Islanders explode in the third, hand Coyotes seventh straight loss: By the Numbers
Feb 25, 2015, 3:07 AM | Updated: 4:51 am
Well, that got ugly quickly.
Despite coming in with a six-game losing streak, the Arizona Coyotes went toe-to-toe with one of the East’s elite teams, the New York Islanders, through the first two periods of a matchup Tuesday in Uniondale, N.Y.
With the game tied and 20 minutes left to play, New York came out of the break with a vengeance, rattling off four goals before the halfway point of the period.
The Islanders never looked back, cruising to a convincing 5-1 victory at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and breaking a two-game losing streak. The home team’s five goals came from the sticks of five different players, and none were on a power play.
New York improved to 40-20-2, boasting a Metropolitan division-leading 82 points. The Coyotes suffered their seventh straight loss, falling to 20-34-7, including 11-18-3 on the road.
Here’s a look at the Arizona’s blowout loss, by the numbers:
1
When Edmonton beat Minnesota later in the evening, the Oilers crept up to just one point behind the Coyotes in the Pacific division. Arizona and Edmonton are battling to avoid having the Western Conference’s worst record.
4
Newcomer Mark Arcobello has already scored four goals in just six games since joining the Coyotes, his fourth team of the 2014-15 season. If the 26-year-old center were to keep up such a pace throughout an entire season, he’d end up with about 55 goals.
A wicked snipe from @sporkabella ties #ARIvsNYI. He's scored in 4 of his 6 games with @ArizonaCoyotes.
https://t.co/6hS4lkgeeG
— NHL (@NHL) February 25, 2015
7
Arizona’s seven straight losses are tied for the team’s season-worst mark, which was set from Jan. 10-27. During this latest skid — which includes three losses at home — the Coyotes have been outscored by a whopping 28-9 margin. Even more sobering is the fact the franchise hasn’t lost seven consecutive non-overtime games since February 1994, when it was named the Winnipeg Jets.
8
Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith made 34 saves Tuesday, but all five Islanders goals were against him. The 32-year-old netminder has now allowed two or more goals to opponents in eight straight games. Islanders goalie Chad Johnson, by comparison, saved all but one of the 28 shots against him in New York’s win.
19
Arcobello’s second-period goal put him at 19 points for the season, a new career high for the third-year pro. When he put up 18 points last season with Edmonton, 14 of those points were assists. This year, however, 12 of his 19 points have been goals.
27
Martin Erat and David Moss were credited with an assist on the Coyotes’ lone goal of the game. The 33-year-old Erat is in seventh place on the Coyotes with 27 points — 19 of which have been assists. The left wing has gone 1-3-4 over his last seven outings.
39-28
New York had a noticeable advantage in shots on goal for most of the night, and those extra attempts ended up paying off in the third period. The Islanders finished with a 39-28 advantage, including 12-6 in the first period and 14-8 in the third.
54-33
New York crushed the Coyotes in the hits category 54-33. The winning team also finished with a 30-28 advantage in faceoffs and easily won the takeaways battle 21-13.
104:10
When Arcobello found the net with 4:08 left in the second period, it ended a scoreless drought of 104 minutes and 10 seconds for the Coyotes — going back to about midway through the third period of a home loss to Tampa Bay two games ago. That goal also happened to be scored by Arcobello. Defenseman Michael Stone is the only other Coyote to get the puck in the net over the last three games.
