The (500th consecutive) Skinny: Isles 5, Philadelphia 4

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 80

Isles 5, Philadelphia 4

Mathew Barzal scored two goals, including the game-winner with 6:28 to play as the Islanders overcame a late Flyer rally to defeat Philadelphia 5-4 on Fan Appreciation Night before a crowd of 11,951 at Barclays Center.

Barzal's winning goal, his third point of the game, came just 28 seconds after Claude Giroux had tied the game with the Flyers' third goal of the third period, and gives him 82 points in his rookie campaign.

The Flyers had an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot but trailed the game 4-1 through 40 minutes before their rally fell short.

 

The Scoring: 

1ST PERIOD

07:15 New York PPG - John Tavares (35) ASST: Mathew Barzal (60) 0-1

19:07 Philadelphia Wayne Simmonds (24) ASST: Nolan Patrick (16), Oskar Lindblom (4) 1-1

2ND PERIOD

03:43 New York Anthony Beauvillier (20) ASST: Thomas Hickey (19), Ryan Pulock (21) 1-2

11:06 New York John Tavares (36) ASST: Josh Bailey (52) 1-3

16:27 New York Mathew Barzal (21) ASST: Anthony Beauvillier (14), Jordan Eberle (33) 1-4

3RD PERIOD

04:07 Philadelphia PPG - Nolan Patrick (12) ASST: Shayne Gostisbehere (48), Claude Giroux (67) 2-4

08:16 Philadelphia PPG - Nolan Patrick (13) ASST: Jakub Voracek (64), Shayne Gostisbehere (49) 3-4

13:04 Philadelphia Claude Giroux (30) ASST: Sean Couturier (41), Andrew MacDonald (15) 4-4

13:32 New York Mathew Barzal (22) ASST: Anthony Beauvillier (15), Jordan Eberle (34) 4-5

The Skinny  

Isles are 18-30-8 since December 1st … Anthony Beauvillier's goal gives the Isles five players with at least 20 goals for the second straight season; Beauvillier has more than doubled last season's goal output (9). Since New Year's Day, Beauvillier leads the team in goals (16), including goals in the last four games... Anders Lee was held goalless for the third straight game as he remains at 39 goals …The Isles went 1-3 on the power play.  The power play is operating at 23.2%; 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%); however the penalty kill has fallen to 73.5%, which would be the worst in club history (73.6% in 1988-89) and the lowest by any NHL team since Ottawa killed 73.3% in 1993-94… The Isles are 4-12-4 in their last 20 games… Josh Bailey had an assist after missing two straight games with an injury; he passed Patrick Flatley for 7th place on the all-time Isles games played list (713) ... John Tavares had two goals, giving him 36.  Tavares, who leads the Isles with 83 points, is three points away from his career high…Thomas Hickey earned an assist giving him a career-high 23 points…Shayne Gostisbehere had two assists, giving the Union College product 10 points in 12 career games against the Isles…Nolan Patrick's two power play goals gave him the first multi-goal game of his career…Claude Giroux extended his point streak to eight games…The Isles have now allowed 289 goals, most since Philadelphia allowed 297 in 2006-07.

A Special Skinny

You are reading the 500th consecutive edition of The Skinny, a streak that started in February 2012. The Skinny has appeared after the last 476 regular season games and 24 playoff games.  Billy Harris played in the first 576 Islander regular season games, so he is still 100 games ahead (135 counting playoffs).

 

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 Tuesday, the Isles held the 9th pick and 12th pick heading into the upcoming draft lottery, giving them a 7.5% chance of winning the lottery.

The Isles will have somewhere between the 7th seed and 10th seed based on their finish and either the 11th or 12th seed, based on Calgary's finish.

The combined percentages mean that the Isles will have somewhere between a 6% and 9.5% chance of winning the lottery.

20/20

Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier have now both reached the 20-goal mark. They are the first duo in Islander history to each 20 games in the same season, prior to reaching their 21st birthday.

Barzal Is Highest Scoring Isles Rookie in 40 Years

Mathew Barzal is the third highest-scoring rookie in Islander history; he has a team-leading 60 assists and 82 points and needs three assists in the final two games to tie Bryan Trottier's franchise record.

Most Assists by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 63 1975-76

2. MATHEW BARZAL 60 2017-18 

Most Points by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 95 1975-76

2. Mike Bossy 91 1977-78

3. MATHEW BARZAL 82 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.

Barzal Earning an "A" in History

Mathew Barzal is one of only eight rookies in NHL history with at least 60 assists in a season.   

1. Joe Juneau BOS 1992-93 70

Peter Stastny QUE 1980-81 70

3. Bryan Trottier NYI 1975-76 63

Sidney Crosby PIT 2005-06 63

5. Sergei Makarov CGY 1989-90 62

6. MATHEW BARZAL NYI 2017-18 60

Neal Broten MIN  1981-82 60

Larry Murphy LA 1980-81 60

The Isles are the only team in National Hockey League history to have two rookies record 60-assist seasons.

He is also one of only four rookies since 2000-01 with at least 82 points.

Most 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   82

36 Goal Club

Anders Lee has 39 goals and John Tavares has 36.  They are the first Islander teammates with at least 36 goals since Pierre Turgeon, Steve Thomas and Benoit Hogue all did so in 1993-94 and the first to combine for at least 75 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). 

60 Helpers

Mathew Barzal has 60 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 the 8th Islander rookie defenseman to record 30 points in his rookie season. 

Three's Company

Mathew Barzal has nine games of at least three points this season (six games with three points and three games with five points). Since 1993-94, only Sidney Crosby (11 times) and Artemi Panarin (10 times) have done so as often in their rookie seasons.

Five's Alive

The Isles have scored at least five goals 12 times at home (10-2-0) and 19 times overall (18-2-0). 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 38 times this season (23-10-5). The Isles won the first eleven times they scored first this season but are only 12-10-5 in the last 27 games that they scored first.

First Goal 

The Isles are 23-10-5 when they score first and are 10-27-5 when they allow the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles      10-17-10=37

Philadelphia 10-6-15=31

The Isles are 9-15-5 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 33-37-10 overall; 18-18-4 at home and 15-19-6 on the road.  

Philadelphia is 40-26-14 overall; 20-13-6 at home and 20-13-8 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 12-13-2 in Division games and 21-24-8 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 20-27-3 against the East and 13-10-7 against the West.  

Our House

The Isles are 18-18-4 at home; they are 11-14-0 against the East and 7-4-4 against the West.  However, after opening the season 8-0-2 on home ice, the Isles are 10-18-2 in their last 30 games in Brooklyn.

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 27 saves to improve to 12-8-2 on the season and 6-3-2 in his career against Philadelphia. It was the first time since December 14-19 that Greiss had played consecutive games.

Petr Mrazek made 32 saves but falls to 14-13-6 on the season and 6-4-1 in his career against the Isles. It was Mrazek's first appearance against the Isles since New York scored 4 power play goals on a major power play in a game against Detroit two months ago.

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play in 4:10 of PP time; Philadelphia was 2-2 on the power play in 2:30 of PP time.

The Isles are 20-16-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 13-21-7 when they do not.  The Isles are 18-26-3 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 31-15-5 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 14-11-10 in games decided by a single goal including 5-11 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

The Isles went 6-10-0 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 6-9-1 on the back-end this 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 20-26-9 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Adam Pelech (24:09); Philadelphia: Sean Couturier (22:46)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 18:01 of ice-time.

Face-offs

Isles 28, Philadelphia 29 (49%).

John Tavares won 12 of 18 for the Isles; Jori Lehtera won 4 of 6 for Philadelphia. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period 5/18; 2nd period 13/22; 3rd period 10/17.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 22/50, Power play 4/4, Penalty kill 2/3.

Hit Count

Isles 18 (Scott Mayfield-5)  

Philadelphia 18 (Brandon Manning and Radko Gudas-3)

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 13 shots (Anthony Beauvillier-3).

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 62, Philadelphia 59 

5-on-5 Isles 53, Philadelphia 47

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Jordan Eberle +14

Philadelphia: Oskar Lindblom & Jordan Weal +6

Night and Day 

The Isles are 29-36-9 in night games and 4-1-1 in matinees.   All remaining games this season will be played at night.

Ironmen

Anders Lee 116, Brock Nelson 93, Mathew Barzal/John Tavares 80.

Scratches

(Nikolay Kulemin -IR), (Calvin deHaan-IR), (Shane Prince- IR), (Alan Quine-IR), Casey Cizikas-INJ, Brandon Davidson, Dennis Seidenberg

Total games lost: 315

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. Josh Bailey 713*** 8. Patrick Flatley 712 *** 9. Brent Sutter 694 *** 10. John Tavares 667

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 271

…

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 252

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 376 

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 117

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 61

Season Series Stats

The Isles win the season series three games to one (and six points to four). 

The Isles are 4-2-0 in their last six games and 4-2-2 in the last eight games against Philadelphia.

On the Farm

Leading-scorer Travis St. Denis scored the winning goal midway through the third period and Joshua Ho-Sang added two assists as Bridgeport improved to 35-27-5-3 with a 3-2 School Day matinee win over Providence.

 

St. Denis leads the team in both goals (23) and points (44). Christopher Gibson (who was returned to Bridgeport on Tuesday) is 18-11-3 in the nets with 4 shutouts.

The Sound Tigers have six games remaining; they will be played in two three-in-three weekends.  This weekend Bridgeport will visit Wilkes Barre on Friday and host the baby Penguins on Sunday.  In between, Bridgeport will host Providence on Saturday. 

Up Next

THURSDAY, APRIL 5th -- RANGERS AT ISLANDERS 7:00PM 

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

The Isles will close out the home portion of the 2017-18 season as they entertain the Rangers.  The Isles have won all three meetings this season and will be looking to sweep the season series for the second time in three years.  

The game will mark the final NHL game that will be worked by the legendary Stan Fischler.  Stan, who turned 86 over the weekend, is retiring after a truly amazing career.

Mathew Barzal, who scored his first NHL goal at Madison Square Garden in October, leads the entire NHL in points against the Rangers this season, tallying nine in the first three games.  Vladimir Malakhov is the only Islander rookie to score more points against the Rangers; Malakhov had ten in the 1992-93 season (in 6 games).  Pat LaFontaine had nine points in his rookie season against the Rangers.

Since expansion, Willi Plett (8-3-11) and Mario Lemieux (5-6-11) have the most points as rookies against the Blueshirts; however, both players appeared in seven games.

The Islanders need a victory to finish above NHL-.500 at Barclays Center for the third straight season.

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