The Skinny: Isles 4, Detroit 3 (SO)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 31

Isles 4, Detroit 3 (SO)

Mathew Barzal scored the first 5-on-4 power play goal for the Islanders in a month and then scored the only goal in the shootout as the Islanders improved to 2-0-1 at Nassau Coliseum with a 4-3 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings before a sellout crowd of 13,917.  

Anthony Beauvillier scored the first Islander goal for the third straight game; it was his 9th goal in the last 14 games (and his third in three games at the Coliseum).

Former Islander Thomas Vanek forced overtime with a 6th attacker goal, giving him three points on the evening.

 

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Gustav Nyquist (9) Dylan Larkin, Thomas Vanek 05:03 DET 1,NYI 0 PPG

Anthony Beauvillier (10) Mathew Barzal, Josh Bailey 11:05 DET 1,NYI 1

Trevor Daley (2) Tyler Bertuzzi, Thomas Vanek 19:46 DET 2,NYI 1

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

Mathew Barzal (4) Anders Lee, Nick Leddy 11:03 DET 2,NYI 2 PPG

Casey Cizikas (8) Cal Clutterbuck, Matt Martin 13:56 DET 2,NYI 3

Thomas Vanek (4) Andreas Athanasiou, Niklas Kronwall 18:57 DET 3,NYI 3

OT

No Goals

The Shootout

Jordan Eberle (NG) - Frans Nielsen (NG)

Mathew Barzal (G/GDG) -Thomas Vanek (NG)

Josh Bailey (NG) - Gustav Nyquist (NG)

The Isles have now won 76 shootouts, tying the Rangers and Penguins for the most in NHL history. Mathew Barzal is only the second Islander to score in the club's five shootouts this season.  Barzal is now 2/7 all-time in shootouts; both of his goals are game-deciding goals.

Frans Nielsen is now 49/101 in career shootouts.  While Thomas Greiss deprived him of his 50th career shootout goal, Frans still has four more shootout goals than any other player in NHL history (Radim Vrbata -45)

The Skinny    

The Isles' power play converted on their sixth attempt (and 14th shot) to improve to 6-63 (9.5%) since November 1; the power play is 2-34 in the last 13 games (with both goals against Detroit)… The Isles allowed a power play goal on the opponent's only chance for the second straight game; they have been shorthanded for only 23 seconds in the two games, combined. The Isles remain two points behind Pittsburgh for the final playoff spot; the Isles have a game-in-hand on the Penguins.… The Isles won 7 of 10 face-offs on the power play and have won 21 of 26 on the power play over the last four games after winning only 20 of 43 over the prior nine games…Brock Nelson led the Isles with eight shots (matching a career high set on 11/14/18 vs. Tampa Bay), while Mathew Barzal had a career-high seven… The Isles set season highs in shots in both a period (21) and a game (48)…The Isles recorded their first win of the season when trailing after two periods (1-9-0).  Each of their last three wins when trailing after two periods have come against Detroit – in three different buildings!... The Isles are 2-0-0 vs. Detroit this season but 0-2-3 against the rest of the Atlantic Division…Mathew Barzal has an assist in four straight games (1-5-6); since the start of last season he has 112 points in 113 games, including 11 points (1-10-11) in five games against Detroit…Dylan Larkin extended his point streak to seven games (4-6-10)…The Wings are 7-5 in overtime/shootout; the Isles are 4-4…Thomas Vanek is 13-17-30 in 40 games against the Isles…. The Isles' fourth line combined for 10 hits; it's the seventh time in eight games since the trio was reunited that they have had at least 101; Matt Martin had six of the 10 hits … Mathew Barzal drew his 16th penalty; moving him into the top-5 in the NHL in that category.  He has drawn 56 penalties since the start of last year (tied for the most in the NHL… The Isles have sold out all three Coliseum games this season and have recorded 14 consecutive Coliseum sellouts (17 including playoff games) dating back to 2015

First Times in a Long Time

The Isles allowed only 21 shots on goal (including six in overtime) after allowing only 17 on Wednesday.  It's the first time since December 19-20, 2014 that the Isles have allowed 21 or less in consecutive games. 

The Isles have allowed only 38 shots in the last two games; it's the fewest shots they have allowed in a two-game period since November 10-12, 2007, when they also allowed 38.  They haven't allowed fewer than 38 shots since November 2-4, 2006 (35 shots).

The Isles outshot Detroit by a 48-21 margin. The 27-shot differential is the largest since December 20, 2014, when they outshot Tampa Bay by identical totals.

Beau Know Goals

Anthony Beauvillier scored his 29th goal on 2018.  Some other notables with exactly 29 goals in 2018 include Anders Lee, Nikita Kucherov, and Nasim Kadri.

Beauvillier now has 40 career goals; breaking a tie with Kyle Okposo's total before his 22nd  birthday.  John Tavares (84 goals) is the only Islander in the last 30 years with more goals before turning 22; Beauvillier's 22nd birthday is not until June.

Mat Knows How to Help

Mathew Barzal's two points raise his career totals to 26-86-112.  Tavares (118 assists/202 points) is the only Islander in the last 30 years with more assists/points before turning 22; Barzal's 22nd birthday is not until May.

One Goal Games

The Isles improve to 7-2-4 in one-goal games.  The Isles went 31-21-22 in 1-goal games over the last two seasons (winning just.41.9% of the games).

Cutting Down on Shots Against

The Isles have allowed 30 shots or fewer in seven consecutive games for the first time since a 7-game streak in October- November 2015; they haven't had a longer streak since a club-record 15-game stretch in December 2014- January 2015.

USA Hockey

Anders Lee has 135 career goals, leaving him four goals behind Kyle Okposo.  Okposo is 2nd on the Islander goal-scoring list among American-born players, trailing only Pat LaFontaine.

Chasing Al

Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz' NHL record is 777-580-60-138 in 1555 games and is now just five wins behind Al Arbour on the all-time win list.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1244

2. Joel Quenneville  890

3. Ken Hitchcock    832

4. Al Arbour   782

5. Barry Trotz   777

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2141

2. Joel Quenneville 1636

3. Al Arbour   1607

4. Barry Trotz   1555

5. Ken Hitchcock   1548

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: 15-12-4 (34 points), with 89 goals scored and 91 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 17-11-3 (37 points), with 110 goals scored and 105 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 9-4-4 when scoring first and 6-8-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    10-15-21-2=48

Detroit 5-6-4-6=21

The Isles are 2-8-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 13-3-3 when they are outshot. 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 15-12-4 overall; 8-5-3 at home (2-0-1 on Long Island and 6-5-2 in Brooklyn) and 7-7-1 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Detroit is 14-15-5 overall; 8-8-3 at home and 6-7-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 10-3-1 in Division games and 5-9-3 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 12-5-4 against the East and 3-7-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 18 saves and improves to 11-6-1 on the season and 5-2-1 in his career against Detroit.   Greiss is now 10-9 all-time in shootouts.

Jonathan Bernier made 45 saves; he is 4-8-1 on the season and 4-5-4 in his career against the Isles. Bernier is now 12-18 in 30 career shootouts.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-6 on the power play in 10:24 of PP time; Detroit was 1-1 on the power play in 0:08 of PP time. 

The Isles are 11-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-11-3 when they do not.  The Isles are 5-8-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 9-4-1 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 13-1-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-11-3 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 7-2-4 in games decided by a single goal including 3-2 in regulation. They are 2-1 in games decided in overtime and are 2-3 in shootouts.  The Isles are 1-3 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs 

The Isles are 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 2-0-1 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 10-12-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (25:14); Detroit: Trevor Daley (25:57)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with a career-high 23:53 of ice-time.  It was the highest ice-time for any Islander forward this season.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (9-5-3), Nick Leddy (5-6-1), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 29, Detroit 28 (51%).

Brock Nelson won 12 of 19 for the Isles; Dylan Larkin won 8 of 16 for Detroit. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period  6/17; 2nd period 9/18; 3rd period 11/18; overtime 3/4

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 22/46, Power play 7/10, Penalty kill 0/1.

Hit Count

Isles 29 (Matt Martin -6)  

Detroit 19 (Jonathan Ericsson -3)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total –7 (Scott Mayfield -2, Ross Johnston-2, Josh Bailey, Johnny Boychuk, Anders Lee).  

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 12 shots (Scott Mayfield-3).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 71, Detroit 37

5-on-5 Isles 48, Detroit 25

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Ryan Pulock +18

Detroit: Tyler Bertuzzi -2 

 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 12-11-4 in night games and 3-1-0 in matinees. The next matinee is on January 12th vs. the Rangers. 

Ironmen

Anders Lee 149, Brock Nelson 126, Mathew Barzal 113

Scratches

(Andrew Ladd – IR), (Tom Kuhnhackl-INJ), Ross Johnston, Luca Sbisa

Total games lost: 47

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 four 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.

12/15- DET Red Wings – Thomas Vanek tied game (18:57), but Isles won in a shootout.

Comeback Kids

The Isles are 3-3-0 when trailing in a game by a 2-0 score, defeating NYR (11/15), CBJ (12/1) and DET (12/8); all three wins have been in regulation.

The Isles are 5-0-1 when scoring the game's first two goals.

Offside Challenges

12/8 vs DET Red Wings – Red Wings goal overturned after successful Isles challenge.

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 746

Goals

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

16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 18.  Anders Lee 135 ***19. Josh Bailey 131…

24. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 27. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 28. Brock Nelson 109

Assists

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

12. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 271

Points

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

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 402

Games Played (Goalies)

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

7. Glenn Healy 176 *** 8. Thomas Greiss 139

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 73

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series two games to none (and 4 points to 1).  The season series will conclude in Detroit on March 16. 

The Isles have won four straight games over the Red Wings. Three of the four wins have come in extra time and three of the four have come after the Isles trailed in the second intermission. 

The four-game winning streak is the longest for the Isles against Detroit since a 5-game streak from 2009 to 2013.

On the Farm 

Michael Dal Colle has had quite a weekend and there is still a game to play on Sunday.  Dal Colle had a hat trick on Friday in a 4-3 overtime win in Providence and then scored twice in a 5-3 win over Springfield on Saturday.

Bridgeport is 16-8-3-1 and has earned points in 15 of their last 18 games (12-3-2-1) and have earned points in 13 straight at home (10-0-2-1). The Sound Tigers host Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at 3pm Sunday.

Leaders:  Goals: Michael Dal Colle 14 (tied-4th in AHL); Assists: Joshua Ho-Sang 20; Points: Dal Colle 23.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 8-5-1 (2.83 GAA); Christopher Gibson 8-3-3 (3.30 GAA)

Up Next

MONDAY, DECEMBER 17th – ISLANDERS AT COLORADO 9:00PM 

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 8:30pm), WRCN 103.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, Radio.com] 

The Isles  begin a four-game road trip as they head to Colorado to face the Avs for the first time this season.

The home team has won the last eight games in the series, including a 6-1 Avs win last New Year's Eve.  The last Islander win in Denver came on January 10, 2014, when a Michael Grabner overtime goal made Kevin Poulin a winner.  Since then, the Isles are 0-3-1 in the Mile High City.

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