The Skinny: Isles 3, Florida 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 30

Isles 3, Florida 1

Devon Toews and Mathew Barzal scored power play goals in a 3:51 span of the second period and Anders Lee completed a Gordie Howe Hat Trick with an empty net tally as the Isles finished a sweep of the Sunshine State with a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers before a crowd of 12,609 at BB&T Center.

Thomas Greiss made 32 saves to secure the Isles' 21st victory in the season's 30th game (21-7-2). It's the first time in franchise history that they have won 21 of their first 30 games.  The 44 points is one point off the pace set by the 1978-79 squad (19-4-7).

The Scoring: 

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

Devon Toews (3) Jordan Eberle, Anders Lee 00:49 NYI 1,FLA 0 PPG

Mathew Barzal (13) Jordan Eberle, Josh Bailey 04:40  NYI 2,FLA 0 PPG

Mike Hoffman (12) Mark Pysyk, Brett Connolly 09:36 NYI 2,FLA 1

3rd Period

Anders Lee (9) 19:57 NYI 3, FLA 1 ENG

The Skinny     

The Isles are 5-4-1 in their last ten games as they go 14 games over NHL-.500 for the first time this season… The Isles finish a 13-game stretch in which they played 10 times on the road with an 8-4-1 record…Brock Nelson played his 510th game, passing the career total of fan favorites Mick Vukota and Rich Pilon; he's one game behind Casey Cizikas, who played in game 511 tonight…The Isles improve to 10-1-0 against the Atlantic Division this season and are 10-1-0 when scoring on the power play…The Isles improve to 15-0-1 when leading after two periods…. Nick Leddy missed his second straight game of the season, allowing Noah Dobson (11:24, EVEN) to get into his 9th NHL game…. The Isles scored two power play goals in a period for the first time since February 21st in Edmonton…Anders Lee' s empty-netter, his 161st career goal, allowed him to pass Patrick Flatley for 14th on the Isles' goal scoring list; he finished with a career-high 17 penalty minutes...Thomas Greiss appeared in his 178th Islander game, breaking a tie with Jaroslav Halak for 6th place….The Isles had only two power play goals (on 40 chances) in the prior 14 games against Florida…The Isles swept the Sunshine State for the first time since March 14-16, 2013 (2-0 in Tampa Bay, 4-3 in Florida)..Devon Toews is the 11th different Islander to score on the power play this season (Tied for NHL lead); the club had only 10 players score on the power play all last season…Mike Hoffman now has six goals in 17 games against the Isles…Jordan Eberle had his third multi-point game of the season….The Isles and NY Jets have not won on the same day since October 30, 2016.

Look at Me, I'm Anders Lee…

Anders Lee had an eventful night which concluded with an empty net goal to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick.  Earlier, Lee had earned an assist and was assessed a fighting penalty (and misconduct).

Scott Mayfield (November 7, 2017 vs. Colorado) was the last Islander with a Gordie Howe hat trick, while Kyle Okposo (January 20, 2014 vs. Philadelphia) was the last forward to do so.

It had been almost eleven years since any Islander had done so in a road game; Mike Comrie was the last to do so, on December 29, 2008 at Madison Square Garden.

It's Good to be Home(s)

The Isles are 8-2-0 on Coliseum ice, where they have won seven straight games.  The Isles will play 28 of their 41 home games this season at the Coliseum.   The Isles are 4-0-1 at Barclays Center this season and have not lost in Brooklyn (regular season) since January 12th (9-0-1); their next Brooklyn game is on January 11, 2020 vs. Boston.

Coach Trotz

Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 831-602-60-143 in 1,636 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  905

3. Ken Hitchcock    849

4. Barry Trotz    831

5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,666

3. Barry Trotz        1,636

4. Al Arbour 1,607

The Rotation

The Islanders are first team since the Sharks in 2006-07 to alternate starting goalies for each of the first 30 games of the season. (The Sharks used Vesa Toskala in the odd games and Evgeni Nabokov in the even games before Nabokov started games 36 and 37 around the Christmas break)

This is the longest streak in Isles history:

• 30 games (Varlamov/Greiss) in 2019-20; CURRENT

• 24 games (Hrudey/Smith) in 1985-86; Smith played games 24 and 25.

• 23 games (Smith/Melanson) in 1982-83; Smith played games 23 and 24.

The NHL record of 76 was set by the Rangers in 1990-91 (John Vanbiesbrouck/Mike Richter). 

   

88 is Great

The Isles' all-time record improves to 1642-1554-498.   It is the first time that they are 88 games over NHL-.500 since November 25,1998 when a 4-2 win over Philadelphia on Thanksgiving Eve moved their record to 938-850-291.

First Things First

The Isles are 12-2-1 when scoring first and are 9-5-1 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles     9-12-9=30

Florida 8-12-13=33

The Isles are 6-1-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 15-5-1 when they are outshot.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 21-7-2 overall; 12-2-1 at home (8-2-0 on Long Island and 4-0-1 in Brooklyn) and 9-5-1 on the road.  

Florida is 15-11-5 overall; 9-6-2 at home and 6-5-3 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 6-2-1 in Division games and 15-5-1 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 16-3-1 against the East and 5-4-1 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 32 saves and improves to 11-4-0 this season and 5-2-1 against Florida.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves but falls to 11-8-4 on the season and 16-10-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 2-4 on the power play in 5:40 of power play time; Florida was 0-3 on the power play in 6:00 of PP time.

The Isles are 10-1-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 11-6-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 7-4-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 14-3-2 when they do not.

The Isles are 4-2-1 when they have more power plays than the opposition, 2-1-0 when the power plays are even, and 15-4-1 when the opposition has more power plays.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 18-0-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-7-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 56-2-3 when scoring three or more.

One Goal Games

The Isles are 10-1-2 in games decided by a single goal including 3-1 in regulation. They are 5-2 in games decided in overtime and are 2-0 in shootouts.  The Isles are 3-1 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 5-0-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 

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

• The Isles are 13-6-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:49); Florida: Keith Yandle (24:50)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 21:00 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (7-1-0), Ryan Pulock (9-1-2), Devon Toews (3-2-0), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Nick Leddy (0-2-0), Brock Nelson (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 29, Florida 29 (50%).  

Josh Bailey won 5 of 9 for the Isles; Noel Accirari won 12 of 20 for Florida.

Hit Count

Isles 18 (Matt Martin -3)

Florida 16 (Noel Acciari -3)

   

Fights

Anders Lee fought Brian Boyle in the second period.  Season total: 7 – Johnston-3 (vs. FLA, vs PHL, vs TB), Cizikas-2 (vs. OTT, vs SJ), Mayfield (vs ANA), Lee (vs FLA).

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 20 (Scott Mayfield -5)

Florida 10 (Jonathan Huberdeau -3)

For the Corsi Crowd 

All situations: Isles 54, Florida 65

5-on-5 Isles 42, Florida 45

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Johnny Boychuk +16

Florida: Mike Hoffman +4

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 3-1-0 in the front-half and 3-1-0 in the back-half. The next back-to-back will be January 6th vs Colorado and January 7th  in New Jersey. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 14-2-1 in back-ends.

Night and Day

The Isles are 19-7-2 in night games and 2-0-0 in matinees. The next matinee will be on December 14th vs. Buffalo.

Ironmen

Anders Lee 230, Brock Nelson 206, Mathew Barzal 194, Ryan Pulock 157, Josh Bailey 115, Anthony Beauvillier 105, and Devon Toews 78. 

Iron D

Ryan Pulock is only the 5th defenseman in Islander history to play at least 157 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. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 157

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches

(Tom Kuhnhackl-LTIR), (Nick Leddy -INJ), Leo Komarov.

Total games lost: 78.

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 allowed one goal in the final two minutes of regulation to either tie or win a game:

11/21 vs. STL – Patric Hornqvist scored at 19:30, but the Isles won in OT.

Challenges

Isles: 2 successful, 0 failures (offside-11/19 vs PIT), (offside-12/9 vs TBL)

Opponents: 1 successful, 2 failures (Nelson-kick 10/8 vs EDM), (Lee- no high stick 11/1 vs. TB), Cizikas- no goalie interference 11/23 vs SJ)

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 827…

22. Tomas Jonsson 522 *** 23.*** Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 24. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 25. Matt Martin 523 *** 26. Dave Lewis 514 *** 27. Casey Cizikas 511 *** 28. Brock Nelson 510

Goals

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

13. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 14. Anders Lee 161 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 148 *** 17. Pierre Turgeon 147 ***18. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 19. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 20. Brock Nelson 135

Assists

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

9. Stefan Persson 317 *** 10. Josh Bailey 307 …

25. Jeff Norton 166 *** 26. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 27. Nick Leddy 160

Points

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

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 455…

24. Ed Westfall 286 *** 25. Anders Lee 275 *** 26. Brock Nelson 264

Games Played (Goalies)

1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 *** 4. Kelly Hrudey 241 ***

5. Tommy Salo 187 *** 6. Thomas Greiss 178

Wins (Goalie)

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

5.   Thomas Greiss 96

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 112

 

Coaching Wins

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

5. Ted Nolan 74 *** 6. Barry Trotz 69

Season Series Stats

The Isles sweep the season series 3 games to 0 (and 6 points to 1).   

The Isles have swept the season series for the first time since 2013 (3-0-0). Overall the Isles have won four straight from the Cats, but all four have been decided by an empty-netter or less (including two in shootouts).  

On the Farm   

Bridgeport is 9-14-3-1 on the season and will head back to Utica on Friday. Kieffer Bellows has scored four goals in the last six games.  It's his best goal scoring stretch since November 2018.

Up Next

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14th   —  BUFFALO AT ISLANDERS AT NASSAU COLISEUM – 1:00 PM

[MSG+-- Islanders pre-game at 12:30pm), 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 1050] 

It's time to go home for the holidays.  After playing only three home games in the last month, the Isles will host four of the five games that remain before Christmas, beginning on Saturday with Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres.

It's the second meeting of the season between the teams; the Isles blanked Buffalo 1-0 in Western New York on November 2nd; Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves and Derick Brassard's first period goal was the only goal of the contest.

Eichel will bring a 15-game point streak to the Coliseum on Saturday; should he record a point he would tie Tim Connolly for the third-longest streak ever by an American-born player, behind only two separate streaks from Patrick Kane.  He and Kane now share the longest point streak by any NHL player this season.

The Isles have won four straight home games from Buffalo and are 6-2-0 in their last eight games overall vs. the 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