The Skinny: Washington 3, Isles 2

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Round 1 Game 4

Washington 3, Isles 2

Isles lead best-of-7 series 3-1

Alex Ovechkin scored twice, including the deciding goal 3:40 into the third period as the Washington Capitals rallied from a 2-0 first period deficit for a 3-2 win over the Islanders at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.  The Caps staved off elimination and cut the Isles' series lead to 3-games-to-1. 

J.G. Pageau and Mathew Barzal scored first period goals for the Isles before Braden Holtby closed the door for his 50th career playoff win.

Game five of this series will be played on Thursday.

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (4) Scott Mayfield (2), Casey Cizikas (1) 03:50 WSH 0,NYI 1

Mathew Barzal (3) Nick Leddy (1), Andy Greene (2) 09:16 WSH 0,NYI 2

2nd Period

Evgeny Kuznetsov (3) John Carlson (6), Braden Holtby (1) 03:35 WSH 1,NYI 2

Alex Ovechkin (3) John Carlson (1), Evgeny Kuznetsov (1) 05:29 WSH 2,NYI 2 PPG

3rd Period

Alex Ovechkin (4) Dmitry Orlov (3) 03:40 WSH 3,NYI 2 

The Series (Isles lead 3-1)

Game 1: Isles 4 Washington 2

Game 2: Isles 5 Washington 2

Game 3: Isles 2, Washington 1 (OT)

Game 4: Washington 3, Isles 2

Game 5: Thursday, August 20th

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

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

The Skinny

The Isles are 1-2 in potential clinching games this summer (and 2-2 under Barry Trotz)… The Isles scored twice in 5:26 of the first but allowed two goals in 1:54 of the second to erase their lead… The Isles were outshot for the first time in the playoffs after being outshot 40 times in 68 games in the regular season…The "home" team is 11-1 in Isles-Caps games (regular season and playoffs) since Trotz became the Isles coach… Ovechkin's winning goal was the first for the Caps in this series. The Isles have outscored the Caps 6-1 in the third period and overtime; the Isles have allowed only one third period goal in their six wins this post-season…Alex Ovechkin now has 69 career playoff goals, allowing him to both tie and pass Sidney Crosby and Gordie Howe for 18th place on the playoff goal scoring list…It is the first time in the post-season that Caps have scored three goals…The Isles dressed the same 20 players for the fifth straight game – it is the first time that has happened in all of the 2019-2020 season…The loss ends a nine-game Islander win streak in Round 1 games…The Isles have points in this series from 16 different players (all but Leo Komarov and Devon Toews); the Capital goals have come from just three players (Ovechkin 4, Kutznetsov 2 Oshie 2) … The Capitals have scored just two first period goals in the Bubble (7 games)… Devon Toews was penalized for the first time in his 16-game Stanley Cup playoff career. Nick Leddy played his 34th playoff game as an Islander without being penalized, extending his own club record.

The Injury

Cal Clutterbuck left the game after a hit from Radko Gudas in the second period. He did not return.

First Times in a Long Time (Playoff Only)

• The Isles have allowed fewer than 30 shots in 9 straight games (over two seasons), tying a club record set in 1981 and matched in 1982 (both times in a single year).

• The Isles held a 2-0 lead after one period for the first time since April 9, 2003 (Garth Snow blanked Ottawa 3-0) and lost a game they led 2-0 after one period for the first time since May 1,1976 vs. Montreal.

Familiar Foes

This is the 8th meeting of the Isles and  Washington in the playoffs (Isles are 5-2 and have won 24 of 41 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)

• 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 3-1

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 35-17 (.673) all-time in overtime, including 19-10 (.655) at home. The .673 overall percentage is 2nd to Tampa Bay (17-8 .680) while the .655 home percentages is the best in NHL history. The Isles are 1-0 in overtime this season; they have gone 6-4 in ten overtime games since 2015.

Overtime is Our Time vs. Washington

The Isles are 7-3 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Washington:

• 04/13/84 Vs Anders Kallur W Wsh 07:35 

• 04/10/85 @ Alan Haworth L Wsh 02:28 

• 04/11/85 @ Mike Gartner L Wsh 21:23 

• 04/18/87 @ Pat LaFontaine W Wsh 68:47 

• 04/20/93 @ Brian Mullen W Wsh 34:50

• 04/22/93 Vs Ray Ferraro W Wsh 04:46 

• 04/24/93 Vs Ray Ferraro W Wsh 25:40 

• 04/19/15 Vs John Tavares W Wsh 00:15

• 04/21/15 Vs Nicklas Backstrom  L Wsh 11:09

• 08/16/20 Vs Mathew Barzal W Wsh 04:28

Lead/Tie/Trailed

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

Game 2: Led: 34:44, Tied: 3:16, Trailed: 22:00

Game 3: Led 11:00, Tied 53:28, Trailed: 0:00

Game 4: Led: 21:39, Tied:22:01, Trailed: 16:20

Series:   Led  80:31, Tied 110:13, Trailed: 53:44

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

Playoffs All-Time

The Isles fall to 154-126 in 280 all-time playoff games.  They are 87-47 at home (including 2-5 at Barclays and 3-1 in Toronto) and 67-79 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 3-1 when they are the home team and 3-1 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 129 playoff games (65-64).  His 65 wins are 17th all-time, just one win 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 119

• Barry Trotz 10

• Jack Capuano 10

• Terry Simpson 9

• Peter Laviolette 4

• Ted Nolan 1

• Steve Stirling 1

Most playoff games coached (Islanders):

• Al Arbour 198

• Jack Capuano 24

• Terry Simpson 20

• Barry Trotz 16

• 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 2 (2-1)

• 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 3-1 when scoring first and are 3-1 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots

Isles            13-7-6=26

Washington  9-15-5=29

Shots by Game

• Game 1: Isles 27, Washington 26

• Game 2: Isles 32, Washington 25 

• Game 3: Isles 34, Washington 23 

• Game 4: Isles 26, Washington 29

• Series: Isles 119, Washington 103

• Vs. Florida: Isles 122, Florida 103

• Playoffs: Isles 241, Opponents 206

The Isles are 5-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1 when the shots are even and 0-1 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 22 saves falls to 6-2 this summer and 19-15 all-time in the playoffs.  

Braden Holtby made 24 saves and improves to 2-4-1 this summer and 50-45-1 all-time in the playoffs.  (The "1" is a shootout loss in the Round Robin) 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-5 on the power play in 8:17 of PP time; Washington was 1-5 on the power play in 4:55 of PP time.

Power Plays by Game

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

• Game 2: Isles 1-5 (8:18, 5 shots), Washington 0-2 (4:00, 1 shot)

• Game 3: Isles 0-5 (10:00, 6 shots), Washington 1-2 (2:40, 1 shot)

• Game 4: Isles 0-5 (8:17, 12 shots), Washington 1-5 (4:55, 5 shots)

• Series: Isles 1-19 (31:52, 26 shots), Washington 4-16 (22:40, 19 shots)

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

• Playoffs:  Power Play: 5-32 (55:47, 41 shots), Penalty Kill 8-30 (39:31, 40 shots)

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 4-0 in the playoffs when they score at least three goals and 2-2 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 2-2 in the playoffs in one-goal games (1-2 in regulation and 1-0 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: Devon Toews (23:50);  Washington: John Carlson (24:26)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 20:04 of ice-time 

Isles record by ice-time leader: Scott Mayfield (1-0), Adam Pelech (3-0), Mathew Barzal (1-0), Nick Leddy (1-1), Devon Toews (0-1)

Face-offs

Isles 31, Washington 25 (55%).

Brock Nelson won 11 of 16 and Casey Cizikas won 6 of 9 for the Isles; Lars Eller won 11 of 19 for Washington.  

Face-offs by Game

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

• Game 2: Isles 36, Washington 30 (55%)

• Game 3: Isles 30, Washington 26 (54%)

• Game 4: Isles 31, Washington 24 (55%)

• Series: Isles 133, Washington 100 (57%)

•

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

• Playoffs: Isles 239, Opponents 227 (51%)

Hit Count

Isles 40 (Leo Komarov -7)

Washington 35 (Three with 4)

Hits Game by Game:

• Game 1: Isles 39, Washington 36

• Game 2: Isles 38, Washington 36

• Game 3: Isles 31, Washington 36

• Game 4: Isles 40, Washington 35

• Series: Isles 148, Washington 143

•

• Vs. Florida:  Isles 128, Florida 124

• Playoffs: Isles 276, Opponents 267

Fights

There were no fights. Playoff total -1  (Lee -1)

Blocked Shots

Isles 13 (Adam Pelech -3)

Washington 14 (Four with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 53, Washington 64

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 27, Washington 48

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Derek Brassard +2

Washington: Lars Eller +19

Corsi Game by Game:

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

• Game 2:(All) Isles 59, Washington 55;  (5-on-5) Isles 45, Washington 43

• Game 3:(All) Isles 69, Washington 55;  (5-on-5) Isles 58, Washington 43

• Game 4:(All) Isles 53, Washington 64;  (5-on-5) Isles 27, Washington 48

• Series: (All) Isles 228, Washington 228; (5-on-5) Isles 167, Washington 160

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

• Playoffs (All)  Isles 450, Opponent 452; (5-on-5) Isles 341, Opponent 328

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: 4. 

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 40

Matt Martin 40

Josh Bailey 38

Goals:

Brock Nelson 10 

Josh Bailey 9 

Jordan Eberle 7

Anthony Beauvillier 5

Mathew Barzal 5

Cal Clutterbuck 5

Assists:

Josh Bailey 15

Mathew Barzal 9

Nick Leddy 9

Devon Toews 8

Ryan Pulock 8

Brock Nelson 7

Jordan Eberle 7

Points:

Josh Bailey 24

Brock Nelson 16 

Jordan Eberle 14

Mathew Barzal 14

Nick Leddy 12

Penalty Minutes:

Matt Martin 46

Cal Clutterbuck 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

Nick Leddy 1

SH Goals

Josh Bailey 1

 

GW Goals

Brock Nelson 3

Anthony Beauvillier 2

Jordan Eberle 2

Josh Bailey 2

Thomas Hickey 1

Mathew Barzal 1

OT Goals 

Josh Bailey 1

Mathew Barzal 1

Thomas Hickey 1

Goaltending

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

Semyon Varlamov 6-2 1.87 GAA, .927 save percentage

Up Next

ROUND 1- GAME 5 – THURSDAY, AUGUST 20th  -  ISLANDERS VS WASHINGTON (AT TORONTO)  

[MSG+ (preceded by 30-minute pre-game), 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-1050]

The Isles will have a second chance to eliminate the Caps on Thursday. The NHL has not yet set a starting time for this game.

This is only the fourth time in club history that the Isles were not able to close out a sweep in a best-of-seven series; all three previous times occurred during the Dynasty era (1980 vs. Boston and Buffalo, 1981 vs. Minnesota).  Only the Sabres reached game six.

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