The Skinny: Isles 5, Ottawa 4 (SO)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 65

Isles 5, Ottawa 4

Barry Trotz recorded his 800th career coaching victory and the Islanders regained a share of first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 5-4 win over the Ottawa Senators before a crowd of 11,445 at the Nassau Coliseum.

The Isles got goals from four different players and points from 10 players as they build a 4-2 lead midway through the second period, but the Sens forced overtime with a contested goal by Jean-Gabriel Pageau with just 4:40 to play. Brady Tkachuk collided with Robin Lehner on the play, forcing Lehner to leave with an injury.  Thomas Greiss then became the first goalie in Islander history to record a win making as few as two saves.

The Isles and Washington share the Metro Division lead with identical 38-21-7 records, including 34 ROWs.  For standings purposes, the season series is currently tied (the odd home game, the first one hosted by the Isles, does not count) so the Isles are in first place based on goal differential (+31 to +18); Carolina lost in overtime, Pittsburgh won in overtime and Columbus won in a shootout, so six points separate 1st-5th in the division. Columbus spent a few hours in a playoff spot but fell out again when Montreal beat Los Angeles.

The Scoring:  

1st Period

Brock Nelson (21) Josh Bailey 08:22 OTT 0,NYI 1

2nd Period

Brian Gibbons (4) Thomas Chabot, Colin White 00:26 OTT 1,NYI 1

Devon Toews (5) Michael Dal Colle 02:34 OTT 1,NYI 2

Anders Lee (23) Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk 05:45 OTT 1,NYI 3

Oscar Lindberg (6) Mikkel Boedker, Anthony Duclair 06:32 OTT 2,NYI 3

Ross Johnston (1) Leo Komarov, Casey Cizikas 10:02 OTT 2,NYI 4

3rd Period

Zack Smith (8) Bobby Ryan, Christian Wolanin 07:38 OTT 3,NYI 4

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (2) Brady Tkachuk, Magnus Paajarvi 15:20 OTT 4,NYI 4

OT

No Goals

The Shootout

Jordan Eberle (G/GDG) – Thomas Chabot (NG)

Mathew Barzal (G) – Bobby Ryan (NG)

The Isles have now won an NHL-record 78 shootouts, breaking a tie with the Rangers for the most in NHL history.

Jordan Eberle recorded his 4th game-deciding goal; he is 23-63 all-time in shootouts. Mathew Barzal is now 3/11 all-time in shootouts; both of his goals are game-deciding goals.

As a team, the Isles had gone 4 for 29 in shootouts before converting on both opportunities tonight.

The Skinny      

With the win, the Isles avoid losing three straight games in regulation for the first time this season; they have gone three straight without a win only once (11/5-11/10, 0-2-1)…The Isles are 24-9-3 in their last 36 games but are only 3-4-1 in their last eight games …The victory gave the Isles 83 points, assuring them of an above NHL-.500 finish….The Isles have surpassed last season's win and point total; including shootout winners they have scored 21 fewer goals and allowed 76 fewer goals than last year's first 66 games… The Isles have 44 points at home and 39 points on the road …Brock Nelson scored his 21st goal of the season; it's only the second time he has scored at least 21 (26 in 2015-16)…Josh Bailey's assist gives him 50 points on the season; it's his third straight season with 50+ points…Anders Lee's goal was his 250th NHL point…Ross Johnston's goal was his first since 2/19/2018 vs. Minnesota…Devon Toews' fifth NHL goal was his first in 11 games; Michael Dal Colle assisted on the tally in his first NHL game since February 12th….The Isles used both goalies for the 2nd straight game…Zach Smith appeared in his 600th NHL game in the same arena he played his first (11-28-2008)…The Isles did not have a power play goal for the sixth straight game…Craig Anderson broke a personal 10-game (regulation) losing streak…The Sens have rallied to earn eight points this season when trailing after two periods (3-30-2)…With their goals tonight, the Isles have scored 61 goals in the 1st period, 60 goals in the 2nd period, and 62 goals in the third period…The Isles have allowed 11 goals in the last three games, matching their highest total since Thanksgiving...The Isles completed the longest homestand of the season with a 2-3-0 record; they were 2-0-0 against teams from Ontario and 0-3-0 in the other games.

The Injury

Robin Lehner left the game after the collision with Brady Tkachuk; he did not return.

Lots of Shots 

The Isles, who averaged 28.3 shots per game coming in, had 26 shots on goal in the second period alone.  It was the most shots that they have had in any period in eleven years, when they had a club-record 29 shots on goal in the 2nd period against Florida, and Craig Anderson.

Most Shots in a Period by Isles

• 29 3/2/2008 vs. Florida (2nd period)

• 28 12/5/1978 vs. Pittsburgh (2nd period)

• 28 3/17/2004 at Florida (1st period)

• 26 3/5/2019 vs. Ottawa (2nd period)

• 25 2/22/1977 vs Colorado (2nd period)

• 25 11/1/2013 at Ottawa (3rd period)

Moving On Up

Josh Bailey's assist was his 289th for the Isles, breaking a tie with Derek King for 11th place on the all-time Isles list.  He is 15 assists behind Bob Bourne for 10th place.  

Anders Lee's goal was his 147th goal (tying Pierre Turgeon for 15th) and 250th point (passing David Volek for 25th).

Brock Nelson's goal was his 120th (passing Frans Nielsen and Alexei Yashin for 22nd).

Good Behavior Award

The Isles did not take a penalty throughout the entire 65 minutes. It's the first time this season that the Isles have not taken a penalty and the 15th time in club history they have done so. It's also the first win in club history that they have played 65 minutes without taking a penalty.

Take a Third Off

Through 66 games, the Isles have allowed 161 goals (including shootouts).  That is 76 goals fewer than they allowed through 66 games last season, meaning they have allowed nearly 1/3rd fewer goals this season than last season.

Strength in the Nets

Robin Lehner is 16-5-2 in his last 23 decisions. On the season, his NHL-leading GAA is 2.19 and his save percentage is .927.

Thomas Greiss is 6-2-1 in his last ten appearances, allowing a total of ten goals on 263 shots (5-2-1, 1.14 GAA, .962 save percentage). On the season, his GAA is 2.23 and his save percentage is .928. 

Lehner has won 20 games and Greiss 18.  It's only the 2nd time in the last 15 seasons that the Isles have gotten at least 18 wins from two different goalies.  Greiss won 23 games and Jaroslav Halak 18 in 2015-16.

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 2.23

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

4. Thomas Greiss 2015-16 .925

For the + Column

Casey Cizikas was EVEN today and is now +25 on the season.  In the last 30 seasons, only three 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

        Casey Cizikas 2018-19 +25

5. Ryan Strome 2014-15 +23

        Trent Hunter 2003-04 +23

It's Good to be Home

The Isles are 8-4-2 on Coliseum ice; they are averaging 97.1% of capacity on Long Island (including nine sellouts).  

 

Most Points Thru 66 Games (Post-Cup Era)

• 87: 2014-15

• 83: 2018-19

• 82: 2015-16

Most Points Thru 32 Road Games

• 41: 1976-77

• 39: 2018-19

• 39: 1980-81

• 38: 1977-78

• 38: 1978-79

• 38: 1981-82

• 38: 2014-15

Most Points Thru 34 Home Games (Post-Cup Era)

• 46: 1984-85

• 46: 1987-88

• 46: 2003-04

• 46: 2014-15

• 46: 2016-17

• 44: 2015-16

• 44: 2018-19

Fewest Goals Allowed Thru 65 Games (Includes SO)

• 157 1975-76

• 160 1976-77  

• 161 2018-19

Road Warriors

The Isles are 9-3-2 in their last 14 road games and 12-4-2 in their last 18 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 161

2. Boston 164

3. Dallas 170

Fewest Goals Allowed This Season (excluding SO goals)

1. ISLES 156

2. Boston 161 

3. Dallas 170

Coach Trotz

Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz' NHL record is 800-589-60-141 in 1,590 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  890

3. Ken Hitchcock    843 

4. Barry Trotz   800

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   1,590

5. Ken Hitchcock   1,582

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: 38-21-7 (83 points), with 192 goals scored and 161 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

Last Season: 29-29-8 (66 points), with 213 goals scored and 237 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

The Isles have allowed 77 fewer goals, a decrease of 32% 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 23-8-5 when scoring first and are 15-13-2 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

• .500 (15-13-2) 2018-19

• .410 (14-21-4) 1985-86

The Shots

Isles      6-26-6-0=38

Ottawa 10-8-8-1=27

The Isles are 12-12-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-2-0 when the shots are even and 26-7-6 when they are outshot. [The 26 wins when outshot are a franchise record; they won 25 in both 1983-84 and 2017-18.]

Home and Road

The Islanders are 38-21-7 overall; 20-10-4 at home (8-4-2 on Long Island and 12-6-2 in Brooklyn) and 18-11-3 on the road.  All their remaining regular season home games are at the Nassau Coliseum.

Ottawa is 23-38-6 overall; 14-15-4 at home and 9-23-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 16-6-1 in Division games and 22-15-5 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 23-10-5 against the East and 15-11-1 against the West.  

In the Nets

Robin Lehner made 21 saves before being replaced after Ottawa's fourth goal. Thomas Greiss made two saves in relief and earned the victory in the shootout.  Greiss is now 18-10-2 on the season and 4-1-0 in his career against Ottawa.  He is 4-2 this season and 12-10 in his career in the shootout.

Craig Anderson made 34 saves; he is 14-22-4 on the season and 8-7-4 against the Islanders. This was the Sens' first shootout of the season; Anderson is 32-31 all-time in shootouts.

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play in 6:00 of PP time; Ottawa did not have a  power play.

The Isles are 22-2-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 16-19-5 when they do not.  The Isles are 13-13-5 when they allow at least one power play goal and 25-8-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 32-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 6-19-5 when they do not.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 15-4-7 in games decided by a single goal including 6-4 in regulation. They are 5-2 in games decided in overtime and are 4-5 in shootouts.  The Isles are 4-6 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 23-20-5 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (23:17); Ottawa: Thomas Chabot (26:09)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 21:19 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (18-10-5), Nick Leddy (14-9-2), Scott Mayfield (6-1-0), Johnny Boychuk (0-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 27, Ottawa 18 (60%).  

Brock Nelson won 8 of 13 for the Isles; Chris Tierney won 5 of 7 for Ottawa.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 5/9; 2nd period 13/20; 3rd period 8/13; Overtime 1/3.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 24/39, Power play 3/6, Penalty kill 0/0.

Hit Count

Isles 33 (Ross Johnston -7)  

Ottawa 27 (Mark Borowiecki-7)

   

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 14 shots (Nick Leddy & Scott Mayfield -3) 

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 60, Ottawa 54

5-on-5 Isles 42, Ottawa 51

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Ross Johnston +7

Ottawa: Dylan DeMelo +12

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 7-3-1 in the front half and 9-1-1 in the back half. The next back-to-back is March 16-17 in Detroit and Minnesota and the final back-to-back of the season is the following week (March 23-24) in Ottawa 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 32-18-7 in night games and 6-3-0 in matinees. The next matinee is on March 16th in Detroit. The final two matinees are the following weekend (March 23rd in Philly and March 24th vs. Arizona (at the Coliseum). 

Ironmen

Anders Lee 184, Brock Nelson 161, Mathew Barzal 148.  Four other Isles: Nick Leddy, Ryan Pulock, Josh Bailey and Leo Komarov have appeared in every game this season.

Scratches

(Matt Martin – INJ), (Cal Clutterbuck-INJ), Tom Kuhnhackl, Thomas Hickey, Luca Sbisa, Dennis Seidenberg, Joshua Ho-Sang

Total games lost: 126

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 14-1-1 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 781

Goals

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

15. Pierre Turgeon and Anders Lee 147 *** 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 150 *** 27. Nick Leddy 148

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 250

Games Played (Goalies)

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

7. Glenn Healy 176 *** 8. Thomas Greiss 153

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 80

Shutouts (Goalie)

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

5. Jaroslav Halak 12 *** 6.  Evgeni Nabokov and Thomas Greiss 9

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series two games to none (and 4 points to 1).  The teams will meet again on Thursday in Kanata, ONT to close out the season series.

The Isles are 5-1-0 in their last six games against Ottawa.

On the Farm  

The red-hot Sound Tigers, winners of seven straight games, are 11-1-1-0 in their last 13 games (including three OT wins and two shootout wins) and have improved to 35-18-5-2 on the season.  

Bridgeport has earned points in 10 straight games (9-0-1-0); they are six points behind Charlotte for the Division lead.  The Sound Tigers have a 15-point cushion in the race for a playoff spot.

The Sound Tigers will play on Friday in Rochester and on Sunday afternoon at 4pm in Toronto.  Sunday's game will be televised by NHL Network.

Leaders:  Goals: Steve Bernier 20; Assists: Chris Bourque 33; Points: Chris Bourque 46; +/-: Otto Koivula +16.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 17-9-3 (2.85 GAA); Christopher Gibson 18-9-4 (2.89 GAA)

Up Next

THURSDAY, MARCH 7th – ISLANDERS AT OTTAWA 7:30PM 

[MSG+ (Pre-game at 7:00pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM,WRCN 103.9FM, Radio.com] 

The Isles just completed a five-game homestand (2-3-0); Thursday's game is the only road game in a 9-game stretch as the Isles complete the home-and-home against the Senators.

Ottawa has been a much better team on home ice this season (14-15-4); it will be the home debut for interim head coach Marc Crawford.

The Isles have done well in Ottawa in recent years, going 6-1-1.  They recorded two regulation wins in Ottawa last season and win be looking to win three consecutive games in regulation in Ottawa for the first time ever.

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