The Skinny: Isles 5, Florida 1. Isles win series, 3 games to 1.

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Qualifying Round Game 4

Isles 5, Florida 1

Isles win best-of-5 series 3-1

Anthony Beauvillier scored a pair of goals 3:38 apart in the first period to give the Isles a 2-0 lead and the Florida Panthers could never catch them, as the Isles advanced to Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 5-1 victory over Florida in game 4 of their qualifying round series at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Mike Hoffman scored for the third straight game to give Florida some hope but goals from Brock Nelson (on the power play), Mathew Barzal (on a breakaway), and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (into an empty net) burst the Panthers out of the Toronto bubble.

The Isles will face either the Boston Bruins or the Washington Capitals in their first round series, which should begin either Tuesday or Wednesday.  Boston and Washington face each other in the final game of the round-robin on Sunday, and the Isles will face the winner.

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Anthony Beauvillier (2) Josh Bailey (3), Brock Nelson (1) 11:32 NYI 1,FLA 0

Anthony Beauvillier (3) Mathew Barzal (2), Ryan Pulock (3) 15:10 NYI 2,FLA 0

Mike Hoffman (3) Jonathan Huberdeau (2), Aleksander Barkov (2) 18:41 NYI 2,FLA 1 PPG

2nd Period

Brock Nelson (2) Josh Bailey (4), Devon Toews (4) 08:01 NYI 3,FLA 1 PPG

3rd Period

Mathew Barzal (1) Jordan Eberle (1) 10:34 NYI 4,FLA 1

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (3)EN Leo Komarov (1) 17:17 NYI 5,FLA 1

The Series (Isles win 3-1, outscoring Florida 13-7)

Game 1: Isles 2, Florida 1

Game 2: Isles 4, Florida 2

Game 3: Florida 3, Isles 2

Game 4: Isles 5, Florida 1

The Skinny

The Panthers scored only seven goals in the series after scoring four goals in the regular season against the Isles.  That makes 7 games, 11 goals. 7-11 has a nice ring to it, doesn't it…Florida scored only three even strength goals in the entire series, and one came two seconds after a power play expired on Tuesday… Anthony Beauvillier recorded his first multi-goal playoff game; no Isle has had a playoff hat trick since 1993… J-G Pageau scored his third goal of the series; he now has 15 goals in 39 career playoff games, including 11 in his last 23 post-season affairs…Devon Toews now has nine points (1-8-9) in his first twelve career playoff games; he has recorded an assist in six straight games, dating back to last season…Both Toews and Anthony Beauvillier have points in all four playoff games, with Toews earning an assist in each contest; Ryan Pulock has an assist in three straight games…. Brock Nelson's goal (his 9th in Stanley Cup Play as an Islander, breaking a tie with Josh Bailey for the club lead among current players) was his second goal of the series vs. Sergei Bobrovsky; he has only scored one goal vs. Bobrovsky in regular season play…Aleksander Barkov's assist gave him points in all four games in the series.…The Isles blocked 31 shots, which is a franchise record for a playoff game.  They blocked 33 in two regular season games this year, which is the record in the regular season. (Real-time stats date back to 1997-98.)

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles opened a series by going W-W-L-W for only the second time in their history (1981 vs. Edmonton.  (h/t to long-time Skinny reader Steve Steinsaltz)

• The Isles scored first in a potential clinching game for the first time since Alexei Yashin did in Game 7 vs. Toronto in 2002 and scored first in a series-clincher for the first time Anders Kallur did it in Game 5  (best-of-5) vs. Washington in 1985. It is also the first time since that game in 1985 that the Isles did not trail in a series clincher.

• The Isles won a series clincher by at least three goals for the first time since the 1984 conference finals against Montreal and won by at least four goals for the first time since the 1983 conference finals against Boston.

• The Isles have won playoff series in consecutive years for the first time since 1979-1985.

Killer B's

Anthony Beauvillier, Mathew Barzal, Josh Bailey, and Brock Nelson each had two points. 

Youth Beau Served

Anthony Beauvillier is the youngest Islander in the post-Cup era with a multi-goal playoff game.  Brock Nelson and Shane Prince also did it at age 23 but both were older 23-year-olds than Beau.

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 now 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.

Thrive in Best-of-5

The Isles are 7-1 all-time in best-of-5 series; their .875 winning percentage is the best among current NHL teams.

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.

In game 3, the Isles trailed for 40:13 and the game was tied for 19:57.

In game 4, the Isles led for 48:28 and the game was tied for 11:32.

Series:  Led: 120:01, Tied: 58:56,  Trailed 61:03

Playoffs All-Time

The Isles improve to 151-125 in 276 all-time playoff games.  They are 86-46 at home (including 2-5 at Barclays and 2-0 in Toronto) and 65-79 on the road.   In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 2-0 when they are the home team and 1-1 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 

The matchup between the Isles and Panthers was 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 125 playoff games (62-63).  His 62 wins are 18th all-time, breaking a tie  with Jacques Lemaire; he is one win 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 7

• 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 12

• 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 1-1 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots

Isles     16-15-7=38

Florida  8-6-11=25

Shots by Game

• Game 1: Isles 28, Florida 28

• Game 2: Isles 34, Florida 28

• Game 3: Isles 22, Florida 22

• Game 4: Isles 38, Florida 25

• Series: Isles 122, Florida 103

The Isles are 2-0 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 3-1 this summer and 16-14 all-time in the playoffs.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 33 saves but falls to 1-2 this summer and 12-21 all-time in the playoffs. 

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play in 4:14 of PP time; Florida was 1-5 on the power play in 6:12 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)

• Game 3: Isles 0-3 (4:44, 0 shots), Florida 2-5 (6:27, 10 shots)

• Game 4: Isles 1-3 (4:14, 7 shots), Florida 1-5 (6:12, 5 shots)

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

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 2-0 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: Mathew Barzal (21:33);  Florida: Aaron Ekblad (24:24)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 21:33 of ice-time 

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

Face-offs

Isles 31, Florida 38 (45%).

Brock Nelson won 11 of 21 for the Isles(including 8 of 10 in the first period); Noel Acciari won 11 of 16 for Florida.

Face-offs by Game

• Game 1: Isles 28, Florida 24 (54%).  

• Game 2: Isles 25, Florida 39 (39%).

• Game 3: Isles 22, Florida 26 (46%)

• Game 4: Isles 31, Florida 38 (45%)

• Series:   Isles 106, Florida 127 (45%)

Hit Count

Isles 40 (Matt Martin-6)

Florida 28 (Three with 3)

Hits Game by Game:

• Game 1: Isles 30, Florida 32

• Game 2: Isles 30, Florida 43 

• Game 3: Isles 28, Florida 31

• Game 4: Isles 40, Florida 28

• Series:  Isles 128, Florida 124

Fights

There were no fights. Playoff total -0.   

Blocked Shots

Isles 31 (Ryan Pulock -6)

Florida 12 (Josh Brown- 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 60, Florida 70

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 46, Florida 54

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Three with +3

Florida: Jonathan Huberdeau +16

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

• Game 3 (All) Isles 51, Florida 47;  (5-on-5) Isles 41, Florida 26

• Game 4 (All) Isles 60, Florida 70;  (5-on-5) Isles 46, Florida 54

• Game 2 (All) Isles 226, Florida 224;  (5-on-5) Isles 174, Florida 168

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 36

Matt Martin 36

Josh Bailey 34

Goals:

Brock Nelson 9 

Josh Bailey 8 

Jordan Eberle 6

Cal Clutterbuck 4

Assists:

Josh Bailey 12

Nick Leddy 8 

Devon Toews 8

Mathew Barzal 7

Jordan Eberle 6

Points:

Josh Bailey 20

Brock Nelson 14 

Nick Leddy 10

Penalty Minutes:

Cal Clutterbuck 42

Matt Martin 38 

Casey Cizikas 36

PP Goals

Mathew Barzal 2

Josh Bailey 2 

Brock Nelson 2 

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

Anthony Beauvillier 2

Jordan Eberle 2

Josh Bailey 1 

Thomas Hickey 1

Goaltending

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

Semyon Varlamov 3-1 1.76 GAA, .932 save percentage

Up Next

ROUND 1 – DATE TBD  -  ISLANDERS VS BOSTON OR WASHINGTON (AT TORONTO)  

[MSG+, 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-1050]

The Isles will have to wait until Sunday to learn their opponent in Round 1.  All remaining series will be best-of-7.

If it is Boston:

It would be the third playoff meeting between the teams, with the Isles owning Dynasty-era wins in 1980 (5 games) and 1983 (6 games) in the 2nd and 15th consecutive series wins.

The Isles were 1-1-1 vs. Boston this season, winning in a shootout in Boston on December 19th, losing in overtime in Brooklyn on January 11th, and losing by shutout on Butch Goring Day at the Coliseum on February 29th.

If it is Washington:

It would be the eighth playoff meeting between the teams, The  Isles own Dynasty era wins in 1983 (3  games to 1) and 1984 (4-1) in the 13th and 18th consecutive series wins; they also won in 1985 (5 games, after trailing 0-2), 1987 (7 games, after trailing 3-1) and 1993 (6 games).   Washington swept a three-game series in 1986 and (temporarily) closed the Barn with a win in seven games in 2015.

The Isles were 2-2-0 vs. Washington this season, with the road team winning in regulation in all four games. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 4-0 in DC, but are 0-4 against the Caps at home.) 

Trotz would become the second Islander coach to face a former team in the playoffs (Ted Nolan faced Buffalo to 2007) and the first to coach the same team both for and against the Isles in the playoffs.

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