The Skinny: Tampa Bay 6, Isles 4

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 81

Tampa Bay 6, Isles 4

Zdeno Chara scored the Islanders' final goal of the season, the 209th of his brilliant career, and then was honored by numerous ovations as he was named the Game's #1 Star.  That was the Islanders' only highlight in the third period as Tampa Bay scored five goals in the frame, including an empty-netter, as the Stanley Cup Champions completed the sweep of the season series with a 6-4 victory over the Islanders before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.  

Steven Stamkos had his 10th career hat trick as he set a Lightning record with his ninth consecutive two-point game.  Mathew Barzal assisted on Chara's goal to tie Brock Nelson for the team's scoring lead. 

The Isles end the season with a 37-35-10 record.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (18) Noah Dobson (38), Anders Lee (18) 00:32 TBL 0,NYI 1

Steven Stamkos (40) Erik Cernak (12), Ondrej Palat (29) 11:57 TBL 1,NYI 1

2nd Period

Kieffer Bellows (6)OWN 09:35 TBL 1,NYI 2

Josh Bailey (14) Anthony Beauvillier (22), Ryan Pulock (16) 18:48 TBL 1,NYI 3 PPG

3rd Period

Corey Perry (19) Nikita Kucherov (43), Victor Hedman (65) 01:21 TBL 2,NYI 3 PPG

Ryan McDonagh (4) Pat Maroon (16), Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (11) 10:10 TBL 3,NYI 3

Steven Stamkos (41) Ondrej Palat (30) 11:13 TBL 4,NYI 3

Steven Stamkos (42) Ondrej Palat (31), Nikita Kucherov (44) 17:50 TBL 5,NYI 3

Zdeno Chara (2) Mathew Barzal (44), Zach Parise (20) 19:16 TBL 5,NYI 4

Brandon Hagel (25)EN Ryan McDonagh (22), Anthony Cirelli (26) 19:35 TBL 6,NYI 4

The Skinny            

The Isles went 16-11-2 in their last 29 games …The Isles scored on their only power play and went 6-8 with the man advantage in their final three games, with both failures coming on shortened power plays due to both teams taking penalties at different times… Josh Bailey ends the season with a four-game point streak while Noah Dobson, Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee all had three game point streaks … The Isles are 25-15-9 in finales (including 2020); this was their first regulation loss since 2016 and only their second (4-2-4) n their last ten regular-season enders.   This was the first time that the Isles ended the regular season by facing Tampa Bay…The Isles went 29-10-6 this season when scoring first but lost all three games to Tampa Bay despite scoring the opening goal…Andy Greene blocked two shots, raising his career total to 1,999. (3rd all-time, dating back to 2005)…The Isles allowed five goals in a period for the first time since January 28, 2021 at Washington (2nd period); it had not happened in the third period, or at home, since January18, 2020, when they allowed five to the Caps in the third period…It was the first time all season (30-1-0) that the Isles did not win a game in which they held a two-goal lead at any point. .… The Isles did end Nikita Kucherov's eight-game goal streak but both Kucherov and Steven Stamkos ended the season on 9-game point streaks…Andrei Vasilevskiy tied for the league lead with his 39th win; he had led the NHL in victories in each of the prior four seasons.

Playing the Big Boys

The Isles ended their home season by facing five consecutive opponents who had at least 100 points when they faced them.  It is only the second time in NHL history that has happened – Montreal did this in 1971-72.  The Isles went 1-3-1 in those five games.

Isles Team Leaders

Goals:  Nelson 37, Lee 28, Pageau 18

Assists: Barzal 44, Dobson 38, Bailey 30

Points:  Nelson 59, Barzal 59, Dobson 51

• Nelson led the Isles in goals for the third straight season, after Lee did so in the prior three seasons.

• Barzal led the team in assists for the fourth time in five seasons (Nick Leddy did so last year)

• Nelson and Barzal share the title as the club point leader.  Barzal has now led or shared the team lead in five straight seasons, matching Mike Bossy's club record. 

• Dobson had 52 points; it is the first time an Islander defenseman has had 50 points since 2008-09 when Mark Streit had 56. Dobson is also the first Islander defenseman in 13 years to score at least 13 goals.  

Other Team Leaders

Games: Parise 82, Dobson 80, Pelech 78

+/-:  Pelech +20, Chara +8, Three with 0

PIM: Chara 85, Wahlstrom 74, Martin 70

PP Goals: Nelson 11, Lee 9, Beauvillier/Wahlstrom 5

PP Points: Dobson 22, Barzal 20, Nelson 14

SH Goals: Parise 2, Three with 1

SH Points: Pageau 4, Parise 2, Pelech 2

OT Goals: Dobson 1

GW Goals: Palmieri 6, Nelson 5, Parise/Dobson 4

Shots: Dobson 190, Nelson 171, Barzal 161

Shoot %:Nelson 21.6%, Lee 17.6%, Bailey 16.1% 

Ice Time: Dobson 21:28, Pelech 21:17,  Pulock 21:08

Face-off Win %: Cizikas 55.6%, Pageau 55.3%, Nelson 49.4%

Shootout Goals: Palmieri 2, Wahlstrom 1, Beauvillier 1

Hits: Martin 235, Clutterbuck 229, Pageau 171

Blocks: Dobson 154, Pelech 140,  Pulock 138

Most Points by an Islander Defenseman, Age 22 or Younger

1. Denis Potvin 98 (1975-76)

2. Denis Potvin 76 (1974-75)

3. Denis Potvin 54 (1973-74)

4. Noah Dobson 51 (2021-22)

5. Bryan Berard 48 (1996-97)

        Tomas Jonsson 48 (1982-83)

The 50 Point Club- Islander Defenseman (Since 1992-93)

1. Vladimir Malakhov 57 (1993-94)

2. Mark Streit 56 (2008-09)

3. Vladimir Malakhov 52 (1993-94)

4. Noah Dobson 51 (2021-22)

5. Jeff Norton 50 (1992-93)

Home is Where The Sorokin Is

Ilya Sorokin went 13-5-4 at UBS Arena. This was only his second loss in his last 11 home starts (7-2-2). 

Best Save Percentage, Season (Isles History)

1. Robin Lehner .930 (2018-19)

2. Semyon Varlamov .929 (2020-21)

3. Chico Resch .928 (1975-76)

4. Thomas Greiss .927 (2018-19)

5. Ilya Sorokin .925 (2021-22)

        Thomas Greiss .925 (2015-16)

Best Save Percentage, This Season (NHL)

1. Igor Shesterkin .935

2. Ilya Sorokin .925

PK is More Than Okay

Tampa scored on their only power play; however, the Isles killed 50 of 57 (87.7%) over their last seventeen games and 89 of 102 in the last 32 games (87.3%).  At home the Isles have killed 47 of 54 (87.0%) since the beginning of February.

And How About That Home PP?

The Isles scored on their only power play. Since the beginning of February, the Isles home PP has converted at a 38.0% rate (19-509), which is the best in the NHL in that stretch.  On the season, the Isles home power play finishes at 27.5%, which is the best in any season since 1984-85 (and is 3rd in the NHL this season behind Toronto and Florida).

Zach Attack

Zach Parise has 408 career goals, tying him for 95th place all-time with Patrik Elias and Ray Ferraro.  Ray Bourque has 410 goals and sits 94th.

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 137 in 43 games since the break (3.2/gm).  

Forwards:

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

After:    117-143-260 in 43 games (6.0/gm)

Defense:

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

After:    20-81-101 in 43 games (2.3/gm)

Most Career Goals by an Islander Wearing #27

• Anders Lee 212

• Derek King 211

• 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 37-35-10 overall; they are 20-16-5 at home and 17-19-5 on the road.

Tampa Bay is 51-23-8 overall; they are 27-8-6 at home and 24-15-2 on the road.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 41 home games and recorded 30 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 914-671-60-167 in 1,812 games.

Most Coaching Wins

1. Scotty Bowman  1,244

2. Joel Quenneville  970

3. Barry Trotz    914

Most Games Coached

1. Scotty Bowman  2,141

2. Barry Trotz        1,812

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 1,491 

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,363

3. Glen Sather 1,319

It All Starts at the Top

Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz have 2,277 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 29-10-6 when scoring first and are 8-25-4 when allowing the opening goal. 

The Shots

Isles        10-11-16=37

Tampa Bay    10-11-13=34

The Isles are 12-9-4 when they outshoot their opponents, 1-2-1 when the shots are even and 24-24-5 when they are outshot. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 90-60-18 when outshot.

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 28 saves; he is 26-18-8 on the season and 0-2-0 vs  Tampa Bay.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 33 saves; he is 39-18-5 on the season and 10-4-0 vs. the Isles. 

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-1 on the power play (1:08);  Tampa Bay was 1-1 on the power play (1:43).

The Isles are 20-12-6 when they score at least one power play goal and 17-23-4 when they do not. The Isles are 7-17-5 when they allow at least one power play goal and 30-18-5 when they do not.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 32-12-4 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 5-23-6 when they do not. Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 119-21-15 when scoring three or more.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 11-9-10 in games decided by a single goal including 8-9 in regulation. They are 1-4 in games decided in overtime and are 2-6 in shootouts. The Isles are 1-9 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 10-7-1 in the front end and 6-11-1 in the back end. 

Under Barry Trotz, the Isles are 27-15-5 in back-ends. 

Matinee Isles

The Isles went 4-6-3 in matinees this season. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (24:40);  Tampa Bay: Nikita Kucherov (21:55)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 18:27 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Adam Pelech (12-5-4), Noah Dobson (10-13-3), Ryan Pulock (7-6-2), Anthony Beauvillier (0-1-0), Mathew Barzal (1-1-1), 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 28, Tampa Bay 29 (49%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 12 of 21 for the Isles; Pierre-Edouard Bellemare won 9 of 11 for Tampa Bay.

Hit Count

Isles 19 (Matt Martin -5)

Tampa Bay 14 (Erik Cernak -5)

Fights 

There were no fights. Season total: 22 (Martin 6, Chara 5, Johnston 4, Pageau 2, Mayfield 2, Wahlstrom 2, Bellows 1, Nelson 1, Palmieri 1)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 12 (Kieffer Bellows -3)

Tampa Bay 13 (Three with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 64, Tampa Bay 60

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 61, Tampa Bay 54

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Zdeno Chara +19

Tampa Bay: Zach Bogosian  +4

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 25, Tampa Bay 21

5-on-5: Isles 24, Tampa Bay 20

Scratches

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

Games Lost: 195 (143 to injuries and 52 to COVID protocol)

Zach Parise was 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: 6 successful, 1 failure

The Isles are 3-2-1 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, goalie interference 4/26 vs WSH) 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 993…

9. Brent Sutter 694 *** 10. Matt Martin 685 *** 11. Brock Nelson 676 *** 12. John Tavares 669 *** 13. Casey Cizikas 664 … 

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

Goals    

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

9. Bobby Nystrom 235 *** 10. Anders Lee 212 *** 11. Derek King 211 *** 12. John Tonelli 206 *** 13. Brock Nelson 205 *** 14 Billy Harris 184 *** 15. Josh Bailey 176

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 379…

17. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 19. Mathew Barzal 220 *** 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 555 *** 9. John Tonelli 544 *** 10. Bob Bourne 542 …

14. Billy Harris 443 *** 15. Brock Nelson 387 ***  16. Kyle Okposo and Stefan Persson 369 *** 18.  Anders Lee 366…

22. Ziggy Palffy 331 *** 23. Mathew Barzal 311

+/-

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

19. JP Parise +67 *** 20. Adam Pelech +62 *** 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 288

 

Coaching Wins

1. Al Arbour 740 *** 2. Jack Capuano 227 *** 3. Barry Trotz 152

On the Farm

Bridgeport is headed to the Calder Cup Playoffs!  The Isles went 10-5-2-0 in their last seventeen games and finished the regular season with a record of 31-30-7-4 . 

Bridgeport is the 6th seed in their division and will face Providence in a best-of-3 first round series, beginning on Monday in Rhode Island. Game 2 will be in Bridgeport on Wednesday and if needed Game 3 will be in Providence on Friday,

Season Series Stats

Tampa Bay wins the season series, 3 games to 0 (and 6 points to 0) 

UP NEXT

• NHL Draft Lottery – May 10th

• NHL Draft – July 7th-8th

• 2022-23 NHL Season will open in Europe on October 7th

AND FINALLY...

What a crazy season. With everything that went on, one thing was consistent. All 82 games were followed by The Skinny, making yet another perfect season, at least in attendance.  The Skinny streak is 839 consecutive games (including playoffs). With a little luck we will hit 900 games in late February 2023 and 1,000 games sometime in the 2023-24 season (hopefully earlier than game 79!) 

With our beautiful new home, we have a fantastic spot to watch and bring you Islander hockey.  It also gives us a chance to say hello to so many fans- thank you so much for your support and for reading and commenting on The Skinny all year long.

Finally, thanks to my very understanding family for their support – I hope I make you as proud as you make me.

Have a great summer!

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