The Skinny: Carolina 5, Isles 2. Carolina wins the series 4 games to 0.

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Second Round Game 4

Carolina 5, Isles 2 

Carolina wins series 4-0

School is out. The Islander season ended at 9:35pm on May 3, 2019 in the same building it began at 7:15pm on October 4, 2018.

Teuvo Teravainen and Greg McKee scored goal 66 seconds apart early in the second period to break a 1-1 tie as the Carolina Hurricanes completed a four-game sweep of the Islanders, winning the final game 5-2  before a franchise-record crowd of 19,495 at PNC Arena.

Curtis McElhinney recorded his third straight win in the series as the Islanders became the first team since the 1993 Buffalo Sabres to sweep the first round (Boston) and be swept in the second (Montreal). 

It's the only time all season that the Isles have lost four straight games, the first time that they have been swept in a playoff series since 1994 (Rangers), and the first time they have been swept in a series that they opened at home.

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Mathew Barzal (2) Devon Toews, Jordan Eberle 02:30 NYI 1,CAR 0 PPG

Sebastian Aho (4) Teuvo Teravainen, Justin Faulk 04:44 NYI 1,CAR 1 PPG

2nd Period

Teuvo Teravainen (6) Warren Foegele, Sebastian Aho 02:11 NYI 1,CAR 2 

Greg McKegg (1) Brett Pesce, Jordan Martinook 03:17 NYI 1,CAR 3

Justin Williams (3) Jordan Staal, Nino Niederreiter 08:51 NYI 1,CAR 4

3rd Period

Andrei Svechnikov (3) Justin Faulk 15:13 NYI 1,CAR 5

Brock Nelson (4) Scott Mayfield, Devon Toews 18:51 NYI 2,CAR 5

The Series (Carolina wins 4-0)

Game 1: Carolina 1, Isles 0

Game 2: Carolina 2, Isles 1

Game 3: Carolina 5, Isles 2

Game 4: Carolina 5, Isles 2

The Skinny

The Canes scores a pair of goals in 66 seconds or less in each of the last three games of the series… The Isles scored power play goals in each of the last three games of the series; they did that only once in the regular season (4-game streak in October)…The Isles had not allowed a power play goal in a franchise-record six straight playoff games before Sebastian Aho ended the streak.… Justin Williams recorded his 100th career playoff point…The Canes have won six straight games since trailing the Caps three games to two… Warren Foegele tied the Hurricane rookie record with his ninth point of the playoffs… All-time, the Isles are 26-21 when facing elimination, including 10-16 on the road…Carolina clinched a series at home for the first time since the 2006 Stanley Cup Final…Carolina has advanced to the third round in each of their last four trips to the playoffs…Brock Nelson's late goal gave him a share of the team playoff goal-scoring lead (4) with Jordan Eberle and Josh Bailey…Eberle and Mathew Barzal shared the team lead in playoff assists (5) while Eberle led the team in points (9) as he recorded at least one point in every playoff game that the Isles scored in…The Isles scored only two second period goals in the eight playoff games.

Overtime is Our Time

The Isles are 34-17 (.667) all-time in overtime, including 18-10 (.643) at home. The .667 overall percentage and .643 home percentages are both the best in NHL history. The Isles are 1-1 in overtime this season; nine of the 25 playoff games the Isles have played since 2015 have gone to overtime with the Isles holding a 5-4 record.  

Lead/Tie/Trail

In game 1, the game was tied for 64:04.  

In game 2, the Isles led for 27:00, the game was tied for 14:05, and Carolina led for 18:55.

In game 3, the game was tied for 46:21 and Carolina led for 13:39

In game 4, the Isles led for 2:14, the game was tied for 19:57, and Carolina led for 37:49.

Series Total: The Isles have led for 29:14, the game was tied for 144:27, and Carolina led for 70:23.

Vs Pittsburgh, the Isles led for 127:34, the game was tied for 112:14 and Pittsburgh led for 4:51

Playoffs All-Time

The Isles fall to 148-124 in 272 all-time playoff games.  They are 84-46 at home (including 2-5 at Barclays) and 64-78 on the road.  

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.

The Best (Fourth) Line in Hockey

In the regular season, the Isles were 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.  They are 4-3 when all three play in the playoffs and 0-1 when one (Clutterbuck) misses a game.

Most Points (Post-Cup Era)

• 103: 2018-19 

• 101: 2014-15

Most Road Points (Post Cup Era)

• 51: 2018-19

• 49: 2014-15

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

In regular season play, Barry Trotz is 2nd among active coaches in games and third 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    849

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, who is a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, will catch Al Arbour in games coached on Opening Night next season.  

Coach Trotz (Playoffs)

Barry Trotz has now coached 121 playoff games (59-62), breaking a tie with Lindy Ruff for 14th all-time in games coached.  His 59 wins are 19th all time, two behind Jacques Lemaire and four behind Fred Shero and Claude Julien.  Trotz won the Stanley Cup last season; Joel Quenneville (3) and Mike Sullivan (2) are the only active coaches with multiple Stanley Cups.

Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:

• Al Arbour 123

• Jack Capuano 10

• Terry Simpson 9

• Barry Trotz 4

• Peter Laviolette 4

• Ted Nolan 1

• Steve Stirling 1

Most playoff games coached (Islanders):

• Al Arbour 209

• Jack Capuano 24

• Terry Simpson 20

• Peter Laviolette 12

• Barry Trotz 8

• Steve Stirling 5

• Ted Nolan 5

Most overtime wins/overtime record:

• Al Arbour 26 (26-9)

• Jack Capuano 4 (4-5)

• Terry Simpson 3 (3-0)

• Barry Trotz 1 (1-1)

• Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)

• Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)

Most playoff series wins:

• Al Arbour 29

• Barry Trotz 1

• Jack Capuano 1

• Terry Simpson 1

What a Difference a Year Makes

This Season: 48-27-7 (103 points), with 228 goals scored and 196 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 allowed 100 fewer goals, a decrease of 33.7% as compared to last season.

First Things First

The Isles are 1-2 when scoring first and are 3-2 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots

Isles     10-6-12=28

Carolina  6-11-4=21

Shots by Game

• Game 1: Isles 31, Carolina 32

• Game 2: Isles 27, Carolina 18

• Game 3: Isles 30, Carolina 38

• Game 4: Isles 28, Carolina 21

• Series: Isles 116, Carolina 109

• Vs Pittsburgh: Isles 129, Pittsburgh 136

• Playoff Totals: Isles 245, Opponents 245

The Isles are 1-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0 when the shots are even and 3-2 when they are outshot. [The Isles won a franchise-record 31 games when outshot this season.]

In the Nets

Robin Lehner made 8 saves before being replaced after Carolina's 3rd goal. Lehner falls to 4-4 in the playoffs and 0-3 in his career against Carolina.  Thomas Greiss made eight saves in his first appearance of the playoffs.

Curtis McElhinney made 26 saves and improves to 3-0 in the playoffs and 3-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play in 5:17 of PP time; Carolina was 1-3 on the power play in 4:42 of PP time.

Power Plays by Game

• Game 1: Isles 0-4 (7:43; 7 shots), Carolina 0-4 (5:43, 7 shots)

• Game 2: Isles 1-2 (2:48; 2 shots), Carolina 0-3 (4:35, 2 shots)

• Game 3: Isles 1-3 (5:17; 5 shots), Carolina 0-3 (4:00, 3 shots)

• Game 4: Isles 1-3 (5:17; 6 shots), Carolina 1-4 (6:42, 6 shots)

• Series: Isles 3-12 (21:05; 20 shots), Carolina 1-14 (21:00, 18 shots)

• Vs Pittsburgh: Isles 2-13 (20:47, 25 shots), Pittsburgh 1-12 (19:32, 11 shots)

• Playoff Totals: Isles 5-25 (41:52, 45 shots), Opponents 2-26 (40:32, 29 shots)

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 4-0 in the playoffs when they score at least three goals and 0-4 when they do not.  In the regular season the Isles went 38-2-2 when they scored at least three goals (including shootout winners) and 10-25-5 when they did not.  The 10 wins when being held to two goals or fewer are a franchise record.

One Goal Games

The Isles are 1-2 in the playoffs in one-goal games (0-1 in regulation and 1-1 in overtime); they were 19-6-7 in games decided by a single goal in the regular season. The Isles are 1-1 in playoff games where an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (24:10);  Carolina: Justin Faulk (27:07)

Josh Bailey Isles forwards with 19:50 of ice-time 

Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (1-0), Ryan Pulock (3-4) 

Face-offs

Isles 23, Carolina 24 (49%).

Valtteri Filppula won 3 of 4 for the Isles; Jordan Staal won 11 of 19 for Carolina.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 6/14; 2nd period 9/15; 3rd period 8/18.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 19/38, Power play 1/4, Penalty kill 3/5.

Face-offs by Game

• Game 1: Isles 36, Carolina 23 (59%).  

• Game 2: Isles 30, Carolina 22 (58%)

• Game 3: Isles 24, Carolina 34 (41%)

• Game 4: Isles 23, Carolina 24 (49%)

• Series: Isles 113, Carolina 113 (50%).

• Vs Pittsburgh: Isles 120, Pittsburgh 112 (52%)

• Playoff Total: Isles 233, Opponents 225 (51%)

Hit Count

Isles 34 (Leo Komarov -5)

Carolina 28 (Justin Faulk-7)

Hits Game by Game:

• Game 1: Isles 44, Carolina 33

• Game 2: Isles 44, Carolina 38

• Game 3: Isles 28, Carolina 25

• Game 4: Isles 34, Carolina 28

• Series: Isles 150, Carolina 124 

• Vs Pittsburgh: Isles 180, Pittsburgh 171

• Playoff Total: Isles 330, Opponents 295

Fights

There were no fights. Playoff total -0.  The Isles were involved in 16 fights in the regular season.

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 11 shots (Ryan Pulock -4).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 62, Carolina 43

5-on-5 Isles 46, Carolina 30

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Mathew Barzal +16

Carolina: Greg McKegg EVEN 

Corsi Game by Game:

• Game 1 (All) Isles 57, Carolina 60;  (5-on-5) Isles 42, Carolina 43

• Game 2 (All) Isles 56, Carolina 51;  (5-on-5) Isles 47, Carolina 45 

• Game 3 (All) Isles 56, Carolina 76;  (5-on-5) Isles 42, Carolina 69

• Game 4 (All) Isles 62, Carolina 43;  (5-on-5) Isles 46, Carolina 30

• Series (All) Isles 231, Carolina 230;  (5-on-5) Isles 177, Carolina 187

Scratches

(Andrew Ladd -INJ), (Tanner Fritz- INJ), (Johnny Boychuk-INJ), Luca Sbisa, Dennis Seidenberg, Ross Johnston, (Cal Clutterbuck-INJ)

Playoff games lost: 21.  The Isles lost 153 man-games in the regular season

Post-Season Late Heroes

The Isles have scored once in overtime:

4/10 – PIT Penguins-Josh Bailey scored the winning goal (4:39 of OT) 

Post-Season Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have allowed a goal once in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or win a game, and have allowed one overtime goal:

4/10 – PIT Penguins – Justin Schultz tied the game (18:31), but the Isles won in overtime. 

4/26 – CAR Hurricanes – Jordan Staal scored the winning goal (4:04 of OT)

Playoff Offside Challenges

4/10 – PIT Penguins – Isles goal overturned after successful Penguin challenge. 

On the Farm  

Bridgeport finished the regular season with a record of 43-24-6-3; the 97 points is their most ever in a 76-game schedule and their highest total since Jack Capuano led them to a 106-point campaign in 2008-09 (80 games).  The Sound Tigers were eliminated in the playoffs by Hershey in 5 games.

Up Next

Summer Vacation

The NHL Awards will be handed out in Las Vegas on June 19th; the NHL Entry Draft will be held in Vancouver on June 21st-22nd.

The Isles will pick 22nd in the first round of the draft if Columbus beats Boston and will pick 23rd if the Bruins win that series.  The Isles own Calgary's 2nd round pick (but not their own).

And Finally…

90 games, 90 editions of The Skinny.  A perfect season, at least in attendance.  The Skinny streak is 592 consecutive games (including playoffs).  We'll look to hit 600 sometime in October.

Thanks to my very understanding family for their support and thanks to everyone for reading and commenting on The Skinny all year round!

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

The Skinny on: Time to Stave

According to Webster, "stave off" has been around for nearly four centuries. Funny, I didn't realize that there were playoffs then.

It seems like the only time I ever hear the word stave is when a sports team is one game away from elimination - the situation the Isles will find themselves on Friday in Carolina.

The Islanders have successfully staved off elimination 26 times in 46 tries. Of course the other nineteen times they've ended up on the wrong side of a handshake.

Four times in their history, the "Never-Say-Dielanders" have managed to stave off elimination at least three times in a single playoff year.

In 1975, the Isles beat the Rangers in the decisive Game 3, and then found themselves down 3-0 to both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The Isles won eight of the nine elimination games they played, setting an NHL-record for avoiding elimination.

In 1985, their first playoff after losing the Cup, the Isles lost first two playoff games, and looked like they were headed to an early spring, before rallying to beat the Caps three times, to stave off elimination each time. The Isles trailed the Flyers 3-0 in the second round and won game four before losing the series in five. Four successful staves.

Two years later the Caps and Flyers again became Islander victims. The Isles trailed both series 3-1; yet beat the Capitals on Easter morning, before losing to Philadelphia in seven. Five more successful staves.

Finally in 1993, the Isles trailed Pittsburgh 3-2 before winning in 7 on David Volek's overtime goal. After Montreal used eight guys on the ice to score in OT in Game 3 of the Conference Finals to grab a 3-0 lead in the series, the Isles staved off elimination with a home-ice win in game four, only to fall to the eventual champs in Game five. Three more staves.

Six other seasons featured one successful stave. In 1976 and 1977, the Isles forced the eventual champion Canadiens an extra game each year with their backs against the wall. In 1982 and 1984, with their dynasty on the line, the Isles used overtime goals to beat Pittsburgh and the Rangers to stave off elimination and increase the legacy that guides this franchise today. In 2002, the Isles overcame the loss of Michael Peca and Kenny Jonsson in game 5 in Toronto to win an emotional game six at home.  And of course, in 2015, the Isles won the final game in the first era of the Coliseum over Washington, only to drop game 7 in DC,

In games facing potential elimination, the Isles are 16-5 at home and 10-15 on the road.

The Isles were eliminated at home in 1977 by Montreal, in 1978 by Toronto, in 1986 by Washington, in 1994 by the Rangers and in 2013 by Pittsburgh.   

The Isles have been eliminated in the playoffs only twenty times. In seven of those seasons, the team that beat the Isles won the Stanley Cup [75-76-77-84-93-94-04] and in three other years, the team that beat the Isles lost in the Finals [79-85-87].

The Skinny: Carolina 5, Isles 2. Carolina leads 3 games to 0.

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Second Round Game 3

Carolina 5, Isles 2 

Carolina leads series 3-0

Justin Williams scored the winning goal mid-way through the third period and the Hurricanes added two last-minute empty net goals as Carolina defeated the Isles 5-2 before a sellout crowd of 19,066 at PNC Arena.

Curtis McElhinney, who became the oldest goalie in Stanley Cup history to make his first post-season start, earned the win. 

 

The Isles lost three straight games only once in the regular season (November 5-10, 0-2-1) but have dropped the first three games of the series. 

The Isles will attempt to prolong the series, and their season, when they play Game 4 in Raleigh on Friday night.

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Teuvo Teravainen (4) Jaccob Slavin, Dougie Hamilton 06:41 NYI 0,CAR 1

Devon Toews (1) Josh Bailey, Jordan Eberle 08:20 NYI 1,CAR 1 PPG

2nd Period

Justin Faulk (1) Warren Foegele, Jordan Staal 11:58 NYI 1,CAR 2

Josh Bailey (4) Tom Kuhnhackl 14:13 NYI 2,CAR 2

3rd Period

Justin Williams (2) Sebastian Aho 10:15 NYI 2,CAR 3

Teuvo Teravainen (5)EN Brett Pesce, Jaccob Slavin 19:02 NYI 2,CAR 4

Sebastian Aho (3)EN Lucas Wallmark 19:55 NYI 2,CAR 5 

The Series (Carolina leads 3-0)

Game 1: Carolina 1, Isles 0

Game 2: Carolina 2, Isles 1

Game 3: Carolina 5, Isles 2

Game 4: Friday at Carolina 7pm

Game 5 (if needed): May 5 at Isles

Game 6 (if needed): May 7 at Carolina

Game 7 (if needed): May 8 at Isles

The Skinny   

The Isles dropped the first three games of a best-of-7 series for the 7th time in their history and for the first time since the 1994 Conference Quarter-Finals vs. the Rangers... The Isles have allowed the first goal in five of their last six games…It's the second time that the Isles have been held to three goals or fewer in the first three games of a series (1994 vs. Rangers)… The Isles have not allowed a power play goal in six straight playoff games, establishing a new club record…Curtis McElhinney is the oldest goalie in NHL history at the time of his first playoff start… Justin Williams recorded his 99th career playoff point…The Canes have won five straight games since trailing the Caps three games to two…Josh Bailey's goal gives the Isles two players with four goals in this year's playoffs, tying Jordan Eberle for the club lead.  It's the first time since 1993 that Islander teammates have had at least four playoff goals (5 players in 1993)…Eberle recorded his 4th assist to become only the 2nd Islander in 26 years (Tavares 11-5-16 in 2016) with at least four goals and four assists in a single playoff year…Jaccob Slavin's two assists gives him 12, which leads the entire NHL in the playoffs; he is one point shy on Frantisek Kaberle's club record (13 in 2006). Slavin is also tied for the NHL playoff lead in points (0-12-12)…Only three players in Stanley Cup history have finished a playoff year with more points than Slavin and 0 goals: Mark Howe (0-15-15 in 1989), NIklas Kronwall (0-15-15 in 2008), and Larry Robinson (0-13-13 in 1986)

For the History Books

Devon Toews is the first Islander rookie to score a power play goal since Alan Quine's 2-OT winner vs. Florida.  Ryan Pulock scored in that same series, making Toews the first rookie d-men to score for the Isles since then.

Pulock was on-ice for both empty net goals as he finished -4.  He is the first Islander to go -4 in a playoff game since Uwe Krupp and Darius Kasparaitis both did so (4-17-94 vs. Rangers).

The Isles allowed two empty-net goals in a playoff game for the first time in their history.

Overtime is Our Time

The Isles are 34-17 (.667) all-time in overtime, including 18-10 (.643) at home. The .667 overall percentage and .643 home percentages are both the best in NHL history. The Isles are 1-1 in overtime this season; nine of the 25 playoff games the Isles have played since 2015 have gone to overtime with the Isles holding a 5-4 record.  

Lead/Tie/Trail

In game 1, the game was tied for 64:04.  

In game 2, the Isles led for 27:00, the game was tied for 14:05, and Carolina led for 18:55.

In game 3, the game was tied for 46:21 and Carolina led for 13:39

Series Total: The Isles have led for 27:00, the game was tied for 124:30, and Carolina led for 32:34.

Vs Pittsburgh, the Isles led for 127:34, the game was tied for 112:14 and Pittsburgh led for 4:51

Other than the final 8:22 of game two, the final 9:33 of game three, the final :38 of game four (all vs. Pittsburgh) and the final 58 seconds of game three (vs. Carolina), the score of every Isles playoff game has been tied or within one goal for the entire playoffs.

Playoffs All-Time

The Isles fall to 148-123 in 271 all-time playoff games.  They are 84-46 at home (including 2-5 at Barclays) and 64-77 on the road.  

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.

The Best (Fourth) Line in Hockey

In the regular season, the Isles were 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.  They are 4-3 when all three play in the playoffs.

In game 3, the trio combined for 1 shot on goal and 9 hits.  The trio has combined for 21 shots on goal and 84 hits in the playoffs.

Most Points (Post-Cup Era)

• 103: 2018-19 

• 101: 2014-15

Most Road Points (Post Cup Era)

• 51: 2018-19

• 49: 2014-15

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

In regular season play, Barry Trotz is 2nd among active coaches in games and third 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    849

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, who is a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, will catch Al Arbour in games coached on Opening Night next season.  

Coach Trotz (Playoffs)

Barry Trotz has now coached 120 playoff games (59-61), tying Lindy Ruff for 14th all-time in games coached.  His 59 wins are 19th all time, two behind Jacques Lemaire and four behind Fred Shero and Claude Julien.  Trotz won the Stanley Cup last season; Joel Quenneville (3) and Mike Sullivan (2) are the only active coaches with multiple Stanley Cups.

Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:

• Al Arbour 123

• Jack Capuano 10

• Terry Simpson 9

• Barry Trotz 4

• Peter Laviolette 4

• Ted Nolan 1

• Steve Stirling 1

Most playoff games coached (Islanders):

• Al Arbour 209

• Jack Capuano 24

• Terry Simpson 20

• Peter Laviolette 12

• Barry Trotz 7

• Steve Stirling 5

• Ted Nolan 5

Most overtime wins/overtime record:

• Al Arbour 26 (26-9)

• Jack Capuano 4 (4-5)

• Terry Simpson 3 (3-0)

• Barry Trotz 1 (1-1)

• Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)

• Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)

Most playoff series wins:

• Al Arbour 29

• Barry Trotz 1

• Jack Capuano 1

• Terry Simpson 1

What a Difference a Year Makes

This Season: 48-27-7 (103 points), with 228 goals scored and 196 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 allowed 100 fewer goals, a decrease of 33.7% as compared to last season.

First Things First

The Isles are 1-1 when scoring first and are 3-2 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots

Isles        10-12-8=30

Carolina  11-14-13=38

Shots by Game

• Game 1: Isles 31, Carolina 32

• Game 2: Isles 27, Carolina 18

• Game 3: Isles 30, Carolina 38

• Series: Isles 88, Carolina 88

• Vs Pittsburgh: Isles 129, Pittsburgh 136

• Playoff Totals: Isles 217, Opponents 224

The Isles are 1-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0 when the shots are even and 3-2 when they are outshot. [The Isles won a franchise-record 31 games when outshot this season.]

In the Nets

Robin Lehner made 33 saves but falls to 4-3 in the playoffs and 0-3 in his career against Carolina.   

Curtis McElhinney made 28 saves and improves to 2-0 in the playoffs and 2-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play in 5:17 of PP time; Carolina was 0-2 on the power play in 4:00 of PP time.

Power Plays by Game

• Game 1: Isles 0-4 (7:43; 7 shots), Carolina 0-4 (5:43, 7 shots)

• Game 2: Isles 1-2 (2:48; 2 shots), Carolina 0-3 (4:35, 2 shots)

• Game 3: Isles 1-3 (5:17; 5 shots), Carolina 0-3 (4:00, 3 shots)

• Series: Isles 2-9 (15:48; 14 shots), Carolina 0-10 (14:18, 12 shots)

• Vs Pittsburgh: Isles 2-13 (20:47, 25 shots), Pittsburgh 1-12 (19:32, 11 shots)

• Playoff Totals: Isles 4-22 (36:35, 39 shots), Opponents 1-22 (33:50, 23 shots)

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 4-0 in the playoffs when they score at least three goals and 0-3 when they do not.  In the regular season the Isles went 38-2-2 when they scored at least three goals (including shootout winners) and 10-25-5 when they did not.  The 10 wins when being held to two goals or fewer are a franchise record.

One Goal Games

The Isles are 1-2 in the playoffs in one-goal games (0-1 in regulation and 1-1 in overtime); they were 19-6-7 in games decided by a single goal in the regular season. The Isles are 1-1 in playoff games where an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:57);  Carolina: Jaccob Slavin (26:12)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 19:29 of ice-time 

Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (1-0), Ryan Pulock (3-3) 

Face-offs

Isles 24, Carolina 34 (41%).

Valtteri Filppula won 6 of 9 for the Isles; Greg McKegg won 7 of 9 for Carolina.

Face-offs by period: 1st period 10/20; 2nd period 8/20; 3rd period 6/18.

Face-offs by strength: Even strength: 20/53, Power play 2/3, Penalty kill 2/2

Face-offs by Game

• Game 1: Isles 36, Carolina 23 (59%).  

• Game 2: Isles 30, Carolina 22 (58%)

• Game 3: Isles 24, Carolina 34 (41%)

• Series: Isles 90, Carolina 89 (50%).

• Vs Pittsburgh: Isles 120, Pittsburgh 112 (52%)

• Playoff Total: Isles 210, Opponents 201 (51%)

Hit Count

Isles 28 (Three with 4)

Carolina 25 (Patrick Brown -5)

Hits Game by Game:

• Game 1: Isles 44, Carolina 33

• Game 2: Isles 44, Carolina 38

• Game 3: Isles 28, Carolina 25

• Series: Isles 116, Carolina 96 

• Vs Pittsburgh: Isles 180, Pittsburgh 171

• Playoff Total: Isles 296, Opponents 267

Fights

There were no fights. Playoff total -0.  The Isles were involved in 16 fights in the regular season.

Blocked Shots

The Isles blocked 16 shots (Nick Leddy & Scott Mayfield -3).  

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 56, Carolina 76

5-on-5 Isles 42, Carolina 69

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Thomas Hickey +2

Carolina: Justin Faulk +17 

Corsi Game by Game:

• Game 1 (All) Isles 57, Carolina 60;  (5-on-5) Isles 42, Carolina 43

• Game 2 (All) Isles 56, Carolina 51;  (5-on-5) Isles 47, Carolina 45 

• Game 3 (All) Isles 56, Carolina 76;  (5-on-5) Isles 42, Carolina 69

• Series (All) Isles 169, Carolina 187;  (5-on-5) Isles 131, Carolina 157

Scratches

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

Playoff games lost: 17.  The Isles lost 153 man-games in the regular season

Post-Season Late Heroes

The Isles have scored once in overtime:

4/10 – PIT Penguins-Josh Bailey scored the winning goal (4:39 of OT) 

Post-Season Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have allowed a goal once in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or win a game, and have allowed one overtime goal:

4/10 – PIT Penguins – Justin Schultz tied the game (18:31), but the Isles won in overtime. 

4/26 – CAR Hurricanes – Jordan Staal scored the winning goal (4:04 of OT)

Playoff Offside Challenges

4/10 – PIT Penguins – Isles goal overturned after successful Penguin challenge. 

On the Farm  

Bridgeport finished the regular season with a record of 43-24-6-3; the 97 points is their most ever in a 76-game schedule and their highest total since Jack Capuano led them to a 106-point campaign in 2008-09 (80 games).  The Sound Tigers were eliminated in the playoffs by Hershey in 5 games.

 

Up Next

ROUND 2 VS CAROLINA

GAME 4: FRIDAY, MAY 3rd – AT CAROLINA 7:00PM

[NBCSN, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 FM WRCN and Radio.com.  Expanded post-game coverage on MSG/MSG+]

The Isles will look to stave off elimination as they face the Hurricanes in game 4 of the series on Wednesday in Raleigh.  All-time, the Isles are 26-20 when facing elimination, including 10-15 on the road.

The Isles have rebounded from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series once, in 1975 vs. Pittsburgh. They have lost the last five best-of-7 playoff series that they have lost the first three games.

The Isles have been swept in a best-of-seven series only once in their history, in 1994 by the Rangers. The last team to sweep a first round series and then be swept in the second round was the 1993 Buffalo Sabres.

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