The Skinny: Isles 3, Columbus 2

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 22

Isles 3, Columbus 2

Brock Nelson scored an unassisted goal 6:10 into the third period to break a 2-2 tie and Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves for his third straight win as the Islanders defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 before a sellout crowd of 17,286 at Nationwide Arena.

Oliver Wahlstrom scored the only goal of the first period and Jean-Gabriel Pageau doubled the advantage with a power play goal at 7:51 of the second period but Columbus scored on both sides of a 5-on-3 in a :33 span to tie the game through 40 minutes. Simon Holmstrom earned his first NHL point on the Wahlstrom tally.

The Isles have won three straight and remain in 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division with a 14-8-0 record.  The Isles begin a home-and-home with Philadelphia as they host the Flyers on Saturday.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Oliver Wahlstrom (6) Mathew Barzal (22), Simon Holmstrom (1) 17:26 NYI 1,CBJ 0

2nd Period

Jean-Gabriel Pageau (6) Noah Dobson (9), Mathew Barzal (23) 07:51 NYI 2,CBJ 0 PPG

Yegor Chinakhov (4) Johnny Gaudreau (12), Kent Johnson (6) 14:05 NYI 2,CBJ 1 PPG

Kent Johnson (5) Marcus Bjork (3), Johnny Gaudreau (13) 14:38 NYI 2,CBJ 2 PPG

3rd Period

Brock Nelson (10) 06:10 NYI 3,CBJ 2

The Skinny             

The Isles did not reach 14 wins last season until January 21st (14-13-6)...Mathew Barzal had a pair of assists and now leads the NHL in assists with 23; he leads the Isles in points with 25 and is on pace for career highs in assists (86) and points (93)…Barzal now has a seven-game point streak and has points in eight straight games against Columbus (5-8-13), representing his longest streak against any opponent…The Isles have outscored their opponents 32-19 in the third period with six of those 32 goals being empty netters … The Isles lead the NHL with 32 third period goals; they have scored 40 goals in the 1st period, 2nd period, and overtime combined… The Isle have allowed twelve power play goals in the last 13 games, dropping their penalty kill from 1st in the NHL to 7th....The Isles went 1-4 on the power play; 11 of their 14 power play goals have come on the road; overall the Isles' power play is 6-18 in the last six games.…The Isles are 9-1-0 when scoring first and 8-0-0 when leading after the first period…With their 14-8-0 record, the Isles are at least six games over NHL-.500 for the first time since the end of the 2021 season (32-17-7)…The Isles are 5-1-0 in divisional games this season…The Isles were outshot for the 14th time this season; their nine wins when being outshot are the most in the NHL…Ilya Sorokin earned his 49th win, tying Chris Osgood for 13th place on the club's all-time list….Brock Nelson is the first Islander to reach 10 goals; he did not score in the first seven games…Johnny Gaudreau  (7-13-20) has 20 points in his first 20 games for Columbus…Jean-Gabriel Pageau has four power play goals this season; his career high is 5, set in 2020-21…Mathew Barzal has 11 points on the 14 Islander power play goals…Brock Nelson has three goals (two tying, one winning) in the two games against Columbus this season; he is 11-5-16 in 33 career games against the Jackets.

Nice Company

Mathew Barzal has 23 assists in 22 games; it is only the 6th time in club history a player has averaged more than one assist thru 22 games. Mike Bossy and Brent Sutter were the last to do so, both in 1984-85.  Bryan Trottier did it three times.

The November Nine

The Isles are 9-4-0 in November.

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2021-22  14-8-0 for 28 points in 22 games

• 2020-21  6-11-5 for 17 points in 22 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:  0-1-1

• Season: 17-33-50

• Last Season (Final) 32-128-160

The Islander defense have scored an NHL-leading seventeen goals; they didn't score their 17th goal last season until February 27th.   

The New Hit King

Cal Clutterbuck was credited with two hits, extending his own NHL record: 

Most Career Hits (recognized by NHL beginning with 2005-06 season)

1. Cal Clutterbuck 3,642

2. Dustin Brown 3,632

3. Matt Martin 3,480

Home is Where The Sorokin Is

Ilya Sorokin went 13-5-4 at UBS Arena last season and is 5-3-0 this season, despite allowing just 12 goals in the eight games (1.63 GAA, .954 save percentage). The Isles have scored only two goals in his three home losses this year and only ten goals in his eight career regulation losses at UBS.

Sorokin has the best home save percentage in the NHL this season. Among goalies who have played at least fifteen home games over the last two seasons, Sorokin has the highest save percentage (.937) and the second-lowest goals against average (2.01). 

Most Saves in a Shutout by an Islander

1. Jaroslav Halak 51  2/15/2018 Vs Rangers (Barclays)

2. Glenn Healy 50     1/16/1990      Vs Vancouver (Nassau Coliseum)

3. Ilya Sorokin 49       11/23/2022    Vs Edmonton (UBS Arena) 

Zach Attack 

Zach Parise has 413 career goals, good for 9th among actives.  Zach is tied with Garry Unger and Islander Assistant Coach John MacLean for 92nd place.  Tony Amonte is 91st with 416 goals.

Most Goals and Points by an Islander Defenseman before 23rd Birthday

• Denis Potvin (72-168-240) 

• Bryan Berard (26-83-109)

• Noah Dobson (23-63-86)

• Tomas Jonsson (22-60-82)

• Paul Boutilier (20-69-89) 

Dobson is now 3rd in goals and 4th in points. The Isles will play 41 games this season before Dobson turns 23 on January 7, 2023.

Home and Road

The Isles are 14-8-0 overall; they are 7-3-0 at home and 7-5-0 on the road.

Columbus is 7-12-1 overall; they are 6-8-0 at home and 1-4-1 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 7-5-0 against the East (5-1-0 vs. Metropolitan and 2-4-0 vs. Atlantic) and 7-3-0 against the West (3-3-0 vs. Central and 4-0-0 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 51 games at UBS Arena and recorded 35 sellouts. The sellout crowds of 17,255 are the largest indoor crowds to ever see the Islanders play at home. 

Sweet Lou

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

1. David Poile 1,500

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,377

3. Glen Sather 1,319

First Things First

The Isles are 8-1-0 when scoring first and are 5-7-0 when allowing the opening goal.  

The Shots

Isles        8-9-7=24

Columbus 5-11-10=26

The Isles are 5-3-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 9-5-0 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves; he is 10-5-0 on the season and 3-0-1 vs Columbus.

Joonas Korpisalo made 21 saves; he is 3-4-1 on the season and 3-3-3 vs. the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 1-4 on the power play (7:31); Columbus was 2-4 on the power play (5:01). The Jackets scored :28 into a 5-on-3 opportunity.

The Isles are 7-4-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 7-4-0 when they do not. The Isles are 8-3-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 6-5-0 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 14-2-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-6-0 when they do not.

One-Goal Games

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

Back-to-Backs

This back-ot-back set concludes on Saturday against Philadelphia. The next set of back-to-backs will be in New Jersey on December 9th and against Carolina on December 10th.  Including tonight, the Isles are 3-1-0 in the front end and 2-1-0 in the back end. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Scott Mayfield (22:35);  Columbus: Vladislav Gabrikov (27:26)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 20:02 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Alexander Romanov (2-1-0), Noah Dobson (2-5-0), Adam Pelech (3-1-0), Ryan Pulock (2-1-0), Scott Mayfield (2-0-0), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Mathew Barzal (2-0-0)

Face-offs

Isles 28, Columbus 30 (48%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 15 of 26 for the Isles; Boone Jenner won 14 of 23 for Columbus. 

Hit Count

Isles 22 (Matt Martin and Anders Lee -3)

Columbus 27 (Sean Kuraly -4)

Fights 

Anders Lee fought Mathieu Olivier in the 2nd period.  Season total: 5 (Lee-2, Johnston, Martin, Wahlstrom)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 14 (Brock Nelson -3)

Columbus 21 (Vladislav Gabrikov-4)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 60, Columbus 53  

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 40, Columbus 37

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Anthony Beauvillier +7

Columbus: 2 with +5

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 10, Columbus 11

5-on-5: Isles 4, Columbus 6

Scratches

(Kyle Palmieri-upper body), Robin Salo, Ross Johnston

Games Lost: 9

The Ironman

Zach Parise played in his 104th consecutive Islander game; he has played in every game since joining the team in October 2021.

Challenges

Isles: 1 successful, 0 failures – STL goalie interference 11/3

Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures

League reviews:  1 (Isles goal – Salo vs ANA 10/16 – stood)

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins

The Isles have come from two goals behind after two periods to win three times this season and have not allowed the opposition to do so.

For: Trailed 3-1, Won 5-3 vs. COL 10/29

Trailed 3-1, Won 4-3 (OT) vs CGY 11/7

Trailed 3-1, Won 4-3 at NYR 11/8

Last Minute Heroes:

The Isles have scored two goal and allowed no goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime. 

For(2): Brock Nelson vs COL 10/29 (18:39;EN/GW)

Josh Bailey @ TOR 11/21 (17:02; Isles won in OT)

Overtime Winners

For (3): Noah Dobson vs CGY 11/7 (4:02)

Zach Parise vs CBJ 11/12 (0:39) 

Anthony Beauvillier @ TOR 11/21 (1:56)

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,012…

8. Patrick Flatley 712 *** 9. Matt Martin 706 *** 10. Brock Nelson 698 *** 11. Brent Sutter 694 *** 12. Casey Cizikas 684… 

15. Billy Harris 623 *** 16. Stefan Persson 622 *** 17. Anders Lee 617 *** 18. Cal Clutterbuck 607

Goals    

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

9. Bobby Nystrom 235 *** 10. Anders Lee 220 *** 11. Brock Nelson 215 *** 12. Derek King 211 *** 13. John Tonelli 206  *** 14 Billy Harris 184 *** 15. Josh Bailey 179

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 381…

15. Billy Harris 259*** 16. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 243 *** 18. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 20. Nick Leddy 198 *** 21. Pierre Turgeon and Brock Nelson 193

Points

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

6.  Brent Sutter 610 *** 7. Pat LaFontaine 566 *** 8. Josh Bailey 561  …

14. Billy Harris 443 *** 15. Brock Nelson 408 ***  16. Anders Lee 386…

19. Fran Nielsen 349 *** 20. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 21. Mathew Barzal 336

+/-

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

16. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 17. Garry Howatt +75 *** 18. Adam Pelech +71 *** 19. Pat Price +70 *** 20. JP Parise +67 *** 21. Jude Drouin +58 *** 22. Patrick Flatley +57 *** 23. Greg Gilbert +54   

Wins

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 130…

10. Evgeni Nabokov 57 *** 11. Semyon Varlamov 52 *** 12. Mark Fitzpatrick 51 *** 13. Chris Osgood and Ilya Sorokin 49

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25 *** 2. Billy Smith 22 *** 3. Rick DiPietro 16 …

4. Tommy Salo 14 *** 5. Ilya Sorokin and Jaroslav Halak 12 *** 7. Semyon Varlamov 11

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 10-3-4-0 after a 6-5 overtime loss in Rochester on Friday and are now tied for 2nd place in their division. Andy Andreoff had a hat trick and Chris Terry added three assists for the Islanders; Jakub Skarek made 21 saves as the Isles rallied from a 5-3 deficit to tie the game and force overtime. 

Samuel Bolduc leads the team in assists (14) and points (17); Andy Andreoff leads the team in goals (9).  Cory Schneider is 7-1-1 on the season for Bridgeport; only one AHL goalies has more wins.

The Islanders host Springfield on Sunday afternoon and Providence on Wednesday.

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series, 2 game to 0 (and 4 points to 0). The teams will meet again on December 29th at UBS Arena and on March 24th in Columbus.

The Isles have won five straight games over the Jackets, matching their longest winning streak ever against Columbus.

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26th —PHILADELPHIA AT ISLANDERS 7:30pm

[MSGSN (pre-game at 7:00pm), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The Isles host the Philadelphia Flyers in the back end of the back-to-back and the front-end of a home-and-home series with Philadelphia. 

It's the first meeting of the clubs in the 2022-23 season. Last season, the Isles took three of four from Philadelphia, dropping the season finale in Philly on March 20th.  That loss ended an 8-game Islander win streak over Philadelphia; however, the Flyers earned five points in those eight Islander wins (0-3-5).   

The Isles are 12-2-2 in their last 16 games against the Flyers, including 5-0-0 in their last five home games.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 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