It was 27 years ago today...

In addition to being Doug Weight's 38th birthday, tonight's game will be played on the 27th anniversary of the start of the Isles then-record 15-game winning streak.

On January 21, 1982, the Isles defeated the Penguins 6-1 to begin the streak. Bryan Trottier scored the winning goal, on a4-on-4 late in the 2nd period. It was his 250th NHL goal, and came in Denis Potvin's 600th NHL game.

My scoresheet from that night carries a couple of other notes:

Bobby Bourne had a pair of goals while Brent Sutter, Clark Gillies and Billy Carroll also scored for the Isles. RickMacLeish had the Penguin goal.

Gillies, Trottier and Bossy all had points in 15 of the last 16.

On a personal note, the scorebook also carries the notation: "My first game!" While it wasn't the first Isles game I attended--that had come nearly ten years earlier, it was the first game I attended without a ticket. It was the night I debuted as the statistician on Islander telecasts, a role that I continue to hold today.

The Islanders are 5-1-1 all-time at home on this date, winning most recently in 1995 -- opening day of the lock-out shortened season. Ziggy Palffy had both goals in a 2-1 victory over Florida. The Isles lost to Carolina in OT on this date last year.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 27th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2009.