The Skinny: Isles 4, Boston 1

"The Skinny"  

By Eric Hornick

Second Round Game 4

Isles 4, Boston 1

Best-of-7 series tied, 2-2

Next home game: Wednesday.

Mathew Barzal broke a 1-1 tie with under seven minutes to play and the Isles then got empty-net goals from Casey Cizikas and Jean-Gabriel Pageau to earn a 4-1 win over the Bruins before a crowd of 12,000 at the Nassau Coliseum.

David Krejci and Kyle Palmieri traded goals 2:41 apart in the second period but that was all the scoring for the first 53 minutes.

The teams will play in Boston on Monday (6:30PM) before returning to the Coliseum for Game 6.

The Scoring: 

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

David Krejci (1) Brad Marchand (3), David Pastrnak (6) 03:57 BOS 1,NYI 0 PPG

Kyle Palmieri (5) Mathew Barzal (5), Jordan Eberle (4) 06:38 BOS 1,NYI 1

3rd Period

Mathew Barzal (2) Scott Mayfield (4), Noah Dobson (4) 13:03 BOS 1,NYI 2

Casey Cizikas (2)EN Cal Clutterbuck (1) 18:57 BOS 1,NYI 3

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (3)EN Leo Komarov (3) 19:57 BOS 1,NYI 4

The Series (Series tied, 2-2)

Game 1: Boston 5, Isles 2

Game 2: Isles 4, Boston 3 (OT)

Game 3: Boston 2, Isles 1 (OT)

Game 4: Isles 4, Boston 1

Game 5: Monday at Boston 6:30pm

Game 6: Wednesday at Isles (TBA) 

Game 7: Friday 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 5-3 in game 4's under Barry Trotz… The Isles were credited with 30 hits, giving them 165 for the series and 437 hits through ten games … The Isles have played 40 playoff games under Barry Trotz; only Boston (46) has played more in that span…The home team has scored all nine goals in the third period in this season (Boston 5, Isles 4).  Prior to being outscored 4-0 at the Coliseum in the two games, Boston had outscored their opponents 11-3 in the third period… The Isles have outscored opponents 12-7 in the second period… Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves to earn his 26th career playoff win…Scott Mayfield went +3 to improve to +8 in the playoffs (tied for NHL lead); he also leads the defense with five points (1-4-5)… Matt Grzelcyk was -4 while Taylor Hall and Charlie McAvoy were both -3…Mathew Barzal and Kyle Palmieri each extended point streaks to three games; Palmieri now has five goals in his first ten Islander playoff games after scoring twice for the Isles in 17 regular season appearances.  Palmieri is now tied-5th in goal-scoring in this year's playoffs…Each team now has a win by three goals and an overtime winner…The Isles scored twice into the empty net in a game for the second time in two seasons (also 8/20/2020 vs Washington) after not doing it at all in the post-Cup era…Only Denis Potvin (28 games) and Mike Bossy (30 games) reached 30 points in fewer games in an Islander uniform than Mathew Barzal, who did so in game 40 tonight…The Isles have come-from-behind to record their last four wins (2 vs Pittsburgh and 2 vs. Boston)….After allowing only four power play goals in 28 regular season home games, the Isles' PK has allowed three goals in five playoff games…JG Pageau was dominant in the face-off circle again; he also became the 12th player to reach ten points in this year's playoffs.

First Time in a Long Time

• Taylor Hall fought Scott Mayfield; it was Hall's 2nd fight in the NHL (2011 vs Derek Dorsett)

• The Islanders received two majors in the same playoff game for the first time since April 12, 2003, when Eric Cairns (fight) and Jason Wiemer (head butt) did so in a game with Ottawa

• The Islanders were involved in two fights in the same playoff game for the first time since April 28, 2002, when Eric Cairns, Shawn Bates and Jim Cummings were all involved in fights in the final two minutes of a Coliseum win over Toronto in Game 6 of that series. 

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 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

Game 4: Led: 6:57, Tied: 50:22, Trailed: 2:41

Series:   Led:  34:19, Tied: 166:50, Trailed: 57:15

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

Total: Led: 100:07, Tied: 325:01, Trailed: 234:37

Playoffs All-Time

The Isles improve to 167-137 in 304 all-time playoff games.  They are 93-52 at home (85-43 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 3-2 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 153 playoff games (78-75).  His 153 games is 11th all-time (two games behind Alain Vigneault) list while his 78 wins tie 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 23

• 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 40

• 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 4-3 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots

Isles      7-14-13=34    

Boston  11-10-8=29

Shots by Game

• Game 1: Isles 22, Boston 40

• Game 2: Isles 39, Boston 42

• Game 3: Isles 29, Boston 41

• Game 4; Isles 34, Boston 29

• Series: Isles 124, Boston 152

• Vs: Pittsburgh:  Isles 187, Pittsburgh 231

• Total Isles 311, Opponents 383

The Isles are 1-1 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 28 saves to improve to 2-3 in the 2021 playoffs and 26-23 in his playoff career.  

 

Tuukka Rask made 30 saves but falls to 6-3 in this year's playoffs and 57-45 in his career. 

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play in 4:00 of PP time; Boston was 1-3 on the power play in 5:11 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)

• Game 4: Isles 0-2 (4:00, 3 shots), Boston 1-3 (5:11, 5 shots)

• Series: Isles 3-11 (19:54, 19 shots), Boston 4-9 (13:39, 19 shots)

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

• Total: Isles 6-27 (46:54, 34 shots), Opponents 7-21 (32:33, 38 shots)

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 6-1 in the playoffs (3-1 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 3-2 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 1-0 in playoff games where an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Scott Mayfield (22:32);  Boston: Charlie McAvoy (24:16)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau led Isles forwards with 17:26 of ice-time 

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

Face-offs

Isles 30, Boston 30 (50%)  

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 11 of 19 for the Isles; David Krejci won 8 of 12 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%)

• Game 4: Isles 30, Boston 30 (50%)

• Series: Isles 118, Boston 113 (51%)

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

• Total: Isles 299, Opponents 277 (52%)

Hit Count

Isles 30 (Three with 4)

Boston 27 (Two with 4)

Hits Game by Game:

• Game 1: Isles 49, Boston 42 

• Game 2: Isles 48, Boston 47

• Game 3: Isles 38, Boston 35

• Game 4: Isles 30, Boston 27

• Series: Isles 165, Boston 151

• Vs: Pittsburgh: Isles 274, Pittsburgh 224

• Total: Isles 439, Opponent 375

Blocked Shots

Isles 13 (Ryan Pulock -4)

Boston 20 (Three with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 64, Boston 57  

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 56, Boston 45

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Brock Nelson +10

Boston: Conor Clifton +5

High Danger Chances:

All situations: Isles 12, Boston 12

5-on-5: Isles 11, 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

• Game 4:(All) Isles 64. Boston 57; (5-on-5) Isles 56, Boston 45

• Series: (All) Isles 223, Boston 273;  (5-on-5) Isles 184, Boston 240

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

• Total(All) Isles 526, Opponents 684;  (5-on-5) Isles 441, Opponents 607

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

• Game 3 (All) Isles 13. Boston 12; (5-on-5) Isles 9, Boston 9

• Game 4 (All) Isles 12. Boston 12; (5-on-5) Isles 11, Boston 9

• Series: (All) Isles 41, Boston 46;  (5-on-5) Isles 29, Boston 37

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

• Total (All) Isles 107, Opponents 118;  (5-on-5) Isles 81, Boston 92

Scratches

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

Playoff games lost: 16

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 6/3 vs. Boston – Game 3)

Playoff Challenges

• Isles: Lost a goalie interference challenge (6/5 vs Boston; Bruins did not score on subsequent PP)

• Opponents: None

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)

Games:

Matt Martin 64

Josh Bailey 62

Casey Cizikas 60

Nick Leddy 58

Brock Nelson 58

Consecutive Games

Matt Martin 64

Nick Leddy 58

Brock Nelson 53

Goals:

Brock Nelson 19

Anthony Beauvillier 14

Josh Bailey 14

Jordan Eberle 11

JG Pageau 11

Mathew Barzal 9

Cal Clutterbuck 8

Anders Lee 8

Assists:

Josh Bailey 30

Mathew Barzal 22

Jordan Eberle 18

Brock Nelson 17

Nick Leddy 15

Ryan Pulock 13

Points:

Josh Bailey 44

Brock Nelson 36

Mathew Barzal 31

Jordan Eberle 29

Anthony Beauvillier 24

J-G Pageau 21

Nick Leddy 20

Anders Lee 16

Penalty Minutes:

Matt Martin 79

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

Mathew Barzal 2

Ryan Pulock 2

Thomas Hickey 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 13-10  2.23 GAA, .921 save percentage

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

UP NEXT

MONDAY, JUNE 7th  –ISLANDERS  AT BOSTON – 6:30pm

[NBCSN, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN 98.7FM; Post-Game coverage on MSG+]

It is now a best of three as the Isles head back to Boston for the pivotal game 5.

The Isles are 6-6 in 12 previous series that were tied 2-2, while Boston is 18-17 in the same circumstance. 

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