The Skinny: Playoff Preview

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

The Isles return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Monday. Here is a preview- Skinny style.

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THE PLAYOFFS

MONDAY, APRIL 17th  -  ISLANDERS  AT CAROLINA 7:00pm

[MSG & MSGSN (Pre-game at 6:30), ESPN 2, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

The Isles will open the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes. Games 1 and 2 will be at PNC Arena before the series moves to UBS Arena for Games 3 and 4.

The Series 

Game 1: Monday at Carolina 7:00

Game 2: Wednesday at Carolina 7:00

Game 3: Friday at UBS Arena 7:00

Game 4: Sunday at UBS Arena 1:00

Game 5: (if needed) Tuesday, April 25 at Carolina

Game 6: (if needed) Friday, April 28 at UBS Arena

Game 7: (if needed) Sunday, April 30 at Carolina

2022-23 Regular Season:

28-Oct-22 @ Carolina 6 2 W

10-Dec-22 Vs Carolina 0 3 L

21-Jan-23 Vs Carolina 2 5 L

2-Apr-23 @ Carolina 1 2 L

Brock Nelson led the Isles with three goals, while Mathew Barzal, Scott Mayfield, and Anders Lee each had two assists.

Five Carolina players each had three points, led by Sebastian Aho (3-0-3) and Jordan Staal (2-1-3).

Previous Playoff Meeting:

This will be the 2nd all-time playoff meeting between the teams.

• 2019- Round 2. Carolina won the series 4 games to 0, outscoring the Isles 13-5. 

Teuvo Teravainen led Carolina in scoring in the series, going 3-2-5; Sebastian Aho went 2-2-4. The leading Islander scorers were Devon Toews (1-2-3) and Jordan Eberle (0-3-3). Mathew Barzal (2-0-2) and Josh Bailey (1-1-2) were the other Isles with multiple points.

Going Wild

Wild Card teams are 10-18 in 28 previous series against division champions. This is the second time that the Isles have qualified as a Wild Card; they defeated Florida in six games in 2016 for their first playoff series win in 23 years. (The Wild Card has existed since 2014, but it was not used in 2020 or 2021)

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)

Games: 

Matt Martin 73

Josh Bailey 71

Casey Cizikas 69

Brock Nelson 67

Cal Clutterbuck 65

Ryan Pulock 55

Scott Mayfield 51

Consecutive Games:

Matt Martin 73  (every game since start of 2013 playoffs)

Brock Nelson 62

Josh Bailey 52

Ryan Pulock 51

Mathew Barzal 49

Scott Mayfield 49

Goals:

Brock Nelson 23

Josh Bailey 16

Mathew Barzal 13

Jean-Gabriel Pageau 11

Cal Clutterbuck 10

Anders Lee 8

Kyle Palmieri 7

Ryan Pulock 7

Matt Martin 7

Casey Cizikas 5

Assists:

Josh Bailey 34

Mathew Barzal 25

Brock Nelson 18

Ryan Pulock 13

Jean-Gabriel Pageau 13

Adam Pelech 10

Scott Mayfield 10

Casey Cizikas 10

Points:

Josh Bailey 50

Brock Nelson 41

Mathew Barzal 38

Jean-Gabriel Pageau 24

Ryan Pulock 20

Cal Clutterbuck 17

Anders Lee 16

Casey Cizikas 15

Penalty Minutes:

Matt Martin 109

Cal Clutterbuck 70

Scott Mayfield 45

Casey Cizikas 44

Mathew Barzal 37

Anders Lee 30

+/-

Scott Mayfield +22

Jean-Gabriel Pageau +19

Adam Pelech +6

Cal Clutterbuck +5

Kyle Palmieri +5

Mathew Barzal +4

PP Goals

Mathew Barzal 4

Ryan Pulock 3

Josh Bailey 3

Anders Lee 3

Brock Nelson 3 

Oliver Wahlstrom 1

Kyle Palmieri 1

SH Goals

Josh Bailey 1

 

GW Goals

Brock Nelson 7

Ryan Pulock 3

Josh Bailey 3

Mathew Barzal 2

Scott Mayfield 1

Kyle Palmieri 1

Casey Cizikas 1

Matt Martin 1

OT Goals 

Josh Bailey 2

Mathew Barzal 1

Kyle Palmieri 1

Casey Cizikas 1

Goaltending

Semyon Varlamov 18-14  2.30 GAA, .922 save percentage.

Ilya Sorokin 4-1 2.94 GAA, .921 save percentage.

(Varlamov's 18 wins is second in club history to Billy Smith's 88. Among goalies who have played at least ten post-season games, Varlamov has the best goals against average and best save percentage in club history.)

Overtime is Our Time

The Isles are 40-22 (.645) all-time in overtime, including 20-13 at home. The Isles went 4-1 in overtime in 2021; they have gone 11-9 in 20 overtime games since 2015. The Isles are the best overtime team in Stanley Cup history: 

1. Isles 40-22 .645

2. Anaheim 24-15 .615

3. Carolina 27-17 .614

4. Tampa Bay 23-16 .590

5. Colorado 46-33  .582

The Isles are also the best team on the road in Stanley Cup history:

1. Isles 20-9 .690

2. Tampa Bay 14-7 .667

3. Anaheim 15-8 .652

4. Colorado 26-14 .650

5. Carolina 13-9 .591

The Isles' winning percentage is tied-3rd at home in overtime games (teams playing at least 5 home games)

1. Carolina 14-8 .636

2. Chicago 30-18-1 .612

3. Isles 20-13 .606

        Buffalo 20-13 .606

5. Montreal 46-29-1 .605

Overtime vs. Carolina

The Isles are 0-1 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Carolina:

04/26/19 Vs Jordan Staal L (0-1) 04:04  (Brooklyn*)

*It was the last overtime game and penultimate playoff game at Barclays Center.

Coaching Numbers:

Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:

• Al Arbour 119

• Barry Trotz 28

• Jack Capuano 10

• Terry Simpson 9

• Peter Laviolette 4

• Ted Nolan 1

• Steve Stirling 1

Most playoff games coached (Islanders):

• Al Arbour 198

• Barry Trotz 49

• Jack Capuano 24

• Terry Simpson 20

• Peter Laviolette 12

• Steve Stirling 5

• Ted Nolan 5

Most overtime wins/overtime record:

• Al Arbour 26 (26-9)

• Barry Trotz 7 (7-6)

• Jack Capuano 4 (4-5)

• Terry Simpson 3 (3-0)

• Peter Laviolette 0 (0-1)

• Steve Stirling 0 (0-1)

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