"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick
Eastern Conference Qualifying Round Game 1
Isles 2, Florida 1
Isles lead best-of-5 series 1-0
The Isles are the most successful team in NHL history in best-of-5 series; they got their Qualifying Round Series off to a good start with a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anthony Beauvillier had the goals for the Isles as the Orange and Blue grabbed a 2-0 lead; Jonathan Huberdeau scored 23 seconds into the third, but the Panthers couldn't find the equalizer as Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves in his Islander playoff debut.
The teams are off Sunday and Monday, before playing 12:00 games on both Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Scoring:
1st Period
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1) Derick Brassard (1) 12:00 FLA 0,NYI 1
2nd Period
Anthony Beauvillier (1) Devon Toews (1), Josh Bailey (1) 03:39 FLA 0,NYI 2 PPG
3rd Period
Jonathan Huberdeau (1) MacKenzie Weegar (1), Aleksander Barkov (1) 00:23 FLA 1,NYI 2
The Series (Isles lead 1-0)
Game 1: Isles 2, Florida 1
Game 2: Tuesday 12:00
Game 3: Wednesday 12:00
Game 4 (if needed): Friday (TBD)
Game 5 If needed): Sunday, August 9 (TBD)
The Skinny
J-G Pageau opened the scoring with his 13th career playoff goal; Pageau also opened the scoring in the last playoff series he played (in 2017 for Ottawa against Tampa Bay)…Derick Brassard, playing in his 100th Stanley Cup Playoff game, earned an assist on the goal… Anthony Beauvillier's goal was his second career playoff goal; it extended the Isles' streak of scoring a power play goal to four straight playoff games, dating back to last May…The Isles improve to 6-2 in game 1's of best-of-5s, with the others all contested from 1980-1986…The Isles were able to play their whole fourth line together for the first time since December 19, 2019 and had Adam Pelech in the lineup for the first time in 2020…The shots finished 28-28; it's the first time since April 17, 2016 (also vs. Florida) that the shots have been even in an Isles playoff game…Devon Toews now has six points (1-5-6) in his first nine career playoff games…The Isles have now played either an exhibition, regular season or post-season game in every calendar month but June.
The Injury
Isles played the last 37:16 without Johnny Boychuk, who did not return after being checked in the head by Mike Matheson. Matheson was penalized on the play and the Isles scored the eventual game-winner on the ensuing power play.
Five for 55
With Boychuk's injury, the other five Islander defenders each played at least 20:00. That is the first time that has happened in the Real Time era in a game decided in regulation. Both Scott Mayfield (24:31) and Devon Toews (22:40) had career playoff highs.
Déjà vu All Over Again (Thanks Yogi)
Nine Islanders who dressed today also faced Florida in 2016 (Greiss, Leddy, Pulock, Bailey, Clutterbuck, Martin, Nelson, Cizikas, Boychuk); Thomas Hickey had an overtime goal in that series. Only four Panthers (Ekblad, Huberdeau, Barkov and Matheson) played in that series.
Déjà vu All Over Again and Again
The Isles' last three playoff games against Florida (Games 5 and 6 in 2016 and today) have all been Islander wins by 2-1 scores. Unlike the two in 2016, this game ended in regulation.
Join the Club
J-G Pageau is the fifth Islander to score in his first regular season and first playoff game with the team. Two others: Mike Bossy and Patrick Flatley did so in the same season.
Overtime is Our Time
The Isles are 34-17 (.667) all-time in overtime, including 18-10 (.643) at home. The .667 overall percentage and .643 home percentages are both the best in NHL history. The Isles are 0-0 in overtime this season; nine of the 27 playoff games the Isles have played since 2015 have gone to overtime with the Isles holding a 5-4 record.
Lead/Tie/Trail
In game 1, the Isles led for 48:00 and the game was tied for 12:00
Playoffs All-Time
The Isles improve to 149-124 in 273 all-time playoff games. They are 85-46 at home (including 2-5 at Barclays and 1-0 in Toronto) and 64-78 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 845-618-60-151 in 1,674 games and will begin next season just 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 925
3. Ken Hitchcock 849
4. Barry Trotz 845
5. Al Arbour 782
Most Games Coached
1. Scotty Bowman 2,141
2. Joel Quenneville 1,705
3. Barry Trotz 1,674
4. Al Arbour 1,607
The matchup between the Isles and Panthers is led by two coaches who have combined for 1,770 wins and 3,379 games. No other match-up in NHL history has featured two coaches with as much experience.
The previous mark was in the 1993 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals when Al Arbour bested Scotty Bowman's Penguins. At the time, Arbour had coached 1,522 regular season games, winning 745, while Bowman had won 834 of his 1,440 games coached. Trotz and Quenneville combine for 191 more wins and 417 more games.
Coach Trotz (Playoffs)
Barry Trotz has now coached 122 playoff games (60-62). His 60 wins are 19th all time, one behind Jacques Lemaire and three behind Fred Shero and Claude Julien. Trotz won the Stanley Cup with Washington in 2018; Joel Quenneville (3) and Mike Sullivan (2) are the only active coaches with multiple Stanley Cups.
Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:
• Al Arbour 123
• Jack Capuano 10
• Terry Simpson 9
• Barry Trotz 5
• Peter Laviolette 4
• Ted Nolan 1
• Steve Stirling 1
Most playoff games coached (Islanders):
• Al Arbour 209
• Jack Capuano 24
• Terry Simpson 20
• Peter Laviolette 12
• Barry Trotz 9
• Steve Stirling 5
• Ted Nolan 5
Most overtime wins/overtime record:
• Al Arbour 26 (26-9)
• Jack Capuano 4 (4-5)
• Terry Simpson 3 (3-0)
• Barry Trotz 1 (1-1)
• Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)
• Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)
Most playoff series wins:
• Al Arbour 29
• Barry Trotz 1
• Jack Capuano 1
• Terry Simpson 1
First Things First
The Isles are 1-0 when scoring first and are 0-0 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.
The Shots
Isles 11-7-10=28
Florida 9-14-5=28
Shots by Game
• Game 1: Isles 28, Florida 28
• Series: Isles 28, Florida 28
The Isles are 0-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0 when the shots are even and 0-0 when they are outshot.
In the Nets
Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves to improve to 1-0 this season and 14-13 all-time in the playoffs.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves but falls to 0-1 this season and 11-19 all-time in the playoffs.
Power Plays
The Isles were 1-3 on the power play in 4:55 of PP time; Florida was 0-1 on the power play in 2:00 of PP time.
Power Plays by Game
• Game 1: Isles 1-3 (4:55; 3 shots), Florida 0-1 (2:00, 3 shots)
• Series: Isles 1-3 (4:55; 3 shots), Florida 0-1 (2:00, 3 shots)
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 0-0 in the playoffs when they score at least three goals and 1-0 when they do not. Last season the Isles scored at least three goals in each of their four wins and two or fewer in each of their four losses.
One Goal Games
The Isles are 1-0 in the playoffs in one-goal games (1-0 in regulation and 0-0 in overtime). The Isles are 0-0 in playoff games where an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Scott Mayfield (24:31); Florida: Aaron Ekblad (25:34)
Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 16:54 of ice-time
Isles record by ice-time leader: Scott Mayfield (1-0)
Face-offs
Isles 28, Florida 24 (54%).
Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 8 of 10 for the Isles; Noel Acciari won 8 of 12 for Florida.
Face-offs by Game
• Game 1: Isles 28, Florida 24 (54%).
• Series: Isles 28, Florida 24 (54%)
Hit Count
Isles 30 (Adam Pelech -5)
Florida 32 (Aleksander Barkov -4)
Hits Game by Game:
• Game 1: Isles 30, Florida 32
• Series: Isles 30, Florida 32
Fights
There were no fights. Playoff total -0.
Blocked Shots
Isles 12 (Cal Clutterbuck and Devon Toews -3)
Florida 15 (Noel Acciari -4)
For the Analytics Crowd
Corsi: All situations: Isles 58, Florida 51
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 48, Florida 48
5-on-5 leaders:
Isles: Josh Bailey and Anthony Beauvillier +7
Florida: Brett Connolly and Evgeni Dadanov +6
Corsi Game by Game:
• Game 1 (All) Isles 58, Florida 51; (5-on-5) Isles 48, Florida 48
• Series (All) Isles 58, Florida 51; (5-on-5) Isles 48, Florida 48
Scratches
Andy Greene, Noah Dobson, Andrew Ladd, Otto Koivula, Michael Dal Colle, Ross Johnston, Thomas Hickey, Sebastian Aho, Leo Komarov, Christopher Gibson
Playoff games lost: 0.
Post-Season Late Heroes (Final Two Minutes of Regulation, or Overtime)
None
Post-Season Late Goals Allowed
None
Playoff Challenges
None
Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)
Games:
Casey Cizikas 33
Matt Martin 33
Josh Bailey 31
Goals:
Josh Bailey 8
Brock Nelson 7
Jordan Eberle 4
Cal Clutterbuck 4
Assists:
Josh Bailey 10
Nick Leddy 8
Mathew Barzal 5
Casey Cizikas 5
Jordan Eberle 5
Thomas Hickey 5
Points:
Josh Bailey 18
Brock Nelson 11
Nick Leddy 10
Penalty Minutes:
Cal Clutterbuck 42
Matt Martin 38
Casey Cizikas 34
PP Goals
Mathew Barzal 2
Josh Bailey 2
Brock Nelson 1
Ryan Pulock 1
Devon Toews 1
Anthony Beauvillier 1
SH Goals
No current Islander has a playoff SH goal with Isles. (Last to do so was Kyle Okposo on May 5, 2013 vs. Pittsburgh)
GW Goals
Brock Nelson 2
Josh Bailey 1
Thomas Hickey 1
Jordan Eberle 1
Anthony Beauvillier 1
Goaltending
Thomas Greiss 5-6 2.49 GAA, .920 save percentage
Semyon Varlamov 1-0 1.00 GAA, .964 save percentage
Up Next
TUESDAY, AUGUST 4th - ISLANDERS VS FLORIDA (AT TORONTO) –12:00 PM
[MSG+ (pre-game at 11:30AM), 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-1050]
The Isles look to take a 2-0 lead as they face Florida. It will be the first mid-week afternoon game in Islander playoff history.
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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