Game 30

Canadiens 5, Isles 2

Brian Gionta scored the game-winning goal 48 seconds into the third period and then the Canadiens scored two goals in 33 seconds, both off Islanders players, as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Islanders 5-2 before a crowd of 11,012 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, dropping the Isles below .500 (13-14-3).

The Scoring:

1st Period

09:36 MTL PPG - M. Ryder (9) Wrist - ASST: A. Markov (15) AND T. Plekanec (9) 1 - 0 MTL

12:06 NYI J. Tavares (18) Wrist - ASST: M. Moulson (20) 1 - 1 TIE

2nd Period

06:58 NYI L. Visnovsky (3) Wrist - ASST: M. Moulson (21) AND B. Boyes (18) 2 - 1 NYI

10:53 MTL PPG - P. Subban (8) Slap - ASST: T. Plekanec (10) 2 - 2 TIE

3rd Period

00:48 MTL B. Gionta (10) Tip-In - ASST: D. Desharnais (9) 3 - 2 MTL

10:10 MTL P. Subban (9) Wrist - ASST: M. Pacioretty (15) AND G. Dumont (2) 4 - 2 MTL

10:43 MTL B. Gallagher (9) Backhand - ASST: M. Pacioretty (16) AND D. Desharnais (10) 5 - 2 MTL

The Skinny:

The Isles have been outscored 10-1 in the last three third periods; they have now been outscored by a 45-30 margin in the third period, including 32-16 at home … Matt Moulson has an assist in six straight games (only Sergei Gonchar (current – 9 games) has had a longer streak in the NHL this season) … Brad Boyes has 11 points in the last nine games (4-7-11) and a point in six straight games … John Tavares’ goal was his fourth in the last six games … The Isles defense has combined for 17 goals this season as Lubomir Visnovsky has scored in consecutive games … Connecticut native Max Pacioretty assisted on the final two goals; he now has 12 points in 11 career games against the Isles … David Desharnais assisted on the winning goal for his 100th NHL point.

The Record:

The Isles are now four games over .500 on the road and five games under .500 at home. It’s the first time in Islander history that they have been below .500 overall at a time when they were four games over .500 on the road.

The Shots:

Isles 10-10-7=27

Canadiens 10-9-10=29

The Dive?

Keith Aucoin was called for diving after he was shoved down by PK Subban following a whistle.

The Viz

Lubomir Visnovsky is the first Islander defenseman to score in consecutive games since Mark Streit did so from February 9-11, 2012. On Friday, he’ll have an opportunity to become the first defenseman since Streit in 2008 to score in three straight games.

Home and Road

The Islanders are 13-14-3 overall, 5-10-2 at home and 8-4-1 on the road. The Isles remain in 10th place, trailing Carolina and the Rangers by three points. With 12 points in 17 games, the Isles have earned fewer points through 17 home games than in any season since starting 4-11-2 (10 points) in 1999-2000.

The Canadiens are 20-5-5 overall, 9-3-3 at home and 11-2-2 on the road. Montreal is 14-1-4 in their last 19 games (1-1-1 against the Isles and 13-0-3 against the rest of the NHL.

In the Nets

Kevin Poulin made 24 saves in his first start since February 24. Poulin is 0-2-0 on the season.

Carey Price made 25 saves for the Canadiens. He is now 16-4-4 on the season.

Power Plays

The Islanders went 0-for-4 while the Canadiens were 2-for-4.

The Isles have 13 PP goals in their last 15 games (with all 13 goals coming in six games).

The Isles are 10-3-1 when they score at least one power play goal and 3-11-2 when they do not.

In (Almost) Every Game

The Isles have been tied or ahead in the third period in 24-of-30 games this season (13-8-3).

They Said It

John Tavares: "We've got to have that killer instinct …The first 40 minutes of the last few games have been pretty good for us. We should be confident. We want to play with the lead. It takes a lot out of you to come back."

They Tweeted It

@StapeNewsday: Dan O'Rourke watches Subban extend his arm to shove down Aucoin after whistle. Calls Aucoin for diving. #Isles on tilt.

The Coach

"It's battle level, that's the name of the game.”

As Tavares Goes…

The Isles are 1-0-0 when Tavares has four points, 1-0-1 when he has three points, 5-2-0 when he has two points, 5-3-0 when he has one point, and 1-9-2 when Tavares is pointless.

What a Pair!

John Tavares and Matt Moulson have combined for 29 goals this season. Moulson has assisted on 13 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 234 career points; he is 52 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

Mark Streit played 23:18 to lead the Isles. Andrei Markov led the Habs with 26:48.

In the Circle

The Islanders won 33-of-65 draws. Keith Aucoin won 6-of-10 for the Isles.

Heavy Hitters

The Islanders out-hit Montreal 23-17. Colin McDonald led the Isles with four hits. Matt Martin had three hits, raising his season total to an NHL-leading 144. There were no fights, leaving the Isles’ season total at 11.

Giving Up the Body

The Isles were credited with nine blocked shots. Lubomir Visnovsky led the Isles with three blocks.

All-time Winners

The Islanders are now one game over all-time .500 (1360-1359-435 in 3154 games). The Isles have been 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 5-3-1 in March.

Ironmen

Matt Moulson, the Isles’ reigning ironman, has played in all 276 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 189 consecutive games, while Nielsen and Streit have each played in 112.

Longest Consecutive Game Streaks, Islander History

1. Billy Harris 576

2. Bob Nystrom 301

3. Matt Moulson 276

4. Denis Potvin 262

Century Club

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

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

2. Bryan McCabe 10/7/1995-2/4/1998 220

3. Gerry Hart 3/1/1975-11/22/1977 198

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

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

6. Travis Hamonic 11/24/2010 – 2/4/2012 113

7. Mark Streit 10/8/2011-CURRENT 112

8. Jean Potvin 10/23/1975-1/2/1977 110

9. Kenny Jonsson 12/26/1996-2/4/1998 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

Michael Grabner and Matt Carkner were activated from Injured Reserve and replaced Eric Boulton and Radek Martinek in the lineup. Joe Finley was also scratched. David Ullstrom and Brian Strait are on Injured Reserve. Jesse Joensuu is skating with the team but has not yet been added to the active roster.

Scoring

The Isles have scored 55 goals in their 13 wins (4.23 per game) and 31 goals in their other 17 games (0-14-3; 1.83 per game). In their 14 regulation losses, the Isles have scored 22 goals (1.57 per game).

Career Wins, Active Goalies

1. Martin Brodeur 665

2. Roberto Luongo 346

3. Nikolai Khabibulin 330

4. Evgeni Nabokov 325

5. Miikka Kiprusoff 316

Career Wins

19. Nikolai Khabibulin 330

19. Harry Lumley 330

21. Evgeni Nabokov 325

22. Sean Burke 324

23. Miikka Kiprusoff 316

Career Shutouts, Active Goalies

1. Martin Brodeur 120

2. Roberto Luongo 62

3. Evgeni Nabokov 54

4. Tomas Vokoun 49

5. Nikolai Khabibulin 45

6. Miikka Kiprusoff 44

Career Shutouts

18 Clint Benedict 57

19 Evgeni Nabokov 54

19 Bernie Parent 54

19 Ed Giacomin 54

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 John Tavares 102

26 Anders Kallur 101

27 Trent Hunter 99

Career Assists as an Islander

27 Greg Gilbert 138

28 John Tavares 131

28 Jason Blake 131

30 Trent Hunter 130

31 Mark Streit 129

32 Frans Nielsen 125

33 Benoit Hogue 124

33 Mikko Makela 124

Career Games as an Islander (skaters)

25 Gerry Hart 476

26 Mariusz Czerkawski 470

27 Radek Martinek 462

28 Trent Hunter 459

39 Randy Wood 381

40 Frans Nielsen 349

41 Dave Scatchard 347

53 Ray Ferraro 316

53 Steve Webb 316

53 Richard Park 316

56 Gerald Diduck 314

57 Josh Bailey 311

58 Mikko Makela 307

59 Gordon Lane 304

60 Kyle Okposo 301

61 Arron Asham 300

61 Roman Hamrlik 300

63 Gordon Dineen 287

64 Jeffrey Norton 282

65 Matt Moulson 276

66 Steve Thomas 275

67 John Tavares 273

68 Mark Streit 268

69 Blake Comeau 261

69 Andre St. Laurent 261

Career Points as an Islander

24 Ray Ferraro 238

25 Travis Green 237

26 John Tavares 233

27 Kenny Jonsson 232

28 Greg Gilbert 231

35 Anders Kallur 211

36 Matt Moulson 202

37 Marty McInnis 198

38 Wayne Merrick 197

39 Robert Goring 195

40 Jeffrey Norton 188

41 Lorne Henning 184

42 Frans Nielsen 182

43 Kyle Okposo 172

43 Randy Wood 172

45 Claude Lapointe 171

45 Jean-Paul Parise 171

47 Shawn Bates 170

48 Jude Drouin 169

49 Dave Scatchard 168

50 Miroslav Satan 166

51 Mark Streit 166

52 Oleg Kvasha 158

Season Series Stats

Despite tonight’s loss, the Isles win the season series two games to one (and four points to three).

Happy Anniversary

31 years ago tonight (March 21, 1982): Mike Bossy broke Guy Lafleur’s single season record for points by a right wing in a 3-2 victory over Washington. In typical Bossy fashion, the historical moment was the game winning goal, coming at 19:25 of the third period. Bossy finished the season with 147 points in an 80-game season; Jaromir Jagr later broke the record with 149 points, but in an 82-game season.

All-time, the Isles are 7-8-1 on March 21st.

On The Farm

Bridgeport is 26-25-6-4 on the season heading into their game Friday in Providence. The Sound Tigers are six points out of a playoff spot with 15 games to play.

Up Next

FRIDAY, MARCH 22 PITTSBURGH AT ISLANDERS (7:00PM)

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

The going does not get any easier as the Islanders play the back-end of a back-to-back against the red-hot Penguins. Pittsburgh has won 10 straight games and are the first team in NHL history to win 10 straight games in three straight seasons.

This is the fourth of five meetings between the teams. The Penguins won in Pittsburgh on March 10 after each team had won on the road.

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.