The Skinny; Pittsburgh 6, Isles 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 27

Pittsburgh 6, Isles 2

Phil Kessel scored two goals and added two assists while Kris Letang matched a career-high with two goals as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Isles 6-2, before a sellout crowd of 18,440 at PPG Paints Arena.

Brock Nelson scored his first career shorthanded goal for the Isles, temporarily tying him with Anders Lee for the team lead in goals.  Lee later scored (for the 4th straight game) to re-take the team lead; he has tallied four of the last seven Islander goals. 

 

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Kris Letang (6) Derick Brassard, Phil Kessel 08:34 NYI 0,PIT 1

Brock Nelson (10) Tom Kuhnhackl, Scott Mayfield 17:43 NYI 1,PIT 1 SHG

Kris Letang (7) Bryan Rust, Brian Dumoulin 19:31 NYI 1,PIT 2

2nd Period

Riley Sheahan (4) Evgeni Malkin, Jamie Oleksiak 07:21 NYI 1,PIT 3

Phil Kessel (11) Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel 12:09 NYI 1,PIT 4 PPG

Phil Kessel (12) Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel 17:37 NYI 1,PIT 5

3rd Period

Anders Lee (11) Ryan Pulock 04:23 NYI 2,PIT 5

Sidney Crosby (15) Phil Kessel, Jake Guentzel 13:00 NYI 2,PIT 6 

The Skinny  

The Isles remain pointless in games they trail after two periods … The Isles' power play went 0-2 and fell to 4-48 (8.3%) since November 1; the power play is 0-19 in the last nine games.  It's the longest Isles streak without a power play goal since they went 12 straight games in November/December 2010 (which tied the club record)…The Penguin trio of Phil Kessel, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel each had  points on the last three Pittsburgh goals; Guentzel extended his point streak to six games (4-6-10)…The Isles' fourth line combined for 14 hits; it's the fourth straight game since the trio was reunited that they have had at least 12; Matt Martin had eight of the 14 hits …Christopher Gibson made his season debut in the same way he made his NHL debut (on 1/2/2016): relieving Thomas Greiss in a one-sided game in Pittsburgh…Crosby now had 35 points in his last 20 home games against the Isles, while Kessel has points in eight straight against the Isles…Nick Leddy went -4…The Isles have scored shorthanded goals in consecutive games vs. Pittsburgh for the first time since 2003…Mathew Barzal drew his 12th penalty, leaving him just outside of the top-10 in the NHL in that category…The Penguins have sold-out 546 consecutive games, including playoffs.

Chasing 400

Josh Bailey 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.   

USA Hockey

Anders Lee recorded his 135th goal, 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 775-579-60-137 in 1551 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    828

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   1551

5. Ken Hitchcock   1544

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: 13-11-3 (29 points), with 79 goals scored and 80 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 16-9-2 (34 points), with 101 goals scored and 92 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 9-4-3 when scoring first and 4-7-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    7-4-10=21

Pittsburgh 8-13-7=28

The Isles are 1-7-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 12-3-3 when they are outshot. 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 13-11-3 overall; 7-4-2 at home (1-0-0 on Long Island and 6-4-2 in Brooklyn) and 6-7-1 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Pittsburgh is 12-10-5 overall; 7-6-2 at home and 5-4-3 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 10-3-0 in Division games and 3-8-3 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 10-5-3 against the East and 3-6-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 16 saves in the first two periods but falls to 9-6-1 on the season and 4-2-0 in his career against Pittsburgh.  Christopher Gibson made six saves in the third period; it was his NHL season debut.

Casey DeSmith made 19 saves and improves to 8-4-3 on the season and 1-0-0 in his career against the Isles.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play in 4:00 of PP time; Pittsburgh was 1-3 on the power play in 5:39 of PP time.

The Isles are 9-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-10-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 4-7-3 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 2-10-2 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 1-3 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 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 9-11-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:13); Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (26:22)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 18:38 of ice-time.

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

Face-offs

Isles 25, Pittsburgh 32 (44%).

Brock Nelson won 8 of 13 for the Isles;  Sidney Crosby won 13 of 21 for Pittsburgh. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period  9/18; 2nd period 7/21; 3rd period 9/18.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 19/45, Power play 1/5, Penalty kill 5/7.

Hit Count

Isles 46 (Matt Martin-8)  

Pittsburgh 39 (Bryan Rust & Zach Aston-Reese-6)

Fights

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

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 17 shots (Nick Leddy and Brock Nelson -3).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 47, Pittsburgh 48

5-on-5 Isles 37, Pittsburgh 42

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Four with +5

Pittsburgh: Brian Dumoulin and Bryan Rust +11 

 

Matinee Isles

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

Ironmen

Anders Lee 145, Brock Nelson 122, Mathew Barzal 109

`

Scratches

(Andrew Ladd – IR), (Robin Lehner-INJ) Ross Johnston, Luca Sbisa. 

Total games lost: 36

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 742

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. Joshua 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 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. Thomas Greiss 137

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 two games to one (and 4 points to 3).  The teams will finish the season series at the Coliseum on Monday.

 

This was the Isles' first regulation loss in their last five trips to Pittsburgh (2-1-2). Overall, the Isles are 3-1-1 in their last five games and 5-21-3 in their last 10 games against the Pens.

On the Farm 

Chris Bourque scored a power play goal midway through the third period to break a 1-1 tie as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers earned a 2-1 win in Hartford on Wednesday. 

Bridgeport is 14-7-3-1 and has earned points in 13 of their last 15 games (10-2-2-1). 

The Sound Tigers have hit a bit of a lull in their schedule as their Saturday afternoon game in Wilkes Barre-Scranton is their only game until December 14th.

 

Leaders:  Goals: Steve Bernier 10; Assists: Joshua Ho-Sang 20 (Tied – AHL lead); Points: Ho-Sang 22.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 7-4-1 (2.88 GAA); Christopher Gibson 7-3-3 (3.34 GAA)

Up Next

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7th – ISLANDERS AT DETROIT 7:00PM 

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

The Isles will visit Little Caesars Arena for only the 2nd time as they face the Red Wings for the first time this season. 

The Isles took two of three from Detroit last season, with both Islander wins coming in overtime (Brock Nelson/John Tavares).  All three games were high-scoring as the Isles outscored the Wings 15-14.

The Isles are 7-3-0 in their last 10 visit to the Motor City and are 4-2-1 in their last 7 games between the teams.  This is the first of consecutive Saturday night matchups between the team, who will play on Long Island next weekend.

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