The Skinny: Isles 3, Washington 0

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 82

Isles 3, Washington 0 

Valtteri Filppula scored twice and Robin Lehner made 29 saves for his 6th shutout of the season as the Islanders concluded the regular season with a 3-0 shutout of the Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals before a sellout crowd of 18,506 at Capital One Arena. 

The win clinches 2nd place in the Metro Division; the Isles will play game 1 of a playoff series at home for the first time since 1988 when they entertain the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The win gives the Isles 103 points overall and 51 on the road; both totals are the most in the Post-Cup era. The franchise-record 11th shutout of the season also clinched the Jennings Trophy for the Isles, who allowed the most goals in the NHL last season and the fewest in the NHL this season.

The Scoring: 

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

Valtteri Filppula (16) Devon Toews, Anthony Beauvillier 02:55 NYI 1,WSH 0

3rd Period

Valtteri Filppula (17) Adam Pelech, Leo Komarov 10:54 NYI 2,WSH 0

Matt Martin (6)EN Casey Cizikas, Cal Clutterbuck 17:27 NYI 3,WSH 0 

Season Scoring by Period

Isles 71-67-78-6=222

Opponents       56-61-72-2=191

(Does not include shootouts (5 for, 5 against))

The Skinny   

The Isles went 34-15-3 in their final 52 games…  The Isles finished with 13 more wins and 23 more points than last season.  Including shootout winners, they scored 36 fewer goals and allowed 101 fewer goals … The Isles have 52 points at home and 51 points on the road; it is their first 50-50 (points at home and on the road) season since 1980-81 … The Isles won 24 games at home and 24 games on the road; it's the first time that the Isles have ever won 24 games both at home and on the road in the same season.…The Isles finished +20 or higher; that hasn't happened since 1985-86 when six players did so...Valtteri Filppula, who missed eight games, recorded his 16th two-goal game….Matt Martin's empty-netter was his first goal in 35 games. Fittingly, both Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck were credited with assists on the final goal of the regular season…The Isles had a winning record in all seven months of the season (October- April) and also earned at least one shutout in every month… Martin finished with 275 hits on the season; he has had six of the 10 Isles seasons with at least 275 hits (Clutterbuck-2, Chara-2)…The Isles shutout the Caps in both games in DC this season, and in eight of the last nine periods the teams played this season…Robin Lehner raised his save percentage to .930, which breaks the franchise record previously held by Chico Resch (.928 in 1975-76). He is only the 3rd goalie in Isles history with at least six shutouts in a season (Resch -7 in 1975-76, Halak -6 in 2014-15).

Final Metro Standings 

1.x- Caps 104 points/44 ROW  

2.x- Isles 103 points/43 ROW 

3.x- Penguins 100 points//42 ROW

Wild Card 

WC1.x- Hurricanes 99 points/44 ROW

WC2.x - Blue Jackets 98 points/46 ROW

The Isles will play Pittsburgh, the Caps will play Carolina. As the 2nd wild card, Columbus will play Tampa Bay.

What a Season!

The Isles finished 2nd in the Metro Division, 4th in the Eastern Conference and 5th in the NHL. The Isles have not finished that high since the conference was created. They last finished that high in a conference in 87-88, when they were 3rd in the Wales Conference.  It's the first time since 1985-86 that the Isles have finished in the top five overall.

Career Years (excluding rookies, and others with limited prior NHL experience)

Several Isles had career years in 2018-19:

• Casey Cizikas established career highs in goals (20) and points (32)

• Cal Clutterbuck tied a career high in assists (15)

• Thomas Greiss established a career high in shutouts (5)

• Leo Komarov established a career high in assists (19)

• Anders Lee established a career high in assists (23)

• Robin Lehner established a career high in shutouts (6) and wins (25)

• Scott Mayfield established career highs in goals (4), assists (15) and points (19) 

• Brock Nelson established career highs in assists (28) and points (53)

• Adam Pelech established career highs in goals (5) and points (20)

• Ryan Pulock established career highs in assists (28) and points (37)

Leaders:

• Games: 7 with 82 

• Goals: Anders Lee - 28

• Assists: Mathew Barzal - 44

• Points: Mathew Barzal- 62

• Plus/Minus: Casey Cizikas and Adam Pelech +22

• Pen Mins: Scott Mayfield -68

• PP Goals: Anders Lee – 10

• PP Points: Mathew Barzal -18

• SH Goals: Casey Cizikas – 2

• SH Points: Casey Cizikas - 3

• GW Goals: Jordan Eberle and Anders Lee - 5 

• OT Goals: 6 with 1 

• Shots: Anders Lee - 204

• Shooting Percentage: Valtteri Filppula – 21.8%

• Average ice-time: Ryan Pulock - 22:22

• Face-off Percentages (minimum 300): Casey Cizikas and Valtteri Filppula – 49.1%

The Finales

The Isles have won their final road game of a season in each of the last six years and are 25-16-5 all-time in road finales.  The Isles are 4-1-2 in their last seven season finales and are 25-14-7 all-time in their final game of the year. 

23-Game Winner

Thomas Greiss has 23 wins. He is only the fourth goalie in club history to have at least three 23-win seasons, joining Glenn Resch (5), Rick DiPietro (4), and Billy Smith (3).

Streaking Lehner

Robin Lehner has played 391 minutes in his last seven appearances, allowing only nine goals, including a shutout.  He has stopped 194 of 203 shots in that span, for a 1.38 GAA and a .956 save percentage.

Two Isles Goalies with at least 23 Wins in a Season

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

• 2018-19: Robin Lehner (25) & Thomas Greiss (23)

Best Goals Against Average by An Islander in a Season

1. Chico Resch 1975-76 2.08

2. Robin Lehner 2018-19 2.13

3. Thomas Greiss 2018-19 2.28

4. Chico Resch 1975-76 2.28

5. Jaroslav Halak 2015-16 2.30

Best Save Percentage by an Islander in a Season 

1. Robin Lehner 2018-19 .930

2. Chico Resch 1975-76 .928

3. Thomas Greiss 2018-19 .927

4. Thomas Greiss 2015-16 .925

The Best (Fourth) Line in Hockey

The Isles are 35-16-6 when Casey Cizikas, Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck all play and are 13-11-1 when one or more miss a game.  

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), Casey Cizikas (18-19)

Youth Is Served

Most Points by an Islander before 22nd birthday

• 290- Bryan Trottier

• 202- John Tavares

• 171- Pat LaFontaine

• 157- Mike Bossy

• 147- Mathew Barzal

• 147- Denis Potvin

It's Good to be Home

The Isles went 12-7-2 on Coliseum ice; they averaged 97.1% of capacity on Long Island (including 14 sellouts).  

Most Points (Post-Cup Era)

• 103: 2018-19 

• 101: 2014-15

• 100: 2015-16

Most Road Points (Post Cup Era)

• 51: 2018-19

• 49: 2014-15

• 47: 2001-02

Most Home Points (Post-Cup Era)

• 55: 1984-85

• 55: 2015-16

• 55: 2003-04

• 54: 1987-88

• 52: 2018-19

• 52: 2014-15

Fewest Goals Allowed (Includes SO)

• 190 1975-76 (no overtime games; 80-game schedule)

• 193 1976-77 (no overtime games; 80-game schedule)

• 196 2018-19 (189 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 2.30 goals in regulation and 2.39 goals including OT/SO this season.

Road Warriors

The Isles are 15-6-2 in their last 23 road games and 18-7-2 in their last 27 road games.       

Worst to First

The Isles allowed the most goals in the NHL last season and the fewest goals in the NHL this season.  Only once before in NHL history had 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.  

Coach Trotz

Among active coaches, Barry Trotz has coached the most games and is 2nd to Ken Hitchcock in wins. Trotz' NHL record is 810-595-60-141 in 1,606 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  890

3. Ken Hitchcock    848 (pending late game vs. Calgary)

4. Barry Trotz    810

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   1,606

5. Ken Hitchcock   1,598

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.

What a Difference a Year Makes

This Season: 48-27-7 (103 points), with 228 goals scored and 195 goals allowed (includes SO winners)

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

The Isles have allowed 101 fewer goals, a decrease of 34.1% as compared to last season.

First Things First

The Isles are 30-9-5 when scoring first and are 17-18-2 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

• .459 (17-18-2) 2018-19

• .410 (14-21-4) 1985-86

The Shots

Isles           8-6-10=24

Washington 8-10-11=29

Season Totals 

Isles          796-820-712-42=2360

Opponents 805-878-820-31=2534

The Isles are 17-14-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-2-0 when the shots are even and 31-11-6 when they are outshot. [The 31 wins when outshot are a franchise record; they won 25 in both 1983-84 and 2017-18.]

The Isles are the first NHL team to win at least 31 games when outshot since 2015-16 when Ottawa won 33.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 48-27-7 overall; 24-13-4 at home (12-7-2 on Long Island and 12-6-2 in Brooklyn) and 24-14-3 on the road.  

Washington is 48-26-8 overall; 24-11-6 at home and 24-15-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 18-9-1 in Division games and 30-18-6 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 30-17-5 against the East and 18-10-2 against the West.  

In the Nets

Robin Lehner made 29 saves to improve to 25-13-5 on the season and 2-3-1 in his career against Washington.   

Pheonix Copley made 21 saves but falls to 16-7-3 on the season.  It was his first career appearance against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-1 on the power play in 2:00 of PP time; Washington was 0-2 on the power play in 4:00 of PP time.

For the season, the Isles were 33-227 on the PP (14.5%) and 44-219 on the PK (79.9%). The Isles scored six shorthanded goals and allowed an NHL-low one shorthanded goal. [Kevin Hayes, then of the Rangers, scored shorthanded on 11/15 in a game the Isles won 7-5]

The Isles are 24-3-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 24-24-5 when they do not.  The Isles are 18-15-5 when they allow at least one power play goal and 30-12-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 38-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 10-25-5 when they do not.  The 10 wins when being held to two goals or fewer are a franchise record.

One Goal Games

The Isles are 19-6-7 in games decided by a single goal including 8-6 in regulation. They are 6-2 in games decided in overtime and are 5-5 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.

Greatest Percentage of 1-goal games won 

• 1981-82 -- .800

• 1982-83 &1976-77 -- .667

• 1991-92 -- .619

• 2014-15 -- .605

• 2018-19 -- .594

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 31-26-5 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (21:01); Washington: Nick Jensen (23:26)

Cal Clutterbuck led Isles forwards with 16:36 of ice-time 

Isles record by ice-time leader: Ryan Pulock (23-15-5), Nick Leddy (15-9-2), Scott Mayfield (8-1-0), Johnny Boychuk (0-1-0), Adam Pelech (1-0-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 24, Washington 22 (52%).  

Brock Nelson won 8 of 12 for the Isles; Nic Dowd won 6 of 9 for Washington.  

Face-offs by period: 1st period 5/12; 2nd period 6/15; 3rd period 13/19.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 23/43, Power play 0/1, Penalty kill 1/2.

Hit Count

Isles 24 (Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck-6)  Martin led the team on the season with 275 hits

Washington 22 (Alex Ovechkin -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 14 shots (Johnny Boychuk and Mathew Barzal - 3). Scott Mayfield led the team in blocks this season with 159.  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 72, Washington 52

5-on-5 Isles 33, Washington 42

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Adam Pelech +8 

Washington: Brett Connolly +16

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 went 40-23-7 in night games and 8-4-0 in matinees.

Ironmen

Anders Lee 200, Brock Nelson 177, Mathew Barzal 164, Ryan Pulock 137, Josh Bailey 85, Leo Komarov (84 overall, 82 with Isles) and Nick Leddy (82).

Seven players appeared in every game. Prior to this season, the Isles had never had more than four players appear in 82 games in a season. It's also the first time since 1996-97 (Bryan McCabe and Bryan Berard) that the Isles have had two defensemen appear in every game.

Century Club

Ryan Pulock is only the 6th defenseman in Islander history to play at least 137 consecutive regular season games:

1. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979 262

2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220 (*) (**)

3. Gerry Hart 3/1/1975-11/22/1977 198

4. Andrew MacDonald 12/19/2011- 3/2/2014 164 (**)

5. Nick Leddy 10/23/2016 – 3/26/2018 153

6. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT (137)

7. Janne Niinimaa 3/13/2004-1/7/2006 136 (**)

8. Ken Morrow 3/1/1980-12/29/1981 134 (*)

9. Mark Streit 10/8/2011-4/26/2013 130

10. Calvin deHaan 4/7/2016- 12/16/2017 118

11. Travis Hamonic 2/24/2012-1/12/2014 117

12. Travis Hamonic 11/24/2010– 2/4/2012 113 (*)

13. Jean Potvin 10/23/1975-1/2/1977 110

14. Kenny Jonsson 12/26/1996-2/4/1998 104

15. Thomas Hickey 4/26/2013- 11/22/2014 103

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches

(Andrew Ladd -INJ), (Tanner Fritz- INJ),Johnny Boychuk, Luca Sbisa, Dennis Seidenberg, Ross Johnston, Michael Dal Colle

Total games lost: 153

Late Heroes

The Isles have scored three times 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)

3/29- WPG Jets – Casey Cizikas scored the tying goal (18:14); Jordan Eberle scored the winner (18:47)

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.

Comeback Kings

The Isles are 7-9-1 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), COL (2/9 - OT), and WPG (3/28) while earning a point vs. EDM (2/21 – OTL).

The Isles are 18-1-1 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 797

Goals

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

14. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 15. Anders Lee 152 …

17. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 18. Josh Bailey 140…

20. Jason Blake 127 *** 21.  Brock Nelson 124

Assists

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

9. Stefan Persson 317 *** 10. Bob Bourne 304 *** 11.  Josh Bailey 293 …

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 433…

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

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 162

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 85

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 season series is tied 2 games to 2 (and 4 points to 4).   

All four games between the teams this season were decided in regulation with the road team winning all four games. The Isles did not allow a goal in the two games in DC.

On the Farm  

The Sound Tigers are heading to the AHL playoffs, clinching their spot by splitting a pair of games with Providence.  The Bruins won 8-6 in Rhode Island on Friday with Bridgeport responding to win at home 4-3 on Saturday.

The Sound Tigers are 11-1-1-1 in their last 14 games at home.

Overall, Bridgeport is 13-5-1-1 in their last 19 games, 17-6-2-1 in their last 26 games and 41-23-6-3 on the season.  

Leaders:  Goals: Steve Bernier 23; Assists: Chris Bourque 39; Points: Chris Bourque 54; +/-: Otto Koivula/Kyle Burroughs +14.  Goalies: Jeremy Smith 21-12-4 (2.81 GAA); Christopher Gibson 20-11-5 (2.91 GAA)

Up Next

THE PLAYOFFS!

The Stanley Cup Playoff schedule will be released at 10am on Sunday.  The Isles will face the Pittsburgh Penguins.

This will be the fifth all-time playoff meeting between the teams:

• 1975- Quarter-Finals.  Isles won series 4 games to 3.

• 1982- Preliminary Series. Isles won series 3 games to 2.

• 1993- Division Final.  Isles won series 4 games to 3.

• 2013- Conference Quarter-Finals.  Pittsburgh won series 4 games to 2.

An overtime goal has ended the last three series: John Tonelli (1982), David Volek (1993) and Brooks Orpik (2013) scored the series-ending goals.

This is only the second time that the Isles have had home-ice in a series vs. Pittsburgh (1982).

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