The Skinny: Boston 5, Isles 2

"The Skinny"  

By Eric Hornick

Second Round Game 1

Boston 5, Isles 2

Boston leads best-of-7 series, 1-0

David Pastrnak scored three times for his 2nd career playoff hat trick and Charlie McAvoy had the game winning goal in the third period as the Bruins captured Game 1 of their Second Round series with the Islanders with a 5-2 victory before a capacity crowd of 17,400 at TD Garden.

Anthony Beauvillier and Adam Pelech scored for the Islanders and that was enough for a 2-2 tie through 40 minutes.  However, the Bruins' Perfection Line combined for 19 shots on goals (nearly matching the Islanders' team total of 22) as the B's earned the win before the first full-capacity crowd of the year in Boston.

Game 2 of this series will be in Boston on Monday night.

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Anthony Beauvillier (4) Noah Dobson (3), Jordan Eberle (3) 11:48 NYI 1,BOS 0 PPG

David Pastrnak (3) David Krejci (3), Patrice Bergeron (3) 19:36 NYI 1,BOS 1 PPG

2nd Period

David Pastrnak (4) Patrice Bergeron (2), Brad Marchand (1) 11:08 NYI 1,BOS 2

Adam Pelech (1) Jordan Eberle (2), Leo Komarov (2) 12:34 NYI 2,BOS 2

3rd Period

Charlie McAvoy (1) David Krejci (5) 06:20 NYI 2,BOS 3

David Pastrnak (5) 15:50 NYI 2,BOS 4

Taylor Hall (3)EN David Krejci (2), Mike Reilly (3) 18:35 NYI 2,BOS 5 PPG

The Series (Boston leads series, 1-0)

Game 1: Boston 5, Isles 2

Game 2: Monday at Boston 7:30pm

Game 3: Thursday at Isles 7:30pm

Game 4: Saturday at Isles 7:15pm

Game 5: Monday June 7th at Boston (if needed)

Game 6: Wednesday June 9th at Isles (if needed) 

Game 7: Friday June 11th at Boston (if needed)

The Skinny 

The Isles are 5-3 in game 1's under Barry Trotz… The Isles were credited with 49 hits, giving them 321 hits through seven games … Ilya Sorokin suffered his first defeat (4-1) after becoming the first NHL rookie to win four straight since J-S Giguere won his first six games on the way to the Conn Smythe Trophy…Sorokin is the 6th goalie since expansion to make at least 188 saves in his first five playoff games … Barry Trotz coached his 150th playoff game, breaking a tie with Pat Burns for 11th place… The Isles have played 37 playoff games under Barry Trotz; only Boston (43), Dallas (40) and St. Louis (39) have played more…Anthony Beauvillier extended his goal streak to three games and his point streak to five games…After killing the Penguins' five power plays in games 1-2, the Isles have now allowed five goals in their last nine times short; Boston converted on both of their opportunities tonight.

The Injury

Craig Smith left the game during the second period with an upper body injury and did not return.

First Time in a Long Time

David Pastrnak's hat trick was the first against the Isles in a playoff game since Al Iafrate scored three times for Washington on April 26, 1993; Ray Ferraro scored four times in that same game for the most recent Islander hat trick.

Most Wins to Start Playoff Career 

• 6 JS Giguere (Anaheim 2003)

• 5 Mike Vernon (Calgary 1986)

• 5 Pete Peeters (Philadelphia 1980)

• 5 Gary Inness (Pittsburgh 1975)

• 5 Rogie Vachon (Montreal 1967)

• 5 Normie Smith (Detroit 1936)

• 5 Tiny Thompson (Boston 1929)

• 4 Ilya Sorokin (Isles 2021)

• 4 Tony Esposito (Chicago 1970)

• 4 Les Binkley (Pittsburgh 1970)

Brock Best

Brock Nelson has 19 playoff goals for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:

• Brock Nelson 19

• Anthony Beauvillier 14

• Josh Bailey 13

• Jordan Eberle 11

• John Tavares 11

Nelson's 19 goals are good for 11th in Islander history and are three goals shy of Duane Sutter's 10th place total (22).  The ten players ahead of Nelson won a combined 38 Stanley Cup rings for the Isles.  Nelson has scored more playoffs goals for the Isles than any other US-born player.

First Time in a Long Time!

This is the third all-time playoff meeting between the teams:

• 1980- Quarter-Finals. Isles won series 4 games to 1.

• 1983- Conference Finals. Isles won series 4 games to 2.

Barry and Al

Barry Trotz is only the 2nd coach to lead the Isles to multiple series wins, joining Al Arbour.  Terry Simpson and Jack Capuano are the only other coaches to lead the Isles to a playoff series victory.  Trotz has won a playoff series in seven consecutive years (four with Washington and three with the Isles).  Arbour did that from 1979-1985 (all with Isles) – no one had done it since, until Trotz came along.

Lou and Bill

Lou Lamoriello's win vs. Pittsburgh was his 30th playoff series win as a General Manager, which is second all-time to Glen Sather (41).  Bill Torrey is third with 28 playoff series wins. 

Lead/Tie/Trailed

Game 1: Led: 7:48, Tied: 37:06, Trailed: 15:06 

Series:   Led: 7:48, Tied: 37:06, Trailed: 15:06 

Vs. Pittsburgh Led: 66:48, Tied: 158:11, Trailed: 177:22

Total: Led: 73:36, Tied: 195:17, Trailed: 192:28

Playoffs All-Time

The Isles fall to 165-136 in 301 all-time playoff games.  They are 92-51 at home (84-42 at the Coliseum, 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto and 1-2 in Edmonton) and 73-85 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 2-1 at home and 2-2 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 877-635-60-158 in 1,730 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  962

3. Barry Trotz    877

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,761

3. Barry Trotz        1,730

Coach Trotz (Playoffs)

Barry Trotz has now coached 150 playoff games (76-74).  His 150 games allows him to pass Pat Burns for 11th place on the all-time list while his 76 wins are tied-14th all-time with Peter Laviolette.  Trotz won the Stanley Cup with Washington in 2018; Joel Quenneville (3) and Mike Sullivan (2) are the only active coaches with multiple Stanley Cups.

Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:

• Al Arbour 119

• Barry Trotz 21

• Jack Capuano 10

• Terry Simpson 9

• Peter Laviolette 4

• Ted Nolan 1

• Steve Stirling 1

Most playoff games coached (Islanders):

• Al Arbour 198

• Barry Trotz 37

• Jack Capuano 24

• Terry Simpson 20

• Peter Laviolette 12

• Steve Stirling 5

• Ted Nolan 5

Most overtime wins/overtime record:

• Al Arbour 26 (26-9)

• Barry Trotz 5 (5-5)

• Jack Capuano 4 (4-5)

• Terry Simpson 3 (3-0)

• Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)

• Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)

Most game 7 wins/game seven record)

• Al Arbour 4 (2-2)

• Terry Simpson 2 (1-1)

• Barry Trotz 1 (1-0)

• Jack Capuano 0 (0-1)

• Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)

Most playoff series wins:

• Al Arbour 29

• Barry Trotz 5

• Jack Capuano 1

• Terry Simpson 1

First Things First

The Isles are 2-1 when scoring first and are 2-2 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots

Isles      8-4-10=22    

Boston  18-12-10=40

Shots by Game

• Game 1: Isles 22, Boston 40

• Series: Isles 22, Boston 40

• Vs: Pittsburgh:  Isles 187, Pittsburgh 231

• Total Isles 209, Opponents 271

The Isles are 0-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0 when the shots are even and 4-2 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 35 saves but falls to 4-1 in the 2021 playoffs and in his playoff career.  

 

Tuukka Rask made 20 saves and improves to 5-1 in this year's playoffs and 56-43 in his career.  

Power Plays

The Isles were 1-3 on the power play in 4:46 of PP time; Boston was 2-2 on the power play in 2:01 of PP time. Boston's second power play goal was scored into an empty net.

Power Plays by Game

• Game 1: Isles 1-3 (4:46, 4 shots), Boston 2-2 (2:01, 5 shots)

• Series: Isles 1-3 (4:46, 4 shots), Boston 2-2 (2:01, 5 shots)

• Vs. Pittsburgh: Isles 3-16 (27:00, 15 shots), Pittsburgh 3-12 (18:54, 19 shots)

• Total: Isles 4-19 (31:46, 19 shots), Opponents 5-14 (20:55, 24 shots)

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 4-1 in the playoffs (2-1 in regulation and 2-0 in overtime) when they score at least three goals and 0-2 when they do not. 

Shutting the Door

The Isles are 2-1 when allowing two or fewer goals in this year's playoffs.  

One Goal Games

The Isles are 2-2 in the playoffs in one-goal games (0-2 in regulation and 2-0 in overtime). The Isles are 0-0 in playoff games where an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Fastest Goals to Start 2nd Overtime (Islander history)

• 20:51  5/24/2021 @ Pittsburgh (Josh Bailey)

• 20:59  4/9/1990 vs. Rangers (Brent Sutter)

Most Overtime Wins in a Series

• 3 vs. Washington (1993)

• 3 vs. Florida (2016)

• 2 vs. Toronto (1978)

• 2 vs. Rangers (1979)

• 2 vs. Boston (1980)

• 2 vs. Philadelphia (1980)

• 2 vs. New Jersey (1988)

• 2 vs. Pittsburgh (2021)

Overtime is Our Time

The Isles are 38-21 (.644) all-time in overtime, including 19-9 (.678) on the road. Both percentages are 2nd-best (to Tampa Bay) in NHL history. The Isles are 2-0 in overtime this season; they have gone 9-8 in sixteen overtime games since 2015. 

The Isles are 9-4 in multiple-overtime games; all but the Easter Epic ended in the second overtime. Pittsburgh is 4-7 in multiple-overtime games.

Overtime vs. Boston

The Isles are 2-1 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Boston; all three games were played in a six-day span in 1980 with the road team winning all three games. 

04/16/80 @ Clark Gillies W Bos   1:02 

04/17/80 @ Bob Bourne W Bos   1:24 

04/21/80 Vs Terry O'Reilly L Bos 17:13

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (23:53);  Boston:  Mike Reilly (28:47)

Kyle Palmieri led Isles forwards with 17:58 of ice-time 

Isles record by ice-time leader: Adam Pelech (2-0), Nick Leddy (1-2), Ryan Pulock (1-1)

Face-offs

Isles 27, Boston 29 (48%)  

JG Pageau won 13 of 20 for the Isles; Patrice Bergeron won 13 of 18 for Boston. 

Face-offs by Game

• Game 1: Isles 27, Boston 29 (48%)

• Series: Isles 27, Boston 29 (48%)

• Vs. Pittsburgh: Isles 181, Pittsburgh 164 (52%)

• Total: Isles 208, Opponents 193 (48%)

Hit Count

Isles 49 (Cal Clutterbuck -7)

Pittsburgh 42 (Chris Wagner & Curtis Lazar-6)

Hits Game by Game:

• Game 1: Isles 49, Boston 42 

• Series: Isles 49, Boston 42

• Vs: Pittsburgh: Isles 274, Pittsburgh 224

• Total: Isles 323, Opponent 266

Blocked Shots

Isles 9 (Scott Mayfield -2)

Boston 7 (Two with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 38, Boston 65  

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 30, Boston 58

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  No Isle was a +

Boston: Patrice Bergeron +17

High Danger Chances:

All situations: Isles 4, Boston 13

5-on-5: Isles 2, Boston 12

Corsi Game by Game:

• Game 1 (All) Isles 38, Boston 65;  (5-on-5) Isles 30, Boston 58

• Series: (All) Isles 38, Boston 65;  (5-on-5) Isles 30, Boston 58

• Vs. Pittsburgh: (All)  Isles 303, Pittsburgh 411;  (5-on-5) Isles 257, Pittsburgh 367

• Total(All) Isles 341, Opponents 476;  (5-on-5) Isles 287, Opponents 425

High-Danger Game by Game:

• Game 1 (All) Isles 4, Boston 13;  (5-on-5) Isles 2, Boston 12

• Series: (All) Isles 4, Boston 13;  (5-on-5) Isles 2, Boston 12

• Vs. Pittsburgh:(All)  Isles 66, Pittsburgh 72; (5-on-5) Isles 52, Pittsburgh 55

• Total (All) Isles 70, Opponents 85;  (5-on-5) Isles 54, Boston 67

Scratches

(Anders Lee), (Oliver Wahlstrom), Cory Schneider, Sebastian Aho, Braydon Coburn, Kieffer Bellows, Ross Johnston, Michael Dal Colle

Playoff games lost: 10

Post-Season Late Heroes (Final Two Minutes of Regulation, or Overtime)

• Kyle Palmieri (16:30 of OT on 5/16 vs. Pittsburgh – Game 1)

• Josh Bailey (20:51 of OT on 5/24 vs. Pittsburgh – Game 5)

Post-Season Late Goals Allowed

• None

Playoff Challenges

• None

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)

Games:

Matt Martin 61

Josh Bailey 59

Casey Cizikas 57

Nick Leddy 55

Brock Nelson 55

Consecutive Games

Matt Martin 61

Nick Leddy 55

Brock Nelson 50

Goals:

Brock Nelson 19

Anthony Beauvillier 14

Josh Bailey 13

Jordan Eberle 11

JG Pageau 9

Cal Clutterbuck 8

Anders Lee 8

Mathew Barzal 7

Matt Martin 6

Nick Leddy 5

Ryan Pulock 5

Assists:

Josh Bailey 30

Mathew Barzal 20

Jordan Eberle 17

Brock Nelson 16

Nick Leddy 14

Ryan Pulock 12

Points:

Josh Bailey 43

Brock Nelson 35

Jordan Eberle 28

Mathew Barzal 27

Anthony Beauvillier 23

Nick Leddy 19

J-G Pageau 18

Anders Lee 16

Penalty Minutes:

Matt Martin 70

Cal Clutterbuck 64

Casey Cizikas 42

PP Goals

Anthony Beauvillier 4

Mathew Barzal 3

Anders Lee 3

Jordan Eberle 3

Ryan Pulock 3

Josh Bailey 2

Brock Nelson 2 

Oliver Wahlstrom 1

Nick Leddy 1

SH Goals

Josh Bailey 1

 

GW Goals

Brock Nelson 5

Anthony Beauvillier 3

Jordan Eberle 3

Josh Bailey 3

Ryan Pulock 2

Thomas Hickey 1

Mathew Barzal 1

Leo Komarov 1

Andy Greene 1

Scott Mayfield 1

Kyle Palmieri 1

OT Goals 

Josh Bailey 2

Mathew Barzal 1

Thomas Hickey 1

Jordan Eberle 1

Kyle Palmieri 1

Goaltending

Semyon Varlamov 11-9  2.27 GAA, .919 save percentage

Ilya Sorokin 4-1 2.32 GAA, .934 save percentage

UP NEXT

MONDAY, MAY 31st  – ISLANDERS AT BOSTON – 7:30pm

[NBCSN, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio; Post-Game coverage on MSG+]

The Isles will look to earn a split of the two games in Boston as they play game 2 of the series.

The Isles are 7-16 in 23 previous series that they have dropped Game 1; the Bruins are 38-18 when they lead 1-0.

Tuukka Rask, the Bruins' all-time leader in playoff games by a goaltender, has played all six Bruin playoff games this spring; his next appearance will be the 100th of his career. He will be the 19th goalie in NHL history to do so.

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