The Skinny: Isles 4, New Jersey 3 (OT)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 42

Isles 4, New Jersey 3 (OT)

Anders Lee scored the game-winning goal for the second straight night, but this one came at 4:09 of overtime as the Islanders rallied to defeat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 before a crowd of 14,518 at the Prudential Center.

It was the first career overtime goal for Lee; the Isles have scored an NHL-leading seven overtime goals this season and improve to 7-2 in games decided by an overtime goal.

The Isles improve to 27-12-3 record; their 57 points are good for a share of 4th place in the entire NHL.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Casey Cizikas (9) Matt Martin, Leo Komarov 03:38 NYI 1,NJD 0

P.K. Subban (5) Miles Wood, Ben Street 08:37 NYI 1,NJD 1

Jordan Eberle (4) 10:17 NYI 2,NJD 1

2nd Period

Nico Hischier (10) Kyle Palmieri, Wayne Simmonds 18:24 NYI 2,NJD 2

3rd Period 

Kyle Palmieri (16) Nico Hischier, Damon Severson 11:55 NYI 2,NJD 3 PPG

Tom Kuhnhackl (3) Michael Dal Colle 14:14 NYI 3,NJD 3

OT

Anders Lee (13) Devon Toews, Mathew Barzal  04:09 NYI 4,NJD 3

The Skinny      

The Isles tallied four times after they scored only 13 goals in their prior seven games… Kyle Palmieri's goal, on the only penalty of the game, snapped an Isle streak of going 13-13 on the penalty kill in the prior six games...The Isles did not have a power play (for the third time this season); they are 0-12 in the last eight games.  The Isles have had two power play attempts or fewer in a club record eight straight games.  League records on attempts date to the late 70's, and the league record is 12 straight games, set by the 1979-80 Hartford Whalers….The Isles had 41 shots on goal; it was their second-highest total of the season (42 in Pittsburgh November 19th) …Barry Trotz coached his 124th  Isles game, tying Steve Stirling for 9th place on the all-time list and recorded his 75th win, passing Ted Nolan for 5th place… The Isles improve to 15-3-3 in one-goal games while the Devils are 9-2-7…Thomas Greiss recorded his first win since December 12th; it's his 12th win of the season.  Pittsburgh is the only other NHL team with two goalies with at least 12 wins…The first two Devils goals were scored (in reverse order) by the Devils who scored in their 2-1 win over the Isles on January 2nd….Ben Street earned an assist on PK Subban's goal; it was his first NHL assist since October 18, 2018 (for Anaheim, against the Isles)…Tom Kuhnhackl scored for the third time in six games…Jordan Eberle's goal was his first since December 14th vs. Buffalo…Eight of Mathew Barzal's 126 career assists have come in overtime; the seven prior OT helpers were all primary assists.

Look at Me, I'm Anders Lee

Anders Lee now has four game-winning goals this season, including two in two days.  It is the second time in his career that he has scored the winning goal on consecutive days (December 19-20, 2014).  Brock Nelson is the only other Islander to do so in the last 12 years (April 8-9, 2017).

Greiss Earns a Place in the History Books

Thomas Greiss drew the only penalty in tonight's game, leading to Kyle Palmieri's lead goal in the third.  He became the second goalie in NHL history [Gary Smith (1-4-1968, 2nd period,  playing for Oakland, against Detroit)] to draw the only penalty in an NHL game. Detroit (Floyd Smith) also scored on their power play.  Greiss' 3rd pd penalty was the latest "only penalty of a game by a goalie" in NHL history.  (h/t NHLstats via Craig Seiden (Devils radio statistician))

It's Good to be Home(s)

The Isles are 10-5-1 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 12, 2019 (9-0-1); their next Brooklyn game is on Saturday vs. Boston.

Road Warriors

The Isles are 13-7-1 on the road this season, including 6-2-0 in the last eight game.

57 in 42

The Isles have matched their season-high 15 games over NHL-.500.  Their 57 points in 42 games matches the 2014-15 squad for the most points in the Post-Cup era.

Metro Men

The Isles are in a stretch where they are playing 11 out of 12 games in the NY-Metro Area. The Isles are 2-0-0 in this stretch:

• 1/6 – Avs W 1-0

• 1/7 -  @ Devils W 4-3 (OT)

• 1/11 – Bruins (Barclays)

• 1/13 - @ NYRangers

• 1/14 – Red Wings (Coliseum)

• 1/16 – NYRangers (Coliseum)

• 1/18 – Washington (Coliseum)

• 1/19 - @ Hurricanes

• 1/21 - @ NYRangers

• 2/1 – Canucks (Barclays)

• 2/4 – Stars (Barclays)

• 2/6 - Kings (Barclays)

Following this stretch the Isles will play 17 of their next 27 (and 17 of their final 30) games on the road.

Coach Trotz

Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 837-607-60-144 in 1,648 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  912

3. Ken Hitchcock    849

4. Barry Trotz    837

5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,679

3. Barry Trotz        1,648

4. Al Arbour 1,607

First Things First

The Isles are 16-5-2 when scoring first and are 11-7-1 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles            11-18-10-2=41

New Jersey 8-12-13-2=35

The Isles are 9-5-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 18-6-1 when they are outshot.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 27-12-3 overall; 14-5-2 at home (10-5-1 on Long Island and 4-0-1 in Brooklyn) and 13-7-1 on the road.  

New Jersey is 15-20-7 overall; 6-9-7 at home and 9-11-0 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 8-4-1 in Division games and 19-8-2 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 20-6-1 against the East and 7-6-2 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 32 saves to improve to 12-7-0 on the season and 6-4-0 in his career against New Jersey. 

Mackenzie Blackwood made 37 saves; he is 14-11-6 on the season and 1-1-1 in his career against the Isles. 

Power Plays

The Isles did not have a power play; New Jersey was 1-1 on the power play in 0:19 of power play time.

The Isles are 10-2-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 17-10-2 when they do not.  The Isles are 10-6-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 17-6-2 when they do not.

The Isles are 4-3-1 when they have more power plays than the opposition, 4-3-0 when the power plays are even, and 19-6-2 when the opposition has more power plays.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 23-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 4-11-1 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 15-3-3 in games decided by a single goal including 5-3 in regulation. They are 7-2 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 2-1-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 18-10-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (25:58); New Jersey: Andy Greene (23:56)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 19:54 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (9-2-0), Ryan Pulock (11-3-3), Devon Toews (3-4-0), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Nick Leddy (1-2-0), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Mathew Barzal (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 24, New Jersey 28 (46%)  

Derick Brassard won 6 of 8 for the Isles; Travis Zajac won 13 of 18 for New Jersey.

Hit Count

Isles 21 (Three with 3)

New Jersey 18 (Blake Coleman -4)

   

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 10 (Devon Toews -3)

New Jersey 17 (Four with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 71, New Jersey 62

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 66, New Jersey 53

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Scott Mayfield +13

New Jersey: Will Butcher +10

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 24, New Jersey 20

5-on-5: Isles 23, New Jersey 14

Back-to-Backs

Including tonight, the Isles are 4-1-0 in the front-half and 4-1-0 in the back-half. The next back-to-back will be January 13th at the Rangers and January 14th vs. Detroit. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 15-2-1 in back-ends.

Night and Day

The Isles are 23-12-2 in night games and 4-0-1 in matinees. The next matinee will be January 18th, also against Washington.

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 242, Brock Nelson 219, Mathew Barzal 206, Ryan Pulock 169, Josh Bailey 127, Anthony Beauvillier 117, and Devon Toews 90. 

Iron Man

Anders Lee now holds the sixth-longest consecutive game streak in Isles history, while Brock Nelson has moved into a tie for the top 10:

1. Billy Harris 10/7/1972 -11/30/1979 576 (*)

2. Bobby Nystrom 1/7/1975 - 11/25/1978 301

3. Matt Moulson 10/3/2009 - 4/4/2013 284

4. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975 - 1/17/1979 262

5. John Tavares 10/16/2010 - 12/23/2013 246

6. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 242

7. J.P. Parise 1/7/1975 – 1/7/1978 240 (**)

8. Richard Park 10/5/2006 - 2/18/2009 221

9. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995 - 2/4/1998 220 (*) (**)

10. Bryan Trottier 3/7/1981 - 1/12/1984 219

        Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 219

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

Ryan Pulock has the fourth-longest consecutive game streak of any defenseman in Islander history: 

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 169

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches

(Adam Pelech-INJ), (Cal Clutterbuck-INJ), Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho.

Total games lost: 102

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 two goals 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: 3 successful, 1 failure (offside-11/19 vs. PIT), (offside-12/9 vs. TBL), (no goalie Interference 12/21 vs, ANA), (offside-1/6 vs. COL)

The Isles are 3-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-1 in games that they are unsuccessful.

Opponents: 2 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), (Komarov--goalie interference 1/2 vs. NJ)

The Isles are 1-0-1 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 0-2-0 in games that go the opponent's way.

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 839…

20. Lorne Henning 543 *** 21. Claude Lapointe and  Matt Martin 535 *** 23. Tomas Jonsson 532 *** 24. Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 25. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 26. Casey Cizikas 523 *** 27. Brock Nelson 522

Goals

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

13. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 14. Anders Lee 165 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 148 *** 17. Pierre Turgeon 147 ***18. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 19. Kyle Okposo and Brock Nelson 139

Assists

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

7.    Pat Flatley 328 *** 8.   Brent Sutter 323 *** 9. Stefan Persson 317 *** 10. Josh Bailey 308 …

22. Duane Sutter and Alexei Yashin 171*** 24. Jean Potvin 167 *** 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…

23. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 24. Ed Westfall 286 *** 25. Anders Lee 283 *** 26. Brock Nelson 272

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 182

Wins (Goalie)

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

5.   Thomas Greiss 97

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 …

6. Peter Laviolette 164 *** 7. Ted Nolan 163 *** 8. Butch Goring 154 *** 9. Steve Stirling and Barry Trotz 124

Coaching Wins

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

5.  Barry Trotz 75

Season Series Stats

The season series is tied 1 game to 1 (New Jersey has earned 3 points to the Isles' 2 points).  The teams will meet again in New Jersey on March 21st before facing each other at the Coliseum in the regular season finale.

The Isles have won five of the last six games between the teams. This was the third consecutive meeting in New Jersey to go beyond 60 minutes and the Isles have won all three. 

On the Farm   

Bridgeport is off until Friday, when they visit Springfield to begin another 3-in-3 weekend.

Kieffer Bellows continues to lead the Sound Tigers offensively.  He has 14 goals, 13 of which have come in the last 17 games. 

Up Next

SATURDAY, JANUARY 11th   —  BOSTON AT ISLANDERS AT BARCLAYS CENTER–7:00 PM

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

The Isles will enjoy three days off; it is the last time in the regular season that the team will go three days without a games (except for the bye/all-star break).

They will then return to action on Saturday as they meet the Bruins for the second time this season; the Isles won in a shootout in Boston in mid-December.

It will be only the 6th Islander game at Barclays Center this season (4-0-1) and their first since November 30th.

The Bruins have had the Isles' number in recent years and have won eight straight against the Isles in New York (five in Brooklyn and three in Uniondale) with all eight wins coming in regulation.  The last Isles home win vs. Boston was at the Coliseum on November 2, 2013 by a 3-1 score; Kevin Poulin was the winning netminder and Andrew MacDonald scored the winning goal.

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