 in those games.  Under Doug Weight, the Isles are 6-4-0 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 & Josh Bailey 712*** 9. Brent Sutter 694 *** 10. John Tavares 666

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 269

…

17. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 18. Jason Blake 127 *** 19. Josh Bailey 124 *** 20. Anders Lee 123 

Assists

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

5.  John Tavares 349

…

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 618

…

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 and Jaroslav Halak 176 

…

10. Garth Snow 127 *** 11.  Evgeni Nabokov 123 *** 12. Thomas Greiss 116

Wins (Goalie)

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

5. Jaroslav Halak 87 *** 6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Glenn Healy 66 *** 8.  Tommy Salo 62 *** 

9. Thomas Greiss 60

Season Series Stats

New Jersey wins the season series three games to one (and seven points to two). 

The Devils won the final three meetings, all with Keith Kinkaid in goal.  It's the first time in over five years that New Jersey has earned three straight wins over the Isles.

On the Farm

Sebastian Aho assisted on a goal in each period as Bridgeport improved to 34-27-5-3 with a 5-1 win over Hartford.

 

Travis St. Denis leads the team in both goals (22) and points (43). Christopher Gibson (on recall to the Isles) is 18-11-3 in the nets with 4 shutouts.

The Sound Tigers have seven games remaining, beginning with a 10:30 AM School Day Matinee against Providence on Tuesday.

 

Up Next

TUESDAY, APRIL 3rd -- PHILADELPHIA AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM 

[MSG+2 (Islander pre-game at 6:30PM), WNYM 970AM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]

The Islanders will need to win both of their remaining home games to finish with above NHL-.500 at Barclays Center for the third straight season.

The first of those two games will be against the Flyers.  The Isles swept a pair of extra time game from Philly over Thanksgiving, but the Flyers rebounded for a home-ice win in early January.

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