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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 ...

Tuesday, August 04, 2020

The Skinny: Isles 4, Florida 2. (Isles lead series 2-0)

(With apologies for the poor formatting in today's edition:)


"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Qualifying Round Game 2
Isles 4, Florida 2
Isles lead best-of-5 series 2-0

Jordan Eberle scored the game's final two goals to break a 2-2 tie as the Isles took a 2-0 lead in their qualifying round series with a 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Matt Martin (his first playoff goal since 2013) and Ryan Pulock each erased one goal deficits as the Isles rallied for the victory; Semyon Varlamov made 24 saves for the win. 

The Isles will look to complete the sweep on Wednesday at 12:00., 

The Scoring: 
1st Period
Mike Hoffman (1) Jonathan Huberdeau (1), Keith Yandle (1)
11:16 FLA 1,NYI 0

2nd Period
Matt Martin (1) Tom Kuhnhackl (1), Andy Greene (1)
06:12 FLA 1,NYI 1

Aleksander Barkov (1) Keith Yandle (2), Mike Hoffman (1)
07:54 FLA 2,NYI 1 PPG

Ryan Pulock (1) Devon Toews (2), Derick Brassard (2)
13:48 FLA 2,NYI 2 PPG

Jordan Eberle (1) Ryan Pulock (1), Mathew Barzal (1)
16:27 FLA 2,NYI 3

3rd Period
Jordan Eberle (2) Anthony Beauvillier (1), Josh Bailey (1)
10:29 FLA 2,NYI 4 PPG

The Series (Isles lead 2-0)
Game 1: Isles 2, Florida 1
Game 2: Isles 4, Florida 2
Game 3: Wednesday 12:00
Game 4 (if needed): Friday (TBD)
Game 5 If needed):  Sunday (TBD)

The Skinny
Jordan Eberle is the first Isle to score twice in a playoff game since Shane Prince (Game 1 vs. Tampa Bay, 2016)… The Isles have scored a power play goal in five straight playoff games, dating back to last May, and scored twice in a game for the first time since that same game against Tampa; it's the first time the Isles have scored PP goals in five consecutive playoff games since 2002 (5 games vs. Toronto) and 2003 (1 game vs. Ottawa)…The Isles improve to 3-5 in game 2's of best-of-5s, with the others all contested from 1980-1986… …Devon Toews now has seven points (1-6-7) in his first ten career playoff games… Andy Greene replaced Johnny Boychuk in the lineup and contributed an assist; it was his first Isles playoff appearance.

The Injury
Brock Nelson suffered a cut on a high stick by Mike Matheson but remained in the game.  Matheson was fined $2,500 by the NHL.

Déjà vu All Over Again (Thanks Yogi)
Eight Islanders who dressed today also faced Florida in 2016 (Greiss, Leddy, Pulock, Bailey, Clutterbuck, Martin, Nelson, Cizikas); Thomas Hickey had an overtime goal in that series while Johnny Boychuk also played. Only four Panthers (Ekblad, Huberdeau, Barkov and Matheson) played in that series.

Join the Club 
Jordan Eberle is the fifth Islander to score at least six goals in his first ten playoff games.  Ray Ferraro had 11 goals (vs. Washington and Pittsburgh in 1993) while Mike Bossy, Patrick Flatley and Pierre Turgeon each had six.

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
In game 2, the Isles led for 23:33,  and trailed for 20:50.  The game was tied for 15:37.

Playoffs All-Time
The Isles improve to 150-124 in 274 all-time playoff games.  They are 85-46 at home (including 2-5 at Barclays and 2-0 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 123 playoff games (61-62).  His 60 wins are tied-18th all-time with Jacques Lemaire and two 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 6
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 10
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 1-0 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots
Isles     13-10-11=34
Florida  8-11-9=28

Shots by Game
Game 1: Isles 28, Florida 28
Game 2: Isles 34, Florida 28
Series: Isles 62, Florida 56

The Isles are 1-0 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 26 saves to improve to 2-0 this season and 15-13 all-time in the playoffs.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves but falls to 0-2 this season and 11-20 all-time in the playoffs. 

Power Plays
The Isles were 2-7 on the power play in 10:02 of PP time; Florida was 1-3 on the power play in 2:12 of PP time.

Power Plays by Game
Game 1: Isles 1-3 (4:55; 3 shots), Florida 0-1 (2:00, 3 shots)
Game 2: Isles 2-7 (10:02: 5 shots); Florida 1-3 (2:12, 3 shots)
Series: Isles 3-10 (14:57; 8shots), Florida 1-4 (4:12, 6 shots)

Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 1-0 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: Adam Pelech (20:50);  Florida: Aaron Ekblad (25:39)
Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 18;43 of ice-time 
Isles record by ice-time leader: Scott Mayfield (1-0), Adam Pelech (1-0)

Face-offs
Isles 25, Florida 39 (39%).

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 8 of 15 for the Isles; Aleksander Barkov won 15 of 24 for Florida.

Face-offs by Game
Game 1: Isles 28, Florida 24 (54%).  
Game 2: Isles 25, Florida 39 (39%).

Hit Count
Isles 30 (Anders Lee -5)
Florida 43 (Mark Pysyk -8)

Hits Game by Game:
Game 1: Isles 30, Florida 32
Game 2: Isles 30, Florida 43 

Fights
There were no fights. Playoff total -0.   

Blocked Shots
Isles 16 (Nick Leddy -3)
Florida 13 (Four with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 
Corsi: All situations: Isles 57, Florida 56
Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 39, Florida 40

5-on-5 leaders:
Isles:  Ryan Pulock +7
Florida: Three with +7

Corsi Game by Game:
Game 1 (All) Isles 58, Florida 51;  (5-on-5) Isles 48, Florida 48
Game 2 (All) Isles 57, Florida 56;  (5-on-5) Isles 39, Florida 40

Scratches
(Johnny Boychuk), Noah Dobson, Andrew Ladd, Otto Koivula, Michael Dal Colle, Ross Johnston, Thomas Hickey, Sebastian Aho, Leo Komarov, Christopher Gibson
Playoff games lost: 1. 

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 34
Matt Martin 34
Josh Bailey 32

Goals:
Josh Bailey 8 
Brock Nelson 7 
Jordan Eberle 6
Cal Clutterbuck 4

Assists:
Josh Bailey 10
Nick Leddy 8 
Mathew Barzal 6
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
Jordan Eberle 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
Jordan Eberle 2
Josh Bailey 1 
Thomas Hickey 1
Anthony Beauvillier 1

Goaltending
Thomas Greiss  5-6  2.49 GAA, .920 save percentage
Semyon Varlamov 2-0 1.50 GAA, .955 save percentage

Up Next
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5th  -  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 sweep the series as they face Florida. The Isles have swept a best-of-5 series only once, in 1981.

This will be the first time that the Isles have played playoff games on consecutive days since April 14-15, 2016, also vs. Florida.  The Isles won game 1 in Sunrise 5-4; the Panthers won game 2, 3-1.

AND FINALLY
My apologies for the relative brevity of this edition of The Skinny.  Like many Long Islanders, I was affected … but not stopped… by the storm that battered our Island today.  The Skinny streak is extended to 662 consecutive games.

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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