The Skinny: Isles 4, Detroit 3 (OT)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 82

Isles 4, Detroit 3 (OT)       

John Tavares scored his franchise-record 11th overtime goal and Mathew Barzal tied Bryan Trottier's club record for assists as the Islanders rallied from a 3-1 deficit for a 4-3 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings before a sellout crowd of 19,515 at Little Caesars Arena.

Anders Lee became the first Islander since Jason Blake in 2006-07 to score 40 goals and Ryan Pulock ended his rookie season with a power play goal with 30 seconds to play in regulation. Both of those goals were set-up by Barzal, the presumed Calder Trophy winner.  Pulock also earned the assist on Tavares' season-ending goal. 

The Scoring: 

1ST PERIOD

11:13 Detroit Henrik Zetterberg (11) ASST: Gustav Nyquist (19) 0-1

2ND PERIOD

03:51 New York Andrew Ladd (12) ASST: Cal Clutterbuck (10), Thomas Hickey (20) 1-1

11:58 Detroit PPG - Justin Abdelkader (13) ASST: Henrik Zetterberg (45), Niklas Kronwall (23) 1-2

3RD PERIOD

04:10 Detroit Dylan Larkin (16) ASST: Anthony Mantha (24), Xavier Ouellet (7) 1-3

06:25 New York Anders Lee (40) ASST: Mathew Barzal (62), Adam Pelech (16) 2-3

19:30 New York PPG - Ryan Pulock (10) ASST: Mathew Barzal (63), Josh Bailey (53) 3-3

OT PERIOD

03:14 New York John Tavares (37) ASST: Ryan Pulock (22) 4-3

The Skinny  

Isles opened the season 15-7-2, but then went 20-30-8 in the final 58 games … Anthony Beauvillier saw his goal streak end at 5 games—he was the first Islander since John Tavares in 2012-13 to score in five straight games. Since New Year's Day, Beauvillier leads the team in goals (17), including goals in the last five games... The Isles went 1-2 on the power play (7-12 on the season vs. Detroit).  The power play finishes at 23.2%; it's their best season-long percentage since they finished the 1989-90 season at 23.6%... The Isles allowed a power play goal for the 9th straight game and finished with the lowest penalty kill percentage in franchise history (73.2%); the previous worst was 73.6% in 1988-89. This was the lowest by any NHL team since Toronto killed 72.7% in 1988-89… The Isles won their final three games to finish 6-12-4 in their last 22 games; they recorded consecutive three straight wins for the first time since mid-January.… Mathew Barzal's two assists give him the club lead in points with 85... Barzal finished the season with a four-game point streak …Thomas Hickey's assist gave him a career-high 25 points… The Isles allowed 293 goals, most since Philadelphia allowed 297 in 2006-07… …The Isles are 24-14-7 in season finales and are 24-16-5 in their last road game of the season.  Isles have won their final road game in each of the last five years…It's the second time an Islander regular season has ended with an overtime goal; Jordan Leopold (Pittsburgh) ended the Isles' 2009-10 campaign…The Isles go 3-0-0 this April and are now 11-1-1 in their last 13 regular season April games, losing only in the 2016 finale…John Tavares now has 11 overtime goals; since Tavares entered the NHL in 2009-10 only Alex Ovechkin (15) and Brad Marchand (12) have more. Tavares is the 26th player in NHL history to score at least 11 OT goals…Justin Abdelkader recorded his 100th NHL goal…Detroit has sold out their last 313 home games…Dylan Larkin (63 points) is the youngest Red Wing since Steve Yzerman to lead the team in scoring.

Career Years (excluding rookies, and others with limited prior NHL experience)

Several Isles had career years in 2017-18:

• Josh Bailey established career highs in goals (18), assists (53) and points (71)

• Anthony Beauvillier established career highs in goals (21) and points (36) and tied his high in assists (15)

• Thomas Hickey established a career high in points (25) and tied his high in assists (20)

• Anders Lee established career highs in goals (40), assists (22) and points (52)

Leaders:

• Games: Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, John Tavares and Mathew Barzal - 82

• Goals: Anders Lee - 40

• Assists: Mathew Barzal - 63

• Points: Mathew Barzal- 85

• Plus/Minus: Thomas Hickey +20

• Pen Mins: Ross Johnston - 62

• PP Goals: Anders Lee – 14

• PP Points: Josh Bailey - 31

• SH Goals: John Tavares - 2

• GW Goals: Jordan Eberle - 7 

• OT Goals: John Tavares -2 

• Shots: John Tavares – 257

• Shooting Percentage: Anders Lee – 19.2%

• Average ice-time: Nick Leddy - 22:25

• Face-off Percentages (minimum 300): Casey Cizikas – 53.1%

Most Goals by an Islander in the 2000's

• Jason Blake -40 (2006-07)

• Anders Lee - 40 (2017-18)

• John Tavares-38 (2014-15)

• John Tavares-37 (2017-18)

• Matt Moulson-36 (2011-12)

• Miroslav Satan -35 (2005-06)

• Mariusz Czerkawski-35 (1999-2000)

• Anders Lee -34 (2016-17)

• Michael Grabner-34 (2010-11) 

• John Tavares-33 (2015-16)

Lottery Update

In addition to their own picks, the Isles own Calgary's first two picks in the upcoming entry draft.  The Isles hold the 10th pick and 11th pick heading into the upcoming draft lottery, giving them a 6% chance of winning the lottery.

21/21/21

Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier both reached the 21-goal mark. They are the first duo in Islander history to each 21 games in the same season, prior to reaching their 21st birthday.  Toronto is the only team in the NHL to have two players with 21 goals at that young of an age.

Barzal ties Trottier in Assists in Historic Season

Mathew Barzal is the third highest-scoring rookie in Islander history; he finished with a team-leading 63 assists and a team-leading 85 points.

Most Assists by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 63 1975-76

MATHEW BARZAL 63 2017-18 

Most Points by an Islander Rookie

1. Bryan Trottier 95 1975-76

2. Mike Bossy 91 1977-78

3. MATHEW BARZAL 85 2017-18 

Barzal and Denis Potvin are the only rookies in Islander history to ever lead the team in both assists and points.

Barzal Earns His "A" in History

Mathew Barzal is one of only five rookies in NHL history with at least 63 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

MATHEW BARZAL NYI 2017-18 63

He is also one of only four rookies since 2000-01 with at least 85 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

MATHEW BARZAL NYI 2017-18   85

37 Goal Club

Anders Lee has 40 goals and John Tavares has 37.  They are the first Islander teammates with at least 37 goals since Pierre Turgeon and Steve Thomas did so in 1993-94 and the first to combine for at least 77 goals since Thomas (42) and Turgeon (38) had 80 in 1993-94.

40 Goal Club

Anders Lee is only the 2nd Islander in the last 20 years to score 40 goals in a season, tying Jason Blake's 2006-07 total.

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

63 Helpers

Mathew Barzal has 63 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 Hits Double Digits!

Pulock finished with 10 goals on the season, which is 3rd in Islander history (Denis Potvin-17 and Vladimir Malakhov-14). His five power play goals are also third; only Malakhov (7) and Potvin (6) had more.  Pulock finished 7th among Islander rookie defenseman with 32 points in his rookie season. 

Three's Company

Mathew Barzal had 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 scored at least five goals 12 times at home (10-2-0) and 19 times overall (18-2-0). The Isles also scored two shootout winners for a fifth goal of the game (not included above). 

Five's Trouble

The Isles allowed at least five goals 13 times at home (1-10-2) and 22 times overall (1-19-2).  

First Things First

The Isles scored first 38 times this season (23-10-5). The Isles won the first eleven times they scored first this season but were only 12-10-5 in the last 27 games that they scored first.

First Goal 

The Isles were 23-10-5 when they scored first and were 12-27-5 when they allowed the opening goal. 

Season Goals by Period

Isles 73-86-95-7=261 (Most since 1993-94  282)

Opponent 87-108-91-7=293 (Most since 1995-96 315)

The 95 third period goals were the most the Isles had scored since 1992-93 (110)

Season Shots by Period

Isles 810-877-839-46=2,572 (31.4 per game; 2nd highest in club history to 33.8 in 2014-15)

Opponent 979-987-905-47=2,918 (35.6 per game; most in NHL and highest in club history)

The Shots

Isles     9-16-10-5=40

Detroit 12-7-16-4=39

The Isles are 10-15-5 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even, and 25-21-5 when they are outshot.  (The 25 wins while being outshot ties the club record, set by the 1983-84 team)

Home and Road

The Islanders are 35-37-10 overall; 19-18-4 at home and 16-19-6 on the road.  

Detroit is 30-39-13 overall; 16-16-9 at home and 14-23-4 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 13-13-2 in Division games and 22-24-8 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 22-27-3 against the East and 13-10-7 against the West.  

Our House

The Isles were 19-18-4 at home; they were 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 went 11-18-2 in their last 31 games in Brooklyn.

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 36 saves to improve to 13-8-2 on the season and 3-2-1 in his career against Detroit.  

Jared Coreau made 35 saves; he is 0-5-1 on the season in his first career appearance against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-2 on the power play in 3:06 of PP time; Detroit was 1-1 on the power play in 0:34 of PP time.

The Isles finished the season 58-250 (23.2%) on the power play and 63-235 (73.2%) on the penalty kill.

The Isles are 21-16-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 14-21-7 when they do not.  The Isles are 20-26-3 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 32-15-5 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-22-5 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 16-11-10 in games decided by a single goal including 6-11 in regulation. They are 7-7 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 23-26-9 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (26:51); Detroit: Danny DeKeyser (23:15)

Josh Bailey led Isles forwards with 20:20 of ice-time.

Face-offs

Isles 29, Detroit 28 (51%).

John Tavares won 12 of 22 for the Isles; Frans Nielsen won 8 of 12 for Detroit. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period 8/11; 2nd period 10/20; 3rd period 10/20; Overtime 1/6.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 27/54, Power play 1/2, Penalty kill 1/1.

Hit Count

Isles 13 (Brandon Davidson-3)  

Detroit 16 (Jonathan Ericsson-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 19 shots (Brandon Davidson-6).

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 68, Detroit 70 

5-on-5 Isles 53, Detroit 63

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Three with 0

Detroit: Nick Jensen +16

Night and Day 

The Isles were 31-36-9 in night games and 4-1-1 in matinees.

Ironmen

Anders Lee 118, Brock Nelson 95, Mathew Barzal/John Tavares 82. 

This is the first time since 2011-12 that the Isles had four players appear in all 82 games (Mark Streit, Matt Moulson, Frans Nielsen, John Tavares).  The last time the Isles had 4 forwards play every game in a full season was 1986-87 when Duane Sutter, Mikko Makela, Bryan Trottier and Pat LaFontaine all played all 80.

(Brendan Burke called his 96th straight game today, joining Jiggs McDonald as the only man to call every Isles game on TV in a season)

Scratches

(Nikolay Kulemin -IR), (Calvin deHaan-IR), (Alan Quine-IR), Casey Cizikas-INJ, Ross Johnston, Johnny Boychuk-INJ, Nick Leddy

Total games lost: 325

Late Heroes

The Isles scored six 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

4/7 – DET Red Wings – Ryan Pulock (19:30); tied game, and Isles won 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 challenged four times and were 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 did not challenge an Islander goal due to an offside this season.

7-11

The Isles 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 715*** 8. Patrick Flatley 712 *** 9. Brent Sutter 694 *** 10. John Tavares 669

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 272

…

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

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 619

…

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. Jaroslav Halak 177 

…

10. Garth Snow 127 *** 11.  Evgeni Nabokov 123 *** 12. Thomas Greiss 118

Wins (Goalie)

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

5. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Glenn Healy 66 *** 8.  Tommy Salo and Thomas Greiss 62

Season Series Stats

The Isles win the season series two games to one (each team earned four points). 

The Isles have won seven of their last ten games in Detroit.

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 36-28-5-3 after splitting the first two games of their 3-in-3 weekend.  Their loss on Saturday eliminated them from the Calder Cup playoffs.

Travis St. Denis leads the team in both goals (23) and points (44). Christopher Gibson is 19-12-3 in the nets with 4 shutouts.

The Sound Tigers have four games remaining; they host Wiles-Barre on Sunday before completing their season with a 3-in-3 stretch next weekend.

Up Next

Summer Vacation, which for the second straight season comes a lot sooner than I hoped.

And Finally…

82 games, 82 editions of The Skinny.  It's another perfect season, at least in attendance. Counting a special double edition in March 2013, the attendance streak dates to February 28, 2012 – 502 games (including 24 playoff games).     

502 is a magical number in hockey streaks – Glenn Hall played 502 straight games in goal to establish an NHL record that will likely never be challenged.  Hall's hometown was stricken with a terrible tragedy this weekend.  Thoughts and prayers to Hall's hometown of Humboldt, Saskatchewan.

Thanks to all of you who read (and contribute) to The Skinny all year long.  I am truly thankful for your kind words and your passion, whether it is on Twitter, at Barclays, or in random meetings on the street.

Thanks also to my MSG Network teammates – the ones you know: Brendan Burke, Butch Goring, Shannon Hogan, and Stan Fischler – and the ones you don't: Producer Jim Gallagher, Director Joel Mandelbaum, Graphics Coordinator Sarah Servetnick, Tape AD Charlie Cucchiara, and Stage Manager JT Townsend.  

A final thanks to Kimber, Jesse, Kelly and Cory from the Islander PR staff and to my very understanding family!  (Congratulations to Adam on his upcoming graduation from Cornell, and to Evan on his upcoming entry to Vanderbilt)

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