Stat Tricks: Boston 7, Isles 2 ; Isles 4, Ottawa 2

Perhaps the Isles could get Great Adventure to sponsor them.  This season is looking like a terrific roller coaster ride... high, high highs, and low, low lows.  Just like you'll find in today's tricks:

Isles v Boston.

1.  The Isles allowed 7 goals for the first time since Columbus Day as they suffered their most one-side loss to the Bruins in 17 years.  THe Bruins scored five times in the third period.

2.  Peter Mannino made his NHL debut, mopping up for Joey Mac Donald.  His NHL numbers after allowing 3 goals in 13:02.  GAA of 13.85, save percentage of .625  He was returned to the Sound Tigers after the game and lost to Worcester on Saturday, allowing a goal to Claude Lemieux.  It was Lemieux' first AHL goal since the 1985-86 season.  (Mannino turned two during that season.)

3.  Team effort:  Seven Bruins had two points.

4.  The Isles scored a pp goal for the fourth straight game, but scoring only once on the pp ended a streak of three straight 2-pp goal games.

Isles vs. Ottawa

1.  Never say never.  The Isles beat the Senators for a third straight time, and for a third time in a season, for the first time ever.

2.  The Isles are 4-0-0 on the back-end of two in two days (also beating St. Louis, the Rangers and Buffalo) this season.  They've won the back-end of 6 straight, going back to last season.  (The Isles won their first six back-ends in 2006-07).

3.  Trent Hunter's empty-netter gives him 10 goals on the season to lead the team.  He scored only 12 last season and didn't score his 10th until March 4th.  Hunter has 3 goals in the last 4 games, and finishes November with 6 goals.  Hilbert and Hunter each had a goal and an assist.

4. Frederic Meyer IV recorded the first two-goal and first three-point game of his career.  Isles defenders combined for 2 goals and 4 assists.

5. Heatley, Spezza, Alfredsson combined for 5 points on Ottawa's two goals.

6.  According to the official stats, the Isles were credited with 24 blocked shots.  They began the night with the most in the NHL.  The Sens were credited with 38 hits, but only 4 in the final period -- the question is, "Did the Sens stop hitting?  or did the off-ice officials just stop counting"?

7.  Farewell to my font coordinator, Steve Daily, who's leaving MSG+ to join MLB-TV.

8.  The Isles finished November 8-6-1, despite losing 7 points (0-3-1) on games that they led going to the third period.  The Isles have put together 8 wins in consecutive November (8-5-1 last season); matching their most wins in November since 1987-88.  The Isles have strung together winning records in 4 consecutive November for the first time since 5 straight winning Novembers from 1983 to 1987.

9,  Josh Bailey went +1 in 17:41 of ice time.  It was his tenth game, triggering the first year of his entry contract.

10.  Up next: the Isles visit Washington on Wednesday.  After losing their first match-up last season, the Isles beat the Caps three straight times, including once in overtime and once in a shootout.  After going winless in 15 games in DC, the Isles are 5-1-1 in their last 7 trips to the nation's capital.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.

Stat Trick: Pittsburgh 5, Isles 3

For the better part of two periods, the Islanders beat the stuffing out of the Pens, but in the end it was the Islanders who were the turkeys. On to the trick:

1. Josh Bailey had his first 2-assist game. At one point he had credit on the third goal as well, but this was later changed.

2. Bill Guerin scored for the third straight game; he's 4 goals shy of 400. Guerin however was -4 and also did a bad penalty in the third period when he came to the defense of Doug Weight.

3. Weight did not play in the final 7 1/2 minutes. He did score on the power-play earlier in the game -- it was career goal # 270 (and point 991). Robert Gordon Orr also scored 270 NHL goals. Weight now has a seven-game point streak -- his longest since a 10-game streak in 2003-04.

4. Malkin and Crosby did it the Islanders again. Malkin recorded his third career hat trick and added an assist while Crosby had a goal and three assists. It was Malkin's third career hat trick

5. John Curry replaced Dany Sabourin in goal after Guerin's goal gave the Isles a 3-0 lead. He stopped all 11 shots and earned a win in his NHL debut.

6. The Isles have now lost 3 games in regulation that they led after two periods (6-3-1). They lost only two games in regulation that they led after 40 minutes in the past two seasons combined. No other team has lost more than 2.

7. The Isles scored two pp goals for the third straight game (6-14, 42.9%). They have 10 pp goals in the last 7 games after connecting for only 9 pp goals in the first 15 games. It's the first time since Jan/Feb 2006 that the Isles have connected for at least two pp goals in three straight games.

8. The Isles won 42 of 74 faceoffs, including 35 of the final 54. Jeremy Colliton won 13 of 18, while Bailey won 7 of 10.

9. The Isles fall to 4-7-1 at home, equaling their worst 12-game home start since 1999-2000.

10. Up next: a Friday MATINEE in Boston (faceoff at noon). It's the 8th straight season that the Isles have played on the day after Thanksgiving, and their second straight in Boston. They've gone 2-5-0 and have been outscored 21-11, including last year's 2-1 loss in Beantown.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.

Stat Trick: Isles 4, Canadiens 3 (Shootout)

"That's why I love sports. Every day, you have a chance to see something you've never seen before." --John Sterling on Isles radio after MIke Bossy scored the 50th and 51st goals of his rookie season, the latter with 5 seconds to play, to give the Isles a come-from-behind win over Washington on their way to their first division title. (4/1/78) I saw the goal credited to Smith in 1979, and was at the game when Jose Theodore cemented a Habs win against the Isles with an empty-netter, but my 8 year old hadn't seen either of those as they happened. This one he did. On to tthe trick.

1. Ryan O'Byrne played 16:20, had 2 hits, 1 blocked shot, and an even rating. Of course he would have been +1 had he not put the puck into HIS OWN EMPTY NET to allow the Islanders to even the game on a delayed penalty late in the third period.

2. Bill Guerin was credited with the goal (he was the last Islander to touch the puck) and now has eight, as does Trent Hunter who scored earlier in the game.

3. The Isles scored twice on the power play for the secod straight game. That hadn't happened since December 31 2007 -January 3, 2008, and hadn't happen in consecutive games, both on the road, since December 2005.

and wait... there's more...

4. Doug Weight earned assists on both PP goals, giving him 17 assists on the season. Only five players in the NHL started the night with more than 17 assists: Malkin, Savard, Getzlaf, Crosby, and Henrik Sedin. Weight now has 13 pp points

5.The win breaks a six-game Islander losing streak to Montreal., dating back to a 3-2 win on February 24, 2007.

6.Josh Gorges scored his first goal as a Canadien (89 games + 12 playoff games). His only previous NHL goal came for the Sharks, against Detroit, on January 5. 2007.

7. The Isles lost 34 of 55 faceoffs. Jeremy Colliton was the only Isles success in the circle, winning 5 of 6.

8. THe Isles won the shootout 2-0, It was the first shoout out ever between the teams. RIchard Park, who also scored in regulation, had the deciding goal in the shootout. (Scott Gordon used the three Islander goal scorers in the shootout) Park is now 3-7 for his career in shootouts; all three have been deciding goals.

9. The Isles improve to 5-1 in their last six games. SInce opening 2-7-1, the Isles are 7-3-1.

10. Looking ahead: The Penguins viist the Coliseum in the now tradiitonal Turkey Eve game on Wednesday. This will be the eighth consecutive season that the Isles have played at home on Thanksgiving Eve. The Isles have won twice, lost in regulation twice, tied once, lost in overtime once and lost in a shootout once. (2-2-3) Overall the Isles are 6-3-3 on Thanksgiving Eve at home. The Pens rallied to beat the Isles in a disputed shootout earlier this month. The Isles are 2-5-1 in their last eight games against Crosby and Company.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.

Stat Trick: Isles 4, Buffalo 2.

A stat trick delayed is a stat trick denied. On to the trick.

1. The Isles went 2-7-1 in their opening 10 games, but are 6-3-1 in their second 10. They were outscored 37-25 in the first 10, but have outscored their opponents 27-26 in the second 10.

2. The Isles improve to 4-4-1 on the road; it's their second best 9-game road start since going 7-2 in the first year under Laviolette. (The Isles were 5-3-1 in their first nine on the road two seasons ago.

3. The Isles won the middle period, 1-0, despite being outshot 18-2.

...and a few more.

4. Andy Hilbert scored for the second straight game and now has five goals on the season. Hilbert last scored in consecutive games on April 15-17, 2006, when he tallied in both ends of a home and home for Pittsburgh AGAINST THE ISLANDERS. Hilbert has 5 goals on the season (on pace for 20); he's never scored more than 12 goals in an NHL season.

5. Jon Sim is becoming a regular Cy Young. He's 5-1 on the season (goals/assists) and is 57-47 in his career.

6. Mark Streit also recorded his fifth goal of the season, giving the Isles five players with at least five goals. Streit's goal was a pp-empty netter. All five of his goals have come on special teams (4pp, 1 sh). Among NHL defensemen, only Mike Green has more pp goals (6) and special teams goals (6). Ten of Streit's 14 points have come on special teams.

7. The Isles were outshot 37-26; all but two Sabres had at least one shot on goal. One of the two who didn't, Andrew Peters, took a shot to his head.

8. Jeremy Colliton had a good season debut. Recalled to replace the injured Frans Nielsen, Colliton won eight of 12 draws and was credited for a team-high five hits. Colliton has gone 18 straight games without an NHL point (since earning an assist on April 18, 2006).

9. It was the Isles second win in their last seven trips to Buffalo (2-5-0).

10. Up next: the road trip concludes Monday in Montreal. The Isles will be looking to win consecutive road games for the first time this season. The Isles have lost 6-straight to Montreal, beginning with the loss in the game DiPietro suffered a concussion in a collision with Steve Begin in 2007. Of all the losses, perhaps the latest was the most memorable, as Les Habitants erased a 4-1 deficit and beat the Isles 5-4 on November 1. Plekanac and Kovalev each had two goals and two assists in that game.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.

Stat Trick: New Jersey 5, Isles 2

The stars were all aligned for an Isle win in Newark tonight; 3 straight wins, 3 straight days off, and going against a Devil team that had played last night. So much for the stars. On to the trick:

1. After earning points in 7 of 8 game slast season, the Isles drop to 0-2-0 against New Jersey, with both losses on the road, this season.

2. Jamie Langenbrunner and Zach Parise each had three assists. Parise leads the Devils in both goals (12) and points (23).

3. Frans Nielsen suffered apparent head and lower body injury when he was elbowed by Mike Mottau in the third period. It will be interesting to see whether Mottau is suspended, and if so, for how long.

... a few more

4. The Devils scored five goals against the Isles for the first time in 36 games, covering over 5 1/2 years (Devils 6, Isles 0 -- March 30, 2003).

5. Mitch Fritz was in the line-up, replacing the injured Okposo. Fritz saw only 2:30 minutes of ice-time, including only one shift in the 2nd --the 23 second shift in which the Devils responded to the Isles' goal -- and did not play in the third.

6. The Isles lost 32 of 50 faceoffs; rookie Josh Bailey had an awful night in the circle, losing 9 of 10. Travis Zajac won 14 of 17 for New Jersey.

7. Part of it may reflect a difference in how "hits" are accounted for in different buildings, but the Isles were credited with only 3 for the entire game. (NJ had 11.)

8. Ex- Isle Kevin Weekes picked up the 100th win of his career; 10 of those wins came for the Islanders.

9.Joey Mac Donald made his 9th straight start (Peter Mannino dressed for the first time, as his back-up.) He allowed five goals in a game for only the second time this season (Columbus Day vs. Buffalo was the first).

10. Looking ahead: the Isles face the struggling Sabres in Buffalo on Saturday; the Isles have lost five of their last six games in Buffalo.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.

Stat Trick: Isles 2, Vancouver 1 (SO)

Uh, oh.  Don't look now, but the Isles are closer to a playoff spot (2 points) than they are to the first pick in the draft (3 points).  Any they beat that Luongo kid too.  On to the trick:

1.  Many people could tell you that the Islanders have won three straight games for the first time since a six-game win streak last February. But only on the trick do you get these:

--The Isles have won three straight games against Canadian opponents for the first time since beating Montreal and Toronto twice each in a three-week period in February, 2007
-- The Isles have won three straight, all against Canadian opponents for the first time since beating Vancouver, Montreal and Winnipeg in a four-daystretch in January, 1990.  Those were the final three games of a 9-game win streak -- the Isles have not had a nine game iwnning streak since.

2.  The Isles have allowed only 4 goals in their current 3-game win streak.  The last time they did that was in the final three-games of their six-game win streak last February.

3.  Doug Weight padded his team scoring lead with his 4th goal and 16th point.  Weight, who has recorded a point in three straight games, now has 3 pp goals.  He has a point on 10 of the Isles 13 pp goals this season.

...and a few more

4.  The teams played a scoreless third period tonight.  The Isles have allowed 25 third period goals (most in the NHL) while Vancouver has allowed only eight (fewest in the NHL).

5.  The second period has been good to the Isles this season; they've now outscored thier combined opponents 16-13.

6.  The Isles won for the first time this season after trailing after 1 period (1-4-1) while the Canucks failed to win after leading after 1 period for the first time (7-0-1).

7.  The Isles improve to 3-1-0 against the West while the Canucks are now 1-3-1 against the East.

8.  The Isles are noe 23-12 all-time in shootouts, and are 12-4 at home.  The Isles have lost exactly once in a shootout at home in each season including this one.  Frans Nielsen had the only goal of the shootout; he's now 2-3 in shootouts.

9.  Andy Sutton appeared in his 500th NHL game.

10  Pavol Demitra continued his point-a-game pace against the Isles; he has 8 goals and 10 assists in 18 games vs the Isles.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.

Stat Trick: Isles 3, Ottawa 2

The last time the Isles opened a season by beating the Sens in their first two meetings, Mike Milbury was in his first year as Islander coach. In fact, in the first of those wins in 1995-96, Don Maloney was still the Islander General Manager. On to the trick:

1. Joey MacDonald had another strong night in goal, making 38 saves--a season high. He's had more than 38 saves only once in an NHL game--this past April Fools Day against the Devils.

2. The Isles are now 4-2 in their last six games against Ottawa; it's their best stretch against the Sens since going 4-1-3 in the first eight games between the squads.

3. Trent Hunter filled up the box score, even though he didn't had a point. He had six shots on goal (plus 6 more that were blocked or missed the net) and four hits.

...and a bunch more

4. The Isles are 4-2-1 in their last 7 (after opening 2-7-1). It's their best seven game stretch since following up an OT loss with six straight wins last February.

5. The Isles improve to 3-6-1 at home, winning in regulation for the first time since the season opener.

6. The Isles were outscored 2-1 in the third, and have been outscored 25-14 in the third period this season. The Isles were outshot 11-8 in the third and have been outshot 197-142 in the third period this season.

7. The Isles now had 6 pp goals at home and 6 on the road, but they've had 18 fewer chances on the road (6-50, 6-32). Three of their 12 goals have come in the two games against Ottawa.

8. Tim Jackman recorded seven penalty minutes in his fight with Chris Neil --Neil left the game and did not return. Before the fight, Jackman had more goals (1) than penalty minutes (0) -- a stat this is not likely to recur again this season. Jackman later recorded an assist on Campoli's game winner.

9. The Isles have now scored 22 goals 5-on-5 and 22 goals in all other situations. They've allowed 36 goals 5-on-5 and 18 in other situations.

10. The Sens were 15-2-0 after 17 games last season; 6-9-2 this year.

11. The Isles had 31 shots, despite having only 1 shot in the first 8:15 (it came from their own zone, 133 ft away) and only one shot in the final 15 minutes.

Finally, a look ahead--- the Canucks will visit the Coliseum on Monday. Scott Gordon will be the fifth different man to coach the Isles in the last five games between the clubs:

11-Mar-03 - Laviolette
3-Feb-04 - Stirling
14-Jan-06 - Shaw
8-Jan-08 - Nolan
17-Nov-08 - Gordon

The Isles are 1-2-1 in the previous 4, with the win coming on an Aucoin overtime goal in 2004.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.

Stat Trick: Isles 3, Ottawa 1

I don't how many people saw it because there was this football game going on, but the Islanders went up to Ottawa and won for the 2nd straight time... on to the trip.

1. It's only the 2nd time the Isles have won 2 straight in Ottawa. They won their first two trips to Canada's capital on January 17 1993 and November 17 1993.

2. The Isles are now 4-2 in their last six trips to Canada after winning only twice in their previous 21 games North of the Border.

3. The Isles played the final 4:16 shorthanded due to an elbowing penalty to Thomas Pock, and played short 8:16 of the final 12:22. Despite a FIlip Kuba pp goal, the Sens are 3-last 26 on the power play.

...and a few more

4. Ottawa failed to score on a 6 skater-on-3 situation in the game's final 46 seconds.

5. Okposo (Bailey, Campoli) was the scoring on the Isles' first goal. If it repeats that way 10 years from now..and for the Islanders...there will be plenty of good times on Long Island. Bailey played 13:10 in his second NHL game.

6. The Sens outshot the Isles 16-5 in the third, but it was the Isles who scored the only goal -- their first in any of the five games they've led after 40 minutes this month.

7. The Isles improve to 3-3-1 on the road; they're only 2-6-1 at home.

8. This is the front end of the first home-and-home ever between the teams; the Isles do not play consecutive games against the same opponent again this season.

9. Trent Hunter now has a team-leading 7 goals; he needs only five more to match last season's total.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.

Stat Trick: Flyers 3, Isles 1

Good effort. Bad power play. Familiar result. On to the trick:

1. Isles are now 2-6-1 at home; equaling their worst start at home since 1989-90.

2. Josh Bailey played 12:35 in his NHL debut. The good: 7-4 on faceoffs. The bad: -1. The ugly: 2 penalties -- one cost the Isles momentum in the first period; the second cost the Isles a chance to get the game even in the third.

3. The Isles entered the third period trailing for the first time in November. THey are 0-7-1 this season when allowing the first goal and 0-7-1 when trailing after 40 mins.

a few more:

4. The Isles had two 5-on-3's and eight pp's overall, but went 0-8 and allowed a shorthanded goal.

5. Guerin, Streit and Hunter combined for 20 of the Isles' 36 shots.

6. The Flyers have had the Isles' number of late. Philly has beaten the Isles 6 straight, and 9 of 10. Isles record is 1-7-2 in that stretch vs. Philadelphia.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.

Stat Trick: Atlanta 4, Isles 3

Even when the Isles were a terrific team, they had some terrible Novembers.

November 2008 is shaping up to be memorable, having blown three multi-goal leads (1-2-0) in the final 20 minutes this week.   On to the trick:

1.  The Isles are now 3-2-0 when they lead after two periods.  20 of the 30 teams have not lost in regulation when leading after two.  Carolina (5-2-1) is the only other team to have lost twice; they blew a 2-1 lead going to the third period tonight.  The Isles lost only once each of the last two seasons when leading after two periods:
22-1-2 in 2007-08
29-1-5 in 2006-07

2.  The Isles have been outscored 11-2 in the third period of the last four games.  They have allowed 20 third period goals -most in the NHL.

3.  The Isles have won 39 regular season games in their history at the Garden.  They are 7-22-10 in their next game, including an incomprehensible 2-18-4 in the last 24 games.  (BTW, five of the 39 games ended a regular season; the Isles are 0-4-1 in the first game of the following season -- including 2008-09!)

and a few more...

4. Trent Hunter, Frans Nielsen and Mark Streit each had two points in a 17-second span; Nielsen now has five points in 4 games this month, while Streit has 11 points (Filip Kuba leads all defensemen with 14).

5. Mitch Fritz had only one 41 second shift.  Perhaps coincidentally, the Islanders had only six hits in the entire game (Atlanta had 17).

6.  Face-offs remain a problem; Isles dropped 42 of 66 draws tonight.  Comrie lost 8 of 10 while Weight dropped 13 of 18.

7.  Four Thrashers: Little, White, Havelid, and Kozlov, were +3.

8.  With the regulation win, the Thrasher jump over the Isles, going to 10 points to the Isles' 9.  Florida also has 9 --the Panthers are playing in Los Angeles tonight.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.

Stat Trick: Isles 2, Rangers 1

Okay, blame me. Just seconds after I gave Howie the note about the Islanders having only one shutout in their history at MSG (12/17/75 for Billy Smith), Markus Naslund broke the shutout. I've never believed in these jinxes, but it happened so quickly I spent about 15 seconds laughing --hopefully you couldn't hear me on the air! On to the trick.

1. As of Monday morning, the Isles had two wins. They now have 4.

2. As of Monday morning, the Isles had three shorthanded goals. They now have a league-leading 6, including a club record-tying two in the third period tonight.

3. The Isles are now 2-2-1 on the road this season. Believe it or not, it's their best road start since the Isles won their first six road games in 2001-02.

and a few more...

4. The Isles are now 6-1 on Presidential Election nights, losing only in 1992.

5. The Isles improve to 8-1-1 in their last ten trips to Manhattan. Six of the eight wins, including the last 4, have been by one goal.

6. While they didn't get the shutout, the Isles allowed only one goal for the first time this season, ending a stretch of 16 straight games (over two seasons) that they had allowed at least two goals.

7. A couple of strange Ranger streaks ended tonight. They had earned at least a point in every game they had allowed the first goal (5-0-1) and in every game that they didn't lead after 20 minutes (8-0-1).

8. The Isles didn't score on the power play tonight, so they still have eight pp goals; they've score six while shorthanded. The six SH goals (4 shy of last year's total) have been scored by six different players.

9. The Isles have been outscored 28-13 at even strength (the Rangers' 6th attacker goal tonight falls into that statistically) but have outscored their opponents 18-13 in all other situations.

10. The Isles are 3-1 in games played on back-to-back nights and 1-6-1 in all other games. They've now won the back-end of four straight back-to-backs dating back to last season.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.

Stat Trick: Election Night

1. The Isles are 15-5-3 on Election night, including 5-1 on Presidential Election nights, having been idle in 1972 and 1996, and locked out in 2004.

2.  The Isles have won their last four Election Night games, including last season's 3-2 thriller over the Rangers at the Coliseum.

3.  While the Isles almost never open the season at home, they almost always play at home on Election night.  This is only their third election night road game (winning, along with Jimmy Carter,  in 1976 in Colorado and losing in 1992, along with George Bush 41 in Pittsburgh). 

4.  The Isles are 4-0 at home on Presidential Election nights and 1-1 on the road; the White House changed parties in both previous times the Isles played an Election night road game. 

5.  Republicans have been elected every time the Isles have played at home on Presidential Election Night; Democrats have won the two times that the Isles played on the road.

5.  The Isles have played the Rangers twice on election night, beating them by one goal in both 1988 and 2007.

The complete list:

05-Nov-74    Vs    Philadelphia    4    4    T
04-Nov-75    Vs    California    5    3    W
02-Nov-76    @    Colorado    5    1    W   ==  President Carter elected
07-Nov-78    Vs    Minnesota    5    2    W
06-Nov-79    Vs    Los Angeles    4    1    W
04-Nov-80    Vs    Detroit            6    4    W ==President Reagan elected
03-Nov-81    Vs    Calgary            2    2    T
02-Nov-82    Vs    Pittsburgh    1    3    L
08-Nov-83    Vs    Philadelphia    4    1    W
06-Nov-84    Vs    St. Louis    6    3    W ==President Reagan re-elected
05-Nov-85    Vs    Calgary            4    4    T
04-Nov-86    Vs    Washington    7    1    W
03-Nov-87    Vs    New Jersey    6    3    W
08-Nov-88    Vs    New York    4    3    W ==President Bush 41 elected
07-Nov-89    Vs    Washington    3    5    L
06-Nov-90    Vs    Toronto            4    3    W
03-Nov-92    @    Pittsburgh    0    2    L ==President Clinton elected
02-Nov-93    Vs    Vancouver    1    2    L
07-Nov-95    Vs    Vancouver    2    5    L
07-Nov-2000    Vs    Nashville    2    1    W ==President Bush 43 elected
06-Nov-2001    Vs    Tampa Bay    3    0    W
08-Nov-2005  Vs New Jersey  4 1 W
06-Nov-2007  Vs New York   3  2  W
04-Nov-2008  Vs New York

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.

Stat Trick: Montreal 5, Islanders 4

Just over 20 years ago, Jack Buck (Joe's dad for you young'ins) had one of the great calls in baseball history, calling Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run. You can hear it here: http://www.bayblitz.com/WEB%20GIFS%201/gibson1_short.wav

To paraphrase, "The (Canadiens) win the game 5 to 4; I don't believe what I just saw. I don't believe what I just saw."

On to the trick:

Where to begin:

The good:

1. The Isles scored 2 pp goals in a game for the first time this season, after going 3-27 in the first five games at home on the power play.

2. Mark Streit has been on the ice for every Islander power play goal this season. He four goals in the last 5 games (all on special teams).

3. The Islanders scored 4 goals in 2 periods against the Canadiens; one more than they tallied in four games last season.

4. The Isles scored four consecutive goals for the first time since February 16th against Atlanta.

5. The Islanders took a lead for the first time in 6 games (317:04 since their OT winner in Tampa)

6. The Islanders took a three goal lead for the first time since the home Opener. (Tonight was also the first time they led at any time on home ice since the opener as well.

7. Streit and Weight each have points in five straight games. Weight also won 8 of 10 face-offs.

8. Franz Nielsen had his first goal of the season and an assist. He won 9 of 12 draws, and has won 23 of 30 draws over the last two games.

The bad and the ugly:

1. The Isles allowed an early goal for the 6th straight game, all losses. They have allowed the first goal in 7 of their first 10 games and are 0-6-1 when doing so.

2. The Isles blew a three-goal lead in the third period, allowing 4 goals in 7:31. (The Isles were 22-1-2 when they led after two last season (losing to Toronto at the Coliseum on March 18) and 29-1-5 (with the loss coming the night Ricky was hurt in Montreal ) in 2006-07).

3. Plekanac and Kovalev each had four points for Montreal. Kovalev and Andrei Kostitsyn were both +4.

4. The Islanders scored 4 goals but lost at home in regulation for the first time since October 29, 2005 vs Buffalo (6-4) (and the first time against Montreal anywhere since 1981! Really.)

5. The Canadiens outshot the Isles 16-1 in the first 16 minutes of the third period.

6. The Isles fall to 2-7-1, equalling the worst 10-game start in club history. They were 2-7-1 in both 1972-73 and 1993-94. Their five points is the fewest in the league -- one less than Atlanta.

7. The Isles have lost 6 straight to Montreal; longest since losing 10 straight to Les Habitants between 1975-1978.

8. The Isles are 1-5-0 at home this season; the 2 points equals the worst 6-game home start in their history (0-4-2 in 1989-90 and 1-5-0 in 1972-73). They are 2-11-2 in their last 15 Coliseum games, dating back to last February.

9. The Isles have allowed 25 goals in the five straight home losses; most since allowing 25 in Feb/Mar 200. (The all-time worst in 27, most recently in 2000.

10. The Isles are 5-16-3 in their last 24 games (over 2 seasons).

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.