The Skinny: Washington 4, Isles 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 23

Washington 4, Isles 1

Tom Wilson scored two goal and added an assist and Nicklas Backstrom added helpers as the Washington Capitals overcame the earliest Islander goal in over two years and defeated the Isles before a crowd of 9,072 at Barclays Center.

Valtteri Filppula scored on the Islanders' first shot on goal for the second straight game; his goal at :36 was the earliest goal for an Islander since Nick Leddy scored 13 seconds into a game with Edmonton on November 7, 2016.

The loss was only the 2nd for the Islanders in 11 games against the Metropolitan Division this season (9-2-0).

The Scoring:

1st Period

Valtteri Filppula (7) Ryan Pulock, Leo Komarov 00:36 WSH 0,NYI 1

Tom Wilson (5) Nicklas Backstrom, Madison Bowey 02:50 WSH 1,NYI 1

2nd Period

Nic Dowd (3) Dmitrij Jaskin, John Carlson 07:58 WSH 2,NYI 1

3rd Period

Tom Wilson (6) Nicklas Backstrom, Lars Eller 14:21 WSH 3,NYI 1 PPG

Alex Ovechkin (18)EN Tom Wilson, Nicklas Backstrom 19:38 WSH 4,NYI 1

The Skinny  

Valtteri Filppula scored for the second consecutive games and extended his point streak to three (2-2-4); he also has eight points in seven games (1-7-8)…Leo Komarov assisted on the goal for his 11th point of the season.  Komarov had only 21 points last season…Thomas Greiss played his third straight game; he started all eight home games this month…The Isles are 0-8-0 when trailing after two periods…Nicklas Backstrom recorded three assists as he became the second leading point scorer in Capital history, ahead of Petr Bondra and behind Alex Ovechkin… The Isles held Washington to just three shots on goal and six attempts in the second period, but allowed the only goal… The Isles' power play went 0-4 and fell to 4-40 (10%) in November; the power play in 0-11 in the last five games…John Carlson tied Kevin Hatcher for the third-highest assist total in Capital history…Islander coaches Barry Trotz, Lane Lambert and Mitch Korn received their Stanley Cup rings…The Isles were shorthanded only twice, ending a 16-game streak in which they were shorthanded at least three times.  That's the longest streak of its kind for the Isles since they opened the 2008-09 season with 19 such games. .Alex Ovechkin tied Jarome Iginla and Joe Sakic with his 625th career goal (15th place); 30 of the 625 goals have been empty netters (tied with Eric Staal for lead since 2005-06.

Chasing 400

Josh Bailey has 398 points on his career.  He is two points away from becoming only the 14th player in Islander history with 400 points; like the other 13, Bailey is an Isles draft pick.

Home for Thanksgiving

This game completed a stretch of seven consecutive games in the New York area; the Isles went 4-3-0 in this stretch:

• Nov 13 vs Van Canucks 5-2 Win

• Nov 15 vs NY Rangers 7-5 Win

• Nov 18 vs Dallas 2-6 Loss

• Nov 21 @ NY Rangers 0-5 Loss

• Nov 23 @ NJ Devils 4-3 SO Win

• Nov 24 vs Car Hurricanes 4-0 Win

• Nov 26 vs Was Capitals 1-4 Loss

The Isles now head to Boston for a game Thursday before returning to the Coliseum on Saturday, December 1st for the first time (in a regular season game) since April 2015.

Coach Trotz

Until Ken Hitchcock came out of retirement earlier this week, Barry Trotz was both the winningest and most experienced active NHL coach.  He is now second to Hitchcock in wins among active coaches. Trotz' NHL record is 774-577-60-136 in 1547 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1244

2. Joel Quenneville  890

3. Ken Hitchcock    824

4. Al Arbour   782

5. Barry Trotz   773

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2141

2. Joel Quenneville 1636

3. Al Arbour   1607

4. Barry Trotz   1547

5. Ken Hitchcock   1540

Trotz will catch Al Arbour in games coached on Opening Night next season. If Quenneville doesn't return to coaching Trotz would pass him sometime in December 2019.

This Season vs. Last Season

This Season: 12-9-2 (26 points), with 72 goals scored and 68 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 14-7-2 (30 points), with 84 goals scored and 74 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 9-3-2 when scoring first and 3-6-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles             8-10-15=33

Washington 12-3-9=24

The Isles are 1-6-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 11-2-2 when they are outshot. 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 12-9-2 overall; 6-3-2 at home (all in Brooklyn) and 6-6-0 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Washington is 13-7-3 overall; 7-3-2 at home and 7-4-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 9-2-0 in Division games and 3-7-2 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 9-4-2 against the East and 3-5-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 20 saves but falls to 8-4-1 on the season and 2-2-1 in his career against Washington.

Braden Holtby made 32 saves and improves to 9-5-2 on the season and 15-5-3 in his career against the Isles.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-4 on the power play in 8:00 of PP time; Washington was 1-2 on the power play in 2:17 of PP time, including a 1:30 5-on-3.

The Isles are 9-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-8-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 4-5-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 7-4-0 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 10-1-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-8-1 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 4-1-2 in games decided by a single goal including 1-1 in regulation. They are 2-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 in shootouts.  The Isles are 1-2 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs 

The Isles are 2-1-0 in the front half and 3-0-0 in the back half.  The next back-to-back is December 17th in Colorado and December 18 in Arizona. 

 

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 1-0-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 1-0-1 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 

• The Isles are 2-0-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 8-9-1 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (23:06); Washington: John Carlson 23:47

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 19:38 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (8-3-2), Nick Leddy (3-5-0), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 27, Washington 20 (57%).

Brock Nelson won 11 of 17 for the Isles; no Capital who took multiple draws won more than he lost. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period  7/12; 2nd period 12/16; 3rd period 8/19.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 22/35, Power play 2/7, Penalty kill 3/5.

Hit Count

Isles 19 (Alex Ovechkin -4)  

Washington 30 (Matt Martin -8)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 4 (Scott Mayfield -2, Ross Johnston-2, Anders Lee).  

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 12 shots (Scott Mayfield -4).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 62, Washington 47 (including 23-6 in the Isles' favor in the 2nd period)

5-on-5 Isles 46, Washington 35

5-on-5 leaders: Isles: Tom Kuhnhackl +8

Washington: Michal Kempny +10 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 9-8-2 in night games and 3-1-0 in matinees. The next matinee is on January 12th vs. the Rangers. 

Ironmen

Anders Lee 141, Brock Nelson 118, Mathew Barzal 105

Scratches

(Andrew Ladd – IR, Casey Cizikas- IR), Ross Johnston, Stephen Gionta, Luca Sbisa. 

Total games lost: 30

Late Heroes

The Isles have not yet scored in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or take the lead:

Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have allowed a goal three times in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or win a game:

10/4 – CAR Hurricanes – Jordan Staal tied game (18:25), but Isles won in overtime.

11/8 – TB Lightning – Tyler Johnson scored the winning goal (18:34)

11/23 – NJ Devils – Marcus Johansson tied game (19:49), but Isles won in overtime.

Offside Challenges

The Isles have not challenged a goal due to an offside this season. 

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 …

5. Bob Bourne 814***6. Mike Bossy 752 *** 7. Josh Bailey 738

Goals

1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …

16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 18.  Anders Lee and Joshua Bailey 131…

24. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 27. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 28. Brock Nelson 108

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553…

12. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 267

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052…

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 398

Games Played (Goalies)

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 …

7. Glenn Healy 176 *** 8. Roland Melanson 136 *** 9.Thomas Greiss 134

Wins (Goalie)

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130…

5. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Thomas Greiss 70

Season Series Stats

Washington leads the season series one game to none (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will next meet in DC on January 18th.

The Isles are 3-4-1 all-time vs. the Capitals at Barclays Center.

On the Farm 

Steve Bernier scored a hat trick in his 200th AHL game, as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers defeated the Springfield Thunderbirds 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at Harbor Yards.  Sebastian Aho added a goal and had two assists for Bridgeport, who improve to 12-6-2-1. The Sound Tigers have earned points in 10 of their last 11 games (8-1-1-1). 

The Sound Tigers next play on Wednesday in Springfield.

 

Leaders:  Goals: Steve Bernier 10; Assists: Joshua Ho-Sang 16 (tied-2nd in AHL); Points: Ho-Sang and Devon Toews 17.  Goalies: Christopher Gibson 7-3-2 (3.47 GAA); Jeremy Smith 5-3-1 (2.83 GAA)

Up Next

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29th – ISLANDERS AT BOSTON 8:00PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 7:30pm), WRCN 103.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, Radio.com] 

Thursday is Rick Middleton Night at TD Garden as the winger's #16 will be retired.  Due to the ceremony the game will start about an hour later than normal, with face-off scheduled for just after 8:00PM.

The Bruins swept the season series last year, winning the three games by a combined 13-4 score, and stopping the Islanders on all 10 of their power play attempts.

This is the first of three meetings on the season between the teams; the Isles will return to Boston on February 5th and the teams will play at the Coliseum on March 19th.

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