Game Preview: Islanders get ready to face Blue Jackets

"Long Island Faceoff" Staff Report

Thursday night, the Islanders and the Columbus Blue Jackets square off in a battle that the Islanders hope will bring them one step closer to making the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Islanders head coach Jack Capuano said that Thomas Greiss will be in goal for the team in the game, and the lineup will be the same as it was against the Hurricanes on Tuesday, where the Islanders won 2-1 in a shootout. 

#Isles hitting the ice for morning skate in Syosset. 🏒 pic.twitter.com/CB3y3h44d2

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) March 31, 2016

Islanders sign Schempp to Entry-level Contract

The New York Islanders announced Tuesday that the team has signed center Kyle Schempp to a two-year, entry-level contract.

Schempp will join the Islanders AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on an Amateur Tryout contract for the remainder of the 2015-16 season.

Schempp, 22, has played the past three seasons at Ferris State University, where in his current junior season has recorded nine goals and 16 assists in 41 games.

Islanders defeat the Hurricanes 2-1 in a shootout

NEW YORK (AP) - Kyle Okposo scored the only goal of the shootout and the Islanders rallied for the win.

Derek Ryan put the Hurricanes ahead late in the second period, but hit the post on his shootout attempt in Carolina's NHL-high 16th overtime loss. The Hurricanes have points in four straight games (2-0-2).

Thomas Greiss made 26 saves and Anders Lee scored his 13th goal of the season forNew York, which won for the third time in four games.

Islanders defeat Hurricanes 4-3 in OT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Cal Clutterbuck scored a deflected goal with 13.8 seconds left in overtime, and New York beat Carolina.

Clutterbuck had two goals, with his first tying it 30 seconds into the third period. Nikolay Kulemin had a goal and an assist and Kyle Okposo also scored for the Islanders, who have won two of three over a four-day span.

Victor Rask, Jeff Skinner and Jeff McClement scored during a second-period flurry for the Hurricanes.

Jean-Francois Berube made 33 saves for New York while Eddie Lack stopped 27 shots for Carolina in a matchup of desperate Metropolitan Division teams.

Clutterbuck took a pass from Brock Nelson and unleashed a shot from between the circles that clipped off Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin's chest and got past Lack.

Lightning defeat the Islanders 7-4

TAMPA, Florida (AP) " Tyler Johnson and Jason Garrison scored 23 seconds apart midway through the third period as Tampa Bay beat New York.

Tampa Bay defenseman Anton Stralman left in the first with a non-displaced fracture of the left fibula after getting checked by Anders Lee. Stralman will miss the rest of the regular season, but coach Jon Cooper didn't rule out a return at some point in the playoffs.

Johnson had a go-ahead rebound goal at 10:09 before Garrison stopped a 26-game goal drought and put the Lightning up 6-4. Garrison also had two assists after going 18 games without a point.

Tampa Bay also got goals from Nikita Kucherov, Vladislav Namestnikov, Steven Stamkos, Andrej Sustr and Victor Hedman, who had an empty-netter. The Lightning host Florida on Saturday night with first place in the Atlantic Division at stake as both teams have 91 points.

Brock Nelson, Shane Prince, Johnny Boychuk and Nikolav Kulemin scored for the Islanders. They remained a point behind third-place Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division.

Islanders defeat Senators 3-1

NEW YORK (AP) — Brock Nelson and Matt Martin scored 21 seconds apart in the second period as New York beat Ottawa to snap a season-high four-game losing streak.

John Tavares also scored in the Islanders' three-goal second period and rookie goalie Jean-Francois Berube, making just his fourth career start, stopped 22 shots.

New York, holding the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, got a needed victory in its playoff push after going 1-4-2 in its previous seven games while getting outscored 22-11.

The Islanders pulled within one point of Pittsburgh for third place in the Metropolitan Division and moved four points ahead of Philadelphia and Detroit, who are tied for the East's second and final wild card.

Mark Stone scored and Andrew Hammond finished with 20 saves for Ottawa, which lost its second straight after winning three of four.

Islanders lose to Flyers 4-1

NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Manning's first NHL goal midway through the second period snapped a tie and powered the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders on Monday night.

Nick Cousins, Sam Gagner and Claude Giroux also scored for Philadelphia, which won for the 10th time in 13 games. The surging Flyers closed within one point of Detroit for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Philadelphia trails the Islanders by three points for the first wild card. The Flyers are 2-1-0 against New York this season, with one game remaining.

The Islanders have lost five of six at a most inopportune time. They finish the regular season by playing seven of their final 11 games at home.

Kyle Okposo scored for New York, and Thomas Greiss stopped 21 shots.

Steve Mason made 23 saves for Philadelphia.

Neal, Johansen lead Predators over Islanders 4-2

Game Recap from Yahoo! Sports.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Point after precious point, Nashville keeps climbing up the standings.

James Neal and Ryan Johansen each scored a goal and added an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-2 win over the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

Ryan Ellis and Austin Watson also scored for Nashville, which has recorded at least one point in the standings in 16 of their last 17 games. With the victory, Nashville closed to within three points of the idle Chicago Blackhawks for third place in the Central Division.

The Predators played their first home game after a two-week long road trip.

''I really liked the way we played,'' Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. ''Coming off the road trip, you never know what you're going to get, but I thought we were pretty sharp from start to finish.''

Rookie Ryan Pulock and Brock Nelson had the goals for the Islanders, who have lost of four of their last five.

Neal scored the game's first goal at 9:15 of the opening period. Calle Jarnkrok carried the puck off of the right wall and from the circle, he fed Neal skating through the slot, where he beat Thomas Greiss with a wrist shot on the stick side. Neal was coming off of his first hat trick of the season in Nashville's win Monday at Edmonton.

Pulock tied it at 1 at 6:02 of the second with a wrist shot from the right point for his first career NHL goal. John Tavares assisted on the goal, giving the Islander captain his 30th of the season - the sixth time he has reached the mark.

''For sure, obviously not the outcome we wanted, but for myself, it's good to get the first one out of the way,'' Pulock said. ''It's one I'll remember forever for sure, so that's exciting.''

Nashville regained the lead at 8:13 of the second on a power-play goal by Ellis. From the top of the right circle, Ellis fired a slap shot by Greiss on the stick side.

''I've been working on that and our power play has been a little cold as of late,'' Ellis said. ''We got back down to basics and shot pucks and it seemed to work.''

Johansen followed 1:41 later when he lifted a wrist shot under the crossbar from just outside the crease on the right side.

Early in the third, Nelson squeezed a wrist shot from the right circle through Rinne to cut the Nashville lead to one.

Following Nelson's goal, New York only managed one more shot on goal the rest of the game.

''It's been the same theme for us, it's the common denominator that we try to make the sexy play and we don't want to get pucks to the net,'' Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. ''Give them a lot of credit. Every time they got an opportunity, the puck was on net. That's how you create zone time.''

Watson added an empty-net goal with 56.4 seconds remaining to seal the victory for Nashville.

Greiss had 28 saves, while Rinne finished with 20.

''I thought that all night long we played a strong game,'' Rinne said. ''They battled back, but it was a solid home game.''

NOTES: The Islanders selected Pulock with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft. ... The Islanders are 9-3-1 against the Central Division this season. ... Nashville is 24-1-3 when leading after two periods. ... Predators D Anthony Bitetto has a point in three of his last four games.

Islanders lose to Penguins 2-1 in shootout

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh's Kris Letang scored the only goal of the shootout with a pretty backhand past New York Islanders rookie goalie Jean-Francois Berube to lift the Penguins.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo and John Tavares in the shootout as Pittsburgh strengthened its hold on the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Fleury finished with 25 saves for the Penguins. Chris Kunitz scored his 14th goal of the season in the 800th game of his career. Sidney Crosby picked up the secondary assist to extend his points streak to nine games.

Berube made 33 stops in his third NHL start, including several in the extra period. Okposo's score at 14:35 of the third sent the game to overtime, but the Islanders couldn't pick up the additional point when they failed to solve Fleury in the shootout.

Islanders defeat Panthers 3-2

The Islanders were able to get the win against the
Florida Panthers on Monday night. (Getty Images)

NEW YORK (AP) - Cal Clutterbuck scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:39 remaining to cap New York’s three-goal third period, lifting the Islanders past Florida.

Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey scored earlier in the third as the Islanders scored all their goals in a 5 1/2-minute stretch after trailing 2-0 heading to the final period. Thomas Greiss finished with 23 saves as the Islanders snapped a two-game skid and pulled one point behind the crosstown-rival Rangers for second place in the Metropolitan Division.

Aleksander Barkov had a goal and an assist, Nick Bjugstad also scored and Jonathan Huberdeau had two assists for the Panthers. Roberto Luongo stopped 25 shots.

Islanders lose to Bruins 3-1

"The Neutral Zone" Staff Report

Even though they had a goal from captain John Tavares, the Islanders lost to the Boston Bruins on Saturday by a score of 3-1.

Tavares scored the Islanders' only goal in the game.

The Bruins out shot the Islanders 31-26. Louis Eriksson scored one goal and David Pastrnak scored two for the Bruins.

Tukka Rask made 25 saves for the Bruins, while Thomas Greiss made 28 saves for the Islanders.

Isles goaltender Jaroslav Halak out 'six weeks' with lower-body injury

"Long Island Faceoff" Staff Report

Jaroslav Halak

Jaroslav Halak will miss the rest of the New York Islanders’ regular season.

“He’s out at least six weeks,” Isles head coach Jack Capuano said. “We’ll go from there.”

The Islanders' goaltender suffered a lower-body injury in Tuesday's 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“He’s an experienced guy who’s been down this stretch before and played some big games for us as we’ve made our playoff run,” Capuano said. “It’s a big loss for our team, but guys are going to get an opportunity to step in and hopefully can do the job.”

Details for this article came from the Islanders' website.

Islanders lose to Maple Leafs 4-3 in shootout

TORONTO (AP) — William Nylander scored the tying goal late in regulation and Nikita Soshnikov had the only goal of the shootout to lift Toronto past the New York Islanders.

Zach Hyman and Morgan Rielly also scored in regulation and Garret Sparks stopped 24 shots for the Maple Leafs, who had lost six straight (0-5-1) — including the last five by one goal.

John Tavares, Nick Leddy, and Ryan Strome scored for the Islanders, and Thomas Greiss finished with 33 saves. New York snapped a four-game winning streak and fell to 11-2-2 in its last 15.

Strome gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead with 5:19 remaining in the third period.

Nylander, who scored his second goal in only his sixth NHL game, knocked in a rebound past Greiss for the tying goal with 1:13 left in regulation.

The Skinny: Islanders 2, Penguins 1

By Eric Hornick of the Islanders' official website.

Game 64  

Isles 2, Pittsburgh 1

Anders Lee deflected home a Nick Leddy shot for the winning goal midway through the third period for the winning goal and the Isles survived an injury that forced Jaroslav Halak from the nets with 4:22 to play as they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 before a crowd of 14,724 at Barclays Center.

The Isles improve to 7-1-0 in their last eight games as they move to 17 games over NHL-.500 for the first time this season.  The Isles are 11-2-1 in their last fourteen games, as they remain in third place in the Metropolitan Division, but move five points ahead of Pittsburgh.  The Isles remain three points behind the Rangers, and still have three games in hand on the Blueshirts.

The Scoring:

1ST PERIOD

08:04    NYI      PPG - John Tavares (24) ASST: Nick Leddy (29), Frans Nielsen (24)       1 - 0 NYI     

13:13    PIT       Kris Letang (12) ASST: Sidney Crosby (38)        1 - 1 Tie           

2ND PERIOD

NONE

3RD PERIOD

08:55    NYI      PPG - Anders Lee (12) ASST: Nick Leddy (30), Frans Nielsen (25)          2 - 1 NYI     

The Skinny:

An Islander defenseman has a point on 16 of the last 18 goals… John Tavares' goal, his team-leading 24th, ties him with Kyle Okposo for the team lead in points (52). Okposo's next point will give him the 2nd highest total of his career 69 in 2013-14…Jaroslav Halak wasn't on the ice at the end, but still recorded his 200th career win…Travis Hamonic had four shots on goal and matched a career-high with seven blocked shots…  Anders Lee stretched his point streak to four games while Nick Leddy and Frans Nielsen extended their point streaks to three games…This was the 3,400th game in Islander history and the 1,700th home game...The Isles improved to 11-26-10 in the game following a win at Madison Square Garden.

First Time in a Long Time

The Isles won a game in which they scored multiple goals, all on the power play, for the first time since April 10, 2014 in Montreal.

Moving On Up

Frans Nielsen's assist gave him 341 points as Islander, passing Pierre Turgeon for 16th place on the Isles list…The Captain, John Tavares, played in his 493rd game as an Islander, tying the original Captain, Ed Westfall, for 27th place among Isles skaters.

Two Strong in Net                  

Both Thomas Greiss (18) and Jaroslav Halak (18) now have at least 18 wins.  It's the first time since the 1985-86 season (Billy Smith-20 and Kelly Hrudey-19) that two Isles goalies have recorded 18 wins in the same season.  Dallas is the only other NHL team with two goalies with at least 18 wins this season.

The Captain's Countdown

John Tavares' goal, his first in six games was the 198th of his career.  He needs two more goals to become only the 11th player in Islander history to record 200 goals.

PK Islander

The Isles killed all 3 Pittsburgh power plays.  The penalty kill has allowed only 25 power play goals in 187 times short (86.6%), including only 10 goals in 92 times short at home (89.1%)

Most Points in The Post-Cup Era through 64 games

·        84 in 2014-15

·        81 in 2015-16

·        72 in 2001-02 and 1985-86

It's only the 2nd time since 2006-07 that the Isles have reached the 80-point mark.

Home Sweet Home

The Isles are 20-8-4 on home-ice (44 points).  In the past 28 years, the Isles have earned more than 44 points in the first 32 home games only twice (46 in first 32 at home last season and 45 in 32 in 2003-04).

The Isles have clinched an above NHL-.500 finish at home.  It is the first time since 2005-06 and 2006-07 that the Isles have recorded successive home seasons above NHL-.500.

Road Warriors

The Isles are 17-12-3 on the road this season.  In the Post-Cup era, the Isles have earned more than 37 points in the first 32 road games only once (38 in first 33 on road last season).

The Isles went 6-1-0 on their recently-completed 7-game road trip.  The Isles won only six games combined on the first three 7-game trips in their history, but are 11-3-0 in 7-game trips over the last two seasons.

·        1981-82 (1-5-1)

·        2000-01 (2-3-2)

·        2009-10 (3-2-2)

·        2014-15 (5-2-0)

·        2015-16 (6-1-0)

This was the eight game of a stretch in which the Isles are playing 12 out of 14 games on the road for only the 2nd time in their history.  From November 11 – December 9, 2009 (John Tavares' rookie season), the Isles went 5-7-2 in a stretch in which they played 12 of 14 on the road.   However the Isles changed time zones only twice in that stretch (when they visited Winnipeg and St. Louis).  The Isles will change time zones seven times during these trips.

19-Feb-16         @ Devils (Won 1-0)

23-Feb-16         @ Wild (Won 4-1)

25-Feb-16         @ Flames (Won 2-1 OT)

28-Feb-16         @ Oilers (Lost 3-1)

1-Mar-16          @ Canucks (Won 3-2)

3-Mar-16          @ Jets (Won 4-3 OT)

6-Mar-16          @ Rangers (Won 6-4)

8-Mar-16          Vs Penguins (Won 2-1)

9-Mar-16          @ Maple Leafs

12-Mar-16         @ Bruins

14-Mar-16         Vs Panthers

15-Mar-16         @ Penguins

17-Mar-16         @ Predators

19-Mar-16         @ Stars

The Shots:

Isles          8-9-10=27

Pittsburgh 12-11-12=35

Home and Road

The Islanders are 37-20-7 overall; 20-8-4 at home and 17-12-3 on the road. 

Pittsburgh is 34-24-8 overall; 20-10-4 at home and 14-14-4 on the road.

By Division

The Isles are 13-5-3 in Division games and are 24-15-4 in games against other divisions. They are 5-10-2 vs. the Atlantic Division, 9-2-1 vs. the Central Division, and 10-3-1 vs. the Pacific Division. 

The Isles are 34-11-3 since the start of last season against the Metropolitan Division. 

How The West is Won

The Isles are 19-5-2 against the Western Conference, including 12-0-2 at home. The Isles have the most wins of any Eastern Conference team against the Western Conference (Tampa Bay is 15-9-2 and the Rangers are 15-8-2). 

The Isles are guaranteed to finish with at least the 2nd-best record of an Eastern team vs. the West.  (Washington is 14-4-2 and still has 8 games left against the West)

In the Nets

Jaroslav Halak made 31 saves to improve to 18-13-4 on the season and record his 200th NHL win. Halak is 7-4-0 in his career against Pittsburgh.  Thomas Greiss stopped three shots in the final 4:22 to record the unofficial "save".

Mac-Andre Fleury made 25 saves but falls to 27-16-6 on the season and 21-10-4 in his career against the Isles.

Power Plays

The Islanders were 2-4 on the power play, while Pittsburgh was 0-3.

The two power play goals matched a season high for the Isles.

The Isles are 23-5-3 when they score at least one power play goal and 14-15-4 when they do not.  The Isles are 11-9-2 when they allow at least one power play goal and 26-11-5 when they do not. 

Three is (Usually) a Magic Number

The Isles are 30-3-0 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 7-17-7 when they do not.  The Isles were 40-8-4 when they scored at least three goals (including SO winners) last season.

One Goal Games

The Isles are 16-6-7 in games decided by a single goal including 8-6-0 in regulation. They are 4-4 in games decided in overtime and are 4-3 in shootouts.  The Isles are 6-4 in games in which an empty-net goal turns a 1 goal game into a 2-goal game.

First Goal

The Isles are 25-5-3 when they score first and are 12-15-4 when they allow the opening goal.   

Second to The One

Jack Capuano, the 2nd winningest coach in Islander history, is 202-168-53 behind the Islander bench.  Among the 9 New York area teams, only the Yankees' Joe Girardi has led his team longer than Capuano. 

Most games coached (Islanders):

1.      Al Arbour 1,500

2.      Jack Capuano 423

3.      Mike Milbury 191

4.      Terry Simpson 187

5.      Scott Gordon 181

Most wins by Islander coaches:

1.      Al Arbour 740

2.      Jack Capuano 202

3.      Terry Simpson 81

4.      Peter Laviolette 77

5.      Ted Nolan 74

Capuano is the 86th coach in NHL history to coach at least 400 games. His 202 wins is now 71st all-time.  (Tied/69 – Gerry Cheevers and Todd Richards 204)

They Tweeted It

@HTW_Sean #isles have 3rd best goal differential in NHL at +27 behind Wash (obvi) at +63 & Chicago at +31. Also only team to have played just 64 games

@EliteSportsNY WATCH OUT NHL, these #Isles are still blazing hot.

@Halak41Greiss1 Love our game tonight! We did not let the Pens push us around. We fought the full 60 minutes & got the 2-1 win! I hope Jaro is ok! #Isles

Back-to-Backs

Including tonight, The Isles are 3-4-4 on the front-end and 7-2-1 on the back end of back-to-backs this season.  This back-to-back set will conclude Wednesday in Toronto.

Tired vs. Rested

·        The Isles are 3-1-0 when both teams played the night before.

·        The Isles are 5-3-0 when they are rested and their opponents are not.

·        The Isles are 4-1-1 when their opponents are rested and the Isles are not.

Ice-time Leaders

Isles: Travis Hamonic (27:30); Pittsburgh: Kris Letang (26:58)

Isles record by ice-time leaders: Travis Hamonic (22-4-4), Johnny Boychuk (5-3-0), Calvin deHaan (2-3-1), Nick Leddy (6-7-2), John Tavares (0-2-0), Tied (0-1-0)

John Tavares led the forwards with 19:33 of ice time. Isles record by Forward ice-time leaders: John Tavares (25-16-6), Ryan Strome (2-0-0), Kyle Okposo (2-2-1), Brock Nelson (1-0-0), Frans Nielsen (4-0-0), Josh Bailey (2-0-0), Tied (1-1-0). 

Face-offs

Isles 34, Pittsburgh 27 (56%)

John Tavares won 12 of 17 for the Isles; Matt Cullen won 6 of 11 for Pittsburgh. 

The Isles won over 50% of the draws in each period.

The Isles won 26 of 47 draws at even strength, 5 of 7 on the power play and 3 of 7 on the penalty kill.

Heavy Hitters

Isles 23, Pittsburgh 15.  Cal Clutterbuck, Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin each had four hits, as Martin extended his NHL-leading total to 304.  It's the 4th time in his career that he has recorded 300 hits and the 13th time in NHL history a player has had at least 300 hits, tying Cal Clutterbuck's NHL-record for 300-hit seasons (Hits first recorded in 2005-06).

Fights

There were no fights. Season total – 18 (Martin-10, Bernier, Boychuk, Cizikas, Hamonic, Leddy, Lee, Okposo, Strait).

Blocked Shots

The Isles were credited with 22 blocked shots, including seven from Travis Hamonic.

For the Corsi Crowd

All situations:  Isles 53, Pittsburgh 68.  5-on-5: Isles 42, Rangers 55.  

The Corsi stat measures shots attempted, both for and against (including blocks). 

Matt Martin led the Isles with a +5 5-on-5 Corsi rating; Martin also had a club-leading 63% Corsi For percentage. Chris Kunitz led Pittsburgh with a +17 5-on-5 Corsi rating.

Ironmen

·        Nikolay Kulemin -214 (68 for Maple Leafs and 146 for the Isles)

·        Brock Nelson  -199 (all for Isles)

·        Anders Lee -140 (all for Isles)

Missing Men

Adam Pelech and Mikhail Grabovski are on injured reserve. Ryan Pulock replaced Marek Zidlicky (injured) in the lineup. Calvin deHaan (injured), Eric Boulton, Steve Bernier JF Berube were scratched.

The Isles have lost 155 games this season due to injury/illness.

Missing a Piece (or two)

The Isles are 13-15-2 over the last two seasons in games in which they are missing Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic or Nick Leddy, including 5-5-1 this season.  They are 5-4-1, including 2-1-1 this season, when two of the three miss a game.

All-time Islander Leader Boards:

Games Played (skaters)

1.      Bryan Trottier 1123 *** 2. Denis Potvin 1060 *** 3. Bob Nystrom 900

….

12. Kenny Jonsson 597 *** 13. Garry Howatt 596 *** 14. John Tonelli 594 *** 15. Frans Nielsen 589 *** 16. Ken Morrow 550 *** 17. Duane Sutter 547 *** 18. Lorne Henning 543 *** 19. Josh Bailey 539 *** 20. Claude Lapointe 535 *** 21. Tomas Jonsson 532 *** 22. Pat LaFontaine 530 *** 23. Dave Lewis 514 *** 24. Kyle Okposo 512 *** 25. Mick Vukota 510 *** 26. Rich Pilon 509 *** 27. Ed Westfall and John Tavares 493

Goals

1.      Mike Bossy 573 *** 2. Bryan Trottier 500 *** 3. Denis Potvin 310

….

9. Derek King 211 *** 10. John Tonelli 206*** 11. John Tavares 198

…

16. Mariusz Czerkawski 145 *** 17. Kyle Okposo 134 *** 18. Jason Blake 127 *** 19. Duane Sutter 121 *** 20. Alexei Yashin 119 *** 21. Frans Nielsen, Mark Parrish, Matt Moulson, and Steve Thomas 118

Assists

1.      Bryan Trottier 853 *** 2. Denis Potvin 742 *** 3. Mike Bossy 553 ***

…

11. Pat LaFontaine 279 *** 12. Bob Nystrom 278 *** 13. Billy Harris 259 *** 14. John Tavares 255*** 15. Tomas Jonsson 249***16. Frans Nielsen 223 *** 17. Kyle Okposo 222

…

25. Ziggy Palffy 163 *** 26. David Volek 154 *** 27. Josh Bailey 153

Points

1.      Bryan Trottier 1353 *** 2. Mike Bossy 1126 *** 3. Denis Potvin 1052

…

10. Derek King 499 *** 11. Pat Flatley 488 *** 12. John Tavares 453 ***13. Billy Harris 443 ***

14. Stefan Persson 369 *** 15. Kyle Okposo 356 *** 16. Frans Nielsen 341

…

24 Jason Blake & Steve Thomas 258 *** 26. David Volek 249 *** 27. Josh Bailey 245

Goalie Games Played

1. Billy Smith 675 *** 2. Rick DiPietro 318***3. Glenn Resch 282

…

9. Garth Snow   127***10. Evgeni Nabokov 123***11. Chris Osgood 103***12. Jaroslav Halak 95

Goalie Wins

1. Billy Smith 304 *** 2. Glenn Resch 157***3. Rick DiPietro 130

…

6. Glenn Healy 66***7. Tommy Salo 62***8. Evgeni Nabokov 57***9. Jaroslav Halak 56

Shutouts

1. Glenn Resch 25***2. Billy Smith 22***3. Rick DiPietro 19***4. Tommy Salo 14***

5. Evgeni Nabokov & Jaroslav Halak 9

Season Series Stats

The season series is tied 1 game to 1 and 2 points to 2.

The Isles are 5-1-0 in the last 6 against Pittsburgh and have won three straight at home vs. Pittsburgh for the first time since a 4-game streak in 2006 and 2007.

The Penguins did score once against the Isles, as they have in every game between the two teams since a Kelly Hrudey shutout on January 9, 1986. The 167-game team vs. team streak is the 2nd longest in NHL history. (Chicago 186 games vs Toronto from 1968 to 1998).  

The teams will meet again on March 15th in Pittsburgh and on April 2nd in Brooklyn.

On The Farm

Bridgeport coach Brent Thompson recorded his 100th win behind the bench Sunday afternoon as the Sound Tigers improved to 31-22-3-3 on the season with a 3-2 win over Hartford.  The Sound Tigers, who also beat Providence on Friday, are off until Friday when they visit Syracuse.

Up Next

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9th–ISLANDERS AT TORONTO 7:00PM

[MSG+ (Pre-game at 6:30), 91.5 WNYE-FM, 88.7 WRHU-FM, 103.9 WRCN]

The Isles begin a streak of five out of six on the road as they head to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs.

The teams split a pair of games in a home-and-home series just after Christmas, with each team winning on the other's ice.

The Isles have won three straight in Toronto and six of their last seven at the ACC.  The Isles will be looking for their first four-game win streak in TO since a seven game streak between 1978 and 1982.

Islanders defeat Penguins 2-1

NEW YORK (AP) — Anders Lee scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period, Jaroslav Halak stopped 31 shots before leaving late in the third period and got his 200th career victory and surging New York beat Pittsburgh.

Halak left the game with 4:22 left with a possible injury. Thomas Greiss replaced him and stopped all three shots he faced. Halak, in his second season with the Islanders, improved to 200-115-37 in his career.

John Tavares scored in the first period for the Islanders, who improved to 11-2-1 in their last 14 games in their first time back at Barclays Center since Feb. 18. New York was coming off a 6-1-0 trip that ended with 6-4 win against the crosstown-rival Rangers on Sunday.

Kris Letang had the Penguins' goal and Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 25 saves.

Islanders defeat the Rangers 6-4

NEW YORK (AP) — Cal Clutterbuck scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:28 remaining in the third period and the New York Islanders defeated the New York Rangers 6-4 on Sunday.

Johnny Boychuk had two goals for the Islanders, Kyle Okposo had a goal and an assist, Brock Nelson also scored and defenseman Nick Leddy had two assists. Frans Nielsen added an empty-netter with 1:01 remaining.

The Islanders, who led 3-0 and 4-2 before the Rangers rallied to tie it on Derick Brassard's goal with about 8 1/2 minutes to go, ended their season-high seven-game road trip at 6-1-0.

Eric Staal had a goal and an assist for his first points with the Rangers in his fourth game since being acquired in a trade from Carolina just before the deadline. Oscar Lindberg and Tanner Glass also scored for the Rangers.

Islanders beat Jets 4-2 in OT

New York Islanders players celebrate a 4-3 overtime
victory over the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre on
March 3, 2016 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

(Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images)

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Kyle Okposo scored off a quirky rebound 2:20 into overtime to lift the New York Islanders over the Winnipeg Jets.

New York's Frans Nielsen blasted the puck toward the net, but it hit Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers in the face. Okposo got the rebound and shot it in past Michael Hutchinson.

Calvin de Haan, Shane Prince and Anders Lee also scored, and Thomas Greiss stopped 26 shots as the Islanders improved to 5-1 on their season-high seven-game road trip that concludes Sunday against the crosstown-rival New York Rangers.

Mark Scheifele had two goals and Tyler Myers also scored for the Jets, who have lost six straight at home.

Islanders beat the Canucks 3-2

Alex Biega #55 of the Vancouver Canucks skates away
as the New York Islanders celebrate a goal by
Travis Hamonic #3 during their NHL game at Rogers
Arena March 1, 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada.

(Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Thomas Hickey scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period to help New York beat Vancouver.

Travis Hamonic and Anders Lee also scored for the Islanders, and Thomas Greiss made 31 stops. Hickey also had an assist.

Linden Vey and Daniel Sedin each had a goal for Vancouver, which got 21 saves from Jacob Markstrom.

Sedin tied it 2-all at 10:52 of the third with his 24th of the season. Hickey then scored his fourth on a drive from the point 2:03 later that appeared to hit a defender in front.