The Skinny: Isles 2, Boston 1 (SO)

"The Skinny"         

By Eric Hornick

Game 26

Isles 2, Boston 1 (SO)

Semyon Varlamov made 31 saves, plus an additional two in the shootout and Anthony Beauvillier scored the game deciding goal as the Islanders completed a 4-game home sweep of the Boston Bruins and extended their winning streak to six games with a 2-1 victory over the B's in the final home game before fans return to the Nassau Coliseum on Thursday.

David Pastrnak and Brock Nelson traded power play goals for the only scoring before the shootout. It was Pastrnak's first goal vs. the Isles this season, and Nelson's first career goal against Boston.

The Islanders have won six straight games (for the first time since November 2019) and now have a season-long nine-game point streak.  The Isles extended their season-opening home point streak to 13 games (11-0-2) as they recorded their first four-game win streak against Boston in 14 years.

Barry Trotz celebrated his 1,700th game as an NHL coach with his 99th victory as an Islander.

The first-place Isles are 13-2-4 in their last 19 games; they remain two points ahead of Washington, who beat New Jersey. The Isles have won eleven straight games against everyone but Pittsburgh during that stretch.  

The Scoring:

1st Period

David Pastrnak (11) Brad Marchand (16), Matt Grzelcyk (5) 19:32 BOS 1,NYI 0 PPG

2nd Period

Brock Nelson (10) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (8), Mathew Barzal (14) 16:18 BOS 1,NYI 1 PPG

3rd Period

No Goals

OT

No Goals

The Skinny        

The Isles have points in 17 of their last 19 games (13-2-4); they are 11-0-2 against everyone but Pittsburgh in that stretch… The Isles are 8-0-1 in their last nine games; it is the first time since the 1981-82 season that the Islanders have had two distinct stretches where they earned points in at least eight straight games.…The Isles have won six straight games; it is the third straight season that they have had a winning streak of at least six games. It is the first time since 1977-78 to 1983-84 that the Isles have had consecutive seasons with at least one six-game winning streak… The Isles have outscored their opponents 29-16 in the third period and their +13 differential remains the best in the NHL; the Isles are 8-2-2 in games that are tied after two periods… The Isles have dressed the same six defensemen in every game this season… Ryan Pulock played in his 221st consecutive game, passing Bryan McCabe for the second-longest streak by a defender in club history (behind Denis Potvin's 301); he also matched Richard Park for the 10th-longest streak by any Islander…The Isles are 10-0-0 this season against the two teams normally in the Northeast Division that they are playing this season; they have completed their home schedule with an 8-0-0 record at home… The Islanders' "Identity Line" had 14 hits, 4 shots, and won 7 out of 10 face-offs.…The Isles had scored just 12 second period goals in the first 23 games, but have scored eight times in the last three games…Boston is 0-3-1 at the Coliseum and 7-1-2 in their other 10 road games…Brock Nelson extended his point streak to four games (4-1-5) and his goal streak to three games (3-1-4); Nelson has now scored at least once against every other NHL team…Six of Nelson's 10 goals have been scored on the power play; the Isles converted on the power play for the first time in five games…Nelson now has 160 career goals, matching Patrick Flatley for 15th place in club history…JG Pageau recorded an assist for the third straight game, while Mathew Barzal's assist was his team-leading 23rd point.  Barzal is one assist behind Nick Leddy for the team lead…David Pastrnak's goal was his 400th career point…The Bruins have scored one goal or fewer in six of their 24 games.

The Shootout

Jordan Eberle (G)/ David Pastrnak (G)

Mathew Barzal (NG)/Charlie Coyle (NG)

Anthony Beauvillier (G/GDG)/ Brad Marchand (NG)

Semyon Varlamov still has the best save percentage of any goalie who has faced 100 career shootout attempts  (.740)…His 33 shootout wins tie him with Carey Price for 12th, although Price has lost 14 more games.  Varlamov is 33-18 in shootouts; his .647 winning percentage is the best of any goalie who has participated in at least 50 shootouts…Anthony Beauvillier is now 3-of-7 in the shootout; it was his first career game deciding goal.

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles won a regular season game that went beyond 60 minutes for the first time since February 4, 2020 vs. Dallas, ending an 8-game losing streak (which was the longest current streak in the NHL).

• The Isles won a shootout for the first time since December 19, 2019 in Boston, ending a 4-game losing streak.

(Usually) Kings of 60

The Isles recorded their 16h win (15 of their wins have been in regulation), remaining tied with Tampa Bay and Edmonton for the second-highest total of regulation wins in the NHL (Toronto has 16).  No other team in the East has won more than 11 games in regulation.

Varly Streaking

Semyon Varlamov is 5-0-1 in his last six games, allowing just 12 goals in that span (1.95, .936).  Varly has won 12 games this season with a goals against average of 2.03 and save percentage of .929.  All three are the best in the East Division.

Sorokin's Shining

Ilya Sorokin has allowed only four goals in his last four games (4-0-0) . Sorokin has allowed 15 goals in 421 minutes this season (2.14), and since January 24th he has allowed only ten goals in his six appearances (1.66).  Vegas' Marc-Andre Fleury (1.57) is the only goalie in the entire NHL with a lower goals against average in that span.  

Sorokin is the first Islander rookie goalie to win four consecutive games (in one season) since Kelly Hrudey in 1985 and has tied the club record for rookie wins in consecutive games (Hrudey-twice, Roland Melanson-twice, and Chico Resch).   The record for rookie wins in consecutive decisions is 6, held by Melanson in 1982; Hrudey won 5 straight in 1983-84.

Just Give Us a Chance!

The Isles have had just 30 power play attempts in the last 17 games, including two tonight.  The power play is 10-30 (33.3%) in that stretch.

The Isles have had just 28 power play attempts in 13 home games this season. They are 10-28 on the power play at home (35.7%), including 8-18 (44.4%) in the seven home games against opponents other than Boston.

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in their first 13 home games (11-0-2).  The 24 points are the most in the first 13 home games in club history. The Isles remain the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss at home.

It is the eighth time in club history that the Isles have had a streak of at least 13 games at any point during the season. All eight had occurred under the coaching of either Al Arbour (six times) or Barry Trotz (twice).

Most Points at Home Through 13 Games

• 24 2020-21 (11-0-2)

• 22 1984-85 (11-2-0)

• 22 1978-79 (9-0-4)

Longest Home Point Streak to Open a Season

• 23 1978-79 (19-0-4)

• 13 2020-21 (11-0-2)

• 10 2017-18 (8-0-2)

Longest Home Point Streak at any point in a Season

• 23 1981-82 (21-0-2)

        23 1978-79 (19-0-4)

• 16 1977-78 (14-0-2)

• 15 1980-81 (12-0-3)

• 14 1974-75 (10-0-4)

• 13 2020-21 (11-0-2)

        13 2019-20 (12-0-1)

        13 1979-80 (11-0-2)

Solid D

The Isles have allowed only 57 goals (including 1 shootout winner) in 26 games; it is the fewest goals that they have allowed through 26 games in their history:

• 57 (2020-21)

• 61 (1977-78)

• 62 (1976-77)

• 63 (2019-20)

• 63 (2015-16)

They Can Score Too!

The Isles are the first team in the NHL with five players that have scored at least nine goals (Lee 12, Nelson 10, Pageau 9, Eberle 9, Barzal 9).   

Now That is a Top Line

The Islander top line of Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle have combined for 30 of the team's 73 goals (41.1%), not including shootout winners.  They have scored 25 of the team's 58 goals (43.1%) that were not scored on the power play.

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 Remaining games: 5  (3 home, 2 away)

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

• Philadelphia Lot-Lot Remaining games: 6  (4 home, 2 away)

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

• Washington L-L     Remaining games: 6  (4 home, 2 away)

Lots of Home Cooking

The Isles are in a stretch where they are playing nine out of 10 at home.  The Isles are 8-0-1 in this stretch, and have outscored their opponents 34-16:

• W BUF 3-2

• W BOS 7-2

• Lot PIT 3-4

• W PIT 2-0

• W @ NJ 2-1

• W BUF 5-2

• W BUF 5-2

• W BUF 5-2

• W BOS 2-1 (SO)

• Vs NJ Thursday

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 7-0-1 in this stretch.

Home and Road

The Isles are 16-6-4 overall; they are 11-0-2 at home and 5-6-2 on the road.

Boston is 13-6-4 overall; they are 6-2-1 at home and 7-5-2 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 861-624-60-155 in 1,700 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  941

3. Barry Trotz    861

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,730

3. Barry Trotz        1,700

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,425

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,310

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,171 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.  

96 Over NHL-.500

The win improves the Isles' all-time record to 1,672-1,576-510. It is the first time the Isles are 96 games over NHL-.500 since December 29, 1997, when the Isles fell to 913-817-285 with their fourth straight defeat.

First Things First

The Isles are 11-1-2 when scoring first and are 5-5-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    8-8-9-2=27

Boston   12-12-4-5=33

The Isles are 12-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-0-0 when the shots are even and 4-3-2 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 58-28-12 when outshot.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves to improve to 12-4-3 on the season; he is 10-5-3 in his career against Boston. Varlamov stopped two of three in the shootout to improve to 33-18 all-time in shootouts.

Jaroslav Halak made 26 saves; he is 5-2-2 on the season and 7-2-2 in his career against the Isles. Halak stopped one of three in the shootout to fall to 32-36 all-time in shootouts.

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-2 on the power play (3:46); Boston was also 1-2 (2:43). 

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

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 11-1-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 5-5-1 when they do not.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 77-6-10 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 5-2-4 in games decided by a single goal including 4-2 in regulation. They are 0-3 in games decided in overtime and are 1-1 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 2-0-2 in the front-half and 3-0-1 in the back-half. The next back-to-back is scheduled for March 13th/14th, both road games in New Jersey.

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 20-2-3 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).

  

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 1-0-0 in the first game, 1-0-0 in the second game, and 1-0-0 in the third:

BUF (W/W/W)

Tired vs. Rested 

• The Isles are 3-0-1 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 12-6-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (22:44); Boston: Charlie McAvoy (24:12)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 21:43 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (6-1-0), Ryan Pulock (7-3-3), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-1-1), Adam Pelech (2-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 20, Boston 23 (47%)

Casey Cizikas won 7 of 10 for the Isles; Patrice Bergeron won 9 of 16 for Boston.

The Isles are 10-4-2 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-1-1 when they are tied, and 6-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 27 (Cal Clutterbuck -8)

Boston 29 (Nick Ritchie -6)

Fights 

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

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 16 (Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield –4)

Boston 17 (Four with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 54, Boston 62

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 44, Boston 45

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Andy Greene +14

Boston: David Pastrnak +18

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 14, Boston 8

5-on-5: Isles 11, Boston 6

Scratches

Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, Michael Dal Colle

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 294, Brock Nelson 271, Mathew Barzal 258, Ryan Pulock 221, Josh Bailey 179.  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 294

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

5. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 271

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

7. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 258

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 221

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

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Iron D

Ryan Pulock is the second Islander defensemen to play in 221 consecutive games, passing Bryan McCabe for the second-longest streak by an Islander defender. 

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

2. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 221

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

 (*) 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 891…

17. John Tonelli 594 *** 18. Matt Martin 586 *** 19. Brock Nelson 574 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 560 …

27. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 28. Anders Lee 519 *** 29. Dave Lewis 514 *** 30. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509*** 32. Cal Clutterbuck 502 *** 33. Ed Westfall 493 *** 34. Nick Leddy 488

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. Patrick Flatley and Brock Nelson 160 *** 17. Josh Bailey 156

Assists

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

6.  John Tonelli 338 *** 7. Josh Bailey 333 …

19. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 20. Nick Leddy 183

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 489…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 319  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 310

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 176

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 99

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 2-5-0-0 on the season (1-1-0-0 vs. Hartford and 1-4-0-0 vs. Providence) heading into Wednesday's home game with the Baby Bruins. 

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 4 games to 0 (and 8 points to 1). The teams will finish the season series with four games in Boston, beginning on March 23rd and 25th. 

It is only the third time in Islander history that they have won at least four consecutive games vs. Boston, having last won six straight between 2005 and 2007.   

The Isles had gone 4-17-1 in the last 22 home games prior to this season against the Bruins; they had gone 4-13-2 in the last 19 games overall against Boston prior to this season.

This was the Bruins' final scheduled game at the Coliseum.

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, MARCH 11th  – NEW JERSEY AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm

[MSG+ (pre-game at 6:30], WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 98.7FM]

The Isles play the final game of their five-game home stand, as they welcome the Devils to the Coliseum for the second time this season. This is the first of three consecutive games with the Devils; they will play Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 5pm in New Jersey.

Barry Trotz will look to become the third coach in Islander history to win 100 games, joining Al Arbour (who did it in 246 games) and Jack Capuano (who holds the current record: 240 games). Trotz will coach his 177th game on Thursday.

Lou Lamoriello will look to become the fourth general manager in Islander history to win 100 games, joining Bill Torrey (who did it in 303 games), Mike Milbury (who took 306 games) and Garth Snow (who holds the current record: 238 games). It will also be Lamoriello's 177th game on Thursday.

The Isles have won two of the first three games between the teams, including the only Coliseum matchup (4-1 on January 24th).  The Isles defeated New Jersey 2-1 on March 2nd in Newark in the only road game during the current stretch of 9 out of 10 at home that will end on Thursday.

The Isles will welcome 1,000 frontline heroes from Northwell Health on Thursday; they will be the first fans to attend a game at the Coliseum since March 7, 2020.

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