The Skinny Playoff Preview

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

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

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THE PLAYOFFS

MONDAY, APRIL 20th -  ISLANDERS AT CAROLINA 5:00pm

[MSGSN (Pre-game at 4:30), TBS, WRHU 88.7 FM, WRCN 103.9FM, ESPN Radio]

For the second straight year, 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: Saturday at Carolina 5:00

Game 2: Monday at Carolina 7:30

Game 3: Thursday at Isles 7:30

Game 4: Next 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

2023-24 Regular Season:

4-Nov-23 Vs Carolina 3 4 Lot

30-Nov-23 @ Carolina 5 4 Wot

23-Dec-23 @ Carolina 5 4 W

19-Mar-24 Vs Carolina 1 4 L

Leading Isles scorers: Mathew Barzal (2-6-8), Bo Horvat (2-4-6), Noah Dobson (1-4-5), Kyle Palmieri (2-2-4) and Anders Lee (1-3-4).

Martin Necas led Carolina with five points (1-4-5), while Sebastian Aho (2-1-4), Andrei Svechnikov (0-4-4) and Brady Skjei (0-4-4) each had four. 

One unusual part of the season series – a different goaltender won all four games.

Previous Playoff Meetings:

This will be the 3rd all-time playoff meeting between the teams.

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

• 2023- Round 1. Carolina won the series 4 games to 2, outscoring the Isles 16-15.

Teuvo Teravainen led Carolina in scoring in 2019, 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.

Sebastian Aho led Carolina in scoring in 2023, going 4-3-7 while Brent Burns added five assists. Seth Jarvis and Stefan Noesen each went 2-2-4. The leading Islander scorers were Brock Nelson (2-3-5), Kyle Palmieri (2-3-5),Ryan Pulock (1-3-4), Scott Mayfield (1-2-3) and Casey Cizikas (2-1-3). Mathew Barzal (2-0-2) was the other Isle with multiple goals.

Active Islander Playoff Leaders: (As NYI)

Games: 

Matt Martin 79

Casey Cizikas 75

Brock Nelson 73

Cal Clutterbuck 71

Ryan Pulock 61

Scott Mayfield 57

Mathew Barzal 55

Adam Pelech 54

Consecutive Games:

Matt Martin 79 (every game since start of 2013 playoffs)

Brock Nelson 68

Ryan Pulock 57

Mathew Barzal 55

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 21

Ryan Pulock 16

Jean-Gabriel Pageau 14

Scott Mayfield 12

Casey Cizikas 12

Adam Pelech 11

Noah Dobson 9

Anders Lee 8

Points:

Brock Nelson 46

Mathew Barzal 40

Jean-Gabriel Pageau 25

Ryan Pulock 24

Cal Clutterbuck 18

Casey Cizikas 18

Anders Lee 17

Scott Mayfield 16

Kyle Palmieri 14

Adam Pelech 14

Penalty Minutes:

Matt Martin 125

Cal Clutterbuck 86

Casey Cizikas 60

Scott Mayfield 47

Anders Lee 42

Mathew Barzal 39

+/-

Scott Mayfield +23

Jean-Gabriel Pageau +18

Kyle Palmieri +9

Adam Pelech +7

PP Goals

Mathew Barzal 4

Ryan Pulock 3

Anders Lee 3

Brock Nelson 3 

Kyle Palmieri 2

Oliver Wahlstrom 1

Jean-Gabriel Pageau 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 18-14,  2.31 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.)

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: 

1. Isles 40-24 .625

2. Anaheim 24-15 .615

3. Carolina 30-19 .612

4. Florida 12-8 .600

5. Ottawa 22-16 .579

6. Colorado 46-34  .575

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

1. Florida 9-4 .692

2. Isles 20-10 .667

3. Tampa Bay 14-7 .667

4. Anaheim 15-8 .652

5. Colorado 26-15 .634

6. Carolina 14-9 .609

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

1. Carolina 16-10 .615

2. Chicago 30-18-1 .612

3. Buffalo 20-13 .606

4. Montreal 46-29-1 .605

5. Isles 20-14 .588

6. 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.

Coaching Numbers:

Most playoff wins by Islander coaches:

• Al Arbour 119

• Barry Trotz 28

• Jack Capuano 10

• Terry Simpson 9

• Peter Laviolette 4

• Lane Lambert 2

• 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

• Lane Lambert 6

• 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)

• Lane Lambert 0 (0-2)

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