The Skinny: Isles 4, Washington 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Round 1 Game 1

Isles 4, Washington 2

Isles lead best-of-7 series 1-0

Jordan Eberle's goal with 63 seconds to play in the second period got the Isles going, and Anders Lee, Josh Bailey and Anthony Beauvillier scored goals in the first twelve minutes of the third as the Isles rallied from a 2-0 deficit for a 4-2 victory over the Washington Capitals game 1 of their Round 1 series at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

TJ Oshie had given the Caps the lead with a pair of second period power play goals as the Isles spent over nine minutes of the first two periods shorthanded. However, Josh Bailey scored the game-winning goal with the Isles shorthanded in the third as the Isles held the Caps off the scoreboard at even-strength.

Game 2 of this series will be at 8pm on Friday.

The Scoring: 

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

T.J. Oshie (2) Evgeny Kuznetsov (1), John Carlson (1) 05:27 NYI 0,WSH 1 PPG

T.J. Oshie (3) Tom Wilson (1), John Carlson (2) 11:18 NYI 0,WSH 2 PPG

Jordan Eberle (3) Mathew Barzal (2) 18:57 NYI 1,WSH 2

3rd Period

Anders Lee (1) Ryan Pulock (4), Brock Nelson (2) 00:51 NYI 2,WSH 2

Josh Bailey (1) Brock Nelson (3) 06:52 NYI 3,WSH 2 SHG

Anthony Beauvillier (4) Josh Bailey (4), Mathew Barzal (3) 11:55 NYI 4,WSH 2

The Series (Isles lead 1-0)

Game 1: Isles 4 Washington 2

Game 2: Friday 8pm

Game 3: Sunday Noon

Game 4: Tuesday, August 18th, 8pm

Game 5 (if needed): Thursday, August 20th

Game 6 (if needed): Saturday, August 22nd

Game 7 (if needed): Sunday, August 23rd 

The Skinny

The Isles erased a 2-0 deficit to win a playoff game for the first time since Game 3 vs. Florida in 2016… 

 …The Isles have allowed only 3 even-strength goals in the first five playoff games (all to Florida, including one that came two seconds after a power play expired)… Anthony Beauvillier has a point in all five games this spring after having only two points in eight games in 2019;; Devon Toews' point streak was stopped at four…. Josh Bailey's shorthanded goal was the first in the playoffs by an Islander since Kyle Okposo in 2013 vs. Pittsburgh…The Isles are 6-1 in their last game 1's, dating back to 2015 vs. Washington…Josh Bailey joined Brock Nelson as the only Isles in the 2000's with goals in four different playoff years.

The Injury

Nicklas Backstrom left the game after the first period and did not return. Anders Lee was assessed a minor penalty on the play.

First Times in a Long Time (Playoff Only)

• Josh Bailey became the first Islander since Kyle Okposo ( May 5, 2013 vs. Pittsburgh) to score a shorthanded goal and the first since Benoit Hogue (May 3, 1993 vs. Pittsburgh to score a game winner while shorthanded. 

• The Isles allowed two power plays goals and won for the first time since April 28, 2002 vs. Toronto.

• The Isles have allowed fewer than 30 shots in 7 straight games for the first time since an 8-game stretch in April-May 1984. 

• TJ Oshie is the first opponent to score 2 power play goals in a period since Tim Kerr for Philadelphia on April 26, 1987.

Killer B's

Anthony Beauvillier, Mathew Barzal, Josh Bailey, and Brock Nelson combined for two goals and five assists. They have combined for 15 points in the last two games 

Hey, Josh Bailey

Josh Bailey is the 4th Islander to score a shorthanded game winning goal in a playoff game.  Lorne Henning did it in 1980 vs. Buffalo, Brent Sutter did it in 1984 vs. Montreal and in  1988 vs. New Jersey (in overtime), and Benoit Hogue did it in 1993 vs. Pittsburgh.

Familiar Foes

This is the 8th meeting of the Isles and Washington in the playoffs (Isles are 5-2 and have won 22 of 38 games)

• 1983 Patrick Division Semi-Finals  Isles won series 3-1

• 1984 Patrick Division Finals  Isles won series 4-1

• 1985 Patrick Division Semi-Finals  Isles won series 3-2

• 1986 Patrick Division Semi-Finals  Caps won series 3-0 (Arbour retired thereafter)

• 1987 Patrick Division Semi-Finals  Isles won series 4-3 (LaFontaine 4 OT; only playoff series won by anyone other than Arbour and Trotz)

• 1993 Patrick Division Semi-Finals  Isles won series 4-2

• 2015 Eastern Conference First Round  Caps won series 4-3

• 2020 Eastern Conference First Round  Isles lead series 1-0

Joining Radar

Barry Trotz is only the 2nd coach to lead the Isles to multiple series wins, joining Al Arbour.  Terry Simpson and Jack Capuano are the only other coaches to lead the Isles to a playoff series victory.

Chasing the Architect

Lou Lamoriello has won 27 playoff series as a General Manager, tying Jack Adams and Sam Pollock for third on the all-time list.  Bill Torrey won 28 series, while the all-time leader, Glen Sather, has 41 wins.

Overtime is Our Time

The Isles are 34-17 (.667) all-time in overtime, including 18-10 (.643) at home. The .667 overall percentage is 2nd to Tampa Bay (17-8 .680) while the .643 home percentages is the best in NHL history. The Isles are 0-0 in overtime this season; they have gone 5-4 in nine overtime games since 2015.

Lead/Tie/Trail

Game 1:  Led: 13:08, Tied: 31:28,  Trailed: 15:24

Vs Florida:  Led: 120:01, Tied: 58:56,  Trailed 61:03

Playoffs All-Time

The Isles improve to 152-125 in 277 all-time playoff games.  They are 86-46 at home (including 2-5 at Barclays and 2-0 in Toronto) and 66-79 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 2-0 when they are the home team and 2-1 when they are the road team.

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 

Coach Trotz (Playoffs)

Barry Trotz has now coached 126 playoff games (63-63).  His 63 wins are tied-17th all-time, with Fred Shero; he is three wins behind Lindy Ruff 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.

Trotz is the 2nd coach in Islander playoff history to coach the Isles against a team he formerly coached; Ted Nolan did that in 2007 vs. Buffalo.  Trotz is the first to coach against the Isles and then coach the Isles against that same opponent.

Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:

• Al Arbour 123

• Jack Capuano 10

• Terry Simpson 9

• Barry Trotz 8

• Peter Laviolette 4

• Ted Nolan 1

• Steve Stirling 1

Most playoff games coached (Islanders):

• Al Arbour 209

• Jack Capuano 24

• Terry Simpson 20

• Barry Trotz 13

• Peter Laviolette 12

• 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 2

• Jack Capuano 1

• Terry Simpson 1

First Things First

The Isles are 2-0 when scoring first and are 2-1 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots

Isles       2-11-14=27

Washington  7-9-10=26

Shots by Game

• Game 1: Isles 27, Washington 26

•

• Vs. Florida : Isles 122, Florida 103

• Playoffs: Isles 149, Opponents 129

The Isles are 3-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1 when the shots are even and 0-0 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 24 saves and improves to 4-1 this summer and 17-14 all-time in the playoffs.

Braden Holtby made 33 saves but falls to 1-2-1 this summer and 49-43-1 all-time in the playoffs.  (The "1" is a shootout loss in the Round Robin)

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-4 on the power play in 5:17 of PP time; Washington was 2-7 on the power play in 11:05 of PP time.

Power Plays by Game

• Game 1: Isles 0-4 (5:17; 3 shots), Washington 2-7 (11:05, 12 shots)

•

• Vs. Florida: Isles 4-13 (23:55; 15 shots), Florida 4-14 (16:51, 21 shots)

• Playoffs:  Power Play: 4-17 (29:12, 18 shots), Penalty Kill 6-21 (27:56, 33 shots)

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 3-0 in the playoffs when they score at least three goals and 1-1 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 1-1 in the playoffs in one-goal games (1-1 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 (24:02);  Washington: Evgeny Kuznetsov (26:37)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 19:24 of ice-time 

Isles record by ice-time leader: Scott Mayfield (1-0), Adam Pelech (2-0), Mathew Barzal (1-0), Nick Leddy (0-1)

Face-offs

Isles 36, Washington 20 (64%).

Mathew Barzal won 8 of 11 and Brock Nelson won 14 of 20 for the Isles; TJ Oshie won 4 of 5 for Washington. (Nicklas Backstrom, who won 16 of 21 in Game 7 in 2015, won 1 of 2 today)

Face-offs by Game

• Game 1: Isles 36, Washington 20 (64%).  

•

• Vs. Florida  Isles 106, Florida 127 (45%)

• Playoffs: Isles 142, Opponents 147 (48%)

Hit Count

Isles 39 (Leo Komarov-7)

Washington 36 (Alex Ovechkin and Richard Panik -6)

Hits Game by Game:

• Game 1: Isles 39, Washington 36

•

• Vs. Florida:  Isles 128, Florida 124

• Playoffs: Isles 167, Opponents 160

Fights

Anders Lee fought Tom Wilson in the first period. Playoff total -1.   

Blocked Shots

Isles 16 (Scott Mayfield and Josh Bailey -3)

Washington 13 (TJ Oshie -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 47, Washington 54

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 37, Washington 26

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Mathew Barzal +13

Washington: Jonas Siegenthaler +11

Corsi Game by Game:

• Game 1 (All) Isles 47, Washington 54;  (5-on-5) Isles 37, Washington 26

•

• Vs Florida (All) Isles 226, Florida 224;  (5-on-5) Isles 174, Florida 168

• Playoffs (All)  Isles 273, Opponent 278; (5-on-5) Isles 211, Opponent 194

Scratches

Johnny Boychuk, Tom Kuhnhackl, Noah Dobson, Andrew Ladd, Otto Koivula, Michael Dal Colle, Ross Johnston, Thomas Hickey, Sebastian Aho, Christopher Gibson

Playoff games lost: 3. 

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 37

Matt Martin 37

Josh Bailey 35

Goals:

Brock Nelson 9 

Josh Bailey 9 

Jordan Eberle 7

Anthony Beauvillier 5

Cal Clutterbuck 4

Assists:

Josh Bailey 14

Mathew Barzal 9

Nick Leddy 8 

Devon Toews 8

Brock Nelson 7

Ryan Pulock 7

Jordan Eberle 6

Points:

Josh Bailey 22

Brock Nelson 16 

Jordan Eberle 13

Mathew Barzal 12

Nick Leddy 10

Penalty Minutes:

Cal Clutterbuck 42

Matt Martin 42 

Casey Cizikas 38

PP Goals

Mathew Barzal 2

Josh Bailey 2 

Brock Nelson 2 

Ryan Pulock 2

Devon Toews 1

Anthony Beauvillier 1

Jordan Eberle 1

SH Goals

Josh Bailey 1

 

GW Goals

Brock Nelson 2

Anthony Beauvillier 2

Jordan Eberle 2

Josh Bailey 2

Thomas Hickey 1

Goaltending

Thomas Greiss  5-6  2.49 GAA, .920 save percentage

Semyon Varlamov 4-1 1.81 GAA, .930 save percentage

Up Next

ROUND 1- GAME 2 – FRIDAY, AUGUST 14th  -  ISLANDERS VS WASHINGTON (AT TORONTO)  8:00PM

[MSG+ (pre-game at 7:30), 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-1050]

The Isles will look to take a 2-0 lead in the series as the teams meet again.

The Isles are now 3-1 in game 1's under Trotz; they have also won game 2 in both the previous series that they won game 1 (2019 Round 1, 2020 Qualifier)

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