The Skinny: Isles 6, Vancouver 3

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 40

Isles 6, Vancouver 3         

The Isles scored their fastest three goals in the post-dynasty era as part of their biggest first period since 1996 as they defeated the Vancouver Canucks 6-3, before a COVID-limited crowd of 9,268 at Rogers Arena.

Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves, including 16 in the third period, as the Isles once again regained NHL-.500 (17-17-6) and kicked off their four-game road trip with a victory.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Zach Parise (4) Noah Dobson (11) 03:25 NYI 1,VAN 0

Brock Nelson (15) Adam Pelech (10) 03:43 NYI 2,VAN 0

Anders Lee (11) Ryan Pulock (3), Cal Clutterbuck (5) 03:56 NYI 3,VAN 0

Casey Cizikas (4) Anthony Beauvillier (9), Zdeno Chara (5) 13:11 NYI 4,VAN 0

Mathew Barzal (11) Anders Lee (5), Cal Clutterbuck (6) 16:19 NYI 5,VAN 0

Oliver Ekman-Larsson (4) 18:56 NYI 5,VAN 1

2nd Period

Elias Pettersson (13) Vasily Podkolzin (5) 13:04 NYI 5,VAN 2

Luke Schenn (3) Brad Hunt (6), Conor Garland (15) 14:35 NYI 5,VAN 3

3rd Period

Matt Martin (2) Casey Cizikas (2) 14:19 NYI 6,VAN 3

The Skinny         

The Isles have allowed only 31 goals in their last fourteen games; their 2.21 goals against average is the 2nd-lowest in the NHL in that span (Colorado - 2.18), dating back to December 30th…This was only the fifth road game in the last 27 for the Isles; they are 3-1-1 in those five games …  The Isles scored the first goal for the first time in seven games...Zach Parise scored his 397th goal in his 1,100th NHL game; he is the 208th player in NHL history to reach that game played milestone.  Only 103 players have more career goals than Parise…Fifteen different skaters were on-ice for the three Islander goals in 31 seconds…A different Islander defenseman had an assist on each of the first four Isles goals…Ilya Sorokin improves to 7-1-0, with a .919 save percentage and a 2.00 goals against average in his last eight games.  

First Times in a Ridiculously Long Time

The Isles scored three times in 31 seconds; it was their fastest three goals since Denis Potvin (15:15), Bryan Trottier (15:25) and Bob Bourne (15:42) scored in a 27 second span against the Rangers on October 23, 1983, and the second fastest in team history.  It was also the 2nd-fastest in the NHL in the last 28 years (Los Angeles scored 3 in 30 seconds on October 12, 2019, vs. Nashville).

The Isles scored five goals in the first period for the first time since March 3, 1996, vs. Winnipeg. It was only the third time this season that an NHL team scored at least five goals in the opening session.

OH Canada!

The Isles have won all four games that they have played in Canada this season, winning the games by a combined score of 19-8.  They have scored at least five goals in three of those games (11/4 in Montreal, 12/7 in Ottawa and tonight) – the only three times that they have scored at least five goals in a game this season.

It is the first time that the Isles have won four straight games in Canada since winning six straight between March 10, 2014, and January 2, 2015, and the first time that they have done so in a single season since 1988-89!

Happy Birthday

The Isles have won five straight games on February 9th, the birthday of co-owner Jon Ledecky.

Road Warriors

Beginning with the All-Star Break, the Isles are playing 9 of 11 on the road. The Isles are 1-0-0 in that stretch, and have outscored opponents 6-3"

• 2/9 @ Vancouver 6-3

• 2/11 @ Edmonton

• 2/12 @ Calgary

• 2/15 @ Buffalo

• 2/17 Vs. Boston

• 2/20 Vs. Montreal

• 2/22 @ Seattle

• 2/24 @ San Jose

• 2/26 @ Los Angeles

• 2/27 @ Anaheim

• 3/1 @ Colorado 

Histor-Z

Zdeno Chara played in his 1,645th NHL game; Chara is just six games behind Chris Chelios' record for NHL defensemen.

All-time Games:

7. Mark Recchi 1,652

8. Chris Chelios 1,651  

9. Zdeno Chara 1,645

Home and Road

The Isles are 17-17-6 overall; they are 9-10-3 at home and 8-7-3 on the road.

Vancouver is 21-21-6 overall; they are 9-9-3 at home and 12-12-3 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 22 home games and sold out 20 of them. They are the twenty 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 894-652-60-164 in 1,770 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  970

3. Barry Trotz    894

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman   2,141

2. Barry Trotz        1,770

3. Joel Quenneville 1,768

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,474

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,343

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,237 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 13-4-4 when scoring first and are 4-13-2 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    13-6-8=27

Vancouver    9-12-16=37

The Isles are 6-5-2 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 11-11-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 76-47-17 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves; he is 14-8-5 on the season and 1-0-0 vs. Vancouver. 

Jaroslav Halak made seven saves before being replaced after the 5th Islander goal; he is 2-5-2 on the season and 7-3-3 vs. the Isles.   Thatcher Demko made 14 saves in relief.

Special Teams

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

The Isles are 8-4-4 when they score at least one power play goal and 9-13-2 when they do not. The Isles are 5-6-3 when they allow at least one power play goal and 12-11-3 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 15-3-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-14-4 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 103-12-13 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 5-2-1 in the front end and 2-5-1 in the back end. The next back-to-back is scheduled for February 11th in Edmonton and February 12th in Calgary.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 23-9-5 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: Adam Pelech (21:09); Vancouver: Tyler Myers (25:46)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 17:57 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 (6-4-2), 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 23, Vancouver 19 (55%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 9 of 13 for the Isles; Juho Lammiko won 4 of 5 for Vancouver. 

The Isles are 9-10-4 when they win more face-offs than the opposition, 0-0-1 when face-offs are even, and 5-9-1 when they win fewer.

Hit Count

Isles 27 (Cal Clutterbuck -7)

Vancouver 33 (Brayden Schenn -8)

Fights 

Ross Johnston fought Brayden Schenn in the first period. Season total: 15 (Chara 4, Martin 4, Bellows 1, Mayfield 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Pageau 1, Wahlstrom 1, Johnston 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 18 (Six with 2)

Vancouver 18 (Brayden Schenn -6)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 54, Vancouver 71

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 49, Vancouver 65

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Anders Lee +3

Vancouver: Elias Pettersson +21

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 11, Vancouver 10

5-on-5: Isles 10, Vancouver 8

Scratches

Kieffer Bellows, Sebastian Aho, (Kyle Palmieri – Paternity)

Games Lost: 106 (61 to injuries and 45 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man

Scott Mayfield played in his 129th 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 954…

10. John Tavares 669 *** 11. Matt Martin 646  *** 12. Derek King 638 *** 13. Brock Nelson 635*** 14. Billy Harris and Casey Cizikas 623 … 

20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 568 *** 22. Anders Lee 556

Goals

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 196 *** 13. Billy Harris 184 *** 14. Brock Nelson 183 *** 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. 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. Brock Nelson 351 *** 18. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 19. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 20. Anders Lee 336…

24. Duane Sutter 292 *** 25. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 26. Ed Westfall 286 *** 27. Mathew Barzal 281

+/-

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

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

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 246

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 132

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 16-19-4-4 on the season after dropping a 4-3 decision to Wilkes-Barre on Friday.  The Islanders are in Charlotte for a pair of games this weekend (Friday/Saturday). 

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0).   

The Isles are 7-0-4 in their last 11 games against the Canucks and have not been beaten by Vancouver in regulation since 2015.

The teams will meet again on March 3rd at UBS Arena.

UP NEXT

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11th–ISLANDERS AT EDMONTON 9:00 PM 

[MSG+ (pre-game at 8:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The Isles head to Edmonton for the front-end of a back-to-back as they face the Oilers for the 2nd time this season. Noah Dobson scored the winning goal in overtime as the Isles opened 2022 with a New Year's Day win over the Oil. 

The Isles are 3-1-4 in the last eight games with Edmonton but will be looking for their first multi-game season series sweep of the Oilers since 2002-03.

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