The Skinny: Rangers 5, Isles 0

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 2

Rangers 5, Isles 0 

Pavel Buchnevich and Artemi Panarin each scored twice to spoil Ilya Sorokin's surprise NHL debut as the Rangers earned a split of the season-opening series with a 5-0 victory over the Islanders at Madison Square Garden.

Semyon Varlamov was injured early in warmups after being struck below the mask on a shot from Cal Clutterbuck; Cory Schneider dressed as a back-up for the Isles for the first time.

Alexandar Georgiev made 23 saves for his fifth career shutout and second against the Isles.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Pavel Buchnevich (1) Mika Zibanejad (1) 02:12 NYI 0,NYR 1

Artemi Panarin (1) Brendan Smith (1) 13:46 NYI 0,NYR 2

2nd Period

Pavel Buchnevich (2) 05:57 NYI 0,NYR 3

Kaapo Kakko (1) Phillip Di Giuseppe (1), Filip Chytil (1) 15:24 NYI 0,NYR 4

3rd Period

Artemi Panarin (2) Adam Fox (1), Pavel Buchnevich (1) 15:56 NYI 0,NYR 5 PPG

The Skinny        

The teams have traded shutouts in consecutive game for the first time in their history…Matt Martin had 5 hits, raising his career total to 2,997.  Only four active players have at least 3,000 hits (one of whom is Cal Clutterbuck… Artemi Panarin now has 10 goals in 17 career games against the Isles….The Isles were shorthanded eight times for the first time since March 15, 2018 against Washington (then coached by Barry Trotz).

The Injuries

Semyon Varlamov was injured in warm-ups and did not play.  Ryan Pulock suffered a cut on his ear in the first period but returned for the start of the second period. 

You Have to Start Somewhere

Ilya Sorokin is the first goalie in Islander history to make his NHL debut against the Rangers.  He is also the first goalie to make his NHL debut as an Islander since Christopher Gibson (January 2, 2016 in Pittsburgh in relief) and the first Islander to start his NHL debut since Jean-Francois Berube on October 10, 2015 in Chicago.

Home and Road

The Isles are 1-1-0 overall; 0-0-0 at home and 1-1-0 on the road.

The Rangers are 1-1-0 overall; 1-1-0 at home and 0-0-0 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 846-618-60-151 in 1,675 games, and he is now four 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    846

5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,705

3. Barry Trotz         1,676

4. Al Arbour 1,607

First Things First

The Isles are 1-0-0 when scoring first and are 0-1-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    10-7-6=23

Rangers 10-14-8=32

The Isles are 1-0-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 0-1-0 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 53-25-9 when outshot; the 53 wins are the most in the NHL.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves but falls to 0-1-0 on the season and 0-1-0 against the Rangers.

Alexandar Georgiev made 23 saves for his 5th career shutout (and second against the Isles); he is 1-0-0 on the season and 6-2-0 in his career against the Isles.  

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-4 on the power play (7:03); the Rangers were 1-8 on the power play (13:00)

The Isles are 1-0-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 0-1-0 when they do not.  The Isles are 0-1-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 1-0-0 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 1-0-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-1-0 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 68-5-7 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games decided by a single goal including 0-0 in regulation. They are 0-0 in games decided in overtime and are 0-0 in shootouts.  The Isles are 0-0 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 0-0-0 in the front-half and 0-0-0 in the back-half. The Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 17-2-2 in back-ends.

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 0-0-0 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 0-0-0 when they are rested, and their opponents are not. 

• The Isles are 0-0-0 when their opponents are rested, and the Isles are not.

• The Isles are 1-1-0 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Scott Mayfield (22:37); Rangers: Jacob Trouba (24:03)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 18:00 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (1-0-0), Scott Mayfield (0-1-0).

Face-offs

Isles 31, Rangers 25 (55%)

JG Pageau won 11 of 16 for the Isles; no Ranger won more draws than he lost. 

Hit Count

Isles 31 (Matt Martin -5)

Rangers 22 (Jack Johnson-5)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total:0

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 20 (Scott Mayfield -4)

Rangers 6 (6 with 1)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 38, Rangers 65

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 25, Rangers 41

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Anders Lee and Matt Barzal  -1

Rangers: K'Andre Miller +12

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 4, Rangers 12

5-on-5: Isles 0, Rangers 6

Scratches

(Semyon Varlamov-INJ),(Michael Dal Colle-INJ), Leo Komarov, Sebastian Aho

Games Lost: 3

200 Game Club

The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 200 games, and they are three of just 25 players in the NHL who have played every game since the start of the 2017-18 season.  It is the first time since November 25, 1978 that the Isles have had three players with streaks of at least 200 games.

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 270, Brock Nelson 247, Mathew Barzal 234, Ryan Pulock 197, Josh Bailey 155, Anthony Beauvillier 145.

Iron Man

Anders Lee has the fourth-longest consecutive game streak while Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal have also moved into the top 10:

1. Billy Harris 10/7/1972 -11/30/1979 576 (*)

2. Bobby Nystrom 1/7/1975 - 11/25/1978 301

3. Matt Moulson 10/3/2009 - 4/4/2013 284

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 270

5. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975 - 1/17/1979 262

6. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 247

7. John Tavares 10/16/2010 - 12/23/2013 246

8. J.P. Parise 1/7/1975 – 1/7/1978 240 (**)

9. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 234

10. Richard Park 10/5/2006 - 2/18/2009 221

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

Ryan Pulock has the fourth-longest consecutive game streak of any defenseman in Islander history: 

1. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979 262

2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220 (*) (**)

3. Gerry Hart 3/1/1975-11/22/1977 198

4. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 197

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures 

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.

Opponents: 0 successful, 1 failure (no goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR)

The Isles are 1-0-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 0-0-0 in games that go the opponents' way.

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Clark Gillies 872 *** 

5.  Josh Bailey 867…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 562 *** 19. Ken Morrow and Brock Nelson 550 *** 21. Duane Sutter 547 *** 22. Lorne Henning 543 ***  23.  Casey Cizikas 536

Goals

1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …

12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 174 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 154 *** 17. Brock Nelson 151

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553…

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Pat Flatley 328 *** 8. Brent Sutter 323 *** 9. Josh Bailey 322 …

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 22. Duane Sutter, Alexei Yashin and Nick Leddy 171

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052…

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 476…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 303  ***22.  Brock Nelson 296

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 …

6. Peter Laviolette 164 *** 7. Ted Nolan 163 *** 8. Butch Goring 154 *** 9. Barry Trotz 152

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 83

Season Series Stats

The season series is tied 1 game to 1 (and 2 points to 2).

 

The teams will meet again at the Garden on February 8th and then will not play again until April 9th.

UP NEXT

MONDAY, JANUARY 18th— BOSTON AT ISLANDERS 5:00pm,

[MSG+ (pre-game at 4:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio 1050]

This game will air on NBCSN outside of the New York Area.

The Isles return to the Coliseum for the first time since March 7th as they face the Boston Bruins for the first time this season.

The Isles are 27-14-6 all-time in home openers, including 25-13-5 at the Coliseum.  The Isles have lost two straight home-openers; they have never lost three straight home openers in regulation.

It is the fourth time that the Bruins have provided the opposition for the home opener; the Isles have won the first three: 1977, 1980 (first game played as Stanley Cup Champions) and 2006.

The Isles have had their troubles with the Bruins in recent years,  particularly at home.  The Isles are 1-7-2 in the last 10 meetings overall,  winning only a shootout game in Boston thirteen months ago.  The Isles have not beaten the Bruins at home since 2013 (0-9-1, including 0-4-0 at the Coliseum).

In a return to tradition, the Isles will host a game on Martin Luther King Day.  The Isles have hosted an MLK Day  game 14 previous times, including every year from 2007-2015.  

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