Stat Trick: Leafs 5, Isles 4 (shootout)

Most nights, 4 goals is enough to win in the NHL.  Not Thursday.  It was enough for a point, but the Isles drop the game in a shootout.  On to the trick.

1.  The Isles twice rallied from 2 goal deficits.

2.  The Isles are now 10-3-2 when they score 4 or more.  All five losses have been by a 5-4 score with one ending in OT and tonight's shootout.

3. Each team scored their second goal of the game shorthanded.  (Dom Moore for the Leafs and Sean Bergenheim for the Isles)  Begenheim could have had a 2nd shorties had he converted on a penalty shot.

 and a few more...

4.  The Islanders have failed on all three of their penalty shots this season (Okposo vs NJ, Weight vs. Carolina) and have lost all three games by one goal.  The Isles were also on the wrong end of the only penalty shot against them this season when Simon Gagne scored against Yann Danis on Valentine's Day.  The Isles have now been stopped on 15 of their last 16 penalty shots (Ryan Smyth scored the only PS goal for the Isles in that stretch).

5. The Isles have lost 7 straight back-ends of back-to-backs (0-5-2).

6.  Despite the shootout loss, the Isles are 7-1-2 in their last 10 at home vs Toronto and are 5-1-3 in their last 9 overall at home.

7. Dean McAmmond scored his first goal in an Islander uniform; Mark Streit and Jon Sim had the other Islander goals.  Streit now has 12 goals on the season; only five NHL defenders have more.  Streit also leads the Isles with 44 points -no Islander defensemen has led the team in points since Denis Potvin did so in each of his first 4 NHL seasons.

8.  Joey MacDonald made 29 saves for the Isles while Vesa Toskala had 40 stops (6 in overtime) for the Leafs.  Toskala was one better in the shootout, though, allowing only a goal to Jeff Tambellini (now 3-4 career in shootouts) while Jason Blake and Tim Stapleton (the latter in his first NHL games) scored in the shootout for Toronto.  Blake also had  2 assists and 6 shots for the Leafs, who got regulation goals from Kulemin, Moore, Kubina and Anthropov.

9.Bruno Gervais was on for all 4 Isles goals and none of the Leafs goals, and finished +4.  The Isles attempted 89 shots at goal (44 on goal, 31 blocked by Toronto, 14 missed nets

10.  Up next:  The Sabres visit Long Island Saturday as the teams conclude the season series.  The Isles trail the series 2 games to 1 and 4 points to 3.  Buffalo embarassed the Isles 7-1 in their first LI vist..
Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

Stat Trick errata

Change that Danis shutout streak just a bit:

Gomez Goal was at 7:26 of 2nd period 
  Danis played final 12:34 of 2nd period; 19:07 of third period   -    31:41

He is credited with 60:00 against NJ                                          -   60:00

Sykora goal was at 17:28 of third period
     but Danis was pulled in delayed penalty for 4 seconds earlier in game-   57:28

Total :  149:09

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

Last times...

With last night's game winding down scoreless I put together a bunch of shutout notes and sent it off to Pittburgh.

I don't think any of them made air before the Penguin goal so you can't blame Howie  (you can always blame me :)

<<
Isles had 2 consecutive shutouts:  Dec 23/26, 2006 vs Columbus and New York  (both by DiPietro)
Isles had consecutive shutouts by someone other than Dipietro: October 14/17, 1998 at Tampa and St. Louis (both by Salo)

Isles shutout Pens  Jan 9, 1986 (9-0 for Hrudey)
Isles shutout Pens in Pittsburgh  Feb 2 1985 (4-0 for Hrudey)
Any coach other than Arbour shutout Pens:  NEVER

Last 1-0 win : Feb 21 2008 vs Tampa
Last 1-0 OT win: Dec 31 2002 in Buffalo (Blake)
Last 0-0 tie thru 65 minutes: Feb 24 2004 vs Boston  (last of 6 scoreless ties in Isles history)

Last 1-0 loss: Feb 7 2009 in Tampa  (now 2/25/09 at Pittsburgh)
ONLY 1-0 OT loss: Dec 10 2003 in New Jersey
Isles have never played a scoreless game that was then decided in shootout.  (If they do, both goales get credit for shutout)
>>

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

Stat Trick: Penguins 1, Isles 0

Terrific goaltending...no goals...adds up to the Isles 2nd 1-0 loss of the month.  On to the trick...

1.  Petr Sykora had the game's only goal.  It came with 2:28 to play and was his 23rd of the season.

2. Yann Danis made 27 saves as he came within 148 seconds of consecutive shutouts.  His personal shutout streak ended at 150:06 (the Rangers' last goal was an empty netter).

3. Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves for his third shutout of the season.

...and a few more...

4. It's the third time this season (Nashville, Tampa) and 17th time in club history that the Isles have lost a 1-0 game.  It's the first time that it's ever happened three times in one season.

5.  Strange but true:  The Isles have been blanked 1-0 three times under Scott Gordon.  Al Arbour was blanked 1-0 only twice in his Islander career (by the NorthStars in 1973 and the Flyers (Bob Froese) in 1983).

6. The Isles were held without a shot in three powerplays.

7. Faceoffs contionue to be a problem with Richard Park out.  The Isles dropped 35 of 56.

8.  The Isles finish February with a record of 0-6-0 on the road and are 1-19-1 in their last 21 on the road.  The Isles have only 14 points on the season, fewest thru 31 games since 1988-89, when they had only 12 (The 1988-89 team won both games 32 and 33 on the road).

9. It's the first time since 1992 that the Penguins have shut out the Isles at the Igloo.  The then-Stanley Cup champions got a shutout from Tom Barrasso on November 3, 1992.

10. Up next: the Isles begin a 6-game homestand on Thursday when they host Jason Blake and the Leafs.  The teams have split the first two games, with both teams winning at home.  It's only the 11th time in club history that they've had a 6+ game homestand (5 of the 11 have been 7-games).

BTW -- with the loss the Isles can finish no higher than 4th in the NHL; they can't mathematically catch Boston, San Jose or Detroit.  Their magic # for playoff extinction has fallen to 19.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

Stat Trick: Isles 4, Devils 0

Happy Anniversary! Exactly one year to the day of their last shutout, the Isles blanked the Devils on Saturday. On to the trick...

1. Yann Danis records the 2nd shutout of his career, and his first since blanking Atlanta in his NHL debut. It's the first shutout for the Isles since 2/21/08, and their first by anyone other than Rick DiPietro since Garth Snow blanked Atlanta on December 13, 2003. The Isles were the only team in the NHL not to have a shutout prior to tonight. Danis also recorded a career-high 40 saves, including one on Zach Parise in the final minute to preserve the shutout.

2. Jon Sim recorded a goal for the second straight game, and now has eight goals on the season.

3. Mark Streit and Frans Nielsen each recorded a pair of assists.

and a few more...

4. Sean Bergenheim, Kyle Okposo and Bill Guerin also scored for the Isles -- the latter two on the power play.

5. The win ends the Isles' 5-game losing streak (dating back to last season) against New Jersey.

6. With Richard Park out injured, the Devils dominated the draws: 33-17. Newcomer Dean McAmmond won 7 of 12; the other Isles lost 28 of 38. Park btw was missing his 2nd consecutive game, after playing all 221 games since joining the Isles.

7. Andy Hilbert was +2 and have four shots, but lost 11 of 12 faceoffs.

8. Travis Zajac had 6 shots and won 12 of 13 faceoffs, but he was -1.

9. Sean Bergenheim had six shots on goal, and had five other blocked by the Devils.

10 Up next: the Isles travel to Pittsburgh on Wednesday. The Penguins lead the season series 3-games-to-1 (7 points to 3). The Isles have lost 6 of their last 7 in Pittsburgh and are an inconceivable 1-18-1 in their last 20 road games. They are 0-5-0 on the road this month; they haven't had a pointless month on the road since January 1996 (0-4-0).

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

Stat Trick: Rangers 3, Isles 1

If the Islanders were in a playoff chase, this one would have hurt. But they're not... so this one means they're two points closer to Tavares. On to the trick.

1. Mark Streit had the Isles' goal. It was his 10th of the season -- 10th defenseman in the NHL to score 10 this season. It was also the 25th for the defense this season, equaling last season's total.

2. Nigel Dawes had the game's first goal-- and his first since he scored against the Isles on January 13.

3. Scott Gomez had the game-winning goal - -a goal that Yann Danis clearly would want back. It stopped an 0-23 pp drought for the Rangers.

...and a few more:

4. Chris Drury assisted on all three Ranger goals. He has eight points vs the Isles this season and 22 assists on the campaign.

5. Ex-Isle (at least on paper) Wade Redden has become so unpopular at MSG that he was booed for earning an assist on Fred Sjostrom's empty-netter.

6. The Rangers lead the season series 4 games to 1, with the final matcheup on March 5 at the Coliseum.

7. The Isles failed on 4 pp's and are 0-14 this season, and 0-24 overall on the pp against the Rangers.

8. A feisty night for Andy Hilbert: 2 penalties and 7 shots on goal. In addition to the winning goal, Scott Gomez had 6 shots on goal, and won 12 of 14 face-offs.

9. The Isles are 0-5-0 in their last five on the road and 1-18-1 in their last 20 on the road. the Isles have only 14 points on the season, fewest thru 30 games since 1988-89, when they had only 12.

10. Looking ahead: The Isles host Carolina on Thursday night. It's only the 2nd meeting of the season between the clubs and the first time they've played Carolina since the Canes fired Peter Laviolette. Carolina beat the Isles 4-3 back on October 25th; the Isles took a club record 60 shots that night; Doug Weight was stopped on a penalty shot with 0.7 seconds to play; Rick DiPietro left injured after 20 minutes.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

Acquiring a first round pick at the deadline

Not going to happen... check out these numbers from the NHL.

ROUND-BY-ROUND DRAFT PICKS TRANSFERRED ON DEADLINE DAY SINCE 1980
 
1st-Round Picks: 19 (less than 1 a year)
2nd-Round Picks: 41
3rd-Round Picks: 46

Overall, there have been  374 trades, involving 676 players and 225 draft picks on Deadline Day since 1980.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

2009 Entry Draft

With the trading deadline 2 weeks and 1 hour away, I thought that this chart compiled by the NHL would be useful:

<<2009 NHL ENTRY DRAFT PICK SUMMARY
(through Feb. 16, 2009)
 
Club                # of Picks*   Rounds of Picks
Anaheim                 5            1,3,4,5,6
Atlanta                    8            1,2,2,4,5,6,6,7
Boston                    5            1,3,4,6,7
Buffalo                    6            1,3,4,5,6,7
Calgary                   6            1,2,4,5,6,7
Carolina                  5            1,2,3,6,7
Chicago                  7            1,2,3,4,5,7,7
Colorado                6            1,2,3,5,6,7
Columbus              8            1,2,3,4,4,5,6,7
Dallas                     6            1,2,3,5,6,7
Detroit                    6            1,2,3,5,6,7
Edmonton              8            1,2,3,3,4,5,6,7
Florida                    5            1,2,3,5,6
Los Angeles         14            1,2,2,3,4,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,7
Minnesota               7            1,4,4,4,5,6,7
Montreal                 7            1,3,3,4,5,6,7
Nashville               12            1,2,2,3,3,4,4,4,5,5,7,7
New Jersey            8            1,2,3,3,4,5,6,7
NY Islanders           9            1,2,2,2,3,4,5,6,7
NY Rangers           8            1,2,3,5,5,5,6,7
Ottawa                   8            1,1,2,4,5,5,6,7
Philadelphia            7            1,3,3,5,6,6,7
Phoenix                  7            1,2,3,4,4,6,7
Pittsburgh               8            1,2,3,3,4,5,6,7
San Jose                4            2,2,5,7
St. Louis                 5            1,2,3,4,6
Tampa Bay            7            1,2,2,4,4,6,7
Toronto                   5            1,3,5,6,7
Vancouver              6            1,2,3,4,5,6
Washington            7            1,2,3,4,5,6,7
 
* a small number of pick designations are subject to change based on conditional trade terms
 >>

Other notes:

The Isles have their own pick in each of the seven rounds and two extra picks in the 2nd round (for a total of three):

Boston to NY Islanders: Boston traded its 2nd-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft and C Ben Walter to NY Islanders for RW Petteri Nokelainen (9/11/07).

Toronto to NY Islanders: Toronto traded its 1st- and 3rd-round picks in the 2008 Entry Draft (7th and 68th overall) and 2nd-round pick in 2009 to NY Islanders for the Islanders' 1st-round pick in 2008 (5th overall) (6/20/08).

Five current Islanders have been traded on deadline day:

Guerin
Jackman
Park
Sillinger (twice)
Witt

It's interesting to note that 29 of the 30 teams currently have their own first round pick.  Ottawa also owns San Jose's pick, which the Sharks originally traded to Tampa in the Boyle deal.   The pick moved to Ottawa in the Mezaros deal.

The Kings have the most picks-- 14, but they could have had more.  In the oldest deal that will be completed at the 2009 draft, the Kings traded their 2nd pick in 07 and their third pick in 09 to Vancouver in exchange for Dan Cloutier on July 5, 2006.  (The Canucks had acquired Luongo just before this)  Cloutier is out of the NHL and is currently in Corpus Christi TX, helping out his brother in coaching a CHL team.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

Stat Trick: Isles 3, Pittsburgh 2 (shootout)

President's Day has become a very successful home date for the Isles -- with wins each of the last three years, all by one goal, the Isles are 5-2-2 in their 9 home President's Day matchups... on to the trick.

1.  The Isles spoiled Dan Bylsma's debut with their shootout victory.  Bylsma is only 38 years old -- he was born in 1970 -- about 7 weeks before Islander captain Bill Guerin.

2. Chris Campoli and Frans Nielsen had the regulation goals for the Isles.  It was Nielsen's 3rd goal of the year and his first since November 6th. 

3. Evegeny Malkin and Ryan Whitney had the responses for Pittsburgh.  Malkin now has 25 goals and 82 points, including five goals and eight points against the Isles.

a few more...

4.  Jeff Tambellini had the shootout winner -- the 2nd shootout goal of his career.  He has only 6 goals during 118 actual NHL games.  Tambellini had two shots and five hits in the game.

5.  Joey MacDonald had 35 saves (and then stopped Malkin and Crosby in the shootout) to record his first win since New Year's Eve.  He is 2-14-2 in his last 18 decisions.

6.  Mark Streit was 'eased' back into the lineup by playing 23:41.

7.  The Penguins dominated in face-offs, winning 41 of 62, but lost to the Isles for the first time in 5 games. (Pittsburgh is 4-0-1 in those 5; the Isles are 1-3-1). 

8.  Sean Bergenheim had two assists -- his first 2 assist game since March of 2006.

9. Kyle Okposo had 4 shots, 2 hits, and three takeaways.  He also made a great defensive play on Sidney Crosby late in overtime.

10. Up next: two struggling teams collide as the Isles visit Madison Square Garden for the final time this season on Wednesday.  The Isles are actually the hotter of the two teams (1-4-1 in 6; 5-4-2 in 11) as the Rangers have won only once in 9 (1-6-2).  The Blueshirts lead the season series 3 games to 1 (6 points to 2) with the teams splitting one-goal games at MSG.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

Congratulations Howie!

The 52nd Annual NY Emmy Award nominees were announced yesterday, and Islander broadcaster Howie Rose is the only hockey play-by-play man on the list:

 

ON-CAMERA TALENT: Sports Play-by-Play

Howie Rose. October 1, 2007. (MSG Plus). "NY Islanders."

Ian Eagle. November 12, 2007. (YES Network).

Marv Albert. November 17, 2007. (YES Network).

Michael Kay. March 1, 2008. (YES Network).

Mike Breen. November 2, 2007. (MSG). "NY Knicks."

 

Billy Jaffe won the Emmy last year in the Analyst category.  This year's nominees are:

 

ON-CAMERA TALENT: Sports Analyst

Glenn "Chico" Resch. October 2, 2007. (MSG Plus). "NJ Devils."

Harold Reynolds. July 1, 2008. (SNY).

Keith Hernandez. April 10, 2008. (SNY).

Ron Darling. April 9, 2008. (SNY).

 

The awards, which cover the period September 2007 - August 2008,  will be handed out on March 29th.

 

 

 

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

Howie

No Stat Trick tonight -- hopefully get to it tomorrow.

Thursday night, "Voices", the NHL Network series that profiles team announcers, features Howie Rose.  The show premieres at 7:30pm Thursday (and will repeat several times).

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

Stat Trick: Los Angeles 4, Isles 3 (shootout)

Derek Armstrong was in the building -- why is that noteworthy?  He made his NHL/Islander debut on April 13, 1994 -- Arbour's 1,499th game.  On to the trick:

1. The Kings are now 4-0-1 in their last five games on Long Island.  The Isles haven't beaten LA at home since a 1-0 win on October 27, 1998.  Tommy Salo had the shutout; Joe Sacco had the game's only goal.

2. Jack Johnson scored the shootout's only goal, making a winner out of Jonathan Quick.  Yann Danis made 36 saves for the Isles.

3. Doug Weight, Andy Hilbert and Tim Jackman had the Islander goals.  Weight has 73 points in 63 games against the Kings.

and a few more...

4. Wayne Simmonds, Anze Kopitar and Alexander Frolov scored for Los Angeles, the final tally coming on a power play. 

5. The Isles have lost 3 straight (0-2-1).  In 2009, the streaky Isles have lost 8 (0-7-1), won 4 (4-0-0) and now lost 3 (0-2-1).

6.  Despite gaining a loser point, the Isles extended their "lead" in the Tavares sweeps to five games because Atlanta beat Tampa Bay.

7. The Isles were credited with 35 hits (6 for Callahan and 5 for Jackman) and 26 blocks (8 for Gervais and 7 for Witt). Radek Maritnek led all players with 27:34 of ice-time.

8.  The Kings outshot the Isles 39-25, holding the Isles without a shot for the equivalent of a full period from the midpoint of the second period to the midpoint of the third.  Sometimes stats don't lie; the Kings entered the game having allowed the 2nd lowest average shots per game while the Isles have average the 2nd highest shots against.

9. The Isles have lost three consecutive games, all by one goal, for the first time since 2002 and the tenth time in their history.  They've lost four straight by one goal only three times (last done in November 2000).

10.  Looking ahead: the Isles play in New Jersey on Wednesday.  The Devils lead the series 3 games-0, winning each game in regulation.  Three of the Isles' next 12 will be against the Devils, who will be looking to sweep the Rock portion of the season series on Wednesday.  The Isles have lost their last 4 back-ends of back-to-backs (0-3-1) and will be playing their first one since January 3rd.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

Stat Trick Special: Dallas 10, Rangers 2

So I'm watching the end of the Rangers' beating tonight and thinking -- it's good enough for a trick.

1.  The Rangers allowed 10 goals for the first time since April 9, 1993.  That game, a 10-4 defeat to Pittsburgh, featured 5 goals by Mario Lemieux as the Penguins broke the Isles' NHL record with their 16th straight win.

2.  The Isles last allowed 10 goals in an 11-4 loss in Calgary on February 25, 1981.  They have played 2,148 regular season games since then.

3.  The Rangers allowed 10 goals for the first time since April 9, 1993.  :)  Headline in Bergen Record that morning:  "Rangers coach approaching end of the line".  In that case, it was Ron Smith.  Tom Renney may soon find himself in similar hot water.

Stat Trick: Florida 3, Isles 2

Joey MacDonald played his first game in over three weeks, and seemed a little rusty early.  Rusty enough to end the Isles 4 game win streak.  On to the trick:

1.  JAy Bouwmeester and Karlin Skrastins scored first period goals for the Cats, who had the game's first six shots, leading up to a long-range goal by Bouwmeester.

2.  The Isles benefited from 4 Panther penalties in the second period. scoring twice with the extra-man.  Josh Bailey and Trent Hunter had the goals --  it was the 2nd goal for Bailey and the 88th career goal for Hunter --with exactly 1/4 of them on the powerplay (22).

3.  Richard Zednik sandwiched the Isle pp goals with a beautiful goal of his own.  Another ex-Isle, Bryan McCabe, earned an assist on the game-winning tally as the Panthers improved to 9-2-3 in 2009.

and a few more...

4.  Kyle Okposo was on the ice for both pp goals, but did not record a point, ending his point streak at 5.

5.  MacDonald made 26 saves, but drops his 4th straight decision.  He's 1-13-2 in his last 17 appearances (1 no decision)'

6.  The Isles had only 22 shots on goal on Tomas Vokoun, but there were 18 shots blocked by Panthers and 16 others that missed the net

7.  The home team won all 4 games of this series.  The Isles have dropped 5 straight in Sunrise.for the first time in thier history.

8.  With Mark Streit out injured, Chris Campoli saw his time on the pp (5:08) and led the Ises with 24:24 of overall ice-time.  Nate THompson played only 2:33 and left with a shoulder injury.. Jack Hillen and Joe Callahan replaced the injured Streit and Pock and each played over 12:30

9.  Maybe it's the Islander-Ranger thing, but Soup's son Gregory Campbell always seems to play well against the Isles.  Tonight was no exception, winning 11 of 16 draws, with three hits and two blocks.

10.  Up next: the mini road trip concludes in Tampa on Saturday.  The Isles lead the season 2 games to 0 (4 points to 1).  Overall the Isles have won 5 of 6 from Tampa and earned points in 5 of the last 7 (5-1-1) between the teams.
 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

What about Okposo?

Congrats to Bobby Ryan, clearly deserving of the NHL's rookie of the month.

<<DUCKS' BOBBY RYAN NAMED NHL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH

NEW YORK (February 3, 2009) – Anaheim Ducks right wing Bobby Ryan, who led all rookies in scoring
with 16 points (11 goals, five assists) in 14 games, has been named the
NHL Rookie of the Month for January.


Ryan edged Florida Panthers center Michael Frolik (5-4--9 in 12 games),
Chicago Blackhawks right wing Kris Versteeg (4-5--9 in 12 games),
Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Jakub Voracek (4-5--9 in 13 games),
St. Louis Blues center T.J. Oshie (3-6--9 in 11 games) and Columbus
Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason (7-4-1, 2.67 goals-against average)
for the award.


Ryan recorded points in 12 of 14 games during the month, highlighted by
a three-goal outburst in 2:21 during the Ducks' 4-3 loss at Los
Angeles, Jan. 8 -- the third fastest hat trick by a rookie in NHL
history. With goals in five consecutive games (Jan. 17-28), he set an
Anaheim rookie record and his 11 goals for the month are the most by an
NHL rookie since Washington's Alex Ovechkin notched 11 in March, 2006.


Anaheim's first choice (second overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft, Ryan
appeared in 23 games for the Ducks last season, registering 10 points
(five goals, five assists). In 35 games this season, the 6-2, 208-lb.
Cherry Hill, New Jersey native has recorded 34 points (17-17--34).>>

However, why no mention of Kyle Okposo -- the Islander player of the month. Okposo went 6-1-7 in the month. He ended the month with a 4-game goal scoring streak, and was + or even in the final 7 games of the month.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

Stat Trick: Isles 3, Tampa 1

That straight rush to Tavares is hitting a speed bump- this team is winning. Perfect since the All-Star Break (3-0). On to the trick:

1. The Isles have won four straight for the first time since a six-game winning streak last February.

2. The Isles have won three straight at home for the first time since a four-game home winning streak last February.

3. The Isles have allowed 1 goal in each of the three wins; it's the first time they've held the opponent to one goal or fewer in three straight home games since Rick DiPietro recorded three consecutive home shutouts in December 2006.

and a few more...

4. The Isles went to the third period with a shutout for the third straight game. They are the only NHL team without a shutout this season, having gone 72 games (2/21/08) without one. No Islander other than Rick DiPietro has recorded a shutout since Garth Snow blanked Atlanta on December 13, 2003.

5. Announced attendance was 9,808-- the first 4 digit crowd in the NHL this season and the smallest NHL crowd in exactly 52 weeks. Last Feb 5, 9649 saw the Ducks blank the Isles at the Coliseum. Actual attendance was... let's just say it was so small that all fans were invited to move down late in the first period. Hope you didn't pay big bucks for the good seats!

6. The Isles scored all three goals in a 3:25 span in the 2nd period. Trent Hunter scored his 13th goal -- he finished each of the last two seasons with 12; Mark Streit added his 9th (before leaving the game injured -- re-examine on Wednesday); Radek Martinek scored for the first time in 102 games (Dec 6 2006 vs Florida). Nine different Isles had points, including Kyle Okposo, who extended his point streak to five straight games.

7. Martinek's goal chased Karri Ramo --the losing goalie in the Isles' last shutout win. Mike McKenna replaced him and made 11 saves in his NHL debut.

8. Yann Danis won his fourth straight (he had only three career wins prior to this streak). Danis is 4-0-1 in his last 5, with a 95.1% save percentage and a 1.79 GAA.

9. Vinny Lecavlier had the goal for Tampa in the final seconds of a 5-on-3-- he holds the Lightning record for career goals, points, and power play goals.

10. Strange stat of the night: It's the first time since November 2007 that the Isles have won their first game of a calendar month (0-7-2), It's not a record - -not even close. The Isles won the first game of November 1998 and November 2000, but were 0-8-5 in the first game of the 13 months in between. They also had a 10-game stretch in 1988 - 1989. (Ironically the Isles have won the last game of November-December-January; they haven't done that since 1999! The Isles also have earned a point in the final game of their last 7 months -- first time in history they've done that!)

Looking ahead: the Isles head to Florida on Thursday. The Isles won both Coliseum meetings this season, but have not won in Sunrise since a 4-1 win in November, 2006.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.