The Skinny: Detroit 2, Isles 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 71

Detroit 2, Isles 1

Andreas Athanasiou scored two goals and Jonathan Bernier made 41 saves as the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Islanders 2-1 before a sellout crowd of 19,515 at Little Caesars Arena.  The loss keeps the Islanders two points behind the Caps in the Metropolitan Division (Washington lost to Tampa Bay on Saturday night).

Anders Lee scored for the third straight game. He is the only Islander forward to score a goal in the last 247:31, not including an empty-netter for Casey Cizikas.  Lee now has 100 goals over the last three seasons and 150 in his career; he is the 15th player in club history to tally 150 career goals.

The Isles remain two points behind Washington while Pittsburgh's loss to St. Louis keeps the Penguins two points behind the Isles. 

Despite the loss the Isles' magic number to clinch a playoff spot falls to 13 because Montreal was blanked by Chicago and their magic number to win a division for the first time since 1987-88 falls to 23 because Washington lost to Tampa Bay.

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Andreas Athanasiou (25) Danny DeKeyser 02:59 NYI 0,DET 1

Anders Lee (26) Brock Nelson, Devon Toews 10:18 NYI 1,DET 1

2nd Period

Andreas Athanasiou (26) Danny DeKeyser, Tyler Bertuzzi 09:57 NYI 1,DET 2

3rd Period

No Goals

The Skinny       

The Isles are 27-11-3 in their last 41 games. The Isles have surpassed last season's win and point total; including shootout winners they have scored 25 fewer goals and allowed 87 fewer goals than last year's first 71 games… The Isles have 48 points at home and 41 points on the road … The Isles did not score a power play goal for the 11th straight game (0-24), which is one shy of the club record … With their goal today, the Isles have scored 67 goals in the 1st period, 60 goals in the 2nd period, and 67 goals in the third period… Anders Lee has eight goals in the last 14 games…Mathew Barzal became the first forward to lead the Isles in ice-time in any game this season; Barzal finished with eight shots on goal, matching a personal and team season high…Both Tum Kuhnhackl (replacing Casey Cizikas) and Adam Pelech played in their 198th NHL game...The Isles had 42 shots on goal; it was the third highest total of this season (1/3 – Chicago-50; 12/15- Detroit 48) and their most on the road since 1/20/18 in Chicago (46)…Andreas Athanasiou recorded his sixth multi-goal game of the season…The Wings are 2-9-3 in their last 14 games.

Metro Playoff Watch

1. Caps 91 points/72 games/38 ROW (Tuesday at New Jersey)

2. Isles 89 points/71 games/37 ROW (Sunday at Minnesota)

3. Penguins 87 points/72 games/38 ROW (Sunday vs. Philadelphia)

4. Hurricanes 85 points/71 games/38 ROW (Tuesday vs. Pittsburgh)

5. Blue Jackets 84 points/72 games/39 ROW (Tuesday at Calgary)

6. Philadelphia 76 points/71 games/32 ROW (Sunday at Pittsburgh)

Also in Wild Card Race

Canadiens 81 points/72 games/35 ROW (Tuesday at Philadelphia)

The Blue Jackets currently hold the second Wild Card, so five Metropolitan Division teams are currently in playoff spots.

Despite today's loss, the Isles would skate off the ice on Sunday in first place if they can beat Minnesota in regulation or overtime.  No Islander team has been in first place this late in the season since the Isles won the Patrick Division in 1987-88.

Magic Numbers:

The Isles' Magic Number to clinch a playoff spot is 13.  It could go as low as 11 (with a win in Minnesota) on Sunday.

The Isles' Magic Number to clinch the Metropolitan Division is 23.  It could go as low as 21 (with a win in Minnesota) on Sunday.

  

Three or Fewer

For the third straight game, a total of three goals or fewer were scored. It's the 12th time in club history that has happened.  The Isles have never played four consecutive games where three or fewer goals were scored.

Black Jack

Thomas Greiss has 21 wins. He is only the fourth goalie in club history to have at least three 21-win seasons, joining Billy Smith (6), Glenn Resch (5) and Rick DiPietro (4).

Power Play Drought

The Isles have now gone 11 games without a power play goal.  This is the third time in Isles history that they have gone at least 11 games (in a single season) without connecting on the power play:

• 12 -  November/December 1972

• 12 – November /December 2010

• 11 – February/March 2019 CURRENT

No Power for the Other Guys Either

Neither team has scored a power play goal in the last seven Islander games.  It's the first time in club history that they have played more than five straight games without either scoring or surrendering a power play goal.  In those seven games, the Isles are 0-16 on the power play while the opposition is 0-11.

Strength in the Nets

Thomas Greiss has won 21 games and Robin Lehner has won 20.  It's the 1st time in the last 35 years that two different Isles goalies have won at least 20 games; Billy Smith won 23 games and Roland Melanson won 20 in 1983-84.

Best Goals Against Average by An Islander in a Season

1. Chico Resch 1975-76 2.08

2. Robin Lehner 2018-19 2.19

3. Thomas Greiss 2018-19 2.22

4. Chico Resch 1975-76 2.28

5. Jaroslav Halak 2015-16 2.30

Best Save Percentage by an Islander in a Season 

1. Thomas Greiss 2018-19 .928 (.9278) 

2. Chico Resch 1975-76 .928 (.9276)

3. Robin Lehner 2018-19 .927 (.9269)

4. Thomas Greiss 2015-16 .925

The Best (Fourth) Line in Hockey

The Isles are 29-12-6 when Casey Cizikas, Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck all play.  They fell to 12-11-1 when one or more miss a game. Cizikas suffered a lower body strain in warmups and did not play today.

For the + Column

Casey Cizikas is +26 on the season.  In the last 30 seasons, only two Islander forwards have finished +25 or higher.

1. Marty McInnis 1993-94 +31 

2. Benoit Hogue 1991-92 +30

3. Casey Cizikas 2018-19 +26

4. Ray Ferraro 1991-92 +25

5. Ryan Strome 2014-15 +23

        Trent Hunter 2003-04 +23

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 10-5-2 on Coliseum ice; they are averaging 96.4% of capacity on Long Island (including ten sellouts).  

Most Points Thru 71 Games (Post-Cup Era)

• 90: 2014-15

• 89: 2018-19

• 85: 2015-16

Most Points Thru 34 Road Games

• 45: 1976-77

• 43: 1980-81

• 41: 2018-19

• 41: 2014-15

• 41: 1978-79

• 40: 1981-82

• 40: 1975-76

Most Points Thru 37 Home Games (Post-Cup Era)

• 52: 1984-85

• 52: 2015-16

• 50: 2003-04

• 48: 2018-19

• 48: 1985-86

• 48: 1987-88

• 47: 2014-15

• 47: 2016-17

Fewest Goals Allowed Thru 71 Games (Includes SO)

• 168 1975-76

• 171 2018-19

• 173 1976-77  

Road Warriors

The Isles are 10-4-2 in their last 16 road games and 13-5-2 in their last 20 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 171

2. Dallas 175

3. Boston 185

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (excluding SO goals)

1. ISLES 166

2. Dallas 175

3. Boston 182 

Coach Trotz

Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz' NHL record is 803-591-60-141 in 1,595 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  890

3. Ken Hitchcock    845 

4. Barry Trotz   803

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   1,595

5. Ken Hitchcock   1,586

Trotz, who will coach his 1,600th game on March 24th, 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: 41-23-7 (89 points), with 203 goals scored and 171 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 30-31-10 (70 points), with 228 goals scored and 258 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

The Isles have allowed 83 fewer goals, a decrease of 33.7% 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 26-9-5 when scoring first and are 15-14-2 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

• .484 (15-14-2) 2018-19

• .410 (14-21-4) 1985-86

The Shots

Isles    16-14-12=42

Detroit 7-5-10=22

The Isles are 13-14-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-2-0 when the shots are even and 28-7-6 when they are outshot. [The 28 wins when outshot are a franchise record; they won 25 in both 1983-84 and 2017-18.]

Home and Road

The Islanders are 41-23-7 overall; 22-11-4 at home (9-5-2 on Long Island and 12-6-2 in Brooklyn) and 19-12-3 on the road.  All their remaining regular season home games are at the Nassau Coliseum.

Detroit is 25-37-10 overall; 14-18-5 at home and 11-19-5 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 16-8-1 in Division games and 25-15-6 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 26-13-5 against the East and 15-10-2 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 20 saves but falls to 21-11-2 on the season and 5-3-1 in his career against Detroit.   

Jonathan Bernier made 40 saves and improves to 7-17-5 on the season and 5-5-4 against the Islanders.  

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play in 4:00 of PP time; Detroit was 0-3 on the power play in 5:31 of PP time.

The Isles are 22-2-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 19-21-5 when they do not.  The Isles are 13-13-5 when they allow at least one power play goal and 28-109-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 33-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 8-21-5 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 16-5-7 in games decided by a single goal including 7-5 in regulation. They are 5-2 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 4-0-0 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 26-22-5 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Mathew Barzal (22:26); Detroit: Danny DeKeyser (28:55)

It is the first time this season that a forward has led the Isles in ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (19-11-5), Nick Leddy (14-9-2), Scott Mayfield (7-1-0), Johnny Boychuk (0-1-0), Adam Pelech (1-0-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 20, Detroit 27 (43%).  

Valtteri Filppula won 6 of 11 for the Isles; Frans Nielsen won 6 of 7 for Detroit.  

Face-offs by period: 1st period 9/16; 2nd period 4/17; 3rd period 7/14.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 16/37, Power play 3/6, Penalty kill 1/4.

Hit Count

Isles 37 (Matt Martin -7)  

Detroit 17 (Luke Glendenning -8)

   

Fights

There were no fights. Season total –14 (Scott Mayfield -4, Ross Johnston-3, Matt Martin -2, Anders Lee- 2, Josh Bailey, Johnny Boychuk, Jordan Eberle).  

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 9 shots (Adam Pelech -3) 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 66, Detroit 40

5-on-5 Isles 51, Detroit 38

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Mathew Barzal and Josh Bailey +11

Detroit: Michael Rasmussen +5

Back-to-Backs

Including today, the Isles are 7-4-1 in the front half and 9-1-1 in the back half. This back-to-back concludes Sunday in Minnesota and the final back-to-back of the season is the following week (March 23-24) in Detroit and vs. Arizona. 

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, but are 0-1-1 in the last two back-ends. 

Night and Day

The Isles are 35-19-7 in night games and 6-4-0 in matinees. The final two matinees are next weekend (March 23rd in Philly and March 24th vs. Arizona (at the Coliseum). 

Ironmen

Anders Lee 189, Brock Nelson 166, Mathew Barzal 153.  Four other Isles: Nick Leddy, Ryan Pulock, Josh Bailey and Leo Komarov have appeared in every game this season.

Scratches

(Johnny Boychuk -INJ), (Casey Cizikas – INJ), Michael Dal Colle, Luca Sbisa, Dennis Seidenberg, Ross Johnston

Total games lost: 136

Comeback Kings

The Isles are 6-5-1 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 15-1-1 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 786

Goals

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

14. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 15. Anders Lee 150 …

17. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 18. Kyle Okposo 139 ***19. Josh Bailey 138…

21. Duane Sutter 121 *** 22. Brock Nelson 120

Assists

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

9. Stefan Persson 317 *** 10. Bob Bourne 304 *** 11.  Josh Bailey 289 …

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

Points

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

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Billy Harris 443 *** 14. Josh Bailey 427…

23. Ed Westfall 286 *** 24. Jason Blake 258 *** 25. Anders Lee 253

Games Played (Goalies)

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

7. Glenn Healy 176 *** 8. Thomas Greiss 158

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 83

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 Isles win the season series two games to one (and 4 points to 2).  

This was the Isles' first loss in the Red Wings' new home, Little Caesars Arena (2-1-0).

Each of the last five games between the teams has been decided by one goal, with the Isles going 4-0-1 and the Wings going 1-1-3 in the four games.

On the Farm  

The Sound Tigers ended their 5-game road trip with a 5-1 loss in Hershey on Saturday.  Despite the defeat, Bridgeport has won eight of their last ten games, is 12-3-1-0 in their last 16 games (including three OT wins and three shootout wins) and  36-20-5-2 on the season.  

Bridgeport begins an eight-game homestand on Sunday against Springfield.

Leaders:  Goals: Steve Bernier 21; Assists: Chris Bourque 33; Points: Chris Bourque 46; +/-: Otto Koivula +15.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 18-10-3 (2.91 GAA); Christopher Gibson 18-10-4 (2.97 GAA)

Up Next

SUNDAY, MARCH 17th  – ISLANDERS AT MINNESOTA 6:00PM 

[MSG (Pre-game at 5:30pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM,WRCN 103.9FM, Radio.com] 

The Isles will look to sweep the season series as for the first time since 2015-16 as they conclude the back-to-back in St. Paul against the Wild.

The Isles won 2-1 on February 10th at Barclays Center; that win snapped a 3-game losing streak to the Wild.

The Isles have lost two straight in Minnesota, by identical 6-4 scores.

Since the Capitals don't play again until Tuesday night (in New Jersey), the Isles would skate off the ice on Sunday in first place if they can win the game in regulation or overtime.  No Islander team has been in first place this late in the season since the Isles won the Patrick Division in 1987-88.

Note that this game will air on MSG, and not the team's regular home, MSG+.

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

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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