The Skinny: Isles 5, Philadelphia 2

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 23

Isles 5, Philadelphia 2

Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier scored 22 seconds apart in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and Ryan Pulock assisted on four consecutive goals as the Islanders defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Adam Pelech had given the Isles the early lead, but Lukas Sedlak evened the score before the period ended.  Joel Farabee's 5th goal in 15 games against the Isles put Philly ahead 2-1 before Zach Parise scored the first of his two power play goals to set the stage for the third period. 

The Isles scored all three goals in the third period; it was the fourth time this season that they had scored at least three goals in the final session. New York leads the NHL with 35 third period goals.

The Isles have won four straight and remain in 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division with a 15-8-0 record.  The Isles visit Philadelphia on Tuesday to complete the home-and-home, as well as the November schedule. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Adam Pelech (3) Anthony Beauvillier (5) 04:33 PHI 0,NYI 1

Lukas Sedlak (2) Kevin Hayes (15), Ivan Provorov (9) 15:27 PHI 1,NYI 1

2nd Period

Joel Farabee (5) Kevin Hayes (16), Lukas Sedlak (3) 09:28 PHI 2,NYI 1

Zach Parise (6) Ryan Pulock (7) 16:38 PHI 2,NYI 2 PPG

3rd Period

Brock Nelson (11) Ryan Pulock (8) 02:57 PHI 2,NYI 3

Anthony Beauvillier (5) Ryan Pulock (9) 03:19 PHI 2,NYI 4

Zach Parise (7) Josh Bailey (3), Ryan Pulock (10) 11:57 PHI 2,NYI 5 PPG

The Skinny             

The Isles did not reach 15 wins last season until January 25th (15-14-6)... The Isles have outscored their opponents 35-19 in the third period… The Isles lead the NHL with 35 third period goals; they have scored 42 goals in the 1st period, 2nd period, and overtime combined… The Isles went 2-3 on the power play; the power play is now 7-21 in the last seven games.…The Isles are 10-1-0 when scoring first and remain 8-0-0 when leading after the first period…With their 15-8-0 record, the Isles are at least seven games over NHL-.500 for the first time since the end of the 2021 season (32-17-7)…The Isles are 6-1-0 in divisional games this season…The Isles were outshot for the 15th time this season; their ten wins when being outshot are the most in the NHL…Brock Nelson has 11 goals; all have been scored in the last 15 games…Mathew Barzal saw his seven-game point streak end (2-8-10)… Barzal still leads the NHL in assists with 23 and the team in points with 25…Kevin Hayes has points in 8 of the last 9 games…The Flyers have lost by at least three goals nine times this season; the Isles are 7-3 in 3+ goal games…The Isles have scored multiple power play goals four times this season…The Flyers have allowed 11 power play goals in their last 25 times short and are 0-7-3 in their last ten games….Since opening the season 2-4-0, the Isles are 13-4-0 in the last 17 games.…It was the Isles' NHL-leading 8th comeback win; the Isles had only ten come-from-behind wins all last season.

First Time in a Long Time

Zach Parise scored twice on the power play for the fourth time in his career and the first time since January 27, 2013 (for Minnesota against St. Louis).  Among US-born active players, only Joe Pavelski (156) has more power play goals than Zach (124).

 

Brock Strikes Again

Brock Nelson has scored the game-winner on consecutive days for the second time in his career (also April 8-9, 2017).  Anders Lee has also done that twice (December 19-20, 2014, and January 6-7, 2020), but no other Islander has done that in the last 15 years. 

Nelson also joins Mark Parrish (October 10-11, 2001) as the only players in club history to score the game-winning goal in the 3rd period of both halves of a back-to-back set.

The club record for consecutive game-winners in 3, set by Bryan Trottier in 1982 and equaled by Miro Satan in 2007.

A Very Helpful Ryan Pulock

Ryan Pulock is the third Islander defenseman with multiple four assist games:

• Denis Potvin (7 times)

• Stefan Persson (twice)

• Ryan Pulock (1-20-2018 at Chicago and 11-26-2022 vs. Philadelphia)

Pulock had three assists in the third period.  It is second career three assist period (also February 2, 2019, vs. Los Angeles).  He is the first Islanders defenseman since Jeff Norton (twice in 1989-90 season) with multiple three assist periods.  (Denis Potvin did this five times and Stefan Persson three times; no Islander defenseman has ever had four assists in a period.)

A Fast 15

The Isles have won 15 of their first 23 games. It is the fifth time in the Post-Cup era that the Isles have won 15 times in their first 23 games or fewer:

• 1987-88 15-6-1

• 2001-02 15-5-2-1

• 2014-15 15-6-0

• 2019-20 15-3-1

• 2022-23 15-8-0

10-Win Month

The Isles are 10-4-0 in November.  It is only the fourth time in club history that they have won at least 10 games in November:

• 12-1-2 in November 1980

• 11-3-0 in November 2014

• 10-2-1 in November 1983

• 10-4-0 in November 2022

 

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2021-22  15-8-0 for 30 points in 23 games

• 2020-21  7-11-5 for 19 points in 23 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:  1-4-5

• Season: 18-37-55

• Last Season (Final) 32-128-160

The Islander defense have scored an NHL-leading eighteen goals; they didn't score their 17th goal last season until March 1st.   

The New Hit King

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

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

1. Cal Clutterbuck 3,646

2. Dustin Brown 3,632

3. Matt Martin 3,483

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 eighteen home games over the last two seasons, Sorokin has the highest save percentage (.937) and is tied with Igor Shesterkin for the 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 scored twice and now has 415 career goals, good for 9th among actives.  Zach passed 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 15-8-0 overall; they are 8-3-0 at home and 7-5-0 on the road.

Philadelphia is 7-10-5 overall; they are 4-5-1 at home and 3-5-4 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 8-5-0 against the East (6-1-0 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 52 games at UBS Arena and recorded 36 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 1,378

3. Glen Sather 1,319

First Things First

The Isles are 9-1-0 when scoring first and are 5-7-0 when allowing the opening goal.  

The Shots

Isles      6-8-9=23

Philadelphia 4-15-9=28

The Isles are 5-3-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 10-5-0 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves; he is 5-3-0 on the season and 9-3-2 vs Philadelphia.

Felix Sandstrom made 18 saves; he is 1-5-1 on the season and 0-1-0 vs. the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 2-3 on the power play (5:53); Philadelphia was 0-2 on the power play (4:00).

The Isles are 8-4-0 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 7-5-0 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 15-2-0 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 

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 3-1-0 in the back end. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Ryan Pulock (20:48);  Philadelphia: Travis Sanheim (22:44)

Brock Nelson led Isles forwards with 18:18 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 (3-1-0), Scott Mayfield (2-0-0), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Mathew Barzal (2-0-0)

Face-offs

Isles 22, Philadelphia 20 (52%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 10 of 16 for the Isles; Lukas Sedlak won 10 of 13 for Philadelphia. 

Hit Count

Isles 26 (Alexander Romanov -5)

Philadelphia 25 (Two with 4)

Fights 

Oliver Wahlstrom fought Tony DeAngelo in the 3rd period.  Season total: 6 (Lee-2, Wahlstrom-2, Johnston, Martin)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 11 (Scott Mayfield -4)

Philadelphia 11 (Two with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 46, Philadelphia 53  

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 34, Philadelphia 46

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Anders Lee - even

Philadelphia: Patrick Brown +12

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 10, Philadelphia 8

5-on-5: Isles 3, Philadelphia 7

Scratches

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

Games Lost: 10

The Ironman

Zach Parise played in his 105th 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(3): Brock Nelson vs COL 10/29 (18:39;EN/GW)

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

Overtime Winners

For (2): 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 1,013…

8. Patrick Flatley 712 *** 9. Matt Martin 707 *** 10. Brock Nelson 699 *** 11. Brent Sutter 694 *** 12. Casey Cizikas 685… 

15. Billy Harris 623 *** 16. Stefan Persson 622 *** 17. Anders Lee 618 *** 18. Cal Clutterbuck 608

Goals    

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

9. Bobby Nystrom 235 *** 10. Anders Lee 220 *** 11. Brock Nelson 216 *** 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 382…

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 562  …

14. Billy Harris 443 *** 15. Brock Nelson 409 ***  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 +74 *** 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 53 *** 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 heading into a Sunday home matinee (3pm) with Springfield. 

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 will also host Providence on Wednesday.

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The teams will meet again on Tuesday in Philadelphia.

The Isles are 13-2-2 in their last 17 games against the Flyers, including 6-0-0 in their last six home games.

UP NEXT

TUEDSDAY, NOVEMBER 29th —ISLANDERS AT PHILADELPHIA 7:30pm

[ESPN+/Hulu), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The Isles look to extend their winning streak to five games as they play the back 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 13-2-2 in their last 17 games against the Flyers and are 6-1-2 in their last nine trips to the Wells Fargo Center.

This is the first of two consecutive games available only ESPN+/Hulu.   These are the last nationally televised games for the Islanders in 2022.

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