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The Skinny: Isles 6, Toronto 3

"The Skinny"  By Eric Hornick Game 34 Isles 6, Toronto 3 The Isles jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 4:48 and the Maple Leafs ...

Saturday, February 22, 2020

The Skinny: Isles 4, Detroit 1

"The Skinny" 

By Eric Hornick

Game 60
Isles 4, Detroit 1
The night belonged to John Tonelli.  The game belonged to Jordan Eberle.

Eberle scored the first three Islander goals for his first hat trick as an Islander (and third of his career) as the Isles defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 before a sellout crowd of 13,917 at Nassau Coliseum.  

Semyon Varlamov made 21 saves and came within 2:35 of a shutout as he improved to 3-4-0 since the All-Star break (.930, 2.21). 

Anders Lee had two assists on his fellow #27's night; Mathew Barzal had an assist to reach 50 points on the season (and also lost two other assists to scoring changes).   

The win pushes the Isles, who started the day outside of a playoff spot for the first time since October 23rd back into the top Wild Card spot, just six points off the Metro lead which is shared by Pittsburgh and Washington.

The Scoring:
1st Period
Jordan Eberle (11) Ryan Pulock (24), Anders Lee (17) 05:45 DET 0,NYI 1

2nd Period
Jordan Eberle (12) Mathew Barzal (32), Anthony Beauvillier (20) 17:02 DET 0,NYI 2

3rd Period
Anthony Mantha (13) Mike Green (8), Dylan Larkin (28) 17:25 DET 1,NYI 2 PPG
Jordan Eberle (13) Anders Lee (18), Andy Greene (11) 19:23 DET 1,NYI 3 PPG
Leo Komarov (4)EN Josh Bailey (26), Brock Nelson (25) 19:53 DET 1,NYI 4

The Skinny        
Jordan Eberle has scored 10 goals in the last 19 games; Eberle leads the Isles with 10 goals since Christmas (in 25 games) and is now tied for the club lead with nine power play points; Eberle had six goals this season vs. Detroit – it's the most goals an Islander has EVER had in a season vs. Detroit…
Eberle is the first Islander with a hat trick since Mathew Barzal in Toronto on December 27, 2018 and the first by an Islander at the Coliseum since Kyle Okposo had a four-goal game against Pittsburgh on January 16, 2015… Barry Trotz tied Terry Simpson for 3rd place on the all-time Isles win list… After going five games without a power play goal by either team, the Isles allowed their first power play goal in six games and scored their first power play goal in seven games in a span of 1:58..The Isles had five power plays for the first time since February 4th… The Isles are 5-5-1 in February; they have scored 26 goals in the six games that they earned points but only three goals in their five regulation losses…Anders Lee had a pair of assists to move past Duane Sutter into 22nd place on the Isles' point list…The Isles had 21 shots in the second period after allowing only 2 shots in the first period…Andy Greene now has two assists in three games as an Islander, giving him 199 career assists to go along with 49 career goals; his assist tonight was his first power play point of the season…The Isles are 4-0-0 this season and 10-0-0 over the last two seasons when Leo Komarov scores a goal.  He has scored an empty-net goal in each of the last two home games (one in each building)…Mathew Barzal reached the 50-point mark for the third straight season; he now has 197 career points…The Isles are 3-2-2 in their player jersey retirement games; they also won both the Arbour 739 and 1500 games, and the Bill Torrey "Bow Tie" retirement…The Red Wings, who were mathematically eliminated from playoff consideration, are 0-18-1 vs. the Metro this season; the Isles are 14-3-1 vs. the Atlantic….It's the first time since the 2013 season that the Isles scored 16 goals in a 3-game season series (16 vs. Toronto)…
 
The Injury
Leo Komarov left the game with an injury when he was struck by a puck at the 7:09 of the second period but he returned to play 4:44 in the third period and scored an empty net goal.

Straight B's in Hockey 
An Islander with a surname starting with "B" has earned a point on 24of the Isles' 29 goals this month. 

Last Season vs. This Season
The Isles are 34-20-6 thru 60 games this season; they were 35-18-7 thru 60 games last season.  Their 74 points in 60 games is the 3rd-highest in the Post-Cup era (80 points in 2014-15, 77 points last season).

It's Good to be Home(s)
The Isles will play 28 of their 41 home games this season at the Coliseum.  The Isles are 12-7-1 on Coliseum ice, but only 3-5-1 in their last 9 games in Uniondale.  The Isles are 7-0-3 at Barclays Center this season and have not lost a regular season game in Brooklyn since January 12, 2019 (12-0-3); their next Brooklyn game is on March 3rd vs. Montreal.

On the Road
The Isles are 15-13-2 on the road this season but are only 3-7-1 in the last 11 games.

Home Cooking Coming
The Isles are in a stretch in which they play six of eight games at home.  The Isles are 1-0-0 in this stretch.

2/21 Vs Red Wings (W 4-1)
2/23 Vs Sharks (Coliseum)
2/25 Vs Rangers (Coliseum)
2/27 @ Blues
2/29 Vs Bruins (Coliseum – Goring Day)
3/3 Vs Canadiens (Barclays)
3/5 @ Senators
3/7 Vs Hurricanes (Coliseum)

Following these eight games, the Isles will play nine of the following twelve 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 844-615-60-147 in 1,666 games, and he is now six wins shy of supplanting Ken Hitchcock as the 3rd-winningest coach in NHL history.

Most Coaching Wins
1. Scotty Bowman  1,244
2. Joel Quenneville  922
3. Ken Hitchcock    849
4. Barry Trotz    844
5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman   2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,697
3. Barry Trotz        1,666
4. Al Arbour 1,607

First Things First
The Isles are 22-7-3 when scoring first and are 12-13-3 when allowing the opening goal.

Highest Percentage of Games Won (Post-Cup Era) Allowing First Goal
.545 (18-13-2) 2014-15
.459 (17-18-2) 2018-19
.429 (12-13-3) 2019-20
.410 (14-21-4) 1985-86

The Shots
Isles    13-21-6=40
Detroit  2-12-8=22
The Isles are 13-7-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 21-12-2 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 52-23-8 when outshot; the 52 wins are the most in the NHL.

Home and Road
The Islanders are 34-20-6 overall: 19-7-4 at home (12-7-1 on Long Island and 7-0-3 in Brooklyn) and 15-13-2 on the road.  
Detroit is 15-44-4 overall: 10-18-2 at home and 5-26-2 on the road.  

By Division & Conference
The Isles are 11-7-2 in Division games and 23-13-4 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 25-10-3 against the East and 9-10-3 against the West.  

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 21 saves and improves to 18-12-4 on the season and 7-6-0 in his career against Detroit.  

Jonathan Bernier made 36 saves but falls to 13-18-2 on the season and 5-7-4 against the Isles.  

Power Plays
The Isles were 1-5 in 9:27 of power play time; Detroit was 1-2 in 3:34 of power play time, scoring their goal on a 6-on-4.

The Isles are 13-5-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 21-15-5 when they do not.  The Isles are 14-9-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 20-12-4 when they do not.

The Isles are 6-6-3 when they have more power plays than the opposition, 4-6-0 when the power plays are even, and 24-8-3 when the opposition has more power plays.

First 2 / Last 2     
The Isles have scored 14 goals and allowed 14 goals in the first two minutes of regulation periods.
The Isles have scored 12 goals and allowed 17 goals (excluding ENGs) in the last two minutes of regulation periods. 

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 30-2-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 4-18-3 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 66-4-5 when scoring three or more, with two of the four regulation losses coming against Nashville.

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 16-6-6 in games decided by a single goal including 5-6 in regulation. They are 8-4 in games decided in overtime and are 3-2 in shootouts.  The Isles are 5-3 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Tired vs. Rested 
The Isles are 3-0-0 when both teams played the night before. 
The Isles are 6-1-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 
The Isles are 3-1-1 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.
The Isles are 22-18-5 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Ryan Pulock (22:04); Detroit: Patrik Nemeth (22:50)
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 21:10 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (9-2-0), Ryan Pulock (13-6-3), Devon Toews (3-6-1), Scott Mayfield (2-1-0), Nick Leddy (5-3-2), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Mathew Barzal (1-2-0).

Highest Ice-Time by Isles Forwards Under Trotz
24:59 -  Mathew Barzal – 2/20/20 vs. Colorado
24:35 -  Mathew Barzal – 2/17/20 vs. Arizona
24:35 - Brock Nelson – 11/9/19 vs. Florida
24:01 - Jordan Eberle – 2/17/20 vs. Arizona
23:52 – Mathew Barzal – 12/15/18 vs. Detroit
23:23 - Mathew Barzal – 2/15/20 vs. Vegas
23:11 - Mathew Barzal -1/2/20 vs. New Jersey
23:11 - Mathew Barzal – 12/3/19 vs. Montreal

Face-offs
Isles 24, Detroit 37 (39%)  
No Islander won more draws than he lost; Valtteri Filppula won 10 of 13 for Detroit.

Hit Count
Isles 33 (Andre Ladd-6)
Detroit 29 (Christoffer Ehn-5)
 
Fights 
There were no fights.  Season total:14 – Johnston-6 (vs. FLA, vs PHL, vs TB, vs NYR, vs WAS, vs VGK), Cizikas-3 (vs. OTT, vs SJ, vs. LA), Lee-2 (vs FLA, vs VGK), Martin-2 (vs NYR, vs NAS), Mayfield (vs ANA).
 
Blocked Shots
Isles 14  (Ryan Pulock and Nick Leddy -3)
Detroit 13 (Frans Nielsen-3)
The Isles lead the NHL with 1,038 blocked shots.

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 59, Detroit 52
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 43, Detroit 39

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Nick Leddy +11
Detroit: Valtteri Filppula +7

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 16, Detroit 11  
5-on-5: Isles 9, Detroit 8

Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 5-3-0 in the front-half and 6-1-1 in the back-half. The next back-to-back will be March 12th in Calgary and March 13th in Edmonton. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 17-2-2 in back-ends.

Night and Day
The Isles are 30-18-4 in night games and 4-2-2 in matinees. The next matinee will be on February 29th vs Boston; Sunday's 5:00 start vs. San Jose is considered a night game. 

200 Game Club
The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 200 games, and they are three of just 25 players in the NHL who have played every game since the start of the 2017-18 season.  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 260, Brock Nelson 237, Mathew Barzal 224, Ryan Pulock 187, Josh Bailey 145, Anthony Beauvillier 135, and Devon Toews 108.  No other Islander has played every game this season.

Iron Man
Anders Lee now has the fifth longest consecutive game streak while Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal have also moved into 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. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 260
6. John Tavares 10/16/2010 - 12/23/2013 246
7. J.P. Parise 1/7/1975 – 1/7/1978 240 (**)
8. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 237
9. Mathew Barzal 10/6/17- CURRENT 224
10. Richard Park 10/5/2006 - 2/18/2009 221

 (*) 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 187
 (*) Start of NHL career.
(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches
(Adam Pelech-INJ), (Cal Clutterbuck-LTIR/Conditioning), (Casey Cizikas-INJ), Derick Brassard, Ross Johnston, Noah Dobson.
Total games lost: 133.

Late Heroes 
The Isles have scored four times 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.
2/1 vs VAN – Brock Nelson scored at 19:34, but the Isles lost in OT.
2/11 vs PHI – Ryan Pulock scored the winning goal at 19:19.

Late Goals Allowed
The Isles have allowed four 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. 
1/16 vs. NYR- Chris Kreider scored the winning goal at 19:35.
2/11 vs. PHI – Sean Couturier scored at 18:28, but the Isles won in regulation.

Challenges
Isles: 4 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), (offside 1/21 vs NYR)
The Isles are 4-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-1 in games that they are unsuccessful.

Opponents: 4 successful, 3 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),(no offside 1/18 vs WSH), (Lee-goalie interference 2/4 vs. DAL), (offside- 2/9 vs TBL)
The Isles are 1-1-1 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 1-3-0 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 857…
17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 553 *** *** Ken Morrow 550 *** 20. Duane Sutter 547 *** 21. Lorne Henning 543 *** 22. Brock Nelson 540 *** 23. Claude Lapointe 535 *** 24. Casey Cizikas 534

Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …
12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 169 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 152 *** 17. Pierre Turgeon 147 ***18. Brock Nelson 146

Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553…
6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Pat Flatley 328 *** 8. Brent Sutter 323 *** 9. Josh Bailey 319 …
20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 22. Duane Sutter and Alexei Yashin 171*** 24. Nick Leddy 168

Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052…
11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 471…
20. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 21. Mariusz Czerkawski 295 *** 23. Anders Lee 292 *** 23. Duane Sutter 292 *** 24. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 25. Brock Nelson 288

Games Played (Goalies)
1. Billy Smith 674 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318 *** 3. Glenn Resch 282 *** 4. Kelly Hrudey 241 ***
5. Thomas Greiss 190

Wins (Goalie)
1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130*** 4. Kelly Hrudey 108***
5.   Thomas Greiss 101

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. Barry Trotz 142
 
Coaching Wins
1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Terry Simpson and. Barry Trotz 81

Season Series Stats
The Isles sweep the season series 3 games to 0 (and 6 points to 0); they outscored the Red Wings 16-4 in the season series.

The Isles (5-1-0 vs Wings under Barry Trotz) sweep the season series from Detroit for the first time since the Red Wings moved to the Eastern Conference.

On the Farm   
Bridgeport hosts Hershey on Saturday and Hartford on Sunday. Cal Clutterbuck has been assigned to the Sound Tigers as he continues his injury rehab.  It will be his first AHL action since October 13, 2008.

Up Next
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23rd  -  SAN JOSE AT ISLANDERS AT NASSAU COLISEUM –5:00 PM
[MSG+ (pre-game at 4:30), 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-1050]
The Isles look to improve to 2-0-0 on the homestand as they welcome the San Jose Sharks to Long Island for the first time since October 16, 2014.

It's the 2nd meeting of the season; the Sharks earned a 2-1 overtime win over the Isles on November 23rd in what became the final game of the Isles' 17-game point streak. Logan Couture, one of several Sharks out of the lineup now with injuries, had the overtime goal.

The Isles went 3-1-0 in the four meetings with the Sharks in Brooklyn (which were all played in October); the Isles also won the last Coliseum meeting in a shootout.

Barry Trotz will be looking for his 82nd win behind the Isles bench, which would pass Terry Simpson for 3rd place on the all-time club list.

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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