The Skinny: Isles 2, Pittsburgh 0

"The Skinny"         

By Eric Hornick

Game 21

Isles 2, Pittsburgh 0

Ilya Sorokin made his Nassau Coliseum debut one to remember as he made 20 saves for his second consecutive shutout while Oliver Wahlstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each scored power play goals as the Islanders did something that they had not done in over 35 years: shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins, this time by a score of 2-0.

Sorokin became the first Islander rookie goalie since Chico Resch to record consecutive shutouts; his shutout streak is exactly 120:00 since allowing an overtime goal to Kevin Hayes four weeks ago.

The win, coming in the final scheduled game between the teams at the Coliseum, gave the Isles a 2-0-2 home record vs. Pittsburgh this season.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Oliver Wahlstrom (3) Nick Leddy (13), Josh Bailey (9) 19:20 PIT 0,NYI 1 PPG

2nd Period

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (9) Josh Bailey (10), Oliver Wahlstrom (4) 14:56 PIT 0,NYI 2 PPG

3rd Period

No Goals

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in 12 of their last 14 games (8-2-4); they are 6-0-2 against everyone but Pittsburgh in that stretch… The Isles finish February with an 8-2-2 record… Nick Leddy's assist is his 8th in the last eight games; he leads the team with 13 assists and also leads the team with eight power play points (1-7-8)…The Isles are 7-0-2 at the Coliseum (5-0-0 vs. everyone but Pittsburgh)...Oliver Wahlstrom has a point in five straight games; he now has five points (1-4-5) on the power play, tying Ottawa's Josh Norris for the NHL rookie lead.  It is the first two-point game of Wahlstrom's career….Josh Bailey had two assists, giving him seven in the last eight games; he now has 488 points, tied with Patrick Flatley for 12th place in club history…Jean-Gabriel Pageau tied Anders Lee for the team goal-scoring lead with 9…The Isles went 2-5 on the power play; it was the first time in 12 games that the team had at least five power plays…In addition to being the only NHL rookie with two shutouts, Ilya Sorokin now has the lowest goals against average among rookies (2.19)….The Isles have recorded five shutouts in their first 21 games for the first time in their history…The Isles' win prevented the Penguins from becoming the first team in NHL history to record five wins over an opponent in the same month.

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles shut out the Penguins for the first time since January 9, 1986 – a span of 190 regular season games: Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, and Bryan Trottier each had three points and Kelly Hrudey made 27 saves in a 9-0 shutout.  The Isles have shutout every other team that was in the NHL in 1986 since that game (they have never shut out Nashville, Minnesota (Wild) or Vegas).

• Nick Leddy is the first Islander defenseman with at least 13 assists in the first 21 games since 2005-06, when Alexi Zhitnik had 15.

• Ilya Sorokin has the longest shutout streak for an Islander rookie (120:00) since Anders Nilsson went 136:15 in the 2011-12 season.  He has two shutouts in his first five games; the last Isles rookie to have two shutouts in his first 25 games was Yann Danis, who recorded shutouts in his 22nd and 24th NHL games.

• Sorokin is the first NHL goalie in 20 years to record shutouts for his first two NHL wins and only the 8th to do in NHL history.  Both Mathieu Garon (MTL) and Roman Cechmanek (PHI) did so in the 2000-01 season.  Tiny Thompson (1928-29 Bruins) is the only NHL goalie to record his first three wins by shutout.

• Oliver Wahlstrom is the first Islander rookie to have a power play goal and a power play assist in the same game since Mathew Barzal did so twice in 2017-18.  (No Islander rookie has had three power play points in a game since Robert Nilsson on April 8, 2006.)

• The Islanders had a rookie score the game-winning goal in a shutout victory for another rookie for the first time since Darby Hendrickson scored his only Islander go in Eric Fichaud's only Islander shutout on April 6, 1996.

Most Shutouts by an Islander Rookie

• 10  Chico Resch (3 in 1974-75 and 7 in 1975-76)

•   2  Kelly Hrudey (1984-85)

•   2  Ilya Sorokin (2020-21)

Rookie Shutouts (NHL 2020-21)

• 2 Ilya Sorokin (ISLES)

• 1 Alex Nedeljkovic (CAR)

• 1 Kevin Lankinen (CHI)

Longest Shutout Streak by an Islander Rookie

PLAYER              START DATE END DATE SHUTOUT STREAK 

Glenn Resch 12/2/1975 12/12/1975    178:29

Al Montoya 2/17/2011 2/21/2011      143:17

Glenn Resch 10/18/1975 10/25/1975 138:51

Anders Nilsson 11/21/2011 3/10/2012 136:15

Glenn Resch 2/8/1975 3/1/1975 120:41

Ilya Sorokin 2/16/2021 CURRENT 120:00

*Note that Chico Resch played only 25 NHL games in 1974-75, qualifying him for rookie status in 1975-76

Erasing the Pens

This was only the 5th time the Isles had shut out the Penguins in a regular season game (and only the 4th time that they won the game):

• 2-Mar-80 @ Pittsburgh  (0-0 Tie – Chico Resch)

• 14-Oct-82 Vs Pittsburgh  (9-0 Win – Billy Smith)

• 2-Feb-85 @ Pittsburgh  (4-0 Win -  Kelly Hrudey)

• 9-Jan-86 Vs Pittsburgh  (9-0 Win -  Kelly Hrudey)

• 28-Feb-21 Vs Pittsburgh  (2-0 Win -  Ilya Sorokin)

Just Give Us a Chance!

The Isles had had just 22 power play attempts in twelve games this month.  The power play is 9-22 (40.9%) this month.

The Isles have had just 21 power play attempts in nine home games this season. They are 9-21 on the power play at home (42.9%), including 8-13 (61.5%) in the six home games against opponents other than Boston (with at least one power play goal in all six games).

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in their first nine home games (7-0-2).  The 16 points match the most in the first nine home games in club history.  The Isles are the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss at home.

Most Points at Home Through 9 Games

• 16 1978-79 (7-0-2)

• 16 2020-21 (7-0-2)

• 16 2017-18 (7-0-2)

• 16 1984-85 (8-1-0)

Longest Home Point Streak to Open a Season

• 23 1978-79 (19-0-4)

• 10 2017-18 (8-0-2)

• 9 2020-21 (7-0-2)

Lots of Home Cooking

The Isles are in a stretch where they are playing nine out of 10 at home.  The Isles are 3-0-1 in this stretch:

• W BUF 3-2

• W BOS 7-2

• Lot PIT 3-4

• W PIT 2-0

19 in 33

This Isles are in a stretch in which they are scheduled to play 19 games in 33 days for the first time in franchise history.  The Isles are 2-0-1 in this stretch.

Home and Road

The Isles are 11-6-4 overall; they are 7-0-2 at home and 4-6-2 on the road.

Pittsburgh is 11-8-1 overall; they are 7-1-0 at home and 4-7-1 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 856-624-60-155 in 1,695 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  938

3. Barry Trotz    856

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,725

3. Barry Trotz        1,695

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello is the third-winningest general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,424

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,305

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,161 wins between them.  They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together).   Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together.  

First Things First

The Isles are 8-1-2 when scoring first and are 3-5-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles     9-16-5=30

Pittsburgh  2-8-10=20

The Isles are 9-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 2-3-2 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 56-28-12 when outshot. 

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin 20 saves to improve to 2-2-1-0 on the season (with both of his wins by shutouts; he is 1-0-0 in his career against Pittsburgh.

Casey DeSmith made 28 saves but falls to 4-2-0 on the season and 3-1-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 2-5 on the power play (8:11); Pittsburgh was 0-2 on the power play (4:00) .   

The Isles are 7-2-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-4-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 2-5-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 9-1-2 when they do not.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 8-1-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-5-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 75-6-10 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 3-2-4 in games decided by a single goal including 3-2 in regulation. They are 0-3 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 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

Including tonight, the Isles are 1-0-2 in the front-half and 2-0-1 in the back-half. The next back-to-back is scheduled for March 6th/7th, both home games with Buffalo.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 19-2-3 in back-ends.

Series

The schedule as currently comprised has the Isles playing the same opponent in consecutive games seventeen times this season (including three-game stretches vs. the Sabres and Devils in early March, vs the Flyers in late March and vs. the Caps in late April).  The Isles are 3-2-2 in the first game and 2-4-1 in the second game:

NYR (W/L); NJ (W/L); WAS (L/L); PHI (Lot/Lot), BUF(W/W), PIT (L/L), PIT (Lot/W)

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 2-0-1 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 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 8-6-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock  (22:49); Pittsburgh: Marcus Petterson (23:08)

Josh Bailey led Isles forwards with 21:09 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (4-1-0), Ryan Pulock (6-3-3), Scott Mayfield (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-1), Adam Pelech (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 30, Pittsburgh 24 (54%)

Casey Cizikas won 7 of 11 for the Isles; Sidney Crosby won 14 of 25 for Pittsburgh.

The Isles are 8-4-2 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 3-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 31 (Scott Mayfield-5)

Pittsburgh 24 (Brandon Tanev and Bryan Rust 4)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 1 (Cizikas – 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 11 (Three with 2)

Pittsburgh 10 (Three with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 51, Pittsburgh 41

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 35, Pittsburgh 31

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Adam Pelech +10

Pittsburgh: Evgeni Malkin +13 

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 17, Pittsburgh 9

5-on-5: Isles 11, Pittsburgh 6

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, (Cal Clutterbuck)

Games Lost: 19

250-Game Club

The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 250 games, and they are three of just 16 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 289, Brock Nelson 266, Mathew Barzal 253, Ryan Pulock 216, Josh Bailey 174.  All five players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Anders Lee has the third-longest consecutive game streak in club history while Brock Nelson has the fifth-longest and Mathew Barzal has the seventh-longest. It is the first time in club history that three different Isles have had concurrent streaks of at least 240 games:

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

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

3. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 289

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

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 266

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

7. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 253

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

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

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 215 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 216

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures 

The Isles are 1-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(offsides 2/16 @BUF)

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 1 goal and allowed 2 goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1 [Anders Lee, 2/6/21 vs PIT (17:14) -winning goal]

Vs:  2 [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)-winning goal; Evgeni Malkin, 2/11/21 vs PIT (19:42) – tying goal/PIT won in OT]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Josh Bailey 886…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 581 *** 19. Brock Nelson 569 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 555 …

28. Dave Lewis 514 and Anders Lee 514 *** 30. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509*** 32. Cal Clutterbuck 497

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 181 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson 156

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 332 …

19. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 20. Ed Westfall and Nick Leddy 181

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

10. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley and Josh Bailey 488…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 315  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 305

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Terry Simpson 187 *** 5. Scott Gordon 181 *** 6. Barry Trotz 171

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 94

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 2-4-0-0 on the season (1-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 1-3-0-0 vs. Providence). Bridgeport is off until Thursday when they again play Providence in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

Season Series Stats

Pittsburgh leads the season series 4 games to 2 (and 8 points to 6). The teams will meet in Pittsburgh on March 27 and 29 to complete the season series. 

The Isles have earned at least a point in nine straight home games vs. Pittsburgh (5-0-4, including 2-0-4 in games decided beyond regulation).  It is the Isles' longest home point streak against Pittsburgh since they went 12-0-1 vs. Pittsburgh between 1983 and 1986, including ten straight wins

The Isles are 62-40-11 with 8 ties all-time at the Coliseum against Pittsburgh.

UP NEXT

TUESDAY, MARCH 2nd  –ISLANDERS AT NEW JERSEY 7:00pm

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

The Isles are in a stretch in which they play nine out of ten games at home.  The one road game in that stretch is the first of four meetings in March with the New Jersey Devils, which will be played at Prudential Center on Tuesday.

It is the third meeting of the teams this season, with each team earning a victory on home ice.

The Isles may face Mackenzie Blackwood, who prior to Ilya Sorokin was the last rookie goalie to have consecutive shutouts, doing so both in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

The game will have a different feel than any game the Isles have played in the last 51 weeks, as a limited number of fans will be in attendance.

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

The Skinny: Pittsburgh 4, Isles 3 (OT)

"The Skinny"         

By Eric Hornick

Game 20

Pittsburgh 4, Isles 3 (OT)

Kris Letang did it to the Isles again. For the second straight Saturday night, Letang scored twice and this time the second goal was the overtime winner as the Pittsburgh Penguins overcame 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to defeat the Islanders 4-3 at the Nassau Coliseum.

Letang is the first opposing defenseman to ever record two multiple-goal games against the Isles in a single season (and only the fifth to record three career multiple-goal games, joining Ron Greschner, Paul Coffey, Brian Leetch, and Andrej Meszaros).

The Penguins have won four of five meetings this month (twice in extra time); the teams meet again on Sunday at 5pm. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Brock Nelson (6) Oliver Wahlstrom (3), Nick Leddy (12) 18:40 PIT 0,NYI 1 PPG

2nd Period

Mathew Barzal (8) Anders Lee (5), Scott Mayfield (4) 01:34 PIT 0,NYI 2

Sidney Crosby (7) Kris Letang (10) 02:17 PIT 1,NYI 2 PPG

Kris Letang (3) Kasperi Kapanen (7), Jake Guentzel (10) 02:43 PIT 2,NYI 2

Josh Bailey (2) Anthony Beauvillier (3), Brock Nelson (4) 14:51 PIT 2,NYI 3

3rd Period

Jared McCann (3) Evgeni Malkin (8) 00:18 PIT 3,NYI 3

OT

Kris Letang (4) Sidney Crosby (11) 04:34 PIT 4,NYI 3

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in 11 of their last 13 games (7-2-4); they are 6-0-2 against everyone but Pittsburgh in that stretch… The Isles are 7-2-2 in February… Michael Dal Colle returned to the lineup, replacing an injured Cal Clutterbuck (who missed his first goal of the season)… Nick Leddy's assist is his 7th in the last seven games; he leads the team with 12 assists and also leads the team with seven power play points (1-6-7)…The Isles are 6-0-2 at the Coliseum (5-0-0 vs. everyone but Pittsburgh)... Kris Letang recorded his 6th career overtime goal (and 2nd against the Isles); he joins Ron Hainsey and Brent Burns as the only defensemen with two career OT goals against the Isles…It is the second time that the Isles have allowed a goal this season in the last minute of overtime (Kevin Hayes 1-31-2021 for Philly vs. Ilya Sorokin)…All four of Letang's goals have come against the Islanders…Sidney Crosby's assist on the winning goal was his 81st against the Isles, breaking a tie with Mario Lemieux for 2nd place; Jaromir Jagr had 94…Brock Nelson now has five power play goals; it is only the 2nd time in his eight year NHL career he has had at least 5 (10 in 2014-15)… Oliver Wahlstrom has a point in three straight games; all three of his assists have come on the power play….Josh Bailey's goal was his 1st since January 31st, and allowed him to remain tied with Brock Nelson for 16th place on the all-time Isles list (156 goals)… Andy Greene played a season-high 20:55; it was his highest ice-time as an Islander…Nelson has 14 goals in 30 games vs. Pittsburgh; Jason Blake (17) and Kyle Okposo (14) are the only Isles in the 2000's with at least 14 goals vs. Pittsburgh… Max Pacioretty (also 14 goals in 30 games) is the only other active NHL player with at least 14 goals in 32/fewer career games v. the Pens…Dating back to last season, the Isles have lost eight straight regular season games that have gone to overtime (0-6 in overtime, 0-2 in shootout). It is the first time since the shootout was introduced in the 2005-06 season that the Isles have lost eight straight games in extra time.

First Times in a Long Time

• Nick Leddy is the first Islander defenseman with at least 12 assists in the first 20 games since 2005-06, when Alexi Zhitnik had 14

• Jared McCann is the first opponent to score in the first 18 seconds of a period since Dale Weise scored on Jaroslav Halak 10 seconds into the 2nd period at Bell Centre on January 17, 2015.

Most Goals by a Defenseman vs. Isles (one season)

5 – Paul Coffey 1989-90

5-  Mike McEwen 1978-79

4-  Kris Letang 2020-21

4-  Jaccob Slavin 2016-17

4-  Sergei Gonchar 2005-06

4-  Kevin Hatcher 1990-91

4-  John van Boxmeer 1980-81

4-  Ron Greschner 1978-79

Just Give Us a Chance!

The Isles have had just 17 power play attempts in eleven games this month.  The power play is 7-17 (41.2%) this month.

The Isles have had just 16 power play attempts in eight home games this season. They are 7-16 on the power play at home (43.8%), including 6-8 (75.0%) in the five home games against opponents other than Boston (with at least one power play goal in all five games).

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in their first eight home games (6-0-2).  The 14 points match the most in the first eight home games since 1978-79, when they opened 7-0-1.  The Isles, who are the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss at home, can match the best eight-game start in franchise history with a win on Sunday.

Most Points at Home Through 8 Games

• 15 1978-79 (7-0-1)

• 14 2020-21 (6-0-2)

• 14 2017-18 (6-0-2)

• 14 1986-87 (7-1-0)

• 14 1984-85 (7-1-0)

• 14 1982-83 (7-1-0)

Longest Home Point Streak to Open a Season

• 23 1978-79 (19-0-4)

• 10 2017-18 (8-0-2)

• 8 1976-77 (6-0-2)

• 8 2020-21 (6-0-2)

Lots of Home Cooking

The Isles are in a stretch where they are playing nine out of 10 at home.  The Isles are 2-0-1 in this stretch:

• W BUF 3-2

• W BOS 7-2

• Lot PIT 3-4

19 in 33

This Isles are in a stretch in which they are scheduled to play 19 games in 33 days for the first time in franchise history.  The Isles are 1-0-1 in this stretch.

Home and Road

The Isles are 10-6-4 overall; they are 6-0-2 at home and 4-6-2 on the road.

Pittsburgh is 11-7-1 overall; they are 7-1-0 at home and 4-6-1 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 855-624-60-155 in 1,694 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  937

3. Barry Trotz    855

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,724

3. Barry Trotz        1,694

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello is the third-winningest general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,423

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,304

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,159 wins between them.  They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together).   Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together.  

First Things First

The Isles are 7-1-2 when scoring first and are 3-5-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles         9-10-6-2=27

Pittsburgh  7-10-11-3=31

The Isles are 8-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 2-3-2 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 56-28-12 when outshot. 

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves; he is 9-4-3 on the season and 6-4-4 in his career against Pittsburgh.

Tristan Jarry made 24 saves to improve to 7-6-1 on the season and 6-1-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-1 on the power play (0:33); Pittsburgh was 1-5 on the power play (8:06) .  It was the second time this season that the Isles had four fewer power plays than the opposition (1/16/2021 @ Rangers)

The Isles are 6-2-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-4-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 2-5-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-1-2 when they do not.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 8-1-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-5-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 75-6-10 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 3-2-4 in games decided by a single goal including 3-2 in regulation. They are 0-3 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 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

Including tonight, the Isles are 1-0-2 in the front-half and 1-0-1 in the back-half. This back to back concludes on Sunday. The next back-to-back is scheduled for March 6th/7th, both home games with Buffalo.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 18-2-3 in back-ends.

Series

The schedule as currently comprised has the Isles playing the same opponent in consecutive games seventeen times this season (including three-game stretches vs. the Sabres and Devils in early March, vs the Flyers in late March and vs. the Caps in late April).  The Isles are 3-2-2 in the first game and 1-4-1 in the second game:

NYR (W/L); NJ (W/L); WAS (L/L); PHI (Lot/Lot), BUF(W/W), PIT (L/L), PIT (Lot/-)

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 1-0-1 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 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 8-6-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock  (25:21); Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (25:06)

Josh Bailey led Isles forwards with 20:25 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (4-1-0), Ryan Pulock (5-3-3), Scott Mayfield (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-1), Adam Pelech (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 33, Pittsburgh 21 (61%)

Brock Nelson won 11 of 15 for the Isles; no Penguin who took multiple face-offs won more than he lost. 

The Isles are 7-4-2 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 3-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 30 (Ryan Pulock-5)

Pittsburgh 23 (Anthony Angello -5)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 1 (Cizikas – 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 15 (Scott Mayfield – 5)

Pittsburgh 19 (Two with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 57, Pittsburgh 62

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 50, Pittsburgh 48

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Anthony Beauvillier +9

Pittsburgh: Jared McCann +10 

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 17, Pittsburgh 11

5-on-5: Isles 12, Pittsburgh 6

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, (Cal Clutterbuck)

Games Lost: 18

250-Game Club

The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 250 games, and they are three of just 16 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 288, Brock Nelson 265, Mathew Barzal 252, Ryan Pulock 215, Josh Bailey 173.  All five players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Anders Lee has the third-longest consecutive game streak in club history while Brock Nelson has the fifth-longest and Mathew Barzal has the seventh-longest. It is the first time in club history that three different Isles have had concurrent streaks of at least 240 games:

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

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

3. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 288

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

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 265

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

7. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 252

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

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

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 215 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 215

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures 

The Isles are 1-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(offsides 2/16 @BUF)

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 1 goal and allowed 2 goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1 [Anders Lee, 2/6/21 vs PIT (17:14) -winning goal]

Vs:  2 [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)-winning goal; Evgeni Malkin, 2/11/21 vs PIT (19:42) – tying goal/PIT won in OT]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Josh Bailey 885…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 580 *** 19. Brock Nelson 568 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 554 …

28. Dave Lewis 514. *** 29. Anders Lee 513 *** 30. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509*** 32. Cal Clutterbuck 497

Goals

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

12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 181 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson 156

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 330 …

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Nick Leddy 180

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 486…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 315  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 305

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Terry Simpson 187 *** 5. Scott Gordon 181 *** 6. Barry Trotz 170

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 93

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 2-4-0-0 on the season (1-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 1-3-0-0 vs. Providence) following a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Providence on Thursday. Bridgeport is off until next Thursday when they again play Providence in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

Season Series Stats

Pittsburgh leads the season series 4 games to 1 (and 8 points to 4). The teams will meet again at the Coliseum on Sunday before the final two match-ups are played in Pittsburgh.

The Isles are 0-2-2 in the last four meetings overall with Pittsburgh.  Despite that, the Isles have earned at least a point in eight straight home games vs. Pittsburgh (4-0-4, including 2-0-4 in games decided beyond regulation).  It is the Isles' longest home point streak against Pittsburgh since they went 12-0-1 vs. Pittsburgh between 1983 and 1986, including ten straight wins.

UP NEXT

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28th  – PITTSBURGH AT ISLANDERS 5:00pm

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

The Isles conclude the homestand and the month of February as they once again host the Pittsburgh Penguins.  It is the 6th meeting of the teams this month, who will conclude their season series with a pair of games in Pittsburgh in late March.

This could be the Penguins' last-ever game at the Coliseum.

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

The Skinny: Isles 7, Boston 2

"The Skinny"         

By Eric Hornick

Game 19

Isles 7, Boston 2

Anthony Beauvillier stole a puck for the go-ahead goal 5:41 into the third period and that opened the floodgates.  Four different teammates scored in a 5:48 span as the Isles scored five goals in a period for the first time in over three years as they defeated the Boston Bruins 7-2 at the Nassau Coliseum.

Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves for his 9th win of the season and earned his first assist as an Isle while leading the team to a home win over Boston for the third time in 39 days.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Nick Ritchie (7) Jakub Zboril (3), Charlie Coyle (3) 01:02 BOS 1,NYI 0

Adam Pelech (1) 03:16 BOS 1,NYI 1

Mathew Barzal (7) Nick Leddy (10), Semyon Varlamov (1) 12:39 BOS 1,NYI 2

2nd Period

Craig Smith (4) Jake DeBrusk (3), Urho Vaakanainen (2) 11:36 BOS 2,NYI 2

3rd Period

Anthony Beauvillier (1) 05:41 BOS 2,NYI 3

Jordan Eberle (8) Mathew Barzal (10), Anders Lee (4) 10:45 BOS 2,NYI 4

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (8) Adam Pelech (4) 12:24 BOS 2,NYI 5 SHG

Anders Lee (9) Noah Dobson (7), Nick Leddy (11) 14:44 BOS 2,NYI 6

Oliver Wahlstrom (2) Ryan Pulock (8), Casey Cizikas (3) 16:33 BOS 2,NYI 7

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in ten of their last 12 games (7-2-3); they are 6-0-2 against everyone but Pittsburgh in that stretch… The Isles improve to 7-2-1 in February… Austin Czarnik was replaced in the lineup by Leo Komarov …Anders Lee regained the club lead in goals (9) after Jordan Eberle and Jean-Gabriel Pageau had tied him for the team lead moments earlier…JG Pageau has four goals, including two shorties, in three games vs. Boston this season.  With 97-99-196 career totals, he is closing in on 100-100-200… Nick Leddy's two assists gives him the team lead with 11…Casey Cizikas was credited with his 100th career assist on Adam Pelech's goal, had it taken away in a scoring change, and then assisted on Wahlstrom's goal to reach 100 again…Pelech's goal was his first since November 7, 2019 while Anthony Beauvillier's goal was his first in 20 regular season games (February 17, 2020 vs. Arizona)….The Bruins are 0-3-0 at the Coliseum and 6-0-2 in their other road games… The Isles' five goals in the third period was more than they had scored in any game this season…The Isles held David Pastrnak off the board; he has 0 points in two games against the Isles and 14 points in his other eight games this season…The Isles have outscored the Bruins 8-0 in the third period this season, and are +12 (22-10) in the third period overall…Jaroslav Halak, making his first start against the Isles since leaving the team in 2017, saw his goals against rise from 1.66 at the start of the game to 1.79 at the start of the third period to 2.42 at game's end…Since the start of the 2014-15 season, JG Pageau has scored 15 shorthanded goals, which is tied with Brad Marchand for the NHL lead in that period.

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles scored five goals in a period for the first time under Barry Trotz, for the first time since February 9, 2018 (3rd pd in Brooklyn vs. Detroit), for the first time against Boston since January 5, 1989 (at the old Boston Garden), and for the first time in a Coliseum 3rd period since January 28, 1986 vs. Toronto.

• The Isles scored 7 goals in a game for the first time since scoring eight goals vs. Detroit on January 14, 2020 and for the first time against Boston since scoring eight goals on January 3, 2003. 

• Jaroslav Halak faced the Islanders for the first time since January 25, 2014 while he was a member of the St. Louis Blues.  (It is the second-longest gap between goalie appearances against the Isles; Mike Mc Kenna went over nine years between starts against the Isles.)

The Injury

Cal Clutterbuck left the game after the first period. He did not return.

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in their first seven home games (6-0-1).  The 13 points are the most in the first seven games since 1982-83, when they opened 7-0-0.  The Isles, who are the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss at home, can match the best eight-game start in franchise history with a win on Saturday.

Most Points at Home Through 7 Games

• 14 1982-83 (7-0-0)

• 13 2020-21 (6-0-1)

• 13 1978-79 (6-0-1)

Longest Home Point Streak to Open a Season

• 23 1978-79 (19-0-4)

• 10 2017-18 (8-0-2)

• 8 1976-77 (6-0-2)

• 7 2020-21 (6-0-1)

• 7 1982-83 (7-0-0)

Lots of Home Cooking

The Isles are in a stretch where they are playing nine out of 10 at home.  The Isles are 2-0-0 in this stretch:

• W BUF 3-2

• W BOS 7-2

19 in 33

Today marked the beginning of a 33-day stretch in which the Isles will play 19 games. It is the first time in franchise history that the Isles will play 19 games in 33 days.  The Isles are 1-0-0 in this stretch.

Home and Road

The Isles are 10-6-3 overall; they are 6-0-1 at home and 4-6-2 on the road.

Boston is 11-4-2 overall; they are 5-1-0 at home and 6-3-2 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 855-624-60-154 in 1,693 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  937

3. Barry Trotz    855

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,723

3. Barry Trotz        1,693

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello is the third-winningest general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,423

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,304

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,159 wins between them.  They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together).   Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together.  

First Things First

The Isles are 7-1-1 when scoring first and are 3-5-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    10-9-18=37

Boston  15-13-8=36

The Isles are 8-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 2-3-1 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 56-28-11 when outshot. 

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves to improve to 9-4-2 on the season and 9-5-3 in his career against Boston.

Jaroslav Halak made 30 saves but falls to 4-2-1 on the season and 7-2-1 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play (4:00); Boston was 0-2 on the power play (4:00) and allowed a shorthanded goal to JG Pageau.

The Isles are 6-2-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-4-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 2-5-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-1-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 8-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-5-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 75-6-9 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 3-2-3 in games decided by a single goal including 3-2 in regulation. They are 0-2 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 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 1-0-1 in the front-half and 1-0-1 in the back-half. The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 27th/28th, both home games with Pittsburgh.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 18-2-3 in back-ends.

Series

The schedule as currently comprised has the Isles playing the same opponent in consecutive games seventeen times this season (including three-game stretches vs. the Sabres and Devils in early March, vs the Flyers in late March and vs. the Caps in late April).  The Isles are 3-2-1 in the first game and 1-4-1 in the second game:

NYR (W/L); NJ (W/L); WAS (L/L); PHI (Lot/Lot), BUF(W/W), PIT (L/L)

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 1-0-1 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 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 8-6-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (22:09); Boston: John Moore (20:42)

Josh Bailey led Isles forwards with 19:57 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (4-1-0), Ryan Pulock (5-3-2), Scott Mayfield (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-1), Adam Pelech (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 23, Boston 26 (47%)

Brock Nelson won 8 of 13 for the Isles; Patrice Bergeron won 11 of 18 for Boston .

The Isles are 7-4-1 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 3-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 26 (Leo Komarov and Casey Cizikas -4)

Boston 24 (Anders Bjork -7)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 1 (Cizikas – 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 8 (Scott Mayfield - 2)

Boston 16 (Three with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 59, Boston 55

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 48, Boston 49

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Anders Lee +6

Boston: Two with +6 

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 16, Boston 14

5-on-5: Isles 13, Boston 13

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Cory Schneider, (Michael Dal Colle – INJ)

Games Lost: 17

250-Game Club

The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 250 games, and they are three of just 16 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 287, Brock Nelson 264, Mathew Barzal 251, Ryan Pulock 214, Josh Bailey 172.  All five players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Anders Lee has passed Matt Moulson for the third-longest consecutive game streak in club history while Brock Nelson has tied Denis Potvin for 5th place.  Mathew Barzal has also moved into the top seven; it is the first time in club history that three different Isles have had concurrent streaks of at least 240 games:

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

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

3. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 287

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

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 264

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

7. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 251

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

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

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 210 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 214

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures 

The Isles are 1-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(offsides 2/16 @BUF)

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 1 goal and allowed 2 goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1 [Anders Lee, 2/6/21 vs PIT (17:14) -winning goal]

Vs:  2 [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)-winning goal; Evgeni Malkin, 2/11/21 vs PIT (19:42) – tying goal/PIT won in OT]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Josh Bailey 884…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 579 *** 19. Brock Nelson 567 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 553 …

28. Dave Lewis 514. *** 29. Anders Lee 512 *** 30. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509*** 32. Cal Clutterbuck 497

Goals

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

12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 181 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson 155

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 330 …

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Nick Leddy 179

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 485…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 314  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 303

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Terry Simpson 187 *** 5. Scott Gordon 181 *** 6. Barry Trotz 169

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 93

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 2-4-0-0 on the season (1-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 1-3-0-0 vs. Providence) following a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Providence on Thursday. Simon Holmstrom and Arnaud Durandeau scored third period goals for the Sound Tigers to turn the game around; Tanner Fritz also scored shorthanded for Bridgeport.  Bridgeport is off until next Thursday when they again play Providence in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 3 games to 0 (and 6 points to 0). The teams will meet again at the Coliseum on March 9th before the final four match-ups are played in Boston.

The Isles have defeated Boston three times in a season for the first time since 2006-07 (3-0-1); the club record is 4 wins against Boston in a regular season (2005-06).  It is the first time the Isles have ever defeated the Bruins three times at home in a season (the Bruins had not played three times at the Coliseum since 1973-74).   Overall, the Isles are 4-1-1 in their last six games with Boston.

The three home wins in the last 39 games over Boston match the Islander home wins against Boston between December 2009 and December 2020.

It is the first time since 2013 that the Isles have won three straight games from Boston and the first time that they have won three straight home games from Boston since a six-game streak between 2005 and 2007.

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27th  – PITTSBURGH AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm

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

The Isles conclude the homestand with a pair of games against the Pittsburgh Penguins.  It is the 5th and 6th meetings of the teams this month.  The Isles went 1-0-1 in a pair of Coliseum games early in the month and the Penguins swept a pair of games in Pittsburgh last weekend.

The teams will also play at 5:00pm on Sunday, in what could be the Penguins' last-ever visit to the Coliseum.

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

The Skinny: Isles 3, Buffalo 2

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 18

Isles 3, Buffalo 2

Jean-Gabriel Pageau broke a 2-2 tie with a power play goal with 4:52 to play and Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves for his 8th win of the season as the Isles earned a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres at the Nassau Coliseum.

Matt Martin had given the Isles a 2-1 lead earlier in the frame, but Sam Reinhart tied the game with a goal for Buffalo's lethal power play.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Curtis Lazar (4) Henri Jokiharju (1), Casey Mittelstadt (2) 17:15 BUF 1,NYI 0

2nd Period

Anders Lee (8) Jordan Eberle (4), Ryan Pulock (7) 03:56 BUF 1,NYI 1

3rd Period

Matt Martin (2) Andy Greene (1), Casey Cizikas (2) 03:01 BUF 1,NYI 2

Sam Reinhart (6) Victor Olofsson (7), Rasmus Dahlin (5) 05:48 BUF 2,NYI 2 PPG

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (7) Oliver Wahlstrom (2), Nick Leddy (9) 15:08 BUF 2,NYI 3 PPG

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in nine of their last 11 games (6-2-3)… The Isles improve to 6-2-1 in February… Austin Czarnik returned to the lineup, replacing Leo Komarov …The Isles have allowed five goals in the third period of the last three games, matching the total for the prior 15 games. …Anders Lee regained the club lead in goals (8)…Brock Nelson played his 263rd consecutive game, breaking a tie with Denis Potvin for the fifth-longest streak in Islander history…Mathew Barzal played his 250th consecutive game…JG Pageau now has an a 6-game goal streak against Buffalo (including 3 games with Ottawa), going 8-3-11 in those six games. With 96-99-195 career totals, he is closing in on 100-100-200…The Isles won a game in which they allowed a power play goal for only the second time this season…With officials only serving in one division, Furman South was a referee for the third straight Islander game… The Isles have scored a game-winning power play goal in the third period of each of their last three home wins…This was the 3,750th regular season game in franchise history; the Isles should play their 4,000th regular season game in early 2024…Nick Leddy's assist on the winning goal tied Mathew Barzal for the club lead in assists...Andy Greene recorded his 4th assist as an Islander and his first since last March 7th…The Isles had only 23 shots on goal, which was their fewest since the Home Opener...The Isles went nearly 19 1/2 minutes without a shot, including the final 15:48 of the first period.

The Injury

Tobias Rieder left the game in the first period after a clean check by Ryan Pulock. He did not return.

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in their first six home games (5-0-1).  The 11 points match the most in the first five games since 1982-83, when they opened 7-0-0.  The Isles opened 2017-18 with a 5-0-1 record in Brooklyn.

Home and Road

The Isles are 9-6-3 overall; they are 5-0-1 at home and 4-6-2 on the road.

Buffalo is 5-8-2 overall; they are 2-5-1 at home and 3-3-1 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 854-624-60-154 in 1,692 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  936

3. Barry Trotz    854

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,721

3. Barry Trotz        1,692

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello is the third-winningest general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,422

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,303

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,157 wins between them.  They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together).   Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together.  

First Things First

The Isles are 7-1-1 when scoring first and are 2-5-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    3-8-12=23

Buffalo  12-7-17=36

The Isles are 7-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 2-3-1 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 56-28-11 when outshot; the 56 wins are the most in the NHL.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves to improve to 8-4-2 on the season and 11-2-1 against Buffalo.

Linus Ullmark made 20 saves but falls to 4-4-2 on the season and 3-3-1 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-2 on the power play (3:43); Buffalo was 1-3 on the power play (5:31).

The Isles are 6-2-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-4-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 2-5-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 7-1-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 7-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-5-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 74-6-9 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 3-2-3 in games decided by a single goal including 3-2 in regulation. They are 0-2 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 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 1-0-1 in the front-half and 1-0-1 in the back-half. The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 27th/28th, both home games with Pittsburgh.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 18-2-3 in back-ends.

Series

The schedule as currently comprised has the Isles playing the same opponent in consecutive games seventeen times this season (including three-game stretches vs. the Sabres and Devils in early March, vs the Flyers in late March and vs. the Caps in late April).  The Isles are 3-2-1 in the first game and 1-4-1 in the second game:

NYR (W/L); NJ (W/L); WAS (L/L); PHI (Lot/Lot), BUF(W/W), PIT (L/L)

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 1-0-1 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 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 7-6-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (25:11); Buffalo: Rasmus Dahlin (23:40)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 18:16 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (3-1-0), Ryan Pulock (5-3-2), Scott Mayfield (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-1), Adam Pelech (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 26, Buffalo 22 (54%)

Brock Nelson won 12 of 14 for the Isles; Eric Staal won 7 of 10 for Buffalo .

The Isles are 7-4-1 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 1-2-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 21 (Cal Clutterbuck -4)

Buffalo 14 (Curtis Lazar-4)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 1 (Cizikas – 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 11 (Three with 2)

Buffalo 9 (Two with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 48, Buffalo 58

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 43, Buffalo 38

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Josh Bailey +13

Buffalo: Three with +6 

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 13, Buffalo 7

5-on-5: Isles 12, Buffalo 4

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, (Michael Dal Colle – INJ)

Games Lost: 16

250-Game Club

The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 250 games, and they are three of just 16 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 286, Brock Nelson 263, Mathew Barzal 250, Ryan Pulock 213, Josh Bailey 171.  All five players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Anders Lee has passed Matt Moulson for the third-longest consecutive game streak in club history while Brock Nelson has tied Denis Potvin for 5th place.  Mathew Barzal has also moved into the top seven; it is the first time in club history that three different Isles have had concurrent streaks of at least 240 games:

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

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

3. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 286

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

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 263

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

7. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 250

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

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

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 210 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 213

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures 

The Isles are 1-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(offsides 2/16 @BUF)

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 1 goal and allowed 2 goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1 [Anders Lee, 2/6/21 vs PIT (17:14) -winning goal]

Vs:  2 [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)-winning goal; Evgeni Malkin, 2/11/21 vs PIT (19:42) – tying goal/PIT won in OT]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Josh Bailey 883…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 578 *** 19. Brock Nelson 566 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 552 …

28. Dave Lewis 514. *** 29. Anders Lee 511 *** 30. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509*** 32. Cal Clutterbuck 496

Goals

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

12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 180 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson 155

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 330 …

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Nick Leddy 177

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 485…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 312  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 303

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Terry Simpson 187 *** 5. Scott Gordon 181 *** 6. Barry Trotz 168

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 92

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 1-4-0-0 on the season (1-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 0-3-0-0 vs. Providence) following a 1-0 loss to Providence on Friday. Isles defense prospect Samuel Bolduc is off to a big start with five points.  Bridgeport plays Providence again on Thursday.

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 3 games to 0 (and 6 points to 0). The Isles' three wins are (in order) by scores of 3-0, 3-1 and 3-2.

The Isles swept have now won six straight against the Sabres overall (first time since a 7-game streak from 2002 to 2004), as have beaten Buffalo six straight times at home (for the first time ever).    

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25th  – BOSTON AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm

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

The division-leading Bruins have lost only three games in regulation all season – two of those losses have come at the Coliseum (1-0 on 1/18 and 4-2 on 2/13) in the first two match-ups of the teams this season.

The Isles will be looking for their first three-game win streak over the Bruins since 2013 and could move within one point of the B's with a regulation victory.

The two days off between now and then are the last consecutive off days for the Isles until March 30-31 and Thursday's game begins a stretch of 19 games in 33 days for the Isles.  It is the first time in franchise history that the Isles will play 19 games in 33 days.

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

The Skinny: Pittsburgh 3, Isles 2

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 17

Pittsburgh 3, Isles 2

Kris Letang scored his first two goals of the season and the second one, with 6:26 to play, turned out to be the game-winner as the Pittsburgh Penguins completed a sweep of the two game series with a 3-2 win over the Isles at PPG Paints Arena. 

Sidney Crosby added a pair of assists in his 1,000th NHL game, and Tristan Jarry made 33 saves for Pittsburgh while Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson had the goals for the Isles.

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

Kris Letang (1) Evgeni Malkin (7), Sidney Crosby (8) 12:35 NYI 0,PIT 1 PPG

Jordan Eberle (7) Anthony Beauvillier (2) 15:28 NYI 1,PIT 1

3rd Period

Brock Nelson (5) Scott Mayfield (3) 00:53 NYI 2,PIT 1

Mike Matheson (1) Teddy Blueger (7), Sam Lafferty (1) 07:35 NYI 2,PIT 2

Kris Letang (2) Sidney Crosby (3), Jake Guentzel (8) 13:34 NYI 2,PIT 3

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in eight of their last ten games (5-2-3)… The Isles fell to 5-2-1 in February… Leo Komarov returned to the lineup, replacing Kieffer Bellows …The Isles allowed two goals in the third period, raising the season total for goals allowed in the third period to a still NHL-low nine. However, the Isles were outscored 4-2 in the third period in the two games in Pittsburgh…Anders Lee played his 285th consecutive game, breaking a tie with Matt Moulson for the third longest streak in Islander history.  Lee is still not quite halfway to Billy Harris' 576 game streak…Kris Letang is the 5th active defenseman with at least 12 multi-goal games; it was Letang's second two-goal effort against the Isles (12/4/2018)…Brock Nelson's goal, his first at even-strength this season gives him goals in two straight games and three goals in the last four games; Nelson's goal was only the second that the Isles have scored in the opening minute of a period…Jordan Eberle's goal tied him with Anders Lee for the club lead (7)…Mathew Barzal has seven shots on goal and won his last six face-offs but has now gone three games without a point since his nine-game point streak ended…Pittsburgh scored the tying and winning goals on their final two shots of the game…The Isles finished with 53 hits; it was the 2nd-highest total in the NHL this season (Washington on 1/19/21, also in Pittsburgh – 54)….Brock Nelson recorded his 155th goal, matching Josh Bailey's total for 16th place in Isles history. Bailey has only one goal this season.

First Time in a Long Time

All three Penguin goals were scored by defensemen.  It was the first time the Isles allowed three goals to defenders since Columbus did it on December 14, 2017 (Jake Werenski, Markus Nutivaara and Seth Jones).

Let's Go Home

After opening the season with a record-tying 12 of 17 on the road, the Isles are heading home for 9 of their next 10 and 23 of their final 39 games. Other than San Jose, no team has played fewer home games than the Isles.  Each of the Isles' next 12 games is in the Metropolitan area (nine at home and three at New Jersey).

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in their first five home games (4-0-1).  The nine points match the most in the first five games since 1982-83, when they opened 7-0-0.  The Isles opened 2017-18 with a 4-0-1 record in Brooklyn.

Home and Road

The Isles are 8-6-3 overall; they are 4-0-1 at home and 4-6-2 on the road.

Pittsburgh is 9-6-1 overall; they are 7-1-0 at home and 2-5-1 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 853-624-60-154 in 1,691 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  935

3. Barry Trotz    853

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,720

3. Barry Trotz        1,691

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello is the third-winningest general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,422

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,302

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,155 wins between the two of them.  They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together).   Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together.  

First Things First

The Isles are 7-1-1 when scoring first and are 1-5-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    16-10-9=35

Pittsburgh        4-8-6=18

The Isles are 7-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-3-1 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 55-28-11 when outshot; the 55 wins are the most in the NHL.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 15 saves but falls to 7-4-2 on the season and 6-4-3 against Pittsburgh.

Tristan Jarry made 33 saves to improve to 5-5-1 on the season and 5-1-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-1 on the power play (2:00); Pittsburgh was 1-1 on the power play (0:12).

The Isles are 5-2-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-4-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 1-5-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 7-1-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 6-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-5-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 73-6-9 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 2-2-3 in games decided by a single goal including 2-2 in regulation. They are 0-2 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 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 1-0-1 in the front-half and 1-0-1 in the back-half. The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 27th/28th, both home games with Pittsburgh.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 18-2-3 in back-ends.

Series

The schedule as currently comprised has the Isles playing the same opponent in consecutive games seventeen times this season (including three-game stretches vs. the Sabres and Devils in early March, vs the Flyers in late March and vs. the Caps in late April).  The Isles are 3-2-1 in the first game and 1-4-1 in the second game:

NYR (W/L); NJ (W/L); WAS (L/L); PHI (Lot/Lot), BUF(W/W), PIT (L/L)

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 1-0-1 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 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 6-6-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (22:58); Pittsburgh: John Marino (24:55)

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

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (3-1-0), Ryan Pulock (4-3-2), Scott Mayfield (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-1), Adam Pelech (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 32, Pittsburgh 21 (60%)

Anders Lee won 5 of 6 for the Isles; Sidney Crosby won 13 of 19 for Pittsburgh (but his teammates won only 8 of 34).

The Isles are 6-4-1 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 1-2-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 53 (Cal Clutterbuck -8)

Pittsburgh 30 (Brandon Tanev -6)

Fights 

There were no fights.  Season total: 1 (Cizikas – 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 16 (Two with 3)

Pittsburgh 18 (Two with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 61, Pittsburgh 41

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 52, Pittsburgh 38

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Nick Leddy +13

Pittsburgh: Jake Guentzel +2 

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 14, Pittsburgh 6

5-on-5: Isles 13, Pittsburgh 6

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, (Michael Dal Colle – INJ)

Games Lost: 15

245 Game Club

The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 245 games, and they are three of just 17 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 285, Brock Nelson 262, Mathew Barzal 249, Ryan Pulock 212, Josh Bailey 170.  All five players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Anders Lee has passed Matt Moulson for the third-longest consecutive game streak in club history while Brock Nelson has tied Denis Potvin for 5th place.  Mathew Barzal has also moved into the top seven; it is the first time in club history that three different Isles have had concurrent streaks of at least 240 games:

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

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

3. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 285

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

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 262

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

7. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 249

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

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

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 210 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 212

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures 

The Isles are 1-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(offsides 2/16 @BUF)

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 1 goal and allowed 2 goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1 [Anders Lee, 2/6/21 vs PIT (17:14) -winning goal]

Vs:  2 [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)-winning goal; Evgeni Malkin, 2/11/21 vs PIT (19:42) – tying goal/PIT won in OT]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Josh Bailey 882…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 577 *** 19. Brock Nelson 565 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 551 …

28. Dave Lewis 514. *** 29. Anders Lee 510 *** 30. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509*** 32. Cal Clutterbuck 495

Goals

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

12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 179 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson 155

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 330 …

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Nick Leddy 176

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 485…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 311  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 303

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Terry Simpson 187 *** 5. Scott Gordon 181 *** 6. Barry Trotz 167

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 91

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 1-4-0-0 on the season (1-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 0-3-0-0 vs. Providence) following a 1-0 loss to Providence on Friday. Jakub Skarek made an AHL career-high 36 saves.  Bridgeport plays Providence again on Thursday.

Season Series Stats

Pittsburgh leads the season series 3 games to 1 (and 6 points to 3).

This was the first time that the Isles had lost consecutive games in regulation to Pittsburgh since 2016.  The Isles are 0-2-1 in the last three vs. the Pens.

The teams will conclude their six games against each other this month next Saturday/Sunday (5pm) at the Coliseum.  

UP NEXT

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd  – BUFFALO AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm

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

The Isles begin a stretch of 9 out of 10 at home as they welcome Buffalo to the Coliseum for the first time this season.

The Isles swept a pair of games in Buffalo last week, and have won five straight against the Sabres overall, as well as five straight at home.  

This game was originally scheduled for February 2nd, but was postponed due to the Sabre season being paused.

All four of the Sabre visits to New York will occur in a two-week period, beginning Monday.

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

The Skinny: Pittsburgh 4, Isles 1

"The Skinny"          

By Eric Hornick

Game 16

Pittsburgh 4, Isles 1

Sidney Crosby converted an Islander giveaway for an early goal in his 999th NHL game, and Tristan Jarry made 31 saves as the Pittsburgh Penguins snapped the Isles' eight-game points streak (5-0-3) with a 4-1 win over the Isles at PPG Paints Arena. 

The only Islander offense came from a Brock Nelson power play goal just 12 seconds after Mike Matheson was assessed a boarding penalty. However, that was not enough as Pittsburgh snapped the Isles' three game win streaks (both on the road and overall).

The Scoring:

1st Period

Sidney Crosby (6) Kasperi Kapanen (5) 04:15 NYI 0,PIT 1

2nd Period

Teddy Blueger (3) Mike Matheson (2), Zach Aston-Reese (1) 18:01 NYI 0,PIT 2

3rd Period

Brock Nelson (4) Josh Bailey (8), Nick Leddy (8) 15:39 NYI 1,PIT 3 PPG

Bryan Rust (6)EN Jason Zucker (3), Evgeni Malkin (6) 16:54 NYI 1,PIT 4

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in eight of their last 9 (5-1-3)… The Isles have scored 19 goals in the first period (most in the East), but only 20 goals in the second and third periods; they had scored twice in each of the four prior second periods… Josh Bailey had an assist, giving him five helpers in the last three games… The Isles fell to 5-1-1 in February…Kieffer Bellows returned to the lineup, replacing Michael Dal Colle…The Isles allowed two goals in the third period (including an empty-netter), raising the season total for goals allowed in the third to seven.  Every other team in the NHL has allowed at least ten goals in the 3rd…Mike Matheson and John Marino both went +4…Casey Cizikas was involved in the Isles' first fight of the season, leaving only San Jose without a bout…Mathew Barzal played his 250th NHL game.

Most 1st Period Goals

The Isles are 3rd in the NHL in first period goals this season:

1. Edmonton 22

2. Columbus 21 

3. ISLES 19 

The 250 Club

Most assists in first 250 games (active players)

Rk Player

1 Sidney Crosby 230

2 Connor McDavid     207

3 Evgeni Malkin 196

4 Nicklas Backstrom 190

5 Jason Spezza 178

6 Mitch Marner 165

7 Paul Stastny 160

8 Patrick Kane 158

9 Mathew Barzal 157

10 Artemi Panarin 151

Most points thru 250 games (Isles)

PLAYER GP G A P

Mike Bossy 250 196 149 345

Bryan Trottier 250 119 195 314

Denis Potvin 250 78 171 249

Ziggy Palffy 250 124 115 239

Pat LaFontaine 250 117 109 226

Mathew Barzal 250 65 157 222

Brent Sutter 250 112 107 219

John Tavares 250 88 125 213

(Only Bryan Trottier and Denis Potvin had more assists in their first 250 games than Barzal)

Pageau, Pageau, Pageau … JG Pageau

JG Pageau's streak of scoring a goal in the first period ended at a club record-tying four straight games; he is the 8th player in club history to do so:

• Jean-Gabriel Pageau  2/11/2021 – 2/16/2021

• Matt Moulson 11/26/2011 -12/3/2011

• Bryan Smolinski 3/27/1997 -4/3/1997

• Todd Bertuzzi 3/4/1997- 3/11/1997

• Ziggy Palffy 2/29/1996 - 3/5/1996

• Pat LaFontaine 12/28/1989 - 1/2/1990

• Bryan Trottier 1/13/1983 -1/20/1983

• John Tonelli 1/8/1983 - 1/15/1983

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in their first five home games (4-0-1).  The nine points match the most in the first five games since 1982-83, when they opened 7-0-0.  The Isles opened 2017-18 with a 4-0-1 record in Brooklyn.

Home and Road

The Isles are 8-5-3 overall; they are 4-0-1 at home and 4-5-2 on the road.

Pittsburgh is 8-6-1 overall; they are 6-1-0 at home and 2-5-1 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 853-623-60-154 in 1,690 games, and he has passed Ken Hitchcock as the 3rd-winningest coach in NHL history.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  935

3. Barry Trotz    853

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,719

3. Barry Trotz        1,690

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello is the third-winningest general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,421

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,302

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,155 wins between the two of them.  They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together).   Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together.  

First Things First

The Isles are 7-1-1 when scoring first and are 1-4-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    14-11-7=32

Pittsburgh        11-15-11=37

The Isles are 7-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 1-3-1 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 55-28-11 when outshot; the 55 wins are the most in the NHL.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 33 saves but falls to 7-3-2 on the season and 6-3-3 against Pittsburgh.

Tristan Jarry made 31 saves to improve to 4-5-1 on the season and 4-1-0 in his career against the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play (4:12); Pittsburgh was 0-4 on the power play (6:47), including a 1:13 of 5-on-3.

The Isles are 5-2-2 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-3-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 1-4-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 7-1-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 6-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-4-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 73-6-9 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 2-1-3 in games decided by a single goal including 2-1 in regulation. They are 0-2 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 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

Including tonight, the Isles are 1-0-1 in the front-half and 1-0-1 in the back-half. The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 27th/28th, both home games with Pittsburgh.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 18-2-3 in back-ends.

Series

The schedule as currently comprised has the Isles playing the same opponent in consecutive games seventeen times this season (including three-game stretches vs. the Sabres and Devils in early March, vs the Flyers in late March and vs. the Caps in late April).  The Isles are 3-1-1 in the first game and 1-3-1 in the second game:

NYR (W/L); NJ (W/L); WAS (L/L); PHI (Lot/Lot), BUF(W/W), PIT (L/-)

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 1-0-1 when both teams played the night before. 

• The Isles are 1-0-0 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 6-5-2 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (23:06); Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (24:28)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 20:13 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (3-0-0), Ryan Pulock (4-3-2), Scott Mayfield (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-1), Adam Pelech (1-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 26, Pittsburgh 28 (48%)

Casey Cizkas won 6 of 10 for the Isles; Teddy Blueger won 7 of 13 for Pittsburgh.

The Isles are 6-3-1 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 1-2-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 34 (Matt Martin -36)

Pittsburgh 24 (Three with 3)

Fights 

Casey Cizikas fought Brandon Tanev in the first period.  Season total: 1 (Cizikas – 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 14 (Two with 3)

Pittsburgh 15 (Jake Guentzel -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 53, Pittsburgh 61

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 43, Pittsburgh 44

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Jordan Eberle +10

Pittsburgh: Teddy Blueger and Zach Aston-Reese +10 

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 11, Pittsburgh 13

5-on-5: Isles 7, Pittsburgh 7

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Michael Dal Colle

Games Lost: 14

245 Game Club

The Isles have three players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 245 games, and they are three of just 17 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.   

Ironman Streaks: Anders Lee 284, Brock Nelson 261, Mathew Barzal 248, Ryan Pulock 211, Josh Bailey 169.  All five players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Anders Lee has tied Matt Moulson for the third-longest consecutive game streak in club history while Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal have also moved into the top seven; it is the first time in club history that three different Isles have had concurrent streaks of at least 240 games:

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

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

3. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – CURRENT 284

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

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

6. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 261

7. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 248

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

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

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 210 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 211

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures 

The Isles are 1-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-0-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(offsides 2/16 @BUF)

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 1 goal and allowed 2 goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1 [Anders Lee, 2/6/21 vs PIT (17:14) -winning goal]

Vs:  2 [Justin Schultz, 1/26/21 @ WSH (19:33)-winning goal; Evgeni Malkin, 2/11/21 vs PIT (19:42) – tying goal/PIT won in OT]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900 *** 4. Josh Bailey 881…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 576 *** 19. Brock Nelson 564 *** 20. Ken Morrow and  Casey Cizikas 550 …

28. Dave Lewis 514. *** 29. Richard Pilon, Mick Vukota and Anders Lee 509 *** 32. Cal Clutterbuck 494

Goals

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

12. Billy Harris 184 *** 13. Anders Lee 179 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 16. Josh Bailey 155 *** 17. Brock Nelson 154

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 330 …

20. Ed Westfall 181 *** 21. Nick Leddy 176

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

11. Derek King 499 *** 12. Patrick Flatley 488 *** 13. Josh Bailey 485…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 311  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 302

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Terry Simpson 187 *** 5. Scott Gordon 181 *** 6. Barry Trotz 166

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 91

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 1-3-0-0 on the season (1-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 0-2-0-0 vs. Providence) following their 5-3 win over Hartford on Wednesday.  Samuel Bolduc had a goal and two assists for the Sound Tigers while Jakub Skarek made 29 saves.  Bridgeport hosts Providence on Friday.

Season Series Stats

Pittsburgh leads the season series 2 games to 1 (and 5 points to 2).

This was the Isles' first regulation loss to Pittsburgh in the last seven games (3-1-3).

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20th  – ISLANDERS AT PITTSBURGH 7:00pm

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

The Isles stay in Pittsburgh to battle the Penguins again on Saturday.  

It will be game 17 of the season, and a record-tying 12th of the first 17 on the road.  Scott Gordon coached those first 17 games in 2010-11, but was replaced for game 18 by Jack Capuano. 

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