The Skinny: Isles 4, Washington 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 38

Isles 4, Washington 3

Happy New Year!  Tom Kuhnhackl scored the game-winning goal at the 12:34 mark of the second period and Casey Cizikas added a pair of goals as the Isles closed out 2019 with a 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals before a sellout crowd of 18,573 at Capital One Arena.

Brock Nelson also scored for the Isles; it was his club-leading 26th goal in 2019.

The Isles have won two straight and hit the New Year with a 25-10-3 (53 points) record.  It's the first time in the Post-Cup era that the Isles have reached 53 points by the end of December (26-11-2 at end of 1983, for 54 points).

 

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Casey Cizikas (7) Scott Mayfield, Leo Komarov 07:13 NYI 1,WSH 0

Brock Nelson (14) Nick Leddy, Anthony Beauvillier 10:39 NYI 2,WSH 0

Evgeny Kuznetsov (14) Dmitry Orlov 10:53 NYI 2,WSH 1

Tom Wilson (13) Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin 14:17 NYI 2,WSH 2

2nd Period

Evgeny Kuznetsov (15) T.J. Oshie 00:44 NYI 2,WSH 3

Casey Cizikas (8) Matt Martin 04:27 NYI 3,WSH 3

Tom Kuhnhackl (2) Mathew Barzal, Anders Lee 12:34 NYI 4,WSH 3

3rd Period

No Goals

The Skinny     

Casey Cizikas had a pair of goals; it was his fourth career two-goal game, and he now has four goals in the last eight games…The Isles killed both Washington power plays and are a perfect 9-9 on this trip; they had allowed a power play goal in each of the five prior games (longest streak under Barry Trotz) … The Isles finish December with an 8-5-1 record; the Isles have had a winning record in every month under Barry Trotz.… Nick Leddy earned an assist on the opening goal; it was his 301st career point.…Tom Kuhnhackl scored a goal for the 2nd straight game; it is the first time in his career he has scored in consecutive games… Kuhnhackl also has matched a career-high with a three-game point streak (also in April 2017)… It was Kuhnhackl's third career game-winning goal (and 2nd vs. Washington)...The Isles are 7-1-1 in their last nine division games and are 19-2-1 in their last 22 games against the East… The Isles went 52-24-6 in 2019 (tying the club record for calendar year wins), while the Caps went 51-24-10…Barry Trotz recorded his 447th win in the 2010's; only Bruce Boudreau (448 entering Minnesota's game tonight) has more victories in the decade…The Isles improve to 13-2-3 in one-goal games while Washington falls to 13-2-5; each team owns a 1-goal regulation win over the other and each team has lost only one other one-goal game in regulation…The Isles are 15 games over NHL-.500, matching a season-high.  They will end 2019 in 2nd place in the Metro (6 points behind Washington and holding three games in hand) and in 4th place in the entire NHL.

The Year

2019 Isles  52-24-6 110 points (222 goals for, 191 goals against).   FEWEST GOALS ALLOWED IN NHL IN 2019!

Seven Isles played every game (Lee-Nelson-Barzal-Pulock-Beauvillier-Bailey-Toews)

Calendar Year leaders:

Goals

1. Brock Nelson 26

2. Anders Lee 25

3. Mathew Barzal 24

Assists:

1. Barzal 36

2. Josh Bailey 33

3. Nelson 32

Points:

1. Barzal 60

2. Nelson 58

3. Bailey 49

+/-

1. (Tied)  Ryan Pulock and Casey Cizikas +19

3. Cal Clutterbuck +17

Penalty Minutes

1. Scott Mayfield 67

2. Lee 60

3. Ross Johnston 51

Power Play Goals

1. Jordan Eberle/Nelson 5

3. Three with 4

Shorthanded Goals

1. Cizikas 4

2. Three with 1

Game Winning Goals

1. Lee/Nelson/Bailey 5

Overtime Goals

1. Nelson 4

2. Pulock/ Devon Toews 2

Shootout Goals

1. Eberle/Barzal 3

3. Nelson/Bailey 2

Shootout %

1. Eberle/Bailey 50%

3. Barzal 33.3%

Goalie Records:  ISLES ONLY

Greiss  22-14-1  .929  2.22   (4-1 in shootouts, .929 save %)

Lehner 16-7-2    .930  2.13   (0-1 in shootouts, allowed goal on both shots faced)

Varlamov    14-3-3    .920  2.43   (2-1 in shootouts, .667 save %)

The Decade

The Isles went 381-307-94 in this decade.

Skaters:

Games:

Josh Bailey 726 (has missed only 56 games in decade)

John Tavares 627

Matt Martin 531

Goals

Tavares 256

Anders Lee 163

Brock Nelson 138

Assists

Tavares 337

Bailey 284

Frans Nielsen 194

Points

Tavares 593

Bailey  417

Kyle Okposo 298

+/-

Johnny Boychuk +47

Thomas Hickey +35

(Leo Komarov and Nikolay Kulemin were the best forwards: +23)

PP Goals

Tavares 75

Lee 49

Moulson 41

SH Goals 

Frans Nielsen 14

Michael Grabner 11

Casey Cizikas & Cal Clutterbuck 9

GW Goals

Tavares 40

Lee 24

Nelson 21

OT Goals

Tavares 11

Nelson 6

Bailey/Hickey 5

Pen Mins

Martin 745

Travis Hamonic 452

Zenon Konopka 308

Shootout Goals

1. Nielsen 35

2. Tavares 15 (in 54 attempts)

3. Okposo 13

Shootout % (minimum 15 attempts)

1. Moulson 60% (9-15)

2. Nielsen 50% (35-70)

3. Okposo 44.8% (13-29)

Goalies:

Games: Thomas Greiss 181, Jaroslav Halak 177

Starts: Halak 170, Greiss 169

Wins: Greiss 96, Halak 88

GAA (minimum 40 games): Lehner 2.13, Evgeni Nabokov 2.59

Save %(minimum 40 games): Robin Lehner .930, Greiss .916

Shutouts: Halak 12, Greiss 10

Shootout Wins: Halak 12, Nabokov 11

Shootout Save%: Greiss .764, Halak .685

It's Just Another New Year's Eve

The are 12-1-1 in their last 14 games on New Year's Eve, losing only in Colorado two years ago.  This was the second NYE meeting between the teams, with the Isles winning 6-4 in 1988 at the Coliseum.

The Dreaded Two-Goal Lead

The Isles held a 2-0 lead for 14 seconds in the first period (between Brock Nelson's 14th goal and Evgeny Kuznetsov's 14th).  It was the first two-goal lead for the Isles since December 17th vs Nashville when the Preds cut into a 3-1 Isles lead in just 27 second, enroute to an 8-3 win.

It's Good to be Home(s)

The Isles are 9-4-1 on Coliseum ice.  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 835-605-60-144 in 1,644 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  910 

3. Ken Hitchcock    849

4. Barry Trotz    835

5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,674

3. Barry Trotz        1,644

4. Al Arbour 1,607

First Things First

The Isles are 14-4-2 when scoring first and are 11-6-1 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles             7-11-4=22

Washington 11-10-18=39

The Isles are 7-4-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 18-5-1 when they are outshot.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 25-10-3 overall; 13-4-2 at home (9-4-1 on Long Island and 4-0-1 in Brooklyn) and 12-6-1 on the road.  

Washington is 27-9-5 overall; 11-4-4 at home and 16-5-1 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 7-3-1 in Division games and 18-7-2 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 19-4-1 against the East and 6-6-2 against the West.  

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 36 saves as he improves to 14-3-3 on the season and 4-5-1 in his career against Washington. 

 

Braden Holtby made 25 saves but falls to 17-7-4 on the season and 16-6-3 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play in 4:00 of power play time; Washington was 0-2 on the power play in 3:00 of PP time, as the game ended with Washington on the power play.

The Isles are 10-2-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 15-8-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 9-6-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 16-4-2 when they do not.

The Isles are 4-2-1 when they have more power plays than the opposition, 4-2-0 when the power plays are even, and 17-6-2 when the opposition has more power plays.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 22-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-9-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 60-3-4 when scoring three or more, with two of the three regulation losses coming against Nashville.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 13-2-3 in games decided by a single goal including 4-2 in regulation. They are 6-2 in games decided in overtime and are 3-1 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 5-1-0 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 17-8-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:24); Washington: Dmitry Orlov (23:58)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 21:01 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (9-2-0), Ryan Pulock (10-3-3), Devon Toews (3-2-0), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Nick Leddy (0-2-0), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Mathew Barzal (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 22, Washington 31 (42%)  

No Islander who took multiple draws won more than he lost; Nicklas Backstrom won 11 of 15 for Washington.

Hit Count

Isles 24 (Matt Martin -7)

Washington 21 (Two with 3)

   

Fights

There were no fights.  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 29 (Scott Mayfield -5)

Washington 14 (Jonas Siegenthaler -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 44, Washington 87

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 39, Washington 70

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Casey Cizikas/Matt Martin +4

Washington: Dmitry Orlov +26

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 9, Washington 11

5-on-5: Isles 9, Washington 11

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 21-10-2 in night games and 4-0-1 in matinees. The next matinee will be January 18th, also against the Caps.

200 Game Club

The Isles have three players who have consecutive game streaks of at least 200 games.  It's the first time since November 25, 1978 that the Isles have had three players with streaks of at least 200 games.

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 238, Brock Nelson 215, Mathew Barzal 202, Ryan Pulock 165, Josh Bailey 123, Anthony Beauvillier 113, and Devon Toews 86. 

Iron D

Ryan Pulock is only the 4th defenseman in Islander history to play at least 165 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. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 165

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches

Michael Dal Colle, Noah Dobson, (Cal Clutterbuck-INJ).

Total games lost: 92.

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. PIT – Patric Hornqvist scored at 19:30, but the Isles won in OT.

12/14 vs. BUF -Jack Eichel scored at 18:14, but the Isles won in OT. 

Challenges

Isles: 2 successful, 1 failure (offside-11/19 vs. PIT), (offside-12/9 vs. TBL), (no goalie Interference 12/21 vs, ANA)

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 835…

22. Tomas Jonsson 532 *** 23.*** Matt Martin 531*** 24. Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 25. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 26. Casey Cizikas 519 *** 27. Brock Nelson 518

Goals

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

13. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 14. Anders Lee 163 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 148 *** 17. Pierre Turgeon 147 ***18. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 19. Kyle Okposo 139 *** 20. Brock Nelson 138

Assists

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

9. Stefan Persson 317 *** 10. Josh Bailey 308 …

25. Jeff Norton 166 *** 26. Nick Leddy 165

Points

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

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 456…

24. Ed Westfall 286 *** 25. Anders Lee 280 *** 26. Brock Nelson 271

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 181

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 119

 

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 73

Season Series Stats

The season series is even, 1 game to 1 (and 2 points to 2), with each team earning a one-goal win on the road. The teams will next meet at the Coliseum on January 18th.

The Isles have won three straight games in Washington, but the Caps have won all three meetings the last two seasons in New York.

On the Farm   

Kieffer Bellows had nine goals in his last eight games, heading into Bridgeport's New Year's Eve game in Hartford.

The Sound Tigers are 9-5-1-0 in their last 15 games and have climbed out of last place and back within seven points of a playoff spot.   

Up Next

THURSDAY, JANUARY 2nd   —  NEW JERSEY AT ISLANDERS AT NASSAU COLISEUM –7:00 PM

[NBCSN (pre-game at 6:00), 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 1050] 

For the second time in two weeks, the Isles will be featured nationally as they face the Devils for the first time this season.

New Jersey is playing their best hockey of the season, with their New Year's Eve shootout win over Boston raising their record to 5-2-1 in their last eight games.

The Isles swept the season series last year, winning both games in New York in regulation and both games in New Jersey in overtime/shootout.  The Isles are 11-4-0 in their last 15 games against the Devils,  who they will also face on January 7th at the Prudential Center.

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