The Skinny: Isles 3, Columbus 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 25

Isles 3, Columbus 2

You can go home again.

In their first meaningful game at Nassau Coliseum after an absence of 1,316 days, the Islanders rallied from a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, before a sellout crowd of 13,917. Casey Cizikas scored the only goal of the third period to give the Islanders, and their fans, a most memorable win. 

The Blue Jackets had taken a 2-0 lead after a pair of goals 1:47 apart in the second period.  Anders Lee scored the Isles' first goal in 84:42 after video review reversed an originally disallowed goal; Anthony Beauvillier tied the game has 3:25 after Lee's goal. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

Markus Hannikainen (4)  Seth Jones 06:46 CBJ 1,NYI 0

Pierre-Luc Dubois (13) Cam Atkinson 08:33 CBJ 2,NYI 0

Anders Lee (9) Jordan Eberle, Scott Mayfield 11:59 CBJ 2,NYI 1

Anthony Beauvillier (7) Josh Bailey, Scott Mayfield 15:24 CBJ 2,NYI 2

3rd Period

Casey Cizikas (6) Ryan Pulock, Jordan Eberle 07:09 CBJ 2,NYI 3

The Skinny  

Anders Lee's goal was his second in as many games, and the first scored by an Islander since Cal Clutterbuck's empty-netter sealed a game 6 win vs. Washington on April 25, 2015…Anthony Beauvillier improved to 6-2-8 in his last eight games…This was only the fourth Isles game to be tied after two periods (2-1-1)… The Isles' power play went 0-3 and fell to 4-44 (9.1%) since November 1; the power play is 0-15 in the last seven games…The Isles' fourth line combined for 13 hits for the second straight game, and this time had the winning goal.…This was the 12th  consecutive sellout at Nassau Coliseum (15th including playoffs)…It's the first time since March 14, 2016 (vs. Florida) that the Isles have rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win in regulation…The Isles won a home game on December 1st for the first time in club history (1-5-0)…The Isles were outshot 30-29; they have been outshot in 12 of their first 13 wins…With the win, the Isles regained a playoff position as the moved into 3rd place in the Metro…Thomas Greiss started in goal for the 9th consecutive home game…Cam Atkinson recorded his 300th point as he extended his point streak to 10 games (tied-2nd in Columbus history)…Scott Mayfield assisted on both second period goals; he is now 3-10-13 on the season and leads all Isles defenders in all three categories. He has tied his career high in assists and set a new career high in points...The Blue Jackets' top defensive pair (Seth Jones/Zach Werenski) combined for 22:00 of ice-time in the third period alone.

Chasing 400

Josh Bailey's assist on Beauvillier's goal was his 399th point.  He is one point away from becoming only the 14th player in Islander history with 400 points; like the other 13, Bailey is an Isles draft pick.  Bailey has now played in 740 games, matching the total of wins Al Arbour had behind the Isles bench.

Chasing Al

Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz' NHL record is 775-577-60-137 in 1549 games and is now just seven wins behind Al Arbour on the all-time win list.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1244

2. Joel Quenneville  890

3. Ken Hitchcock    826

4. Al Arbour   782

5. Barry Trotz  775

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2141

2. Joel Quenneville 1636

3. Al Arbour   1607

4. Barry Trotz  1549

5. Ken Hitchcock  1541

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: 13-9-3 (29 points), with 76 goals scored and 71 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 15-7-2 (32 points), with 94 goals scored and 82 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 9-3-3 when scoring first and 4-6-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles      7-12-10=29

Columbus 9-5-16=30

The Isles are 1-6-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 12-2-3 when they are outshot. 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 13-9-3 overall; 7-3-2 at home (1-0-0 on Long Island and 6-3-2 in Brooklyn) and 6-6-1 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Columbus is 15-9-2 overall; 7-4-1 at home and 8-5-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 10-2-0 in Division games and 3-7-3 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 10-4-3 against the East and 3-5-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 28 saves to improve to 9-4-1 on the season and 6-6-3 in his career against Columbus.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves but falls to 10-8-0 on the season and 15-6-0 in his career against the Isles.

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play in 4:04 of PP time; Columbus was 0-2 on the power play in 2:04 of PP time.

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

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 11-1-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-8-2 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 5-1-3 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 2-1 in games decided in overtime and are 1-2 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 9-9-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (22:54); Columbus: Seth Jones 29:24

Cal Clutterbuck led Isles forwards with a season-high 17:02 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (8-3-2), Nick Leddy (4-5-1), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 24, Columbus 26 (48%).

Brock Nelson and Valtteri Filppula each won 8 of 13 for the Isles; Brandon Dubinsky won 12 of 18 for Columbus. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period  10/18; 2nd period 6/;13; 3rd period 8/19.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 21/44, Power play 2/3, Penalty kill 1/3.

Hit Count

Isles 35 (Matt Martin & Cal Clutterbuck -6)  

Columbus 35 (Seth Jones & John Anderson-5)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total –5 (Scott Mayfield -2, Ross Johnston-2, Anders Lee).  

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 13 shots (Ryan Pulock -3).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 46, Columbus 54 (including 22-12 in the Isles' favor in the 2nd period)

5-on-5 Isles 38, Columbus 44

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Adam Pelech +6

Columbus: Artemi Panarin/Riley Nash +6 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 10-8-3 in night games and 3-1-0 in matinees. The next matinee is on January 12th vs. the Rangers. 

Ironmen

Anders Lee 143, Brock Nelson 120, Mathew Barzal 107

Scratches

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

Total games lost: 32

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 740

Goals

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

16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 18.  Anders Lee 133 ***19. 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 268

Points

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

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 399

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 135

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 71

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series one game to none (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will next meet in Columbus on Valentine's Day. The Jackets are one of three teams that will visit the Coliseum twice this season (Toronto and Philadelphia are the others).

The Isles are 10-1-4 in their last 15 home games with Columbus.

On the Farm 

Parker Wotherspoon scored the Sound Tigers' only goal, but Bridgeport dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to Providence on Saturday.  Joshua Ho-Sang assisted on the goal; it was his 19th assist and 20th point of the season. Bridgeport is 12-7-3-1 and has earned points in 11 of their last 13 games (8-2-2-1). 

The Sound Tigers head back to Springfield on Sunday and then face Hartford on Wednesday.

Leaders:  Goals: Steve Bernier 10; Assists: Joshua Ho-Sang 19 (Leads all active AHL players); Points: Ho-Sang 20.  Goalies: Christopher Gibson 7-3-3 (3.34 GAA); Jeremy Smith 5-4-1 (2.96 GAA)

Up Next

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3RD – WIINIPEG AT ISLANDERS (AT BARCLAYS CENTER) 7:00PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30pm), WRCN 103.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, Radio.com] 

Winnipeg concludes its three game in four-day Metro area tour as they face the Isles as Barclays Center on Tuesday.

The teams split a pair of games last December, with the Isles win coming in Brooklyn behind a Mathew Barzal hat trick.  The Isles are 11-5-1 against the Jets since the franchise moved to Manitoba seven years ago.

The Jets, who won in overtime at New Jersey on Saturday, will face the Rangers on Sunday before heading into Brooklyn.

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