The Skinny: Isles 3, Montreal 0

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 74

Isles 3, Montreal 0

Ilya Sorokin made 44 saves to tie the Islander club record of seven shutouts in a season and the Isles got third period goals from Zach Parise and Noah Dobson 1:44 apart to break a scoreless tie as the Islanders blanked the Montreal Canadiens 3-0 before a crowd of 21,105 at Bell Centre.

Brock Nelson cemented the game with an empty-netter for the Islanders, who are 7-3-0 in their last ten games. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

No Goals

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

Zach Parise (15) Mathew Barzal (37), Kieffer Bellows (10) 04:25 NYI 1,MTL 0

Noah Dobson (11) Brock Nelson (22) 06:09 NYI 2,MTL 0

Brock Nelson (34)EN Anders Lee (17), Kyle Palmieri (16) 18:21 NYI 3,MTL 0

The Skinny            

The Isles are 14-6-1 in their last 21 games …Zach Parise now has four goals in his last three games and 14 goals in his last 41 games; it is the 29th time in his career that he has scored in three consecutive games… Parise is one of three active players with at least 80 career game-winning goals, trailing Alex Ovechkin (121) and Jeff Carter (86)… Islander trainer Scotty Boggs worked his 2,000th professional game…Barry Trotz recorded his 150th win as Islander coach…Noah Dobson scored for the first time in 23 games; his 11 goals match Nick Leddy (twice) for the most goals by an Islander defenseman since Mark Streit had 16 in 2008-09…Ilya Sorokin now has seven shutouts, second in the NHL to Jacob Markstrom's nine for Calgary…Carey Price made his season debut; it was his first game since July 7, 2021, when Tampa Bay beat Montreal to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup… Ken Appleby served as the Islander back-up goaltender, as Semyon Varlamov was ill…Ilya Sorokin now has 10 shutouts in 69 career NHL games; he is only the eighth goalie in club history with at least ten shutouts.It was only the fifth time in the long history of the Canadiens that they had at least 44 shots on goal and did not score…The Isles allowed 89 shot attempts for the first time since October 4, 2018 in Carolina – Barry Trotz' first game as Islander goal. Like tonight, the attempts finished 89-39 and the Isles won both games

Oh, Ilya!

Ilya Sorokin set a new career high for saves in a game (44), breaking the previous record of 43, which lasted for 72 hours (Pittsburgh on 4/12).  Sorokin, who had a 42 save shutout on October 24 in Vegas, is not only the first goalie in club history to gave two shutouts with at least 42 saves in a season, he is the first to do so in an Islander career.  He is the 7th goalie in NHL history with two 42+ save shutouts in a season (Alex Nedeljkovic became the 6th on Thursday night); Semyon Varlamov was the first to do so, accomplishing the feat for Colorado in 2014-15.

Most Saves by an Islander in a Shutout

16-Jan-90 Vs Vancouver 51 Glenn Healy

15-Feb-18 Vs New York 50 Jaroslav Halak

7-Feb-12 @ Philadelphia45 Evgeni Nabokov

16-Feb-18 @ Carolina 45 Thomas Greiss

15-Apr-22@ Montreal 44 Ilya Sorokin

Most Shutouts in First 69 NHL games (Expansion Era)

1. Tony Esposito 14

2. Martin Jones 11

3. Roman Cechmanek 10

        Steve Mason 10

        Glenn Resch 10

        Ilya Sorokin 10

Home is Where The Sorokin Is

Ilya Sorokin is 13-4-3 at UBS Arena, with a 1.96 GAA and a .934 save percentage. 

Since February 1st, he has been even better, going 7-1-1 in nine home starts (1.81 GAA, .944 save percentage); his goals against average is the best in the NHL among goalies who have played at least two home games in that stretch .

Great in the Nets

• Ilya Sorokin is 8-3-0 in his last eleven games; he has allowed just 20 goals in those eleven games.

• Semyon Varlamov is 6-3-1 in his last ten decisions.  

PK is More Than Okay

The Isles killed both of their penalties and have now killed 29 of 30 (96.7%) over their last ten games and 68 of 75 in the last 24 games (90.7%).  At home they are even better, having killed 37 of 40 since the beginning of February; their 92.5% home PK in that span tied-second in the NHL (Carolina 94.1%).

And How About That Home PP?

Since the beginning of February, the Isles home PP has converted at a 32.4% rate (12-37).  Only Florida (17-46, 37.0%) has had a better home power play in that stretch.

Zach Attack

Zach Parise scored for the fourth time in three games to give him 408 career goals, tying him for 95th place all-time with Patrik Elias and Ray Ferraro and, passing Marian Gaborik.  Ray Bourque has 410 goals and sits 94th.

Oh, Nelly!

Brock Nelson is only the second player in club history to score six goals against Montreal in a single season:

• Mike Bossy 6 (1983-84, 3 games)

• Brock Nelson 6 (2021-22, 3 games)

All-Star Break Splits

The Islander offense has improved significantly since the All-Star break. The Isles scored 92 goals in 39 games before the break (2.4/gm) and have scored 112 in 35 games since the break (3.2/gm).  

Forwards:

Before: 80-106-186 in 39 games (4.8/gm)

After:    98-120-218 in 35 games  (6.2/gm)

Defense:

Before: 12-47-59 in 39 games (1.5/gm)

After:    14-66-80 in 35 games (2.3/gm)

Most Career Goals by an Islander Wearing #27

1. Derek King 211

2. Anders Lee 210 

3. John Tonelli 206

Most Shutouts In a Season

• 7 Ilya Sorokin 2021-22

• 7 Semyon Varlamov 2020-21 (56-game season)

• 7 Chico Resch 1975-76

• 6 Robin Lehner 2018-19

• 6 Jaroslav Halak 2014-15

Home and Road

The Isles are 35-30-9 overall; they are 19-13-4 at home and 16-17-5 on the road.

 Montreal is 20-44-11 overall; they are 10-22-4 at home and 10-22-7 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 36 home games and recorded 27 sellouts. 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 912-666-60-166 in 1,804 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  970

3. Barry Trotz    912

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2,141

2. Barry Trotz        1,804

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 1,488 

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,361

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,273 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 28-8-5 when scoring first and are 7-22-4 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles    8-4-8=20

Montreal 14-16-14=44

The Isles are 12-7-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-2-1 when the shots are even and 22-21-4 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 88-57-17 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 44 saves; he is 25-15-7 on the season and 2-0-1 vs  Montreal.

Carey Price made 17 saves in his season debut; he is 14-7-4 vs. the Isles.   

Special Teams

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

The Isles are 18-8-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 17-22-4 when they do not. The Isles are 7-12-4 when they allow at least one power play goal and 28-18-5 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 30-9-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 5-21-5 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 117-18-15 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 11-9-9 in games decided by a single goal including 8-9 in regulation. They are 1-3 in games decided in overtime and are 2-6 in shootouts. The Isles are 1-6 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 9-6-1 in the front end and 6-9-1 in the back end. The next back-to-back will be April 23rd in Buffalo and April 24th at home vs. Carolina.

 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 27-13-5 in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles

The Isles are 4-4-3 in matinees this season; the final matinees will be on April 23rd in Buffalo and April 24th at home vs. Carolina.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (22:12);  Montreal: Alexander Romanov (23:04)

Zach Parise led Isles forwards with 17:37 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Adam Pelech (12-5-4), Noah Dobson (9-10-3), Ryan Pulock (7-5-1), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (0-0-1), 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).

Face-offs

Isles 19, Montreal 29 (40%)

Casey Cizikas won 6 of 10 for the Isles; Ryan Poehling won 7 of 10 for Montreal.

`

Hit Count

Isles 31 (Kieffer Bellows -6)

Montreal 24 (Josh Anderson -6)

Fights 

Matt Martin fought Joel Edmondson in the final minute. Season total: 22 (Martin 6, Chara 5,  Johnston 3, Pageau 2, Mayfield 2, Wahlstrom 2, Bellows 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 30 (Andy Greene and Ryan Pulock -5)

 Montreal 13 (Three with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 39, Montreal 89

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 30, Montreal 75

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: no Islander was a +

Montreal: Jeff Petry +25

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 9, Montreal 20

5-on-5: Isles 6, Montreal 18

Scratches

(Cal Clutterbuck-INJ), (Scott Mayfield-INJ), Ross Johnston, Sebastian Aho, (Semyon Varlamov-ILL)

Games Lost: 163 (114 to injuries and 49 to COVID protocol)

Zach Parise is the only Islander to have played in every game this season.

Challenges

Isles: 3 successful, 2 failures

 Isles are 2-0-1 in games that they are successful (offside 1/18 @PHI, no goalie interference 2/22 @SEA, offside 3/15 @ WSH) and 0-2-0 in games that they are unsuccessful (no goalie interference 10/14 @CAR, no goalie interference 4/5 @DAL)

Opponents: 5 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 2-2-1 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, goalie interference 3/27 vs TB) and 0-0-1 in games where challenges go the Isles' way (goalie interference 3/15 vs WSH)

Last Minute Heroes:

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

For: 5  (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), (Anders Lee 18:01 – 3/15/22 @ WSH; Isles lost in SO), (Kyle Palmieri 17:16 – 3/17/22 vs. NYR -GWG), (Kyle Palmieri 19:45 – 4/8/22 @ CAR – GWG)

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)

The Isles allowed a tying goal to CAR on 4/8/22 but scored the winner in the final seconds.

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 985…

9. Brent Sutter 694 *** 10. Matt Martin 677 *** 11. John Tavares and Brock Nelson 669 *** 13. Casey Cizikas 655 … 

18. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 19. Garry Howatt 596 *** 20. John Tonelli 594 *** 21. Anders Lee 588 *** 22. Cal Clutterbuck 587

Goals    

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

9. Bobby Nystrom 235 *** 10. Derek King 211 *** 11. Anders Lee 210 *** 12. John Tonelli 206 *** 13. Brock Nelson 202 *** 14 Billy Harris 184 *** 15. Josh Bailey 172

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 375…

17. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 19. Mathew Barzal 213 ***20. Nick Leddy 198 *** 21. Pierre Turgeon 193 *** 22. Brock Nelson 182

Points

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

7. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 8. Josh Bailey 547 *** 9. John Tonelli 544 *** 10. Bob Bourne 542 …

14. Billy Harris 443 *** 15. Brock Nelson 384 ***  16. Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson 369 *** 18.  Anders Lee 363…

22. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 23. Mathew Barzal 303

+/-

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

19. JP Parise +67 *** 20. Adam Pelech +63 *** 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 280

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 150

On the Farm

Bridgeport is to 9-3-2-0 in their last fourteen games and 30-28-7-4 on the season with a 2-1 overtime win on Friday at Lehigh Valley.  Otto Koivula and Austin Czarnik (the latter in OT) scored for the Baby Islanders, who moved into a playoff spot with the victory. 

Chris Terry continues to lead the team with 28 goals and 55 points while Otto Koivula has a team-leading 32 helpers. Jakub Skurek is 16-14-4 in goal on the season while Cory Schneider, 9-1-2 in his last twelve games, is 13-10-3.

Bridgeport is now .014 ahead of Hartford for the final playoff spot.  (AHL teams play different number of games, so percentage will determine the final standings)

Season Series Stats

The Isles win the season series, 2 games to 1 (and 5 points to 2).

The Isles are 6-5-2 in their last thirteen games against Les Canadiens.

UP NEXT

SUNDAY, APRIL 17th  –ISLANDERS AT TORONTO 7:30 PM 

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

The Isles conclude the three-game road trip and play their final game of the season in Canada as they face the Maple Leafs for the final time this season.

The Leafs have won the first two games this season (both on Long Island) and have won the last three games overall against the Islanders.

Brock Nelson is scheduled to appear in his 670th game as an Islander, passing John Tavares for 11th place on the club's all-time games played list for skaters.

AND FINALLY…

I can't believe that I am writing these words, but Rest In Peace, Mike Bossy.  Thanks to the greatest pure goal scorer of his generation for all of the memories.  Best wishes to Lucie and the rest of his family.

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