The Skinny: Arizona 5, Isles 4

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 31

Arizona 5, Isles 4

Travis Boyd broke a 3-3 tie early in the third period and the Islanders could not catch the Coyotes, eventually dropping a 5-4 decision before a sellout crowd of 4,600 at Mullett Arena.

The Isles grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period but a late penalty to Anthony Beauvillier swung momentum as Arizona took 15 straight shots and scored three times, including the fastest pair of goals against the Isles in nine years (:14).  Noah Dobson tied the score before the second period was over but goals by Boyd and Clayton Keller gave the advantage back to Arizona.  Beauvillier's sixth-attacker goal brought the Isles close, but they could not find the equalizer. 

The Isles are 17-13-1 and will continue their season-long five-game road trip in Vegas on Saturday. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Sebastian Aho (3) Brock Nelson (17), Josh Bailey (7) 01:41 NYI 1,ARI 0

Mathew Barzal (4) Robin Salo (1), Oliver Wahlstrom (8) 13:33 NYI 2,ARI 0

Shayne Gostisbehere (7) 19:16 NYI 2,ARI 1

2nd Period

Clayton Keller (11) Nick Schmaltz (4), Barrett Hayton (4) 08:55 NYI 2,ARI 2

Nick Bjugstad (7) Josh Brown (2), Matias Maccelli (19) 09:09 NYI 2,ARI 3

Noah Dobson (10) 17:45 NYI 3,ARI 3

3rd Period

Travis Boyd (3) Jakob Chychrun (7), Nick Schmaltz (5) 02:08 NYI 3,ARI 4

Clayton Keller (12) Nick Schmaltz (6), Jakob Chychrun (8) 14:49 NYI 3,ARI 5

Anthony Beauvillier (6) Oliver Wahlstrom (9), Mathew Barzal (28) 18:21 NYI 4,ARI 5 

The Skinny  

The Isles are winless in three games (0-2-1) for the first time since three straight defeats left them at 2-4-0 in late October…The Isles did not reach 17 wins last season until February 9th (17-17-6)... Brock Nelson now has 199 assists as he looks to become the 20th player in club history to reach 200 helpers …Noah Dobson set a season-high in ice-time (24:30) and went +3; both Ryan Pulock and Alexander Romanov were -3…With his goal tonight, Dobson is now 2nd in Islander history for defenseman goals before the age of 23 with 27 goals; he is only three goals away from his career high of 13…Dobson is also the third Islander defender to reach the 10 goal mark in games or fewer, joining Denis Potvin (4x) and Bryan Berard(1997-98).... Isles had gone 7-0-0 when leading after one period before tonight; it was only the third time this season that the Isles scored multiple first period goals…Ilya Sorokin has lost five straight for the first time in his NHL career, dropping him to 10-10-0 on the season…Nick Schmaltz had three assists and went +4… Josh Bailey has five points in his last five games (1-4-5)…Ryan Pulock had two shots measured at least at 101 mph.  As of last week, Pulock had the hardest shot (101.6 mph) by an NHL defenseman this season.

The Injuries

Cal Clutterbuck left the game with about 6 minutes to play; he did not return. Kyle Palmieri was pulled off the bench by the concussion spotter but returned late in the third period.  Liam O'Brien left the game after his altercation with Scott Mayfield; he did not return. 

First Time in a Long Time

The Isles had 14 shots on goal on their power play; it was their highest power play shot total since December 15, 2018 (also 14) vs Detroit.  The Isles had not had 14 PP shots without scoring since January 13, 2017, vs. Florida.

Mister Consistency

Brock Nelson had an assist; he has not gone pointless in consecutive games this season.

Hey, Josh Bailey

Josh Bailey earned an assist on the early Sebastian Aho goal; it was his 567th point with the Islanders, passing Pat LaFontaine for 6th place on all-time point list.

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2021-22  17-13-1 for 35 points in 31 games

• 2020-21  12-13-6 for 30 points in 31 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:  2-1-3

• Season: 23-47-70

• Last Season (Final) 32-128-160

The Islander defense have scored an NHL-leading 23 goals; they didn't score their 23rd goal last season until March 31st .  

Zach Attack 

Zach Parise has 417 career goals, good for 9th among actives, and is tied with Jason Arnott is 90th all-time. Bill Barber is 89th with 420 career goals.

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

• Denis Potvin (72-168-240) 

• Noah Dobson (27-65-92)

• Bryan Berard (26-83-109)

• Tomas Jonsson (22-60-82)

• Paul Boutilier (20-69-89) 

Dobson is now 2nd in goals and is 3rd in points. The Isles will play 41 games this season before Dobson turns 23 on January 7, 2023.

Home and Road

The Isles are 17-13-1 overall; they are 9-6-0 at home and 8-7-1 on the road.

Arizona is 10-14-4 overall; they are 4-2-1 at home and 6-12-3 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 9-7-1 against the East (7-3-0 vs. Metropolitan and 2-4-1 vs. Atlantic) and 8-6-0 against the West (4-6-0 vs. Central and 4-0-0 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 56 games at UBS Arena and recorded 37 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 1,503

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,380

3. Glen Sather 1,319

First Things First

The Isles are 11-3-0 when scoring first and are 6-10-1 when allowing the opening goal.  

The Shots

Isles     11-7-16=34

Arizona  11-13-5=29

The Isles are 7-6-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 10-7-1 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves; he is 10-10-0 on the season and 2-2-0 vs Arizona.

Karel Vejmelka made 30 saves; he is 9-8-3 on the season and 2-1-0 vs. the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-5 on the power play (10:00); Arizona was 0-5 on the power play (10:00).

The Isles are 9-7-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-6-0 when they do not. The Isles are 9-4-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-9-0 when they do not.

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 17-4-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-9-0 when they do not.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 6-3-1 in games decided by a single goal including 3-3 in regulation. They are 3-0 in games decided in overtime and are 0-1 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-5 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Back-to-Backs  

This back-to-back concludes on Saturday in Vegas. The next set of back-to-backs will be at the Rangers on December 22nd and home against Florida on December 23rd.  Including tonight, the Isles are 4-2-0 in the front end and 3-2-0 in the back end. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (season-high 24:47);  Arizona: Clayton Keller (22:52)

Mathew Barzal led Isles forwards with 22:06 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Alexander Romanov (2-1-1), Noah Dobson (2-7-0), Adam Pelech (3-2-0), Ryan Pulock (4-2-0), Scott Mayfield (3-0-0), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Mathew Barzal (2-1-0)

Face-offs

Isles 33, Arizona 31 (52%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 19 of 30 for the Isles; no Coyote who took multiple face-offs won more than he lost. 

Hit Count

Isles 23 (Anders Lee and Oliver Wahlstrom-3)

Arizona 35 (Liam O'Brien -7)

Fights 

None.   Season total: 12 (Martin-4, Lee-2, Wahlstrom-2, Johnston-2, Cizikas, Romanov)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 17 (Scott Mayfield and Cal Clutterbuck -3)

Arizona 17 (JJ Moser -5)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 65, Arizona 56 (including 30-8 in the Isles' favor in the 3rd period)

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 34, Arizona 38

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Oliver Wahlstrom +10

Arizona: Nick Schmaltz +10  

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 14, Arizona 11

5-on-5: Isles 4, Arizona 8

Scratches

(Adam Pelech – upper body-IR), Simon Holmstrom, Hudson Fasching, Ross Johnston. 

Games Lost: 25

The Ironman

Zach Parise played in his 113th 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: 3 (Isles goal – Salo vs ANA 10/16 – stood; Isles no goal vs NSH 12/2-stood; Isles goal- Martin vs CHI 12/4-awarded)

Quickies

The Isles have scored two goals in under a minute six times this season (five times at home and once on road):

• 0:17 10/29 vs. COL (Mayfield and Beauvillier)

• 0:59 11/7 vs. CGY (Lee and Palmieri)

• 0:22 11/26 vs PHI (Nelson and Beauvillier)

• 0:43 12/4 vs CHI (Parise and Nelson)

• 0:21 12/6 vs STL (Fasching and Pageau)

• 0:34 12/9 @ NJD (Cizikas and Wahlstrom)

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)

Shootout Winners

Vs (1):  David Pastrnak (BOS) 12/13

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,020…

7. Mike Bossy 752 *** 8. Matt Martin 715 *** 9. Patrick Flatley 712 *** 10. Brock Nelson 707 *** 11. Brent Sutter 694 *** 12. Casey Cizikas 693… 

14. Derek King 638 *** 15. Anders Lee 626 *** 16. Billy Harris 623 *** 17. Stefan Persson 622 *** 18. Cal Clutterbuck 612

Goals    

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

9. Bobby Nystrom 235 *** 10. Anders Lee 221 *** 11. Brock Nelson 219 *** 12. Derek King 211 *** 13. John Tonelli 206  *** 14 Billy Harris 184 *** 15. Josh Bailey 181

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 386…

15. Billy Harris 259*** 16. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 247 *** 18. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 20. Brock Nelson 199…

25. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 27. Jean Potvin and Anders Lee 167

Points

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

6.  Brent Sutter 610 *** 7. Josh Bailey 567  …

14. Billy Harris 443 *** 15. Brock Nelson 418 ***  16. Anders Lee 388…

19. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 20. Mathew Barzal 342

+/-

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   

Defense Goals

1. Denis Potvin 310 *** 2. Tomas Jonsson 84 *** Kenny Jonsson 57…

6. Nick Leddy 45 *** 7. Roman Hamrlik 43 **** 8. Mark Streit 40 *** 9.  Ryan Pulock 39 *** 10. Johnny Boychuk *** 11. Adrian Aucoin 33 *** 12. Bryan Berard 31***13. Vladimir Malakhov and Noah Dobson 27

Defense Assists

1. Denis Potvin 742 *** 2. Stefan Persson 317 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 249…

8. Mark Streit 139 *** 9. Roman Hamrlik 120 *** 10. Ryan Pulock 119…

18. Dave Langevin and Thomas Hickey 95 *** 20. Adam Pelech 92

Defense Points

1. Denis Potvin 1,052 *** 2. Stefan Persson 369 *** 3. Tomas Jonsson 333…

8. Mark Streit 179 *** 9. Ryan Pulock 158…

17. Vladimir Malakhov 125 *** 18. Thomas Hickey 117 *** 19. Adam Pelech 126

Wins

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

10. Evgeni Nabokov 57 *** 11. Semyon Varlamov 55 *** 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. Semyon Varlamov, Ilya Sorokin, and Jaroslav Halak 12 

On the Farm

Bridgeport fell 2-1 in overtime to Springfield on Wednesday and then opened a three-game road trip with a 5-2 loss in Utica on Friday. Cory Schneider made 32 saves to earn Bridgeport a point on Wednesday; Utica scored four in the third period to overcome a 2-1 Isles lead on Friday.

Bridgeport is 14-7-5-0 with games Saturday in Syracuse and next Friday in Hartford standing between the team and Christmas. 

Andy Andreoff leads the team (and is tied for 6th in the AHL) in goals (13) while Chis Terry leads in both assists (17) and points (23). Cory Schneider is 10-3-2 on the season for Bridgeport; only two AHL goalies have more wins.

Season Series Stats

Arizona wins the season series, 2 games to 0 (and 4 points to 0). 

It is the first time that the Coyote franchise, which dates to 1979-80 as the Original Winnipeg Jets, has beaten the Isles twice in regulation in a single season.  (The Jets beat the Isles twice in 1983-84 but one of the wins was in overtime.)

UP NEXT

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16th – ISLANDERS AT VEGAS 10:00pm

[MSG2, MSG (after NYR) and MSGSN (after Devils), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The Islanders head to Las Vegas to meet the Golden Knights for the first time this season.

The teams split a pair of games last season, with Ilya Sorokin earning a shutout on the Strip during the season-opening road trip, and Shea Theodore's shootout winner being the difference two months later at UBS Arena.

All-time the Isles are 4-3-1 against the Golden Knights, including 2-2-0 in Las Vegas.

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