The Skinny: Isles 4, Philadelphia 2

“The Skinny”

By Eric Hornick

Game 75

Isles 4, Philadelphia 2

Josh Bailey scored two goals in a 1:23 span of the third period to break a 2-2 tie as the Isles broke a two-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers before a sellout crowd of 19,668 at Wells Fargo Center.

Bailey’s goals were his first since February 26^th against Calgary and helped prevent the Isles from losing three straight games in regulation for the first time all season.

The win gives the Isles 93 points, matching the most through 75 games in the post-Cup era; It also moves the Isles within one point of idle Washington; Pittsburgh also reached 93 points on Saturday night (the Isles have a game-in-hand on Pittsburgh).

The Isles’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot is now 8; they could clinch a playoff spot as early as Tuesday (with a win on Sunday and a regulation win on Tuesday, coupled with a Blue Jacket regulation loss in Vancouver on Sunday) in Columbus.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Robert Hagg (5) Radko Gudas, Ryan Hartman 06:39 NYI 0,PHI 1

Brock Nelson (23) Scott Mayfield, Devon Toews 14:27 NYI 1,PHI 1

2nd Period

Nick Leddy (4) Mathew Barzal, Johnny Boychuk 10:58 NYI 2,PHI 1

3rd Period

Shayne Gostisbehere (8) Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier 06:16 NYI 2,PHI 2 PPG

Josh Bailey (15) Brock Nelson, Andrew Ladd 16:03 NYI 3,PHI 2

Josh Bailey (16) Leo Komarov, Adam Pelech 17:26 NYI 4,PHI 2

The Skinny   

The Isles are 29-13-3 in their last 45 games but are 8-8-1 in their last 17 games . The Isles have surpassed last season’s win and point total; including shootout winners they have scored 34 fewer goals and allowed 89 fewer goals than last year’s first 75 games… The Isles have 48 points at home and 45 points on the road … The Isles went 0-5 on the power play and have scored just once in their last 36 attempts…Josh Bailey now has 140 goals as an Islander, as he tied and passed Kyle Okposo for 18^th place on the club list…Brock Nelson now has 122 goals as an Islander, passing Duane Sutter for 21^st place on the club list…The Isles have 22 wins at home and 21 wins on the road; it’s only the 4^th 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)…Three of Nick Leddy’s four goals have come since February 28^th…The Isles’ defense combined for 20 shots…The Isles finished with a season-high 78 attempts after having only 115 in the last three games combined…Shayne Gostisbehere now has 13 points (3-10-13) in 16 career games against the Isles…Both Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier extended point streaks to five games…The Isles scored four goals in a game for the first time since March 7^th; the four goals matched their total for the past four goals…The Isles played the final 2:34 with a 2-goal lead; it was the first time since March 5^th (other than following empty-net goals) that the Isles have played with a multi-goal lead.

History Lesson

Robert Hagg’s goals was the 10^th straight allowed by the Isles.  It’s the first time since November 19-23, 2011 that the Isles have allowed at least 10 straight goals.  The 2011 stretch is one of two in club history where the Isles had allowed 13 straight goals (it also happened in February 1973).

Brock Nelson’s goal, the first by the Isles in 134:27, ended the streak.

Metro Playoff Watch

1. Caps 94 points/75 games/39 ROW (Sunday vs. Philadelphia)

2. Isles 93 points/75 games/39 ROW (Sunday vs. Arizona)

3. Penguins 93 points/76 games/39 ROW (Monday at Rangers)

4. Hurricanes 89 points/74 games/39 ROW (Sunday vs Montreal)

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5. Blue Jackets 84 points/74 games/39 ROW (Sunday at Vancouver, Tuesday vs. Isles)

6. Flyers 80 points/75 games/34 ROW, Sunday at Washington)

Also in Wild Card Race

Canadiens 87 points/75 games/38 ROW (Sunday at Carolina)

Magic Numbers:

The Isles' Magic Number to clinch a playoff spot is 8.  It could go as low as 4 (with a win over Arizona and a Columbus regulation loss in Vancouver) on Sunday.

Goal Differential

With the Isles losing by four goals tonight, the Isles now have a +26-goal differential to Washington’s +24. It is this tie-breaker that had the Isles in first place in the Metro Division earlier in the week.   Pittsburgh now has a +30 differential; for the Isles to remain in second place following their game on Sunday, they must earn at least a point.  Otherwise they will trail the Penguins by the goal differential tie-breaker.

 

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).

Strength in the Nets

Thomas Greiss has won 22 games and Robin Lehner has won 21.  It’s the 1st time in the last 37 years that two different Isles goalies have won at least 20 games; Billy Smith won 32 games and Roland Melanson won 22 in 1981-82.

Best Goals Against Average by An Islander in a Season

1.      Chico Resch 1975-76 2.08

2.      Robin Lehner 2018-19 2.23

3.      Chico Resch 1975-76 2.28

4.      Thomas Greiss 2018-19 2.29

5.      Jaroslav Halak 2015-16 2.30

Best Save Percentage by an Islander in a Season

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

2.      Thomas Greiss 2018-19 .926 (,9261)

3.      Robin Lehner 2018-19 .926 (.9256)

4.      Thomas Greiss 2015-16 .925

The Best (Fourth) Line in Hockey

The Isles are 30-14-6 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 +22 on the season.  In the last 30 seasons, only six Islander forwards have finished +22 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 10-6-2 on Coliseum ice; they are averaging 96.6% of capacity on Long Island (including 11 sellouts).  

Most Points Thru 75 Games (Post-Cup Era)

·        93: 2014-15

·        93: 2018-19

·        91: 2015-16

Most Points Thru 37 Road Games

·        49: 1976-77

·        49: 1980-81

·        45: 1981-82

·        45: 2018-19

·        44: 1978-79

·        44: 2014-15

Most Points Thru 38 Home Games (Post-Cup Era)

·        52: 1984-85

·        52: 2003-04

·        52: 2015-16

·        50: 1987-88

·        48: 2018-19

·        48: 1985-86

·        47: 2014-15

·        47: 2016-17

Fewest Goals Allowed Thru 75 Games (Includes SO)

·        178 1975-76

·        178 1976-77 

·        184 2018-19

Road Warriors

The Isles are 12-5-2 in their last 19 road games and 15-6-2 in their last 23 road games.   In only one season in club history have the Isles earned more than 32 points in a 23 game stretch -- 2013-14, when they had overlapping stretches of 34 points in 23 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 184

2.      Dallas 186

3.      Boston 189

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (excluding SO goals)

1.      ISLES 179

2.      Dallas 185

3.      Boston 186

Coach Trotz

Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2^nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz’ NHL record is 805-593-60-141 in 1,599 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1.      Scotty Bowman  1,244

2.      Joel Quenneville  890

3.      Ken Hitchcock     847

4.      Barry Trotz         805

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        1,599

5.      Ken Hitchcock    1,591

Trotz, who will coach his 1,600^th game on Sunday, 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: 43-25-7 (91 points), with 210 goals scored and 184 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 31-34-10 (72 points), with 242 goals scored and 273 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

The Isles have allowed 89 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 27-9-5 when scoring first and are 16-16-2 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

·        .471 (16-16-2) 2018-19

·        .410 (14-21-4) 1985-86

The Shots

Isles              14-15-11=40

Philadelphia  10-5-9=24

The Isles are 14-14-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-2-0 when the shots are even and 29-9-6 when they are outshot. [The 29 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 43-25-7 overall; 22-12-4 at home (10-6-2 on Long Island and 12-6-2 in Brooklyn) and 21-13-3 on the road.  All their remaining regular season home games are at the Nassau Coliseum.

Philadelphia is 36-31-8 overall; 18-16-4 at home and 18-15-4 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 17-8-1 in Division games and 26-17-6 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 27-15-5 against the East and 16-10-2 against the West. 

In the Nets

Robin Lehner made 21 saves as he improves to  21-12-5 on the season and 4-6-0 in his career against Philadelphia.   

Carter Hart made 36 saves but falls to 15-11-1 on the season and 0-1-0 against the Islanders.  

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-5 on the power play in 5:19 of PP time (including 2:41 of 5-on-3 time); Philadelphia was 1-2 on the power play in 2:04 of PP time.

The Isles are 23-2-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 20-23-5 when they do not.  The Isles are 15-14-5 when they allow at least one power play goal and 28-11-2 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 8-23-5 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 5-0-0 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 27-24-5 when both teams are rested.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (21:13); Philadelphia: Travis Sanheim (20:53)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 18:51 of ice-time

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (20-13-5), 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 20, Philadelphia 36 (36%).  

Casey Cizikas won 10 of 20 for the Isles but his teammates won only 10 of 36; Sean Couturier won 12 of 16 for Philadelphia.  

Face-offs by period: 1^st period 5/18; 2^nd period 6/20; 3^rd period 9/18.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 18/49, Power play 1/3, Penalty kill 1/4.

Hit Count

Isles 34 (Ryan Pulock and Cal Clutterbuck -5) 

Philadelphia 16 (Robert Hagg-5)

  

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 17 shots (Johnny Boychuk -4)

For the Corsi Crowd

All situations: Isles 78, Philadelphia 54 (including 32-18 in the Isles’ favor in the 2^nd period)

5-on-5 Isles 68, Philadelphia 45

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Devon Toews +22

Philadelphia: Claude Giroux +7

Back-to-Backs

Including today, the Isles are 8-4-1 in the front half and 10-1-1 in the back half. The final back-to-back of the season concludes Sunday 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 1-1-1 in the last three back-ends.

Night and Day

The Isles are 36-21-7 in night games and 7-4-0 in matinees. The final matinee is on Sunday vs. Arizona (at the Coliseum).

Ironmen

Anders Lee 193, Brock Nelson 170, Mathew Barzal 157.  Four other Isles: Nick Leddy, Ryan Pulock, Josh Bailey and Leo Komarov have appeared in every game this season.

Scratches

(Valtteri Filppula), Thomas Hickey, Tom Kuhnhackl, Michael Dal Colle, Luca Sbisa, Dennis Seidenberg, Ross Johnston

Total games lost: 136

Comeback Kings

The Isles are 6-7-1 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 790

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 122

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 …

26. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 27. David Volek 154 *** 28. 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 429…

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 160

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 split the season series 2 games to 2 (and 4 points to 4).  All four games ended in regulation as the visiting team won all four games by a combined score of 19-6.

On the Farm  

Steve Bernier scored his club-leading 22^nd goal and Christopher Gibson made 30 saves as Bridgeport edged Belleville 2-1 at Webster Bank Arena. Bridgeport is 10-2-1-0 in their last 13 games, is 14-3-2-0 in their last 19 games and 38-20-6-2 on the season.  

Bridgeport continues their eight-game homestand at 5pm on Sunday against Syracuse. The Sound Tigers’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 9.

Leaders:  Goals: Steve Bernier 22; Assists: Chris Bourque 34; Points: Chris Bourque 48; +/-: Otto Koivula +15.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 19-11-3 (2.80 GAA); Christopher Gibson 19-10-4 (2.90 GAA)

Up Next

SUNDAY, MARCH 24th –ARIZONA AT ISLANDERS AT NASSAU COLISEUM 3:00PM

[MSG+ (Pre-game at 2:30pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM,WRCN 103.9FM, Radio.com]
The Isles look to sweep the back-to-back weekend and  their season series with the Coyotes as they host Arizona on Sunday afternoon.  

The Isles won 3-1 in the Desert just before Christmas with Robin Lehner in goal.

The Isles have won five straight home games from the Coyotes and are 8-0-1 at home vs. the Yotes since the then-Phoenix Coyotes defeated the Isles 3-2 on October 29, 2002.

The Isles’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 8, but it would fall to 6 with a victory.

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.