Stat Trick: Phoenix 5, Isles 4

A pair of third period milestones, but in the end an 11th straight road loss. On to the trick:

1. Moments after ex-Isle Olli Jokinen had given the Coyotes a 4-1 lead, Josh Bailey struck for the first NHL goal of his career. It came in his 25th NHL game. Bailey also was _+2, had four shots on goal and won 12 of 15 draws.

2. The game looked out of reach, but Richard Park scored twice in the final 3:06 to make the final minutes interesting. Doug Weight assisted on both goals for the 1000th and 1001st points of his NHL career. It was his 6th two-point game of the season. Weight leads the Isles in both assists (25) and points (32).

3. Weight reaches the milestone in 1167 games. He did it against one of his favorite opponents; Weight now has 63 points in 58 career games against the Jets/Coyotes.

and a few more...

4. The Isles are now 1-6-2 all-time in Phoenix, winning only in 2004.

5. The Isles have now scored four 6th attacker goals and allowed 1 in the last four games.

6. Guerin and Okposo each recorded assists to extend their point streaks to 5, but Comeau's point streak stopped at four, while Comrie's goal streak ended at 3. Comrie wnet down fighting -- a game-high 7 shots on goal; it's the 2nd straight game he's had 7 SOG's.

7. Rick DiPietro made 28 saves in his 5th start of the season. He recorded an assist for the second straight appearance, extending his club records for assists and points by a goalie to 15.

8. Lots of crooked numbers on the Isles +/- tonight. Gervais, Park, Guerin and Campoli were all +3 while Bailey was +2. However, Meyer was -4, Witt, Jackman, and Comrie were -3, Comeau and Bergenheim were -2. Only two crookeds for the Yote's: Michalek was +3 while Morris was -2.

9. When all was said and done, the Isles dropped to 6-12 in one-goal games (includes 4 ot/so losses). The 8 regulation one-goal losses share the league lead.

10. Up next: the road trip doesn't get any easier as the Isles head to the Tank to face the Sharks. The Sharks are 18-0-2 at home this season and haven't been beaten in regulation at home in over 10 months (26-0-3). The Sharks are 28-4-5 overall. A difficult task to be sure. But that's why they play the games.

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.