The Skinny: Isles 5, Los Angeles 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 52

Isles 5, Los Angeles 3 

What a night for Kieffer Bellows!  The Islander rookie, who was playing his 2nd NHL game, scored two goals, including the game-winner, as the Isles rallied from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits for a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings before 11,108 at Barclays Center. 

Michael Dal Colle and Matt Martin also scored for the Isles, who got all their goals from the "bottom six" forwards until Anders Lee hustled his way into an empty-net goal. 

The Isles are 6-0-3 this season in Brooklyn as they extended their regular season point streak in Brooklyn to fourteen games.

The Isles are 3-0-2 in their last five games; it's their longest point streak since their 17-game streak in October/November.

The Isles improve to 31-15-6 as they go 16 games over NHL-.500 for the first time this season; their 68 points is the most any Islander team has had thru 52 games in the Post-Cup era.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Ben Hutton (3) Adrian Kempe (13), Blake Lizotte (12) 10:20 LAK 1,NYI 0

Alex Iafallo (15) 17:20 LAK 2,NYI 0

2nd Period

Michael Dal Colle (4) Johnny Boychuk (9), Nick Leddy (16) 01:40 LAK 2,NYI 1

Trevor Lewis (3) Michael Amadio (10), Ben Hutton (7) 07:09 LAK 3,NYI 1

Kieffer Bellows (1)  Anthony Beauvillier (18), Derick Brassard (17) 10:22 LAK 3,NYI 2

3rd Period

Matt Martin (4) Devon Toews (17), Ryan Pulock (21) 00:23 LAK 3,NYI 3

Kieffer Bellows (2) Derick Brassard (18), Anders Lee (14) 12:10 LAK 3,NYI 4

Anders Lee (17)EN Brock Nelson (21) 19:47 LAK 3,NYI 5

The Skinny       

Barry Trotz recorded his 79th Isles win, leaving him just two wins behind Terry Simpson for 3rd  place on the all-time team list… Anthony Beauvillier is 5-5-10 in the last eight games; …Brock Nelson assisted on the empty net goal; he is 6-5-11 in the last nine games... The Isles are 4-5-3 in their last twelve home games… The Isles are  16 games over NHL .500 (31-15-6) for the first time this season… Three different Isles extended point streaks to four games (Beauvillier, Nelson and Ryan Pulock while Michael Dal Colle and Devon Toews extended their streaks to three games…The Isles improve to 4-4-0 when trailing 2-0, however this was their first regulation win in that situation…Los Angeles suffered their first regulation loss (12-1-1) when leading after two periods while the Isles recorded their fifth win (5-11-1) when trailing after two…Derick Brassard, Brian Bellows and Johnny Boychuk all went +3; Bellows is +4 through two NHL games…The Isles dressed eight of their own first round draft picks for the 2nd straight game (and the 5th time this season).

Hitting the Century Mark

Three different Islanders hit the century mark in different statistics:

• Devon Toews appeared in his 100th consecutive game (to start his career)

• Ryan Pulock assisted on the first Isles goal to record his 100th point

• Thomas Greiss recorded his 100th win as an Islander, becoming only the 5th Islander to ever do so.

The Century Club  (Wins as an Islander)

1. Billy Smith 304  

2. Glenn Resch 157 

3. Rick DiPietro 130 

4. Kelly Hrudey 108

5.   Thomas Greiss 100

Nothing Can Be Finer but to Be from Edina…Minnesota

Kieffer Bellows became the first Islander since Anders Lee to record points in his first two NHL games. Lee later added his 169th goal as an Islander, breaking a tie with Ziggy Palffy for 13th place on the team's all-time list.

Bellows and Lee were both born in Edina.

First Times in a Long Time  - Kieffer Bellows Edition

In addition to becoming the first Isle since Anders Lee to have points in his first two games, Bellows is:

• The first Isle since Kyle Okposo to score the winning goal in one of his first two NHL games (3-21-2008 at New Jersey)

• The first Isle since Scott Howson to record a multi-goal game in one of his first two NHL games (1-22-1985 vs Detroit)

• The first Isle since Neil Coulter to score two goals in his first two games (11-1 and 11-2-85, both vs. Washington)

• The first Bellows to score twice in his first two NHL games (his HHOF dad went 1-2-3 in his first two games)

Last Season vs. This Season

The Isles are 31-15-6 thru 52 games this season; they were 30-16-6 thru 52 games last season.  Their 68 points in 52 games is the most in the Post-Cup era (67 points in 2014-15).

+16 and +90

The Isles are 16 games over NHL-.500 for the first time this season and improve to 1652-1562-502 all-time.  It's the first time they are 90 games over all-time .500 since November 2, 1998 when a 6-2 win over Florida raised the all-time record to 934-844-291.

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 11-7-1 on Coliseum ice, but only 2-5-1 in their last 8 games in Uniondale.  The Isles are 6-0-3 at Barclays Center this season and have not lost in Brooklyn (regular season) since January 12, 2019 (11-0-3); their next Brooklyn game is on Tuesday vs. Philadelphia.

Road Warriors

The Isles are 14-8-2 on the road this season, including 7-3-1 in the last 11 games.

Metro Men

The Isles just completed a stretch where they are playing 11 out of 12 games in the NY-Metro Area. The Isles went 6-3-3 in this stretch:

• 1/6 – Avs W 1-0

• 1/7 -  @ Devils W 4-3 (OT)

• 1/11 – Bruins L 2-3 (OT)

• 1/13 - @ Rangers L 2-6

• 1/14 – Red Wings W 8-2

• 1/16 – Rangers L 2-3

• 1/18 – Capitals  L 4-6

• 1/19 - @ Hurricanes L 1-2 (SO)

• 1/21 - @ Rangers W 4-2

• 2/1 – Canucks L 3-4 (OT)

• 2/4 – Stars W 4-3 (OT)

• 2/6 - Kings W 5-3

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 841-610-60-147 in 1,658 games, and he is now nine 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  919

3. Ken Hitchcock    849

4. Barry Trotz    841

5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,689

3. Barry Trotz        1,658

4. Al Arbour 1,607

First Things First

The Isles are 19-7-3 when scoring first and are 12-8-3 when allowing the opening goal.

Highest Percentage of Games Won (Post-Cup Era) Allowing First Goal

• .545 (18-13-2) 2014-15

• .522 (12-8-3) 2019-20

• .459 (17-18-2) 2018-19

• .410 (14-21-4) 1985-86

The Shots

Isles        7-10-16=33

Los Angeles   6-10-9=25

The Isles are 11-6-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 20-8-2 when they are outshot.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 31-15-6 overall; 17-7-4 at home (11-7-1 on Long Island and 6-0-3 in Brooklyn) and 14-8-2 on the road.  

Los Angeles is 19-31-5 overall; 11-12-1 at home and 8-19-4 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 9-7-2 in Division games and 22-8-4 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 22-9-3 against the East and 9-6-3 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 22 saves to improve to 15-7-2 on the season and 5-3-0 in his career against Los Angeles. It was his 100th career win as an Islander.

Jonathan Quick made 28 saves but falls to 11-21-3 on the season and 6-4-2 against the Isles.  

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-1 in 2:00 of power play time; Los Angeles was 0-2 in 4:00 of power play time.

The Isles are 12-4-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 19-11-5 when they do not.  The Isles are 12-9-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 19-7-4 when they do not.

The Isles are 5-4-3 when they have more power plays than the opposition, 4-5-0 when the power plays are even, and 22-6-3 when the opposition has more power plays.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 27-2-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 4-13-3 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 63-4-5 when scoring three or more, with two of the four regulation losses coming against Nashville.

One-Goal Games

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

Greatest Percentage of 1-goal games won 

• 1981-82 -- .800

• 1982-83 & 1976-77 -- .667

• 1991-92 -- .619

• 2019-20 -- .615

• 2014-15 -- .605

• 2018-19 -- .594

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 2-0-0 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 20-13-5 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:57); Los Angeles: Drew Doughty (25:43)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 21:10 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (9-2-0), Ryan Pulock (12-5-3), Devon Toews (3-4-1), Scott Mayfield (2-1-0), Nick Leddy (3-3-2), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Mathew Barzal (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 29, Los Angeles 25 (54%)  

Brock Nelson won 11 of 17 (and Anders Lee won 4 of 4) for the Isles; Michael Amadio won 4 of 5 for Los Angeles.

Hit Count

Isles 16  (Matt Martin -4)

Los Angeles 17 (Two with 4)

 

Fights

Casey Cizikas fought Alec Martinez in the third period.  Season total: 9 – Johnston-4 (vs. FLA, vs PHL, vs TB, vs NYR), Cizikas-3 (vs. OTT, vs SJ, vs. LA), Mayfield (vs ANA), Lee (vs FLA), Martin (vs NYR)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles: 22  (Noah Dobson-5)

Los Angeles: 15 (Six with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 57, Los Angeles 62

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 51, Los Angeles 52

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Three with +8

Los Angeles: Two with +9

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 20, Los Angeles 14

5-on-5: Isles 17,Los Angeles 14

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 4-3-0 in the front-half and 5-1-1 in the back-half.  The next back-to-back will be February 10th at Washington and February 11th vs. Philadelphia. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 16-2-2 in back-ends.

Night and Day

The Isles are 27-14-4 in night games and 4-1-2 in matinees. The next matinee will be February 17th in Arizona. 

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 252, Brock Nelson 229, Mathew Barzal 216, Ryan Pulock 179, Josh Bailey 137, Anthony Beauvillier 127, and Devon Toews 100. 

Iron Man

Anders Lee now has the fifth longest consecutive game streak while Brock Nelson has also moved into the top 8:

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 252

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 229

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

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

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

12. Lorne Henning 12/28/1974 - 11/6/1977 218

13. Mathew Barzal 10/6/17- CURRENT 216

 (*) 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 179

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches

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

Total games lost: 124.

Late Heroes 

The Isles have scored three 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.

Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have allowed three 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.

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: 3 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)

The Isles are 1-1-1 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 1-2-0 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 849…

18. Ken Morrow 550 *** 19. Duane Sutter 547 *** 20. Matt Martin 545 *** 21. Lorne Henning 543 *** Claude Lapointe 535  *** 23. Tomas Jonsson and Brock Nelson 532 *** 25.  Casey Cizikas 531

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 151 *** 17. Pierre Turgeon 147 ***18. Mariusz Czerkawski and Brock Nelson 145

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 313 …

21. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 22. Duane Sutter and Alexei Yashin 171*** 24. Jean Potvin and Nick Leddy 167

Points

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

12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 464…

21. Mariusz Czerkawski 295 *** 22. Duane Sutter 292 *** 23. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 24. Anders Lee 289 *** 25. Ed Westfall 286 *** 26. Brock Nelson 283

Games Played (Goalies)

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

5. Thomas Greiss 188

Wins (Goalie)

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

5.   Thomas Greiss 100

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 134

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Terry Simpson 81 *** 4. Barry Trotz 78

Season Series Stats

The teams split the season series 1 game to 1 (and 2 points to 2).  

The Isles have won five straight home games (including four in Brooklyn), and have outscored the Kings 22-12 in those five games.

On the Farm   

The Sound Tigers dropped a 3-2 decision to Syracuse on Wednesday morning. Bridgeport hosts Providence on Saturday before visiting Providence on Sunday afternoon.

Up Next

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8th  -  ISLANDERS AT TAMPA BAY–7:00 PM

[MSG+2 (pre-game at 6:30), 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-1050]

The Isles begin a two-game road trip as they look to sweep the season series from  the reigning President's Trophy Champion Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday Night. 

The Isles defeated Tampa 5-2 at the Coliseum on November 1st and then beat the Lightning 5-1 at AMALIE Arena on December 9th.

The Isles haven't won two games in Tampa in a season since 2010-11 and haven't beaten the Lightning three times in a season since 2013.

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