The Skinny: Isles 5, Vegas 2

"The Skinny"      

By Eric Hornick

Game 32

Isles 5, Vegas 2

Hudson Fasching and Simon Holmstrom scored second period goals to break a 1-1 tie and strong goaltending by Semyon Varlamov helped lead the Isles to a 5-2 victory over the Western Conference-leading Vegas Golden Knights before a sellout crowd of 18,007 at T-Mobile Arena.

Anders Lee scored late in the first period to give the Isles the lead while Brock Nelson and Zach Parise both hit the empty net to offset a pair of power play goals from Reilly Smith. 

The Isles are 18-13-1 and will continue their season-long five-game road trip in Colorado on Monday. 

The Scoring:

1st Period

Anders Lee (10) Anthony Beauvillier (7), Robin Salo (2) 18:58 NYI 1,VGK 0

2nd Period

Reilly Smith (15) 01:11 NYI 1,VGK 1 PPG

Hudson Fasching (2) Sebastian Aho (5), Matt Martin (6) 04:30 NYI 2,VGK 1

Simon Holmstrom (1) Zach Parise (6), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (10) 17:36 NYI 3,VGK 1

3rd Period

Reilly Smith (16) Alex Pietrangelo (19), Chandler Stephenson (22) 03:29 NYI 3,VGK 2 PPG

Brock Nelson (15)EN 18:32 NYI 4,VGK 2

Zach Parise (10)EN Brock Nelson (18), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (11) 19:48 NYI 5,VGK 2

The Skinny  

The Isles ended a three game winless streak (0-2-1) and improved to 1-1-1 on the road trip with two games to play…The Isles did not reach 18 wins last season until February 17th (18-20-6)...Brock Nelson's helper on Zach Parise's empty-netter was his 200th career assist…Isles are 8-1-0 when leading after one period and are 11-0-0 when leading after two periods…The Isles are one of four teams to have won every game they led after two periods (Dallas and Winnipeg 13-0-0; Columbus 5-0-0)…Simon Holmstrom is the 389th player in club history (including Billy Smith) to score a goal for the Isles…The Isles have outscored their opponents 44-33 in the third period (there have been 17 empty-netters, 8 for the Isles and 9 allowed…The Isles have scored four goals in their last three 1st periods, bringing the season total to 20 first period goals…The Isles did not allow a first period tally; Vegas leads the NHL with 38 goals in the first period…Sebastian Aho extended his point streak to three games… Reilly Smith recorded his fourth multi-goal game (second consecutive); Smith, who had eight points vs the Isles in the 2016 playoffs, now has seven regular season goals vs the Isles as well…Scott Mayfield went +4 while Chandler Stephenson was -4; it was only the second time in his career that Mayfield was +4 or better.…The Isles (5-0-0) and Devils (7-0-0) are the only NHL teams with a perfect record against the Pacific Division.

The Injury

Semyon Varlamov left the game with 6:22 to play.  He did not return.

What's Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander

Earlier this season, Ilya Sorokin saw his four-game win streak end when he needed to relieve Semyon Varlamov; tonight, his five-game losing streak ended the same way.

First Time in a Long Time

Simon Holmstrom is the first Islander since Cole Bardreau (11-5-19 vs Ottawa) to have his first NHL goal also be a game-winning goal. It's the 27th time it has happened, including by Clark Gillies, Bryan Trottier and John Tonelli.

Mister Consistency

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

It Happened Again

Casey Cizikas had a goal waved off when the second period buzzer beat him by about 1/10th of a second.  He was involved in a similar play, with the same result, on December 2, 2014, vs. Ottawa at the Coliseum. (h/t @SorokinFanClub)

Last Year vs. This Year

• 2021-22  18-13-1 for 37 points in 32 games

• 2020-21  13-13-6 for 32 points in 32 games

Offense from Defense

• Today:  0-2-2

• Season: 23-49-72

• 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 now has 418 career goals, good for 9th among actives; tonight's goal passed Jason Arnott for 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 18-13-1 overall; they are 9-6-0 at home and 9-7-1 on the road.

Vegas is 22-10-1 overall; they are 8-8-0 at home and 14-2-1 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 9-6-0 against the West (4-6-0 vs. Central and 5-0-0 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 1,504

2. Lou Lamoriello 1,380

3. Glen Sather 1,319

First Things First

The Isles are 12-3-0 when scoring first and are 6-10-1 when allowing the opening goal.  

The Shots

Isles     9-9-8=26

Vegas  9-17-12=38

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

Semyon Varlamov made 35 saves before leaving with 6:22 to play; he is 8-3-1 on the season and 4-3-0 vs Vegas. Ilya Sorokin stopped the only shot he faced.

Logan Thompson made 21 saves; he is 14-8-0 on the season and 0-1-0 vs. the Isles.

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play (2:42); Vegas was 2-3 on the power play (2:24).

The Isles are 9-7-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 8-7-0 when they do not. The Isles are 10-4-0 when they allow at least one power play goal and 8-9-0 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 18-4-1 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 4-5 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 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 4-2-0 in the back end. 

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Scott Mayfield (23:03);  Vegas: Alex Pietrangelo (21:45)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau led Isles forwards with 18:13 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 (4-0-0), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Mathew Barzal (2-1-0)

Face-offs

Isles 22, Vegas 32 (41%)

Jean-Gabriel Pageau won 10 of 19 for the Isles; Chandler Stephenson won 15 of 19 for Vegas. 

Hit Count

Isles 25 (Matt Martin -6)

Vegas 14 (William Carrier -4)

Fights 

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

 

Blocked Shots

Isles 18 (Five with 2)

Vegas 13 (Alec Martinez -3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 48, Vegas 76 

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 44, Vegas 63

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles: Casey Cizikas +5

Vegas: Brayden McNabb +15

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 4, Vegas 11

5-on-5: Isles 4, Vegas 9

Scratches

(Adam Pelech – upper body-IR), (Kyle Palmieri-INJ), (Cal Clutterbuck-INJ), Ross Johnston. 

Games Lost: 30

The Ironman

Zach Parise played in his 114th 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: 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 1,021…

7. Mike Bossy 752 *** 8. Matt Martin 716 *** 9. Patrick Flatley 712 *** 10. Brock Nelson 708 *** 11. Casey Cizikas 696… 

14. Derek King 638 *** 15. Anders Lee 628 *** 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 222 *** 11. Brock Nelson 220 *** 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 200…

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 420 ***  16. Anders Lee 389…

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

+/-

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 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 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 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

William Dufour had a goal and an assist, but Bridgeport fell 4-3 in Syracuse on Saturday.

Andy Andreoff leads the team (and is tied for 5th in the AHL) in goals (14) while Chis Terry leads in both assists (18) and points (24). Cory Schneider is 10-3-2 on the season for Bridgeport; only two AHL goalies have more wins.

Bridgeport, now 14-8-5-0 on the season despite going 1-4-1-0 in the last six, plays Friday in Hartford in their final game before Christmas. 

Season Series Stats

The Isles lead the season series, 1 game to 0 (and 2 points to 0). The teams will meet at UBS Arena on January 28th to complete the season series and send the Isles to their All-Star break.

All-time the Isles are 5-3-1 against the Golden Knights, including 3-2-0 in Las Vegas.

UP NEXT

MONDAY, DECEMBER 18th – ISLANDERS AT COLORADO 9:00pm

[MSGSN (pre-game at 8:30), WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The Islanders finish the western part of this five-game road trip as they face the Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche on Monday night at Ball Arena. 

The Isles will be looking to sweep the Champs, having defeated Colorado 5-4 at UBS Arena with a third period rally on October 29th .

The Isles are 1-5-1 in their last seven trips to Denver, winning only on December 17, 2018 (4-1 score).

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