Stat Trick: Isles 3, Coyotes 2

1. Three is a magic number. Isles score three goals for the third straight game, and a power play goal for the third straight game as well (both equal season highs). However, it's now 20 straight games that the Isles have scored three goals or less and they haven't scored two pp goals in a game since October 27th.

2. Bill Guerin had his second multi-goal game of the season but fell one goal short of becoming the first Islander captain to record a hat trick at the Coliseum since Flatley did so in February 1994. (Guerin's hat in Washington in October is the only one, home or road, by an Isles captain since Flatley did so -- Yashin had two hats as an Isle, but both were before he became the Captain). Guerin now has 372 goals, passing RIck Kehoe and tying Eric ("the lesser") Lindros on the all-time NHL list. Of course he did so against former Isle GM Don Maloney.

3. It's the Isles first home win against Phoenix since Clark Gillies night (12-6-97), stopping a 4-game home winless streak (2 losses, 2 ties) against the Coyotes. It was also the Isles first home game vs. Phoenix since 2002 -- Radek Martinek was the only Islander to play in both games.

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