The Skinny: Isles 5, Boston 4

"The Skinny"  

By Eric Hornick

Second Round Game 5

Isles 5, Boston 4

Isles lead Best-of-7 series, 3-2

I tweeted during the game: 5 players with goals; 10 players with points.  These are the Islanders.  And they are.

The Isles scored three power play goals for the first time under Barry Trotz (regular season or playoffs) to chase Tuukka Rask after two periods and scored the eventual game-winner from Brock Nelson 1:59 into the third as they defeated the Boston Bruins, 5-4 before a sellout crowd of 17,400 at TD Garden in Boston.

David Pastrnak scored twice, and Brad Marchand also scored for Boston, but it was not enough as Semyon Varlamov made 40 saves for his second win in as many games in Boston.

The Isles will look to wrap up the series at the Coliseum in Game 6 on Wednesday (7:30pm).

The Scoring: 

1st Period

David Pastrnak (6) Charlie McAvoy (8), Brad Marchand (4) 01:25 NYI 0,BOS 1

Mathew Barzal (3) Noah Dobson (5), Jordan Eberle (5) 18:49 NYI 1,BOS 1 PPG

2nd Period

Kyle Palmieri (6) Josh Bailey (4), Nick Leddy (4) 04:49 NYI 2,BOS 1 PPG

Brad Marchand (6) David Pastrnak (7), Charlie McAvoy (9) 07:27 NYI 2,BOS 2

Josh Bailey (5) Jean-Gabriel Pageau (8), Anthony Beauvillier (6) 14:30 NYI 3,BOS 2

Jordan Eberle (3) Mathew Barzal (6), Noah Dobson (6) 16:38 NYI 4,BOS 2 PPG

3rd Period

Brock Nelson (4) Anthony Beauvillier (7), Adam Pelech (1) 01:59 NYI 5,BOS 2

David Pastrnak (7) Charlie McAvoy (10), Patrice Bergeron (5) 03:48 NYI 5,BOS 3 PPG

David Krejci (2) Craig Smith (3), Mike Reilly (4) 14:43 NYI 5,BOS 4

The Series (Isles lead, 3-2)

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: Isles 5, Boston 4

Game 6: Wednesday at Isles (7:30 pm) 

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 4-1 in game 5's under Barry Trotz… The Isles were credited with 38 hits, giving them 203 for the series and 475 hits through eleven games … The Isles have played 41 playoff games under Barry Trotz; only Boston (47) has played more in that span…The home team has outscored the visitors 11-1 in the third period in this series (Boston 7, Isles 5).  Boston had outscored their opponents 13-8 in the third period… The Isles have outscored opponents 15-8 in the second period (including 8-3 in this series)… Semyon Varlamov made 40 saves to earn his 27th career playoff win… Mathew Barzal and Kyle Palmieri each extended point streaks to four games; Palmieri now has six goals in his first 11 Islander playoff games after scoring twice for the Isles in 17 regular season appearances.  Palmieri is now tied-4th in goal-scoring in this year's playoffs… The Isles have come-from-behind to record their last five wins (2 vs Pittsburgh and 3 vs. Boston); it was the 8th time this spring (and the 4th straight game) that the Isles have allowed the opening goals… Today was the third anniversary of Barry Trotz leading the Caps to the Stanley Cup…The Isles have scored two power play goals in a period twice in this series (also in second period of game 2); they did so only twice between 1994 and 2020.…The Isles have won 14 straight playoff games when scoring at least five goals, dating back to a 6-5 loss to New Jersey in 1988...Over the last two years, only Andrei Vasilevskiy (25) has won more playoff games than Semyon Varlamov (14); Anton Khoudobin also won 14 games (all in 2020).

First Time in a Long Time

• It's the first time since 1993 that the Isles have won five games in come-from-behind fashion.

• The Isles scored three power play goals in a playoff game for the first time since April 23, 2002, when they scored four times vs. Toronto in Game 3.

• The Isles have six power play goals in this series – most since 2002 vs. Toronto, when they had nine.

• The Isles were out-shot 44-19. It is the first time the Isles have been out-shot by at least 25 shots in a playoff game since May 14, 1993 (fondly remembered as The David Volek Game).

First Time for Everything

• Jeremy Swayman was charged with the loss in relief; it's the first no decision in Tuukka Rask's 103 game playoff career.

• The Isles scored three times on the power play for the first time (regular season or playoffs) under Barry Trotz.  (Last time was March 22, 2018, vs. Tampa Bay)

• The Isles have allowed 196 shots in this series- it is the most shots they have allowed through five games in any series in their history.  The previous record was set two weeks ago (194 vs. Pittsburgh).

Most Wins After Allowing the First Goal (Isles)

• 8 1980 

• 6 1977

• 6 1993

• 5 2021

• 5 1981 

• 5 1983 

• 5 1984

 

Best Power Play Percentage in a Playoff Year (Isles)

• 37.8% 1981

• 29.0% 2002

• 28.9% 2021

• 28.1% 1982

Brock Best

Brock Nelson has 20 playoff goals for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:

• Brock Nelson 20

• Josh Bailey 15

• Anthony Beauvillier 14

• Jordan Eberle 12

• John Tavares 11

Nelson's 20 goals are good for 11th in Islander history and are two 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.

Hey, Josh Bailey!

Josh Bailey has 31 playoff assists for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:

• Josh Bailey 31

• Mathew Barzal 23

• Jordan Eberle 19

• Brock Nelson 17

• Nick Leddy 16

• Ryan Pulock 13

• Anthony Beauvillier 13

Bailey's 31 goals are good for 11th in Islander history and are assists shy of Brent Sutter's 10th place total (22).  The ten players ahead of Bailey won a combined 38 Stanley Cup rings for the Isles. 

Bailey also has 46 playoff points for the Islanders, more than any Isles in the 2000s:

• Josh Bailey 46

• Brock Nelson 37

• Mathew Barzal 33

• Jordan Eberle 31

• Anthony Beauvillier 27

• J-G Pageau 22

• John Tavares 22

Bailey 46 points are good for a tie for 12th in Islander history (with Wayne Merrick) and are six points shy of Duane Sutter's 11th place total (52).  The eleven players ahead of Bailey won a combined 42 Stanley Cup rings for the Isles.   

Hometown Hero

Kyle Palmieri has six goals in 11 games this spring.  Since 1994, only Anthony Beauvillier (7-last summer) has had more goals in the first 11 games of a playoff run.  Only two others (JG Pageau in 2020, John Tavares in 2016) had six. 

Young Mr. Dobson

Noah Dobson is only the second defenseman in Isles history to record at least six playoff assists before his 22nd birthday.  You may remember the other: Denis Potvin had nine assists in 17 games in 1975.  (Paul Boutilier -33 games and Darius Kasparaitis -22 games had 5 assists before turning 22.)

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.

Heavy Hitters

Cal Clutterbuck leads all players in this year's playoffs with 62 hits, while Matt Martin is second with 57. Leo Komarov is fourth with 50 hits.  The Isles have five of the leading nine hitters in this year's playoffs, and lead all teams with 476.

Hits Leaders for this Series

Boston: Charlie Coyle 16, Charlie McAvoy 16, Jeremy Lauzon 16

Isles: Cal Clutterbuck 33, Matt Martin 28, Casey Cizikas 20

Hits Taken (Received) for this Series

Boston: Jeremy Lauzon 20, Charlie McAvoy 19, Connor Clifton 19

Isles: Kyle Palmieri 18, Ryan Pulock 17, Jordan Eberle 16

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

Game 5: Led: 28:08, Tied: 14:28, Trailed: 17:24

Series:   Led:  62:27, Tied: 181:18, Trailed: 74:39

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

Total: Led: 128:15, Tied: 339:29, Trailed: 252:01

Playoffs All-Time

The Isles improve to 168-137 in 305 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 75-85 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 3-2 at home and 4-2 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 154 playoff games (79-75).  His 154 games is 11th all-time (one game behind Alain Vigneault)  while his 79 wins break a tie with 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 24

• 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 41

• 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 5-3 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs.

The Shots

Isles      7-9-3=19    

Boston  11-15-18=44

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

• Game 5: Isles 19, Boston 44

• Series: Isles 143, Boston 196

• Vs: Pittsburgh: Isles 187, Pittsburgh 231

• Total Isles 330, Opponents 427

The Isles are 1-1 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0 when the shots are even and 6-3 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 40 saves to improve to 3-3 in the 2021 playoffs and 27-23 in his playoff career.  

 

Tuukka Rask made 12 saves in two periods; Jeremy Swayman faced only three shots in his first period of playoff hockey and surrendered the game-winning goal. 

 

Power Plays

The Isles were 3-4 on the power play in 5:45 of PP time; Boston was 1-2 on the power play in 2:24 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)

• Game 5: Isles 3-4 (5:45, 4 shots), Boston 1-2 (2:24, 6 shots)

• Series: Isles 6-15 (25:39, 23 shots), Boston 5-11 (16:03, 25 shots)

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

• Total: Isles 9-31 (52:39, 38 shots), Opponents 7-21 (34:57, 44 shots)

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 7-1 in the playoffs (4-1 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 4-3 in the playoffs in one-goal games (1-2 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 (24:13);  Boston: Charlie McAvoy (26:48)

Anthony Beauvillier led Isles forwards with 18:50 of ice-time 

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

Face-offs

Isles 26, Boston 27 (49%)  

Casey Cizikas won 10 of 17 for the Isles; Patrice Bergeron won 13 of 22 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%)

• Game 5: Isles 26, Boston 27 (49%)

• Series: Isles 144, Boston 140 (51%)

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

• Total: Isles 325, Opponents 304 (52%)

Hit Count

Isles 38 (Cal Clutterbuck -8)

Boston 37 (Brad Marchand -5)

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

• Game 5: Isles 38, Boston 37

• Series: Isles 203, Boston 188

• Vs: Pittsburgh: Isles 273, Pittsburgh 224

• Total: Isles 476, Opponent 412

Blocked Shots

Isles 15 (Scott Mayfield -5)

Boston 6 (Two with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 35, Boston 76  

Corsi: 5-on-5 Isles 30, Boston 64

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Cal Clutterbuck EVEN

Boston: Conor Clifton +16

High Danger Chances:

All situations: Isles 2, Boston 11

5-on-5: Isles 2, Boston 6

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

• Game 5 (All) Isles 35, Boston 76; (5-on-5) Isles 30, Boston 64

• Series: (All) Isles 258, Boston 349;  (5-on-5) Isles 214, Boston 304

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

• Total(All) Isles 561, Opponents 760;  (5-on-5) Isles 471, Opponents 671

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

• Game 5 (All) Isles 2, Boston 11;  (5-on-5) Isles 2, Boston 6

• Series: (All) Isles 43, Boston 57;  (5-on-5) Isles 31, Boston 43

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

• Total (All) Isles 109, Opponents 129;  (5-on-5) Isles 83, Boston 98

Scratches

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

Playoff games lost: 18

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

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

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)

Games:

Matt Martin 65

Josh Bailey 63

Casey Cizikas 61

Nick Leddy 59

Brock Nelson 59

Consecutive Games

Matt Martin 65

Nick Leddy 59

Brock Nelson 54

Goals:

Brock Nelson 20

Josh Bailey 15

Anthony Beauvillier 14

Jordan Eberle 12

JG Pageau 11

Mathew Barzal 10

Cal Clutterbuck 8

Anders Lee 8

Assists:

Josh Bailey 31

Mathew Barzal 23

Jordan Eberle 19

Brock Nelson 17

Nick Leddy 16

Ryan Pulock 13

Anthony Beauvillier 13

Points:

Josh Bailey 46

Brock Nelson 37

Mathew Barzal 33

Jordan Eberle 31

Anthony Beauvillier 27

J-G Pageau 22

Nick Leddy 21

Ryan Pulock 18

Penalty Minutes:

Matt Martin 79

Cal Clutterbuck 64

Casey Cizikas 42

PP Goals

Anthony Beauvillier 4

Mathew Barzal 4

Jordan Eberle 4

Ryan Pulock 3

Josh Bailey 3

Anders Lee 3

Brock Nelson 2 

Nick Leddy 1

Oliver Wahlstrom 1

Nick Leddy 1

Kyle Palmieri 1

SH Goals

Josh Bailey 1

 

GW Goals

Brock Nelson 6

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 14-10  2.28 GAA, .922 save percentage

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

UP NEXT

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9th  –BOSTON AT ISLANDERS – 7:30pm

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

The Barn will be rocking as the Isles look to close out the Bruins in Game 6.

The Isles have taken a 3-2 series lead in 13 previous series, going 12-1.  They are 11-2 in game 6's with a series lead (losing only to Toronto in 1978 and to Philadelphia in the Bubble).  The Isles are 7-0 at the Coliseum in potential- clinching game 6's.

The Isles will look for their second set of happy handshakes on Coliseum ice this spring; they have not closed out multiple series at home since 1984, when they closed out their 17th, 18th and 19th straight series wins at home.

The Bruins are 4-21 in game 6's when trailing three games to two.

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