"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Game 66
Pittsburgh 3, Isles 2 (OT)
Sidney Crosby scored at 3:48 of overtime to spoil a 47-save outing by rookie netminder Christopher Gibson as the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to defeat the Islanders 3-2 before a sellout crowd of 18,661 at PPG Paints Center.
The Isles are 0-4-2 in their last six games; it's their longest winless streak since a 10-game stretch from November 19 to December 9, 2013.
Anders Lee regained the team lead in goals while Brandon Davidson scored his first goal as an Islander.
The Scoring:
1ST PERIOD
01:11 New York Brandon Davidson (4) ASST: Josh Bailey (48), Anders Lee (19) 1-0
2ND PERIOD
18:04 Pittsburgh PPG - Patric Hornqvist (18) ASST: Phil Kessel (46), Evgeni Malkin (43) 1-1
3RD PERIOD
04:59 New York Anders Lee (31) ASST: John Tavares (35) 2-1
11:29 Pittsburgh Derick Brassard (19) ASST: Phil Kessel (47), Dominik Simon (8) 2-2
OT PERIOD
03:48 Pittsburgh Sidney Crosby (22) ASST: Justin Schultz (15), Kris Letang (34) 2-3
The Skinny
Brandon Davidson is the 367th player to score a goal for the Islanders; all eight of his previous goals had been scored for Edmonton…Isles are 14-22-6 since December 1st and have fallen to NHL-.500 for the first time since they were 3-3-1 in mid-October… Including shootout winners, the Isles have scored 213 goals in the first 66 games (highest since 1993-94 when they had 228) and allowed 237 goals (highest since 1995-96, when they allowed 256) … The Isles have scored three goals or fewer in ten straight games (2-6-2)… Mathew Barzal played the first 3:09 of overtime; he led Islander forwards in ice-time for a second straight game…Phil Kessel recorded his 399th and 400th career assists as he matched his career high of 47 assists…Sidney Crosby recorded his 2nd overtime goal of the season and 12th of his career (which ties Evgeni Malkin for the club record); it extended Crosby's point streak against the Isles to 13 games (9-14-23)... Kris Letang recorded his 333rd assist on the winning goal, breaking Paul Coffey's club record for assists by a defenseman; 16 of those assists have come in overtime, which is a franchise record…The Isles are 6-6 in games decided by an overtime goal; the Penguins are 8-2…Special teams have played a big role in the season series as the Isles power play is 0-10 while Pittsburgh is 4-7.
Historical Night for Gibson
Christopher Gibson is the third Islander rookie to face at least 50 shots:
60 – Billy Smith 11/22/72 @ Philadelphia (55 saves)
51 – Kevin Poulin 1/11/11 Vs. Vancouver (48 saves)
50 – Christopher Gibson 3/3/18 @ Pittsburgh (47 saves)
Besides Smith and Poulin, Kelly Hrudey and Eric Fichaud are the only other Isle rookies to make 47 saves in a game.
Gibson was the first NHL rookie to face 50 shots in a game since Anders Nilsson did so for Edmonton on October 13, 2015.
The Save Record is "Finnished"
Christopher Gibson made 47 saves, establishing a new record for Finnish rookie netminders. On February 10, 2009, Pekka Rinne stopped 46 shots; Juuse Saros matched that mark earlier this season. The 50 shots that Gibson faced matched the record set by Rinne in that 2009 game.
Lots of Shots
The Isles are the first team since the 1993-94 Los Angeles Kings to allow 50 or more shots at least five 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.
Moving on Up
Josh Bailey's assist was his 248th, leaving him one behind Tomas Jonsson for 15th place on the all-time Isles list. It was Josh' 369th point, tying Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson for 14th place.
John Tavares recorded his 337th career assist, leaving him one behind John Tonelli for 5th on the all-time Isles list.
Anders Lee's goal was his 115th as an Islander, leaving him one behind Ray Ferraro for 26th place.
Heavy Hitters
Newly-acquired Chris Wagner now has 223 hits this season, leaving him 5 behind Robert Hagg for the NHL lead. Wagner has the most hits of any NHL forward.
Cal Clutterbuck, who played in his 699th NHL game, recorded his 200th hit of the season. It is the 9th time in his career that he has reached that mark. Clutterbuck now has 2,780 career hits, passing Brooks Orpik for 3rd among active players.
Lots of Rubber for Jaro
Since December 1st, Jaroslav Halak has faced 1,162 shots. This is 64 more than any other goaltender in that span (Henirk Lundqvist has faced 1,098). Halak has faced 1,536 shots this season (6th in NHL); each goalie who has faced more shots have played in at least seven more games than Halak.
Barzal Is Highest Scoring Isles Rookie in 40 Years
Mathew Barzal is the third highest-scoring rookie in Islander history; with 49 assists in 66 games, he is on pace for 61 assists:
Most Assists by an Islander Rookie
1. Bryan Trottier 63 1975-76
2. Stefan Persson 50 1977-78
3. MATHEW BARZAL 49 2017-18
Most Points by an Islander Rookie
1. Bryan Trottier 95 1975-76
2. Mike Bossy 91 1977-78
3. MATHEW BARZAL 67 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 49 assists and Josh Bailey has 48. 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 Panarin (10 times) and Alex Ovechkin (8 times) have done so as often in their rookie seasons.
One and Done
The Isles are 15-2-3 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 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 ten times at home (1-7-2) and eighteen times overall (1-15-2).
First Things First
The Isles have scored first 29 times this season (19-7-3). The Isles won the first eleven times they scored first this season but are only 8-7-3 in the last 18 games that they scored first.
First Goal
The Isles are 19-7-3 when they score first and are 10-22-5 when they allow the opening goal.
Fastest to 50
Doug Weight is now 53-41-12 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 8-7-9-3=27
Pittsburgh 19-19-9-3=50
The Isles are 7-11-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 22-17-4 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 29-29-8 overall; 16-12-4 at home and 13-17-4 on the road.
Pittsburgh is 37-25-4 overall; 24-8-1 at home and 13-7-3 on the road.
By Division & Conference
The Isles are 10-9-2 in Division games and 19-20-6 in games versus other divisions. The Isles are 17-20-3 against the East and 12-9-5 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 47 saves in his season debut and first career start against Pittsburgh.
Tristan Jarry made 32 saves to improve to 11-5-2 on the season and 3-0-0 in his career against the Isles.
Power Plays
The Isles were 0-2 on the power play in 4:00 of PP time; Pittsburgh was 1-2 on the power play in 2:26 of PP time.
The Isles are 17-11-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 12-18-6 when they do not. The Isles are 16-19-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 13-10-5 when they do not.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 27-9-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-20-4 when they do not.
One Goal Games
The Isles are 12-7-8 in games decided by a single goal including 3-7 in regulation. They are 6-6 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
Including tonight, 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 17-21-7 when both teams are rested.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Nick Leddy (22:25); Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (27:59)
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 20:58 of ice-time.
Face-offs
Isles 31, Pittsburgh 24 (56%).
John Tavares won 12 of 20 for the Isles; Sidney Crosby won 8 of 14 for Pittsburgh.
Face-offs by period: 1st period 8/15; 2nd period 8/15; 3rd period 13/22; Overtime 2/3.
Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 28/49, Power play 3/4, Penalty kill 0/2.
Hit Count
Isles 34 (Chris Wagner & Johnny Boychuk -4). Every Islander but Andrew Ladd was credited with at least one hit.
Pittsburgh 22 (Jamie Oleksiak-4)
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 17 shots (Thomas Hickey -3)
For the Corsi Crowd
All situations: Isles 53, Pittsburgh 82
5-on-5 Isles 47, Pittsburgh 72.
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Andrew Ladd +7
Pittsburgh: Carl Hagelin & Bryan Rust +15
Night and Day
The Isles are 25-28-7 in night games and 4-1-1 in matinees. All remaining games this season will be played at night. (To the NHL, all games starting after 5:00pm local time are considered night games)
Ironmen
Nick Leddy 143, Anders Lee 102, Chris Wagner 80 (including 77 for the Ducks), Brock Nelson 79, Mathew Barzal/John Tavares 66.
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 143
(*) 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, Ryan Johnston, Dennis Seidenberg
Total games lost: 229
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 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 701*** 9. Brent Sutter 694 *** 10. John Tavares 653
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. Josh Bailey 121 *** 20. Diane Sutter 120 *** 21 Frans Nielsen and Alexei Yashin 119 *** 23. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 26. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 27. Anders Lee 115
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553*** 4. Clark Gillies 359***
5. John Tonelli 338 *** 6. John Tavares 337
…
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 602
…
13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey, Kyle Okposo & Stefan Persson 369
Games Played (Goalies)
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282
…
6. Glenn Healy 176 *** 7. Jaroslav Halak 169 *** 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
Pittsburgh leads the season series three games to none (and six points to two).
Overall, the Isles are 2-2-2 in their last six games against the Penguins and are 3-2-3 in their last eight trips to The Steel City.
On the Farm
Parker Wotherspoon scored two third period goals as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers rallied from an early 2-0 deficit and defeated the Belleville Senators 4-2. Bridgeport has won four straight games to improve to 28-22-5-3 on the season and close in on the final playoff spot in their division. Eamon McAdam made 23 saves for the win.
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 begins a 3-in-3 weekend on Friday, March 9th in Lehigh Valley; they'll then host the Phantoms on Saturday and host Springfield on Sunday afternoon.
Up Next
MONDAY, MARCH 5th –ISLANDERS AT VANCOUVER 10:00PM
[MSG+ (Islander pre-game at 4:30PM), WFAN 660AM/101.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM]
The Isles begin the Western Canada portion of their road trip as they face the Canucks in Vancouver.
The Isles have won four straight games from the Canucks and will be looking to sweep the season series for the second straight season. The Isles are also 4-2-0 in their last six trips to British Columbia, including memorable wins in 2010 (5 points for then-rookie John Tavares) and 2014 (7-goal third period).
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
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