2020-21 Regular Season By the Numbers

Just like that, the historic, abbreviated 56-game 2020-21 regular season has come to an end.
It was a whirlwind of a regular season and a unique one, that featured only intradivisional competition. For the Islanders, that meant scrapping against the fierce and high-caliber play of the East Division for all 56 contests.
Now, as the Islanders prepare to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, take a look back at some of the most notable numbers from this year's one-of-a-kind regular season:

12-GAME POINT STREAK

This season, the Islanders went on a 12-game point streak from Feb. 22 to Mar. 14 and posted a record of 11-0-1. During that stretch, the Islanders also rode a nine-game winning streak from Feb. 28 to March 14. It was just the fourth time in franchise history that the Islanders had won nine-consecutive games.
The 12-game point streak was the longest streak the Islanders have gone on since their franchise-record setting 17-game point streak last year .

21-4-3 HOME RECORD

Nassau Coliseum harkened back to Fort Neverlose, this season, as the Islanders went 21-4-3 on home ice in the last full-regular season played at the Coliseum. The Islanders were one of only five teams in the league to reach at least 21 wins this season.
The Islanders outscored their opponents 96-56 on home ice. Their 96 goals is tied with the New York Rangers for the fifth-most goals scored at home.

212:35 TEAM SHUTOUT RECORD

As a team, the Islanders went 212:35 between goals from April 24 to May 3. The previous record was 199:14, set back in 1997-98.

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10 SHUTOUTS

The Islanders goalie tandem of Varlamov and Sorokin recorded a league-leading 10 shutouts this season. Varlamov earned a career-high of seven shutouts and rewrote the franchise record books as posted a 213:56-shutout streak after stringing together three-consecutive clean sheets.
The tandem only allowed 125 goals against through 56 games (excluding shootout losers) for a 2.23 GAA which ranks the second lowest - behind Vegas - across the league.

.634% POINTS PERCENTAGE (12TH IN THE NHL)

The Islanders wrapped up the regular season with a .634% points percentage throughout their 56 games and were ranked 12th overall in the league.

2.23 GA/GP (2ND IN THE NHL)

The Islanders boasted the second-best goals against average in the NHL with just 2.23 goals allowed per game. They allowed 125 (excluding shootout losers) in 56 games, also a franchise best.

28.4 SA/GP (10th IN THE NHL)

The Islanders' 28.4 shots against average placed them as the 10th-ranked team in the league to allow the fewest shots against per game.

51.4 FACEOFF PERCENTAGE (9TH IN THE NHL)

The Islanders earned a 51.4% FOW in the circle this season which ranked ninth best in the league.

1,623 SHOTS (17TH IN THE NHL)

Through 56 games this season, the Islanders took 1,623 shots which ranks 17th-best in the NHL and also earned a 9.4% shooting percentage as a team.
Of the Islanders, Mathew Barzal took the most shots among the team with 134 and recorded a shooting percentage of 12.7%.

4 WINS IN SHOOTOUTS

The Islanders' four shootout wins this season were tied with three other teams (Boston, Buffalo and Carolina) for the second-most wins decided in a shootout this season.
The Islanders went 4-3 in the shootout and collected a total of 11 points in the standings in games that went to the bonus round.
Anthony Beauvillier scored the most Islanders goals in a shootout this season with three on six attempts. Beauvillier's three shootout goals are ranked the second-best in the league, but are tied with nine other skaters.

+16 THIRD PERIOD GOAL DIFFERENTIAL

The Islanders were one of the best third period teams in the NHL this season, outscoring their opponents 52-36 in the final frame. The 36 goals allowed in the third period was the fewest in the NHL this season. As a result, the Islanders were 29-3-5 when tied or leading after two periods.
The Islanders also outscored their opponents in first periods this season by a margin of 52-37.

23-2-2 WHEN SCORING FIRST

The Islanders were the first team to light the lamp in 27 games this season. Upon scoring the first goal, the Islanders established a foundation of success, going 23-2-2 this season after breaking the ice.

370 PIM

The Islanders were the third-least penalized team this season in the NHL with 370 PIMs recorded. The Islanders took 153 penalties and drew 163. The Islanders took 139 minor penalties, six majors, five misconducts and three bench minors.

83.7% PENALTY KILL (6TH IN THE NHL)

The Islanders penalty kill unit completed the season with a 83.7 PK% which ranked sixth in the NHL. In particular, the Islanders' PK ended the season on a dominant note having killed off 39 of the final 42 opponent power plays.
At home, the Islanders PK clicked at 92.3%, tops in the league one 10th of a percent shy of the NHL record. The Islanders killed off 48 of 52 penalties on home ice.
Video: WSH@NYI: Pelech unloads slap shot for unassisted SHG

4 SHORTHANDED GOALS FOR

Through 56 games, the Islanders scored four shorthanded goals, two of which came from Jean-Gabriel Pageau, while Cal Clutterbuck and Adam Pelech also scored when down a skater.
The Islanders' averaged 4:05 shorthanded TOI per game, which tied with Columbus for the lowest amount of time spent on the penalty kill per game among all teams in the league.

0 SHORTHANDED GOALS AGAINST

The Islanders were the only team to not give up a shorthanded goal this season.

18.8% POWER PLAY (21ST IN THE NHL)

The Islanders power play completed the season with an 18.8% conversion rate, which checked in 21st overall in the league. The Islanders' power play finished the month of February as the top-ranked unit as it went 9-for-22 (40.9%).
In total, the Islanders scored 27 power-play goals and averaged 2.57 power-play opportunities per game; the latter ranks in the bottom-five in the NHL at 28th.
Of the Islanders' 27 power-play goals, Brock Nelson scored a team-high of seven, while Nick Leddy recorded the most points on the power play with 11 (1G, 10A).

5 DAYS OFF

The longest stretch without a game that the Islanders received this season was five days from Feb. 1-5.

19 GAMES IN 34 DAYS

Another caveat of this year's rigorous schedule featured a slate in which the Islanders had to play 19 games in 34 days for the first time in franchise history. The grueling stretch occurred from Feb. 15 to Mar. 20. The Islanders went 14-4-1 over that span.

8 BACK-TO-BACKS

The Islanders' schedule featured eight sets of back-to-backs this season. The team went 4-2-2 in the front-half and 4-2-2 in the back-half.

1,455 HITS (1ST IN EAST DIVISION)

The Islanders threw the most bodychecks in the East Division and third-most hits in the NHL with 1,455. Per night, they averaged 25.54 hits per game.
It's no surprise that the Islanders 'Identity Line' of Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck made up the top-three of the most hits thrown among the team.
Clutterbuck threw the most hits with 191, followed by Martin (181) and Cizikas (112). Both Clutterbuck and Martin ranked in the top-10 among all players in the NHL for the most hits. Clutterbuck checked in with the fifth-most hits, while Martin placed in eighth.

797 BLOCKS (1ST IN EAST DIVISION)

The Islanders blocked a total of 797 shots, which placed first in the East Division and fourth in the league. Per game, the Islanders averaged 13.99 blocks.
Among the Islanders' squad, Scott Mayfield earned the most blocks with 108, while Ryan Pulock wasn't far off with 106. Compared to all skaters across the league, Mayfield's 108 blocks ranked the seventh-highest, while Pulock was tied with two other players for the eighth-most.

2020-21 SEASON LEADERS

Goals: Nelson (18)
Assists: Leddy (29)
Points: Barzal (45)
Plus/Minus: Barzal, Beauvillier, Pelech and Pulock (15)
PIMs: Barzal (48)
PPG: Nelson (7)
PPP: Leddy (11)
SHG: Pageau (2)
SHP: Pageau and Pelech (2)
GWG: Beauvillier (5)
OTG: Beauvillier (2)
Wins: Varlamov (19)
GAA: Varlamov (2.04)
SV%: Varlamov (.929%)
Shutouts: Varlamov (7)
Hits: Clutterbuck (191)
Blocks: Mayfield (108)

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687 DAYS

One of the most touching and uplifting moments of the regular season was
Thomas Hickey's return to an NHL lineup after 687 days.
Hickey returned to the Islanders lineup on March 20.
During the last two years, the 32-year-old defenseman has dealt with injuries and the loss of his brother Dan, who passed away to cancer last March. No matter the circumstance, Hickey provided a positive and professional attitude as he spent time with the Islanders' AHL affiliate in Bridgeport and on the Islanders' taxi squad.
Hickey returned to the Islanders lineup on March 20 and dished out two assists in an Islanders win. He played in five games this season.

22:26 TOI/GP

This season, Pulock led the Islanders with a 22:26 TOI average per game. In total, Pulock logged 1256:40, which ranks the 20th-highest among all skaters in the NHL.
Barzal led all Islanders forwards in TOI with an average of 18:43 this season.

ISLANDERSX2

On May 10,
an announcement was made
that the Islanders' top minor league affiliate playing in the American Hockey League has been renamed the Bridgeport Islanders.
Bridgeport (AHL) and the New York Islanders (NHL) hold the fifth-longest current affiliation in AHL history, dating back to Bridgeport's inaugural season in 2001-02.