The Skinny: Columbus 4, Isles 0

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 77

Columbus 4, Isles 0

Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves for his second straight shutout and eighth shutout of the season as the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Islanders 4-0 before a crowd of 17,928 at Nationwide Arena. 

The Isles still have 95 points, which is tied for the most through 77 games in the post-Cup era; idle Pittsburgh also has 95 points. The Capitals defeated Carolina to move to 98 points.  All three teams have five games to play; the Isles have fallen into third place in the Metro based on goal differential.

The Isles' magic number to clinch a playoff spot remains 5. 

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Ryan Dzingel (25) Zach Werenski, Boone Jenner 05:43 NYI 0,CBJ 1 PPG

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period 

Artemi Panarin (26) Cam Atkinson, Matt Duchene 02:38 NYI 0,CBJ 2

Oliver Bjorkstrand (17) 11:14 NYI 0,CBJ 3

Cam Atkinson (39)EN Matt Duchene, Seth Jones 19:33 NYI 0,CBJ 4 

The Skinny   

The Isles are 30-14-3 in their last 47 games…  The Isles have surpassed last season's win and point total; including shootout winners they have scored 34 fewer goals and allowed 91 fewer goals than last year's first 76 games… The Isles have 50 points at home and 45 points on the road … The Isles did not have a power play; they have scored just once in their last 37 attempts… The Isles have 23 wins at home and 21 wins on the road; it's only the 4th time in the post-Cup era that the Isles have won at least 21 games both at home and on the road (2001-02, 2014-15, 2015-16)… Ryan Dzingel's goal was the first for the Jackets against the Isles since Columbus scored the first two goals in the Coliseum re-opener; the Isles outscored Columbus 8-0 and did not allow a Jacket goal in 157:10 between Jacket goals…Artemi Panarin's goal was his first since February 28th…Sergei Bobrovsky tied Marc-Andre Fleury for the league lead in shutouts (8); he is the 4th active goalie with at least three shutouts against the Isles, joining Henrik Lundqvist (10), Fleury (4) and Craig Anderson (3)...Four of the last five games have ended in shutouts with the Isles going 1-3 in those shutouts...There have been a franchise record 14 games ending in shutouts; the Isles have 10 shutouts and have been shut-out 5 times (including the double shutout vs. Tampa, the Isles are 9-4-1 in shutouts)...The Isles have been shutout three times in March; it's the sixth time they have been shut-out at least three times in a month (and the first time since November 2011, when they were blanked four times for the only time in franchise history)... The Isles are 7-7-0 in March with two games to play; they have been above NHL-.500 every month this season.  

Metro/Wild Card Playoff Watch 

1. Caps 98 points/77 games/41 ROW (Thursday at Carolina)

2. Penguins 95 points/77 games/40 ROW (Friday vs. Nashville)

3. Isles 95 points/77 games/40 ROW (Thursday at Winnipeg)

Wild Card Race

WC1. Hurricanes 91 points/76 games/40 ROW (Thursday vs. Washington)

WC2. Canadiens 90 points/77 games/39 ROW (Thursday at Columbus)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WC3. Blue Jackets 88 points/76 games/41 ROW (Thursday vs. Montreal)

Magic Numbers:

The Isles Magic Number to clinch a playoff spot remain 5. While either Montreal or Columbus could still get to 100 points by winning all their remaining games, they play each other on Thursday, so one team is guaranteed to finish with 99 or fewer.

It could go as low as 2 (with an Islander regulation win and a regulation win by either Montreal or Columbus) on Thursday.

 

Tie Breakers:

Head-to-Head

Isles will need a regulation win in Washington on April 6th to tie this tie-breaker.  Isles have tied season series with Pittsburgh and won season series from Carolina. 

Goal Differential

Pittsburgh +33

Washington +29

Isles +24

22-Game Winner

Thomas Greiss has 22 wins. He is only the fourth goalie in club history to have at least three 22-win seasons, joining Glenn Resch (5), Billy Smith (5), and Rick DiPietro (4).

Streaking Lehner

Robin Lehner has played 151 minutes in his last three appearances, allowing only two goals, including a shutout.  He has stopped 65 of 67 shots in that span, for a 0.79 GAA and a 97.0 save percentage.

Two Isles Goalies with at least 22 Wins in a Season

• 1978-79: Chico Resch (26) & Billy Smith (25)

• 1981-82: Billy Smith (32) & Roland Melanson (22)

• 2018-19: Robin Lehner (22) & Thomas Greiss (22)

Best Goals Against Average by An Islander in a Season

1. Chico Resch 1975-76 2.08

2. Robin Lehner 2018-19 2.17

3. Chico Resch 1975-76 2.28

4. Jaroslav Halak 2015-16 2.30

5. Thomas Greiss 2018-19 2.31

Best Save Percentage by an Islander in a Season 

1. Chico Resch 1975-76 .928 (.92757)

2. Robin Lehner 2018-19 .928 (.92755)

3. Thomas Greiss 2018-19 .926

4. Thomas Greiss 2015-16 .925

The Best (Fourth) Line in Hockey

The Isles are 31-15-6 when Casey Cizikas, Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck all play and are 13-11-1 when one or more miss a game.  

For the + Column

Casey Cizikas was -1 and is now +21 on the season. Brock Nelson was -1 and is now +20 on the season.  In the last 30 seasons, only five Islander forwards have finished +23 or higher.

1. Marty McInnis 1993-94 +31 

2. Benoit Hogue 1991-92 +30

3. Ray Ferraro 1991-92 +25

4. Ryan Strome 2014-15 +23

        Trent Hunter 2003-04 +23

5. Casey Cizikas 2018-19 +22

Most Goals by an Isle With 0 PP goals

• 22- Bob Nystrom (81-82), Butch Goring (83-84), Randy Wood (87-88)

• 21- Garry Howatt (75-76), Brent Sutter (82-83)

• 20- John Tonelli (85-86), Jason Chimera (16-17)

• 19- Steve Tambellini (80-81), Casey Cizikas (18-19)

It's Good to be Home

The Isles are 11-6-2 on Coliseum ice; they are averaging 96.8% of capacity on Long Island (including 12 sellouts).  

 

Most Points Thru 77 Games (Post-Cup Era)

• 95: 2018-19

• 95: 2014-15

• 93: 2015-16

The most points that the Isles have earned in a full season in the Post-Cup era is 101 in 2014-15.

Most Points Thru 38 Road Games (Post Cup Era)

• 46: 2014-15

• 45: 2018-19

• 41: 2001-02

• 40: 2002-03

The most road points that the Isles have earned in a full season in the Post-Cup era is 49 in 2014-15.

Most Points Thru 39 Home Games (Post-Cup Era)

• 54: 1984-85

• 54: 2015-16

• 52: 2003-04

• 52: 1987-88

• 50: 2018-19

• 49: 1985-86

• 49: 2014-15

The most home points that the Isles have earned in a full season in the Post-Cup era is 55 (three times).

Fewest Goals Allowed Thru 77 Games (Includes SO)

• 182 1975-76 (no overtime games)

• 183 1976-77 (no overtime games)

• 188 2018-19 (181 in regulation, two in overtime, and five in shootouts)

The Isles allowed 190 goals in the 80-game 1975-76 season (2.38/game). The Isles have allowed 2.33 goals in regulation and 2.42 goals including OT/SO this season.

Road Warriors

The Isles are 12-6-2 in their last 20 road games and 15-7-2 in their last 24 road games.    

Worst to First

The Isles allowed the most goals in the NHL last season.  Only once in NHL history has a team allowed the most goals in one season and the fewest in the next; the Ottawa Senators did so in 1917-18 and 1918-19.   Here's where the Isles are this season:  

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (Including SO goals) 

The Jennings Trophy is awarded based on goals allowed including shootout goals.

1. ISLES 188

2. Dallas 188

3. Boston 194

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (excluding SO goals)

1. ISLES 183

2. Dallas 187

3. Boston 191

Coach Trotz

Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz' NHL record is 806-594-60-141 in 1,601 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  890

3. Ken Hitchcock    847

4. Barry Trotz    806

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   1,601

5. Ken Hitchcock   1,591

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: 44-26-7 (93 points), with 212 goals scored and 188 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 32-35-10 (74 points), with 246 goals scored and 279 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

The Isles have allowed 91 fewer goals, a decrease of 32.6% as compared to last season.

Last Season (final): 35-37-10 (80 points), with 264 goals scored and 296 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

First Things First

The Isles are 28-9-5 when scoring first and are 16-17-2 when allowing the opening goal (which includes a 1-0 shootout loss).  

Highest Percentage of Games Won (Post-Cup Era) Allowing First Goal

• .545 (18-13-2) 2014-15

• .457 (16-17-2) 2018-19

• .410 (14-21-4) 1985-86

The Shots

Isles         10-9-7=26

Columbus 7-15-11=33

The Isles are 14-14-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-2-0 when the shots are even and 30-10-6 when they are outshot. [The 30 wins when outshot are a franchise record; they won 25 in both 1983-84 and 2017-18.]

The Isles lead the NHL in wins when outshot.  Three teams won 30 games last year when outshot, but nobody has won more since 2015-16 when Ottawa won 33.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 44-26-7 overall; 23-12-4 at home (11-6-2 on Long Island and 12-6-2 in Brooklyn) and 21-14-3 on the road.  Both of their remaining regular season home games are at the Nassau Coliseum.

Columbus is 42-30-4 overall; 21-16-2 at home and 21-14-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 17-9-1 in Division games and 27-17-6 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 27-16-5 against the East and 17-10-2 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 29 saves but falls to 22-14-2 on the season and 5-0-0 in his career against Columbus.   

Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves and improves to 33-23-1 on the season and 16-8-0 against the Islanders.  It's his third career shutout over the Isles.

Power Plays

The Isles did not have a power play; Columbus was 1-1 on the power play in 1:43 of PP time.

The Isles are 23-2-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 21-24-5 when they do not.  The Isles are 15-15-5 when they allow at least one power play goal and 29-11-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 35-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 9-24-5 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 17-5-7 in games decided by a single goal including 7-5 in regulation. They are 6-2 in games decided in overtime and are 4-5 in shootouts.  The Isles are 6-6 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 6-0-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 6-0-1 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 

• The Isles are 5-1-1 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 27-25-5 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:33); Columbus: Seth Jones (26:38)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 20:54 of ice-time

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (21-14-5), Nick Leddy (14-9-2), Scott Mayfield (8-1-0), Johnny Boychuk (0-1-0), Adam Pelech (1-0-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 25, Columbus 35 (42%).  

Casey Cizikas won 10 of 18 for the Isles; Brandon Dubinsky won 10 of 13 for Columbus.  

Face-offs by period: 1st period 11/20; 2nd period 5/18; 3rd period 9/22.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 24/59, Power play 0/0, Penalty kill 1/1.

Hit Count

Isles 18 (Four with 3)  

Columbus 23 (Three with 4)

   

Fights

There were no fights. Season total –16 (Scott Mayfield -4, Ross Johnston-3, Matt Martin -3, Anders Lee- 2, Josh Bailey, Johnny Boychuk, Jordan Eberle, Thomas Hickey).  

 

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 9 shots (Ryan Pulock -3) 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 50, Columbus 55

5-on-5 Isles 45, Columbus 46

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Devon Toews and Jordan Eberle +8 

Columbus: Markus Nuutivaara +10

Back-to-Backs

The Isle played 13 sets of back-to-backs this season. The Isles went 8-4-1 in the front half and 11-1-1 in the back half. 

The Isles won the first nine back-ends of back-to-backs this season, establishing a new club record for consecutive wins in back ends. 

Night and Day

The Isles are 36-22-7 in night games and 8-4-0 in matinees. The remaining games are all at night.

Ironmen

Anders Lee 195, Brock Nelson 172, Mathew Barzal 159.  Four other Isles: Nick Leddy, Ryan Pulock, Josh Bailey and Leo Komarov have appeared in every game this season.

Scratches

(Valtteri Filppula -INJ), (Andrew Ladd -INJ), Thomas Hickey, Tom Kuhnhackl, Luca Sbisa, Dennis Seidenberg, Ross Johnston

Total games lost: 139

Comeback Kings

The Isles are 6-8-1 when trailing in a game by a 2-0 score, defeating NYR (11/15), CBJ (12/1), DET (12/8), OTT (12/28), STL (1/5) and COL (2/9 - OT), while earning a point vs. EDM (2/21 – OTL).

The Isles are 16-1-1 when scoring the game's first two goals.

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

2/5 vs BOS Bruins – Isles goal overturned after successful Bruin challenge.

2/28 vs TOR Maple Leafs – Maple Leaf goal overturned after successful Isles 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 792

Goals

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

14. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 15. Anders Lee 151 …

17. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 18. Kyle Okposo 139 ***19. Josh Bailey 140…

20. Jason Blake 127 *** 21.  Brock Nelson 123

Assists

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

9. Stefan Persson 317 *** 10. Bob Bourne 304 *** 11.  Josh Bailey 290 …

26. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 27. David Volek 154 *** 28. Nick Leddy 151

Points

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

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 430…

24.. Ed Westfall 286 *** 25. Steve Thomas and  Jason Blake 258 *** 27. Anders Lee 254

Games Played (Goalies)

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

6. Jaroslav Halak 177 *** 7. Glenn Healy 176 *** 8. Thomas Greiss 161

Wins (Goalie)

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

5. Jaroslav Halak 88 *** 6.  Thomas Greiss 84

Shutouts (Goalie)

1. Glenn Resch 25 ***2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 16 *** 4. Tommy Salo 14***

5. Jaroslav Halak 12 *** 6.  Thomas Greiss 10

Season Series Stats

The teams win the season series 3 games to 1 (and 6 points to 2).  Three of the four games were decided by shutouts. 

On the Farm  

Bridgeport continues their eight-game homestand on Wednesday against division-leading Charlotte. The Sound Tigers' magic number to clinch a playoff spot is seven and Bridgeport has earned a point in ten straight home games (9-0-1-0).  

Bridgeport is 11-2-1-0 in their last 14 games, is 15-3-2-0 in their last 20 games and 39-20-6-2 on the season.  

Leaders:  Goals: Steve Bernier 22; Assists: Chris Bourque 36; Points: Chris Bourque 51; +/-: Otto Koivula +17.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 20-10-4 (2.75 GAA); Christopher Gibson 19-10-4 (2.90 GAA)

Up Next

THURDAY, MARCH 28th –ISLANDERS AT WINNIPEG 8:00PM 

[MSG+ (Pre-game at 7:30pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM,WRCN 103.9FM, Radio.com] 

The Isles conclude their road trip as they face the Jets in Winnipeg. 

Winnipeg defeated the Isles at Barclays Center back on December 4th by a 3-1 score; however, the Isles have played well in Manitoba since the Jets rejoined the NHL.  The Isles are 7-1-1 in nine trips, losing only on December 29, 2017.

The Isles could reduce their magic number to two if they win this game and the Columbus/Montreal game ends in regulation.

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