The Skinny: Game 48 - Isles 3, Washington 2

Game 48Isles 3, Washington 2
Ryan Strome broke a 1-1 tie at the 6:31 mark of the third period and Johnny Boychuk's empty-net goal turned out to be the game winner as the Isles improved to 7-1-1 record in their last nine games with a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals before a crowd of 11,240 at Barclays Center. The win moves the Isles 5 games over NHL .500 for the first time this season and extends their point streak to a season-high seven games (6-0-1). Alan Quine also scored a power play goal for the Isles.
The Islanders remain unbeaten in regulation under Coach Doug Weight (5-0-1). It's the second time in club history that a coach has opened 5-0-1 or better. Peter Laviolette went 9-0-1-1 at the start of the 2001-02 season.
Thomas Greiss made 28 saves as he improved to 9-2-3 in his last 14 games.

The Scoring:1ST PERIOD
04:41 Washington Evgeny Kuznetsov (10) ASST: Justin Williams (12), Brooks Orpik (11) 0-1
2ND PERIOD
02:41 New York PPG - Alan Quine (5) ASST: Andrew Ladd (5), Calvin de Haan (10) 1-1
3RD PERIOD
06:3 New York Ryan Strome (7) ASST: Brock Nelson (15), Anthony Beauvillier (8) 2-1
18:52 New York EN - Johnny Boychuk (6) ASST: Casey Cizikas (14), John Tavares (22) 3-1
19:13 Washington Alex Ovechkin (24) ASST: Nicklas Backstrom (35), Evgeny Kuznetsov (29) 3-2
The Skinny:
The Isles improve to 6-6-4 when tied after two periods while Washington suffers only their second loss (6-2-1); both Capital losses have been to the Isles…The Isles improve to five games over NHL-.500 (22-17-9) and climb within three points out of the final playoff spot…. Ryan Strome's goal was his first since December 31st…Only John Tavares (5) and Anders Lee (5) have more power play goals than Alan Quine…John Tavares had extended his assist streak to three games, giving him 14 points (8-6-14) in the last 9 games…. The last Islander to be credited with a game-winning goal on an empty-net goal was Cal Clutterbuck (2/27/15 vs. Calgary) …Since the start of December, the Caps are 1-3-0 vs. the Isles and 19-2-4 vs. the rest of the NHL…Evgeny Kuznetsov finished January with 20 points, including 13 assists…The Isles killed 17 of Washington's 19 PPs this season… The Isles connected on the power play for the 2nd straight game; the power play is 5-14 over the last 5 games…The Caps end January with a 12-2-1 record…The Isles defense combined for 18 points in January (6-12-18), extending the season totals to 28-74-102…The Isles have played 29 of their first 48 games at home; it is the first time in their history that they have played that heavy a home schedule through 48 games.
Milestone Man
Casey Cizikas earned an assist on the empty-net goal for his 100th NHL point.
German v German
Thomas Greiss bested his countryman Philipp Grubauer in nets. It's the first time in the 100-year history of the National Hockey League that two Germans had faced each other in nets.
First Time in a Long Time
The Isles have allowed only 9 goals in the last seven games. It's the first time since December 17-31, 2002 (also goals) that the Isles have allowed 9 goals or fewer in a seven game period. That 2002 streak is the only other time it has happened in a single season since December, 1975!
Moving on Up
The Isles move within 3 points of 8th place Philadelphia (and hold three games in hand on the Flyers).
The Isles are two points behind Toronto (even in games) and one point behind Florida (with three games in hand). The Isles hold games in hand on every Eastern Conference team except Ottawa and Toronto.
Good Start for Coach Weight Continues
The Isles are 5-0-1 under Coach Weight; it is their best start EVER following a mid-season coaching change:
The only other Islander coaches to have earned points in their first six games as head coach is Peter Laviolette (who won his first four and went 9-0-1-1 in his first 11 games in 2001).
Countdown to 1,000
Jason Chimera played in his 999th NHL game. 306 skaters and two goalies have played 1000 NHL games; Chimera could reach that mark on Friday in Detroit.
Dennis Seidenberg played his 799th career game; he could play in his 800th game on Friday.
Closing In
Josh Bailey played in his 605th Islander game; he will tie Frans Nielsen for 12th all-time on the Isles list with his next appearance. Bailey has 181 assists, tying Ed Westfall for 19th.
John Tavares has 286 assists and 512 points; he is 2 assists behind Derek King for 10th and 1 point behind Bob Nystrom for 9th
#1 is #1 (aka The Greiss is Right)
Thomas Greiss has started 12 of the last 13 games (7-2-3 with a 1.99 GAA and a 93.6 save percentage) and 14 of the last 18 games (9-2-3 with a 1.92 GAA and a 94.0 save percentage). In the last 12 games that he started he has allowed only 24 goals, and 7 of those came in one game. He has allowed two goals or less in 12 of his last 14 games.
Last Long Homestand
The Isles ended January by playing six straight home games. The Isles went 5-0-1 in this stretch.
1/19 vs Stars (W 3-0)
1/21 vs. Kings (W 4-2)
1/22 vs. Flyers (L/OT 3-2)
1/24 vs. Blue Jackets (W 4-2)
1/26 vs. Canadiens (W 3-1)
1/31 vs. Capitals (W 3-2)
The Isles will play 22 of their final 34 on the road and will not have a homestand longer than two games.
The Shots
Isles 11-11-7=29
Washington 9-5-16=30
The Isles are 11-4-3 when they outshoot their opponents and 2-2-0 when the shots are even but are 9-12-5 when they are outshot.
Home and Road
The Islanders are 22-17-9 overall; 16-8-5 at home and 6-9-4 on the road.
Washington is 33-11-6 overall; 19-5-1 at home and 14-6-5 on the road.
By Division & Conference
The Isles are 6-7-2 in Division games and 16-11-6 in games versus other divisions (6-6-3 vs. Atlantic, 4-2-1 vs. Central and 6-3-2 vs. Pacific). The Isles are 12-13-5 against the East and 10-5-3 against the West.
In the Nets
Thomas Greiss made 28 saves to improve to 15-7-3 on the season and 2-1-1 in his career against Washington.
Philipp Grubauer made 26 saves but falls to 9-3-2 on the season and 0-2-0 in his (regular season) career against the Isles.
Power Plays
The Isles went 1-2 on the power play, while Washington was 0-1.
The Isles are 9-5-5 when they score at least one power play goal and 13-12-4 when they do not. The Isles are 7-9-5 when they allow at least one power play goal and 15-8-4 when they do not.
Three is a Magic Number
The Isles are 21-4-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 1-13-7 when they do not.
One Goal Games
The Isles are 7-6-9 in games decided by a single goal including 3-6-0 in regulation. They are 2-6 in games decided in overtime and are 1-3 in shootouts. The Isles are 3-1 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game (including one game that they allowed a goal after scoring an empty-netter).
First Goal
The Isles are 16-4-7 when they score first and are 6-12-3 when they allow the opening goal.
Back-to-Backs
The Isles are 4-3-1 on the front-end of back-to-backs and 2-3-3 on the back-end.
The Isles will play 16 sets of back-to-backs this season. The next back-to-back set will be on February 3rd in Detroit and February 4th at home against Carolina.
Tired vs. Rested
Ice-time Leaders
Isles: Johnny Boychuk (24:55); Washington: Matt Niskanen (22:30)
Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (5-0-0), Nick Leddy (11-13-7), John Tavares (2-1-0), Johnny Boychuk (3-3-1), Dennis Seidenberg (1-0-1)
John Tavares led the Isles forwards with 19:50 of ice-time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (15-9-7), Josh Bailey (4-5-2), Casey Cizikas (1-0-0), Cal Clutterbuck (0-1-0), Brock Nelson (1-2-0), Shane Prince (1-0-0).
Face-offs
Isles 24, Washington 24 (505%).
Casey Cizikas won 9 of 15 for the Islanders; Lars Eller won 4 of 6 for Washington.
The Isles won 15 of 28 in the first two periods but only 9 of 20 draws in the third period.
The Isles won 20 of 41 draws at even strength, 4 of 5 on the power play and 0 of 2 on the penalty kill.
Hit Count
Isles 19, Washington 17. Dennis Seidenberg led the Isles with three hits; Tom Wilson had four for Washington.
Fights
There were no fights. Season total - 9: (Boychuk 1, deHaan 1, Hamonic 3, Mayfield 1, Hickey 1, Strome 1, Chimera 1).
Blocked Shots
The Isles were credited with 16 blocked shots, including four from Dennis Seidenberg.
For the Corsi Crowd
All situations: Isles 54, Washington 60
5-on-5 Isles 42, Washington 54
5-on 5 leaders:
Isles: Nick Leddy +5; Nick Leddy 57%
Washington: Brett Connolly +16
Ironmen
Jason Chimera - 154 (including 106 for the Capitals); Josh Bailey 115
Scratches
Calvin deHaan (injured), Thomas Hickey (injured), Stephen Gionta
Injured Reserve: Travis Hamonic
Total games lost: 87
All-time Islander Leader Boards:
Games Played (skaters)
1. Bryan Trottier 1123 \\* 2. Denis Potvin 1060 \\* 3. Bob Nystrom 900
…
12. Frans Nielsen 606 \\* 13. Josh Bailey 605 \\* 14. Kenny Jonsson 597 \\* 15 Garry Howatt 596 \\* 16. John Tonelli 594 \\* 17. John Tavares 558
Goals
1. Mike Bossy 573 \\* 2. Bryan Trottier 500 \\* 3. Denis Potvin 310
…
7. Bob Bourne 238 \\* 8. Bob Nystrom 235 \\\\ 9. John Tavares 226
Assists
1. Bryan Trottier 853 \\* 2. Denis Potvin 742 \\* 3. Mike Bossy 553
…
9. Bob Bourne 304 \\* 10. Derek King 288 \\* 11. John Tavares 286
…
18. Pierre Turgeon 193 \\* 19. Ed Westfall and Josh Bailey 181
Points
1. Bryan Trottier 1353 \\* 2. Mike Bossy 1126 \\* 3. Denis Potvin 1052
…
8. Bob Bourne 542 \\* 9. Bobby Nystrom 513 \\* 10. John Tavares 512
…
21. Duane Sutter 292 \\* 22. Alexei Yashin 290 \\* 23. Ed Westfall 286 \\* 24 Josh Bailey 282
Last Minute Heroes
The Isles have scored twice in the final minute of regulation to either tie or win a game:
Fit to Be Tied
The Isles have allowed the final goal of regulation in 10 of their 12 games that have gone to overtime this season, including three in the final minute:
Late Losses
The Isles have been tied in the third period in 11 of their 17 regulation losses (and 20 of their 26 overall losses) but have allowed the lead goal in the final 3 minutes of regulation five times:
Season Series Stats
The Isles win the season series three games to two (and six points to four).
The Isles have won consecutive games over Washington for the first time since March 9 - March 26, 2014. While the Isles won consecutive overtime games at home against Washington in 2014, this is the first time that they have done so in regulation games since the 2006-07 season.
On The Farm
The Sound Tigers are enjoying their all-star break with a 25-15-1-1 record and a 7-game winning streak. Bridgeport has three games remaining on their 8-game homestand.
Bracken Kearns leads the Sound Tigers in points (16-19-35) and is tied with Steve Bernier for the goal-scoring lead with 16. Rookie Devon Toews is tied for the team lead with 22 assists. Ryan Pulock leads the defense with 6 goals (6-9-15 in only 21 games).
Bridgeport hosts Rochester on Friday and Springfield on both Saturday and Tuesday to conclude their homestand.
Up NextFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3rd - ISLANDERS AT DETROIT- 7:30PM
[MSG+ (Isles pre-game at 7:00), WCBS 880, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]
The Isles have two trips remaining to Joe Louis Arena and they are both in February. The Isles will look to stop a two game losing streak at "The Joe" when they visit on Friday.
It's the middle of a three-game season series. Dennis Dekeyser scored in overtime on December 4th at Barclays Center. The Isles went 8-1-1 against the Red Wings between 2005 and 2014 but are only 2-3-1 in their last six games against the Detroit.
The Isles will return to Detroit on February 21st in the first game of their franchise-record 9-game road trip.