The Skinny: Minnesota 5, Isles 2

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 10

Minnesota 5, Isles 2

Ryan Hartman and Brandon Duhaime scored 2:01 apart in the third period as the Minnesota Wild overcame a 2-1 second intermission deficit and defeated the Islanders 5-2 before a crowd of 15,547 at Xcel Energy Center. Jonas Brodin and Matt Dumba added empty-netters for the final tally as the Wild snapped the Isles' seven-game point streak.

Anders Lee scored the only Islanders goal, giving him three goals on the weekend. Lee's first goal gave the Isles the opening lead for the eighth straight game while his second tally regained the lead just 2:05 after the Wild had tied it.

The Isles have just three games remaining on this season-opening road trip; they will play just one in the next seven days – on Thursday in New Jersey.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Anders Lee (3) Zdeno Chara (2), Mathew Barzal (3) 19:41 NYI 1,MIN 0

2nd Period

Nick Bjugstad (2) Brandon Duhaime (3) 09:59 NYI 1,MIN 1

Anders Lee (4) Mathew Barzal (4) 12:04 NYI 2,MIN 1

3rd Period

Ryan Hartman (6) Dmitry Kulikov (4), Nico Sturm (2) 07:17 NYI 2,MIN 2

Brandon Duhaime (2) Ryan Hartman (1), Matt Dumba (7) 09:18 NYI 2,MIN 3

Jonas Brodin (2)EN 18:13 NYI 2,MIN 4

Matt Dumba (2)EN 19:11 NYI 2,MIN 5

The Skinny         

The Isles have scored first in eight straight games and in nine of their first ten games; last season the Isles scored first in 27 of their 56 games…The Isles have not allowed a first period goal in eight straight games, and have allowed only three in their first ten first periods …Semyon Varlamov made his season debut as the Isles became the last of the 32 teams to use multiple goaltenders...Adam Pelech was on ice for Nick Bjugstad.  It was only the second 5-on-5 goal the Isles have allowed this season with Pelech on the ice, covering 175:25 of play. Pelech was even on the night; he has not had a negative +/- rating in any game this season… Anders Lee recorded his 27th two-goal game; he has more two-goal games than any active player in the NHL who has not recorded a hat trick. The Isles did not have a shot on goal in the final 13:31 and were outshot 16-2 in the third period. The Wild have recorded an NHL-leading seven come-from-behind wins…The Wild's two empty net goals were scored from a combined 355 feet.

Milestone Men

Casey Cizikas played in his 600th game and Ryan Pulock played in his 300th. The last 261 of Pulock's streak are consecutive; he will tie Denis Potvin's club record for defensemen on Thursday in New Jersey.

Matt Martin played in his 622nd game for the Isles, matching Stefan Persson for 13th place in team history.

The Long Road (to the New) Home

The Isles are 5-3-2 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 7:00 PM

• Mon Nov 15 at Tampa Bay 7:00 PM

• Tue Nov 16 at Florida         7:00 PM

Closer to Home

After crisscrossing the continent for the first ten games of this trip, the Isles will not leave the Eastern Time Zone until they begin a four-game trip in Seattle on January 4th. They will play 24 games in that stretch, including fifteen at UBS Arena.

Streaking Sorokin 

Ilya Sorokin is 5-0-2 in the last seven games, allowing only eight goals on 225 shots. He has not allowed a goal in sixteen of his last 21 periods; he has entered the third period with a shutout in five of those seven games 

Brockvember

Brock Nelson has five goals in November after scoring twice in October. His seven goals lead the team. 

Histor-Z

Zdeno Chara played in his 1,618th game. Chara is now 3rd among defensemen in games played:

• Chris Chelios 1,651  

• Scott Stevens 1,635

• Zdeno Chara 1,618

Chelios is 8th among all players in games played, Stevens is 10th and Chara is 11th.

Home and Road

The Isles are 5-3-2 overall; they are 0-0-0 at home and 5-3-2 on the road.

Minnesota is 8-3-0 overall; they are 4-1-0 at home and 4-2-0 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 882-638-60-160 in 1,740 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        1,740

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,451

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 5-2-2 when scoring first and are 0-1-0 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    10-9-2=21 

Minnesota    14-9-16=39

The Isles are 1-1-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 4-2-0 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 68-38-13 when outshot.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 36 saves but falls to 0-1-0 on the season and 13-14-1 vs. Minnesota.  

Kaapo Kahkonen made 19 saves and improves to 1-1-0 on the season and 1-0-0 vs. the Isles.  

Special Teams

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

The Isles are 1-1-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 4-2-1 when they do not. The Isles are 1-1-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 4-2-1 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 2-2-2 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 2-0-0 in the front end and 1-1-0 in the back end. The next back-to-back will be November 15th in Tampa Bay and November 16th in Florida. 

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 22-5-4 (.774) in back-ends. This is by far the best record of any NHL team in back-ends during this stretch. Tampa Bay 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 (23:06); Minnesota: Matt Dumba (22:14)

Anthony Beauvillier led Isles forwards with 18:25 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 (1-2-0), Zdeno Chara (1-0-0)

Face-offs

Isles 28, Minnesota 20 (58%)

Casey Cizikas won 12 of 14 for the Isles; Ryan Hartman won 6 of 7 for Minnesota. 

The Isles are 3-1-0 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 16 (Casey Cizikas -4)

Minnesota 8 (Marcus Foligno -3)

Fights 

None. Season total: 3 (Martin-2, Mayfield 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 18 (Three with 4)

Minnesota 12 (Two with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 43, Minnesota 70

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 41, Minnesota 57

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Cal Clutterbuck +4

Minnesota: Two with +12

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 6, Minnesota 13

5-on-5: Isles 6, Minnesota 10

Scratches

Sebastian Aho, Ross Johnston, Kieffer Bellows

Games Lost: 10

Iron Man Club

Brock Nelson has played in 311 consecutive games and Ryan Pulock in 261; both have appeared in every game since Barry Trotz became the Isles' coach. 

Iron Man

Brock Nelson has passed Bobby Nystrom for the 2nd-longest streak while Ryan Pulock is 8th:

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

2. Brock Nelson 3/16/2017 – CURRENT 311

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

8. Ryan Pulock 12/29/2017 – CURRENT 261

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

Pulock's streak is the 2nd-longest by an Islander defenseman, trailing only Denis Potvin's 262-game streak.

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 929…

12. Billy Harris 623 *** 13. Stefan Persson and Matt Martin 622 *** 15. Brock Nelson 614 *** 16. Frans Nielsen 606 *** 17. Casey Cizikas 600 … 

23. Lorne Henning 543 *** 24. Cal Clutterbuck  538 ***Claude Lapointe 535 *** 26. Kenny Jonsson 532 *** 27. Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 28. Kyle Okposo and Anders Lee 528

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 …

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 259

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 216

 

Coaching Wins

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

On the Farm

The Islanders beat Hartford 3-2 on Sunday afternoon to improve to 4-5-0-2. Kyle MacLean scored the winning goal at 19:35 of the third period.

Bridgeport will visit Syracuse on Wednesday, Laval on Friday, and Belleville on Saturday.

Season Series Stats

Minnesota leads the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will meet on January 30th at UBS to complete their season series. 

The Isles had won three straight games vs. the Wild before tonight. 

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11th –ISLANDERS AT NEW JERSEY 7:00pm 

[MSG+ (Pre-game at 6:30, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

There are three games remaining on this 13-game road trip and the next one is on Veterans Day as the Islanders head to New Jersey. 

This will be the first game the Isles play this season against one of last season's East Division rivals. The Isles took six of eight from the Devils in 2020-21, including the final three games at Prudential Center.

Prudential has been a good stop for the Isles in recent years; they are 6-1 in their last seven games there, although four of their wins have taken more than 60 minutes.

Mathew Barzal is expected to appear in his 300th NHL game.

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