Game 24

Rangers 2, Isles 1 (OT)

Marian Gaborik scored a power play goal early in overtime as the New York Rangers rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Islanders before a sellout crowd of 16,170 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The Rangers have won four straight games while the Islanders now have a four-game point streak (2-0-2), which is their longest since January 24 – February 7, 2012 (3-0-2).

The Scoring:

1st Period

11:51 NYI M. Grabner (10) Wrist - ASST: C. McDonald (5) AND A. MacDonald (4) 1 - 0 NYI

2nd Period

NONE

3rd Period

14:37 NYR R. Nash (8) Tip-In - ASST: D. Stepan (9) AND C. Hagelin (5) 1 - 1 TIE

OT Period

00:42 NYR PPG - M. Gaborik (8) Slap - ASST: R. Nash (12) AND D. Stepan (10) 2 - 1 NYR

The Skinny:

Michael Grabner is the third Islander to reach ten goals, joining Matt Moulson and John Tavares … Grabner has scored in three straight games … The Isles are the third team with three 10-goal scorers, joining Chicago and Pittsburgh … Rick Nash continues his unusual streak of scoring only in the third period – he is the first player in Rangers history to score his first eight goals in a season all in the third period … Nash now has a point in the last eight games he has played (6-7-13) … The Isles are 5-1-1 when leading after two periods … Gaborik has 22 goals in 30 career games against the Islanders; three of his eight goals this season have come against the Isles … Moulson played in his 299th NHL game … The Isles have not shut out the Rangers since December 26, 2006.

The Shots:

Isles 12-7-9-0=28

Rangers 13-7-15-2=37

Home and Road

The Islanders are 10-11-3 overall, 4-8-2 at home and 6-3-1 on the road.

The Rangers are 12-8-2 overall, 10-4-1 at home and 2-4-1 on the road.

In the Nets

Evgeni Nabokov made 35 saves; he is 10-7-2 on the season. All of Nabokov’s shutouts as an Islander came on the road. His only shutout at the Coliseum came in 2000, as a member of the Sharks.

Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves for the Rangers as he improves to 11-7-1 on the season. Lundqvist is 26-11-5 in his career against the Isles.

Power Plays

The Islanders did not have a power play while the Rangers were 1-for-3. The Isles have nine PP goals in their last nine games (with all nine goals coming in three games). This was the second time in this stretch that they did not have a single power play. It was the first time since January 7, 1989 that the Isles did not have a power play in a game against the Rangers.

The Isles are 8-2-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 2-9-2 when they do not.

In (Almost) Every Game

The Isles have been tied or ahead in the third period in 19-of-24 games this season (10-6-3).

They Said It

Matt Martin: "Maybe we're wrong, maybe they played a real clean game. We're in one of the toughest divisions in the league, and they're pretty far from a soft team. It's very frustrating."

They Tweeted It

“@KatieStrangESPN #Isles so upset abt Grabner's hooking penalty that Kyle Okposo got a 10 min misconduct and team staff received a game misconduct

The Coach

"I feel bad for the guys. They deserved a couple power plays, but [the Rangers] got the break in OT and they took advantage."

As Tavares Goes…

The Isles are 1-0-0 when Tavares has four points, 1-0-1 when he has three points, 4-2-0 when he has two points, 3-2-0 when he has one point, and 1-7-2 when Tavares is pointless.

What a Pair!

John Tavares and Matt Moulson have combined for 25 goals this season. Moulson has assisted on 10 Tavares goals this season after assisting on 12 of his 31 goals last season. Tavares has earned an assist on seven Moulson goals this season. Since November 2011, Tavares has been on ice for 39 of Moulson’s last 40 goals, earning 25 assists. Since November 2010, he has earned 47 assists on Moulson’s last 71 goals, while being on ice for 69 of them.

Head of the Class

John Tavares has 229 career points; he is 59 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.

114 NHL Goals

Moulson has 114 career goals (108 as an Islander). While 262 players were selected before the Penguins chose Moulson in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, only 17 have more goals. Moulson is one goal behind Nikolai Zherdev for 16th place.

Leading Ice Men

Andrew MacDonald played 27:34 to lead the Isles. Dan Girardi led the Rangers with 23:27

In the Circle

The Islanders won 18 draws; the Canadiens won 23. Casey Cizikas won 5-of-8 for the Isles (making it 18 of 27 in the last three games); JT Miller won 6-of-7 for the Rangers.

Heavy Hitters

The Islanders out-hit the Rangers 26-20; Colin McDonald and Matt Martin led the Isles with six hits each; Martin leads the NHL with 116. Casey Cizikas had three hits, giving that line a total of 15 for the second straight game. There were no fights, leaving the Isles’ season total at 10.

Giving Up the Body

The Isles were credited with 19 blocked shots. Andrew MacDonald led the Isles with five.

Still over .500

The Islanders remain one game over .500 all-time (1357-1356-435 in 3148 games). The Isles were one game below .500 twice last season and four times this season. Prior to that, they had not been below .500 since they were 177-178-83 before their victory on January 16, 1978.

March to Victory

The Isles were 4-2-1 in January and 4-9-1 in February. The Isles are 2-0-1 in March.

Tightening Up the Division

With the Isles earning a point and the Flyers losing, the Isles tie Philadelphia in the standings, and have one game in hand. Both teams are tied with Winnipeg for 9th place in the Eastern Conference.

Lots of Home Cooking

This was the sixth game of a seven-game home stand, which matches the club record.

• October 7- October 28, 1972 (1-5-1 in the first seven games in club history)

• December 19, 2000- January 2, 2001 (2-5-0)

• November 21-December 4, 2001 (3-2-2)

• October 14- October 31, 2006 (4-1-2)

• February 15-March 1, 2007 (5-1-1)

• February 24-March 9, 2013 (2-2-2 with one game to play)

Ironmen

Matt Moulson, the Isles’ reigning ironman, has played in all 270 games since joining the team. Moulson’s streak is the longest for an Islander in the Post-Cup era. 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 183 consecutive games, while Nielsen and Streit have each played in 106.

Longest Consecutive Game Streaks, Islander History

1. Billy Harris 576

2. Bob Nystrom 301

3. Matt Moulson 270

4. Denis Potvin 262

Century Club

Mark Streit is the ninthth Islander defenseman to play at least 100 consecutive games:

1. Denis Potvin 11/29/1975-1/17/1979 262

2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/95-2/4/98 220

3. Gerry Hart 3/1/75-11/22/77 198

4. Janne Niinimaa 3/13/2004-1/7/2006 136

5. Ken Morrow 3/1/1980-12/29/1981 134

6. Travis Hamonic 11/24/10 – 2/4/12 113

7. Jean Potvin 10/23/75-1/2/77 110

8. Mark Streit 10/8/11-CURRENT 106

9. Kenny Jonsson 12/26/96-2/4/98 104

Hamonic, McCabe and Morrow's streaks came at the start of their NHL careers. Both Niinimaa's streak and McCabe's streak encompassed their entire Islander careers.

Missing Men

Eric Boulton replaced David Ullstrom in the lineup. Lubomir Visnovsky (personal reasons) and Keith Aucoin were also scratched. Matt Carkner and Brian Strait are on Injured Reserve. Jesse Joensuu remains suspended after suffering an injury in Europe.

Scoring

The Isles have scored 44 goals in their 10 wins (4.40 per game) and 25 goals in their other 14 games (0-11-3; 1.79 per game). In their 11 regulation losses, the Isles have scored 16 goals (1.45 per game).

Career Wins, Active Goalies

1. Martin Brodeur 664

2. Roberto Luongo 344

3. Nikolai Khabibulin 330

4. Evgeni Nabokov 322

5. Miikka Kiprusoff 314

Career Wins

21. Sean Burke 324

22. Evgeni Nabokov 322

23. Miikka Kiprusoff 314

Career Shutouts, Active Goalies

1. Martin Brodeur 120

2. Roberto Luongo 62

3. Evgeni Nabokov 53

4. Tomas Vokoun 49

5. Nikolai Khabibulin 45

6. Miikka Kiprusoff 44

Career Shutouts

19 Bernie Parent 54

19 Ed Giacomin 54

21 Evgeni Nabokov 53

22 Rogie Vachon 51

22 Dave Kerr 51

22 Curtis Joseph 51

Career Goals as an Islander

21 Ray Ferraro 116

22 Matt Moulson 108

23 Benoit Hogue 105

23 Ed Westfall 105

25 Anders Kallur 101

26 Trent Hunter 99

27 John Tavares 98

28 Mikko Makela 95

28 David Volek 95

Career Assists as an Islander

28 Jason Blake 131

28 John Tavares 131

30 Trent Hunter 130

31 Mark Streit 127

32 Benoit Hogue 124

32 Mikko Makela 124

34 Ray Ferraro 122

35 Frans Nielsen 122

36 Garry Howatt 120

Career Games as an Islander (skaters)

26 Mariusz Czerkawski 470

27 Trent Hunter 459

28 Radek Martinek 457

29 Scott Lachance 450

39 Dave Scatchard 347

40 Alexei Yashin 346

41 Mark Parrish 345

42 Frans Nielsen 343

43 Marty McInnis 337

58 Josh Bailey 305

59 Gordon Lane 304

60 Arron Asham 300

60 Roman Hamrlik 300

62 Kyle Okposo 295

63 Gordon Dineen 287

64 Jeffrey Norton 282

65 Steve Thomas 275

66 Matt Moulson 270

67 John Tavares 267

68 Mark Streit 262

69 Blake Comeau 261

69 Andre St. Laurent 261

Career Points as an Islander

28 Benoit Hogue 229

28 Trent Hunter 229

28 John Tavares 229

31 Mikko Makela 219

38 Robert Goring 195

38 Matt Moulson 195

40 Jeff Norton 188

41 Lorne Henning 184

42 Frans Nielsen 178

43 Randy Wood 172

44 Claude Lapointe 171

44 Jean-Paul Parise 171

46 Shawn Bates 170

47 Kyle Okposo 169

47 Jude Drouin 169

49 Dave Scatchard 168

50 Miroslav Satan 166

51 Mark Streit 164

52 Oleg Kvasha 158

Season Series Stats

The Rangers lead the season series two games to one (and five points to three). The final meeting of the season will come on April 13 at the Coliseum.

The Isles are 3-1-1 against the Rangers in the last five at the Coliseum and 4-2-1 in their last seven home games against their local rivals.

Happy Anniversary

4 years ago today (March 7, 2009): Sean Bergenheim recorded a hat trick as the Isles pounded the Devils 7-3 at the Coliseum.

All-time, the Isles are 8-8-3 on this date, including 2-0-1 in the last 3.

On The Farm

Bridgeport is 23-24-5-4 on the season after losing to Manchester in overtime on Wednesday. The Sound Tigers are seven points out of a playoff spot with 20 games to play. Bridgeport visits Albany on Friday and is then off until Tuesday.

Up Next

SATURDAY, MARCH 9 WASHINGTON AT ISLANDERS (1:00PM)

[MSG+ (pre-game show at 12:30), WRHU (88.7FM)]

The Islanders conclude their seven-game home stand with their first meeting of the season with Washington.

The Isles are 2-0-3 in their last five games with Washington, going 2-0-2 last season.

SUNDAY, MARCH 10 ISLANDERS AT PITTSBURGH (7:00PM)

[MSG+ (pre-game show at 6:30), WRHU (88.7FM)]

The Isles will then head to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins on Sunday in the first of a three-game road trip. It’s the third meeting of the season between the teams, with each squad owning a road victory.

This game will start a stretch in which the Isles and Penguins will face each other three times in a three-week period.

And Finally…

The Skinny will not be published after Saturday’s game as I will be celebrating my son’s Bar Mitzvah. Mazel Tov, Evan!

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.