The Skinny: Boston 2, Isles 1 (OT)

"The Skinny"  

By Eric Hornick

Second Round Game 3

Boston 2, Isles 1 (OT)

Boston leads best-of-7 series, 2-1

Brad Marchand scored 3:36 into overtime as the Boston Bruins re-captured home ice advantage with a 2-1 victory over the Isles before a crowd of 12,000 at the Nassau Coliseum.

Craig Smith had given the Bruins a 1-0 lead as he scored on Boston's 2nd shot of the game, and that lead held up until the 14:34 mark of the third before Mathew Barzal jammed a puck past Tuukka Rask for the tying goal.

That sent the game into overtime, but Marchand ended it early with his third career overtime goal and second this spring.  The teams will meet at the Coliseum for games 4 on Saturday.

The Scoring: 

1st Period

Craig Smith (2) Taylor Hall (1), Matt Grzelcyk (3) 05:52 BOS 1,NYI 0

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

Mathew Barzal (1) Kyle Palmieri (2), Ryan Pulock (2) 14:34 BOS 1,NYI 1

OT

Brad Marchand (5) Charlie McAvoy (7), Patrice Bergeron (2) 03:36 BOS 2,NYI 1

The Series (Boston leads, 2-1)

Game 1: Boston 5, Isles 2

Game 2: Isles 4, Boston 3 (OT)

Game 3: Boston 2, Isles 1 (OT)

Game 4: Saturday at Isles 7:15pm

Game 5: Monday at Boston 6:30pm

Game 6: Wednesday at Isles (if needed) 

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

The winner of this series will face the Carolina-Tampa Bay winner in the Semi-Finals.

The Skinny 

The Isles are 4-4 in game 3's under Barry Trotz… The Isles were credited with 38 hits, giving them 135 for the series and 407 hits through nine games … The Isles have played 39 playoff games under Barry Trotz; only Boston (45) and Dallas (40) have played more in that span…Anthony Beauvillier's point streak ended at six games for the second straight spring…Semyon Varlamov played in his 50th career playoff game…Brad Marchand now has six career overtime points (3-3-6); Patrice Bergeron also has six career points (4-2-6)… David Pastrnak's point streak ended at four games (5-3-8) … The Isles have outscored opponents 11-6 in the second period, while the Bruins have now outscored opponents 11-4 in the third period (including 5-0 in this series)…The Isles are 3-1 in overtime this spring while Boston is 3-2…It was the Isles' first OT loss at the Coliseum since Game 4 vs. Washington in 2015 (Nicklas Backstrom)… Semyon Varlamov made 39 saves, but he allowed a goal on one of the first three shots he faced for the fourth straight game…This was the first June game in Islander history…Bruce Cassidy became the 2nd-winningest coach in Bruin playoff history (33-30), passing Art Ross (32-33-5)…The Isles are 16-8 all-time in Coliseum overtime games…Since 2013, the Isles are 4-10 in OT games decided in first 14 minutes and 6-1 in games that went longer than that.

The Injury

Brandon Carlo left the game following a second period hit from Cal Clutterbuck; he did not return.

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 (Usually) Our Time

The Isles are 39-22 (.639) all-time in overtime, including 19-13 at home. The Isles are 3-1 in overtime this season; they have gone 10-9 in nineteen overtime games since 2015. 

Overtime vs. Boston

The Isles are 3-2 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Boston; all three games prior to this season were played in a six-day span in 1980.  The road team has won all five 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

05/31/21 @ Casey Cizikas  W Bos 14:48

06/03/21 Vs Brad Marchand W Bos   3:34

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 14

• 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. 

Led/Tied/Trailed

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

Game 2: Led: 19:34, Tied: 30:40, Trailed: 24:34

Game 3: Led: 0:00, Tied: 48:42, Trailed: 14:54

Series:   Led:  27:22, Tied: 116:28, Trailed: 54:34

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

Total: Led: 93:10, Tied: 274:39, Trailed: 231:56

Playoffs All-Time

The Isles fall to 166-137 in 303 all-time playoff games.  They are 92-52 at home (84-43 at the Coliseum, 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto and 1-2 in Edmonton) and 74-85 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 2-1 at home and 3-2 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 152 playoff games (77-75).  His 152 games is 11th all-time (three games behind Alain Vigneault) list while his 77 wins break a tie with Peter Laviolette, and just one behind Vigneault and Pat Burns for 12th.  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 22

• 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 39

• 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 6 (6-6)

• 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 3-3 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots

Isles      7-8-9-5=29    

Boston  5-13-21-2=41

Shots by Game

• Game 1: Isles 22, Boston 40

• Game 2: Isles 39, Boston 42

• Game 3: Isles 29, Boston 41

• Series: Isles 90, Boston 123

• Vs: Pittsburgh:  Isles 187, Pittsburgh 231

• Total Isles 277, Opponents 354

The Isles are 0-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0 when the shots are even and 5-3 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 39 saves but falls to 1-3 in the 2021 playoffs and 25-23 in his playoff career.  Varlamov is 7-8 in overtime.

 

Tuukka Rask made 28 saves to improve to 6-2 in this year's playoffs and 57-44 in his career.  Rask is 15-13 all-time in overtime. 

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play in 6:00 of PP time; Boston was 0-2 on the power play in 4:00 of PP time.  

Power Plays by Game

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

• Game 2: Isles 2-3 (5:08, 7 shots), Boston 1-2 (2:27, 1 shot)

• Game 3: Isles 0-3 (6:00, 5 shots), Boston 0-2 (4:00, 8 shots)

• Series: Isles 3-9 (15:54, 16 shots), Boston 3-6 (8:28, 14 shots)

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

• Total: Isles 6-25 (42:54, 31 shots), Opponents 6-18 (27:22, 33 shots)

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 5-1 in the playoffs (2-1 in regulation and 3-0 in overtime) when they score at least three goals and 0-3 when they do not. 

Shutting the Door

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

One Goal Games

The Isles are 3-3 in the playoffs in one-goal games (0-2 in regulation and 3-1 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.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (24:37);  Boston: Charlie McAvoy (29:11)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau led Isles forwards with 19:10 of ice-time 

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

Face-offs

Isles 30, Boston 24 (56%)  

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 13 of 21 for the Isles; Curtis Lazar won 2 of 3 for Boston. 

Face-offs by Game

• Game 1: Isles 27, Boston 29 (48%)

• Game 2: Isles 31, Boston 30 (51%)

• Game 3: Isles 30, Boston 24 (56%)

• Series: Isles 88, Boston 83 (51%)

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

• Total: Isles 269, Opponents 247 (52%)

Hit Count

Isles 38 (Matt Martin -6)

Boston 35 (Nick Ritchie and Charlie McAvoy -6)

Hits Game by Game:

• Game 1: Isles 49, Boston 42 

• Game 2: Isles 48, Boston 47

• Game 3: Isles 38, Boston 35

• Series: Isles 135, Boston 124

• Vs: Pittsburgh: Isles 274, Pittsburgh 224

• Total: Isles 409, Opponent 348

Blocked Shots

Isles 22 (Andy Greene -6)

Boston 14 (Charlie McAvoy -5)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 56, Boston 72  

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 45, Boston 69

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Travis Zajac +2

Boston: Mike Reilly +14

High Danger Chances:

All situations: Isles 13, Boston 12

5-on-5: Isles 9, Boston 9

Corsi Game by Game:

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

• Game 2:(All) Isles 65. Boston 79; (5-on-5) Isles 53, Boston 68

• Game 3:(All) Isles 56. Boston 72; (5-on-5) Isles 45, Boston 69

• Series: (All) Isles 159, Boston 216;  (5-on-5) Isles 128, Boston 195

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

• Total(All) Isles 462, Opponents 627;  (5-on-5) Isles 385, Opponents 562

High-Danger Game by Game:

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

• Game 2 (All) Isles 12, Boston 9;  (5-on-5) Isles 7, Boston 7

• Series: (All) Isles 16, Boston 22;  (5-on-5) Isles 9, Boston 19

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

• Total (All) Isles 82, Opponents 94;  (5-on-5) Isles 61, Boston 74

Scratches

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

Playoff games lost: 14

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)

• Casey Cizikas (14:48 of OT on 5/31 vs. Boston – Game 2)

Post-Season Late Goals Allowed

• Brad Marchand (3:36 of OT on 6/4 vs. Boston – Game 3)

Playoff Challenges

• None

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)

Games:

Matt Martin 63

Josh Bailey 61

Casey Cizikas 59

Nick Leddy 57

Brock Nelson 57

Consecutive Games

Matt Martin 63

Nick Leddy 57

Brock Nelson 52

Goals:

Brock Nelson 19

Anthony Beauvillier 14

Josh Bailey 14

Jordan Eberle 11

JG Pageau 10

Mathew Barzal 8

Cal Clutterbuck 8

Anders Lee 8

Matt Martin 6

Nick Leddy 5

Ryan Pulock 5

Assists:

Josh Bailey 30

Mathew Barzal 21

Jordan Eberle 17

Brock Nelson 17

Nick Leddy 15

Ryan Pulock 13

Points:

Josh Bailey 44

Brock Nelson 36

Jordan Eberle 28

Mathew Barzal 29

Anthony Beauvillier 24

Nick Leddy 20

J-G Pageau 20

Anders Lee 16

Penalty Minutes:

Matt Martin 72

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 3

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

Casey Cizikas 1

OT Goals 

Josh Bailey 2

Mathew Barzal 1

Thomas Hickey 1

Jordan Eberle 1

Kyle Palmieri 1

Casey Cizikas 1

Goaltending

Semyon Varlamov 12-10  2.26 GAA, .922 save percentage

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

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, JUNE 5th  –BOSTON AT  ISLANDERS – 7:15pm

[NBC(Channel 4 in NY), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio; Post-Game coverage on MSG+]

The Isles will look to even the series when they entertain the Bruins in Game 4 on Saturday night.

The Isles are 5-13 in 18 previous series that they trailed 2-1, while Boston is 24-10 in series that they led 2-1.

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