NYISkinny: Eric Hornick's Blog: March 2021

Monday, March 29, 2021

The Skinny: Pittsburgh 2, Isles 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 36

Pittsburgh 2, Isles 1

Anthony Angello and Jared McCann scored first period goals and Casey DeSmith made 19 saves in relief over the final two periods as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Islanders 2-1 before a socially-distanced crowd of 2,800 at PPG Paints Arena.

Matt Martin deflected in a Mathew Barzal shot for a power play goal in the second period, but the Isles could not get even over the final 30:38.

With the loss, the Isles remain 2 points behind Washington. The Capitals have two games in hand and will play one of them on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. The Penguins are now even in both points and games with the Isles; the Isles hold the regulation win tie-breaker.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Anthony Angello (2) John Marino (4), Mike Matheson (4) 04:24 NYI 0,PIT 1 PPG

Jared McCann (8) John Marino (5), Mike Matheson (5) 18:28 NYI 0,PIT 2

2nd Period

Matt Martin (6) Mathew Barzal (18), Nick Leddy (24) 09:22 NYI 1,PIT 2 PPG

3rd Period

No Goals

The Skinny

The Isles are 3-4-0 since the end of their 9-game win streak (and 12-game point streak)... The Isles have 13 goals from rookies (Oliver Wahlstrom 9, Kieffer Bellows 3, Sebastian Aho 1); among East Division teams, only New Jersey (22) has more… The Isles defense had one assist (by Nick Leddy), giving them 66 – most in the East, and fourth in the NHL… The Isles fall to 3-8-1 when trailing after two periods… Nick Leddy now has 24 assists; 16 have come at even-strength, (still tied with Mackenzie Weegar for the most by an NHL defenseman) while his eight power play assists lead the team...Josh Bailey played in his 901st game, passing Bobby Nystrom for 3rd on the all-time Isles games played list…For the second time in this season series, a game was played without a 5-on-5 goal; the Isles won 2-0 on February 28th by scoring twice on the power play…The Isles were credited with 52 hits; it is one shy of their season-high (53 on February 20th, also in Pittsburgh)…Ross Johnston played 10:50 and had six hits in his first game since January 26th in Washington…The Isles fall to 2-7-2 against Pittsburgh and Washington; they are 20-3-2 vs. their other opponents...The Isles have scored the first goal only seven times in 20 road games this season.

The Injury

Tristan Jarry left the game after one period with an upper body injury and did not return. He is the first goaltender to EVER record a win against the Isles in a game he started but played 20 minutes or fewer. (Ryan Miller 20:58 on 2/22/2015 was the previous starter to play the least and still win.)

First Times in a Long Time

• Matt Martin scored his 2nd career power play goal – his other was on March 5, 2013 for the Isles against Montreal.

• It is the first time that the Isles have allowed at least two goals in three consecutive first periods since February 2018.

Wahli's World

Since February 22nd, Oliver Wahlstrom leads the team in goals (8) and is 2nd on the team in points (8-6-14) to Nick Leddy's (0-16-16).

The Isles went 11-4-0 this month; they matched the 1981-82 team (11-1-2) for the most wins the Isles have ever had in March.

Varly Streaking

Semyon Varlamov is 7-3-1 in his last eleven decisions, allowing just 26 goals in that span. Varly has won 14 games this season with a goals against average of 2.19 and save percentage of .922.

Sorokin's Shining

Ilya Sorokin is 8-1-0 in his last nine starts.

Sorokin has won five straight at home. Only one NHL rookie goalie in the last 39 years has won as many as eight straight at home - Semyon Varlamov did that in 2009-10 for Washington.

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in 15 of their first 16 home games (13-1-2), remaining tied with the 1978-79 team for the most in club history through 16 games:

Most Points at Home Through 16 Games

• 28 2020-21 (13-1-2)

• 28 1978-79 (12-0-4)

• 27 2019-20 (13-2-1)

Solid D

The Isles have allowed only 84 goals (including 1 shootout winner) in 36 games; it is the fewest goals that they have allowed through 36 games in their history:

• 84 (2020-21)

• 85 (2015-16)

• 87 (1977-78)

• 88 (1975-76)

• 89 (1976-77)

Results vs. Each East Division Opponent

• Boston W-W-W-Wso-Wot Remaining games: 3 (0 home, 3 away)

• Buffalo W-W-W-W-W-W Remaining games: 2 (0 home, 2 away)

• New Jersey W-L-W-W-W-Wso Remaining games: 2 (2 home, 0 away)

• Rangers W-L-W Remaining games: 5 (4 home, 1 away)

• Philadelphia Lot-Lot-L-W-Wot Remaining games: 3 (2 home, 1 away)

• Pittsburgh W-Lso-L-L-Lot-W-L-L Remaining games: 0

• Washington L-L-L Remaining games: 5 (4 home, 1 away)

Road Warriors

This was the final game in a stretch where the Isles played seven out of nine games on the road. The Isles went 5-4-0 in this stretch:

• @ NJ W 3-2

• @ NJ Wso 3-2

• @WSH L 1-3

• PHI L 3-4

• PHI W 6-1

• @PHI Wot 2-1

• @BOS Wot 4-3

• @PIT L 3-6

• @PIT L 1-2

Following this stretch, 12 of the final 20 will be at home.

Home and Road

The Isles are 22-10-4 overall; they are 13-1-2 at home and 9-9-2 on the road.

Pittsburgh is 23-11-2 overall; they are 16-3-1 at home and 7-8-1 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 867-628-60-155 in 1,710 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman 1,244

2. Joel Quenneville 947

3. Barry Trotz 867

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman 2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,740

3. Barry Trotz 1,710

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,431

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,316

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,183 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 14-1-2 when scoring first and are 8-9-2 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles 5-14-6=25

Pittsburgh 9-6-7=22

The Isles are 14-5-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 7-4-2 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 60-29-12 when outshot.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 20 saves but falls to 14-7-3 on the season and 6-5-4 in his career against Pittsburgh.

Tristan Jarry made 5 saves but was replaced after the first period due to injury; he improves to 15-8-2 on the season and 7-2-0 in his career against the Isles. Casey DeSmith made 19 saves in relief and was named the game's #1 star.

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-4 on the power play (4:04); Pittsburgh was 1-3 (2:53).

The Isles are 9-4-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 13-6-1 when they do not. The Isles are 5-8-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 17-2-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 16-3-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 6-7-1 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 82-8-10 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 9-4-4 in games decided by a single goal including 5-4 in regulation. They are 2-3 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 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 3-0-2 in the front-half and 4-0-1 in the back-half. The next back-to-back is scheduled for April 8th/9th, home games vs. the Flyers and the Rangers.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 21-2-3 (.865) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch. Tampa Bay has the next best record: 19-6-3 (.732).

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, Devils, Flyers, and Capitals).

In two-game series, the Isles are 3-3-2 in the first game and 2-5-1 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), PIT (L/L)

In three-game series, the Isles are 2-1-0 in the first game, 3-0-0 in the second game, and 3-0-0 in the third:

BUF (W/W/W), NJ (W/W/W), PHI (L/W/Wot)

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 4-0-1 when both teams played the night before.

• The Isles are 1-2-0 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 17-8-3 when both teams are rested.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (23:35); Pittsburgh: Brian Dumoulin (24:46)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 18:40 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (8-3-0), Ryan Pulock (10-5-3), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Mathew Barzal (1-1-1), Adam Pelech (2-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 27 Pittsburgh 35 (44%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 11 of 17 for the Isles; Mark Jankowski won 6 of 9 for Pittsburgh.

The Isles are 12-6-2 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 9-3-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 52 (Cal Clutterbuck -8)

Pittsburgh 23 (Sam Lafferty -5)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total: 2 (Cizikas -1, Wahlstrom -1)

Blocked Shots

Isles 9 (Andy Greene and Jean-Gabriel Pageau -2)

Pittsburgh 14 (Brian Dumoulin -3)

For the Analytics Crowd

Corsi: All situations: Isles 43, Pittsburgh 41

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 35, Pittsburgh 37

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Adam Pelech +8

Pittsburgh: Zach Aston-Reese +4

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 13, Pittsburgh 7

5-on-5: Isles 10, Pittsburgh 5

Scratches

Austin Czarnik, Sebastian Aho, Cory Schneider, (Anders Lee-LTIR), (Michael DalColle -IR)

Games Lost: 29

COVID Games Lost -5

250-Game Club

The Isles have two players who have active consecutive game streaks of at least 250 games, and they are two of just 15 players in the NHL whose streak began no later than the start of the 2017-18 season.

Ironman Streaks: Brock Nelson 281, Mathew Barzal 268, Ryan Pulock 231, Josh Bailey 189. All four players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Brock Nelson now has the longest active streak (and 5th-longest in club history); Mathew Barzal is 6th on this list while Ryan Pulock is 10th:

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 – 3/13/2021 295

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

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 281

6. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 268

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

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

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

10. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 231

(*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Pulock's streak is the 2nd-longest by an Islander defenseman, trailing only Denis Potvin's 262-game streak.

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, 1 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR, no goalie interference 3/11 vs NJ)

The Isles are 1-0-0 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 one goal and allowed four 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: 4 [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; Oskar Lindblom, 3/18/21 vs PHI (17:38)-winning goal; Anders Bjork, 3/25/21 vs BOS (17:54) – tying goal/Isles won in OT]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 901…

14. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 15. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 16. Garry Howatt and Matt Martin 596 *** 18. John Tonelli 594 ***19. Brock Nelson 584 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 570 …

27. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 28. Anders Lee 520 *** 29. Dave Lewis 514 *** 30. Cal Clutterbuck 512 *** 31. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 33. Nick Leddy 498

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Billy Harris and Anders Lee 184 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Brock Nelson 162 *** 16. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 17. Josh Bailey 159

Assists

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

6. John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 337 …

19. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 20. Nick Leddy 192

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. Josh Bailey 496…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 21. Anders Lee 320 *** 22. Brock Nelson 315

Games Coached

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Terry Simpson 187 *** 5. Barry Trotz 186

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 105

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 3-8-0-0 on the season (2-2-0-0 vs. Hartford and 1-6-0-0 vs. Providence).

Bridgeport returns to action on Wednesday when they host Providence to end the first-half of their 24-game schedule.

Season Series Stats

Pittsburgh wins the season series 6 games to 2 (and 12 points to 6).

The Isles are 2-4-2 vs. Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh is 6-2-0 vs. the Isles

The Isles went 2-0-2 at home vs. the Penguins this season but lost all four games in Pittsburgh in regulation time. The Isles were outscored 5-0 in the first period in Pittsburgh this season.

The Isles are 3-5-2 in their last 10 regular season games with the Pens.

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, APRIL 1st – WASHINGTON AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm

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

The Isles head home to begin a 6 game in 11 day homestand against the Washington Capitals. The Isles will alternate games with Washington and Philadelphia to begin the homestand before playing a pair with the Rangers to end it.

It is the first of five games between the teams this month, with the first four coming at the Coliseum. The Capitals have won the first three games of the season series, all in DC, and all in regulation.

Since becoming the Isles' coach, Barry Trotz has a 4-7-0 regular season record against the team he led to the Stanley Cup in 2018. The Isles are 0-4 at home vs. Washington in that span. Of course, the Isles beat the Caps in five games in The Bubble in August.

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

Saturday, March 27, 2021

The Skinny: Pittsburgh 6, Isles 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 35

Pittsburgh 6, Isles 3

Bryan Rust completed a hat trick into an empty net as the Pittsburgh Penguins built a 5-0 lead before the game was half over and held off the Islanders for a 6-3 victory before a socially-distanced crowd of 2,800 at PPG Paints Arena.

Mathew Barzal scored his first goal in 10 games and then set up Anthony Beauvillier to extend Beau's goal-scoring streak to four straight games. Jordan Eberle scored on a late-game 4-on-4 (with the goalie pulled) to get the Isles closer.

With the loss, the Isles remain tied with Washington and hold onto a share of the East Division point lead with 48 points. The Capitals have two games in hand and will play one of them on Sunday afternoon as they host the Rangers. The Penguins (even in games with the Isles) sit just two points behind.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Frederick Gaudreau (1) Sam Lafferty (4), Colton Sceviour (2) 05:48 NYI 0,PIT 1

Evan Rodrigues (4) Jared McCann (7), Cody Ceci (5) 10:07 NYI 0,PIT 2

2nd Period

Sidney Crosby (14) Jake Guentzel (19), Kris Letang (20) 04:26 NYI 0,PIT 3 PPG

Bryan Rust (12) Sidney Crosby (25), Jared McCann (8) 06:18 NYI 0,PIT 4 PPG

Bryan Rust (13) Kris Letang (21), Jake Guentzel (20) 08:21 NYI 0,PIT 5

Mathew Barzal (10) Scott Mayfield (8) 10:47 NYI 1,PIT 5

3rd Period

Anthony Beauvillier (6) Mathew Barzal (17), Nick Leddy (23) 05:23 NYI 2,PIT 5

Jordan Eberle (11) Brock Nelson (8), Josh Bailey (15) 17:33 NYI 3,PIT 5

Bryan Rust (14)EN 19:18 NYI 3,PIT 6

The Skinny

The Isles have points in 23 of their last 28 games (19-5-4) and are 14-3-1 in their last 18 games.… The Isles have outscored their opponents 34-23 in the first period and 43-23 in the third period –their +20 differential in the third period is the best in the NHL; the Isles have been outscored 32-24 in the middle session… The Isles have 13 goals from rookies (Oliver Wahlstrom 9, Kieffer Bellows 3, Sebastian Aho 1); among East Division teams, only New Jersey (22) has more… The Isles defense had two assists (by Nick Leddy and Scott Mayfield), giving them 65 – most in the East… Anthony Beauvillier has a goal in four straight games…The Isles fall to 3-7-1 when trailing after two periods… Nick Leddy now has 23 assists; 16 has come at even-strength, tying Mackenzie Weegar for the most by an NHL defenseman...Josh Bailey played in his 900th game, tying Bobby Nystrom for 3rd on the all-time Isles games played list…Mathew Barzal's goal was his first in 11 games, and gave the Isles five players (including the injured Anders Lee) with at least 10 goals…Bryan Rust recorded his 4th career hat trick and joins Philadelphia's Joel Farabee as players with hats against the Isles this season….With a goal and an assist tonight, Sidney Crosby is now 39-83-122 in 74 career games against the Isles…Frederick Gaudreau's goal was his first in the NHL since December 31, 2018.

Wahli's World

Since February 22nd, Oliver Wahlstrom leads the team in goals (8) and is 2nd on the team in points (8-6-14) to Nick Leddy's (0-15-15). Wahlstrom saw his five-game point streak (4-2-6) end tonight.

March to Greatness

The Isles are 11-3-0 this month; matching the 1981-82 team (11-1-2) for the most wins the Isles have ever had in March.

(Usually) Kings of 60

The Isles have won 18 games in regulation (out of 22 overall). Only Edmonton (20) and Tampa Bay (20) have more regulation wins.

Varly Streaking

Semyon Varlamov is 7-2-1 in his last ten decisions, allowing just 24 goals in that span. Varly has won 14 games this season with a goals against average of 2.20 and save percentage of .922.

Sorokin's Shining

Ilya Sorokin suffered his first loss in nine games, ending his club rookie record winning streak at 8. Sorokin is the first Russian-born rookie goaltender in NHL history to record eight straight wins.

Sorokin and Winning Streaks

Longest Islander Goalie Winning Streaks

11 - Jaroslav Halak 2014-15

10 - Billy Smith 1981-82

8 - Mark Fitzpatrick 1989-90

8- Robin Lehner 2018-19

8- Thomas Greiss 2019-20

8- ILYA SOROKIN 2020-21

Sorokin has won five straight at home. Only one NHL rookie goalie in the last 39 years has won as many as eight straight at home - Semyon Varlamov did that in 2009-10 for Washington.

Towards the Top of the Table

The Isles have 48 points through 35 games, trailing only last year's team for most points in that span in the Post-Cup era.

Most Points through 35 games:

• 55 1978-79 (24-4-7)

• 50 1980-81 (22-7-6)

• 50 1983-84 (24-9-2)

• 49 2019-20 (23-8-3)

• 49 1976-77 (22-8-5)

• 48 2020-21 (22-9-4)

• 47 2014-15 (23-11-1)

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in 15 of their first 16 home games (13-1-2), remaining tied with the 1978-79 team for the most in club history through 16 games:

Most Points at Home Through 16 Games

• 28 2020-21 (13-1-2)

• 28 1978-79 (12-0-4)

• 27 2019-20 (13-2-1)

Solid D

The Isles have allowed only 82 goals (including 1 shootout winner) in 35 games; it matches the fewest goals that they have allowed through 35 games in their history:

• 82 (2020-21)

• 82 (2015-16)

• 84 (1977-78)

• 84 (1976-77)

• 86 (1975-76)

• 86 (2001-02)

Results vs. Each East Division Opponent

• Boston W-W-W-Wso-Wot Remaining games: 3 (0 home, 3 away)

• Buffalo W-W-W-W-W-W Remaining games: 2 (0 home, 2 away)

• New Jersey W-L-W-W-W-Wso Remaining games: 2 (2 home, 0 away)

• Rangers W-L-W Remaining games: 5 (4 home, 1 away)

• Philadelphia Lot-Lot-L-W-Wot Remaining games: 3 (2 home, 1 away)

• Pittsburgh W-Lso-L-L-Lot-W-L Remaining games: 1 (0 home, 1 away)

• Washington L-L-L Remaining games: 5 (4 home, 1 away)

Road Warriors

This was the eighth game in a stretch where the Isles are playing seven out of nine games on the road. The Isles are 5-3-0 in this stretch:

• @ NJ W 3-2

• @ NJ Wso 3-2

• @WSH L 1-3

• PHI L 3-4

• PHI W 6-1

• @PHI Wot 2-1

• @BOS Wot 4-3

• @PIT L 3-6

• @PIT 3/29

Following this stretch, 12 of the final 20 will be at home

Home and Road

The Isles are 22-9-4 overall; they are 13-1-2 at home and 9-8-2 on the road.

Pittsburgh is 22-11-2 overall; they are 15-3-1at home and 7-8-1 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 867-627-60-155 in 1,709 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman 1,244

2. Joel Quenneville 946

3. Barry Trotz 867

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman 2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,739

3. Barry Trotz 1,709

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,430

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,316

It All Starts at the Top

First Things First

The Isles are 14-1-2 when scoring first and are 8-8-2 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles 9-13-10=32

Pittsburgh 4-14-3=21

The Isles are 14-4-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 7-4-2 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 60-29-12 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 5 saves and was replaced after Pittsburgh's fourth goal. He is now 8-3-1 on the season and 1-1-0 in his career against Pittsburgh. Semyon Varlamov stopped 10 of 11 in relief.

Tristan Jarry made 29 saves to improve to 14-8-2 on the season and 6-2-0 in his career against the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-4 on the power play (7:25); Pittsburgh was 2-4 (4:30).

The Isles are 9-3-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 13-6-1 when they do not. The Isles are 5-7-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 17-2-2 when they do not.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 16-3-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 6-6-1 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 82-8-10 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 9-3-4 in games decided by a single goal including 5-3 in regulation. They are 2-3 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 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 3-0-2 in the front-half and 4-0-1 in the back-half. The next back-to-back is scheduled for April 8th/9th, home games vs. Pittsburgh and the Rangers.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 21-2-3 (.865) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch. Tampa Bay has the next best record: 19-6-3 (.732).

Series

In two-game series, the Isles are 3-3-2 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), PIT (L/-)

In three-game series, the Isles are 2-1-0 in the first game, 3-0-0 in the second game, and 3-0-0 in the third:

BUF (W/W/W), NJ (W/W/W), PHI (L/W/Wot)

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 4-0-1 when both teams played the night before.

• The Isles are 1-2-0 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 17-7-3 when both teams are rested.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (20:36); Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (23:55)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 19:58 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (8-2-0), Ryan Pulock (10-5-3), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Mathew Barzal (1-1-1), Adam Pelech (2-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 24, Pittsburgh 29 (45%)

Casey Cizikas won 9 of 14 for the Isles; Sidney Crosby won 15 of 24 for Pittsburgh.

The Isles are 12-6-2 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 9-2-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 37 (Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas-5)

Pittsburgh 22 (Two with 3)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total: 2 (Cizikas -1, Wahlstrom -1)

Blocked Shots

Isles 12 (Andy Greene and Ryan Pulock -3)

Pittsburgh 4 (Four with 1)

For the Analytics Crowd

Corsi: All situations: Isles 46, Pittsburgh 42

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 34, Pittsburgh 34

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Adam Pelech +7

Pittsburgh: Mike Matheson and Colton Sceviour +7

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 9, Pittsburgh 11

5-on-5: Isles 7, Pittsburgh 7

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Cory Schneider, (Anders Lee-LTIR)

Games Lost: 26

COVID Games Lost -5

250-Game Club

Ironman Streaks: Brock Nelson 280, Mathew Barzal 267, Ryan Pulock 230, Josh Bailey 188. All four players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Brock Nelson now has the longest active streak (and 5th-longest in club history); Mathew Barzal is 6th on this list while Ryan Pulock is 10th:

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 – 3/13/2021 295

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

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 280

6. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 267

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

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

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

10. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 230

(*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Pulock's streak is the 2nd-longest by an Islander defenseman, trailing only Denis Potvin's 262-game streak.

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, 1 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR, no goalie interference 3/11 vs NJ)

The Isles are 1-0-0 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 one goal and allowed four 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]

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

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

14. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 15. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 16. Garry Howatt 596 *** 17. Matt Martin 595 *** 18. John Tonelli 594 ***19. Brock Nelson 583 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 569 …

27. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 28. Anders Lee 520 *** 29. Dave Lewis 514 *** 30. Cal Clutterbuck 511 *** 31. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 33. Nick Leddy 497

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Billy Harris and Anders Lee 184 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Brock Nelson 162 *** 16. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 17. Josh Bailey 159

Assists

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

6. John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 337 …

19. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 20. Nick Leddy 191

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. Josh Bailey 496…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 21. Anders Lee 320 *** 22. Brock Nelson 315

Games Coached

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Terry Simpson 187 *** 5. Barry Trotz 185

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 105

On the Farm

Cole Bardreau scored twice to take over the team lead in goals with five, but the Sound Tigers fell 5-2 to Hartford on Saturday afternoon.

Bridgeport falls to 3-8-0-0 on the season (2-2-0-0 vs. Hartford and 1-6-0-0 vs. Providence).

Bridgeport returns to action on Wednesday when they host Providence to end the first-half of their 24-game schedule.

Season Series Stats

Pittsburgh leads the season series 5 games to 2 (and 10 points to 6). The teams will meet in Pittsburgh on Monday to wrap up their season series.

The Isles went 2-0-2 at home vs. the Penguins this season but have lost all three games in Pittsburgh in regulation time.

UP NEXT

MONDAY, MARCH 29th – ISLANDERS AT PITTSBURGH 7:00pm

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

The Isles remain in Pittsburgh to close out the month of March with the final game of the regular season with the Penguins.

The Isles are 3-4-2 in their last nine games in Pittsburgh and need a win to set a club record for wins in the month of March (currently tied with 1981-82 at 11) and match the club record for any month (12 in November 1980 and February 1982).

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

Friday, March 26, 2021

The Skinny: Isles 4, Boston 3 (OT) (correction)

If you were paying attention, I had the opponent wrong in the opening paragraph -which should look like this:

Game 34

Isles 4, Boston 3 (OT)

Anthony Beauvillier scored in overtime for the second straight game as the Islander overcame a 2-0 deficit for a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins before a socially-distanced crowd of 2,191 at TD Garden.

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

Thursday, March 25, 2021

The Skinny: Isles 4, Boston 3 (OT)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 34

Isles 4, Boston 3 (OT)

The Bruins, playing their first game following a one week COVID pause, scored first for the fourth consecutive game against the Islanders but for the 5th straight meeting it was the Isles who eventually emerged victorious.

After the Isles rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead with just under three minutes to play on an Oliver Wahlstrom goal, Boston tied it 52 seconds later on a goals from Anders Bjork. Jean-Gabriel Pageau won the overtime face-off and the Bruins never touched the puck as Bruins relief goaltender Jaroslav Halak could not squeeze Nick Leddy's shot, allowing Beauvillier to become only the second player in club history to record overtime goals in consecutive games.

The winning goal came 21 seconds into overtime; it was the 2nd-earliest (regular season) overtime goal in club history. Pat LaFontaine scored 10 seconds into the extra session on November 5, 1988 (about 68:37 faster than a goal he scored 18 months earlier).

With the win, the Isles remain two points ahead of Washington and hold onto the East Division point lead with 48 points. The Capitals (46 points) have two games in hand and will play one of them on Friday as they host New Jersey. The Isles are 2nd overall in the NHL, trailing only Tampa Bay (50 points).

The Scoring:

1st Period

Karson Kuhlman (1) Charlie McAvoy (15), Anders Bjork (3) 11:42 NYI 0,BOS 1

Steven Kampfer (1) Charlie McAvoy (16), David Krejci (16) 17:35 NYI 0,BOS 2 PPG

2nd Period

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (11) Scott Mayfield (7), Leo Komarov (3) 07:21 NYI 1,BOS 2

3rd Period

Josh Bailey (5) Brock Nelson (7), Nick Leddy (21) 04:33 NYI 2,BOS 2

Oliver Wahlstrom (9) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (11), Anthony Beauvillier (5) 17:04 NYI 3,BOS 2

Anders Bjork (2) Charlie Coyle (4), Chris Wagner (2) 17:58 NYI 3,BOS 3

Anthony Beauvillier (5) Nick Leddy (22), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (12) 00:21 NYI 4,BOS 3

The Skinny

The Isles have points in 23 of their last 27 games (19-4-4) and are 14-2-1 in their last 17 games.… The Isles have outscored their opponents 34-21 in the first period and 41-22 in the third period with their +19 differential in the third period remaining the best in the NHL; the Isles have been outscored 29-23 in the middle session… The Isles have 13 goals from rookies (Oliver Wahlstrom 9, Kieffer Bellows 3, Sebastian Aho 1); among East Division teams, only New Jersey (22) has more… The Isles defense had three assists (two by Nick Leddy and one by Scott Mayfield), giving them 63 – most in the East. The defense has earned 38.4% of the Isles assists (2nd to Vancouver's 39.9%)… Anthony Beauvillier recorded his fourth career overtime goal (12/14/19 vs. Buffalo, 2/4/20 vs. Dallas, Monday vs. Philadelphia). Beauvillier has four of the last five Islander overtime goals (Anders Lee 1/7/20 vs. New Jersey) and joined Sidney Crosby as the only players in the East with two overtime goals this season…The Isles improve to 3-6-1 when trailing after two periods… Jean-Gabriel Pageau recorded his 100th career goal and tallied at least three points in a game for the eighth time in his career and first time as an Islander; Pageau has points on five of the last six Islander goals…Nick Leddy's two assists give him 22 (6th among NHL defensemen); he now has 23 points, which is two more than he had last season…The Isles have won 4 straight OT/SO games after starting the season 0-4 in overtime/shootouts... Josh Bailey played in his 899th game, putting him in position to tie Bobby Nystrom for 3rd on the all-time Isles games played list on Saturday in Pittsburgh.

The Injury

Tuukka Rask left the game with an Upper-Body Injury after the first period and did not return. Had the Bruins held the 2-0 lead that they had when he left, he would have been credited with his 300th NHL win.

Wahli's World

Since February 22nd, Oliver Wahlstrom leads the team in goals (8) and is tied for the team lead in points (8-6-14) with Nick Leddy (0-14-14). Wahlstrom is currently riding a five-game point streak (4-2-6) .

Wahlstrom is also tied with Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov for the most goals among NHL rookies since February 22nd and is third in the league in goals for the season with his nine goals trailing only Kaprizov (11) and Pius Suter (10).

March to Greatness

The Isles are 11-2-0 this month; matching the 1981-82 team (11-1-2) for the most wins the Isles have ever had in March.

(Usually) Kings of 60

The Isles have won 18 games in regulation (out of 22 overall). Only Edmonton (20) and Tampa Bay (20) have more regulation wins.

Varly Streaking

Semyon Varlamov is 7-2-1 in his last ten games, allowing just 24 goals in that span. Varly has won 14 games this season with a goals against average of 2.20 and save percentage of .923. This was his 246th career win, passing Kirk McLean for 65th all-time.

Sorokin's Shining

Ilya Sorokin has allowed only 11 goals in his last eight games (8-0-0, 1.35, .944); in that span the Isles have allowed only 198 shots on goal (24.8 per game) . Sorokin has allowed 22 goals in 668 minutes this season (1.97), and since January 24th he has allowed only 17 goals in his ten appearances (1.68).

Sorokin, who already holds the Islander rookie record for consecutive wins, is the first Russian-born rookie goaltender in NHL history to record eight straight wins.

Towards the Top of the Table

The Isles have 48 points through 34 games, trailing only last year's team for most points over the last 40 years.

Most Points through 34 games:

• 53 1978-79 (23-4-7)

• 49 2019-20 (23-8-3)

• 48 1976-77 (22-8-4)

• 48 1980-81 (21-7-6)

• 48 1983-84 (23-9-2)

• 48 2014-15 (24-10-0)

• 48 2020-21 (22-8-4)

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in 15 of their first 16 home games (13-1-2), remaining tied with the 1978-79 team for the most in club history through 16 games:

Most Points at Home Through 16 Games

• 28 2020-21 (13-1-2)

• 28 1978-79 (12-0-4)

• 27 2019-20 (13-2-1)

Solid D

The Isles have allowed only 76 goals (including 1 shootout winner) in 34 games; it is the fewest goals that they have allowed through 34 games in their history:

• 76 (2020-21)

• 80 (2015-16)

• 81 (1975-76)

• 82 (1977-78)

• 82 (1976-77)

• 82 (2001-02)

Results vs. Each East Division Opponent

• Boston W-W-W-Wso-Wot Remaining games: 3 (0 home, 3 away)

• Buffalo W-W-W-W-W-W Remaining games: 2 (0 home, 2 away)

• New Jersey W-L-W-W-W-Wso Remaining games: 2 (2 home, 0 away)

• Rangers W-L-W Remaining games: 5 (4 home, 1 away)

• Philadelphia Lot-Lot-L-W-Wot Remaining games: 3 (2 home, 1 away)

• Pittsburgh W-Lso-L-L-Lot-W Remaining games: 2 (0 home, 2 away)

• Washington L-L-L Remaining games: 5 (4 home, 1 away)

Road Warriors

This was the sixth game in a stretch where the Isles are playing seven out of nine games on the road. The Isles are 5-2-0 in this stretch:

• @ NJ W 3-2

• @ NJ Wso 3-2

• @WSH L 1-3

• PHI L 3-4

• PHI W 6-1

• @PHI Wot 2-1

• @BOS 3/23 postponed

• @BOS Wot 4-3

• @PIT 3/27

• @PIT 3/29

Following this stretch, 12 of the final 20 will be at home

Home and Road

The Isles are 22-8-4 overall; they are 13-1-2 at home and 9-7-2 on the road.

Boston is 16-8-5 overall; they are 7-3-2 at home and 9-5-3 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 867-626-60-155 in 1,708 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman 1,244

2. Joel Quenneville 945

3. Barry Trotz 867

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman 2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,738

3. Barry Trotz 1,708

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,429

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,316

It All Starts at the Top

First Things First

The Isles are 14-1-2 when scoring first and are 8-7-2 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles 6-12-7-2=27

Boston 10-13-9-0=32

The Isles are 14-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 7-4-2 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 60-29-12 when outshot.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 29 saves to improve to 14-6-3 on the season and 11-5-3 in his career against Boston.

Tuukka Rask made six saves but left after the first period due to injury. Jaroslav Halak made 17 saves in relief; he is 7-5-2 on the season and 7-2-3 in his career against the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-1 on the power play (2:00); Boston was 1-4 (7:58).

The Isles are 9-3-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 13-5-1 when they do not. The Isles are 5-6-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 17-2-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 16-2-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 6-6-1 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 82-7-10 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 3-0-2 in the front-half and 4-0-1 in the back-half. With Tuesday's game being postponed, the next back-to-back is scheduled for April 8th/9th, home games vs. Boston and the Rangers.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 21-2-3 (.865) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch. Tampa Bay has the next best record: 19-6-3 (.732).

Series

In two-game series, 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)

In three-game series, the Isles are 2-1-0 in the first game, 3-0-0 in the second game, and 3-0-0 in the third:

BUF (W/W/W), NJ (W/W/W), PHI (L/W/Wot)

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 4-0-1 when both teams played the night before.

• The Isles are 1-2-0 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 17-6-3 when both teams are rested.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (21:34); Boston: Charley McAvoy (22:31)

JG Pageau led Isles forwards with 18:42 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (8-2-0), Ryan Pulock (10-4-3), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Mathew Barzal (1-1-1), Adam Pelech (2-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 28, Boston 35 (44%)

JG Pageau won 14 of 23 for the Isles; Patrice Bergeron won 12 of 18 for Boston.

The Isles are 12-6-2 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 9-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 29 (Cal Clutterbuck -5)

Boston 25 (Chris Wagner-5)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total: 2 (Cizikas -1, Wahlstrom -1)

Blocked Shots

Isles 13 (Andy Greene -4)

Boston 9 (Nine with 1)

For the Analytics Crowd

Corsi: All situations: Isles 41, Boston 59

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 33, Boston 47

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Ryan Pulock and Oliver Wahlstrom +4

Boston: Charlie Coyle +14

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 7, Boston 5

5-on-5: Isles 5, Boston 4

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Cory Schneider, (Anders Lee-LTIR)

Games Lost: 25

COVID Games Lost -5

250-Game Club

Ironman Streaks: Brock Nelson 279, Mathew Barzal 266, Ryan Pulock 229, Josh Bailey 187. All four players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Brock Nelson now has the longest active streak (and 5th-longest in club history); Mathew Barzal is 6th on this list while Ryan Pulock is 10th:

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 – 3/13/2021 295

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

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 279

6. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 266

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

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

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

10. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 229

(*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Pulock's streak is the 2nd-longest by an Islander defenseman, trailing only Denis Potvin's 262-game streak.

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, 1 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR, no goalie interference 3/11 vs NJ)

The Isles are 1-0-0 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 one goal and allowed four 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]

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 899…

17. John Tonelli and Matt Martin 594 *** 19. Brock Nelson 582 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 568 …

27. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 28. Anders Lee 520 *** 29. Dave Lewis 514 *** 30. Cal Clutterbuck 510 *** 31. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 33. Nick Leddy 496

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Billy Harris and Anders Lee 184 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Brock Nelson 162 *** 16. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 17. Josh Bailey 159

Assists

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

6. John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 336 …

19. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 20. Nick Leddy 190

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. Josh Bailey 495…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 21. Anders Lee 320 *** 22. Brock Nelson 314

Games Coached

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Terry Simpson 187 *** 5. Barry Trotz 184

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 105

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 3-7-0-0 on the season (2-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 1-6-0-0 vs. Providence) and trail Hartford by three points for second place in their division.

Bridgeport returns to action on Saturday when they visit Hartford.

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 5 games to 0 (and 10 points to 2). The teams are scheduled to meet April 14th and 15 in Boston and still have an unscheduled game to make-up.

The Isles won five games against Boston between 12/31/2013 and the end of 2020; they now have won five games in 2021 against the B's.

The Isles are 4-2-1 in their last seven games in Boston.

UP NEXT

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

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

The Isles head to Pittsburgh to close out the month of March with games on Saturday and Monday. These will be the final two games between the teams this season.

The Isles went 2-0-2 at the Coliseum vs. Pittsburgh but dropped a pair of games in Pittsburgh in mid-February.

Ilya Sorokin blanked the Penguins in the teams' last meeting on February 28th (the 2nd of his two shutouts during his current eight-game winning streak).

The Isles are 3-3-2 in their last eight games in Pittsburgh and need one win in these two games to set a club record for wins in the month of March (currently tied with 1981-82 at 11) and match the club record for any month (12 in November 1980 and February 1982).

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

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Sorokin and Winning Streaks

Longest Islander Goalie Winning Streaks

11 - Jaroslav Halak 2014-15

10 - Billy Smith 1981-82

8 - Mark Fitzpatrick 1989-90

8- Robin Lehner 2018-19

8- Thomas Greiss 2019-20

8- ILYA SOROKIN 2020-21 CURRENT

So Sorokin is the third Islander goalie in the last three seasons to have an 8-game win streak, but only the sixth in franchise history to do so. With four of the seven occurring in the last seven seasons, it is a good reminder that it is easier to put a win streak together in the current NHL as every game has a winner. There was overtime in Fitzpatrick's era, but not in Smith's.

Sorokin is the 23rd rookie in NHL history to record an eight-game win streak -- only 11, including Minnesota's Kaapo Kahkonen earlier this year, have reached 9. Only four rookies have reached 10 - none since Ross Brooks won a record 12-straight for Boston in 1973-74.

Sorokin has won five straight at home and three straight on the road. Only one NHL rookie goalie in the last 39 years has won as many as eight straight at home - Semyon Varlamov did that in 2009-10 for Washington.

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

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

The Skinny: Isles 2, Philadelphia 1 (OT)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 33

Isles 2, Philadelphia 1

Ilya Sorokin got the Islanders to overtime; Anthony Beauvillier made sure it ended there. Sorokin made 36 saves for his 8th straight win and Beauvillier tallied his third career overtime goal as the Islanders defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 before a socially-distanced crowd of 2,820 at Wells Fargo Center.

Oskar Lindblom and Oliver Wahlstrom had fought each other on Saturday; they had the only two goals in regulation, as Wahlstrom's third period tally knotted the game. The Flyers have had a lead in four of the five games that the teams have played this season; in each of those four games the Isles have rallied to tie, forcing overtime three times.

With the win, the Isles move two points ahead of Washington and back into the East Division point lead with 46 points; neither team will play Tuesday or Wednesday. The Capitals (44 points) have two games in hand. The Isles are 2nd overall in the NHL, trailing only Tampa Bay (48 points).

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

Oskar Lindblom (5) Claude Giroux (17), Jakub Voracek (18) 12:03 NYI 0,PHI 1

3rd Period

Oliver Wahlstrom (8) Adam Pelech (8), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (9) 04:06 NYI 1,PHI 1

Anthony Beauvillier (4) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (10) 03:41 NYI 2,PHI 1

The Skinny

The Isles have points in 22 of their last 26 games (18-4-4) and are 13-2-1 in their last 16 games.… The Isles have outscored their opponents 34-19 in the first period and 39-21 in the third period – their +15 differential in the first period and their +18 differential in the third period are both the best in the NHL; the Isles have been outscored 29-22 in the middle session… The Isles have 12 goals from rookies (Oliver Wahlstrom 8, Kieffer Bellows 3, Sebastian Aho 1); among East Division teams, only New Jersey (20) has more…Wahlstrom is the third NHL rookie with at least eight goals, tying Chicago's Pius Suter. Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov leads rookies with 10 goals...The Isles defense had one assist (by Adam Pelech), giving them 60 – most in the East. The defense has earned 38.5% of the Isles assists (2nd to Vancouver's 40.4%)… Ilya Sorokin has allowed only 22 goals in his 11 games and now has a 1.98 goals-against average; he is the first Russian-born rookie goaltender to win eight straight games (Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Samsonov each won seven straight games last season)… Anthony Beauvillier recorded his third career overtime goal (12/14/19 vs. Buffalo and 2/4/20 vs. Dallas). Beauvillier has three of the last four Islander overtime goals (Anders Lee 1/7/20 vs. New Jersey)…The Isles improve to 2-6-1 when trailing after two periods…The Isles are 8-1 against Brian Elliott in OT/SO; they have beaten him only twice in regulation (9-2-8)... Since the end of January, the Isles are 18-4-2 while the Flyers are 8-9-3.

Wahli's World

Since February 22nd, Oliver Wahlstrom is tied with Brock Nelson for the team lead in goals (7) and leads the team in points [(7-6-13, one more than Nick Leddy (0-12-12)]. Wahlstrom is currently riding a four-game point streak (3-2-5).

Wahlstrom is also tied with Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov for the most goals among NHL rookies since February 22nd.

March to Greatness

The Isles are 10-2-0 this month; it is the most wins the Isles have had in March in 39 years. The Isles went 11-1-2 in 1982 which is the only other March in club history with double-digit wins. It is the first month since November 2014 that the Isles have recorded double-digit wins.

(Usually) Kings of 60

The Isles have won 18 games in regulation (out of 21 overall). Only Edmonton (20) and Tampa Bay (19) have more regulation wins.

Sorokin's Shining

Ilya Sorokin has allowed only 11 goals in his last eight games (8-0-0, 1.35, .944); in that span the Isles have allowed only 198 shots on goal (24.8 per game) . Sorokin has allowed 22 goals in 668 minutes this season (1.98), and since January 24th he has allowed only 17 goals in his ten appearances (1.68).

Sorokin, who already holds the Islander rookie record for consecutive wins, is the first Russian-born rookie goaltender in NHL history to record eight straight wins.

Sorokin's goals against average remains the best in the East Division, with Semyon Varlamov (2.17) to second place.

Varly Streaking

Semyon Varlamov is 6-2-1 in his last nine games, allowing just 21 goals in that span. Varly has won 13 games this season with a goals against average of 2.17 and save percentage of .923; he has the most wins and best save percentage in the East Division. Varlamov now has 245 career wins, tying Kirk McLean for 65th all-time.

Towards the Top of the Table

The Isles have 46 points through 33 games, trailing only last year's team for most points over the last 40 years.

Most Points through 33 games:

• 51 1978-79 (22-4-7)

• 48 2019-20 (23-8-2)

• 46 1976-77 (21-8-4)

• 46 1980-81 (20-7-6)

• 46 1983-84 (22-9-2)

• 46 2014-15 (23-10-0)

• 46 2020-21 (21-8-4)

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in 15 of their first 16 home games (13-1-2), remaining tied with the 1978-79 team for the most in club history through 16 games:

Most Points at Home Through 16 Games

• 28 2020-21 (13-1-2)

• 28 1978-79 (12-0-4)

• 27 2019-20 (13-2-1)

Solid D

The Isles have allowed only 73 goals (including 1 shootout winner) in 33 games; it is the fewest goals that they have allowed through 33 games in their history:

• 73 (2020-21)

• 75 (1977-78)

• 79 (2015-16)

• 79 (1976-77)

• 80 (1975-76)

Results vs. Each East Division Opponent

• Boston W-W-W-W Remaining games: 4 (0 home, 4 away)

• Buffalo W-W-W-W-W-W Remaining games: 2 (0 home, 2 away)

• New Jersey W-L-W-W-W-Wso Remaining games: 2 (2 home, 0 away)

• Rangers W-L-W Remaining games: 5 (4 home, 1 away)

• Philadelphia Lot-Lot-L-W-Wot Remaining games: 3 (2 home, 1 away)

• Pittsburgh W-Lso-L-L-Lot-W Remaining games: 2 (0 home, 2 away)

• Washington L-L-L Remaining games: 5 (4 home, 1 away)

Road Warriors

This was the sixth game in a stretch where the Isles are playing seven out of nine games on the road (after adjusting for Tuesday's postponement). The Isles are 4-2-0 in this stretch:

• @ NJ W 3-2

• @ NJ Wso 3-2

• @WSH L 1-3

• PHI L 3-4

• PHI W 6-1

• @PHI Wot 2-1

• @BOS 3/23 postponed

• @BOS 3/25

• @PIT 3/27

• @PIT 3/29

Following this stretch, 12 of the final 20 will be at home

Home and Road

The Isles are 21-8-4 overall; they are 13-1-2 at home and 8-7-2 on the road.

Philadelphia is 15-11-4 overall; they are 7-5-3 at home and 8-6-1 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 866-626-60-155 in 1,707 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman 1,244

2. Joel Quenneville 945

3. Barry Trotz 866

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman 2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,736

3. Barry Trotz 1,707

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,428

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,315

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,181 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 14-1-2 when scoring first and are 7-7-2 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles 4-6-5-4=19

Philadelphia 12-14-11-0=37

The Isles are 14-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 6-4-2 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 59-29-12 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made a career-high 36 saves to improve to 8-2-1 on the season and 2-0-1 in his career against Philadelphia.

Brian Elliott made 17 saves; he is 7-4-1 on the season and 9-2-8 in his career against the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-1 on the power play (2:00); Philadelphia was 0-2 (4:00).

The Isles are 9-3-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 12-5-1 when they do not. The Isles are 4-6-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 17-2-2 when they do not.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 15-2-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 6-6-1 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 81-7-10 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 8-3-4 in games decided by a single goal including 5-3 in regulation. They are 1-3 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 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 3-0-2 in the front-half and 4-0-1 in the back-half. With Tuesday's game being postponed, the next back-to-back is scheduled for April 8th/9th, home games vs. Philadelphia and the Rangers.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 21-2-3 (.865) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch. Tampa Bay has the next best record: 19-6-3 (.732).

Series

In two-game series, 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)

In three-game series, the Isles are 2-1-0 in the first game, 3-0-0 in the second game, and 3-0-0 in the third:

BUF (W/W/W), NJ (W/W/W), PHI (L/W/Wot)

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 4-0-1 when both teams played the night before.

• The Isles are 1-2-0 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 16-6-3 when both teams are rested.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (24:16); Philadelphia: Ivan Provorov (24:00)

Josh Bailey led Isles forwards with 18:23 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (8-2-0), Ryan Pulock (9-4-3), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Mathew Barzal (1-1-1), Adam Pelech (2-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 17, Philadelphia 31 (65%)

No Isle who took multiple face-offs won more than he lost; Sean Couturier won 12 of 13 for Philadelphia.

The Isles are 12-6-2 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 8-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 26 (Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin -4)

Philadelphia 24 (Kevin Hayes -6)

Fights

There were no fights. Season total: 2 (Cizikas -1, Wahlstrom -1)

Blocked Shots

Isles 17 (Nick Leddy and Cal Clutterbuck -3)

Philadelphia 14 (Shayne Gostisbehere and Travis Sandheim -3)

For the Analytics Crowd

Corsi: All situations: Isles 43, Philadelphia 63

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 35, Philadelphia 57

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Leo Komarov +2

Philadelphia: Philippe Myers +15

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 7, Philadelphia 6

5-on-5: Isles 5, Philadelphia 5

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Cory Schneider, (Noah Dobson – COVID Protocol), (Anders Lee-LTIR)

Games Lost: 24

COVID Games Lost -5

250-Game Club

Ironman Streaks: Brock Nelson 278, Mathew Barzal 265, Ryan Pulock 228, Josh Bailey 186. All four players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Brock Nelson now has the longest active streak (and 5th-longest in club history); Mathew Barzal is 6th on this list while Ryan Pulock is 10th:

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 – 3/13/2021 295

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

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 278

6. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 265

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

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

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

10. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 228

(*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Pulock's streak is the 2nd-longest by an Islander defenseman, trailing only Denis Potvin's 262-game streak.

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, 1 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR, no goalie interference 3/11 vs NJ)

The Isles are 1-0-0 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 3 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: 3 [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; Oskar Lindblom, 3/18/21 vs PHI (17:38)-winning goal]

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 898…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 593 *** 19. Brock Nelson 581 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 567 …

27. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 28. Anders Lee 520 *** 29. Dave Lewis 514 *** 30. Richard Pilon, Mick Vukota and Cal Clutterbuck 509 *** 33. Nick Leddy 495

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Billy Harris and Anders Lee 184 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Brock Nelson 162 *** 16. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 17. Josh Bailey 158

Assists

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

6. John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 336 …

19. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 20. Nick Leddy 188

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. Josh Bailey 494…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 21. Anders Lee 320 *** 22. Brock Nelson 313

Games Coached

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Terry Simpson 187 *** 5. Barry Trotz 183

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 104

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 3-7-0-0 on the season (2-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 1-6-0-0 vs. Providence) and trail Hartford by one point for second place in their division.

Bridgeport is off until March 27th when they visit Hartford and they should have Jakub Skarek available. Skarek spent the last few weeks with the Isles while Cory Schneider was on personal leave.

Season Series Stats

Philadelphia leads the season series 3 games to 2 (and 7 points to 6). The teams will meet three times in April to complete the season series.

The Isles are 6-1-2 in the last nine regular season games against Philadelphia. Including their seven game playoff series in The Bubble, the Isles have lost just one of the last 16 games between the teams in regulation time.

In Philadelphia, the Isles have gone 4-0-2 in their last six games.

UP NEXT

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

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

The Isles were supposed to be heading to Boston for a pair of games, but Tuesday's game was postponed as the Bruins currently have five players undergoing COVID protocol.

So instead, the Isles will have consecutive off days for the first time in a month while they wait to see whether they will play the Bruins on Thursday.

If they do, it will be their first visit to Boston of the season, after winning all four match-ups at the Coliseum. Up until this season, the Isles had better success with the B's in Boston, going 3-2-1 in their last six games there.

This is scheduled to be the first time that the Bruins play before fans at home.

The Isles will head to Pittsburgh for games on Saturday and Monday to close the month of March.

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

Sunday, March 21, 2021

The Skinny: Isles 6, Philadelphia 1

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 32

Isles 6, Philadelphia 1

Casey Cizikas scored a pair of first period goals for his 5th career two-goal game and Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves for his 7th straight win as the Islanders skated to a 6-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers before a socially-distanced crowd of 1,400 at the Nassau Coliseum.

All six goals came from forwards and three of them broke lengthy droughts as Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored his first goal in 10 games, while Jordan Eberle and Anthony Beauvillier each scored his first goal in nine games as the Isles improved to 13-1-2 at home; the 13 home-ice wins are the most in the NHL.

With the win the Isles tie Washington for the East Division point lead; the Capitals still have one game in hand.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (10) Oliver Wahlstrom (6), Josh Bailey (14) 06:11 PHI 0,NYI 1 PPG

Jordan Eberle (10) Mathew Barzal (16), Thomas Hickey (1) 08:01 PHI 0,NYI 2

Casey Cizikas (5) 10:03 PHI 0,NYI 3

Casey Cizikas (6) Thomas Hickey (2), Oliver Wahlstrom (7) 15:25 PHI 0,NYI 4

Joel Farabee (13) Scott Laughton (10) 17:52 PHI 1,NYI 4

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

Anthony Beauvillier (3) Brock Nelson (6) 09:45 PHI 1,NYI 5

Josh Bailey (4) 15:46 PHI 1,NYI 6

The Skinny

The Isles have points in 21 of their last 25 games (17-4-4) and are 12-2-1 in their last 15 games.… The Isles have outscored their opponents 34-19 in the first period and 38-21 in the third period – their +15 differential in the first period and their +17 differential in the third period are both the best in the NHL; the Isles have been outscored 28-22 in the middle session… The Isles have 11 goals from rookies (Oliver Wahlstrom 7, Kieffer Bellows 3, Sebastian Aho 1); among East Division teams, only New Jersey (20) has more…Wahlstrom assisted on the Islander power play goal in the first period and now leads all NHL rookies with five power play assists and seven power play points. Wahlstrom added a 2nd assist and his first NHL fight before the period was over. The Isles defense had two assists (both by Thomas Hickey), giving them 59 – most in the East. The defense has earned 38.6% of the Isles assists (2nd to Vancouver's 40.4%)…Nick Leddy played his 494th Islanders game, breaking a tie with Ed Westfall for 33rd place on the Isles' list; Barry Trotz coached his 182nd Isles game, breaking a tie with Scott Gordon for 5th on the Isles' all-time list…Ilya Sorokin has allowed only 21 goals in his 10 games; the Flyers allowed 22 games in their now-completed four-game trip to New York (13 to Rangers, 9 to Isles)… .The Isles lead the NHL with an average of 3.81 goals per home game; they have now outscored opponents 61-32 at the Coliseum.

First Times in a Long Time

• Thomas Hickey's 450th NHL game came 716 days after his last regular season game (4/4/2019 at Florida); he had two assists for his first multi-point game since January 13, 2018 at the Rangers.

• The Isles defeated Philadelphia 6-1 at Wells Fargo Center on October 27, 2018 but this was their first home win by at least five goals against the Flyers since January 28, 1998.

Kings of 60

The Isles have won 18 games in regulation (out of 20 overall). Only Edmonton (20, including tonight) has more regulation wins.

Sorokin's Shining

Ilya Sorokin has allowed only 10 goals in his last seven games (7-0-0, 1.41, .938); in that span the Isles have allowed only 161 shots on goal (23.0 per game) . Sorokin has allowed 21 goals in 605 minutes this season (2.08), and since January 24th he has allowed only 16 goals in his nine appearances (1.77).

Sorokin had already established the Islander rookie record with win in consecutive games; he now takes the club record for wins in consecutive decisions (7). Sorokin erases Roland Melanson – 6 games – 1982 from the record books. Melanson's streak began with the first game of the famed 15-game win streak.

Sorokin's goals against average is now the best in the East Division, dropping Semyon Varlamov (2.17) to second place.

Varly Streaking

Towards the Top of the Table

The Isles have 44 points through 32 games, trailing only last year's team for most points over the last 40 years.

Most Points through 32 games:

• 49 1978-79 (21-4-7)

• 46 2019-20 (22-8-2)

• 44 1976-77 (20-8-4)

• 44 1980-81 (19-7-6)

• 44 1983-84 (21-9-2)

• 44 2014-15 (22-10-0)

• 44 2020-21 (20-8-4)

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in 15 of their first 16 home games (13-1-2), remaining tied with the 1978-79 team for the most in club history through 16 games:

Most Points at Home Through 16 Games

• 28 2020-21 (13-1-2)

• 28 1978-79 (12-0-4)

• 27 2019-20 (13-2-1)

Solid D

The Isles have allowed only 72 goals (including 1 shootout winner) in 32 games; it matches the fewest goals that they have allowed through 32 games in their history:

• 72 (2020-21)

• 72 (1977-78)

• 77 (2015-16)

• 78 (1975-76)

• 79 (1976-77)

Results vs. Each East Division Opponent

• Boston W-W-W-W Remaining games: 4 (0 home, 4 away)

• Buffalo W-W-W-W-W-W Remaining games: 2 (0 home, 2 away)

• New Jersey W-L-W-W-W-Wso Remaining games: 2 (2 home, 0 away)

• Rangers W-L-W Remaining games: 5 (4 home, 1 away)

• Philadelphia Lot-Lot-L-W Remaining games: 4 (2 home, 2 away)

• Pittsburgh W-Lso-L-L-Lot-W Remaining games: 2 (0 home, 2 away)

• Washington L-L-L Remaining games: 5 (4 home, 1 away)

Road Warriors

This was the fifth game in a stretch where the Isles are playing seven out of nine games on the road (after adjusting for Tuesday's postponement). The Isles are 3-2-0 in this stretch:

• @ NJ W 3-2

• @ NJ Wso 3-2

• @WSH L 1-3

• PHI L 3-4

• PHI W 6-1

• @PHI 3/22

• @BOS 3/23 postponed

• @BOS 3/25

• @PIT 3/27

• @PIT 3/29

Following this stretch, 12 of the final 20 will be at home

Home and Road

The Isles are 20-8-4 overall; they are 13-1-2 at home and 7-7-2 on the road.

Philadelphia is 15-11-3 overall; they are 7-5-2 at home and 8-6-1 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 865-626-60-155 in 1,706 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman 1,244

2. Joel Quenneville 945

3. Barry Trotz 865

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman 2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,735

3. Barry Trotz 1,706

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,427

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,314

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,179 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 14-1-2 when scoring first and are 6-7-2 when allowing the opening goal.

The Shots

Isles 13-7-8=28

Philadelphia 10-11-3=24

The Isles are 14-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 5-4-2 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 58-29-12 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves to improve to 7-2-1 on the season and 1-0-1 in his career against Philadelphia.

Carter Hart made 22 saves but falls to 8-7-3 on the season and 2-3-0 in his career against the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-2 on the power play (2:28); Philadelphia was 0-3 (6:00).

The Isles are 9-3-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 11-5-1 when they do not. The Isles are 4-6-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 16-2-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 15-2-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 5-6-1 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 81-7-10 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 7-3-4 in games decided by a single goal including 5-3 in regulation. They are 0-3 in games decided in overtime and are 2-1 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

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 21-2-3 (.865) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch. Tampa Bay has the next best record: 18-6-3 (.722).

Series

In two-game series, 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)

In three-game series, the Isles are 2-1-0 in the first game, 3-0-0 in the second game, and 2-0-0 in the third:

BUF (W/W/W), NJ (W/W/W), PHI (L/W/-)

Tired vs. Rested

• The Isles are 4-0-1 when both teams played the night before.

• The Isles are 1-2-0 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 15-6-3 when both teams are rested.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (21:25); Philadelphia: Travis Sanheim (23:44)

Josh Bailey led Isles forwards with 18:59 of ice-time.

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (8-2-0), Ryan Pulock (8-4-3), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Mathew Barzal (1-1-1), Adam Pelech (2-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 26, Philadelphia 17 (60%)

Casey Cizikas won 7 of 9 for the Isles; No Flyer who took multiple face-offs won more than he lost.

The Isles are 12-6-2 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 8-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 28 (Cal Clutterbuck -7)

Philadelphia 27 (Nicolas Aube-Kubel -5)

Fights

Oliver Wahlstrom fought Oskar Lindblom in the first period. Season total: 2 (Cizikas -1, Wahlstrom -1)

Blocked Shots

Isles 11 (Ryan Pulock -3)

Philadelphia 14 (Joel Farabee -2)

For the Analytics Crowd

Corsi: All situations: Isles 51, Philadelphia 42

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 47, Philadelphia 36

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Mathew Barzal and Josh Bailey +9

Philadelphia: Claude Giroux and Travis Konecny +5

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 15, Philadelphia 8

5-on-5: Isles 14, Philadelphia 7

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, (Noah Dobson – COVID Protocol), (Anders Lee-LTIR)

Games Lost: 23

COVID Games Lost -4

250-Game Club

Ironman Streaks: Brock Nelson 277, Mathew Barzal 264, Ryan Pulock 227, Josh Bailey 185. All four players have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach.

Iron Man

Brock Nelson now has the longest active streak (and 5th-longest in club history); Mathew Barzal is tied-6th on this list while Ryan Pulock is 10th:

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 – 3/13/2021 295

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

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 277

6. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 264

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

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

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

10. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 227

(*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Pulock's streak is the 2nd-longest by an Islander defenseman, trailing only Denis Potvin's 262-game streak.

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, 1 failure (goalie interference 1/14 @ NYR, no goalie interference 3/11 vs NJ)

The Isles are 1-0-0 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 3 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: 3 [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; Oskar Lindblom, 3/18/21 vs PHI (17:38)-winning goal]

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 897…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 592 *** 19. Brock Nelson 580 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 566 …

27. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 28. Anders Lee 520 *** 29. Dave Lewis 514 *** 30. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509*** 32. Cal Clutterbuck 508 *** 33. Nick Leddy 494

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Billy Harris and Anders Lee 184 *** 14. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 15. Brock Nelson 162 *** 16. Patrick Flatley 160 *** 17. Josh Bailey 158

Assists

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

6. John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 336 …

19. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 20. Nick Leddy 188

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. Josh Bailey 494…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 21. Anders Lee 320 *** 22. Brock Nelson 313

Games Coached

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Terry Simpson 187 *** 5. Barry Trotz 182

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 103

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 3-7-0-0 on the season (2-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 1-6-0-0 vs. Providence) and trail Hartford by one point for second place in their division.

Bridgeport is off until March 27th when they visit Hartford.

Season Series Stats

Philadelphia leads the season series 3 games to 1 (and 6 points to 4). The teams will meet again on Monday in Philadelphia.

The Isles are 5-1-2 in the last eight regular season games against Philadelphia Including their seven game playoff series in The Bubble, the Isles have lost just one of the last 15 games between the teams in regulation time.

UP NEXT

MONDAY, MARCH 22nd – ISLANDERS AT PHILADELPHIA 7:00pm

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

The Isles head to Philadelphia for the final game of this series with the Flyers and the beginning of their road trip that will end the month of March.

The trip was originally scheduled to be five games, but Tuesday's game in Boston has already been postponed; Thursday's game is still scheduled to be played and if it is, the Isles will play four games in 10 days to close the month after playing 11 games in the first 20 days of the month.

The Isles are 3-0-2 in their last five games in Philadelphia, including a pair of overtime losses this season.

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