The Skinny: Isles 2, St. Louis 1 (OT)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 45

Isles 2, St. Louis 1 (OT)

Valtteri Filppula has had quite an NHL career but on Tuesday night at Barclays Center he did something he had never done in 918 previous regular season (and 158 playoff) games.  Filppula scored 1:37 into overtime for his first career OT tally as the Isles defeated the St. Louis Blues 2-1 before a crowd of 10,042. 

Robin Lehner made 30 saves to improve to 9-1-0 in his last ten games as the Isles moved 11 games over NHL-.500 for the first time this season.  

Jordan Eberle's 200th career goal gave the Isles a 1-0 lead in the first period; David Perron extended his point streak to 12 games with the tying goal in the third period.

 

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Jordan Eberle (10) Anders Lee 08:43 STL 0,NYI 1

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

David Perron (17) Ryan O'Reilly, Jay Bouwmeester 06:07 STL 1,NYI 1

OT

Valtteri Filppula (10) Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier 01:37 STL 1,NYI 2

The Skinny      

Anders Lee assisted on Eberle's goal; it's the 6th assist in the last seven games for the Captain … The Isles "fourth line" played a leading role again. Cal Clutterbuck led all Isles forwards in both ice-time (season-high 17:46) and shots on goal (4); Cal also led all players with six hits.… The Isles remain six points ahead of last season's pace through 45 games; including shootout winners they have scored 22 fewer goals and allowed 46 fewer goals than last year's first 45 games…With the win the Isles move into third place in the Metro Division (tied in points with Pittsburgh but having played one fewer games.  The Isles are three points behind both Columbus and Washington, with the Jackets now holding the top spot via a tie-breaker.  Only three points separate the teams ranked 2nd-8th in the Eastern Conference …The Isles have won only 56% of the games they scored first (14-7-4); they have won 60% of the games they allowed the opening goal (12-8-0)… The Isles have 29 points on the road and 27 points at home. Of the four top teams in the Metro, only Columbus has earned at least more points at home than on the road … The Isles improve to 21-5-3 when they are outshot; the 21 wins lead the entire NHL when outshot…The Isles killed all three Blues PP's and have killed 10 straight over the last three games.  The three straight perfect games on the PK matches a season high. 

The Injuries

Oskar Sundqvist left the game in the first period after colliding with an official while falling; he returned late in the period. Zach Sanford left the game in the third period with an upper body injury; he did not return.

An Unlikely Overtime Hero

Valtteri Filppula began the game as one of four active NHL players to have played at least 900 regular season goals without ever scoring an overtime goal.   However, two of the other three had not only scored playoff overtime goals, they had done so against the Islanders in the same series (Chris Kunitz and Brooks Orpik in 2013).  The only active player who had appeared in more regular season games without ever scoring an overtime goal (regular season or playoffs) was Jay Bouwmeester, who assisted on the goal that forced overtime tonight.  Among active forwards with no overtime goals of any type, the Rangers' Cody McLeod has now played in the most NHL regular season games (763).

The Great Eight

The Isles now have eight players who have scored at least 10 goals.  It's the first time since the 1984-85 season that eight Islanders have scored at least 10 goals in the first 45 games of a season.

Strength in the Nets

Robin Lehner has allowed only 19 goals in his last 13 games (9-2-2, 1.49 GAA, .947 save percentage). In his four non-wins in that stretch he has allowed only seven goals. Lehner is 9-1-0 in his last 10 decisions.

Lehner lowered his NHL-leading goals against average to 2.16; he also has the best save percentage among all goalies who has appeared in at least 1/3rd of their team's games: .928.

Most Points Thru 45 Games (Post-Cup Era)

• 61: 2014-15

• 56: 2018-19

Most Points Thru 23 Road Games (Post-Cup Era)

• 31: 2013

• 29: 2018-19

Road Warriors

The Isles have won five straight games on the road; it's their longest road winning streak since a 7-game streak in the 2013-14 season.

The Isles are 8-1-0 in their last nine road games; the 16 points match the most ever for the club in a 9-game stretch of road games (done also in 1980-81, 1981-82 and 2013-14).

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. ISLES 118

2. Boston 119

3. Two with 124

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (excluding SO goals)

1. ISLES 115 

2. Boston 119

3. Nashville 123

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

1. John Tavares 84

2. Anthony Beauvillier 42

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 93 assists, 128 points

Barzal's 22nd birthday is not until May.

Most 3+ Point Games by an Islander Before Age 22

• 34 Bryan Trottier

• 18 John Tavares

• 16 Denis Potvin

• 14 Mike Bossy

• 12 Mathew Barzal

• 12 Pat LaFontaine

 

Coach Trotz

Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz' NHL record is 788-583-60-138 in 1,569 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  890

3. Ken Hitchcock    836 

4. Barry Trotz   788

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   1,569

5. Ken Hitchcock   1,562

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: 26-15-4 (56 points), with 136 goals scored and 118 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 23-18-4 (50 points), with 158 goals scored and 164 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 14-7-4 when scoring first and are 12-8-0 when allowing the opening goal. The Isles won 12 games all last season (12-27-5) when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles       11-6-7-1=25

St. Louis 5-18-8-0=31

The Isles are 5-9-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 21-5-3 when they are outshot. [The club record for wins when being outshot is 25, set in 1983-84 and equaled last season.]

Home and Road

The Islanders are 26-15-4 overall; 12-7-3 at home (3-1-1 on Long Island and 9-6-2 in Brooklyn) and 14-8-1 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

St. Louis is 20-20-5 overall; 11-13-2 at home and 9-7-3 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 11-5-1 in Division games and 15-10-3 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 17-7-4 against the East and 9-8-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Robin Lehner made 30 saves and improves to 13-7-3 on the season and 6-3-1 in his career against St. Louis.   

Jordan Binnington made 23 saves; he is 3-0-1 on the season and 0-0-1 in his career against the Isles.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play in 4:10 of PP time; St. Louis was 0-3 on the power play in 4:10 of PP time.

The Isles are 17-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 9-14-3 when they do not.  The Isles are 10-10-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-5-1 when they do not.    

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 23-2-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-13-3 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 11-4-4 in games decided by a single goal including 5-4 in regulation. They are 4-1 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 4-2-0 in the front half and 6-0-0 in the back half.  The next back-to-back is Thursday vs. New Jersey and Friday at Washington.

Back Ends

The Isles are 6-0-0 in back-ends of back-to-backs this season.  It's the first time that the Isles have won six straight back-ends in a single season since  2006-07, when the Isles won the first six back-ends.  Like this season, the Isles had a new Jack Adams Award-winning coach behind their bench: Ted Nolan.

This matches the longest streak since 1981, when the Isles won seven straight back-ends (over two seasons).

The club record for consecutive back-end wins is 8, and that has been done twice:

• January 22-March 14, 1976

• March 26- November 22, 1978 (over two seasons)

 

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 3-0-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 4-0-1 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 

• The Isles are 3-0-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 16-15-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:26); St. Louis: Alex Pietrangelo (25:01)

Cal Clutterbuck Isles forwards with 17:44 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (14-7-3), Nick Leddy (7-7-1), Scott Mayfield (4-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 18, St. Louis 32 (36%).  

No Isle won more than he lost: Ryan O'Reilly won 14 of 22 for St. Louis.

Face-offs by period: 1st period  5/12; 2nd period 6/21; 3rd period 7/16; Overtime 0/1.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 15/43, Power play 2/3, Penalty kill 1/4.

Hit Count

Isles 18 (Cal Clutterbuck -6)  

St. Louis 17 (Two with 3)

   

Fights

There were no fights. Season total –12 (Scott Mayfield -4, Ross Johnston-3, Matt Martin -2, Josh Bailey, Johnny Boychuk, Anders Lee).  

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 17 shots (Scott Mayfield -4) 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 42, St. Louis 63

5-on-5 Isles 37, St. Louis 51

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Nick Leddy +4

St. Louis: David Perron +15

 

Night and Day

The Isles are 23-13-4 in night games and 3-2-0 in matinees. The next matinee is on January 20th vs. Anaheim. 

Ironmen

Anders Lee 163, Brock Nelson 140, Mathew Barzal 127

Scratches

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

Total games lost: 91

Late Heroes

The Isles have scored once in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or take the lead:

1/10- NY Rangers-Josh Bailey scored the winning goal (18:34)

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

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 9-1-1 when scoring the game's first two goals.

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 760

Goals

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

16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Anders Lee 140 *** 18. Kyle Okposo 139 ***19. Josh Bailey 134…

24. Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson and Steve Thomas 118 *** 27. Ray Ferraro 116 *** 28. Brock Nelson 115

Assists

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

11. Derek King 288 ***12. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 13. Bobby Nystrom 278 *** 14. Josh Bailey 277 …

25. David Volek 154 *** 26. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 27. Travis Green 145 *** 28. Nick Leddy 144

Points

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

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 411…

23. Ed Westfall 286 *** 24. Jason Blake 258 *** 25. David Volek 249 *** 26. Anders Lee 241

Games Played (Goalies)

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

7. Glenn Healy 176 *** 8. Thomas Greiss 144

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 75

Season Series Stats

The Isles win the season series two games to none (and 4 points to 1).    

The Isles are 6-1-1 in the last eight games against the Blues and are 3-0-1 against the Blues at Barclays Center; all four Brooklyn meetings have been decided by a single goal.

On the Farm 

Christopher Gibson made 25 saves, but Bridgeport dropped a 1-0 decision in Charlotte on Tuesday.  Bridgeport is 22-13-4-2 on the season and stay in Charlotte to face the Checkers again on Wednesday. 

Leaders:  Goals: Michael Dal Colle 16 ; Assists: Josh Ho-Sang 22; Points: Dal Colle 28.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 12-7-2 (2.77 GAA); Christopher Gibson 10-6-4 (2.96 GAA)

Up Next

THURSDAY, JANUARY 17th –  NEW JERSEY AT ISLANDERS AT NASSAU COLISEUM 7:00PM 

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

The Isles conclude the home stand as they return to the Coliseum to face the Devils for the third time this season.  Thomas Greiss already owns two wins this season over New Jersey, shutting out the Devils on November 3rd in Brooklyn and getting Mathew Barzal overtime goal in New Jersey on Black Friday.

The Isles have dominated the Devils on home ice in recent years, winning 9 out of the last 10 (3-0-0 at the Coliseum and 6-1-0 in Brooklyn).  The Devils' last win at the Coliseum was by a 6-1 score on March 1, 2014; Jaromir Jagr scored the deciding goal in Martin Brodeur's last win against the Isles (as a Devil).

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