The Skinny: Isles 5, Pittsburgh 3. Isles WIN series 4 games to 2.

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

First Round Game 6

Isles 5, Pittsburgh 3

Isles win best-of-7 series, 4-2

Brock Nelson and Ryan Pulock scored 13 seconds apart in the second period and Nelson added another goal to cap a 3 goal in 2:59 outburst as the Isles eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 5-3 victory in game 6 of their first round series before a socially-distant crowd of 9,000 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves for his 4th win in as many career playoff starts as the Isles clinched a series on Coliseum ice for the first time since 1993.  (The Skinny was a feature on Islander telecasts back then!)

The Isles will face the Boston Bruins in the second round with the Bruins hosting games 1 and 2. 

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Jeff Carter (4) Kasperi Kapanen (2), Jason Zucker (1) 01:27 PIT 1,NYI 0

Anthony Beauvillier (3) Brock Nelson (3), Josh Bailey (3) 05:16 PIT 1,NYI 1

Jake Guentzel (1) Kris Letang (4), Evgeni Malkin (4) 11:12 PIT 2,NYI 1 PPG

Kyle Palmieri (3) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (5) 12:25 PIT 2,NYI 2

2nd Period

Jason Zucker (2) Cody Ceci (1), Evgeni Malkin (3) 01:53 PIT 3,NYI 2

Brock Nelson (2) Josh Bailey (1), Anthony Beauvillier (3) 08:35 PIT 3,NYI 3

Ryan Pulock (2) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (6), Travis Zajac (1) 08:48 PIT 3,NYI 4

Brock Nelson (3) Anthony Beauvillier (4) 11:34 PIT 3,NYI 5

3rd Period

No Goals

The Series (Isles win series, 4-2)

Game 1: Isles 4, Pittsburgh 3 (OT)

Game 2: Pittsburgh 2, Isles 1

Game 3: Pittsburgh 5, Isles 4

Game 4: Isles 4, Pittsburgh 1

Game 5: Isles 3, Pittsburgh 2 (2OT)

Game 6: Isles 5, Pittsburgh 3 

The Skinny 

The Isles are 1-2 in game 6's under Barry Trotz… The Isles were credited with 30 hits, giving them 272 hits in the series …The Isles scored 21 goals in this series on Tristan Jarry, who is 8-1-0 with a 2.12 GAA against the Isles in regular season play… Sorokin is the first goalie in Islander history (rookie or veteran) to win his first four NHL playoff games; he joins Robin Lehner in winning his first four playoff games for the Isles and is 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 7th goalie since expansion to make at least 150 saves in his first four playoff games and the only one of the seven to win all four games… Travis Zajac replaced the injured Oliver Wahlstrom and earned an assist in his Islander playoff debut...This was the 300th playoff game in Islander history and the first time in club history that the Isles had played later into the spring than May 24th.  The Isles improve to 12-1 all-time in series that they lead 3-2 (and are 11-2 in those series in Game 6's)…The Isles are 8-2 in playoff games against Pittsburgh under Barry Trotz, including 4-1 at Nassau Coliseum. Trotz coached his 149th playoff game, breaking a tie with Peter Laviolette for 12th place and tying Pat Burns for 11th…Trotz has now won a playoff series in seven straight seasons (4 with Washington and three with the Islanders)…The Islanders join Boston and Colorado as the only teams to have advanced to the Second Round in each of the last three seasons. The Isles have won 36 of 58 series (.621); only Edmonton (.660) and Tampa Bay (.655) have a better record…The Isles have played 36 playoff games under Barry Trotz; only Boston (42), Dallas (40) and St. Louis (39) have played more.

First Time in a Long Time

• Ilya Sorokin is the first Islander rookie to win four games in a series since Chico Resch in 1975 vs. Pittsburgh.

• This is the first time in Islander history that the team has overcome three separate deficits to win an elimination game.

• The goals by Brock Nelson and Ryan Pulock :13 apart tied the club record set in 1984 (Tomas Jonsson and Greg Gilbert).

• The three goals in 2:59 were the fastest three goals for the Isles in a playoff game since they scored three in 2:26 vs. New Jersey in 1988.

• Ryan Pulock is the first Islander defenseman since Denis Potvin (1981) to have two game-winning goals in a playoff year, and is the first to ever have two in a single series.

• Pulock and Adam Pelech each went +4; it is the first time since April 28, 1984 vs. Montreal (Ken Morrow and Paul Boutilier) that two Islanders were +4 or better in the same game.

• Pelech is the second defenseman in Isles history with multiple +4 or better games (9-11-2020 vs. Tampa Bay); Denis Potvin did it four times.

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 CURRENT)

• 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

• Josh Bailey 13

• Anthony Beauvillier 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.

A Familiar Playoff Foe

This was the sixth all-time playoff meeting between the teams:

• 1975- Quarter-Finals. Isles won series 4 games to 3.

• 1982- Preliminary Series. Isles won series 3 games to 2.

• 1993- Division Final. Isles won series 4 games to 3.

• 2013- Conference Quarter-Finals. Pittsburgh won series 4 games to 2.

• 2019- First Round. Isles won series 4 games to 0. 

• 2021- First Round. 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.

Lou and Bill

Lou Lamoriello's win vs. Pittsburgh is 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: 3:43, Tied: 53:01, Trailed: 19:46 

Game 2: Led  0:00, Tied:   3:22, Trailed: 56:38

Game 3: Led  0:00, Tied:   7:44, Trailed: 52:16

Game 4: Led  31:53, Tied: 28:07, Trailed: 0:00

Game 5: Led  0:00, Tied:   48:53, Trailed: 31:58

Game 6: Led  31:12, Tied: 17:04, Trailed: 11:44

Series:    Led: 66:48, Tied: 158:11, Trailed: 177:22

Playoffs All-Time

The Isles improve to 165-135 in 300 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 73-84 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 2-1 at home and 2-1 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 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 149 playoff games (76-73).  His 149 games allows him to pass Peter Laviolette and tie Pat Burns for 11th while his 76 wins are tied-14th all-time with 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; both were eliminated from the playoffs tonight.

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 36

• 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 1 (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 2-0 when scoring first and are 2-2 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots

Isles       10-9-5=24    

Pittsburgh 9-16-12=37

Shots by Game

• Game 1: Isles 41, Pittsburgh 42

• Game 2: Isles 38, Pittsburgh 45

• Game 3: Isles 30, Pittsburgh 27

• Game 4: Isles 26, Pittsburgh 30

• Game 5: Isles 28, Pittsburgh 50

• Game 6: Isles 24, Pittsburgh 37

• Series:  Isles 187, Pittsburgh 231

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

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves to improve to 4-0 in the 2021 playoffs and in his playoff career.  

 

Tristan Jarry made 19 saves but falls to 2-4 in this year's playoffs and 2-5 in his career.  

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play in 4:00 of PP time; Pittsburgh was 1-2 on the power play in 3:14 of PP time.

Power Plays by Game

• Game 1: Isles 0-2 (4:00, 2 shots), Pittsburgh 0-3 (6:00, 3 shots)

• Game 2: Isles 0-1 (1:28, 1 shot), Pittsburgh 0-2 (4:00, 1 shot)

• Game 3: Isles 1-4 (6:19, 4 shots), Pittsburgh 1-2 (2:37, 3 shots)

• Game 4: Isles 2-5 (7:13, 4 shots), Pittsburgh 0-1 (0:30, 0 shots)

• Game 5: Isles 0-2 (4:00, 1 shot), Pittsburgh 1-2 (2:33, 5 shots)

• Game 6: Isles 0-2 (4:00, 3 shots), Pittsburgh 1-2 (3:14, 2 shots)

• Series: Isles 3-16 (27:00, 15 shots), Pittsburgh 3-12 (18:54, 19 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 0-1 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. Pittsburgh

The Isles are 5-3 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Pittsburgh. The 1982, 1993 and 2013 series all ended on overtime goals.

• 04/10/82 @ Rick Kehoe L Pit 4:14 

• 04/13/82 Vs John Tonelli W Pit 6:19  

• 05/14/93 @ David Volek W Pit 5:16 

• 05/05/13 Vs Chris Kunitz L Pit 8:44

• 05/11/13 Vs Brooks Orpik L Pit 7:49

• 04/10/19 Vs Josh Bailey W Pit 4:39

• 05/16/21 @ Kyle Palmieri W Pit 16:30

• 05/24/21 @ Josh Bailey W Pit 20:51

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Nick Leddy (24:55);  Pittsburgh Kris Letang (28:47)

Josh Bailey led Isles forwards with 20:54 of ice-time 

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

Face-offs

Isles 32, Pittsburgh 25 (56%)  

JG Pageau won 14 of 18 for the Isles; no Penguin won more than he lost. 

Face-offs by Game

• Game 1: Isles 33, Pittsburgh 37 (47%)

• Game 2: Isles 24, Pittsburgh 26 (48%)

• Game 3: Isles 30, Pittsburgh 27 (53%)

• Game 4: Isles 33, Pittsburgh 17 (66%)

• Game 5: Isles 29, Pittsburgh 32 (48%)

• Game 6: Isles 32, Pittsburgh 25 (56%)

• Series: Isles 181, Pittsburgh 164 (52%)

Hit Count

Isles 30 (Casey Cizikas -5)

Pittsburgh 31 (Two with 5)

Hits Game by Game:

• Game 1: Isles 72, Pittsburgh 47 

• Game 2: Isles 46, Pittsburgh 37

• Game 3: Isles 46, Pittsburgh 29

• Game 4: Isles 31, Pittsburgh 34

• Game 5: Isles 47, Pittsburgh 46

• Game 6: Isles 30, Pittsburgh 31

• Series: Isles 274, Pittsburgh 224

Blocked Shots

Isles 23 (Scott Mayfield -4)

Pittsburgh 11 (Two with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 48, Pittsburgh 79  

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 41, Pittsburgh 71

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Ryan Pulock +1

Pittsburgh: Jeff Carter +21

High Danger Chances:

All situations: Isles 6, Pittsburgh 9

5-on-5: Isles 5, Pittsburgh 8

Corsi Game by Game:

• Game 1 (All) Isles 60, Pittsburgh 67;  (5-on-5) Isles 55, Pittsburgh 58

• Game 2 (All) Isles 51, Pittsburgh 68;  (5-on-5) Isles 44, Pittsburgh 64

• Game 3 (All) Isles 57, Pittsburgh 52;  (5-on-5) Isles 42, Pittsburgh 41

• Game 4 (All) Isles 44, Pittsburgh 60;  (5-on-5) Isles 34, Pittsburgh 55

• Game 5 (All) Isles 43, Pittsburgh 85;  (5-on-5) Isles 41, Pittsburgh 78 

• Game 6 (All) Isles 48, Pittsburgh 79;  (5-on-5) Isles 41, Pittsburgh 71 

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

High-Danger Game by Game:

• Game 1 (All) Isles 8, Pittsburgh 11;  (5-on-5) Isles 6, Pittsburgh 10

• Game 2 (All) Isles 14, Pittsburgh 8;  (5-on-5) Isles 14, Pittsburgh 8

• Game 3 (All) Isles 17, Pittsburgh 11; (5-on-5) Isles 12, Pittsburgh 8

• Game 4 (All) Isles 16, Pittsburgh 7;  (5-on-5) Isles 11, Pittsburgh 7 

• Game 5 (All) Isles 5, Pittsburgh 16;  (5-on-5) Isles 4, Pittsburgh 14

• Game 6 (All) Isles 6, Pittsburgh 9;  (5-on-5) Isles 5, Pittsburgh 8

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

Scratches

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

Playoff games lost: 8

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 60

Josh Bailey 58

Casey Cizikas 56

Nick Leddy 54

Brock Nelson 54

Consecutive Games

Matt Martin 60

Nick Leddy 54

Brock Nelson 49

Goals:

Brock Nelson 19

Josh Bailey 13

Anthony Beauvillier 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

Brock Nelson 16

Jordan Eberle 15

Nick Leddy 14

Ryan Pulock 12

Points:

Josh Bailey 43

Brock Nelson 35

Mathew Barzal 27

Jordan Eberle 26

Anthony Beauvillier 22

Nick Leddy 19

J-G Pageau 18

Anders Lee 16

Penalty Minutes:

Matt Martin 70

Cal Clutterbuck 64

Casey Cizikas 42

PP Goals

Mathew Barzal 3

Anthony Beauvillier 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 4-0 1.95 GAA, .943 save percentage

UP NEXT

DATE TBD  – ISLANDERS AT BOSTON

[NBC or NBCSN, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

For the first time since the Dynasty, the Islanders and Bruins will meet in the Stanley Cup playoffs.  The Isles defeated the Bruins in both 1980 and 1983; they were the 2nd and 15th consecutive series win for the Isles.

The Isles were 5-2-1 this season vs. Boston, winning the first five games (including all four at home).  The Bruins were 3-3-2 against the Isles, with all three of their wins coming after the trade deadline.

Boston dispatched the Capitals in five games to set up this #3 vs #4 match-up in the East Division.

All remaining playoff games will air on the NBC family of networks.  MSG+ will have extensive post-game coverage.

AND FINALLY…

Tonight marked the final MSG Network telecast of the season. For nearly 40 years, I have had the pleasure of working with our great crew.  It's a pleasure to work with the people you know: Brendan Burke, Butch Goring, Shannon Hogan, and AJ Meczko; however, there are also the people you don't know: Steve Napolitani, Joel Mandelbaum, Sarah Servetnick, Charlie Cucchiara, JT Townsend, Bobby Mills, and countless others.  I look forward to many years to come.

Of course, those years will come in a new building; however, this Old Barn still has life!  See you in Round 2.

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