The Skinny: Carolina 3, Isles 1 (Carolina leads series 1-0)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Eastern Conference Round 1, Game 1

Carolina 3,Isles 1

Carolina Leads Series 1-0

Evgeny Kutznetsov scored an early power play and added an assist as the Carolina Hurricanes took the opening game of their Round 1 playoff series with  a 3-1 victory over the Isles before a sellout crowd of 18,825 at PNC Arena. 

Kyle MacLean, playing his first Stanley Cup Playoff Game scored the only goal for the Isles. Frederik Andersen made 33 saves for the victory. 

Game 2 of this series will be on Monday in Raleigh, before the series shifts to Long Island for games Thursday night and Saturday afternoon.

The Scoring:

1st Period

Evgeny Kuznetsov (1)Martin Necas (1), Brady Skjei (1) 01:35 NYI 0,CAR 1 PPG

Kyle MacLean (1) Anders Lee (1), Alexander Romanov (1) 08:20 NYI 1,CAR 1

2nd Period

No Goals

3rd Period

Stefan Noesen (1) Brady Skjei (2), Evgeny Kuznetsov (1) 03:44 NYI 1,CAR 2

Martin Necas (1)EN Brett Pesce (1), Jack Drury (1) 18:28 NYI 1,CAR 3

The Series 

Game 1: Carolina 3, Isles 1

Game 2: Monday at Carolina 7:30

Game 3: Thursday at Isles 7:30

Game 4: Saturday at Isles 2:00

Game 5: (if needed) April 30 at Carolina

Game 6: (if needed) May 2 at Isles

Game 7: (if needed) May 4 at Carolina

The Skinny    

The Isles have led after the first period in only two of their last 27 playoff games (2023 R1 games 5/6)... Scott Mayfield has not played since February 22nd, but tonight ended his playoff consecutive game streak at 55…Brady Skjei now has eighteen career playoff points, including four two-point games… Kyle MacLean is the first Islander to score a goal in his playoff debut since Ryan Strome in 2015…Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his 30th career playoff goal; six of those goals have come in thirteen games against the Isles…Matt Martin is the 17th player in Isles history to play in 80 playoff games; all players ahead of him won at least one Stanley Cup for the Isles.

Earliest Power Play Goal Allowed by the Isles (Playoffs):

0:41 Brian Mullen 4/11/1990 vs Rangers

1:35 Evgeny Kuznetsov 4/20/2024 at Carolina

1:48 Larry Murphy 5/10/1993 at Pittsburgh

Pulock the Playoff Scorer

Ryan Pulock is 5th among Islander defensemen in career playoff goals:

1. Denis Potvin 56 

2. Ken Morrow 11

3. Mike McEwen 9 

Tomas Jonsson 9

5. Ryan Pulock 8

The four players ahead of him share 14 Stanley Cup rings with the Islanders.

Pulock the Playoff Hitter

In regular season play, Ryan Pulock averages 1.7 hits (802 hits in 486 games). In the playoffs, Pulock has 177 hits in 62 games (2.9 per game), and he holds the Isles career record (real-time era) for playoff hits by a defenseman.

Most Hits by an Isles Defenseman (Playoffs, since 2007)

• Johnny Boychuk  10  4/23/2015 @ WSH

• Ryan Pulock 9 4/17/2023@ CAR 

• Ryan Pulock 8 5/16/2021@ PIT

• Ryan Pulock 8 5/20/2021vs PIT

Whoa Nellie (with Apologies to Chris King)

Brock Nelson is the fifth player in club history to score 25 career playoff goals in 75 games or fewer. The others have 16 Stanley Cups and four retired jerseys:

• Mike Bossy (41 GP), 

• Butch Goring (68 GP) 

• Bryan Trottier (70 GP)

• Brock Nelson (73 GP)

• Denis Potvin (75 GP) 

The Goals (Series)

Isles         1-0-0=1 

Carolina   1-0-2=3

The Shots (Series)

Isles       8-13-13=34

Carolina 7-6-13=26

Led/Tied/Trailed

Game 1: Led: 0:00, Tied: 36:49, Trailed: 23:01

Series:   Led: 0:00, Tied: 36:49, Trailed: 23:01

Playoffs All-Time

The Isles are 174-146 in 320 all-time playoff games. They are 97-55 at home (88-44 at the Coliseum, 2-5 at Barclays, 5-2 in Toronto, 1-2 in Edmonton and 1-2 at UBS Arena) and 77-91 on the road. In this year's playoffs, the Isles are 0--0 at home and 0-1 on the road.

Offense from Defense

• Today:  0-1-1

• Playoffs 0-1-1

Home is Where the Fans Are

The Isles have played 122 regular season games at UBS Arena and recorded 89 sellouts of 17,255. The Isles have sold out 3 playoff games as well. 

Overtime is Our Time

The Isles are 40-24 (.645) all-time in overtime, including 20-14 at home. The Isles went 0-2 in overtime in 2023; they have gone 11-11 in 22 overtime games since 2015. 

(all stats below exclude Seattle)

The Isles are the best overtime team in Stanley Cup history: 

• Isles 40-24 .625

• Anaheim 24-15 .615

• Carolina 30-19 .612

• Florida 12-8 .600

• Ottawa 22-16 .579

• Colorado 46-34  .575

The Isles are also one of the best teams on the road in Stanley Cup history:

• Florida 9-4 .692

• Isles 20-10 .667

• Tampa Bay 14-7 .667

• Anaheim 15-8 .652

• Colorado 26-15 .634

• Carolina 14-9 .609

The Isles' winning percentage is tied-5th at home in overtime games  

• Carolina 16-10 .615

• Chicago 30-18-1 .612

• Buffalo 20-13 .606

• Montreal 46-29-1 .605

• Isles 20-14 .588

• Ottawa 10-7 .588

Overtime vs. Carolina

The Isles are 0-3 all-time in playoff overtime games vs. Carolina:

4/26/19 Vs Jordan Staal L (0-1) 04:04  (Brooklyn*)

4/19/23 @ Jesper Fast L (3-4)  05:03

4/28/23 Vs Paul Stastny L (1-2)  06:01

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

Sweet Lou

Lou Lamoriello has the second-highest post-season win total for any general manager in NHL history:

1. Glen Sather 187-137

2. Lou Lamoriello 171-150

Sather (324) is also the only GM with more playoff games than Lamoriello (321). Lamoriello will tie Sather's record in game 4.

First Things First

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

The Shots

Isles      8-13-13=34

Carolina  7-6-12=25

Shots by Game

Game 1:  Isles 34, Carolina 25

Series:     Isles 34, Carolina 25

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

In the Nets

Semyon Varlamov made 22 saves; he is 0-1 this year and 31-28 in his playoff career. 

Frederik Andersen made 33 saves; he is 1-0 this year and 33-26 in his playoff career.

Special Teams

The Isles were 0-2 on the power play (3:59); Carolina was 1-3 on the power play (4:12). 

Power Plays by Game

• Game 1: Isles 0-2 (3:59, 4 shots), Carolina 1-3 (4:12, 3 shots)

• Series:    Isles 0-2 (3:59, 4 shots), Carolina 1-3 (4:12, 3 shots)  

• 2023 Playoffs Isles 1-18 (32:02, 21 shots), Carolina 5-25 (36:09, 26 shots)

The Isles are 0-0 when they score at least one power play goal and 0-1 when they do not. The Isles are 0-1 when they allow at least one power play goal and 0-0 when they do not.

Three is a Magic Number

The Isles are 0-0 when they score at least three goals and are 0-1 when they do not.

One-Goal Games

The Isles are 0-0 in games decided by a single goal (0-0 in regulation and 0-0 in overtime). The Isles are 0-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1-goal game into a 2-goal game.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Bo Horvat (21:29);  Carolina: Seth Jarvis (20:38) 

Bo Horvat led Isles forwards with 21:29 of ice-time. 

Isles record by ice-time leaders:  Bo Horvat (0-1)

Face-offs

Isles 24, Carolina 34 (41%)

Brock Nelson won 9 of 16 for the Isles; Jordan Staal won 11 of 16 for Carolina. 

Face-offs by Game

• Game 1: Isles 24, Carolina 34 (41%)

• Series   : Isles 24, Carolina 34 (41%)

Hit Count

Isles 17 (Matt Martin and Bo Horvat -3)

Carolina 23 (Jordan Staal -7)

Hits by Game

• Game 1: Isles 17, Carolina 23

• Series   : Isles 17, Carolina 23

Fights 

None. Playoff total: 0

Blocked Shots

Isles 21 (Four with 4)

Carolina 13 (Brent Burns -3)

For the Analytics Crowd 

Corsi: All situations: Isles 59, Carolina 74

Corsi: 5-on-5: Isles 52, Carolina 65

Corsi Game by Game:

Game 1: (All) Isles 59, Carolina 74; (5-on-5) Isles 52, Carolina 65

Series:    (All) Isles 59, Carolina 74; (5-on-5) Isles 52, Carolina 65

5-on-5 leaders:

Isles:  Noah Dobson +9

Carolina: Jalen Chatfield +18

High Danger Scoring Chances (per Natural Stat Trick)

All situations: Isles 8, Carolina 8

5-on-5: Isles 7, Carolina 8

High-Danger Game by Game:

Game 1: (All) Isles 8, Carolina 8; (5-on-5) Isles 7, Carolina 8

Series:    (All) Isles 8, Carolina 8; (5-on-5) Isles 7, Carolina 8

2023 Playoffs: (All) Isles 89, Carolina 83; (5-on-5) Isles 68, Carolina 65

Scratches

(Scott Mayfield- LTIR), (JG Pageau- INJ), Samuel Bolduc, Oliver Wahlstrom, Ruslan Iskhakov, Sebastian Aho 

Playoff Games Lost: 2

The Ironman (Playoffs)

Matt Martin played in his 80th consecutive Islander playoff game; he has played in every Islander playoff game since 2013.

Challenges

Isles: 0 successful, 0 failures  (Regular season 3 of 7, including 1 of 3 for Roy)

Opponents: 0 successful, 0 failures (Regular season 5 of 8 were successful)

League reviews: 0  

Quickies

The Isles have not scored two goals in under a minute during this postseason. They did so eight times in the regular season. 

The Isles allowed two goals in under a minute nine times in the regular season.

Multi-Goal 3rd Period Comeback Wins

There has not been a multi-goal third period comeback in this year's playoffs.

The Isles came from two goals behind after two periods to win once and allowed the opposition to do so five times in the regular season.

 

Last Minute Heroes:

There has not been a tying or winning goal in the final three minutes of the third period in the playoffs,

In the regular season, the Isles scored five goals and allowed eight goals in the final three minutes of the third period that were either the winning goal or forced overtime. 

Overtime Winners

Playoffs:  For 0, Vs. 0

Regular Season: For 9, Vs. 11

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)

Games: 

Matt Martin 80

Casey Cizikas 76

Brock Nelson 74

Cal Clutterbuck 72

Ryan Pulock 62

Scott Mayfield 57

Consecutive Games:

Matt Martin 80 (every game since start of 2013 playoffs)

Brock Nelson 69

Ryan Pulock 58

Mathew Barzal 56

Goals:

Brock Nelson 25

Mathew Barzal 15

Jean-Gabriel Pageau 11

Cal Clutterbuck 11

Anders Lee 9

Kyle Palmieri 9

Ryan Pulock 8

Matt Martin 8

Casey Cizikas 6

Assists:

Mathew Barzal 25

Brock Nelson 22

Ryan Pulock 16

Jean-Gabriel Pageau 14

Scott Mayfield 12

Adam Pelech 11

Casey Cizikas 11

Noah Dobson 9

Anders Lee 9

Points:

Josh Bailey 50

Brock Nelson 47

Mathew Barzal 40

Jean-Gabriel Pageau 25

Ryan Pulock 24

Cal Clutterbuck 18

Anders Lee 18

Casey Cizikas 17

Penalty Minutes:

Matt Martin 127

Cal Clutterbuck 86

Casey Cizikas 60

Scott Mayfield 47

Anders Lee 44

Mathew Barzal 39

+/-

Scott Mayfield +23

Jean-Gabriel Pageau +18

Kyle Palmieri +8

Adam Pelech +6

PP Goals

Mathew Barzal 4

Ryan Pulock 3

Anders Lee 3

Brock Nelson 3 

Kyle Palmieri 2

Oliver Wahlstrom 1

SH Goals

Bo Horvat 1

 

GW Goals

Brock Nelson 7

Mathew Barzal 3

Ryan Pulock 3

Kyle Palmieri 2

Scott Mayfield 1

Casey Cizikas 1

Matt Martin 1

OT Goals 

Mathew Barzal 1

Kyle Palmieri 1

Casey Cizikas 1

Goaltending

Ilya Sorokin 6-5, 2.70 GAA, .925 save percentage.

Semyon Varlamov 18-15,  2.30 GAA, .922 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 while Sorokin has the best save percentage in club history.)

Series Stats

Carolina leads the series, 1 game to 0.

The Isles are 2-9 all-time in playoff games against Carolina, including 1-5 on the road. 

The Isles are 8-17 in series where they lose the opening game and have lost nine of their last ten series.

UP NEXT

MONDAY, APRIL 22nd –ISLANDERS AT CAROLINA – GAME 2– 7:30pm

[MSGSN (Pre-game at 7:00), ESPN2, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio].

The lsles look to even the series in Game 2 of the series. The Isles are 11-14 in game 2s of best-of-7's after losing game 1. The last time they faced this situation was in 2023 vs. Carolina; Jesper Fast scored the winning goal in overtime.

 

MSG Networks will continue to have game coverage in the first round of the playoffs. All Stanley Cup playoff games also air on either TNT/TBS or ESPN/ESPN2/ABC.

 

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