The Skinny: Vancouver 4, Isles 3 (OT)

 "The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 67

Vancouver 4, Isles 3 (OT)

Brendan Leipsic scored at 3:47 of overtime to complete his first career three-point game as the Vancouver Canucks overcame a 6th attacker goal by Jordan Eberle to defeat the Islanders 4-3 before a crowd of 17,307 at Rogers Arena.

The Isles are 0-4-3 in their last seven games; it's their longest winless streak since a 10-game stretch from November 19 to December 9, 2013.  They are 0-0-2 on their four-game road trip.

 

John Tavares tied Anders Lee for the team lead in goals while Mathew Barzal recorded two assists in his first game in his hometown.

The Scoring: 

1ST PERIOD

09:51 New York Josh Bailey (17) ASST: Anders Lee (20), Nick Leddy (29) 1-0

2ND PERIOD

02:59 New York John Tavares (31) ASST: Thomas Hickey (16), Mathew Barzal (50) 2-0

14:25 Vancouver Brendan Leipsic (3) ASST: Jake Virtanen (9), Bo Horvat (18) 2-1

15:59 Vancouver PS - Darren Archibald (3) 2-2

3RD PERIOD

10:31 Vancouver Jake Virtanen (8) ASST: Brendan Leipsic (14) 2-3

18:56 New York PPG - Jordan Eberle (23) ASST: John Tavares (36), Mathew Barzal (51) 3-3

OT PERIOD

02:47 Vancouver Brendan Leipsic (4) 3-4

The Skinny  

Isles are 14-22-7 since December 1st and remain at NHL-.500… The Isles have allowed 239 goals (not including shootout winners); they allowed only 238 all last season… The Isles have scored three goals or fewer in 11 straight games (2-6-3)… Mathew Barzal played 19:54; he led Islander forwards in ice-time for a third straight game…The goal by Virtanen was the 238th allowed (excluding shootouts) by Isles this season; they allowed 238 all last year…Brendan Leipsic also took three penalties for Vancouver, matching his season total; he became the first Canuck to have three points and three minor penalties in a game Mathias Ohlund (12/27/2006 vs Calgary)… Mathew Barzal has earned 18 assists on Jordan Eberle's 23 goals… Cal Clutterbuck played in his 700th NHL game...John Tavares had a season-high eight shots on goal…The Isles held the Sedin brothers off the scoreboard, ending 5 game point streaks for each…The Canucks played overtime for the third straight game (1-0-2).

 

The Penalty Shot:

There have four penalty shots in games between the teams – all attempted by Vancouver.  Archibald Is the first to score: 

• Ron Sedlbauer/Billy Smith 11/19/77 Failed 

• Ron Sedlbauer/Glenn Resch 3/7/78 Failed 

• Markus Naslund/Chris Osgood 3/21/02 Failed

• Darren Archibald/Jaroslav Halak 3/5/18 Scored

Thomas Greiss stopped Philadelphia's Nolan Patrick in the only other penalty shot in an Isles game this season.  Greiss had faced the last five Islander penalty shots, stopping four of them.

This was only the 2nd of the last 13 opposition penalty shots to be converted, and only the second that Jaroslav Halak has faced as an Islander. Halak stopped Michael Ferland of Calgary three years ago.  

The Injury

Canuck rookie Brock Boeser was injured in a late-game collision with Cal Clutterbuck. He was taken to the hospital after the game.

First Time for Everything

Jussi Jokinen became the first player to face the Islanders as a member of 4 different teams in the same season.  Mark Arcobello, Dave McLlwain and Dennis O'Brien are the others to play for 4 teams in one season.   McLlwain played for the Isles that season; the others did not face the Isles with all four of their teams.

Moving on Up

Josh Bailey's goal was his 370th point, passing both Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson for 14th place on the all-time Isles list.

Mathew Barzal is the first Islander rookie in 40 years to reach 50 assists, tying, and then passing, Stefan Persson for 2nd place on the all-time list.

John Tavares recorded his 338th career assist, tying John Tonelli for 5th on the all-time Isles list.

Lots of Rubber for Jaro

Since December 1st, Jaroslav Halak has faced 1,185 shots.  This is 76 more than any other goaltender in that span (Frederik Andersen has faced 1,109).   Halak has faced 1,559 shots this season (6th in NHL); each goalie who has faced more shots have played in at least six 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 51 assists in 67 games, he is on pace for 62 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 

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.

31 Goals

John Tavares tied Anders Lee for the team lead with 31 goals.  When each player reaches 32, 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 (Mostly)Done

The Isles are 15-2-4 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 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 30 times this season (19-7-4). The Isles won the first eleven times they scored first this season but are only 8-7-4 in the last 19 games that they scored first.

First Goal 

The Isles are 19-7-4 when they score first and are 10-22-5 when they allow the opening goal. 

Fastest to 50

Doug Weight is now 53-41-13 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           15-7-11-1=34

Vancouver   6-8-7-2=23

The Isles are 7-11-5 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 29-29-9 overall; 16-12-4 at home and 13-17-5 on the road.  

Vancouver is 25-32-9 overall; 12-15-6 at home and 13-17-3 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 10-9-2 in Division games and 19-20-7 in games versus other divisions.   The Isles are 17-20-3 against the East and 12-9-6 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

Jaroslav Halak made 19 saves; he is 18-22-6 on the season and 7-5-3 against Vancouver.

Jacob Markstrom made 31 saves to improve to 18-21-6 on the season and 2-3-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-4 on the power play in 6:00 of PP time; Vancouver was 0-1 on the power play in 1:05 of PP time.

The Isles are 17-11-3 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 13-10-6 when they do not.    

Three is (Often) a Magic Number

The Isles are 27-9-5 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 12-7-9 in games decided by a single goal including 3-7 in regulation. They are 6-7 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 6-7-0 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 17-21-8 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (23:11); Vancouver: Alex Edler (26:30)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 19:54 of ice-time.

Face-offs

Isles 24, Vancouver 31 (44%).

John Tavares won 12 of 19 for the Isles but his teammates won only 12 of 36; Bo Horvat won 16 of 25 for Vancouver.

 

Face-offs by period: 1st period 6/19; 2nd period 6/16; 3rd period 11/19; Overtime 1/1.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 21/50, Power play 3/4, Penalty kill 0/1.

Hit Count

Isles 13 (Three with 3).  

Vancouver 22 (Jake Virtanen-5)

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 16 shots (Johnny Boychuk -3)

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 58, Vancouver 47

5-on-5 Isles 41, Vancouver 71.

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Mathew Barzal +11

Vancouver: Ben Hutton and Derrick Pouliot +7

Night and Day 

The Isles are 25-28-8 in night games and 4-1-1 in matinees.  All remaining games this season will be played at night.

Ironmen

Nick Leddy 144, Anders Lee 103, Chris Wagner 81 (including 77 for the Ducks), Brock Nelson 80, Mathew Barzal/John Tavares 67.

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 144

(*) 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: 235

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 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 702*** 9. Brent Sutter 694 *** 10. John Tavares 654

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. 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 and John Tavares 338

…

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 604

…

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 (the Isles earned three points to Vancouver's two). 

The Isles are 4-0-1 in their last five games against the Canucks and are 4-2-1 in their last seven trips to British Columbia.

 

On the Farm

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.

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 in Lehigh Valley; they'll then host the Phantoms on Saturday and host Springfield on Sunday afternoon.

Up Next

THURSDAY, MARCH 8th –ISLANDERS AT EDMONTON 9:00PM 

[MSG+2 (Islander pre-game at 8:30PM), WFAN 660AM/101.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM]

Jordan Eberle returns to Edmonton as the Isles play the third game on this four-game road trip.  Eberle went 165-217-382 in 507 games for the Oilers, before being traded to the Isles for Ryan Strome last summer.

Connor McDavid was the overtime hero in the team's meeting in Brooklyn in November; the Isles won 4-1 in Edmonton last season for their first win in the Alberta capital since 2003.

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