The Skinny: Florida 6, Isles 1

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 13

Florida 6, Isles 1

Let's Go HOME!  

The Florida Panthers scored four goals in an 11:15 span of the first period and defeated the Islanders 6-1 in the final game of the Isles' franchise-record 13-game road trip before a crowd of 14,003 at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise.

The Isles have lost four straight and finish the road trip with a 5-6-2 record.  It is the second straight season that the Isles have gone 5-6-2 in their first thirteen road games.

Kyle Palmieri scored the only goal for the Isles, who played without Ryan Pulock and Josh Bailey.

The Isles return home to entertain Calgary on Saturday in the first of a four-game homestand as the players, fans, and rest of the NHL get to experience UBS Arena for the first time. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Jonathan Huberdeau (5) Anthony Duclair (6), Aleksander Barkov (8) 06:58 NYI 0,FLA 1

Ryan Lomberg (1) Patric Hornqvist (6), Brandon Montour (6) 14:40 NYI 0,FLA 2

Carter Verhaeghe (4) Sam Bennett (4), Brandon Montour (7) 16:04 NYI 0,FLA 3

Patric Hornqvist (2) 18:13 NYI 0,FLA 4

2nd Period

Aaron Ekblad (5) MacKenzie Weegar (7) 13:41 NYI 0,FLA 5

Kyle Palmieri (1) Kieffer Bellows (1), Noah Dobson (4) 15:00 NYI 1,FLA 5

3rd Period

Frank Vatrano (4) Owen Tippett (6) 16:36 NYI 1,FLA 6

The Skinny         

The Isles have been outscored 18-2 since Anders Lee's second period tally in Minnesota… The Isles killed all four Florida power plays…Aleksander Barkov extended his point streak to five before leaving with an injury…The opposing team for the Islanders' six losses this season are 35-7-3 on home-ice…. Kieffer Bellows recorded his first assist since earning one in his NHL debut on February 4, 2020, vs. Dallas…The five-goal margin matched the largest regular season defeat under Barry Trotz (five other times)…Kyle Palmieri scored his first goal of the season and 186th of his career; Palmieri is 7-3-10 in 17 career games against Florida…The Cizikas line was a combined -11; Brock Nelson and Kieffer Bellows both were +1…It was the 900th win in Panther history.

The Injuries

• Ryan Pulock did not play, ending his franchise-record (for defensemen) 263-game streak; he will be re-evaluated when the Isles return to New York. It was the first game the Isles played without Pulock in the Trotz era, who had the 11th-longest active streak in the NHL.

• Aleksander Barkov left the game after a collision with Scott Mayfield in the first period; Mayfield received a major penalty for kneeing (and a game misconduct).

First Times in a Long Time

• It was the first time since March 30, 2017, that the Isles allowed at least four goals in a first period.

• It is the first time since 2017-2018 (six times) that the Isles have allowed at least four goals in four consecutive games.

About Those Penalty Minutes

The Isles were assessed 46 penalty minutes to Florida's nine.  It is the second-highest total of penalty minutes against the Isles in the last seven years (52 in San Jose on October 20, 2018).

It is the first time in club history that the Isles have had at least 46 penalty minutes while the opponent had fewer than ten.

It has happened only seven times in league history (most recently March 17, 2012 -- New Jersey vs. Pittsburgh).

The Long Road (to the New) Home

The Isles went 5-6-2 on their franchise-record 13-game road trip:

• Thu Oct 14 at Carolina L 3-6

• Sat Oct 16 at Florida         L 1-5

• Tue Oct 19 at Chicago         W 4-1

• Thu Oct 21 at Columbus L 3-2 (ot)

• Sat Oct 23 at Arizona         W 3-0

• Sun Oct 24 at Vegas         W 2-0

• Sat Oct 30 at Nashville L 3-2 (so)

• Thu Nov 04 at Montréal W 6-2

• Sat Nov 06 at Winnipeg W 2-0

• Sun Nov 07 at Minnesota L 2-5

• Thu Nov 11 at New Jersey L 0-4

• Mon Nov 15 at Tampa Bay L 1-4

• Tue Nov 16 at Florida         L 1-6

Staying Close to Home

The Isles will not leave the Eastern Time Zone until January 4th in Seattle. Fifteen of their next 21 games will be at UBS Arena and the Islanders will not spend consecutive nights on the road at any point (playing consecutive road games only once – November 28th at The Garden and November 30th in Philadelphia).

Histor-Z

Zdeno Chara played in his 1,621st game. Chara is now 3rd among defensemen in games played:

• Chris Chelios 1,651  

• Scott Stevens 1,635

• Zdeno Chara 1,621

Chelios is 8th among all players in games played, Stevens is 10th and Chara is 11th.  Chara will celebrate the 24th anniversary of his NHL debut on Friday (November 19th).

Home and Road

The Isles are 5-6-2 overall; they are 0-0-0 at home and 5-6-2 on the road.

Florida is 11-2-3 overall; they are 8-0-0 at home and 3-2-3 on the road.

Leader of the Pack

Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 882-641-60-160 in 1,743 games. 

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  969

3. Barry Trotz    882

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,768

3. Barry Trotz        1,742

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest win total for any general manager in NHL history:

1. David Poile 1,455

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,331

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,213 wins between them. They start each game with more than any other pair in NHL history (David Poile and Peter Laviolette had 2,036 after their last game together). Bill Torrey and Al Arbour had a then-record 1,462 at the end of the 1991-92 season, which was their last season together. 

First Things First

The Isles are 5-3-2 when scoring first and are 0-3-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    12-9-7=28

Florida    17-12-7=36

The Isles are 1-2-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 4-4-0 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 68-40-13 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 13 saves before leaving after the first period.  Sorokin is 5-4-2 on the season and 0-1-0 vs. Florida. Semyon Varlamov made 17 saves in relief.  

Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves and improves to 7-0-2 on the season and 18-10-0 vs. the Isles.  

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-1 on the power play (2:00); Florida was 0-4 on the power play (7:15).

The Isles are 1-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-5-1 when they do not. The Isles are 1-3-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 4-3-1 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 3-1-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-5-2 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 92-10-11 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 0-0-2 in games decided by a single goal including 0-0 in regulation. They are 0-1 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs

Including tonight, the Isles are 2-1-0 in the front end and 1-2-0 in the back end. The next back-to-back will be November 20th vs. Calgary and November 21st vs. Toronto, with both games contested at UBS Arena.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 22-6-4 (.750) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch. Tampa has the next best record: 21-9-3 (.682).

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 0-0-1 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on December 19th against Vegas. The Isles will play a total of fourteen matinees this season, after playing only two in the shortened campaign last year.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Adam Pelech (23:59); Florida: Aaron Ekblad (21:54)

Anthony Beauvillier led Isles forwards with 17:20 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (2-1-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), Adam Pelech (2-2-0), Zdeno Chara (1-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0)

Face-offs

Isles 27, Florida 26 (51%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 9 of 15 for the Isles; Anton Lundell won 9 of 14 for Florida. 

The Isles are 2-5-0 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-0-1 when face-offs are even, and 3-1-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 42 (Matt Martin -9)

Florida 26 (Radko Gudas -7)

Fights 

Kyle Palmieri fought Radko Gudas in the third period. Season total: 6 (Martin-2, Mayfield 1, Chara 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 5 (Andy Greene - 2)

Florida 14 (Jonathan Huberdeau -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 48, Florida 52

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 42, Florida 47

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Noah Dobson +12

Florida: Radko Gudas +14

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 11, Florida 10

5-on-5: Isles 11, Florida 10

Scratches

Ross Johnston, (Ryan Pulock), (Josh Bailey- COVID Protocol)

Games Lost: 13   (12 to injuries and 1 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man

Brock Nelson has the 2nd-longest streak in club history; he has appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach:

1. Billy Harris 10/7/1972 -11/30/1979 576 (*)

2. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 314

3. Bobby Nystrom 1/7/1975 - 11/25/1978 301

4. Anders Lee 1/26/2017 – 3/13/2021 295

5. Mathew Barzal 10/6/2017- 5/3/2021 284

    Matt Moulson 10/3/2009 - 4/4/2013 284

7. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – 11/16/2021 263

8. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975 - 1/17/1979 262

9.  John Tavares 10/16/2010 - 12/23/2013 246

10. J.P. Parise 1/7/1975 – 1/7/1978 240 (**)

 (*) Start of NHL career.

(**) Entire career with Islanders

Scott Mayfield is the only other Islander to play in least 100 consecutive games; he played his 102nd consecutive game tonight.

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 0-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR)

Opponents: 2 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 1-1-0 in games where opponents' challenges go their way and 0-0-0 in games where challenges go the Isles' way. (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA and 10/23 @ARI)

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored no goals and allowed no goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 0  

Vs:  0  

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 931…

11. Derek King 638 *** 12. Matt Martin 625 *** 13. Billy Harris 623 *** 14. Stefan Persson 622 *** 15. Brock Nelson 617 *** 16. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 17. Casey Cizikas 602 … 

23. Lorne Henning 543 *** 24. Cal Clutterbuck 541 ***Claude Lapointe 535 *** 26. Kenny Jonsson and Anders Lee 532

Goals

1. Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310 …

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 188 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 175 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 163

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***

4. Clark Gillies 359 *** 5. Josh Bailey 354…

20. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 21. Ed Westfall 181 *** 22. Mathew Barzal 180…

26. Jean Potvin 167 *** 27. Jeff Norton 166 *** 28. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 29. Brock Nelson 162

Points

1. Bryan Trottier 1,353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1,126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1,052…

9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 517 …

17. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 18. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 19 Brock Nelson 337 *** 20. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 21. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 22. Anders Lee 324…

26. Ed Westfall 286 *** 27. Mathew Barzal 260

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 219

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 120

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 5-6-1-2 heading into Wednesday's game at Hartford. Chris Terry leads the team in goals with six, while Otto Koivula leads in assists (10) and points (12). 

Bridgeport begins a three-game set with Springfield on Friday in Massachusetts before hosting the Thunderbirds on Saturday.

Season Series Stats

Florida leads the season series 2 game to 0 (and 4 points to 0).  The teams will meet at UBS Arena on April 19th to complete the season series.

Prior to these two losses the Isles had beaten the Cats four straight in the regular season (and seven out of eight including playoffs.

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20th –CALGARY AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm 

[MSG+ (Expanded pre-game begins at 6:00), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

Home, sweet, home.  The Islanders will break the seal on UBS Arena on Saturday when they entertain the Calgary Flames in the first game in the brand new building.  

In a sense of symmetry, the Flames were the first opponent at Nassau Coliseum back on October 7, 1972. 

This will be the first meeting of the teams in three seasons – the teams were not scheduled in 2020-21 and did not play in 2019-20 before COVID canceled the end of the regular season.  Thus, this will be the first meeting of the teams since February 26, 2019, when the Flames beat the Isles for the second time in less than a week.  Overall, the Isles are 1-4-0 in the last five games against the Flames.

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