The Skinny: Isles 5, Pittsburgh 1

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 36

Isles 5, Pittsburgh 1

Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal each scored twice as the Islanders scored in the first three minutes of each period enroute to a 5-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins before a sellout crowd of 17,255 at UBS Arena.

Josh Bailey also scored a goal and added an assist in the second period; his efforts also led to a Barzal goal that was eventually credited as unassisted.  Ilya Sorokin, playing in his 100th NHL game, made 20 saves for his second straight win.

The Isles improve to 20-14-2 and are now one point behind both the Rangers and Penguins, who hold the two wild card spots. The Isles will look to sweep the homestand as they play their final game of 2022 on Thursday against Columbus. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Anders Lee (12) Brock Nelson (20) 01:03 PIT 0,NYI 1

Pierre-Olivier Joseph (2) 15:13 PIT 1,NYI 1

2nd Period

Mathew Barzal (6) Hudson Fasching (1), Josh Bailey (9) 00:50 PIT 1,NYI 2

Josh Bailey (6) Noah Dobson (14), Alexander Romanov (11) 11:32 PIT 1,NYI 3

Mathew Barzal (7) 16:42 PIT 1,NYI 4

3rd Period

Anders Lee (13) Brock Nelson (21), Ryan Pulock (12) 03:33 PIT 1,NYI 5

The Skinny   

The Isles did not reach 20 wins last season until February 27th (20-21-8)... The Isles have outscored the opposition 48-36 in the third period… , Brock Nelson retained the team scoring lead as both he and Mathew Barzal both had points, giving Nelson 36 and Barzal 35…Barzal now has 98 career goals…It was the 32nd multi-goal game and Anders Lee and the tenth for Barzal…All six goals were scored in 5-on-5 play; the Isles are +20 (81-61) at 5-on-5 this season…There were four power plays (three for the Isles) with no goals—the Isles are 0-25 in their last eight games on the power play (42:17 of PP time) and are only 7-50 at home (14.0%) on the season; however, their NHL-best home penalty killers are now 39-44 (88.6%)…Brock Nelson played in his 712th game - tying Patrick Flatley for 9th in club history;  Casey Cizikas played his 699th, leaving him in position to be the 11th player to reach 700 games as an Islander…Hudson Fasching recorded his first assist since March 21, 2017 (30 NHL games), also vs. Pittsburgh…It is the first time since November 25-26th that the Isles have won consecutive games…The Penguins fall to 8-2-2 in their last twelve games…Six Islanders had at least four shots...Alexander Romanov set a new career high with his 11th assist; Brock Nelson is now just seven assists shy of his career high of 28…Casey Cizikas had a first period goal awarded after video review and then wiped away moments later on an offside challenge... The Isles held Sidney Crosby off the board for the 19th time; he is 40-88-128 in the other 60 games he has played against the Isles.…The Isles out-attempted Pittsburgh 80-44; the difference of +36 matches their highest since January 17, 2016 (+43 in shootout loss to Vancouver); the Isles have had consecutive games of +35 or better for the first time since the statistic was recorded in 2005.

The Injuries

Oliver Wahlstrom left the game early in the first period following a hit by Pierre-Oliver Joseph; he did not return.

Chad Rudwedel left the game early in the second period; he did not return.

First Times in a Long Time

• The Islanders have won consecutive games by at least four goals for the first time since February 19-21, 1994; they were consecutive 4-0 shutouts over Ottawa and Washington. 

• The Islanders beat the Penguins by at least four goals for the first time since February 11, 2011 – the famed Fight Night game ended in a 9-3 Islander victory.

100 for Ilya

This was Ilya Sorokin's 100th NHL game (97th start).  He is now 51-35-12 in his career, with a 2.33 Goals Against Average, a .924 save percentage, and thirteen shutouts.

In the expansion era - thru 100 games, Ilya is:

• Tied-3rd with 13 shutouts

• Tied-7th with a .924 save percentage

An analytic to measure goaltenders called Quality Starts dates only to 2008-09. Sorokin recorded his 68th tonight, breaking a tie with Igor Shesterkin for 1st place in that category. 

Ilya is one of five Islander goalies to earn at least 51 wins in his first 100 games with the team, joining Jaroslav Halak (58), Roland Melanson (58), Thomas Greiss (53) and Glenn Resch (53).  Of that group, only Melanson and Resch played their first 100 NHL games as an Islander.

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2022-23  20-14-2 for 42 points in 36 games

• 2021-22  15-15-6 for 36 points in 36 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:  0-3-3

• Season: 25-56-81

• Last Season (Final) 32-128-160

The Islander defense have scored an NHL-leading 25 goals; they didn't score their 25th goal last season until April 14th.  

Zach Attack 

Zach Parise has 419 career goals, good for 9th among actives and 90th all-time. Bill Barber is 89th with 420 career goals, while Stephane Richer, Vincent Lecavalier and Steve Thomas are tied-86th with 421.

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

• Denis Potvin (72-168-240) 

• Noah Dobson (27-68-95)

• 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. Dobson turns 23 on January 7, 2023.

Home and Road

The Isles are 20-14-2 overall; they are 11-6-0 at home and 9-8-2 on the road.

Pittsburgh is 19-10-5 overall; they are 10-3-3 at home and 9-7-2 on the road.

East and West

The Isles are 11-8-1 against the East (8-4-0 vs. Metropolitan and 3-4-1 vs. Atlantic) and 9-6-1 against the West (4-6-1 vs. Central and 5-0-0 vs. Pacific).

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 58 games at UBS Arena and recorded 39 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 1,505

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,382

3. Glen Sather 1,319

First Things First

The Isles are 13-4-0 when scoring first and are 7-10-2 when allowing the opening goal.  

The Shots

Isles    14-20-8=42

Pittsburgh 12-4-5=21

The Isles are 9-6-0 when they outshoot their opponents, 0-0-0 when the shots are even and 10-8-2 when they are outshot. 

In the Nets

Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves; he is 12-11-1 on the season and 3-3-0 vs Pittsburgh. 

Tristan Jarry made 37 saves; he is 15-4-4 on the season and 10-2-0 vs. the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-3 on the power play (6:00); Pittsburgh was 0-1 on the power play (2:00).

The Isles are 9-8-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 11-6-2 when they do not. The Isles are 10-5-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 10-9-1 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 20-5-1 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 0-9-1 when they do not.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 6-3-2 in games decided by a single goal including 3-3 in regulation. They are 3-0 in games decided in overtime and are 0-2 in shootouts. The Isles are 4-6 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 at Edmonton on January 5th and Calgary on January 6th.  The Isles are 4-3-0 in the front end and 5-2-0 in the back end. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Noah Dobson (21:49);  Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (25:48)

Anders Lee led Isles forwards with 21:08 of ice-time. 

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

Face-offs

Isles 29, Pittsburgh 25 (54%)

Casey Cizikas won 7 of 10 for the Isles;  Evgeni Malkin won 6 of 9 for Pittsburgh. 

Hit Count

Isles 20 (Casey Cizikas -4)

Pittsburgh 17 (Brian Dumoulin -3)

Fights 

None.  Season total: 13 (Martin-5, Lee-2, Wahlstrom-2, Johnston-2, Cizikas, Romanov)

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 13 (Scott Mayfield -3)

Pittsburgh 18 (Two with 3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 80, Pittsburgh 44 

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 68, Pittsburgh 40

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Zach Parise +19

Pittsburgh:  Jason Zucker EVEN

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 19, Pittsburgh 6

5-on-5: Isles 16, Pittsburgh 6

Scratches

(Adam Pelech – upper body-IR), (Kyle Palmieri- upper body-IR), (Cal Clutterbuck- upper body-IR), (Semyon Varlamov-IR), (Simon Holmstrom-INJ), Ross Johnston, Robin Salo

Games Lost: 48

The Ironman

Zach Parise played in his 118th consecutive Islander game; he has played in every game since joining the team in October 2021.  It is the 24th-longest active streak in the NHL.

Challenges

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

Opponents: 1 successful, 0 failures – PIT offside 12/27

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 one goal 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)

Vs (1): Kappo Kaako @NYR  12/22 (17:13: GW)

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 (2):  David Pastrnak vs BOS 12/13

Evan Rodrigues @COL 12/19

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1. Bryan Trottier 1,123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1,060 *** 3. Josh Bailey 1,025…

7. Mike Bossy 752 *** 8. Matt Martin 720 *** 9. Patrick Flatley and Brock Nelson 712 *** 11. Casey Cizikas 699… 

14. Derek King 638 *** 15. Anders Lee 632 *** 16. Billy Harris 623 *** 17. Stefan Persson 622 *** 18. Cal Clutterbuck 613

Goals    

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

9. Bobby Nystrom 235 *** 10. Anders Lee 225 *** 11. Brock Nelson 220 *** 12. Derek King 211 *** 13. John Tonelli 206  *** 14 Billy Harris 184 *** 15. Josh Bailey 182

Assists

1. Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 *** 4. Josh Bailey 388…

15. Billy Harris 259*** 16. Tomas Jonsson 249 *** 17. Mathew Barzal 248 *** 18. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo 230 *** 20. Brock Nelson 203…

25. Alexei Yashin and Duane Sutter 171 *** 27. Anders Lee 169

Points

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

6.  Brent Sutter 610 *** 7. Josh Bailey 570  …

14. Billy Harris 443 *** 15. Brock Nelson 423 ***  16. Anders Lee 394…

19. Frans Nielsen 349 *** 20. Mathew Barzal 346

+/-

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

15. Bob Lorimer +105 *** 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 and  Ryan Pulock 40 *** 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 159…

17. Vladimir Malakhov 125 *** 18. Thomas Hickey 117 *** 19. Adam Pelech 114

Wins

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

10. Evgeni Nabokov 57 *** 11. Semyon Varlamov 56 *** 12. Mark Fitzpatrick and Ilya Sorokin 51

Shutouts

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

4. Tommy Salo 14 ***5. Ilya Sorokin 13 *** 6. Semyon Varlamov and Jaroslav Halak 12 

On the Farm

Bridgeport dropped a 7-3 decision Tuesday in Hartford.  The Islanders are 14-10-5-0 on the season but have gone 1-6-1-0 in the last eight games.

Andy Andreoff scored for the third straight game (his team-leading 16th goal) while Chis Terry padded his lead in points with his seventh goal of the season; he leads the team in both assists (20) and points (27).

Bridgeport visits Lehigh Valley on Wednesday and Springfield on Friday to wrap up the calendar year. 

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0).   The teams will meet again at UBS Arena on February 17th before playing the final two games of the season series in Pittsburgh.

The Isles are 11-5-3 in their last 19 home games with Pittsburgh, while the Penguins have gone 8-9-2 in those same 19 games. 

UP NEXT

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29th – COLUMBUS AT ISLANDERS 7:30pm

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

The Islanders close out 2022 as they meet the Columbus Blue Jackets for the third time this season.

 

The Isles have beaten Columbus twice already, winning 4-3 in overtime at home and 3-2 in Columbus. Going back to last season the Isles are 5-0-0 against the Blue Jackets in their last five games, including 3-0-0 at UBS Arena.

The Jackets, who saw their scheduled game with Buffalo on Tuesday postponed, will bring a six-game losing streak with them to UBS. 

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