Devils eliminated!

Howie's been having some fun with the e-mail I dropped him during tonight's broadcast -- the Islanders' win eliminated the Devils from the Metro Ice Challenge which has been running all season on FSN and MSG

To clarify, here's why:

With tonight's win, the Isles have 16 points against the Rangers and Devils (8-1), while the Rangers have 10 (5-3), and the Devils (0-6-3) just 3.

The Devils can reach 17 points if they would win their final 7 games, but they still can't win the Challenge. The reason: the Isles still have 4 games left with the Rangers, guaranteeing that one of those teams will finish the Challenge with at least 18 points.

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 3,118 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