The Skinny: Carolina 4, Isles 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 41

Carolina 4, Isles 3

Justin Williams same out of the penalty box to score the go-ahead goal and Jaccob Slavin scored the eventual game-winner 1:35 later as the Carolina Hurricanes scored twice in the final three minutes for a 4-3 victory over the Islanders before a crowd of 13,769 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Brock Nelson scored two unassisted goals and added an assist; he was also denied a fourth point on a goal that was reversed by an off-side challenge.

The loss, only the Isles' second in the last 11 games, snapped the Isles' six-game winning streak.  It was their first regulation loss at Nassau Coliseum (3-1-1).

 

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Brock Nelson (14) 13:42 CAR 0,NYI 1

Saku Maenalanen (1) Victor Rask, Warren Foegele 15:10 CAR 1,NYI 1

Greg McKegg (2) Micheal Ferland, Trevor van Riemsdyk 19:54 CAR 2,NYI 1

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

Devon Toews (2) Anders Lee, Brock Nelson 04:50 CAR 2,NYI 2

Justin Williams (10) Greg McKegg 17:18 CAR 3,NYI 2

Jaccob Slavin (5) Dougie Hamilton, Victor Rask 18:53 CAR 4,NYI 2 PPG

Brock Nelson (15) 19:01 CAR 4,NYI 3 

The Skinny    

Matt Martin played his 600th NHL game, and led all players with five hits… Jordan Eberle had an apparent tying goal in the 2nd period erased on an offside challenge; it was the first time since the NHL introduced a minor penalty as a consequence for an incorrect challenge that an opponent had challenged an Islander goal… Devon Toews scored for the 2nd straight Coliseum game; he is +7 in his first 7 NHL games… Saku Maenalanen was credited with his first NHL goal; each of Carolina's first period goals went in off Islander defensemen…Nelson's response to Slavin's goal came only eight seconds later…The Isles remain six  points ahead of last season's pace through 41 games; including shootout winners they have scored 17 fewer goals and allowed 39 fewer goals than last year's first 41 games…   The loss dropped the Isles from the first wild card spot to third in the wild card race; while they remain in 4th place in the Metro they are just one point behind Columbus…  Captain Anders Lee recorded his 16th assist of the season on the Toews goal. It was the 99th assist of Lee's career; Lee had career highs in both goals (40) and assists (22) last season…Justin Williams' goal was the 299th of his career, while Jaccob Slavin's winning goal was his 100th NHL point…The Isles have won only 55% of the games they scored first (12-6-4); they have won 58% of the games they allowed the opening goal (11-8-0)…Curtis McElhinney earned the win; he was Columbus' goalie in the final regular season game of the first era of the Coliseum (4-11-2015)…The Isles' power play is 0-34 in their last 13 losses (0-10-3)…Dougie Hamilton had Carolina's first shot on goal; it's the 207th consecutive game he has had at least one shot, which is the longest active  streak in the NHL…Nick Leddy's assist streak ended at four…Both of Nelson's goals were unassisted; only three of his prior 112 goals were credited as unassisted tallies (and one of those was an empty-netter). Nelson is now tied for the club lead in goals and is right on pace for a 30-goal season…The Isles are playing to 99.1% capacity through five games at the Coliseum.

 

First Time in a Ridiculously Long Time

It was a good night for the Lee- Nelson-Eberle combination, as Nelson had three points, and a disallowed goal cost him a fourth.  The trio each finished +3; it's the first time since December 19, 1987 vs. Philadelphia that three Islander forwards went at least +3 in a regulation loss (Bob Bassen, Patrick Flatley, Greg Gilbert).

Streaking Lehner

Robin Lehner has won a career-high seven straight decisions. Lehner has allowed only 13 goals in his last ten games (7-1-2, 1.34 GAA, .952 save percentage).  

Most Points Thru 40 Games (Post-Cup Era)

• 55: 2014-15

• 50: 2018-19

Worst to First

The Isles allowed the most goals in the NHL last season.  Here's where they are this season:

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (Including SO goals)

1. Nashville 109

2. Boston 110

3. ISLES 111

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (excluding SO goals)

1. ISLES 108

        Nashville 108

2. Boston 110

Last 30 Seasons: Most Goals by an Islander Before 22nd Birthday:

1. John Tavares 84

2. Anthony Beauvillier 41

Beauvillier's 22nd birthday is not until June.

Last 30 Seasons: Most Assists and Points by an Islander Before 22nd Birthday:

1. John Tavares 118 assists, 202 points

2. Mathew Barzal 89 assists, 123 points

Barzal's 22nd birthday is not until May.

USA Hockey

Anders Lee has 139 career goals, tying him with Kyle Okposo for 2nd on the Islander goal-scoring list among American-born players, trailing only Pat LaFontaine (287). 

Coach Trotz

Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz' NHL record is 785-582-60-138 in 1,565 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  890

3. Ken Hitchcock    834 

4. Barry Trotz   785

5. Al Arbour   782

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,636

3. Al Arbour   1,607

4. Barry Trotz   1,565

5. Ken Hitchcock   1,558

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: 23-14-4 (50 points), with 124 goals scored and 111 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 20-17-4 (44 points), with 141 goals scored and 150 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles  are 12-6-4 when scoring first and are 11-8-0 when allowing the opening goal. The Isles won 12 games all last season (12-27-5) when allowing the opening goal.

Comeback Kids

The Isles are 5-3-0 when trailing in a game by a 2-0 score, defeating NYR (11/15), CBJ (12/1), DET (12/8),OTT (12.28) and STL (1/5);  all five wins have been in regulation.

The Isles are 8-1-1 when scoring the game's first two goals.

The Shots

Isles       7-12-12=31

Carolina 5-10-9=24

The Isles are 5-9-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 18-4-3 when they are outshot. 

Home and Road

The Islanders are 23-14-4 overall; 10-6-3 at home (3-1-1 on Long Island and 7-5-2 in Brooklyn) and 13-8-1 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Carolina is 20-17-5 overall; 11-7-4 at home and 9-10-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 10-4-1 in Division games and 13-10-3 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 15-6-4 against the East and 8-8-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 20 saves but falls to 12-8-1 on the season and 8-4-1 in his career against Carolina.   

Curtis McElhinney made 28 saves and improves to 10-5-1 on the season and 4-2-1 in his career against the Isles. 

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play in 6:00 of PP time; Carolina was 1-2 on the power play in 2:58 of PP time. 

The Isles are 15-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-13-3 when they do not.  The Isles are 9-10-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 13-4-1 when they do not.    

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 21-2-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-12-3 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 9-3-4 in games decided by a single goal including 4-3in regulation. They are 3-1 in games decided in overtime and are 2-3 in shootouts.  The Isles are 3-4 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs 

The Isles are 4-1-0 in the front half and 5-0-0 in the back half.   The next back-to-back is January 12th vs. the Rangers and January 13th vs. Tampa Bay.

 

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 2-0-0 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 4-0-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 15-14-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (23:31); Carolina: Justin Faulk (23:07)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 18:12 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (13-6-3), Nick Leddy (6-7-1), Scott Mayfield (4-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 28,Carolina 27 (51%).  

Josh Bailey won 6 of 9 for the Isles; Gregg McKegg won 9 of 14 for Carolina. 

Face-offs by period: 1st period  5/15; 2nd period 9/19; 3rd period 14/21.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 23/46, Power play 2/3, Penalty kill 3/6.

Hit Count

Isles 20 (Matt Martin - 5)  

Carolina 14 (Three with 2)

   

Fights

There were no fights. Season total –11 (Scott Mayfield -4, Ross Johnston-3, Josh Bailey, Johnny Boychuk, Anders Lee, Matt Martin).  

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 11 shots (Johnny Boychuk-3) 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 54, Carolina 43

5-on-5 Isles 45, Carolina 37

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Brock Nelson/Anders Lee +14

Carolina: Justin Williams/Micheal Ferland +10

 

Night and Day

The Isles are 20-13-4 in night games and 3-1-0 in matinees. The next matinee is on January 12th vs. the Rangers. 

Ironmen

Anders Lee 159, Brock Nelson 136, Mathew Barzal 123

Scratches

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

Total games lost: 82

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.

Offside Challenges

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

12/20 vs VEG Golden Knights – Golden Knights goal overturned after successful Isles challenge.

1/8 vs CAR Hurricanes – Isles goal overturned after successful Hurricane challenge

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Clark Gillies 872 *** 

5. Bob Bourne 814***6. Josh Bailey 756

Goals

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

16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Kyle Okposo 139 and Anders Lee 139 ***19. Josh Bailey 132…

24. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 27. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 28. Brock Nelson 114

Assists

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

12. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 276

Points

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

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 408

Games Played (Goalies)

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

7. Glenn Healy 176 *** 8. Thomas Greiss 143

Wins (Goalie)

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130*** 4. Kelly Hrudey 108***

5. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 6.  Rollie Melanson 77*** 7. Thomas Greiss 74

Season Series Stats

The Isles win the season series three games to one (and 6 points to 3).   

 

Despite the loss, the Isles have won 7 of the last 10 games between the teams.

On the Farm 

Bridgeport went 0-2-1 in their tour of Upstate New York last weekend. However, they still have a 21-11-4-2 record for the season.

Rookie Otto Koivula leads all current Sound Tigers with 25 points on the season; he is also tied-5th among all AHL rookies in points. 

The Sound Tigers are off  until Friday when they return to Upstate New York to face the Utica Comets.

Leaders:  Goals: Michael Dal Colle 16 ; Assists: Sebastian Aho 21; Points: Dal Colle 28.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 11-6-2 (2.70 GAA); Christopher Gibson 10-5-4 (3.06 GAA)

Up Next

THURSDAY, JANUARY 10th –  ISLANDERS AT RANGERS 7:00PM

[MSG+2(Pre-game at 6:30pm), WFAN 660/101.9FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM,WRCN 103.9FM, Radio.com] 

The Isles and Rangers will complete their season series with a home-and-home series beginning Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Each team has a home-ice victory this season; the Rangers have scored five goals in each game, with the Isles winning 7-5 at home and losing 5-0 in Manhattan.

The Rangers are 1-1-5 at home since the beginning of December.

The home-and-home, and season series, will conclude on Saturday afternoon in 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