By The Numbers: Islanders Sweep Penguins
A quick look at some of the notable numbers from the Isles First Round sweep of the Penguins
by Sasha Kandrach KandrachSasha / NewYorkIslanders.com
The New York Islanders swept the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0 to advance to second round. Below are some key numbers that show how the Islanders claimed the series over their Metropolitan Division rival. For a deeper dive into the stats, check out Eric Hornick's blog The Skinny. Also read the Five Keys to the Series Sweep.
6 GOALS AGAINST: The Islanders defensive style of play muted the Penguins high-octane offense through the majority of the series. Penguins leading goal scorer Jake Guentzel and points leader Sidney Crosby were held to one point each in the series and it didn't come until the fourth game when Crosby assisted on Guentzel's goal.
Video: NYI@PIT, Gm4: Lehner shuts down Guentzel's blast
130 SAVES FOR ROBIN LEHNER: Robin Lehner stopped 130-of-136 shots in the series, his first four playoff starts. Lehner, who had previously played 49 minutes of playoff hockey, outdueled two-time champion. Lehner made timely saves and only allowed one goal in each of the final three games. Lehner posted a goals against average of 1.47 and a playoff-leading .956 save percentage in the series.
4 GOALS FOR JORDAN EBERLE: Jordan Eberle spearheaded the Islanders offense with four goals in the series, finding the back of the net in every game. Eberle hadn't scored a goal in 13 previous playoff games heading into this series. Eberle also led the Isles with six points.
7 GOAL SCORERS: New York's goal scoring was spearheaded by Eberle, but the Isles secondary scoring bolstered the series sweep. New York had goals from Brock Nelson (3), Josh Bailey (3), Anthony Beauvillier (1), Nick Leddy (1) Leo Komarov (1) and Anders Lee (1).
Video: NYI@PIT, Gm4: Islanders, Penguins shake hands
4:51 TIME TRAILING - The total time the Isles trailed in the series. Through four games - 124:39 total time - the Islanders only trailed for 4:51. Pittsburgh scored first in three out of the four games, but the Isles rallied almost immediately in each instance to remove the deficit.
To really put that in perspective, Pittsburgh had an empty net for 5:55, which was 1:04 longer than the Islander trailed in the series.
90.9% PENALTY KILL: The Islanders killed 10-of-11 Penguins power plays. The Isles penalty kill halted the Penguins potent power play of Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel and Patric Hornqvist, a group that has been together for the last five years and finished fifth in the regular season.
36 YEARS BETWEEN SWEEPS: The last time the Islanders swept a playoff series was 36 years ago in the 1983 Stanley Cup Final. The Isles swept the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 to win their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup championship.
Video: NYI@PIT, Gm4: Mayfield plays goalie, protects lead
78 BLOCKS: Throughout the series, the Isles sprawled themselves out to absorb slap shots, back door attempts and just about anything and everything as part of an individual sacrifice for the benefit of the team. The Penguins blocked 58 shots, 20 fewer than the Isles.
180 HITS: There was no shortage of emotion between these Metropolitan Division rivals through the series and the scoresheet reflected that. Matt Martin led his teammates in this category with 33 total hits.
11 POINTS FOR PLAYOFF ROOKIES: New York's playoff rookies: Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier, Adam Pelech and Devon Toews combined for 11 points (1G, 10A), plus-13 and had 261:55 time on ice throughout the series. Barzal had a team-high five assists and was plus-six and played a total of 59:41. Anthony Beauvillier was the only of the bunch to score his first-career playoff goal. Beauvillier also had an assist, was plus-two and logged 41:59 time on ice. Adam Pelech had two assists, was plus-three and played 86:21. Toews had two assists, was plus-two and played 73:54.