The Skinny: Isles 3, Edmonton 2 (OT)

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 28

Isles 3, Edmonton 2 (OT)

Happy New Year! Noah Dobson scored 3:52 into the extra session as the Islanders stretched their point streak to four games with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers before another sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Anthony Beauvillier forced the extra session with a goal 2:23 into the third; the Isles out-shot Edmonton 16-2 in the third period and overtime as they improve to 5-2-1 in their last eight games and earned at least a point for the ninth time in the last 11 games (5-2-4).

The Scoring:

1st Period

Anders Lee (10) Kieffer Bellows (5), Noah Dobson (9) 16:40 EDM 0,NYI 1 PPG

2nd Period

Leon Draisaitl (25) Duncan Keith (7), Cody Ceci (8) 00:31 EDM 1,NYI 1

Darnell Nurse (2) Zach Hyman (9), Connor McDavid (34) 17:13 EDM 2,NYI 1

3rd Period

Anthony Beauvillier (5) Austin Czarnik (3), Ross Johnston (2) 02:23 EDM 2,NYI 2

OT

Noah Dobson (5) Mathew Barzal (15), Adam Pelech (5) 03:52 EDM 2,NYI 3

The Skinny         

The Isles have scored 31 goals in the last ten games after scoring only 33 goals in their first eighteen games… Noah Dobson is 5-4-9 in his last nine games; his five goals are all at home and he leads all players in goals on UBS ice. Dobson's overtime goal was the first of his career; each of the last three Islander OT goals have been scored by defensemen (Ryan Pulock 4-11-21, Nick Leddy 4-18-21)…Dobson has now been on-ice for the last seven Islander goals… Anders Lee extended his point streak to five games…Mathew Barzal has points in the last eight games he has played (2-11-13, including four multiple-assist games)…Kieffer Bellows had an assist, giving him seven points in his last seven games… In the sixteen games that the Isles have earned points, their power play is 11-40 (27.5%); the Islander power play is 3-35 (8.6%) in their 12 regulation losses…The Isles are 4-0-1 in their last five games at home after going 0-5-2 to open UBS Arena… Anders Lee played in his 544th game, breaking a tie with Lorne Henning for 24th and recorded his 332nd point, breaking a tie with Ziggy Palffy for 21st…Anthony Beauvillier matched a season-high with five shots on goal…Leon Draisaitl scored his NHL-leading 25th goal; it is his sixth straight season with at least 25 goals.  Only one other player scored 25 goals in each of the prior seasons: Brad Marchand…Connor McDavid played 3:01 of the 3:52 overtime, which was played without a whistle.

The COVID List!

Anthony Beauvillier returned to the lineup after missing one game with COVID; Brock Nelson, Oliver Wahlstrom, and Sebastian Aho remain on the COVID protocol list; fifteen Islanders have missed games due to COVID. Assistant Coach John Gruden and Goalie Coach Piero Greco also missed the game under COVID protocol.

Ryan Pulock (LTIR) and Kyle Palmieri (IR) missed the game with injuries; head coach Barry Trotz missed the game due to personal reasons.

Breaking a Lot of Streaks

Noah Dobson's overtime goal ended several Islander streaks, including:

• Nine straight losses beyond sixty minutes (since a Nick Leddy overtime goal on April 18th vs. Philadelphia)

• Six straight losses this season beyond sixty minutes

• Four straight losses in games decided by overtime, including three this season.

• Five consecutive losses in extra time vs. Edmonton since a shootout win on December 10, 2005.

• The Isles had gone 0-7-0 in seven previous games on New Year's Day.

It is the first time the Isles have ever beaten the Oilers in a regular season overtime game. The teams have played only one playoff overtime game, won by Ken Morrow for the Isles on April 20, 1981.

Dobson's in Good Company

Noah Dobson is one of only 24 NHL defensemen to score at least five goals this season. All his goals have been scored in December/January, making him the NHL leader among defenseman since December 1st. Erik Karlsson, Roman Josi, Victor Hedman, Cale Makar, and Evan Bouchard have all scored four goals since that date; Hedman and Dobson are the only players to score them all at home.

First Times in a Long Time

Noah Dobson is the first Islander defenseman to score an overtime goal before his 22nd birthday since Mathieu Biron did so on January 29, 2000. Dobson, who will turn 22 years old on Friday, was 22 days old when Biron scored his winner.

Dobson is also the first Islander defenseman with at least a goal and an assist in consecutive games since Marc-Andre Bergeron did so on March 10- March 13, 2007. Denis Potvin is the only Islander defenseman to do in three (or more) consecutive games.

The Isles have scored a power play goal in four straight games. It is the first time they have done this since October 24-30, 2018.  The Isles have not had a longer streak since December, 2017, when they scored in six straight games.

Out With the Old

Here are the Islander leaders for the 83 regular season games the team played in calendar year 2021:

Here's a look at Islander leaders for the calendar year 2021 (only regular season games played for NYI included):

Games:

1. Scott Mayfield 83

2. JG Pageau 80

3. Adam Pelech/Mathew Barzal 79

Goals:

1. Brock Nelson 28

2. Mathew Barzal 23

3. Anders Lee 21

4. Oliver Wahlstrom 20

Assists:

1. Mathew Barzal 42

2. Josh Bailey 38

3. Nick Leddy 29

4. Noah Dobson/JG Pageau 19

Points

1. Mathew Barzal 65

2. Josh Bailey 47

3. Brock Nelson 46

4. JG Pageau 38

+/-

1. Adam Pelech +20

2. Ryan Pulock +13

    Mathew Barzal +13

4. Anders Lee +12

Pen Mins

1. Scott Mayfield 78

2. Matt Martin 67

3. Mathew Barzal 58

4. Zdeno Chara 57

PP Goals

1. Brock Nelson 10

2. Oliver Wahlstrom 8

3. JG Pageau 6

4. Anders Lee/ Anthony Beauvillier 5

SH Goals

1. Cal Clutterbuck 2

    JG Pageau 2

3. Adam Pelech 1

    Zach Parise 1

GW Goals

1. Anthony Beauvillier 6

2. Brock Nelson 5

3. Anders Lee 4

4. Casey Cizikas/Kieffer Bellows/JG Pageau 3

Shots

1. Mathew Barzal 198

2. Brock Nelson 167

3. Anthony Beauvillier 165

4. Oliver Wahlstrom 159

Average Ice Time

1. Ryan Pulock 22:12

2. Nick Leddy 21:35

3. Adam Pelech 21:13

4. Scott Mayfield 19:39

Face-off Percentage (regular centers only)

1. JG Pageau 56.7

2. Casey Cizikas 53.9

3. Brock Nelson 49.9

4. Mathew Barzal 45.4

Goalies

Semyon Varlamov 21-16-5 .925 2.18

Ilya Sorokin 20-13-8 .922 2.32

Lots of Home Cooking

The Isles just finished a stretch where they played six out of seven games at home. The Isles went 4-2-1 in this stretch (and had four games postponed):

• 12/9 vs. Nashville L 3-4

• 12/11 vs. New Jersey W 4-2

• 12/14 @ Detroit L 1-2

• 12/16 vs. Boston W 3-1

• 12/19 vs. Vegas L 3-4 (SO)

• 12/30 vs. Buffalo W 4-1

• 1/1/2022 vs. Edmonton W 3-2 (OT)

However, the NHL has postponed the Islanders' scheduled four game road trip. Should they not resume play until their next scheduled game, the Isles will play nine consecutive games at home for the first time in club history. The Isles have eleven games scheduled until the All-Star Game; ten are at UBS Arena, with the only road game being on January 22nd in Toronto.

The Schedule

The Isles reached New Year's having played only 27 games; prior to this season the latest the Isles played game 27 was on Dec 14.  The Isles completed one-third of their 82-game schedule after the first period on Saturday.

Histor-Z

Zdeno Chara played in his 1,633rd NHL game. Chara is 3rd among defensemen in games played:

• Chris Chelios 1,651  

• Scott Stevens 1,635

• Zdeno Chara 1,633

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

Home and Road

The Isles are 10-12-6 overall; they are 4-5-3 at home and 6-7-3 on the road.

Edmonton is 18-12-2 overall; they are 10-6-0 at home and 8-6-2 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played twelve home games and sold out all of them. They are the twelve 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 887-647-60-164 in 1,758 games, which includes the victory today. Under NHL rules, results from games coached by an interim coach (such as todays by Lane Lambert) are part of the head coach's record.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  969

3. Barry Trotz  887

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Joel Quenneville 1,768

3. Barry Trotz        1,758

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,465

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,336

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,223 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 9-4-4 when scoring first and are 1-8-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    8-5-14-2=29

Edmonton    6-11-2-0=19

The Isles are 2-3-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 8-8-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 73-44-17 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 17 saves; he is 8-7-5 on the season and 1-0-0 vs. Edmonton. 

Mikka Koskinen made 26 saves; he is 12-6-1 on the season and 2-1-1 vs. the Isles.   

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-2 on the power play (2:14); Edmonton did not have a power play.

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

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 8-2-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-10-4 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 96-11-13 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

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

Back-to-Backs

The Isles are 2-2-1 in the front end and 1-3-1 in the back end. The next back-to-back is scheduled for January 17th vs. Philadelphia and January 18th vs. Columbus.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 22-7-5 (.727) in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 1-0-2 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on January 15th against Washington. The Isles are scheduled to play fourteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (24:54); Edmonton: Darnell Nurse (29:38)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with a season-high 22:16 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 (2-1-2).

Face-offs

Isles 25, Edmonton 26 (49%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 11 of 18 for the Isles; Derek Ryan won 8 of 13 for Edmonton. 

The Isles are 6-8-4 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-0-1 when face-offs are even, and 4-4-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 18 (Casey Cizikas -5)

Edmonton 17 (Two with 3)

Fights 

There were no fights. Season total: 12 (Chara 3, Martin 3, Bellows 1, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Pageau 1, Wahlstrom 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 14 (Noah Dobson -3)

Edmonton 17 (Evan Bouchard -4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 58, Edmonton 46

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 40, Edmonton 43

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Scott Mayfield +7

Edmonton: Evan Bouchard +11

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 12, Edmonton 10

5-on-5: Isles 8, Edmonton 9

Scratches

(Ryan Pulock -LTIR), (Kyle Palmieri-IR), Cole Bardreau, Michael Dal Colle, (Brock Nelson, Oliver Wahlstrom, Sebastian Aho- COVID)

Games Lost: 84 (40 to injuries and 44 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man

Scott Mayfield played in his 117th consecutive game.

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: 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 942…

11. Derek King 638 *** 12. Matt Martin 635 *** 13. Billy Harris and Brock Nelson 623 *** 14. Stefan Persson 622 *** 16. Casey Cizikas 612 … 

20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 556 *** 22. Ken Morrow  550 ***  23. Duane Sutter 547 *** 24. Anders Lee 544

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 178 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 163

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 360…

20. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 191…

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

Points

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

9. Bob Bourne 542 *** 10. Josh Bailey 523 …

17. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 18. Brock Nelson 341 *** 19. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 20. Tomas Jonsson 333 *** 21. Anders Lee 332…

26. Ed Westfall 286 *** 27. Mathew Barzal 273

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 234

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 125

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 10-16-2-3 on the season following a 2-1 overtime loss to Lehigh Valley on Saturday; Michael Dal Colle scored a third period goal to earn the Isles a point.  They will face Hershey on Sunday. 

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 1).  They will meet in Edmonton on a rescheduled date to complete the season series.

The Isles ae 3-1-4 in their last eight games against the Oilers. 

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, JANUARY 13th– NEW JERSEY AT ISLANDERS 7:30pm 

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

Barring any rescheduled games, the Isles will resume play on January 13th when they face New Jersey.

Each team has a home ice win to their credit with the Devils winning 4-0 in New Jersey on November 11th and the Isles earning their first win at UBS Arena by defeating New Jersey 4-2 on December 11th.

 

The Devils, who have already played four more games than the Islanders, are scheduled to play five more games before coming to Long Island.

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