The Skinny: Isles 3, Anaheim 0

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 48

Isles 3, Anaheim 0

Cal Clutterbuck scored twice, and Robin Lehner made 19 saves for his 3rd shutout of the season as the Isles stretched their latest winning streak to five games and their lead in the Metropolitan Division to three points with a 3-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks before a sellout crowd of 13,917 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. It's the first time that the Isles have ever shutout the Ducks.

The Isles have won five straight games overall, including the last two by shutout; they have now gone 132:53 without allowing a goal.  

It's the first time since March 9, 2015 that the Isles have had a lead of at least three points this late in the season.

 

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Cal Clutterbuck (5) Josh Bailey, Anthony Beauvillier 04:50 ANA 0,NYI 1 PPG

Cal Clutterbuck (6) Adam Pelech 09:56 ANA 0,NYI 2

2nd Period

Leo Komarov (6) Devon Toews, Scott Mayfield 19:31 ANA 0,NYI 3

3rd Period

No Goals 

The Skinny      

Cal Clutterbuck recorded his sixth career two-goal game and now has four goals in the last five games.  Clutterbuck has outscored the Isles' five opponents 4-3 in that stretch…The Isles are 12-2-0 since Devon Toews joined the lineup and are 15-3-0 in their last 18 games; it's the first time since the 1989-90 season that the Isles have won 15 games in an 18-game stretch…  All eighteen skaters played at least 12:03…The Isles are now ten points ahead of last season's pace through 48 games; including shootout winners they have scored 23 fewer goals and allowed 58 fewer goals than last year's first 48 games…With the win the Isles move three points ahead of Columbus and Washington for the division lead; Tampa Bay (74) is the only other team in the East to reach 62 points.…The Isles scored first for the sixth straight game…The Isles have outscored the opposition 16-3 in the last five games; it's only the second time in franchise history that the Isles have allowed one goal or fewer in five consecutive games (October 20-30, 1974)... The Isles have allowed one goal or fewer 16 times this season… The Isles have 31 points on the road and 31 points at home. … The Isles killed the only Duck PP and have killed 15 straight over the last six games.  It's the first time since November 23-December 8, 2016 (eight games) that the Isles have gone six games without allowing a power play goal…The Isles have outscored the opposition 9-0 in the first period during their current five-game win streak and have outscored their opponents 11-0 over the last 138:22 of first period play…The Isles did not allow a goal in the first two periods for the fourth straight game; it's the first time that's happened since October 2000 under coach Butch Goring…The Isles have the best record in the East over the last 10 games (8-2-0); only Calgary (8-1-1) has a better record over the 10 games…The Isles have now had three distinct win streaks of at least five games this season (5,  6, and the current 5); it's the third time in franchise history that's happened (three times in 1978-79 and four times in 1981-82)…The Isles are 14 games over NHL-.500 for the first time since they ended the 2015-16 season with a 45-27-10 record.…The Isles are 8-2-0 in January with one game to play; they are assured of a fourth straight month over NHL -.500… Anaheim had won two straight but fall to 2-9-4 in their last 15 games.

Great Eight(een)

The Isles are 15-3-0 in their last 18 games, giving them the most wins and the best record in the entire NHL since December 15.

• ISLES 15-3-0

• Tampa Bay 12-3-1

• Calgary 11-3-3

• San Jose 11-4-2

• Columbus 11-5-1

First Time in a Ridiculously Long Time

The Isles have held opponents under 20 shots in three consecutive games for the second time in franchise history. The first time was December 31, 1977-January 7, 1978. 

Shutout Stats

It's the 12th time in Isles history that the team has recorded consecutive shutouts, and the fourth time that they have gotten consecutive shutouts from two different goalies:

• February 9-12, 1980 (Smith/Resch) 

• January 20-22, 1981 (Resch/Smith)

• February 15-16, 2018 (Halak/Greiss)

• January 18-20, 2019 (Greiss/Lehner) 

The Isles goaltenders needed to make only 38 saves for the consecutive shutouts this season; they made 95 in the two games last season.  It's the first time in club history that the Isles have had shutouts in consecutive games and faced under 20 shots in each game.

Strength in the Nets

Robin Lehner has allowed only 20 goals in his last 15 games (10-2-2, 1.35 GAA, .949 save percentage). In his four non-wins in that stretch he has allowed only seven goals. Lehner is 11-1-0 in his last 12 decisions. He lowered his GAA to an NHL-leading 2.02 and raised his save percentage to .930.

Thomas Greiss has won two straight games, allowing a total of one goal (2-0-0, 0.50 GAA, .983 save percentage).

Lehner has won 15 games and Greiss 14.  It's only the 2nd time in the last 15 seasons that the Isles have gotten at least 14 wins from two different goalies.  Greiss won 23 games and Jaroslav Halak 18 in 2015-16.

Keeping Good Company

Josh Bailey recorded his 279th career assist (one more than Bob Nystrom).  He ties Pat LaFontaine for 12th on the all-time Isles list.

It's Good to be Home

The Isles are 5-1-1 on Coliseum ice; they are averaging 97.5% of capacity on Long Island (including four sellouts).  14 of their remaining 17 home games will be at the Coliseum.

 

Most Points Thru 48 Games (Post-Cup Era)

• 65: 2014-15

• 62: 2018-19

Most Points Thru 24 Road Games (Post-Cup Era)

• 32: 2013 (Entire season)

• 31: 2018-19

Road Warriors

The Isles have won six 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 9-1-0 in their last ten road games; the 18 points match the most ever for the club in a 10-game stretch of road games (done in two overlapping stretches in 1980-81).

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 119

2. Boston 128

3. Dallas 128

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (excluding SO goals)

1. ISLES 116

2. Boston 128

3. Dallas 128

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 94 assists, 129 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 791-583-60-138 in 1,572 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  890

3. Ken Hitchcock    837 

4. Barry Trotz   791

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   1,572

5. Ken Hitchcock   1,564

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: 29-15-4 (62 points), with 145 goals scored and 119 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 24-20-4 (52 points), with 168 goals scored and 176 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 17-7-4 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       12-5-11=28

Anaheim 5-8-6=19

The Isles are 8-9-1 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 29-15-4 overall; 14-7-3 at home (5-1-1 on Long Island and 9-6-2 in Brooklyn) and 15-8-1 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.

Anaheim is 21-20-9 overall; 10-7-8 at home and 11-13-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 13-5-1 in Division games and 16-10-3 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 19-7-4 against the East and 10-8-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Robin Lehner made 19 saves and improves to 15-7-3 on the season and 1-2-1 in his career against Anaheim.   

Chad Johnson made 25 saves but falls to 2-9-0 on the season and 1-2-0 in his career against the Isles.

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play in 5-22 of PP time; Anaheim was 0-1 on the power play in 2:00 of PP time.

The Isles are 19-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 10-14-3 when they do not.  The Isles are 10-10-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 18-5-1 when they do not.

 

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 25-2-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 4-13-3 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 5-2-0 in the front half and 7-0-0 in the back half. The next back-to-back is February 1-2 vs. Tampa Bay and Los Angeles, with both games being played at the Coliseum.

The Isles are 7-0-0 in back-ends of back-to-backs this season.  It's the first time that the Isles have opened a season with seven straight back-end wins and the first time since 1981 that they have done so at any time.

Longest Winning Streaks in Back Ends:

• 8 -January 22-March 14, 1976

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

• 7- October 18, 2018- CURRENT

• 7-February 28- November 11, 1981 (over two seasons)

• 7-November 12, 1980 – January 3, 1981

Tired vs. Rested 

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

• The Isles are 5-0-1 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 17-15-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (23:34); Anaheim: Brandon Montour (22:47)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 18:24 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (15-7-3), Nick Leddy (9-7-1), Scott Mayfield (4-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 20, Anaheim 26 (43%).  

Valtteri Filppula won 6 of 11 for the Isles; Adam Henrique won 6 of 9 for Anaheim.

Face-offs by period: 1st period  8/15; 2nd period 3/10; 3rd period 9/21.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 18/41, Power play 1/4, Penalty kill 1/1.

Hit Count

Isles 16 (Leo Komarov-5)  

Anaheim 20 (Josh Manson-4)

   

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 12 shots (Adam Pelech-4) 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 50, Anaheim 39

5-on-5 Isles 44, Anaheim 39

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Johnny Boychuk & Nick Leddy +7

Anaheim: Nick Ritchie +9

 

Night and Day

The Isles are 25-13-4 in night games and 4-2-0 in matinees. The next matinee is on February 9th vs. Colorado (in Brooklyn). 

Ironmen

Anders Lee 166, Brock Nelson 143, Mathew Barzal 130

Scratches

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

Total games lost: 95

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 12-1-1 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 763

Goals

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

16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Anders Lee 142 *** 18. Kyle Okposo 139 ***19. Josh Bailey 135…

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 and Josh Bailey 278 …

25. David Volek 154 *** 26. Mariusz Czerkawski 150 *** 27. Nick Leddy 146

Points

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

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 414…

23. Ed Westfall 286 *** 24. Jason Blake 258 *** 25. David Volek 249 *** 26. Anders Lee 243

Games Played (Goalies)

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

7. Glenn Healy 176 *** 8. Thomas Greiss 145

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 76

Season Series Stats

The teams split the season series one game to one (and 2 points to 2).  

The win breaks a three-game Isles losing streak to Anaheim.

On the Farm 

Ben Holmstrom scored two third period goals, erasing a 3-1 Providence lead, and Tanner Fritz scored the deciding goal in the shootout as the Sound Tigers defeated the Bruins 4-3 on Saturday Night in Bridgeport.

The Sound Tigers improve to 23-14-4-2 on the season with a victory in the first game of a 5-game homestand.  The homestand continues with a 1pm game on Monday against Hershey. 

Leaders:  Goals: Michael Dal Colle 16 ; Assists: Josh Ho-Sang 24; Points: Dal Colle 28.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 12-7-2 (2.92 GAA); Christopher Gibson 11-7-4 (2.96 GAA)

Up Next

TUESDAY, JANUARY 22nd –  ISLANDERS AT CHICAGO 8:30PM 

[MSG+(Pre-game at 8:00pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM,WRCN 103.9FM, Radio.com] 

The Isles will play their final game before the All-Star Break as they face the Blackhawks in Chicago.  It's the second meeting of the season between the teams; the Isles opened 2019 with an overtime win against the Hawks at the Coliseum on January 3rd as Devon Toews scored his first NHL goal.

The Isles were in Chicago almost exactly one year ago (1/20/2018) and defeated the Hawks 7-3 behind five points from Ryan Pulock.  The win snapped a six game Isles winless streak in Chicago (0-4-2).

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since January 21, 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