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The Skinny: Los Angeles 3, Isles 1

"The Skinny"  By Eric Hornick Game 30 Los Angeles 3, Isles 1 Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala scored to give Los Angeles a 2-0 lead an...

Friday, May 03, 2019

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

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