The Skinny: Carolina 3, Isles 2 (OT)

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 67

Carolina 3, Isles 2 (OT)

Vincent Trocheck scored a 4-on-3 overtime goal to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 3-2 victory over the Islanders before a sellout crowd of 13,917 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Trocheck's goal came after the puck struck Andrei Svechnikov's stick.  The play was reviewed for several minutes before it was determined that Svechnikov's stick was below his natural shoulder height.

Ryan Pulock and Josh Bailey scored the Islander goals; it's the third straight game that Pulock has scored a goal.

The loss earned the Isles their first point in four games but extended the Isles winless streak to six games (0-3-3).  It's the first time since February/March 2018 (8 games) that the Isles have gone at least five games without a win.

The Isles moved back into the 1st wild card with 79 points (tied with Columbus, but in one fewer game), pending the outcome of the Blue Jackets' game in Edmonton on Saturday night. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Justin Williams (5) Haydn Fleury (8) 13:22 CAR 1,NYI 0

2nd Period

Ryan Pulock (10) Anders Lee (22) 05:15 CAR 1,NYI 1

3rd Period

Joel Edmundson (7) Teuvo Teravainen (46), Andrei Svechnikov (35) 06:16 CAR 2,NYI 1 

Josh Bailey (14) Noah Dobson (5), Andy Greene (12) 15:02 CAR 2,NYI 2

OT

Vincent Trocheck (11) Andrei Svechnikov (36), Sebastian Aho (27) 01:36 CAR 3,NYI 2 PPG

The Skinny        

The Isles are 6-8-4 since the All-Star Break; they have scored 37 goals in the ten games that they earned points but only eight goals in their eight regulation losses…Ryan Pulock scored for the third straight game – he is the first Islander defenseman to do so since Mark Streit in October 2008 – and is now just one game shy of the club record (set twice by Denis Potvin and equaled by Tomas Jonsson and Bryan Berard)…The Isles are 1-9-4 in the last 14 games that they have allowed the first goal… Mathew Barzal was held pointless and remains with 59 points; his next point will make him the 2nd-youngest Islander to have three seasons with 60+ points, joining Bryan Trottier…Vincent Trocheck's goal was his first as a Hurricane…Justin Williams was credited with the game's opening goal to extend his goal-streak to three games; he finished with a season-high eight shots on goal…Anders Lee earned his 300th career point on the Pulock goal; he is the 21st player in Islander history to reach that mark…The Hurricanes had lost all four games they had played since losing both goaltenders in the "David Ayres game"…Noah Dobson's assist was his first since the All-Star Break.

Last Season vs. This Season

The Isles are 35-23-9 thru 67 games this season; they were 39-21-7 thru 67 games last season.  Their 79 points in 67 games is the 4th-highest in the Post-Cup era (88 points in 2014-15, 85 points last season and 84 points in 2015-16).

It's Good to be Home(s)

The Isles are playing 28 of their 41 home games this season at the Coliseum.  The Isles are 13-8-3 on Coliseum ice where they have sold out seven of the last eight games (and ten games this season).  The Isles are 7-1-3 at Barclays Center this season and 12-1-3 in their last 16 regular season home games); the remaining Brooklyn games are on March 17th vs. Calgary, and March 22nd vs. Carolina.

Governor Cuomo announced before the February 29th game that all home playoff games this season and all home regular season and playoff games next season will be played at the Coliseum.

On the Road

The Isles are 15-14-3 on the road this season but are only 3-8-2 in the last 13 games.

Lots of Home Cooking 

The Isles completed a stretch in which they play six of eight games at home.  The Isles went 2-3-3 in this stretch.

• 2/21 Vs Red Wings (W 4-1)

• 2/23 Vs Sharks (W 4-1)

• 2/25 Vs Rangers (L 3-4 OT)

• 2/27 @ Blues (L 2-3 OT)

• 2/29 Vs Bruins (L 0-4)

• 3/3 Vs Canadiens (L 2-6)

• 3/5 @ Senators (L 3-4)

• 3/7 Vs Hurricanes (L 2-3 OT)

Road to the Playoffs

The Isles are beginning a stretch in which the play nine of 12 on the road:

• 3/10 @ Canucks

• 3/12 @ Flames

• 3/13 @ Oilers

• 3/15 @ Penguins

• 3/17 Vs. Flames (Barclays)

• 3/19 @ Leafs

• 3/21 @ Devils

• 3/22 Vs. Hurricanes (Final Barclays Game)

• 3/24 @ Flyers

• 3/26 Vs. Sabres (Barclays)

• 3/28 @ Canadiens

• 3/30 @ Blue Jackets

The final three games will then be at the Coliseum (3/31 Vs. Wild, 4/2 Vs. Blackhawks, 4/4 Vs. Devils)

Coach Trotz

Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 845-618-60-150 in 1,673 games, and he is now five 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  923

3. Ken Hitchcock    849

4. Barry Trotz    845

5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,703

3. Barry Trotz        1,673

4. Al Arbour 1,607

First Things First

The Isles are 23-8-4 when scoring first and are 12-15-5 when allowing the opening goal. The Isles are 6-1-1 in the last eight games they have scored first but are 1-9-4 in the last 14 games that they have allowed the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles      6-9-11-0=26

Carolina 9-11-7-1=28

The Isles are 13-8-5 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 22-14-4 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 53-25-9 when outshot; the 53 wins are the most in the NHL.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 35-23-9 overall: 20-9-6 at home (13-8-3 on Long Island and 7-1-3 in Brooklyn) and 15-14-3 on the road.  

Carolina is 36-25-5 overall: 19-12-2 at home and 17-13-3 on the road.  

By Division & Conference

The Isles are 11-7-4 in Division games and 24-16-5 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 25-13-5 against the East and 10-10-4 against the West.  

In the Nets

Thomas Greiss made 25 saves; he is 16-9-4 on the season and 8-5-3 in his career against Carolina.  

Anton Forsberg made 24 saves; he is 1-1-0 on the season and 2-3-0 against the Isles.  It's his first NHL win since March 24, 2018 (for Chicago, also against the Islanders). 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-3 in 4:28 of power play time.  Carolina was 1-5 in 6:28 of power play time. 

The Isles are 13-7-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 22-16-6 when they do not.  The Isles are 14-9-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 21-14-6 when they do not.

The Isles are 7-9-5 when they have more power plays than the opposition, 4-6-0 when the power plays are even, and 24-9-3 when the opposition has more power plays.

First 2 / Last 2     

The Isles have scored 15 goals and allowed 14 goals in the first two minutes of regulation periods.

The Isles have scored 14 goals and allowed 20 goals (excluding ENGs) in the last two minutes of regulation periods. 

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 31-3-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 4-20-5 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 67-5-6 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 16-7-9 in games decided by a single goal including 5-7 in regulation. They are 8-7 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 7-1-0 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 22-21-8 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:44); Carolina: Jaccob Slavin (27:01)

Jordan Eberle led Isles forwards with 21:03 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (9-2-0), Ryan Pulock (13-8-4), Devon Toews (3-6-2), Scott Mayfield (2-1-0), Nick Leddy (5-3-3), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Mathew Barzal (2-3-0).

Highest Ice-Time by Isles Forwards Under Trotz

• 24:59 -  Mathew Barzal – 2/19/20 vs. COL(Career High)

• 24:35 -  Mathew Barzal – 2/17/20 vs. ARI

• 24:35 - Brock Nelson – 11/9/19 vs. FLA (Career High)

• 24:02 – Mathew Barzal – 2/25/20 vs. NYR 

• 24:01 - Jordan Eberle – 2/17/20 vs. ARI (Most with Isles)

Face-offs

Isles 29, Carolina 33 (47%)

Brock Nelson won 9 of 17 for the Isles; Jordan Martinook won 9 of 11 for Carolina. 

Hit Count

Isles 34 (Ryan Pulock -5)

Carolina 33 (Jordan Staal-6)

The Isles are 2nd in the NHL with 1,877 hits.

 

Fights 

Anthony Beauvillier fought Ryan Dzingiel in the 2nd period.  Season total:17 – Johnston-6 (vs. FLA, vs PHL, vs TB, vs NYR, vs WAS, vs VGK), Cizikas-3 (vs. OTT, vs SJ, vs. LA), Lee-3 (vs FLA, vs VGK, vs MON), Martin-2 (vs NYR, vs NAS), Mayfield (vs ANA), Pageau (vs NYR), Dzingel (vs. CAR).

Blocked Shots

Isles 13 (Andy Greene -4)

Carolina 17 (Jaccob Slavin -4)

The Isles lead the NHL with 1,142 blocked shots.

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 51, Carolina 53 (including 21-12 for the Isles in the 3rd period)

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 43, Carolina 42

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Brock Nelson +8

Carolina: Nino Niederreiter +9

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 9, Carolina 11

5-on-5: Isles 9, Carolina 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 31-20-6 in night games and 4-3-3 in matinees. All of the remaining games, including the 3/15 (6:00) and 3/22 (5:00) games are considered night games by the NHL.

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 267, Brock Nelson 244, Mathew Barzal 231, Ryan Pulock 194, Josh Bailey 152, Anthony Beauvillier 142, and Devon Toews 115.  No other Islander has played every game this season.

Iron Man

Anders Lee has passed Denis Potvin for the fourth-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. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 267

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

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

7. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 244

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

9. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 231

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 194

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches

(Adam Pelech-INJ), (Casey Cizikas-INJ), (Johnny Boychuk- INJ), Ross Johnston, Tom Kuhnhackl, (Cal Clutterbuck- INJ), Otto Koivula

Total games lost: 156.

Late Heroes 

The Isles have scored five 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.

2/26 vs NYR – Brock Nelson scored at 19:42, but the Isles lost in OT

Late Goals Allowed

The Isles have allowed five 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.

2/27 vs. STL – Vince Dunn scored at 18:16, and the Blues won in OT.

Challenges

Isles: 4 successful, 2 failures (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), (no goalie interference 2/25 vs NYR)

The Isles are 4-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-2 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 864…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 559 *** 19. Ken Morrow 550 *** 20. Duane Sutter and Brock Nelson 547 *** 22. Lorne Henning 543 ***  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 172 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 154 *** 17. Brock Nelson 148

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 321 …

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 475…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 300  ***22. Mariusz Czerkawski 295 *** 23. Brock Nelson 293

Games Played (Goalies)

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

5. Thomas Greiss 193

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 149

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 82

Season Series Stats

Carolina leads the season series 3 games to 0 (and 6 points to 2).  

Carolina has defeated the Isles in eight straight games (including playoffs), dating back to January 2019.

On the Farm   

Bridgeport began a 3-in-3 weekend with a 6-4 win in Lehigh Valley on Friday; Kieffer Bellows scored twice to reach 20 goals on the season, including four goals in the last four games. Bridgeport is at Wilkes Barre-Scranton for a game on Saturday before returning to Lehigh Valley on Sunday. 

Up Next

TUESDAY, MARCH 10th  -  ISLANDERS AT VANCOUVER –10:00 PM

[MSG+ (pre-game at 9:45 PM), 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-1050]

The Isles head out west to begin a 4-game road trip on Tuesday in Vancouver. 

It's the second meeting of the season between the teams; Quinn Hughes' overtime goal was the game-winner in the Isles' first game after the All-Star Break.

The Isles are 6-0-3 in the last nine games with Vancouver and are 3-0-1 in their last four trips to the Pacific Northwest.

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