The Skinny: Washington 3, Isles 2

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 6

Washington 3, Isles 2 

Justin Schultz scored the winning goal with under 27 seconds to play as the Washington Capitals extended their season-opening point streak to seven games (4-0-3) with a 3-2 win over the Isles 2-0 at Capital One Arena in Washington. 

Mathew Barzal had a goal and an assist for the Isles, who suffered their first loss at Capital One Arena under Barry Trotz.

The Scoring:

1st Period

John Carlson (2) Justin Schultz (2), Nicklas Backstrom (4) 11:06 NYI 0,WSH 1 PPG

Noah Dobson (1) Mathew Barzal (3), Jordan Eberle (2) 15:33 NYI 1,WSH 1

2nd Period

Mathew Barzal (3) 10:01 NYI 2,WSH 1

Daniel Sprong (1) Daniel Carr (1), John Carlson (5)  17:21 NYI 2,WSH 2

3rd Period

Justin Schultz (2) Garnet Hathaway (1), Brenden Dillon (2) 19:33 NYI 2,WSH 3

The Skinny        

The Isles have allowed only eight goals this season; it is the first time in 44 years they have allowed eight or fewer goals through five games…Leo Komarov replaced Anthony Beauvillier (IR) in the lineup; Beauvillier had played 148 consecutive games.…That was only the second time this season that both teams scored in an Islander game and the first time that each team scored multiple goals…The game also features the first two lead changes of the season….The Isles have lost three straight road games, all in regulation…Mathew Barzal has points on six of the team's 11 goals this season; his 2nd period goal was only the second scored by the Isles this season…Justin Schultz' winning goal was only the second allowed by the Isles in the third period this season…John Carlson extended his point streak to four games...The Capitals have matched their club record by earning points in the first seven games of the season (4-0-3 this season; 7-0-0 in 2011-12); Vitek Vanacek is the second goalie in Caps history to earn points in his first five games.

Isles History Lesson

The Isles have scored 11 goals and allowed 11 goals this season.  Through six games, the 11 goals scored is the fewest since 1998-99 (franchise-low of 10) while the 11 goals allowed are the second-fewest in club history (9 in 1976-77). The 22 combined goals is a club-record for fewest through six games.

Circle Stars

After winning a majority of face-offs in each of the first five games, the Isles won 24 draws and lost 24 draws.

Since face-offs were tracked in the NHL, the Islander club record for consecutive games winning the majority of face-offs is 8, set in October-November 2006.

The Injuries

Adam Pelech left the game in the first period after blocking a shot but returned shortly thereafter.

Lars Eller left the game in the third period after a check from Leo Komarov; Leo was assessed a major penalty.  Nick Backstrom also left the game in the third period with an injury and did not return.

Home and Road

The Isles are 3-3-0 overall; 2-0-0 at home and 1-3-0 on the road.

Washington is 4-0-3 overall; 2-0-1 at home and 2-0-0 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 848-621-60-151 in 1,680 games, and he is now two 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  928

3. Ken Hitchcock    849

4. Barry Trotz    848

5. Al Arbour    782

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,708

3. Barry Trotz        1,680

4. Al Arbour 1,607

First Things First

The Isles are 3-0-0 when scoring first and are 0-3-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    11-14-9=34

Washington     17-9-10=36

The Isles are 2-1-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-2-0 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 54-27-9 when outshot; the 54 wins are the most in the NHL.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 33 saves but falls to 3-1-0 on the season and 4-7-1 against Washington (in regular season play).

Vitek Vanacek made 32 saves to improve to 3-0-2 on the season and 1-0-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play (4:00); Washington was 1-2 on the power play (5:54).

The Isles are 2-0-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 1-3-0 when they do not.  The Isles are 0-3-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 3-0-0 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 2-0-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-3-0 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 69-5-7 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 1-1-0 in games decided by a single goal including 1-0 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 3-3-0 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (25:28); Washington: John Carlson (24:02)

Josh Bailey led Isles forwards with 21:30 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (1-0-0), Ryan Pulock (2-1-0), Scott Mayfield (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-0)

Face-offs

Isles 24, Washington 24 (50%)

Casey Cizikas won 4 of 5 for the Isles; TJ Oshie won 3 of 4 for Washington.

The Isles are 3-2-0 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-0 when they are tied, and 0-0-0 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 18 (Matt Martin & Ross Johnston -4)

Washington 14 (TJ Oshie -3)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total:0

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 21 (Adam Pelech -5)

Washington 16 (Four with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 59, Washington 72

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 47, Washington 65

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal +8

Washington: Conor Sheary and Richard Panik +13

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 5, Washington 10

5-on-5: Isles 5, Washington 9

Scratches

(Anthony Beauvillier-IR), Sebastian Aho, Corey Schneider

Games Lost: 6

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.   

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 274, Brock Nelson 251, Mathew Barzal 238, Ryan Pulock 201, Josh Bailey 159.  All five of them have played every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

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 274

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

6. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 251

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 238

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

Ryan Pulock has become the third Islander defensemen to play in 200 consecutive games: 

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

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

3. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 201

 (*) 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: 1 successful, 0 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR)

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

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored 0 goals and allowed 1 goal in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 0

Vs: 1  [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)]

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 871…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 566 *** 19. Brock Nelson 554 *** 20. Ken Morrow 550 *** 21. Duane Sutter 547 *** 22. Lorne Henning 543 ***  23.  Casey Cizikas 540 …

28. Dave Lewis 514. *** 29. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 31. Anders Lee 499

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 152

Assists

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

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

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 22. Nick Leddy 172

Points

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

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 477…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 304  ***22.  Brock Nelson 297

Games Coached 

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

6. Peter Laviolette 164 *** 7. Ted Nolan 163 *** 8. Barry Trotz 156

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 85

Season Series Stats

Washington leads the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0).

The teams will meet again on Thursday in Washington.

This was the first loss for the Isles in DC under Barry Trotz (now 4-1-0).

 

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, JANUARY 26th – ISLANDERS AT WASHINGTON 7:00pm,

[MSG+2 (pre-game at 6:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 1050]

The Isles will look to earn a split of the two games in DC and stop a 2-game losing streak as they again meet the Caps on Thursday.  

The Capitals are not expected to have any of the players who missed tonight's game due to COVID protocols return for this game.

Anders Lee will appear in his 500th NHL game (all for the Isles) , while Josh Bailey will play in his 872nd game, matching Clark Gillies for 4th place on the all-time club list.

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