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The Skinny: Buffalo 7, Isles 1

"The Skinny"  By Eric Hornick Game 35 Buffalo 7, Isles 1 Beck Melenstyn scored 2:07 into the first period and the Sabres outscored...

Thursday, March 05, 2020

The Skinny: Ottawa 4, Isles 3

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 66
Ottawa 4, Isles 3
Mikkel Boedker's shorthanded goal, the third allowed by the Isles in two games, tied the game at the exact midpoint and the Ottawa Senators then got goals from Anthony Duclair and Brady Tkachuk enroute to a 4-3 win over the Islanders before a crowd of 13,445 at Canadian Tire Centre. 

Ryan Pulock scored with 2:00 to play on a 6-on-5 to cut the lead to 4-3 but the Isles could not even the score.

The loss extended the Isles winless streak to five games (0-2-3); the last three losses have all come in regulation.  It's the first time since February/March 2018 (8 games) that the Isles have gone at least five games without a point.

The Isles remain in the 2nd wild card with 78 points (one behind Columbus, but in two fewer games). 

The Scoring:
1st Period
Anders Lee (20) Mathew Barzal (39), Derick Brassard (20) 03:58 NYI 1,OTT 0 PPG
Connor Brown (16) Nikita Zaitsev (11), Mike Reilly (15) 13:57 NYI 1,OTT 1

2nd Period
Mathew Barzal (19) Jordan Eberle (24), Devon Toews (21) 04:18 NYI 2,OTT 1
Mikkel Boedker (2) Chris Tierney (26) 10:00 NYI 2,OTT 2 SHG
Anthony Duclair (23) Jayce Hawryluk (6), Colin White (14) 14:26 NYI 2,OTT 3

3rd Period
Brady Tkachuk (20) 16:55 NYI 2,OTT 4
Ryan Pulock (9) Mathew Barzal (40), Devon Toews (22) 18:00 NYI 3,OTT 4

The Skinny        
The Isles are 6-8-3 since the All-Star Break; they have scored 35 goals in the nine games that they earned points but only eight goals in their eight regulation losses…Anders Lee's 1st period goal was his 50th career power play (tied Pierre Turgeon for 9th in club history) but only his second this season (12/9/19 in Tampa)…Lee has scored at least 20 goals five times in his career, including the last four seasons; Lee also has nine goals in 20 career games vs Ottawa …Mathew Barzal played at least 20 minutes for the 31st  time this season (and 60th time in his career); he has played at least 20 minutes in 12 straight games…J-G Pageau was honored with a scoreboard video in the first period but did not record a point…Mathew Barzal reached the 40- assist mark for the third straight season; he is only the second Islander in the 2000's with three consecutive 40-assist seasons (Josh Bailey); Barzal recorded his 15th career 3-point game (3rd this season)…The Isles had gone 6-0-1 in the previous seven games that they scored the first goal…Mathew Barzal was the Isles' best in the circle for the second straight game (8 of 10 in game, 14 of 18 in last two games)…Barzal now has 59 points; with his next point he will become the 2nd-youngest Islander to have three seasons with 60+ points, joining Bryan Trottier…Ottawa improves to 17-2-1 when leading after two periods…Mikkel Boedker's shorty was the Sens' 15th, which leads the NHL.  The Sens have scored at least 15 SH goals five times in the last fifteen seasons; the rest of the NHL has done so only ten times in that span.

First Times in a Long Time
The Isles' late goal makes this the first time under Barry Trotz that they lost a ROAD game in regulation when scoring 3+ goals; they were perfect this season (14-0-0) and 34-0-1 in that situation under Trotz.  Their last road loss when scoring 3+ was in New Jersey on March 31, 2018.

The Isles have allowed three shorthanded goals in the last two games after allowing only two in the season's first 64 games.  It's the first time that they have allowed shorties in consecutive games since November 29-30, 2013 and the first time that they have allowed three SHGs in a two-game period since April 17-18, 2006.

Last Season vs. This Season
The Isles are 35-23-8 thru 66 games this season; they were 38-21-7 thru 66 games last season.  Their 78 points in 65 games is the 4th-highest in the Post-Cup era (87 points in 2014-15, 83 points last season and 82 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 13-8-2 on Coliseum ice where they have sold out six straight 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 are in a stretch in which they play six of eight games at home.  The Isles are 2-3-2 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 (Coliseum)

Following these eight games, the Isles will play nine of the next twelve on the road before ending the season with three games at the Coliseum.

Coach Trotz
Barry Trotz is second among active coaches, trailing only Joel Quenneville, in both wins and games. Trotz' NHL record is 845-618-60-149 in 1,672 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        1,672
4. Al Arbour 1,607

First Things First
The Isles are 23-8-4 when scoring first and are 12-15-4 when allowing the opening goal. The Isles are 6-1-1 in games the last eight games they have scored first but are 1-9-3 in the last 13 games that they have allowed the opening goal.

The Shots
Isles    11-17-11=39
Ottawa 13-7-10=30
The Isles are 13-8-5 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 22-14-3 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 35-23-8 overall: 20-9-5 at home (13-8-2 on Long Island and 7-1-3 in Brooklyn) and 15-14-3 on the road.  
Ottawa is 24-32-12 overall: 18-13-6 at home and 6-19-6 on the road.  

By Division & Conference
The Isles are 11-7-3 in Division games and 24-16-5 in games versus other divisions.  The Isles are 25-13-4 against the East and 10-10-4 against the West.  

In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves; he is 19-14-5 on the season and 4-4-2 in his career against Ottawa.  
Craig Anderson made 36 saves; he is 10-16-2 on the season and 9-8-4 against the Isles.   

Power Plays
The Isles were 1-4 in 7:51 of power play time.  Ottawa was 0-3 in 6:00 of power play time. 

The Isles are 13-7-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 22-16-5 when they do not.  The Isles are 14-9-2 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 24-8-3 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 (Usually) a Magic Number
The Isles are 31-3-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 4-20-4 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 67-5-6 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games
The Isles are 16-7-8 in games decided by a single goal including 5-5 in regulation. They are 8-6 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 22-21-7 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Mathew Barzal (23:42); Ottawa: Thomas Chabot (28:30)
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 23:42 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (9-2-0), Ryan Pulock (13-8-3), 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 28, Ottawa 22 (56%)
Mathew Barzal won 8 of 10 for the Isles; Matthew Peca won 4 of 6 for Ottawa. 

Hit Count
Isles 22 (Matt Martin -6)
Ottawa 29 (Nick Paul -5)
The Isles are 2nd in the NHL with 1,843 hits.
 
Fights 
There were no fights.  Season total:16 – 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).
Blocked Shots
Isles 11 (Scott Mayfield -3)
Ottawa 11 (Ron Hainsey -5)
The Isles lead the NHL with 1,129 blocked shots.

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 64, Ottawa 61 (including 29-11 for the Isles in the 2nd period)
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 42, Ottawa 45

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Jordan Eberle +6
Ottawa: Ron Hainsey +9

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)
All situations: Isles 13, Ottawa 13
5-on-5: Isles 7, Ottawa 9

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 4-3-2 in matinees. The next matinee will be on Saturday vs. Carolina. 

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 266, Brock Nelson 243, Mathew Barzal 230, Ryan Pulock 193, Josh Bailey 151, Anthony Beauvillier 141, and Devon Toews 114.  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 266
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 243
8. J.P. Parise 1/7/1975 – 1/7/1978 240 (**)
9. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 230
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 193
 (*) Start of NHL career.
(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scratches
(Adam Pelech-INJ), (Casey Cizikas-INJ), (Johnny Boychuk- INJ), Ross Johnston, Tom Kuhnhackl, Andrew Ladd, Leo Komarov
Total games lost: 152.

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 863…
17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 558 *** 19. Ken Morrow 550 *** 20. Duane Sutter 547 *** 21. Brock Nelson 546 *** 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 153 *** 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 474…
20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 299  ***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 192

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 148
Coaching Wins
1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 82

Season Series Stats
The Isles win the season series 2 games to 1 (and 4 points to 2).  
The loss ended an Islander six-game winning streak against the Sens and a four-game win streak in Ottawa.   

On the Farm   
Bridgeport begins a 3-in-3 weekend that starts and ends in Lehigh Valley on Friday, with a trip to Wilkes Barre-Scranton in between. 

Up Next
SATURDAY, MARCH 7th  -  CAROLINA AT ISLANDERS AT NASSAU COLISEUM –1:00 PM
[MSG+ (pre-game at 12:30), 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-1050]
The Isles return to the Coliseum for a single, yet very important, game as they welcome the Hurricanes.

Carolina, who swept the Isles in last year's second round, are 2-0 against the Isles this season, winning 5-2 in the game that preceded the Isles' 17-game point streak  and 2-1 in an 8-round shootout just before the All-Star Break.

This is the final game before the Isles head out on a four-game road trip to Western Canada … and Pittsburgh.  It is also the last Coliseum game until March 26th by which time the Isles will have played their final game ever at Barclays 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

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