The Skinny: Isles 5, Pittsburgh 4 (OT). Isles tie club record with point in 15th straight game.

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 19

Isles 5, Pittsburgh 4 (OT)

Stop me if you have heard this before. For 2 ¾  periods, it looked like the Isles' 14-game point streak would end in Barry Trotz' 101st game behind the Isles bench.

But Josh Bailey and Ryan Pulock scored in the final 4:19 to force overtime and Brock Nelson scored the winning goal in the extra session as the Isles extended the streak to a club record-matching 15 games (14-0-1) with a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins before a sellout crowd of 18,411 at PPG Paints Arena. It's the fourth time that the Isles have had a 15-game point streak, but the first time since January 21- February 20, 1982.

The Isles are 15-3-1; their 31 points matches the highest total through nineteen games in the club history (also in 1976-77), while the 15 wins are the most the Isles have ever had thru 19 games.

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Bryan Rust (7) Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin 11:34 NYI 0,PIT 1 PPG

Brandon Tanev (4) John Marino, Jared McCann 16:18 NYI 0,PIT 2

2nd Period

Anthony Beauvillier (7) Nick Leddy, Brock Nelson 02:39 NYI 1,PIT 2

Brock Nelson (5) Nick Leddy, Derick Brassard 05:30 NYI 2,PIT 2

Brandon Tanev (5) Marcus Pettersson, Dominik Kahun 14:31 NYI 2,PIT 3

3rd Period

Jake Guentzel (10) Alex Galchenyuk, Evgeni Malkin 02:39 NYI 2,PIT 4 PPG

Josh Bailey (7) Jordan Eberle, Devon Toews 15:41 NYI 3,PIT 4

Ryan Pulock (3) Derick Brassard, Nick Leddy 18:28 NYI 4,PIT 4 

OT

Brock Nelson (6) Anthony Beauvillier 02:55 NYI 5,PIT 4

The Skinny    

The Isles trailed 2-0 after one period and it could have been worse; the Isles were successful on an off-side challenge that took away a Zach Aston-Reese goal … Anthony Beauvillier scored for the third straight game (and was a +4); five of his seven goals have come during this streak. ….The Isles are 8-1-1 in games decided by a single goal while Pittsburgh is 4-2-3…Brock Nelson's overtime winner completed a three-point, +4 game; Derick Brassard had two more assists, each extended their assist streaks to three games; Nelson now leads the team with 11 assists…The Isles are 6-1-0 on the road this season, matching their best-ever road start.  They have won six straight road games, matching the third-longest road win streak in club history…Casey Cizikas played his 500th game, all with the Isles.  He was in the starting lineup for the 125th of those 500 games and in the 30th Islander to appear in 500 games….Nelson played in 499th game, all with the Isles. The Isles now have won four straight games (tied for longest current streak in NHL with Carolina and Dallas); all four wins, and each of the last five games, have been decided by a single goal…Josh Bailey's goal, his 147th as an Islander, tied Pierre Turgeon for 16th place on the Isles list; …Nick Leddy's three assists give him 200 points as an Islander.  He is the 7th American (and first American defenseman) to reach that plateau…The Isles are the 59th team in NHL history to earn a point in 15 straight games.

The Comeback

The Isles came from 2 goals behind in the final 4:19 to win in overtime.  It's the second time during this streak that the Isles have scored twice in the final six minutes (two in final 5:31 vs. St. Louis) to erase a two-goal lead.

However, it's only the third time in club history that they have won a game that they trailed by two goals this late in the third period:

• December 19, 1989 vs. New Jersey  - Pat LaFontaine (16:37 and 18:14) tied it; Don Maloney won it in overtime.

• February 3, 2004 vs. Vancouver  – Mariusz Czerkawski  (15:45) was the first of 3 Islander goals in 2:17 to take the lead, but they would need an Adrian Aucoin goal to win in overtime.

(For those remembering the great comeback vs. Detroit at Barclays two seasons ago, the goal that brought the Isles within one was scored by Anders Lee with 4:32 to play)

Both of those games that the Isles won after trailing by two goals with less time to play were at home.  Prior to tonight the Isles had not won a road game when trailing by two goals beyond the 14:20 mark of the third period (at Quebec on January 13, 1991).  Ironically the Isles nearly accomplished the trick two  seasons ago in Pittsburgh (12/7/2017) when Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson scored in the final 4:53 to tie, but Matt Hunwick beat them in overtime.

First Times in Ridiculously Long Times

• Nick Leddy had three assists and a +5 rating.  He is the first Islander since Denis Potvin (10-14-1982) to go +5 in a game against Pittsburgh.

• Brock Nelson's overtime goal is the first the Isles have scored against Pittsburgh since December 23, 1990 (Patrick Flatley goal made Jeff Hackett a winner). Despite having playoff winners from David Volek and Josh Bailey in the interim, the Isles had lost 13 consecutive regular season games to Pittsburgh that were decided by an overtime goal.  The NHL has changed the overtime rules four times in the interim (Every game worth two points Loser Points No Ties (Introduction of shootout)  4-on-4  3-on-3)

• The Isles have scored tying goals in the final 2:04 in consecutive games for the third time in club history:  

o 2/28/1987 (Mikko Makela -19:12 vs STL); 3/3/1987 (Mikko Makela- 19:15 vs BOS) – both games ended in ties

o 1/11/2007 (Viktor Kozlov – 18:21 @BOS); 1/13/2007 (Miroslav Satan – 19:59 vs NJ) – the Isles won the first in a shootout but lost the second in overtime.

• The Isles have won consecutive games that they trailed with 2:04 to play for the first time in club history.

Beauvember?

Anthony Beauvillier is 5-3-8 in eight games this month and is now 11-7-18 in 42 career November games.

The Point Streak (14-0-1)

10/12: Florida (3-2 Wso)

10/14: St. Louis (3-2 Wot)

10/17: @ Winnipeg (3-1 W)

10/19: @ Columbus (3-2 Wot)

10/24: Arizona (4-2 W)

10/25: @ Ottawa (4-2 W)

10/27: Philadelphia (5-3 W)

11/1: Tampa Bay (5-2 W)

11/2: @ Buffalo (1-0 W)

11/5: Ottawa (4-1 W)

11/7: Pittsburgh (3-4 OTL)

11/9: Florida (W 2-1)

11/13: Toronto (W 5-4)

11/16: Philadelphia (W 4-3so)

11/19: Pittsburgh (W 5-4ot)

The Isles also had 15-game streaks in 1978-79, 1980-81 and 1981-82.

Making Their Point

The Isles last lost in regulation on October 11th in Carolina; they have now earned a point in every game over a club-record 41 days (thru at least Thursday)

It is the 5th time in club history that they have gone at least 30 days between pointless games:

• 41 days  October/November 2019  CURRENT (thru at least 11/21)

• 38 days  November/December 1978

• 34 days  February/March 1981

• 33 days  November/December 1980

• 32 days  January/February 1982

To put the Isles streak in perspective, all four Yankee losses to Houston in the ALCS have occurred since the streak started.  Since the day the streak started, the Rangers and Devils have suffered 15 regulation losses, the Knicks and Nets have lost 18 games and the Jets and Giants have lost seven times.

+86

The win raises the Isles' all-time record to 1636-1550-497; it's the first time they have been 86 games over NHL-.500 since November 28, 1998, when a 3-1 loss to Carolina dropped their all-time record to 938-852-291.

It's Good to be Home(s)

The Isles are 7-2-0 on Coliseum ice, where they have won six straight games.  The Isles will play 28 of their 41 home games this season at the Coliseum.   The Isles are 2-0-1 at Barclays Center.

Coach Trotz

Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 825-598-60-142 in 1,625 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  901

3. Ken Hitchcock    849

4. Barry Trotz    825

5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,656

3. Barry Trotz        1,625

4. Al Arbour   1,607

Trotz is the 11th man to coach the Isles for at least 100 games.  He is 63-30-8 as the Isles coach, with his 62 wins and 132 points leading all others' first 100 by a wide margin:

• Barry Trotz      62-30-8

• Doug Weight  53-37-10  

• Ted Nolan         51-37-12 

• Terry Simpson 49-38-13 

• Peter Laviolette 48-39-9-4 

• Steve Stirling 47-38-11-4 

• Jack Capuano 38-46-16 

• Scott Gordon 32-53-15 

• Butch Goring  30-57-11-2 

• Al Arbour          28-48-24 

• Mike Milbury      26-58-16

   

First Things First

The Isles are 7-1-1 when scoring first and are 8-2-0 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles          9-11-17-5=42       

Pittsburgh 11-14-6-0=31

The Isles are 6-0-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 9-2-1 when they are outshot.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 15-3-1 overall; 9-2-1 at home (7-2-0 on Long Island and 2-0-1 in Brooklyn) and 6-1-0 on the road.  

Pittsburgh is 11-7-3 overall; 7-3-2 at home and 4-4-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 4-2-1 in Division games and 11-1-0 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 11-2-1 against the East and 4-1-0 against the West.  

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves to improve to 7-2-1 on the season and 5-2-2 in his career against Pittsburgh.

Matt Murray made 37 saves; he is 9-4-3 on the season and 3-3-2 in his career against the Isles.

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play in 5:41 of power play time; Pittsburgh was 2-4 on the power play in 5:09 of PP time.

The Isles are 5-1-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 10-2-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 6-2-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 9-1-1 when they do not.

The Isles are 1-1-0 when they have more power plays than the opposition, 2-0-0 when the power plays are even, and 12-2-1 when the opposition has more power plays.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 13-0-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-3-0 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 51-2-3 when scoring three or more.

One Goal Games

The Isles are 8-1-1 in games decided by a single goal including 3-1 in regulation. They are 2-1 in games decided in overtime and are 2-0 in shootouts.  The Isles are 2-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 2-0-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 4-0-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 8-3-1 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Devon Toews (23:36); Pittsburgh: Brian Dumoulin (22:41) 

Anthony Beauvillier led Isles forwards with 19:39 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (7-0-0), Ryan Pulock (5-1-1), Nick Leddy (0-1-0), Devon Toews (1-1-0), Scott Mayfield (1-0-0), Brock Nelson (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 39, Pittsburgh 32 (55%).  

Brock Nelson won 14 of 20 for the Isles (that 27 of 39 on road trip); Joseph Blandisi won 4 of 7 for Pittsburgh.  

Hit Count

Isles 62 (Leo Komarov -8). It's only the 10th time in the real-time era that a team has had 62+ hits.

Pittsburgh 35 (Zach Aston-Reese-6) 

   

Fights

There were no fights.  Season total: 4 – Johnston-3 (vs. FLA, vs PHL, vs TB), Cizikas (vs. OTT).

Blocked Shots

Isles 20 (Johnny Boychuk -5)

Pittsburgh 12 (Justin Schultz -3)

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 62, Pittsburgh 55  (including 30-11 in the Isles' favor in the 3rd period and overtime)

5-on-5 Isles 45, Pittsburgh 38

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Jordan Eberle +18

Pittsburgh: Three with +5

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 2-1-0 in the front-half and 3-0-0 in the back-half. The next back-to-back will be December 2nd in Detroit and December 3rd in Montreal. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 14-1-1 in back-ends.

Night and Day

The Isles are 13-3-1 in night games and 2-0-0 in matinees. The next matinee will be on December 14th vs. Buffalo.

Ironmen

Anders Lee 219, Brock Nelson 196, Mathew Barzal 183, Ryan Pulock 146 and Josh Bailey 104. 

Iron D

Ryan Pulock is only the 6th defenseman in Islander history to play at least 146 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 146

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches

(Matt Martin-INJ), (Tom Kuhnhackl-INJ), Noah Dobson, Ross Johnston

Total games lost: 63.

Late Heroes

The Isles have scored twice in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or take the lead:

10/14 vs. STL – Mathew Barzal scored at 19:33 and the Isles won in OT.

11/19 @ PIT – Ryan Pulock scored at 18:38 and the Isles won in OT.

Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have not allowed a goal in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or win a game:

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures (offside 11/19 vs PIT)

Opponents: 1 successful, 1 failures (Nelson-kick 10/8 vs EDM), (Lee- no high stick 11/1 vs. TB)

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.  Josh Bailey 816…

25. Dave Lewis 514 *** 26. Matt Martin 513 *** 27. Rich Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 29. Casey Cizikas 500 *** 30. Brock Nelson 499

Goals

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

14. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 15. Anders Lee 157 *** 16. Pierre Turgeon and Josh Bailey 147

18. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 19. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 20. Brock Nelson 130

Assists

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

9. Stefan Persson 317 *** 10. Bob Bourne 304 *** 11.  Josh Bailey 300 …

25. Jeff Norton 166 *** 26. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 27. Nick Leddy 158

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052…

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 447…

24. Ed Westfall 286 *** 25. Anders Lee 267 *** 26. Jason Blake, Steve Thomas and Brock Nelson 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 172

Wins (Goalie)

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130*** 4. Kelly Hrudey 108***

5.   Thomas Greiss 93

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

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 …

9. Steve Stirling 124 *** 10. Doug Weight 122 *** 11. Barry Trotz 101 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Terry Simpson 81 *** 4. Peter Laviolette 77 ***

5. Ted Nolan 74 *** 6. Scott Gordon 64 *** 7. Barry Trotz 63

Season Series Stats

The season series is tied 1 game to 1 (and 3 points to 3).   The teams will conclude the home-and-home series on Thursday in Brooklyn. 

The Isles are 4-1-2 in their last seven games against Pittsburgh.

On the Farm   

The Sound Tigers are 4-10-3-1 on the season. Bridgeport is now off until Friday when they face Providence.

Up Next

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21st —  PITTSBURGH AT ISLANDERS  

[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 6:30pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 1050] 

Fans who come to Barclays on Thursday will see something that they have never seen before.  An Islander team, on home ice, will enter the game with a 15-game point streak.  (All three previous 15-game streaks ended on the road)

It's the only home game before the Isles head to California for a 3-game road trip.

And Finally…

The Skinny streak is now 579 games (609 including playoffs); that's three games longer than Billy Harris' club record streak for consecutive games and was kept alive with four Skinny's produced from Hawaii.  Back in Brooklyn Thursday.

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