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

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 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

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: 18-6-3 (.722).

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 3-2-2 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

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 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.

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