The Skinny: Minnesota 4, Isles 3

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 37

Minnesota 4, Isles 3

Brandon Duhaime and Joel Eriksson Ek scored 63 seconds apart to give the Minnesota Wild an early 2-0 lead and while the Isles cut the lead to one goal three different times they could not get even, dropping a 4-3 decision before a crowd of 15,518 at UBS Arena.

Brock Nelson, Ross Johnston and Oliver Wahlstrom each scored for the Isles, but they suffered their second consecutive regulation loss for the first time since the end of their eight-game losing streak in November. The Isles are still 7-4-0 in their last eleven games and 10-6-1 in their last 17 games and once again fall below NHL-.500.   

The Scoring:

1st Period

Brandon Duhaime (5) Joel Eriksson Ek (10), Matt Dumba (15) 03:36 MIN 1,NYI 0

Joel Eriksson Ek (13) Kirill Kaprizov (34), Matt Boldy (5) 04:39 MIN 2,NYI 0 PPG

Brock Nelson (14) Robin Salo (3), Adam Pelech (10) 13:56 MIN 2,NYI 1

2nd Period

Matt Boldy (4) Victor Rask (7), Kevin Fiala (20) 02:39 MIN 3,NYI 1

Ross Johnston (1) 04:03 MIN 3,NYI 2

3rd Period

Kirill Kaprizov (18) Matt Dumba (16), Jonas Brodin (14) 11:27 MIN 4,NYI 2

Oliver Wahlstrom (9) Anders Lee (4) 16:00 MIN 4,NYI 3 PPG

The Skinny         

The Isles have allowed only 24 goals in their last eleven games; their 2.18 goals against average is the lowest in the NHL in that span, dating back to December 30th… After starting the season with a 13-game road trip, the Isles have now played 20 of their 37 games this season on home ice…  The Isles have trailed 2-0 in each of their last three games and trailed by two goals at some point in each of their last four games... Ilya Sorokin saw his five-game winning streak end…The Isles scored on their 12th power play shot of the game; it was only their second power play goal in the last eight games… Joel Eriksson Ek's goal was the first power play goal against the Isles in five games…Brock Nelson now has a team-leading 14 goals in 28 games played; it was his 349th career point, tying Frans Nielsen for 17th place in club history...Kevin Fiala extended his point streak to eleven games, but the Isles prevented Mats Zuccarello from doing the same…The Wild have scored at least three goals in eleven straight games…Minnesota is 12-1-2 vs. the East, including 7-0-0 against the Metro…The Isles ended January with a 6-4-0 record…Oliver Wahlstrom scored his team-leading fifth power play goal in the third period; it was his first goal since December 7th in Ottawa…Noah Dobson matched a career-high with seven shots on goal (also 1/18/22 vs. Philadelphia).

First Times in a Long Time

• Ross Johnston's goal was his first in 33 games, dating back to December 27, 2019, in Chicago (against Robin Lehner).

• The Isles had a season-high 43 shots.  It was their most ever against the Wild, and the most against a Minnesota team since they had 45 vs. the North Stars on January 18, 1977.

Lots of Home Cooking

Beginning with their return from their most recent pause, the Isles are playing ten games out of eleven games at home to get them to the All-Star  Break. The Isles are 5-4-0 in that stretch, and have outscored opponents 26-20 (including SO winner):

• 1/13 vs. New Jersey W 3-2

• 1/15 vs. Washington L 0-2

• 1/17 vs. Philadelphia W 4-1

• 1/18 @ Philadelphia W 4-3 (SO)

• 1/21 vs. Arizona W 4-0

• 1/22 vs. Toronto L 1-3

• 1/25 vs. Philadelphia W 4-3

• 1/27 vs. Los Angeles L 2-3

• 1/30 vs. Minnesota L 3-4

• 2/1 vs. Ottawa

• 2/2 vs. Seattle 

Including the seven games played between December 9th and January 1st, the Isles are playing 16 of 18 at home; they are 9-6-1 in that stretch, with two games remaining.  The schedule will flip after the All-Star break, with the Isles playing nine of their next 11 on the road.

Histor-Z

Zdeno Chara played in his 1,642nd NHL game;  Chara is just ten games behind Chris Chelios' record for NHL defensemen.

All -time Games:

7. Mark Recchi 1,652

8. Chris Chelios 1,651  

9. Zdeno Chara 1,642

Home and Road

The Isles are 15-16-6 overall; they are 8-9-3 at home and 7-7-3 on the road.

Minnesota is 27-10-3 overall; they are 14-3-1 at home and 13-7-2 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 20 home games and sold out 19 of them. They are the nineteen largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home.  

Leader of the Pack

Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 892-651-60-164 in 1,767 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  970

3. Barry Trotz    892

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,769

3. Barry Trotz        1,767

Trotz is scheduled to tie Quenneville on Wednesday vs. Seattle and pass him the following Wednesday in Vancouver.

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,473

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,341

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,233 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 12-4-4 when scoring first and are 3-12-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    11-14-18=43

Minnesota    10-6-5=21

The Isles are 5-5-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 10-10-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 75-46-17 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 17 saves; he is 12-8-5 on the season and 0-1-0 vs. Minnesota. 

Kaapo Kahkonen made 40 saves; he is 10-2-2 on the season and 2-0-0 vs. the Isles.   

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-4 on the power play (6:56); Minnesota was 1-2 on the power play (1:57).

The Isles are 7-4-4 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-12-2 when they do not. The Isles are 5-6-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 10-10-3 when they do not.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 13-3-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-13-4 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 101-12-13 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 4-5-6 in games decided by a single goal including 2-5 in regulation. They are 1-3 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-4 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game (including one game the Isles scored after allowing an empty-netter).

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 4-2-1 in the front end and 2-4-1 in the back end. The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 1st vs Ottawa and February 2nd vs Seattle.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 23-8-5 (.708) in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 1-1-2 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on February 20th against Montreal. The Isles are scheduled to play thirteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (24:02); Minnesota: Jonas Brodin (27:18)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 23:35 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 (5-2-2), Zdeno Chara (2-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-2-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-1-0), Noah Dobson (6-5-2).

Face-offs

Isles 30, Minnesota 27 (53%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 11 of 18 for the Isles; Joel Eriksson Ek won 8 of 15 for Minnesota. 

The Isles are 8-10-4 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-0-1 when face-offs are even, and 5-8-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 30 (Matt Martin -6)

Minnesota 22 (Jordan Greenway -6)

Fights 

There were no fights. Season total: 14 (Chara 4, Martin 4, Bellows 1, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Pageau 1, Wahlstrom 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 13 (Noah Dobson -4)

Minnesota 7 (Connor Dewar -2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 63, Minnesota 40

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 39, Minnesota 37

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Anders Lee +8

Minnesota: Two with +4

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 17, Minnesota 11

5-on-5: Isles 12, Minnesota 9

Scratches

(Ryan Pulock -LTIR), (Austin Czarnik -IR), (Casey Cizikas – sick), Kieffer Bellows, Sebastian Aho  

Games Lost: 104 (59 to injuries and 45 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man

Scott Mayfield played in his 126th consecutive game. Only two other Islanders (Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck) have played in every game this season.

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 1-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR, offside 1/18 @PHI)

Opponents: 3 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 1-1-1 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; offside 12/19 vs VGK)

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored one goal and allowed two goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO)

Vs:  2 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH; GWG, Shea Theodore 19:12 – 12/19/21 vs VGK; Isles lost in SO)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 951…

10. John Tavares 669 *** 11. Matt Martin 643  *** 12. Derek King 638 *** 13. Brock Nelson 632 *** 14. Billy Harris 623*** 15. Stefan Persson 622 *** 16. Casey Cizikas 620 … 

20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 565 *** 22. Anders Lee 553

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 195 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 182 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 165

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 366…

17. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 19. Nick Leddy 198 *** 20. Mathew Barzal 194 *** 21. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 22. Ed Westfall 181 *** 23. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 24. Duane Sutter and Alexi Yashin 171 *** 26. Jean Potvin and Brock Nelson 167

Points

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

8. John Tonelli 544 *** 9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 531 …

15. Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson 369 *** 17. Frans Nielsen and Brock Nelson 349 *** 19. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 20. Anders Lee 334…

24. Duane Sutter 292 *** 25. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 26. Ed Westfall 286 *** 27. Mathew Barzal 279

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…

20. Jude Drouin +58 *** 21. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 22. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 23. Adam Pelech +52 *** 24. Gord Lane +48 *** 25. Adrian Aucoin +47

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 243

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 130

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 15-18-4-4 on the season, following a 2-1 overtime loss in Hershey on Saturday. The Baby Isles have earned points in nine of eleven games this month and are 5-2-2-2 in 2022. 

Bridgeport returns home to face Lehigh Valley for a School Day Matinee (10:30) on Wednesday. 

Season Series Stats

Minnesota wins the season series 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 0).   

The Isles are 3-5-0 in their last eight games against the Wild.

UP NEXT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1st–OTTAWA AT ISLANDERS 7:30 PM 

[MSG+ (pre-game at 7:00), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The homestand continues as the Isles welcome the Ottawa Senators to UBS Arena for the first time.

The Isles defeated the Sens 5-3 in Ottawa back on December 7th to snap their 11-game winless streak.

The Isles have won seven of the last eight games between the teams.

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

The Skinny: Los Angeles 3, Isles 2

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 36

Los Angeles 3, Isles 2

Quinton Byfield scored his first NHL goal and Andreas Athanasiou scored with under six seconds remaining in the second period as the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Isles 3-2 before another sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Mathew Barzal and Casey Cizikas twice moved the Isles within one goal in the final 2:04 but Adrian Kempe's empty-netter, scored between the two Islander tallies, turned out to be the winner. The Isles are 7-3-0 in their last ten games and 10-5-1 in their last 16 games and once again fall to NHL-.500.   

Drew Doughty played in his 1,000th NHL game (all with Los Angeles).  He is the fifth player to appear in 1,000 King games.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Quinton Byfield (1) Andreas Athanasiou (4), Dustin Brown (13) 17:05 LAK 1,NYI 0

2nd Period

Andreas Athanasiou (4) Dustin Brown (14), Drew Doughty (18) 19:54 LAK 2,NYI 0

3rd Period

Mathew Barzal (9) Brock Nelson (7), Josh Bailey (17) 17:56 LAK 2,NYI 1

Adrian Kempe (18)EN Anze Kopitar (25), Trevor Moore (16) 19:24 LAK 3,NYI 1

Casey Cizikas (3) Matt Martin (2), Cal Clutterbuck (4) 19:40 LAK 3,NYI 2

The Skinny         

The Isles have allowed only 20 goals in their last ten games (2.00 per game); it is the lowest goals against average in the NHL in that span, dating back to December 30th… After starting the season with a 13-game road trip, the Isles have now played 19 of their 36 games this season on home ice…  Quinton Byfield is the 194th player to score his first NHL goal against the Isles and the second this season (Cole Sillinger).  By comparison, 183 players have scored their first NHL goal as an Islander…Mathew Barzal is 4-6-10 in the last ten games while Josh Bailey is 2-8-10 in the same span…The Isles have allowed eight goals in the last minute of a period (excluding empty-net goals), including five with Semyon Varlamov in goal…The Isles allowed a goal in the final :06 of a period for the second time in three games….The Kings went 2-0-1 in their three game stay in Metro New York; all three games ended by a 3-2 score.

First Times in a Long Time

This is only the 2nd time in Isles history that they allowed an EN goal that became the game-winner. The other one was by Toronto's Jonas Hoglund on December 29, 1999.

Lots of Home Cooking

Beginning with their return from their most recent pause, the Isles are playing ten games out of eleven games at home to get them to the All-Star  Break. The Isles are 5-3-0 in that stretch, and have outscored opponents 23-16 (including SO winner):

• 1/13 vs. New Jersey W 3-2

• 1/15 vs. Washington L 0-2

• 1/17 vs. Philadelphia W 4-1

• 1/18 @ Philadelphia W 4-3 (SO)

• 1/21 vs. Arizona W 4-0

• 1/22 vs. Toronto L 1-3

• 1/25 vs. Philadelphia W 4-3

• 1/27 vs. Los Angeles L 2-3

• 1/29 vs. Seattle

• 1/30 vs. Minnesota 

• 2/1 vs. Ottawa

Including the seven games played between December 9th and January 1st, the Isles are playing 16 of 18 at home; they are 9-5-1 in that stretch, with three games remaining.

Histor-Z

Zdeno Chara played in his 1,641st NHL game;  Chara is just 11 games behind Chris Chelios' record for NHL defensemen.

All -time Games:

7. Mark Recchi 1,652

8. Chris Chelios 1,651  

9. Zdeno Chara 1,641

To put Chara's total in perspective, he is still 641 games ahead of Drew Doughty.

Home and Road

The Isles are 15-15-6 overall; they are 8-8-3 at home and 7-7-3 on the road.

Los Angeles is 22-16-6 overall; they are 13-10-2 at home and 9-6-4 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played nineteen home games and sold out all of them. They are the nineteen largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home.  

Leader of the Pack

Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 892-650-60-164 in 1,766 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  970

3. Barry Trotz    892

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,769

3. Barry Trotz        1,766

Trotz is scheduled to tie Quenneville on Tuesday vs. Ottawa and pass him the following Wednesday in Vancouver.

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,472 (pending Thursday result)

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,341

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,233 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 12-4-4 when scoring first and are 3-11-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    3-13-9=25

Los Angeles    9-11-10=30

The Isles are 5-4-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 10-10-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 75-46-17 when outshot.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves; he is 3-8-1 on the season and 9-7-3 vs. Los Angeles. 

Carl Petersen made 23 saves; he is 10-6-1 on the season and 1-0-0 vs. the Isles.   

Special Teams

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

The Isles are 7-3-4 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-12-2 when they do not. The Isles are 5-6-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 10-9-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 13-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-13-4 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 101-11-13 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 4-4-6 in games decided by a single goal including 2-4 in regulation. They are 1-3 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-4 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game (including one game the Isles scored after allowing an empty-netter).

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 4-2-1 in the front end and 2-4-1 in the back end. The next back-to-back is scheduled for January 29th vs. Seattle and January 30th vs. Minnesota.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 23-8-5 (.708) in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 1-1-2 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on January 29th against Seattle. The Isles are scheduled to play fourteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (22:28); Los Angeles: Drew Doughty (24:29)

Anders Lee led Isles forwards with 18:36 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 (5-2-2), Zdeno Chara (2-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-2-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-1-0), Noah Dobson (6-4-2).

Face-offs

Isles 28, Los Angeles 23 (55%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 11 of 17 for the Isles; Quinton Byfield won 4 of 6 for Los Angeles. 

The Isles are 8-9-4 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-0-1 when face-offs are even, and 5-8-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 27 (Cal Clutterbuck -7)

Los Angeles 17 (Mikey Anderson -5)

Fights 

There were no fights. Season total: 14 (Chara 4, Martin 4, Bellows 1, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Pageau 1, Wahlstrom 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 8 (Noah Dobson and Zdeno Chara -2)

Los Angeles 15 (Sean Durzi -5)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 46, Los Angeles 50

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 39, Los Angeles 42

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Anders Lee +6

Los Angeles: Phillip Danault +11

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 16, Los Angeles 14

5-on-5: Isles 15, Los Angeles 9

Scratches

(Ryan Pulock -LTIR), (Austin Czarnik -IR), Kieffer Bellows, Sebastian Aho, Ross Johnston  

Games Lost: 101 (56 to injuries and 45 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man

Scott Mayfield played in his 125th consecutive game. Only two other Islanders (Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck) have played in every game this season.

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 1-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR, offside 1/18 @PHI)

Opponents: 3 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 1-1-1 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; offside 12/19 vs VGK)

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored one goal and allowed two goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO)

Vs:  2 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH; GWG, Shea Theodore 19:12 – 12/19/21 vs VGK; Isles lost in SO)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 950…

10. John Tavares 669 *** 11. Matt Martin 642  *** 12. Derek King 638 *** 13. Brock Nelson 631 *** 14. Billy Harris 623*** 15. Stefan Persson 622 *** 16. Casey Cizikas 620 … 

20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 564 *** 22. Anders Lee 552

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 195 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 181 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 165

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 366…

17. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 19. Nick Leddy 198 *** 20. Mathew Barzal 194 *** 21. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 22. Ed Westfall 181 *** 23. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 24. Duane Sutter and Alexi Yashin 171 *** 26. Jean Potvin and Brock Nelson 167

Points

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

8. John Tonelli 544 *** 9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 531 …

15. Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson 369 *** 17. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 18. Brock Nelson 348 *** 19. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 20. Anders Lee 334…

24. Duane Sutter 292 *** 25. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 26. Ed Westfall 286 *** 27. Mathew Barzal 279

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…

20. Jude Drouin +58 *** 21. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 22. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 23. Adam Pelech +52 *** 24. Gord Lane +48 *** 25. Adrian Aucoin +47

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 242

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 130

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 15-18-3-4 on the season. The Baby Isles have earned points in eight of ten games this month and are 5-2-1-2 in 2022. 

Bridgeport heads to Hershey on Saturday, before returning home to face Lehigh Valley for a School Day Matinee (10:30) against Lehigh Valley next Wednesday. 

Season Series Stats

Los Angeles leads the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0).  The teams will conclude the season series on February 26th at the newly-rechristened Crypto.com Arena.

This was the Kings' first road win against the Isles since March 26, 2015, ending a 5-game Isles home win streak against LA.

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, JANUARY 29th–SEATTLE AT ISLANDERS 2:00pm 

[MSG+ (pre-game at 1:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The homestand continues as the Isles face Jordan Eberle and the Seattle Kraken for the first time.

The Kraken head to town off the first overtime win in team history as Adam Larsson had the winner on Thursday in Pittsburgh.

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

The Skinny: Isles 4, Philadelphia 3

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 35

Isles 4, Philadelphia 3

Zach Parise scored the winning goal with 8:09 to play, breaking a 3-3 tie, as the Isles earned their seventh win in their last nine games (7-2-0) with a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers before another sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Gerry Mayhew had scored the tying goal on a 4-on-4 situation early in the third period, setting the stage for Parise's game winner. The Isles are 10-4-1 in their last 15 games and once again move over NHL-.500.  The loss dropped the Isles back to NHL-.500 and back into 9th place (by points percentage) in the conference.

Philadelphia's Keith Yandle played in his 965th consecutive game, breaking the NHL record set by Doug Jarvis in the 1970's/1980s.  Yandle was honored by the crowd during the first tv timeout and was awarded the game's 3rd Star.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Claude Giroux (15) Oskar Lindblom (8), Travis Sanheim (11) 00:57 PHI 1,NYI 0

Justin Braun (3) Cam Atkinson (17), James van Riemsdyk (7) 12:48 PHI 2,NYI 0

Noah Dobson (6) Zdeno Chara (3), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (6) 13:37 PHI 2,NYI 1

Anders Lee (11) Mathew Barzal (18), Josh Bailey (16) 18:15 PHI 2,NYI 2

2nd Period

Mathew Barzal (8) Zach Parise (9), Brock Nelson (5) 05:42 PHI 2,NYI 3 PPG 

3rd Period

Gerry Mayhew (2) Scott Laughton (10), Travis Sanheim (12) 01:30 PHI 3,NYI 3

Zach Parise (3) Anthony Beauvillier (8), Brock Nelson (6) 11:51 PHI 3,NYI 4

The Skinny         

Each team scored (at least) twice in the first period for the first time in an Isles game this season…The Isles have allowed only 17 goals in their last nine games (1.89 per game); it is the lowest goals against average in the NHL in that span, dating back to December 30th…After Noah Dobson's goal gave an Islander defenseman points on nine of the team's last ten goals, all nine points on the last three goals went to forwards...Zach Parise scored his 396th goal, tying Phil Kessel, Paul Coffey and Dave Keon for 104th place all-time; Zach has goals in consecutive games after scoring only once in the first 35 games… It was Parise's 78th career game-winning goal, trailing only Alex Ovechkin (119) and Jeff Carter (85) among actives…After starting the season with a 13-game road trip, the Isles have now played 18 of their 35 games this season on home ice… The Isles power play connected in the second period for their first goal in six games; they have outscored the opposition 28-22 in the second period this season…The Isles are 13-1-1 when leading after two periods…Linus Sandin made his NHL debut…Ilya Sorokin has faced only 17 shots in each of his last two starts; he is 5-0-0 in 2022, allowing just eight goals.

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles erased a 2-0 lead to win in regulation for the first time since February 6, 2020, vs. Los Angeles.

• Ilya Sorokin made the fewest saves by an Islander goalie in a complete game win since Jaroslav Halak (eight saves on 2/8/2015 at Buffalo).

First Times…Ever

The Isles have won eight straight games against Philadelphia; the loss extended the Flyers' overall winless streak to 13 games (0-10-3). 

Moving Up

Anders Lee moved into 20th place in points (passing Tomas Jonsson) and Mathew Barzal moved into 20th place in assists (passing Pierre Turgeon) when they combined for the Isles' 2nd goal.

Pat's or Geno's, it's Ilya's

Ilya Sorokin is 7-0-1 in his career vs. the Flyers.  The only other goalies to start their careers with points in at least eight games against  the Flyers are  MacKenzie Blackwood (10), Gump Worsley (9), Roger Crozier (8) and Eddie Johnston (8).

Lots of Home Cooking

Beginning with their return from their most recent pause, the Isles are playing ten games out of eleven games at home to get them to the All-Star  Break. The Isles are 5-2-0 in that stretch, and have outscored opponents 20-14 (including SO winner):

• 1/13 vs. New Jersey W 3-2

• 1/15 vs. Washington L 0-2

• 1/17 vs. Philadelphia W 4-1

• 1/18 @ Philadelphia W 4-3 (SO)

• 1/21 vs. Arizona W 4-0

• 1/22 vs. Toronto L 1-3

• 1/25 vs. Philadelphia W 4-3

• 1/27 vs. Los Angeles

• 1/29 vs. Seattle

• 1/30 vs. Minnesota 

• 2/1 vs. Ottawa

Including the seven games played between December 9th and January 1st, the Isles are playing 16 of 18 at home; they are 9-4-1 in that stretch, with four games remaining.

Histor-Z

Zdeno Chara played in his 1,640th NHL game, passing Dave Andreychuk (1,639) for 9th place on the all-time NHL list. Chara is just 11 games behind Chris Chelios' record for NHL defensemen: 

• Chris Chelios 1,651  

• Zdeno Chara 1,640

• Dave Andreychuk 1,639

To put Chara's total in perspective, he is still 585 games ahead of NHL Ironman Keith Yandle (1,075).

Home and Road

The Isles are 15-14-6 overall; they are 8-7-3 at home and 7-7-3 on the road.

Philadelphia is 13-22-8 overall; they are 6-10-4 at home and 7-12-4 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played eighteen home games and sold out all of them. They are the sixteen largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home. The Isles welcomed their 300,000th fan to UBS tonight.

Leader of the Pack

Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 892-649-60-164 in 1,765 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  970

3. Barry Trotz    892

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,769

3. Barry Trotz        1,765

Trotz is scheduled to tie Quenneville on Tuesday vs. Ottawa and pass him the following Tuesday in Seattle.

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,471 (pending Tuesday result)

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,341

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,233 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 12-4-4 when scoring first and are 3-10-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    9-14-10=33

Philadelphia    8-4-5=17

The Isles are 5-4-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 10-9-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 75-45-17 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 14 saves; he is 12-7-5 on the season and 7-0-1 vs. Philadelphia. 

Martin Jones made 29 saves; he is 6-8-2 on the season and 3-4-0 vs. the Isles.   

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-4 on the power play (7:25); Philadelphia was 0-1 on the power play (2:00).

The Isles are 7-3-4 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-11-2 when they do not. The Isles are 5-6-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 10-8-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 13-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-12-4 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 101-11-13 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 4-3-6 in games decided by a single goal including 2-3 in regulation. They are 1-3 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-3 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 4-2-1 in the front end and 2-4-1 in the back end. The next back-to-back is scheduled for January 29th vs. Seattle and January 30th vs. Minnesota.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 23-8-5 (.708) in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 1-1-2 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on January 29th against Seattle. The Isles are scheduled to play fourteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Adam Pelech (22:16); Philadelphia: Ivan Provorov (28:39)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 20:46 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 (5-2-2), Zdeno Chara (2-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-2-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-1-0), Noah Dobson (6-3-2).

Face-offs

Isles 31, Philadelphia 23 (57%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 16 of 20 for the Isles; Connor Bunnaman won 6 of 10 for Philadelphia. 

The Isles are 8-8-4 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-0-1 when face-offs are even, and 5-8-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 28 (Kieffer Bellows and Jean-Gabriel Pageau -4)

Philadelphia 19 (Justin Braun -5)

Fights 

There were no fights. Season total: 14 (Chara 4, Martin 4, Bellows 1, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Pageau 1, Wahlstrom 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 10 (Casey Cizikas and Andy Greene -3)

Philadelphia 16 (Scott Laughton-3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 65, Philadelphia 36

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 52, Philadelphia 29

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Scott Mayfield +15

Philadelphia: Gerry Mayhew +2

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 12, Philadelphia 5

5-on-5: Isles 10, Philadelphia 4

Scratches

(Ryan Pulock -LTIR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), Austin Czarnik, Sebastian Aho, Ross Johnston  

Games Lost: 96 (52 to injuries and 44 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man

Scott Mayfield played in his 124th consecutive game. Only two other Islanders (Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck) have played in every game this season.

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 1-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR, offside 1/18 @PHI)

Opponents: 3 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 1-1-1 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; offside 12/19 vs VGK)

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored one goal and allowed two goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO)

Vs:  2 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH; GWG, Shea Theodore 19:12 – 12/19/21 vs VGK; Isles lost in SO)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 949…

10. John Tavares 669 *** 11. Matt Martin 641  *** 12. Derek King 638 *** 13. Brock Nelson 630 *** 14. Billy Harris 623*** 15. Stefan Persson 622 *** 16. Casey Cizikas 619 … 

20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 563 *** 22. Anders Lee 551

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 195 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 181 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 165

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 365…

17. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 19. Nick Leddy 198 *** 20. Mathew Barzal 194 *** 21. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 22. Ed Westfall 181 *** 23. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 24. Duane Sutter and Alexi Yashin 171 *** 26. Jean Potvin 167 *** 27. Jeff Norton and Brock Nelson 166

Points

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

8. John Tonelli 544 *** 9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 530 …

15. Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson 369 *** 17. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 18. Brock Nelson 347 *** 19. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 20. Anders Lee 334…

24. Duane Sutter 292 *** 25. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 26. Ed Westfall 286 *** 27. Mathew Barzal 278

+/-

1. Bryan Trottier +467 *** 2. Denis Potvin +456 *** 3. Mike Bossy +380…

20. Jude Drouin +58 *** 21. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 22. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 23. Adam Pelech +52 *** 24. Gord Lane +48 *** 25. Adrian Aucoin +47

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 241

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 130

On the Farm

Chris Terry had the overtime winner on Sunday, as Bridgeport improved to 15-18-3-4 on the season with a 4-3 victory over Springfield on Sunday. The Baby Isles are 5-2-1-2 in 2022. 

Bridgeport heads to Hershey for a school day matinee on Saturday, before returning home to face Lehigh Valley for a School Day Matinee (10:30) against Lehigh Valley next Wednesday. 

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 3 games to 0 (and 6 points to 0).  The teams will conclude the season series on March 20th in Philadelphia.

The Isles have won eight straight over Philadelphia for the first time.

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, JANUARY 27th–LOS ANGELES AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm 

[ESPN+/Hulu, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The Isles host the Los Angeles in their first meeting since February 6, 2020, on Thursday night. The Isles have won five straight home games over Los Angeles (four at Barclays and one at the Coliseum).  

This game will be streamed nationally by ESPN+; John Buccigross, AJ Mleczko and Emily Kaplan will have the call.

The teams will conclude their season series on February 26th at the newly-rechristened Crypto.com Arena.

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

The Skinny: Toronto 3, Isles 1

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 34

Toronto 3, Isles 1

Pierre Engvall scored the go-ahead goal with 0.4 seconds remaining in the first period and the Isles could never get even, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs before another sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Mitch Marner and Zach Parise had traded goals earlier in the session, but it was Engvall's goal, confirmed by video review to have beaten the buzzer, which proved to be decisive as the Leafs snapped the Isles' three-game winning streak and dropped the Islanders to 6-2-0 in their last eight and 9-4-1 in their last 14 games.  The loss dropped the Isles back to NHL-.500.

Detroit also lost so the Isles are now tied with the Red Wings for 9th place (by points percentage) in the conference.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Mitchell Marner (9) Morgan Rielly (28) 13:25 TOR 1,NYI 0 SHG

Zach Parise (2) Scott Mayfield (8) 19:00 TOR 1,NYI 1

Pierre Engvall (5) 19:59 TOR 2,NYI 1

2nd Period

Morgan Rielly (5) William Nylander (22), Alexander Kerfoot (21) 09:42 TOR 3,NYI 1

3rd Period

No Goals

The Skinny         

Mitch Marner has three career shorthanded, two of which have come at UBS Arena…The Isles have allowed only 14 goals in their last eight games…Scott Mayfield extended his assist streak to three games; an Islander defenseman has a point on eight of the team's last nine goals…The Isles have now allowed five shorthanded goals after allowing none all last season….Zach Parise scored his 395th goal, tying Cam Neely, Markus Naslund and Pierre Larouche for 107th place all-time…After starting the season with a 13-game road trip, the Isles have now played 17 of their 34 games this season on home ice…Semyon Varlamov has allowed three goals or fewer in five straight games, allowing only nine goals in that stretch…The Isles power play is now 0-11 in the last five games, and falls to 3-41 (7.3%) in their regulation losses this season…The Isles have been outscored 28-22 in first periods, and are 1-10-2 when they trail after 20 minutes.

First Time in a Long Time

Mitch Marner is the 15th opponent in club history to score two shorthanded goals in a season; the last opponent to score two shorties in one season was Evander Kane, who did so twice in the 2nd period of the home opener in 2017-18. Tomas Plekanec (2008 for Montreal) is the last opponent to score shorthanded in two games in one season against the Isles. 

Lots of Home Cooking

Beginning with their return from their most recent pause, the Isles are playing ten games out of eleven games at home to get them to the All-Star  Break. The Isles are 4-2-0 in that stretch, and have outscored opponents 16-11 (including SO winner):

• 1/13 vs. New Jersey W 3-2

• 1/15 vs. Washington L 0-2

• 1/17 vs. Philadelphia W 4-1

• 1/18 @ Philadelphia W 4-3 (SO)

• 1/21 vs. Arizona W 4-0

• 1/22 vs. Toronto L 1-3

• 1/25 vs. Philadelphia

• 1/27 vs. Los Angeles

• 1/29 vs. Seattle

• 1/30 vs. Minnesota 

• 2/1 vs. Ottawa

Including the seven games played between December 9th and January 1st, the Isles are playing 16 of 18 at home; they are 8-4-1 in that stretch, with five games remaining.

Histor-Z

Zdeno Chara played in his 1,639th NHL game, tying him with Dave Andreychuk (1,639) for 9th place on the all-time NHL list. Chara is just 12 games behind Chris Chelios' record for NHL defensemen: 

• Chris Chelios 1,651  

• Zdeno Chara 1,639

• Dave Andreychuk 1,639

Home and Road

The Isles are 14-14-6 overall; they are 7-7-3 at home and 7-7-3 on the road.

Toronto is 25-10-3 overall; they are 14-4-1 at home and 11-6-2 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played seventeen home games and sold out all of them. They are the sixteen largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home. The Isles will welcome their 300,000th fan to UBS on Tuesday.

Leader of the Pack

Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 891-649-60-164 in 1,764 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  970

3. Barry Trotz   891

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,769

3. Barry Trotz        1,764

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,471

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,340

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,231 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 12-4-4 when scoring first and are 2-10-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    7-6-15=28

Toronto    9-10-4=23

The Isles are 4-4-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 10-9-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 75-45-17 when outshot.

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 20 saves; he is 3-7-1 on the season and 6-6-2 vs. Toronto. 

Petr Mrazek made 27 saves; he is 3-2-0 on the season and 8-5-2 vs. the Isles.   

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play (6:00); Toronto was 0-2 on the power play (4:00).

The Isles are 6-3-4 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-11-2 when they do not. The Isles are 5-6-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 9-8-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 12-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-12-4 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 100-11-13 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 3-3-6 in games decided by a single goal including 1-3 in regulation. They are 1-3 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-3 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 4-2-1 in the front end and 2-4-1 in the back end. The next back-to-back is scheduled for January 29th vs. Seattle and January 30th vs. Minnesota.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 23-8-5 (.708) in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 1-1-2 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on January 29th against Seattle. The Isles are scheduled to play fourteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (24:37); Toronto: TJ Brodie (25:41)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 20:08 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 (4-2-2), Zdeno Chara (2-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-2-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-1-0), Noah Dobson (6-3-2).

Face-offs

Isles 23, Toronto 24 (49%), including 10-3 Leafs in the 3rd period

Casey Cizikas won 5 of 8 for the Isles; Jason Spezza won 6 of 8 for Toronto. 

The Isles are 7-8-4 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-0-1 when face-offs are even, and 5-8-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 20 (Matt Martin -6)

Toronto 16 (Two with 3)

Fights 

There were no fights. Season total: 14 (Chara 4, Martin 4, Bellows 1, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Pageau 1, Wahlstrom 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 14 (Noah Dobson -4)

Toronto 9 (Alexander Kerfoot -2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 47, Toronto 42

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 33, Toronto 37

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Adam Pelech +6

Toronto: Pierre Engvall +6

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 10, Toronto 11

5-on-5: Isles 6, Toronto 9

Scratches

(Ryan Pulock -LTIR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), Oliver Wahlstrom Sebastian Aho, Ross Johnston  

Games Lost: 94 (50 to injuries and 44 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man

Scott Mayfield played in his 123rd consecutive game. Only two other Islanders (Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck) have played in every game this season.

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 1-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR, offside 1/18 @PHI)

Opponents: 3 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 1-1-1 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; offside 12/19 vs VGK)

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored one goal and allowed two goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO)

Vs:  2 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH; GWG, Shea Theodore 19:12 – 12/19/21 vs VGK; Isles lost in SO)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 948…

10. John Tavares 669 *** 11. Matt Martin 640  *** 12. Derek King 638 *** 13. Brock Nelson 629 *** 14. Billy Harris 623*** 15. Stefan Persson 622 *** 16. Casey Cizikas 618 … 

20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 562 *** 22. Ken Morrow and Anders Lee 550

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 194 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 181 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 165

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 364…

20. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 193…

26. Jean Potvin 167 *** 27. Jeff Norton 166 *** 28. Brock Nelson 164

Points

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

9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 529 …

17. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 18. Brock Nelson 345 *** 19. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 20. Tomas Jonsson and Anders Lee 333…

26. Ed Westfall 286 *** 27. Mathew Barzal 276

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 240

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 129

On the Farm

Bridgeport fell to 14-18-3-4 on the season following a 5-3 loss to Providence on Saturday. The Baby Isles are 4-2-1-2 in 2022. 

Bridgeport will be home again on Sunday afternoon, hosting Springfield at 3pm. 

Season Series Stats

Toronto leads the season series 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 0).  The teams will conclude the season series in T-O on April 17th.

The Leafs have won three straight against the Isles, with Zach Parise's goal tonight being the only one scored by the Isles in the three games.

UP NEXT

TUESDAY, JANUARY 25th–PHILADELPHIA AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm 

[MSG+ (pre-game at 7:00), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The Isles will look to extend their winning streak over the Flyers to eight games as they face Philadelphia for the third time in nine days.

The Isles swept a home-and-home series last week, including a 9-round shootout in Philly; it is one of only three points that the Flyers have gained in their last eleven games (0-8-3). 

The Flyers will host Dallas on Monday before coming to UBS. A Star victory would saddle the Flyers with a franchise record-matching 12 game winless streak. Keith Yandle would tie Doug Jarvis' NHL record for consecutive games played (964) if he appears in Monday night's game, leaving him position to set the record at UBS on Tuesday.

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

The Skinny: Isles 4, Arizona 0

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 33

Isles 4, Arizona 0

Scott Mayfield and Austin Czarnik scored in a 2:58 span late in the first period to break a scoreless tie and Ilya Sorokin made 17 saves for his fourth shutout of the season as the Islanders blanked the Arizona Coyotes 4-0 before another sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Brock Nelson scored twice in the third period, with Josh Bailey earning assists on both goal as the Isles improved to 6-1-0 in their last seven and 9-3-1 in their last 13 games.  They have also earned at least a point 13 times in the last 16 games (9-3-4).  With the victory the Isles are over NHL-.500 for the first time since a loss in New Jersey on November 11th dropped them to 5-4-2.

The Isles moved ahead of both Philadelphia and New Jersey in the standings with tonight's win. They also now have a better winning percentage than Detroit or Columbus as they moved into 9th place (by points percentage) in the conference.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Scott Mayfield (2) Adam Pelech (8), Mathew Barzal (17) 13:51 ARI 0,NYI 1

Austin Czarnik (2) Anders Lee (3), Scott Mayfield (7) 16:49 ARI 0,NYI 2

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

Brock Nelson (12) Josh Bailey (14), Adam Pelech (9) 01:22 ARI 0,NYI 3

Brock Nelson (13) Anthony Beauvillier (7), Josh Bailey (15) 09:59 ARI 0,NYI 4

The Skinny         

The Isles blanked the Coyotes in both meetings this season, outscoring Arizona 7-0… The Isles have allowed only eleven goals in their last seven games…Josh Bailey has eight points in the last seven games (2-6-8)… Phil Kessel played in his 939th consecutive game (3rd all-time); he is 25 games behind Doug Jarvis' NHL record, but Keith Yandle is in line to break that record on Tuesday at UBS…The first three Islander goals included a point from a defenseman, extending a streak to seven straight goals with a d-men point; Nelson's second goal ended the streak…The Isles had only three multi-point games from defenseman all season (two from Noah Dobson and one from Scott Mayfield) before Mayfield and Adam Pelech both did so tonight; Pelech and Nick Leddy (2-25-2021 vs. Boston) were the last pair of Islander d-men with multiple points in a game… Pelech has a point in three straight games since being named to the NHL All-Star Game; it is the first time in his career he has done so; Bailey and Anthony Beauvillier also extended their point streaks to three game...Ilya Sorokin set a career high with his fourth shutout; seven of his 24 career wins have been by shutout.  He joins Chico Resch as the only goalies in Isles history to earn seven shutouts in his first 45 career games…Brock Nelson has a club-leading 13 goals in only 24 games this season; he is on pace for 39 goals if he were to play the remaining 48 games. His career high of 26 was set in 2015-16 and matched in the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season….Austin Czarnik scored a goal and went +3 in his return to the lineup; Czarnik now leads all Islander forwards with a +6 rating...The Isles had a season-high 21 shots in the third period...Matt Martin fought Liam O'Brien for the second time this season; O'Brien now leads the NHL with nine fights.

First Times in a Really Long Time

• Ilya Sorokin is the first Islander goaltender to shut out the same opponent in each of his first two games against them since Tommy Salo, who blanked the Capitals in his first three games against them in 1996-97.

• The Isles outshot Arizona 21-4 in the third period; their +17 shot differential was the largest in any period since outshooting Ottawa 26-8 in the second period of their game on March 5, 2019.

Here Come the Islanders

Since Christmas, only Colorado and Florida have a higher winning percentage than Isles:

1. Colorado 10-0-1 .955

2. Florida 10-1-1 .875

3. ISLES 6-1-0 .857

4. Boston 9-2-0 .818

5. Carolina 6-1-1 .813

Lots of Home Cooking

Beginning with their return from their most recent pause, the Isles are playing ten games out of eleven games at home to get them to the All-Star  Break.   The Isles are 4-1-0 in that stretch, and have outscored opponents 15-8 (including SO winner):

• 1/13 vs. New Jersey W 3-2

• 1/15 vs. Washington L 0-2

• 1/17 vs. Philadelphia W 4-1

• 1/18 @ Philadelphia W 4-3 (SO)

• 1/21 vs. Arizona W 4-0

• 1/22 vs. Toronto

• 1/25 vs. Philadelphia

• 1/27 vs. Los Angeles

• 1/29 vs. Seattle

• 1/30 vs. Minnesota 

• 2/1 vs. Ottawa

Including the seven games played between December 9th and January 1st, the Isles are playing 16 of 18 at home; they are 8-3-1 in that stretch, with six games remaining.

Histor-Z

Zdeno Chara played in his 1,638th NHL game, leaving him just one behind Dave Andreychuk (1,639) for 9th place on the all-time NHL list. Chara is just 14 games behind Chris Chelios' record for NHL defensemen: 

• Chris Chelios 1,651  

• Dave Andreychuk 1,639

• Zdeno Chara 1,638

 

Home and Road

The Isles are 14-13-6 overall; they are 7-6-3 at home and 7-7-3 on the road.

Arizona is 10-25-4 overall; they are 5-13-1 at home and 5-12-3 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played sixteen home games and sold out all of them. They are the sixteen largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home.  The Isles welcomed their 250,000th fan to UBS on Monday.

Leader of the Pack

Barry Trotz has coached more games and recorded more victories than any other active coach. Trotz' NHL record is 891-648-60-164 in 1,763 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  970

3. Barry Trotz    891

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,769

3. Barry Trotz        1,763

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,470

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,340

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,231 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 12-4-4 when scoring first and are 2-9-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles   8-6-21=35

Arizona    4-9-4=17

The Isles are 4-3-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 10-9-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 75-45-17 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 17 saves; he is 11-7-5 on the season and 2-0-0 vs. Arizona. 

Scott Wedgewood made 31 saves; he is 5-9-3 on the season and 1-2-1 vs. the Isles.   

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play (4:00); Arizona did not have a power play.

The Isles are 6-3-4 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-10-2 when they do not. The Isles are 5-6-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 9-7-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 12-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-11-4 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 100-11-13 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 3-3-6 in games decided by a single goal including 1-3 in regulation. They are 1-3 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-3 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 4-2-1 in the front end and 2-3-1 in the back end. This back-to-back concludes on Saturday vs. Toronto. The next back-to-back is scheduled for January 29th vs. Seattle and January 30th vs. Minnesota.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 23-7-5 (.729) in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 1-1-2 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on January 29th against Seattle. The Isles are scheduled to play fourteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (20:52); Arizona: Janis Moser (21:26)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 18:52 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 (4-2-2), Zdeno Chara (2-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-2-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-1-0), Noah Dobson (6-2-2).

Face-offs

Isles 21, Arizona 25 (46%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 9 of 12 for the Isles; Riley Nash won 10 of 15 for Arizona. 

The Isles are 7-8-4 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-0-1 when face-offs are even, and 5-7-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 19 (Cal Clutterbuck -6)

Arizona 11 (Three with 2)

Fights 

Matt Martin fought Liam O'Brien in the first period. Season total: 14 (Chara 4, Martin 4, Bellows 1, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Pageau 1, Wahlstrom 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 13 (Robin Salo -3)

Arizona 14 (Two with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 56, Arizona 36

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 48, Arizona 36

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Brock Nelson +12

Arizona: Nick Schmaltz +2

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 11, Arizona 4

5-on-5: Isles 9, Arizona 4

Scratches

(Ryan Pulock -LTIR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), Kieffer Bellows, Sebastian Aho, Ross Johnston  

Games Lost: 92 (48 to injuries and 44 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man

Scott Mayfield played in his 122nd consecutive game.  Only two other Islanders (Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck) have played in every game this season.

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 1-0-0 in games that they are successful and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful.(no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR, offside 1/18 @PHI)

Opponents: 3 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 1-1-1 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; offside 12/19 vs VGK)

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored one goal and allowed two goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime:

For: 1  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO)

Vs:  2 (Eeli Tolvanen 19:48 – 12/9/21 vs NSH; GWG, Shea Theodore 19:12 – 12/19/21 vs VGK; Isles lost in SO)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 947…

10. John Tavares 669 *** 11. Matt Martin 639  *** 12. Derek King 638 *** 13. Brock Nelson 628 *** 14. Billy Harris 623*** 15. Stefan Persson 622 *** 16. Casey Cizikas 617 … 

20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 561 *** 22. Ken Morrow  550 ***  23. Anders Lee 549

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 194 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 181 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 165

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 364…

20. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 193…

26. Jean Potvin 167 *** 27. Jeff Norton 166 *** 28. Brock Nelson 164

Points

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

9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 529 …

17. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 18. Brock Nelson 345 *** 19. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 20. Tomas Jonsson and Anders Lee 333…

26. Ed Westfall 286 *** 27. Mathew Barzal 276

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 239

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 129

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 14-17-3-4 on the season following a 3-1 win in Providence on Friday night.  Jakub Skarek made 35 saves for the B-Isles, who improved to 4-1-1-2 in 2022. 

The Baby Islanders are home Saturday night, again vs. Providence, and at 3pm Sunday vs. Springfield. 

Season Series Stats

The Isles win the season series 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 0).  

The Isles have won nine straight  home games against the Coyotes, dating back to a 4-3 shootout loss on December 18, 2010.  The Isles' last regulation home loss to the Coyotes came on October 29, 2002 (10-0-1); that's one of only two wins on Long Island that the Coyotes have had on Long Island since the franchise relocated from Winnipeg.  

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, JANUARY 22nd–TORONTO AT ISLANDERS 7:00pm 

[MSG+2 (pre-game at 6:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The Isles will look to extend their winning streak to four games as they welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs back to UBS Arena on Saturday.  It will be the second meeting of the teams this season as the Leafs become the first opponent to visit UBS for a second time.

The Leafs have shut out the Islanders in their last two meetings (Michael Hutchinson on January 4, 2020, and Joseph Woll on November 22, 2021); their game in November, which was the second in UBS history, was played with six Islanders on the COVID list.  The Leafs won that game 3-0.

4-0 for 40

My son Adam noted that the 4-0 victory was fitting, given that the game marked my 40th anniversary on Islander telecasts.  Thanks to our entire MSG Networks team for making the night so special to me and to my family for all their support (and for sneaking pictures to our crew for the pre-game feature)!

And Finally…

We received word during the game of the passing of Islander legend, Hockey Hall of Famer, and humanitarian Clark Gillies. Always a gentleman, always an Islander.  May he rest in peace.

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

It was 40 years ago tonight...

It was January 21, 1982.  It feels like yesterday.

That Thursday night the Isles swamped Pittsburgh 6-1 at the Coliseum, to begin their record-setting 15-game winning streak.

The game was scoreless into the 2nd period, before Brent Sutter and Bryan Trottier sandwiched goals around a Rick MacLeish tally.  It was Trottier’s 250th NHL goal and began his club record 25-game point streak.

The Isles blew the game open early in the 3rd on goals by Bobby Bourne and Clark Gillies.  Bourne and Billy Carroll would score late in the game and the Isles had their 6-1 victory.

The Isles actually scored 3 goals on the same 4 on 4.  Pat Boutette and Denis Potvin, playing his 600th NHL game, were both given double minors at 18:08 of the 2nd period.  Trottier scored 20 seconds later and then Bourne and Gillies (whose children would later marry) completed a 3 goal in 3:27 outburst.

Gillies, Trottier, and Bossy all extended point stretches to 15 of 16 games.  

Roland Melanson stopped 23 of 24 shots. 

January 21, 1982 Box Score

It was the start of one of the most dominating stretches by any team in any sport.

Try these numbers:

• The Isles won 15 straight, outscoring their opponents by a combined 97-35--an average of 6.53-2.33.
• They won by at least 3 goals in all but three games in the streak.
• 9-0 at home, 6-0 on the road.

John Tonelli scored the winning goal of the 15th game at 19:13 of the third period --remember, there was no OT in those days.  That win established the NHL record.  It was one of only two one-goal wins during the streak.  The other was a 7-6 win over Washington in which all of the goals were scored in the first two periods. The Isles have not won a 7-6 game in regulation time since. [They've won 4, all in overtime --most recently in February 2011 in Buffalo]

They beat the Penguins 4 times in the streak, before Pittsburgh would break the spell on February 21, 1982 [4-3]

After losing to Pittsburgh, the Isles went 7-0-1 in their next 8 [7-0-2 in their next 9].  Their 24 [and 25] game stretches were 22-1-1 [and 22-1-2].

THE STREAK:

21-Jan-82    Vs    Pittsburgh    6    1    W

23-Jan-82    Vs    New York    6    1    W

26-Jan-82    Vs    Pittsburgh    9    2    W

27-Jan-82    @    Pittsburgh    6    3    W

30-Jan-82    Vs    Minnesota    4    2    W

02-Feb-82    Vs    Washington  7    6    W

04-Feb-82    @    Washington  5    2    W

06-Feb-82    Vs    Detroit         6    2    W

07-Feb-82    @    Buffalo         7    3    W

11-Feb-82    @    Chicago         8    2    W

13-Feb-82    Vs    Philadelphia 8    2    W

14-Feb-82    @    Hartford        9    1    W

16-Feb-82    Vs    Pittsburgh     6    2    W

18-Feb-82    @    Philadelphia  7    4    W

20-Feb-82    Vs    Colorado      3    2    W

21-Feb-82    @    Pittsburgh     3    4    L

Here's a look at the winning goal for game #15:

With Howie and Butch right after the Isles eliminated Florida in 2016

And oh yes, one other streak began that night. 

A high school student made his debut as the statistician on home telecasts.  I've never left.

With Jiggs and Brendan in 2017

Over those 40 years, only three men have been the play-by-play voice of Islander television: Jiggs McDonald, Howie Rose, and Brendan Burke.  

I went to high school with Jiggs' daughter, my kids followed Howie's kids through the same schools, and now I work with a man who wasn't even born when I began this wonderful ride.

Before anyone knew of a blog or of twitter, there was The Skinny
(here from our post-game show following game 6 in 1993)

So, when MSG+ hits the air tonight (pre-game at 7:00, opening face-off at 7:30) I'll be directly to Brendan's left - with one simple goal - to make our broadcasts just a little bit better!  

And then, sometime after midnight, there will another edition of The Skinny. 

Had COVID not messed with the schedule, it would have been the 800th consecutive edition. Instead it will be #790 - and we'll hit 800 in early February!

Earlier in the week, Andrew Gross was kind enough to feature me in his Island Ice podcast -  hope you get a chance to enjoy it here: Island Ice