Game 7

Isles 5, Devils 4 (OT)

Brad Boyes scored 2:01 into overtime as the Islanders survived losing leads of 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3, losing their head coach to a freak injury in the third period, and a too many men on the ice penalty late in the third period to defeat the New Jersey Devils 5-4 before a sellout crowd of 17,625 at Prudential Center in Newark. With the OT win, the Isles (4-2-1) finish their road trip 3-1-1 and move into a first place tie with New Jersey (3-0-3).

The Scoring:

1st Period

14:31 NYI PPG - J. Tavares (3) Wrist - ASST: B. Boyes AND F. Nielsen 1 - 0 NYI

2nd Period

02:41 NYI PPG - K. Aucoin (4) Wrist - ASST: T. Hamonic AND A. MacDonald 2 - 0 NYI

03:13 NJD S. Bernier (1) Wrist - ASST: S. Gionta AND R. Carter 2 - 1 NYI

06:21 NJD R. Carter (1) Backhand - ASST: M. Anderson AND S. Gionta 2 - 2 TIE

07:31 NYI J. Tavares (4) Wrist - ASST: M. Moulson AND E. Nabokov 3 - 2 NYI

17:12 NJD H. Tallinder(1) Wrist - ASST: T. Zajac 3 - 3 TIE

3rd Period

11:32 NYI M. Streit (3) Deflected - ASST: D. Ullstrom AND C. Cizikas 4 - 3 NYI

13:50 NJD A. Henrique(1) Backhand - ASST: D. Clarkson AND D. Zubrus 4 - 4 TIE

OT Period

02:01 NYI PPG - B. Boyes (2) Wrist - ASST: F. Nielsen AND J. Tavares 5 - 4 NYI

The Skinny: The Islanders scored three power play goals against New Jersey for the first time since October 11, 2001 (when they had 4 PP goals in a win at Continental Airlines Arena … Aucoin’s goal gave the Islanders power play goals on five consecutive power plays over three games… The Isles are above .500 thru six games for only the second time in the last eight seasons (3-1-2 in 2010-11) … Frans Nielsen had his second consecutive multi-assist game; he and Tavares each have seven assists on the season … Evgeni Nabokov earned his second assist of the season …The Devils have played four consecutive OT/SO games, losing the last three … 30 year-old Long Island native Matt Anderson, playing just his second NHL game, recorded his first NHL point…David Clarkson assisted on Henrique’s goal; he has a point (4-4-8) in all six Devil games…Moulson, Tavares, Nielsen and Streit each extended point streaks to three games … Captain Mark Streit played in his 450th NHL game (245 with the Islanders)...The Islanders now have scored 11 second period goals; only Ottawa (12) has more … New Jersey had not allowed a second period goal in their first five games … The Devils had held the Islanders to exactly one goal in five straight games before Thursday.

The Usual Assortment of Tavares Notes:

John Tavares has goals in three straight games … It was Tavares’ first two-goal game since March 13, 2011 at Washington and the 16th time in his career that he has scored at least two goals (first time vs. New Jersey) … The Islanders are 8-1-1 in the last 10 games in which Tavares has scored at least twice … Tavares played in his 250th NHL game and scored his 87th and 88th NHL goals. His 88th goal allowed him to pass Islander legend and broadcaster Butch Goring for 33rd place on the all-time club list … Tavares now has 213 points, passing Anders Kallur and tying Jean Potvin and Garry Howatt for 32nd place on the all-time club list ... Tavares had eight shots on goal, matching a personal high.

The Shots:

Isles 7-15-9-4=35

Devils 10-11-10-1=32

Home and Road

The Islanders are 4-2-1 overall, 1-1-0 at home and 3-1-1 on the road. The Isles have earned at least a point in five of the last six games (4-1-1).

New Jersey is 3-0-3 overall, 2-0-1 at home and 1-0-2 on the road. The Devils are winless (0-0-3) in their last three games.

In the Nets

Evgeni Nabokov made 28 saves; he is 4-1-1 on the season and has earned at least a point in five straight starts. Nabokov improves to 3-7-0 in his career against the Devils.

Martin Brodeur made 30 saves; he is 3-0-2 on the season. It’s the first time he has allowed five goals to the Islanders since December 23, 2010. Brodeur is 50-27-7 in his career against the Isles.

Power Plays

The Isles went 3-for-4 on the power play while New Jersey was 0-for-5. The Isles had only 4:14 of PP time while New Jersey had 10:00. It’s the first time since January 8, 2011 (at Colorado) that the Isles have converted three power plays in a game. The Devils entered the game having allowed only three PP goals in 26 times shorthanded this season.

Over their last two games, the Isles are 5-for-6 on the power play (6:04 of PP time) while they have killed 8-of-8 (19:00 of PP time).

Special Special Teams

The Isles are 9-for-24 on the power play (37.5%) and 24-for-25 on the penalty kill (96.0%). It’s the first time in their history that the Isles have allowed only one power play goal in the first seven games.

The Isles are on pace to score 62 PP goals this season; they scored only 45 PP goals in an 82-game 2012-13 season.

Road PP

The Isles PP is now 7-for-13 (53.8%) on the road this season.

They Said It

Evgeni Nabokov: "We're realizing what it takes to win, and we have to keep doing it. We won’t succeed taking shortcuts."

They Tweeted It

RT @BruceBeck4NY: Terrific game in NJ! Congrats to @NYIslanders -- great win tonight!

The Coach

“It’s good to come on the road early when you’ve got some new players. You build that camaraderie. It’s a good way to end the trip.” Capuano missed the final 6:43 of regulation as well as overtime after he was cut when a puck was sent into the Islander player bench, yet he returned to do the television post-game interview.

TRIP-TIK

The Isles finish the road trip 3-1-1. There is a lot of home cooking coming up as 22 of the next 36 are at home before the Isles will also play five consecutive road games to end the regular season.

First Times in a Long Time

It’s the first time since 2001-02 (5-0-0) that the Isles have earned at least seven points in the first five road games (and only the third time in club history: 3-0-2 in 1981-82).

The Isles have scored 26 goals in the last six games (4.33 goals per game); it’s the most goals that they have scored in any six-game period since scoring 30 in a six-game stretch in February 2011.

The Isles have scored 27 goals in the first seven games this season (3.67 goals per game); it’s the most goals that have scored through seven games since they tallied 28 times in the first seven games in October 2001.

It’s the first time that the Isles at least share first place this late in the season since October 22, 2010, when they were 4-1-2.

The Isles have scored five power play goals over two consecutive games for the first time since October 9-11, 2010 and for the first time over two consecutive road games since March 30-April 7, 2007.

Too Early for the P Word?

This is the 14th time in Islander history that they have scored at least 27 goals in the first seven games. They made the playoffs in each of the other 13 seasons.

Head of the Class

John Tavares has 213 career points; he is 58 points ahead of Matt Duchene for most among 2009 draft picks. No other player in that draft is anywhere close. Tavares also has more goals and more assists than any other player in that draft.

Friends, Friends, Friends

Matt Moulson has four goals this season; John Tavares has earned an assist on two of them. Tavares has now been on-ice for 64 consecutive Moulson goals, earning assists on 42 of them, dating back to a Moulson goal on November 17, 2010 against Tampa Bay.

107 NHL Goals

Moulson has 107 career goals (101 as an Islander). While 262 players were selected before the Penguins chose Moulson in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, only 17 have more goals.

Road Warrior

All four of Matt Moulson’s goals this season have come on the road. Scoring on the road is nothing new for Moulson; 23 of his 36 goals last season also came on the road. Only Steven Stamkos (24) had more.

Leading Ice Men

Andrew MacDonald led the Isles with a career-high 31:16; only six players (all defensemen) have played more in a game this season than MacDonald played Thursday. It’s the most any Islander has played since Mark Streit skated 31:31 on April 6, 2010.

Ilya Kovalchuk led New Jersey with 28:09.

In the Circle

The Islanders won 33 draws; the Devils won 26. Keith Aucoin won 8-of-10 and John Tavares won 13-of-21 for the Isles; Travis Zajac won 12-of-21 for New Jersey.

Heavy Hitters

The Islanders were out-hit 12-4. Eric Boulton fought Krystofer Barch in the first period. It was the Islanders’ fourth fight of the season.

All-time Winners

The Islanders improve to four games over .500 all-time (1351-1347-433 in 3131 games). The Isles twice last season fell one game below .500. Prior to that, they had not been below .500 since they were 177-178-83 prior to their victory on January 16, 1978.

Ironmen

Matt Moulson, the Isles’ reigning ironman, has played in all 253 games since joining the team. Moulson’s streak is the longest for an Islander in the Post-Cup era and the fourth-longest in club history. Billy Harris played in the first 576 games in Islander history; that figure still stands as the club record.

Three other Islanders (Frans Nielsen, John Tavares and Mark Streit), also played in every game last season. Tavares extended his streak to 166 consecutive games, while Nielsen and Streit have each played in 89.

Longest Consecutive Game Streaks, Islander History

1. Billy Harris 576

2. Bob Nystrom 301

3. Denis Potvin 262

4. Matt Moulson 253

Missing Men

Radek Martinek and Joe Finley were scratched. Colin McDonald served the first game of a two-game suspension. Josh Bailey and Jesse Joensuu remain suspended after suffering injuries in Europe. Lubomir Visnovsky has not yet reported.

List Time

Career Wins, Active Goalies

1. Martin Brodeur 659

2. Roberto Luongo 340

3. Nikolai Khabibulin 328

4. Evgeni Nabokov 316

5. Miikka Kiprusoff 312

Career Wins

21. Sean Burke 324

22. Evgeni Nabokov 316

23. Miikka Kiprusoff 312

Career Goals as an Islander

22 Benoit Hogue 105

22 Ed Westfall 105

24 Matt Moulson 101

24 Anders Kallur 101

26 Trent Hunter 99

32 Travis Green 92

33 John Tavares 88

34 Butch Goring 87

Career Assists as an Islander – active players

1 John Tavares 125

2 Mark Streit 120

2 Frans Nielsen 120

4 Kyle Okposo 95

Career Games as an Islander (skaters)

49 Eric Cairns 327

50 Frans Nielsen 326

50 Alan Kerr 326

52 Brad Dalgarno 321

59 Arron Asham 300

59 Roman Hamrlik 300

61 Josh Bailey 292

62 Gord Dineen 287

63 Jeff Norton 282

64 Kyle Okposo 278

65 Steve Thomas 275

70 Pierre Turgeon 255

71 Matt Moulson 253

72 Jude Drouin 250

72 John Tavares 250

74 Brad Isbister 247

74 Brendan Witt 247

76 Sean Bergenheim 246

77 Mark Streit 245

78 Miroslav Satan 243

Career Points as an Islander

31 Mark Parrish 214

32 John Tavares 213

32 Jean Potvin 213

32 Garry Howatt 213

35 Anders Kallur 211

36 Marty McInnis 198

40 Lorne Henning 184

41 Matt Moulson 178

42 Frans Nielsen 174

43 Randy Wood 172

44 Claude Lapointe 171

44 JP Parise 171

46 Shawn Bates 170

47 Jude Drouin 169

48 Dave Scatchard 168

49 Miroslav Satan 166

50 Kyle Okposo 164

51 Oleg Kvasha 158

52 Mark Streit 156

53 Alan Kerr 154

54 Roman Hamrlik 153

Season Series Stats

The season series is even at one game each (Devils lead three points to two). The Isles’ win breaks a four-game losing streak against New Jersey. The teams will meet on Sunday and again on February 16 at the Coliseum before completing the season series in Newark on April 1.

Happy Anniversary

39 years ago today (1-31-74): Bob Nystrom recorded his first career hat trick as the Islanders defeated Los Angeles 4-1. Nystrom became the third Islander rookie to score three goals in a game (joining Bob Cook and Germain Gagnon).

All-time, the Isles are 9-8-1 on this date, including 6-2-0 in the last eight.

On The Farm

Kevin Poulin made 38 saves but The Sound Tigers dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to Providence. Ty Wishart had both goals for Bridgeport, who is 19-19-2-3. The Baby Isles will be in Hartford on Friday to face the Connecticut Whale (the Rangers farm team).

Up Next

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3 NEW JERSEY AT ISLANDERS (3:00PM)

[MSG+ (Pre-game show at 2:30PM), WRHU (88.7FM)]

The Islanders return home to begin a two-game home stand on Sunday against the Devils. While it will be the second consecutive game for the Isles against the Devils, New Jersey will visit Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon before reaching Long Island.

The Isles will be looking to win consecutive games, both against New Jersey, for the first time in over 26 years. On December 11, 1986 the Isles won 8-4 in New Jersey, and followed that up with a 4-2 Coliseum win two nights later.

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