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The Skinny: Buffalo 7, Isles 1

"The Skinny"  By Eric Hornick Game 35 Buffalo 7, Isles 1 Beck Melenstyn scored 2:07 into the first period and the Sabres outscored...

Saturday, January 12, 2019

The Skinny: Rangers 2, Isles 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 43
Rangers 2, Isles 1
Mats Zuccarello scored the winning goal with 5:05 to play as the Rangers earned a split of the home-and-home series with the Isles with a 2-1 victory at Barclays Center before a near-capacity crowd of 15,497. 

After combining for eight power play goals in the first three games of the season series, the teams combined to go 0-10 on the power play, with both teams failing on lengthy 5-on-3 attempts.

Robin Lehner allowed only two goals, but that was enough to cost him his career-best eight -game winning streak. 
 
The Scoring:  
1st Period
No Goals

2nd Period
Anthony Beauvillier (12) Josh Bailey, Ryan Pulock 08:40 NYR 0,NYI 1
Filip Chytil (7) Boo Nieves 14:09 NYR 1,NYI 1

3rd Period
Mats Zuccarello (5) Tony DeAngelo, Mika Zibanejad 14:55 NYR 2,NYI 1 

The Skinny     
Anthony Beauvillier scored the only Islander goal; he now has a team-leading 10 goals on home-ice (7 in Brooklyn and three on Long Island); Anders Lee is second with seven goals at home…Josh Bailey recorded his 277th assist, leaving him one behind Bob Nystrom and two behind Pat LaFontaine on the all-time Isles list…The Isles are now six points ahead of last season's pace through 43 games; including shootout winners they have scored 17 fewer goals and allowed 42 fewer goals than last year's first 43 games…   With the loss the Isles remain in the top wild card spot (pending night games); they also remain in 4th place in the Metro,  just one point behind Columbus…  Anders Lee's assist streak ended at four games….Filip Chytil has three goals in five career games against the Isles…The Isles have won only 52% of the games they scored first (12-7-4); they have won 60% of the games they allowed the opening goal (12-8-0)… The Isles have 29 points on the road and 23 points at home.  Of the top four teams in the Metro, only Pittsburgh has more points on home ice than on the road… The Isles fall to 19-5-3 when they are outshot; the 19 wins lead the entire NHL when outshot…Alexandar Georgiev (0.87GAA, .967 save percentage) allowed only two goals in 138 minutes against the Isles…While the Isles have done much better in recent years, they fell to 14-27-11 in the game following a win at Madison Square Garden.

Looking Back to Thursday
The Isles scored on their only shot on goal of the third period on Thursday; it's the fourth time in club history that the Isles have scored a goal on their only shot on goal in a period.

Clark Gillies 11/1/1976 – 7:45 of 3rd period vs. Vancouver
Mark Parrish 3/9/2004 – 8:33 of 2nd period at St. Louis
Josh Bailey 12/9/2014—17:17 of 2nd period at Minnesota
Josh Bailey 1/10/2019—18:34 of 3rd period at Rangers

Like Bailey's goal on Thursday, Gillies' tally was also a game-winner.

Strength in the Nets
Robin Lehner has allowed only 18 goals in his last 12 games (8-2-2, 1.540 GAA, .945 save percentage). In his four non-wins in that stretch he has allowed only seven goals. 

Lehner was the 4th Goalie in Isles history to record at least eight straight wins:
11: Jaroslav Halak (Nov-Dec 2014)
10: Billy Smith (Jan-Feb 1982)
8: ROBIN LEHNER (Dec 2018-Jan 2019)
8: Mark Fitzpatrick (Dec 1989-Jan 1990)

Most Points Thru 43 Games (Post-Cup Era)
59: 2014-15
52: 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: (pending Saturday night games)

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (Including SO goals)  [not including Saturday night games]
1. Boston 114 
2. ISLES 116
3. Nashville 116

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (excluding SO goals) [not including Saturday night games]
1. ISLES 113 
2. Boston 114
3. Nashville 115

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 91 assists, 126 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 786-583-60-138 in 1,567 games. 

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville  890
3. Ken Hitchcock    835 
4. Barry Trotz   786
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   1,567
5. Ken Hitchcock   1,560

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: 24-15-4 (52 points), with 129 goals scored and 116 goals allowed (includes SO winners)
Last Season: 21-18-4 (46 points), with 146 goals scored and 158 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First
The Isles  are 12-7-4 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       10-8-7=25
Rangers 8-7-11=26
The Isles are 5-9-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 19-5-3 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 24-15-4 overall; 10-7-3 at home (3-1-1 on Long Island and 7-6-2 in Brooklyn) and 14-8-1 on the road.  The Isles will play 21 games in Uniondale and 20 games in Brooklyn this season.
The Rangers are 18-19-7 overall; 11-6-5 at home and 7-13-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference
The Isles are 11-5-1 in Division games and 13-10-3 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 16-7-4 against the East and 8-8-0 against the West.  

In the Nets
Robin Lehner made 24 saves but falls to 12-7-3 on the season and 3-6-2 in his career against the Rangers.   

Alexandar Georgiev made 24 saves and improves to 6-7-0 on the season and 2-1-0 in his career against the Isles.
 
Power Plays
The Isles were 0-6 on the power play in 10:36 of PP time (including two 5-on-3s totaling 1:24); the Rangers were 0-4 on the power play in 7:12 of PP time (including a :48 5-on-3 in the second period). 
The Isles are 16-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-14-3 when they do not.  The Isles are 10-10-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 13-5-1 when they do not.    

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 22-2-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-13-3 when they do not.  

One Goal Games
The Isles are 10-4-4 in games decided by a single goal including 5-4 in 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 
Including today, the Isles are 4-2-0 in the front half and 5-0-0 in the back half. This back-to-back concludes Sunday vs. Tampa Bay.  The next back-to-back is Thursday vs. New Jersey and Friday at Washington.
 
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 16-15-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Ryan Pulock (24:24); Rangers: Mika Zibanejad (22:23)
Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 20:21 of ice-time.

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

Face-offs
Isles 27, Rangers 24 (53%).  

Josh Bailey won 4 of 7 for the Isles; Mika Zibanejad won 17 of 29 for the Rangers. 
Face-offs by period: 1st period  10/14; 2nd period 8/20; 3rd period 9/17.
Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 19/36, Power play 6/9, Penalty kill 2/6.

Hit Count
Isles 21 (Matt Martin & Ross Johnston - 3)  
Rangers 27 (Adam Mc Quaid - 5)
   
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 13 shots (Three with 2) 

For the Corsi Crowd 
All situations: Isles 51, Rangers 45
5-on-5 Isles 38, Rangers 37

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Cal Clutterbuck, Ross Johnston & Devon Toews +3
Rangers: Tony DeAngelo +11
 
Night and Day
The Isles are 21-13-4 in night games and 3-2-0 in matinees. The next matinee is on January 12th vs. the Rangers. 

Ironmen
Anders Lee 161, Brock Nelson 138, Mathew Barzal 125

Scratches
(Andrew Ladd – IR), (Thomas Hickey- IR),Tom Kuhnhackl, Michael Dal Colle,  Adam Pelech
Total games lost: 87

Late Heroes
The Isles have scored once in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or take the lead:
1/11- 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 8-1-1 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 758

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 133…
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 277

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052…
12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 410

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 teams split the season series two games to two (and 4 points to 4).   
 
The Isles fall to 9-2-0 in the last 11 games against the Rangers and 13-3-0 in the last 16 match-ups. It's the Rangers' first win in eight games at Barclays Center; the 7-game home winning streak was the Isles' longest against the Rangers since 1991-1992.

On the Farm 
Bridgeport snapped a three-game winless streak with a 4-3 overtime win on Friday in Utica.  Parker Wotherspoon scored the winner for the Sound Tigers; Josh Ho-Sang had a pair of assists in his return to the Sound Tiger lineup.  Bridgeport is 22-11-4-2 record for the season.

The Sound Tigers host Hartford on Saturday night. 

Leaders:  Goals: Michael Dal Colle 16 ; Assists: Josh Ho-Sang 22; Points: Dal Colle 28.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 12-6-2 (2.71 GAA); Christopher Gibson 10-5-4 (3.06 GAA)

Up Next
SUNDAY, JANUARY 13th –  TAMPA BAY AT ISLANDERS AT BARCLAYS CENTER 7:00PM 
[MSG+(Pre-game at 6:30pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM,WRCN 103.9FM, Radio.com] 

The Isles look for their sixth straight win on the back-end of a back-to-back as they entertain the Lightning.

It's the second meeting of the season between the teams; Tampa Bay got a Tyler Johnson goal with 1:26 remaining to break a 2-2 tie on November 8th.

The Lightning (17-1-1 in their last 19 entering Saturday's game vs. Buffalo) have won six of the last seven against the Isles.   

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

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