The Skinny: Tampa Bay 2, Isles 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Final Game 2

Tampa Bay 2, Isles 1

Tampa Bay leads best-of-7 series, 2-0

Nikita Kucherov scored with 8.8 seconds to play to break a 1-1 tie as the Tampa Bay Brayden Lightning took a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Final with a 2-1 win over the Islanders at Rogers Place in Edmonton.  

Matt Martin scored 84 seconds into play to give the Isles their first lead in the series, but Victor Hedman tied the game off a face-off win the 18:25 of the first.  The tie lasted nearly 41 ½ minutes before Kucherov scored the winner.

 

Game 3 is scheduled for 8:00 Eastern Time on Friday.

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Matt Martin (5) Nick Leddy (3) 01:24 NYI 1,TBL 0

Victor Hedman (7) Barclay Goodrow (3) 18:25 NYI 1,TBL 1

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

Nikita Kucherov (6) Ryan McDonagh (4) 19:51 NYI 1,TBL 2 

The Series (Tampa Bay leads, 2-0)

Game 1: Tampa Bay 8, Isles 2

Game 2: Tampa Bay 2, Isles 1

Game 3: Friday 8pm (USA Network)

Game 4: Sunday 3pm (NBC)

Game 5: (if needed) Tuesday, September 15th  8pm (NBCSN)

Game 6: (if needed) Thursday, September 17th  8pm (NBCSN)

Game 7: (if needed) Saturday, September 19th  7:30pm (NBC)

The Skinny 

The Lightning had not trailed for 304:46 prior to Matt Martin's goal…The Isles were held to one goal for the first time in the playoffs…The Isles were outscored 1-0 in the third period; the Isles have allowed only two third period goals in their eleven wins this post-season and lead the NHL with 23 third period goals in this year's playoffs…Nick Leddy played his 44th playoff game as an Islander without being penalized, extending his own club record …Brayden Point missed most of the second period and all of the third, ending his seven game point streak (4-12-16); Ondrej Palat's five game goal streak often ended. …Andrew Ladd appeared in a game for the first time since March 10th… As they did in game 1, the Lightning dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

The Injuries

Brock Nelson left the game when he was boarded by Alex Killorn in the first period; Killorn was ejected and Nelson returned midway through the second period.

Brayden Point played only two shifts in the second period and did not return for the third.

Late Game Heartbreak

Nikita Kucherov's game-winner was the latest ever allowed by the Isles in a playoff game in regulation; the previous mark of 18:52 was set by Craig Laughlin of Washington on April 12, 1984.

It is also the 2nd-latest playoff winner by the Lightning (Tyler Johnson at 19:58 of the 3rd in 2015 vs. Montreal) and the 3rd-latest in conference final/semifinal play.

It is the 2nd time this summer (Nazem Kadri -19:59 for Colorado vs. St. Louis on August 2nd) and 4th time since 2015 that the winning goal has been scored in the final ten seconds of the third period.

A Special Summer

The Isles have won 11 games this summer. It is their most wins in a single post-season since the Dynasty Era:

• 1980 -15

• 1981 -15

• 1982 -15

• 1983 -15

• 1984 -12

• 2020 -11

This was the 18th game the Isles have played this summer, ranking tied-6th on the list of Games Played in a playoff year:

• 1980 – 21

• 1984 – 21

• 1983 – 20

• 1982 – 19

• 1981 – 19

• 1993 - 18 

• 2020 - 18

• 1975 – 17 

Matt Martin and Friends

Matt Martin is only the 8th Islander in the last 27 years to score 5 goals in a playoff year.

• Anthony Beauvillier 8 (2020)

• Jean-Gabriel Pageau 7 (2020)

• Anders Lee 7 (2020)

• Brock Nelson    7 (2020)

• John Tavares    6 (2016)

• Mathew Barzal     5 (2020)

• Matt Martin 5 (2020)

The Isles are the first team in this year's playoffs to have six players with at least five goals.

Pageau, Pageau, JG Pageau

JG Pageau has 19 goals in 53 career Stanley Cup games. Among active players who have played 53 or fewer games, only Jake Guentzel, Nathan MacKinnon and David Pastrnak have scored more goals:

• Jake Guentzel 25 goals in 45 games

• Nathan MacKinnon 20 goals in 40 games

• David Pastrnak 20 goals in 52 games

• JG Pageau 19 goals in 53 games

• Bobby Ryan 19 goals in 50 games

• Mark Stone 17 goals in 51 games

• Mark Schiefele 16 goals in 28 games 

• Jamie Benn 16 goals in 50 games

Pageau's 7 playoff goals this summer are the 5th highest in a player's first playoff with the Isles:

• Ray Ferraro 13 (1993)

• Steve Thomas 9 (1993)

• Patrick Flatley 9 (1984)

• JP Parise 8 (1975)

• JG Pageau 7 (2020)

11 Alive

Scott Mayfield was even and remains +11.

No Isle has finished a playoff year higher than +6 (Benoit Hogue in 1993) in the Post-Cup era. Denis Potvin (team-leading +20) was one of five Isles +16 or better in 1983.

Mayfield is one of only nine players in NHL +11 or better (Victor Hedman +15, Nathan McKinnon +13, Alec Martinez +12, Cole Makar +12, Ondrej Palat +12, Brayden Point +11,  Mikko Rantanen +11, Nikita Kucherov +11)

The Great 8

Anthony Beauvillier has eight goals this summer, leaving him tied-third in goals by an Islander in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.

• Ray Ferraro 13 (1993)

• Steve Thomas 9 (1993)

• Anthony Beauvillier 8 (2020)

• Bryan Trottier 8 (1987)

• Anders Lee 7 (2020)

• JG Pageau 7 (2020)

• Brock Nelson 7 (2020)

Hey, Josh Bailey

Josh Bailey now has fifteen assists this summer, the most assists by an Islander in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era (and the most since Bob Bourne had 20 in 1983).

• Josh Bailey 15 (2020) 

• Derek King 11 (1993)

• Mathew Barzal 9 (2020)

• Jordan Eberle 9 (2020)

• Brock Nelson 8 (2020)

• Steve Thomas 8 (1993)

• Pat LaFontaine 8 (1987)

• John Tonelli 8 (1985)

Bailey is the only Isle to have five multi-assist games in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era and joins Bryan Trottier (2x), Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin and Bob Bourne as the only Isles to ever have at least five multi-assist games in one post-season.  (Bryan Trottier had 7 of them in 1982).

Hey, Josh Bailey II

Bailey now has 17 points this summer, matching Steve Thomas for the second-highest total by an Islander in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.

• Ray Ferraro 20 (1993)

• Steve Thomas 17 (1993)

• Josh Bailey 17 (2020) 

• Brock Nelson 15 (2020) 

• Mathew Barzal 14 (2020)

• Derek King 14 (1993)

Thanks for the Help

Devon Toews and Ryan Pulock each have seven assists this summer, the most by an Islander defenseman in a single post-season in the Post-Cup Era.

• Devon Toews 7 (2020)

• Ryan Pulock 7 (2020)

• Roman Hamrlik 6 (2002)

• Dennis Vaske 6 (1993)

• Vladimir Malakhov 6 (1993)

Brock Best

Brock Nelson now has 14 playoff goals for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:

• Brock Nelson 14 

• John Tavares 11

• Josh Bailey 10

Final Four!

The Isles have advanced to the conference final for the first time since 1993.  This ends the longest gap between conference final appearances in NHL history.

Longest Playoff Shutout Streaks by a Goalie:

• Semyon Varlamov 138:17 (8/20-8/26/2020)

• Billy Smith  136:59 (4/11-4/16/1980)

• Robin Lehner 123:29 (4/16-4/26/2019)

The Isles' team shutout record in post-season play is 182:50, set in April 1979 (all vs. Chicago).

Facing Tampa

This is the 3rd meeting of the Isles and Tampa Bay in the playoffs; the Lightning have won the two previous series (2004 Conference Quarter-Final and 2016 Round 2), each in five games.  

Barry and Al

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.

Lou and Bill

Lou Lamoriello has won 29 playoff series as a General Manager, passing Bill Torrey for second place on the all-time list. Glen Sather has 41 wins.

Overtime is Our Time

The Isles are 35-20 (.636) all-time in overtime, including 19-11 (.633) at home. Both percentages are 2nd-best (to Tampa Bay) in NHL history. The Isles are 1-3 in overtime this season; they have gone 6-7 in thirteen overtime games since 2015.

Overtime vs. Tampa Bay

The Isles are 0-3 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Tampa Bay:

• 04/16/04 @ Martin St. Louis L TB 00:04:07

• 05/03/16 Vs Brian Boyle L TB 00:02:48 (Brooklyn)

• 05/06/16 Vs Jason Garrison L TB 00:01:34 (Brooklyn)

Lead/Tie/Trailed

Game 1: Led: 0:00, Tied: 4:53, Trailed: 55:07 

Game 2: Led: 17:01, Tied:42:50, Trailed: 0:09

Series:    Led: 17:01, Tied:47:43, Trailed: 55:16

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

Vs. Washington  Led  130:12, Tied 120:32, Trailed: 53:44

Vs. Philadelphia:   Led: 180:45, Tied: 190:22,  Trailed: 98:57 

Playoffs All-Time

The Isles fall to 159-131 in 290 all-time playoff games.  They are 89-48 at home (including 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto and 0-0 in Edmonton) and 70-83 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 5-2 when they are the home team (5-2 in Toronto and 0-0 in Edmonton) and 6-5 when they are the road team (6-3 in Toronto and 0-2 in Edmonton).

A Winning Summer

With a record of 11-7 in the playoffs, the Isles are guaranteed to win more games than they lost for the first time in the post-Cup era.  It is the most games the Isles have won in the playoffs since 1984, when they won 12.

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 139 playoff games (70-69).  His 139 games are 13th (4 behind Peter Laviolette) while his 70 wins are 15th all time (5 behind Laviolette).  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 119

• Barry Trotz 15

• Jack Capuano 10

• Terry Simpson 9

• Peter Laviolette 4

• Ted Nolan 1

• Steve Stirling 1

Most playoff games coached (Islanders):

• Al Arbour 198

• Barry Trotz 26

• Jack Capuano 24

• Terry Simpson 20

• 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 (2-4)

• Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)

• Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)

Most game 7 wins/game seven record)

• Al Arbour 4 (2-2)

• Terry Simpson 2 (1-1)

• Barry Trotz 1 (1-0)

• Jack Capuano 1 (0-1)

• Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)

Most playoff series wins:

• Al Arbour 29

• Barry Trotz 4

• Jack Capuano 1

• Terry Simpson 1

First Things First

The Isles are 7-3 when scoring first and are 4-4 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots

Isles         13-7-8=28

Tampa Bay   4-6-11=21

Shots by Game

• Game 1: Isles 25, Tampa Bay 34

• Game 2: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 21

• Series:  Isles 53, Tampa Bay 55

•

• Vs. Florida: Isles 122, Florida 103

• Vs. Washington: Isles 136, Washington 124

• Vs. Philadelphia: Isles 236, Philadelphia 204

• Playoffs: Isles 547, Opponents 486

The Isles are 7-3 when they outshoot their opponents, 2-2 when the shots are even and 2-2 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 19 saves but falls to 9-5 in this year's playoffs and 22-18 in his career. 

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves to improve to 12-3 in this year's playoffs and 27-18 in his career.

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-4 on the power play in 10:22 of PP time (including a 5-minute major and a 38 second 5-on-3; Tampa Bay was 0-3 on the power play in 6:00 of PP time.

Power Plays by Game

• Game 1: Isles 1-5 (9:44, 10 shots), Tampa Bay 3-6 (7:07,12 shots)

• Game 2: Isles 0-4 (10:22, 13 shots), Tampa Bay 0-3 (6:00, 4 shots)

• Series: Isles 1-9 (20:06, 23 shots), Tampa Bay 3-9 (13:07,16 shots)

•

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

• Vs. Washington: Isles 2-22 (34:26, 29 shots), Washington 4-18 (24:57, 20 shots)

• Vs. Philadelphia: Isles 4-21 (37:06, 33 shots), Philadelphia 0-13 (24:09, 11 shots)

• Playoffs:  Power Play: 11-68 (117:33, 100 shots), Penalty Kill 11-54 (79:04, 68 shots)

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 9-3 in the playoffs (9-0 in regulation and 0-3 in overtime) when they score at least three goals and 2-4 when they do not. 

Shutting the Door

The Isles are 11-1 when allowing two or fewer goals in this year's playoffs.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 3-6 in the playoffs in one-goal games (2-3 in regulation and 1-3 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: Ryan Pulock (23:15);  Tampa Bay: Victor Hedman (26:05)

Jordan Eberle led Isles forwards with 20:51 of ice-time 

Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (6-1), Mathew Barzal (2-1), Nick Leddy (1-1), Ryan Pulock (1-3), Scott Mayfield (1-0), Devon Toews (0-1).

Face-offs

Isles 30, Tampa Bay 24 (56%), including 14-2 in the Isles' favor in the third period.  

Brock Nelson won 9 of 11 for the Isles; Cedric Paquette won 6 of 9 for Tampa Bay.  

Face-offs by Game

• Game 1: Isles 28, Tampa Bay 26 (52%)

• Game 2: Isles 30, Tampa Bay 24 (56%)

• Series: Isles 58, Tampa Bay 50 (54%)

•

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

• Vs. Washington: Isles 156, Washington 122 (56%)

• Vs. Tampa Bay: Isles 198, Philadelphia 216 (48%)

• Playoffs: Isles 516, Opponents 515 (50%)

Hit Count

Isles 53 (Matt Martin -7)

Tampa Bay 44 (Cedric Paquette -8)

Hits Game by Game:

• Game 1: Isles 44, Tampa Bay 34

• Game 2: Isles 53, Tampa Bay 44

• Series: Isles 97, Tampa Bay 78

•

• Vs. Florida:  Isles 128, Florida 124

• Vs. Washington: Isles 194, Washington 177

• Vs. Philadelphia: Isles 310, Philadelphia 290

• Playoffs: Isles 729, Opponents 669

Fights

Matt Martin fought Luke Schenn in the 2nd period. Playoff total -3  (Lee -1, Pageau -1, Martin 1)

Blocked Shots

Isles 15 (Pulock -5)

Tampa Bay 24 (Three with 4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 59, Tampa Bay 49 

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 33, Tampa Bay 38

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Scott Mayfield +5

Tampa Bay: Three with +8

Corsi Game by Game:

• Game 1 (All) Isles 43, Tampa Bay 47;  (5-on-5) Isles 24, Tampa Bay 28

• Game 2 (All) Isles 59, Tampa Bay 49;  (5-on-5) Isles 33, Tampa Bay 38

• Series: (All) Isles 102, Tampa Bay 96;  (5-on-5) Isles 57, Tampa Bay 66

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

• Vs Washington: (All) Isles 260, Washington 294; (5-on-5) Isles 190, Washington 212

• Series: (All) Isles 453, Philadelphia 454;  (5-on-5) Isles 382, Philadelphia 412

• Playoffs (All)  Isles 1041, Opponent 1066; (5-on-5) Isles 803, Opponent 858

Scratches

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

Playoff games lost: 5. 

Post-Season Late Heroes (Final Two Minutes of Regulation, or Overtime)

• Mathew Barzal – Game 3 vs. Washington (8/18/20) – 4:28 of OT

Post-Season Late Goals Allowed

• Philippe Myers – Game 2 vs. Philadelphia (8/26/20) – 2:41 of OT

• Scott Laughton – Game 5 vs. Philadelphia (9/1/20) – 12:20 of OT

• Ivan Provorov – Game 6 vs. Philadelphia (9/3/20) – 35:03 of OT

• Nikita Kucherov – Game 2 vs Tampa Bay (9/9/20) – 19:51 of 3rd

Playoff Challenges

None

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)

Games:

Casey Cizikas 50

Matt Martin 50

Josh Bailey 48

Nick Leddy 44

Brock Nelson 44

Goals:

Brock Nelson 14

Josh Bailey 10

Anthony Beauvillier 9

Anders Lee 8

Jordan Eberle 8

JG Pageau 7

Mathew Barzal 7

Matt Martin 6

Cal Clutterbuck 5

Nick Leddy 5

Assists:

Josh Bailey 24

Mathew Barzal 14

Jordan Eberle 14

Brock Nelson 12

Devon Toews 11

Nick Leddy 11

Ryan Pulock 10

Points:

Josh Bailey 34

Brock Nelson 26

Jordan Eberle 22

Mathew Barzal 21

Nick Leddy 16

Anthony Beauvillier 14

Anders Lee 14

Penalty Minutes:

Matt Martin 59

Cal Clutterbuck 44

Casey Cizikas 42

PP Goals

Mathew Barzal 3

Anders Lee 3

Josh Bailey 2

Anthony Beauvillier 2

Jordan Eberle 2

Brock Nelson 2 

Ryan Pulock 2

Devon Toews 1

Nick Leddy 1

SH Goals

Josh Bailey 1

 

GW Goals

Brock Nelson 4

Anthony Beauvillier 3

Jordan Eberle 2

Josh Bailey 2

Thomas Hickey 1

Mathew Barzal 1

Leo Komarov 1

Andy Greene 1

Scott Mayfield 1

OT Goals 

Josh Bailey 1

Mathew Barzal 1

Thomas Hickey 1

Goaltending

Thomas Greiss  7-8  2.41 GAA, .921 save percentage

Semyon Varlamov 9-4 2.21 GAA, .913 save percentage

Up Next

CONFERENCE FINALS - GAME 3 – FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11th – 8:00pm 

ISLANDERS VS. TAMPA BAY (AT EDMONTON)  

[USA NETWORK, 88.7 WRHU-FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN-Radio; 30-minute pre-game and expanded post-game on MSG+]

The Islanders will look to get back in the series as they play game 3 in Edmonton.

The Lightning are 5-0 all-time when winning games 1 and 2; the Isles are 3-9 all-time when dropping the first 2 of a best-of-7.  The last Islander series win when falling behind 0-2 was in 1984 vs. Montreal (0-6 since then).  That Isles win is one of only two in the NHL by a team trailing 2-0 in the Conference Finals since the Conference setup was established in 1982.

It will be the 19th game of the summer for the Isles, which represents the most for any Islander team outside the Dynasty (1980-1984).

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