The Skinny: Isles 3, Toronto 2 (OT)

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 20

Isles 3, Toronto 2 (OT)

Anthony Beauvillier scored 1:56 into overtime as the Isles rallied from a late 2-1 deficit for a 3-2 win over the Maple Leafs before a crowd of 18,494 at ScotiaBank Center in Toronto.

Noah Dobson had given the Isles a 1-0 lead in the first period but goals by John Tavares and Auston Mathews gave the Leafs a 2-1 lead through 40 minutes.  It stayed that way under 17:02 of the third, when Josh Bailey's unassisted tally knotted the score and set the stage for Beauvillier's 5th career overtime goal.

The Isles split the road trip, going 2-2-0, and they are now 12-8-0 on the season.  The Isles will play their first home game in eleven days on Thanksgiving Eve against Edmonton.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Noah Dobson (6) Sebastian Aho (3), Mathew Barzal (20) 15:21 NYI 1,TOR 0

2nd Period

John Tavares (11) William Nylander (11), Mitchell Marner (19) 04:49 NYI 1,TOR 1 PPG

Auston Matthews (9) Timothy Liljegren (1), Rasmus Sandin (6) 14:06 NYI 1,TOR 2

3rd Period

Josh Bailey (4) 17:02 NYI 2,TOR 2 

OT

Anthony Beauvillier (4) Brock Nelson (11), Noah Dobson (8) 01:56 NYI 3,TOR 2

The Skinny             

The Isles did not reach 12 wins last season until January 17th (12-13-6)...Mathew Barzal became the third player in the NHL to reach 20 assists; he leads the Isles in points with 22 and is on pace for career highs in assists (82) and points (91)…Barzal now has a five-game point streak …The Isles have outscored their opponents 31-19 in the third period with six of those 31 goals being empty netters … The Isles lead the NHL with 31 third period goals; they have scored 35 goals in the 1st period, 2nd period, and overtime combined… The Isles have allowed ten power play goals in the last 12 games after being perfect on the penalty kill in the first eight games this season….The Isles power play is 10-34 (29.4%) on the road, but only 2-25 (8.0%) at home … Mitch Marner extended his point streak to 13 games; it's the longest in the NHL this season…Mathew Barzal tied Tomas Jonsson for 21st place on Isles point list (333) while Brock Nelson tied Pierre Turgeon for 21st place in assists (193)…The Isles had lost their previous four games to Toronto, losing to a different goalie in each game…The Isles are 5-0-0 when leading after the first period…Noah Dobson is tied for third in defensemen goals with Adam Fox (6); only Erik Karlsson (11) and Rasmus Sundin (7) have more; Denis Potvin is the only defenseman in Isles history to reach 18 goals in a season and Dobson is now 1/3 of the way in just 20 games…John Tavares' goal was his third in nine games against the Isles; it came in his 300th regular season game for the Leafs…The Isles have scored three overtime goals on four shots on goal; Toronto has allowed five overtime goals on twelve shots…The Isles improve to 4-6-0 when trailing after two periods; they are tied for the NHL lead with four third period comeback wins…With their win tonight, the Isles are guaranteed to be in a playoff spot at US Thanksgiving.

Beau-vertime!

Anthony Beauvillier scored his 5th career overtime goal:

1. 14-Dec-19 Vs Buffalo

2. 4-Feb-20 Vs Dallas

3. 22-Mar-21 @ Philadelphia

4. 25-Mar-21 @ Boston

5. 21-Nov-22 @ Toronto

All-time Isles Regular Season OT Goal Leaders

1. John Tavares 11

2. Brock Nelson 6

        Josh Bailey 6 

        Kyle Okposo 6

5. Anthony Beauvillier 5

        Thomas Hickey 5

First Time in a Long Time

The Isles last scored a goal in three consecutive overtimes in November/December 2009:

23-Nov-09 @ Toronto   (Josh Bailey)

12-Dec-09 Vs Boston   (Frans Nielsen)

26-Dec-09 @ New York (Kyle Okposo)

Most Goals By a Defenseman in First 20 Games of Season

• Denis Potvin 1978-79 10

• Denis Potvin 1975-76 9

• Denis Potvin 1976-77 9

• Bryan Berard 1997-98 7

• Paul Boutilier 1984-85 6

• Roman Hamrlik 2000-01 6

• Noah Dobson 2022-23 6

This is 20/20

Mathew Barzal has 20 assists in 20 games; Bryan Trottier was the last to go 20/20, doing so in 1986-87.  It is the 11th time in club history it has happened (Trottier has 6 of them).

Double-Hitter

Both Cal Clutterbuck and Alexander Romanov had nine hits; it is the first time in exactly four years (November 21, 2018) that two Islanders had at least nine hits in a game.  Leo Komarov and Adam Pelech did it that night – it was also the last time an Isles defenseman had nine hits before tonight.  Clutterbuck and Matt Martin also did it in 2015 vs. Philadelphia; that was the first time it happened since hits became an official stat in 2005-06.

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2021-22  12-8-0 for 24 points in 20 games

• 2020-21  5-10-5 for 15 points in 20 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:  1-2-3

• Season: 16-31-47

• Last Season (Final) 32-128-160

The Islander defense have scored an NHL-leading sixteen goals; they didn't score their 16th goal last season until February 27th.   

The New Hit King

Cal Clutterbuck was credited with nine hits, and in the process established a new NHL record for career hits:

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

1. Cal Clutterbuck 3,635

2. Dustin Brown 3,632

3. Matt Martin 3,476

Home is Where The Sorokin Is

Ilya Sorokin went 13-5-4 at UBS Arena last season and is 4-3-0 this season,  despite allowing just 12 goals in the seven games (1.86 GAA, .945 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.

Among goalies who have played at least fifteen home games over the last two seasons, Sorokin has the second highest save percentage (.933) and the third-lowest goals against average (2.08). 

Zach Attack 

Zach Parise has 413 career goals, good for 9th among actives.  Zach is now 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 (23-62-85)

• 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 12-8-0 overall; they are 6-3-0 at home and 6-5-0 on the road.

Toronto is 10-5-5 overall; they are 7-2-3 at home and 3-3-2 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 6-5-0 against the East and 6-3-0 against the West.

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 50 games at UBS Arena and recorded 34 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 1,375

3. Glen Sather 1,319

First Things First

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

The Shots

Isles    7-8-7-2=24

Toronto 9-13-10=32

The Isles are 5-3-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-1-0 when the shots are even and 7-4-0 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves; he is 8-5-0 on the season and 1-2-0 vs Toronto.

Erik Kallgren made 21 saves; he is 2-2-4 on the season and 0-0-1 vs. the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-1 on the power play (2:00); Toronto was 1-2 on the power play (2:08). 

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

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 12-2-0 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 5-2-0 in games decided by a single goal including 2-2 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

The next set of back-to-backs will be in Columbus on November 25th and against Philadelphia on November 26th.  The Isles are 2-1-0 in the front end and 2-1-0 in the back end. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Mathew Barzal (22:50);  Toronto: Justin Holl (23:07)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 22:50 of ice-time. 

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

Face-offs

Isles 28, Toronto 31 (47%)

Brock Nelson won 9 of 15 for the Isles; Auston Matthews won 15 of 23 for Toronto. 

Hit Count

Isles 51 (Cal Clutterbuck and Alexander Romanov -9)

Toronto 21 (Jordie Benn -4)

Fights 

Oliver Wahlstrom fought Rasmus Sundin in the third period.  Season total: 4 (Johnston, Lee, Martin, Wahlstrom)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 12 (Cal Clutterbuck 3)

Toronto 9 (Two with 2)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 48, Toronto 60  

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 43, Toronto 55

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Oliver Wahlstrom +10

Toronto: 2 with +10

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 6, Toronto 13

5-on-5: Isles 5, Toronto 12

Scratches

Robin Salo, Ross Johnston

Games Lost: 7

The Ironman

Zach Parise played in his 102nd 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 1,010…

8. Patrick Flatley 712 *** 9. Matt Martin 704 *** 10. Brock Nelson 696 *** 11. Brent Sutter 694 *** 12. Casey Cizikas 682… 

15. Billy Harris 623 *** 16. Stefan Persson 622 *** 17. Anders Lee 615 *** 18. Frans Nielsen and Cal Clutterbuck 605

Goals    

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

9. Bobby Nystrom 235 *** 10. Anders Lee 220 *** 11. Brock Nelson 214 *** 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 240 *** 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 407 ***  16. Anders Lee 385…

19. Fran Nielsen 349 *** 20. Pierre Turgeon 340 *** 21. Tomas Jonsson and Mathew Barzal 333

+/-

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

16. Tomas Jonsson +76 *** 17. Garry Howatt +75 *** 18. Adam Pelech +70 *** 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 49 *** 14. Ilya Sorokin 47

Shutouts

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

4. Tommy Salo 14 *** 5. Jaroslav Halak 12 *** 6. Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov 11

On the Farm

Bridgeport is 9-3-3-0 after a 3-2 overtime win in Providence on Sunday and sit in 2nd place in their division. Aatu Raty scored the winning goal on a breakaway; William Dufour and Erik Brown also scored for the Isles, who got 43 saves from Jakub Skarek.  Dufour now has six goals on the season; only four AHL rookies have more.

Rookie Ruslan Iskhakov and Samuel Bolduc lead the team in points (14); William Dufour, Andy Andreoff and Hudson Fasching lead the team in goals (6) while Bolduc's 12 assists lead the squad.  Cory Schneider is 6-1-1 on the season for the Baby Isles; only two AHL goalies have more wins.

The Islanders host Hartford in a Thanksgiving Eve game Wednesday.

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 1). The teams will meet again on January 23rd in Toronto before concluding the season series on March 21st at UBS Arena. 

The Isles had lost four straight to Toronto; this was the Isles' first win vs. the Leafs since November 13, 2019. Their last regular season win in Toronto was on December 29, 2018; of course, the Isles did win eleven games in the Bubble in Toronto.

UP NEXT

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd  —EDMONTON AT ISLANDERS 7:30pm

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

The Isles return home to face the Edmonton Oilers in the traditional Thanksgiving Eve home game.  This will be the 22nd time since 1991 that the Isles have played at home on the night before Thanksgiving.  The Isles have gone 9-7-5 in those 21 games.

The Isles have gone 11-1-2 in their last 14 home games against the Oilers, including a 4-3 OT win on New Year's Day 2022.  Overall, the Isles are 3-2-4 in their last nine games with the Oilers, including a 3-1 defeat in Alberta last January.

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