The Skinny: Isles 3, Philadelphia 2 (SO)

The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 38

Isles 3, Philadelphia 2 (SO)

Anthony Beauvillier scored two goals to give the Isles a 2-0 lead but after Claude Giroux matched him with a pair of third period goals, the Isles needed a 4th round shootout goal from Mathew Barzal to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 before a socially-distanced crowd of 1,400 at Nassau Coliseum. 

Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves and then added four more in the shootout to improve to 6-0-0 at the Coliseum. He is only the eighth goalie in NHL history to start his career with six consecutive wins in the same season.

With the win, the Isles once again tie Washington for the East Division point lead. The Capitals have one game in hand and will play it on Sunday afternoon in New Jersey.  The Penguins lost to Boston today; they now trail the Isles and Caps by two points.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Anthony Beauvillier (7) Matt Martin (5), Jordan Eberle (12) 12:01 PHI 0,NYI 1 PPG

2nd Period

Anthony Beauvillier (8) Mathew Barzal (21) 15:40 PHI 0,NYI 2

3rd Period

Claude Giroux (10) Travis Konecny (15), Jakub Voracek (23) 06:38 PHI 1,NYI 2

Claude Giroux (11) Jakub Voracek (24), Travis Konecny (16) 10:32 PHI 2,NYI 2

OT

No Goals

The Skinny        

The Isles are 5-4-0 since the end of their 9-game win streak (and 12-game point streak) … The Isles are 3-7-2 against Pittsburgh and Washington (3-0-2 at home and 0-7-0 on the road); they are 21-3-2 vs. their other opponents…The Isles scored first for the first time in six games…Nick Leddy played in his 500th game as an Islander; he is the 7th current Islander to play at least 500 games for the team …The Isles have outscored their opponents 71-38 at home (not including shootout goals)… Barry Trotz coached his 188th Islander game, passing Terry Simpson for 4th place…Anthony Beauvillier now has four goals against the Flyers this season; he has scored eight goals in 17 career games against Philadelphia.. Six of Beauvillier's eight goals this season have come in the last seven games…Mathew Barzal assisted on the second goal, improving to an East Division-leading +17 this season.  It was also his East Division-leading 28th point at even-strength and extended his assist/point streaks to four games (4-5-9)…Josh Bailey is still sitting on 499 career points; only 496 players in NHL history have recorded 500 points….Lou Lamoriello recorded his 1,318th win as a general manager; his next win will tie Glen Sather for second place on the all-time list.

The Shootout

• Jordan Eberle (NG) / Sean Couturier (NG)

• Anthony Beauvillier (NG) / Nolan Patrick (NG)

• Oliver Wahlstrom (NG)/ Claude Giroux (NG)

• Mathew Barzal (G/GDG)/ Jakub Voracek (NG)

The Isles now have 85 shootout wins all-time, extending their NHL record (Pittsburgh has 83)… Mathew Barzal scored for the 1st time in four attempts this season and improved to 7-22 in his career in shootout attempts. It was his fourth career game-deciding goal; among current Islanders only Josh Bailey (6) has more shootout winners as an Islander – Brock Nelson also has four…Ilya Sorokin is 2-0 in shootouts and has stopped his last seven attempts (7-8 overall, with Nikita Gusev scoring the only goal)…No team has been less successful in shootout history than the Flyers, who are 51-91 all-time in shootouts…The Isles are 8-3 vs. Philly all-time in shootouts, winning eight of the last nine….The Isles have won five straight OT/SO games after starting the season 0-4 (and going 0-8 back to last season)…The Flyers are 6-10-2 in their last 18 games.

The Injuries

• Ross Johnston left the game in the first period and did not return.

• Philippe Myers left the game in the third period and did not return.

• Oliver Wahlstrom left the game in the third period but returned.

First Time in a Long Time

Matt Martin had two power play assists in his NHL debut (2-9-2010 vs. Barry Trotz and Nashville); his third power play assist came tonight. Martin played 15:28 tonight; he has played more only once since 2014 (16:08 on April 4, 2019 in Florida).

Sorokin's Shining

Ilya Sorokin is 9-1-0 in his last ten starts (1.76, .929).  Among goalies who have played at least 10 games in that span, only Juuse Soros (1.33) has a lower goals against average.  

Sorokin is 6-0-0 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. Only two goalies in NHL history have ever won their first seven career starts in one season (Harry Lumley for Detroit in 1944-45 and Jaroslav Halak for Montreal in 2006-07).  Three others have won at least seven straight over multiple seasons.

Varly Streaking

Semyon Varlamov is 8-3-1 in his last twelve decisions, allowing just 30 goals in that span.  Varly has won 15 games this season with a goals against average of 2.26 and save percentage of .919.  Varlamov now has 247 NHL wins.

Home Sweet Home

The Isles have earned points in 17 of their first 18 home games (15-1-2), remaining tied with the 1978-79 team for the most in club history through 17 games:

Most Points at Home Through 18 Games

• 32 2020-21 (15-1-2)

• 32 1978-79 (14-0-4)

• 28 Four times

Solid D

The Isles have allowed only 90 goals (including 1 shootout winner) in 38 games; it is tied for the fewest goals that they have allowed through 38 games in their history:

• 90 (2020-21)

• 89 (2015-16) 

• 92 (1977-78)

• 94 (1975-76)

• 96 (1976-77)

• 96 (2003-04)

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-Wso Remaining games: 2  (1 home, 1 away)

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

• Washington L-L-L-W         Remaining games: 4  (3 home, 1 away)

Home Cooking

This was the second game in a stretch where the Isles will play six straight games at home.  The Isles are 2-0-0 in this stretch:

• WAS W 8-4

• PHI  W 3-2 (SO)

• WSH Tuesday

• PHI  Thursday 

• NYR Friday 

• NYR Sunday 4/11

Following this stretch, 8 of the final 14 will be on the road.

Home and Road

The Isles are 24-10-4 overall; they are 15-1-2 at home and 9-9-2 on the road.

Philadelphia is 17-14-5 overall; they are 8-7-3 at home and 9-7-2 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 869-628-60-155 in 1,712 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  950

3. Barry Trotz    869

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,743

3. Barry Trotz        1,712

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello is the third-winningest general manager in NHL history and will tie Glen Sather with his next win:

1. David Poile 1,435

2. Glen Sather 1,319

3. Lou Lamoriello 1,318

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,187 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 15-1-2 when scoring first and are 9-9-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    3-7-11-3=24

Philadelphia    10-11-11-0=32

The Isles are 15-5-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-1-0 when the shots are even and 8-4-2 when they are outshot.  Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 61-29-12 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves (and stopped all four in the shootout) to improve to 9-3-1 on the season and 3-0-1 in his career against Philadelphia. He has won both of his shootout games.

Carter Hart made 22 saves; he is 8-9-4 on the season and 2-3-1 in his career against the Isles.  Hart is 4-6 in career shootout appearances.

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-5 on the power play (7:44); Philadelphia was 0-3 (4:56), including 1:04 of 5-on-3 time.

The Isles are 10-4-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 14-6-1 when they do not.  The Isles are 6-8-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 18-2-2 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 18-3-3 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 84-8-10 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 10-4-4 in games decided by a single goal including 5-4 in regulation. They are 2-3 in games decided in overtime and are 3-1 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 19-8-3 when both teams are rested. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (24:56); Philadelphia: Ivan Provorov (26:33)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 21:54 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Nick Leddy (9-3-0), Ryan Pulock (11-5-3), Scott Mayfield (1-1-0), Mathew Barzal (1-1-1), Adam Pelech (2-0-0).

Face-offs

Isles 33, Philadelphia 27 (55%)

Leo Komarov won all five draws he took for the Isles; Kevin Hayes won 4 of 6 for Philadelphia.

The Isles are 14-6-2 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 19 (Matt Martin -4)

Philadelphia 25 (Three with 3)

Fights 

Ross Johnston fought Samuel Morin in the first period.  Season total: 4 (Cizikas -1, Wahlstrom -1, Martin -1, Johnston-1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 14 (Five with 2)

Philadelphia 6 (Six with 1)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 36, Philadelphia 57

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 26, Philadelphia 44

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Oliver Wahlstrom +4

Philadelphia: Nolan Patrick +16

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 18, Philadelphia 14

5-on-5: Isles 13, Philadelphia 8

Scratches

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

Games Lost: 33

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 283, Mathew Barzal 270, Ryan Pulock 233, Josh Bailey 191.  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 283

6. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- CURRENT 270

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 233

 (*) 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 903…

14. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 15. Matt Martin 598 *** 16. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 17. Garry Howatt 596 *** 18. John Tonelli 594 ***19. Brock Nelson 586 *** 20. Casey Cizikas 572 … 

27. Kyle Okposo 529 *** 28. Anders Lee 520 *** 29. Dave Lewis and Cal Clutterbuck 514 *** 31. Richard Pilon and Mick Vukota 509 *** 33. Nick Leddy 500

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 163 *** 16. Patrick Flatley and Josh Bailey 160

Assists

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

4. Clark Gillies 359 *** 5. John Tavares 349 *** 6.  Josh Bailey 339 …

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

Points

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

9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Bob Nystrom 513 *** 11. Derek King and Josh Bailey 499…

20. Ziggy Palffy 331 ***  21. Anders Lee 320  *** 22.  Brock Nelson 317

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Mike Milbury 192 *** 4. Barry Trotz 188

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 107

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 3-9-1-0 on the season (2-3-0-0 vs. Hartford and 1-6-1-0 vs. Providence) following a 5-2 loss to the Wolfpack on Friday.  Cole Bardreau and Samuel Bolduc both had power play goals for the Sound Tigers.

Bridgeport returns to action on Monday when they play Providence in Marlborough, Massachusetts. 

Season Series Stats

The season series is tied 3 games to 3 (and 8 points to 8). 

The Isles are 3-1-2 and Philadelphia is 3-1-2. 

The Flyers won the first three games (two in overtime); the Isles have won the last three games (two in overtime).

UP NEXT

TUESDAY, APRIL 6th  – WASHINGTON AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm

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

Just five days after the Isles scored eight times against the Capitals for the first time in nearly 30 years (11/30/2001), the Isles face the Caps again at the Coliseum. 

Unlike the first two seasons of the Trotz era, where the visitors won all eight Islander-Capital games, the home teams are 4-0 in the match-ups this season.  

The teams will play a three game series, (April 22-24 at the Coliseum and April 27th in DC) to wrap up the season series.

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