It's Boxing Day!

If you have good thoughts about the Islanders and Boxing Day, you're right. Particularly when they play at the Coliseum.
The Islanders now have 8 wins, 1 loss, 1 overtime loss and 1 tie in home Boxing Day games. How many did you attend?

26-Dec-78 Vs Toronto 5 1 W
26-Dec-81 Vs Philadelphia 4 2 W
26-Dec-85 Vs Hartford 3 4 L
26-Dec-87 Vs Boston 2 1 W
26-Dec-91 Vs New Jersey 5 5 T
26-Dec-92 Vs New York 6 4 W
26-Dec-93 Vs Buffalo 4 3 Wot
26-Dec-95 Vs Boston 3 3 T
26-Dec-96 Vs New Jersey 4 1 W
26-Dec-98 Vs Boston 4 2 W
26-Dec-06 Vs New York 2 0 W
26-Dec-07 Vs Toronto

The Isles are 3-0 against the Rangers on Boxing Day, winning 2-1 in 1976 at MSG behind Howatt's GWG and 42 saves by Billy Smith, 6-4 in 1992 at the Coliseum behind 2 Steve Thomas goals, and 2-0 last year behind a DiPietro shutout.

According to wikipedia, "Boxing Day is a traditional celebration, dating back to the Middle Ages, and consists of the practice of giving out gifts to employees, the poor, or to people in a lower social class. The name has numerous folk etymologies; the Oxford English Dictionary attributes it to the Christmas box; the verb box meaning: "To give a Christmas-box (colloq.); whence boxing-day." Outside the Commonwealth of Nations (which includes Great Britain and Canada) , the day is celebrated with a different name."

This will be Toronto's second Boxing Day appearance on Long Island. Clark Gillies scored two goals as the Isles routed the Leafs 5-1 in 1978. It was the 17th game of a 23 game home unbeaten streak that opened the 1978-79 and the Leafs' first visit to Long Island since their upset of the Isles the previous spring.

They are 12-7-2 overall on Boxing Day.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of FSN statistician Eric Hornick. Eric, who has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, celebrated his 25th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2007. Often referred to on-air as an actuary, he is one of 3,044 Fellows of the Casualty Actuarial Society and is the President of the Casualty Actuaries of Greater NY. You can find him in the "Best Seat in the House", to the left of Howie and Billy, at most Islander home games. For more on the actuarial profession, visit www.beanactuary.org