The Skinny: Isles 6, Columbus 0

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 53

Isles 6, Columbus 0

Where to begin? How about here. Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves for his ninth career shutout and Anders Lee scored twice in the final 8:03 to complete his first career hat trick as the Islanders defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-0, in front of 16,048 at USB Arena.

Lee recorded his second consecutive multi-goal game, and now has five goals in the last two games. Ryan Pulock chipped in with three assists for the Isles, who recorded their most one-sided win of the season.

The Isles are 2-2-0 on this homestand as they improve to 22-24-8 on the season. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Brock Nelson (22) Josh Bailey (21), Noah Dobson (21) 10:32 CBJ 0 ,NYI 1 PPG

2nd Period

Josh Bailey (4) Kyle Palmieri (9), Ryan Pulock (8) 06:08 CBJ 0 ,NYI 2

Anders Lee (17) Adam Pelech (15), Anthony Beauvillier (13) 13:49 CBJ 0 ,NYI 3

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (10) Ryan Pulock (9)  17:44 CBJ 0 ,NYI 4 SHG

3rd Period

Anders Lee (18) Anthony Beauvillier (14), Ryan Pulock (10) 11:57 CBJ 0 ,NYI 5

Anders Lee (19) Sebastian Aho (9), Anthony Beauvillier (15) 19:58  CBJ 0 ,NYI 6 PPG

The Skinny          

Brock Nelson has a team-leading 22-goals, including a team-leading twelve goals at UBS Arena …The Isles have scored five power play goals in the last three games…Defensemen earned six assists, including Ryan Pulock's three. It was the fifth time in his career that Pulock has had at least three assists and it gives him 102 in his career; 35.5% of Isles assists have come from defenseman, which ranks third in the NHL…Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored his 16th career shorthanded goal (8th among active players) and took 29 face-offs, winning 17… Adam Pelech had five shots on goal, matching his season high.  He has now done that three times - all in the last 15 days. …Noah Dobson had an assist-, giving him totals of 2-6-8 in his last seven games….The Isles have scored the last nine goals dating back to Monday; it is the most consecutive goals that the Islanders have scored since they tallied 11 straight goals December 28-31, 2018.…The Isles allowed the first two shots of the third period, and then out-shot Columbus 13-1 the rest of the way…Ilya Sorokin is now 10-1-2 on home-ice since December 9th with a 1.67 GAA and a .935 save percentage; among goalies who have played six times at home in that span, Sorokin has the best GAA, and his save percentage is second to Igor Shesterkin's .945…Sorokin has allowed two goals or less in five straight home starts and in six of his last eight starts overall.  He has allowed just five goals on 129 shots in his last four games...Josh Bailey scored for the first time in 19 games; he remains tied with Noah Dobson for second place on the team with 21 assists.

Special Special Teams

The Isles went 2-3 on the power play, and are 5-10 in the last three games (50%); the Isles killed all five Jacket power plays and have killed 20 of 22 in the last seven games (91%)

First Times in a Long Time

• The Isles scored at least six goals and won by shutout for the first time since November 11, 2014 (6-0 vs. Colorado at the Coliseum); like tonight, Jiggs McDonald called that game.

• Anders Lee recorded his first hat trick in his 568th NHL game. He had recorded the most multi-goal games of any active player (29 before tonight) without completing a hat trick.

• Casey Cizikas is the first Islander to take four minor penalties since Matt Carkner did so on April 6, 2014, in Columbus and the first Islander forward to do so since Zenon Kenopka had four in Pittsburgh on February 2, 2011.

• The Isles scored a 3-on-4 goal for the first time since the NHL started recording the stat in the 2009-10 season.

• The Isles are the first NHL team to score 3-on-4 and 5-on-3 in the same game since the league started recording the stats in the 2009-10 season.

• Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 17 face-offs; most by an Isle since Brock Nelson won 17 of November 9, 2019, vs. Florida.  Ten of those face-offs happened with the Isles shorthanded – most since Frans Nielsen on March 15, 2014, vs. Buffalo. The last Islander to taken more than ten face-offs when shorthanded was Mike Sillinger, who took 11 on December 19, 2007, vs Buffalo.  Sillinger's son Cole played tonight for the Jackets.

• Ilya Sorokin joins Chico Resch as the only Islander goalies to record nine shutouts in his first 60 career games.

200-Goal Club

Anders Lee became the 12th player in club history to reach 200 goals on Monday; he now has 204, leaving him just two behind John Tonelli for 11th place on the club list. 

20-Goal Club

Brock Nelson scored for the third straight game; he is only the second Islander in the 21st century to score 20 goals at least six times (John Tavares did it nine times).  Nelson, whose career high is 26 goals, has scored at least 18 goals in all eight of his NHL seasons.  He is 10 goals away from joining Lee in the 200-Goal Club.

Busy Home Stand

This was the fourth game of a six-game homestand, all of which will be played in a span of eleven days.

• 3/3 vs Vancouver L 3-4

• 3/5 vs St. Louis W 2-1

• 3/7 vs. Colorado L 4-5

• 3/10 vs. Columbus W 6-0

• 3/11 vs. Winnipeg

• 3/13 vs. Anaheim

March Madness

The Isles are playing 17 games this month.  It is the first time in franchise history that they have played 17 games.  The Isles are 2-3-0 this month.

Home and Road

The Isles are 22-24-8 overall; they are 12-12-4 at home and 10-12-4 on the road.

Columbus is 28-27-3 overall; they are 15-12-3 at home and 13-15-0 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 28 home games and sold out 22 of them. The sellout crowds of 17,255 are the 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 899-660-60-165 in 1,784 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  970

3. Barry Trotz    899

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2,141

2. Barry Trotz        1,784

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 1,479

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,348

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,247 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 17-6-5 when scoring first and are 5-18-3 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    8-13-12=33

Columbus    9-13-3=25

The Isles are 9-6-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 13-17-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 78-53-17 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves; he is 19-12-7 on the season and 1-0-1 vs. Columbus.   

Joonas Korpisalo made 27 saves; he is 6-9-0 on the season and 3-2-2 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 2-3 on the power play (3:03); they converted :48 into a 5-on-3. Columbus was 0-5 on the power play (9:34).

The Isles are 11-7-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 11-17-3 when they do not. The Isles are 5-9-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 17-15-4 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 19-7-3 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 3-16-5 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 107-16-14 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 5-7-8 in games decided by a single goal including 3-7 in regulation. They are 1-3 in games decided in overtime and are 1-5 in shootouts. The Isles are 0-6 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

Including tonight, the Isles are 6-4-1 in the front end and 3-6-1 in the back end. This back-to-back will conclude on Friday vs. Winnipeg. The next back-to-back will be March 19th vs. Dallas and March 20th in Philadelphia.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 24-10-5 in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 2-1-3 in matinees this season; the next matinee will be on March 19th against Dallas. The Isles are scheduled to play thirteen matinees this season.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (20:47); Columbus: Zach Werenski (25:36)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 19:06 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Ryan Pulock (3-4-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), Adam Pelech (8-4-4), Zdeno Chara (2-1-0), Sebastian Aho (0-1-0), Robin Salo (0-2-0), Scott Mayfield (0-3-0), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (0-2-0), Noah Dobson (7-7-2).

Face-offs

Isles 32, Columbus 34 (48%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 17 of 29 for the Isles; Sean Kuraly won 10 of 13 for Columbus. 

Hit Count

Isles 14 (Matt Martin -7)

Columbus 18 (Eric Robinson -6)

Fights 

There were no fights. Season total: 19 (Chara 5, Martin 4, Johnston 2, Pageau 2, Mayfield 2,  Bellows 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1, Wahlstrom 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 18 (Noah Dobson -3)

Columbus 13 (Justin Danforth -3; Danforth played just 1:59 before leaving with an injury)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 59, Columbus 51

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 48, Columbus 32

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech +19

Columbus: Eric Robinson +2

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 27, Columbus 12

5-on-5: Isles 20, Columbus 7

Scratches

(Mathew Barzal -INJ), (Zdeno Chara -IR), Ross Johnston, Kieffer Bellows

Games Lost: 125 (76 to injuries and 49 to COVID protocol)

Iron Man

Scott Mayfield played in his 143rd consecutive game. Only two other Islanders (Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck) have played in every game this season.

Challenges

Isles: 2 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 2-0-0 in games that they are successful (offside 1/18 @PHI, no goalie interference 2/22 @SEA) and 0-1-0 in games that they are unsuccessful (no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR).

Opponents: 4 successful, 0 failures  

The Isles are 2-1-1 in games where opponents' challenges go their way (goalie interference 10/16 @FLA and 10/23 @ARI; offside 12/19 vs VGK, goalie interference 3/5 vs STL) and 0-0-0 in games where challenges go the Isles' way.

Last Minute Heroes:

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

For: 2  (Noah Dobson 19:56 – 12/5/21 vs CHI; Isles lost in SO) (Brock Nelson 17:03 – 2/20/22 vs OTT; 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 964…

10. John Tavares 669 *** 11. Matt Martin 658  *** 12. Brock Nelson 649 *** 13. Derek King 638 *** 14. Casey Cizikas 637 … 

20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Cal Clutterbuck 582 *** 22. Anders Lee 568

Goals    

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

11. John Tonelli 206 *** 12. Anders Lee 203 *** 13. Brock Nelson 190 *** 14 Billy Harris 184 *** 15. Ziggy Palffy 168 *** 16. Josh Bailey 166

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 370…

17. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 19. Mathew Barzal 201 ***20. Nick Leddy 298*** 21. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 22. Ed Westfall 181 *** 23. Kenny Jonsson 175 *** 24. Duane Sutter and Alexei Yashin 171 *** 26. Brock Nelson 170

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 536 …

15. Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson 369 *** 17. Brock Nelson 360 *** 18. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 19. Anders Lee 346…

24. Duane Sutter 292 *** 25. Alexei Yashin 290 *** 26. Mathew Barzal 289

+/-

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

19. JP Parise +67 *** 20. Adam Pelech +59 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54 *** 24. Gord Lane +48  

Games Coached 

1. Al Arbour 1,500 *** 2. Jack Capuano 483 *** 3. Barry Trotz 260

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 137

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 21-24-5-4 on the season after splitting a pair of games last weekend. 

Bridgeport is off until Friday when they host Hershey in the newly renamed Total Mortgage Arena. They will then play Saturday and Sunday in Providence.

Season Series Stats

The season series is even, 1 game to 1(the Isles have earned 3 points to Columbus' 2).  The teams will finish the season series with a home-and-home series March 29th – March 31st.

The Isles are 13-2-4 in their last nineteen home games against the Jackets. 

UP NEXT

FRIDAY, MARCH 11th- WINNIPEG AT ISLANDERS 7:30 PM 

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

The busy weekend continues as the Isles close out the season series with the Winnipeg Jets as Dauphin, Manitoba native Barry Trotz will look to win his 900th NHL game.

Ilya Sorokin blanked the Jets in Manitoba, 2-0, on November 6th, raising the Isles' record to 5-2-2 and have won four straight games against the Jets overall.

This will be Winnipeg's first trip to Long Island since October 6, 2019. The Isles are only 5-5-0 at home against the Jets since the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg, but they are 10-1-1 in Manitoba.

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