For nearly a period and a half, the team that finished with the fewest points in the NHL last season had the team that won the President's Trophy on their heels. That all changed on a Brendan Witt penalty, and the Sharks took command on their way to a 4-1 victory. On to the trick...
1. Matt Moulson deflected in a Kyle Okposo shot in the first period for the Isles' only goal. Moulson now leads the team with four goals. Okposo has earned a point in all six games this season.
2. Following the Witt penalty, Joe Thornton (first overall pick in 1997) then took over, assisting on two goals before scoring a third.
3. John Tavares (first overall pick in 2009) assisted on the Moulson goal, and had a strong game on draws, winning eight of thirteen face-offs. Tavares, with seven points in his first six NHL appearances, is the only NHL rookie to be averaging over one point per game.
and a few more...
4. The Isles are 0-3-3 to start the season. It's the second time in club history that they have gone winless in the season's first six games--they went 0-3-4 to open the 1973-74 season. Toronto, at 0-6-1, is the only other winless team in the league.
5. The Sharks connected on two power-plays in three opportunities. After holding their first three opponents without a power-play goal, the Isles have allowed four power play goals in the last three games.
6. Moulson's goal was only the second that the Isles have scored in the first period this season. The Moulson-Tavares-Okposo line have combined for eight of the Islanders' thirteen goals this season.
7. Marty Biron made 25 saves for the Isles and remains stuck on 199 NHL wins. Evgeni Nabokov made eighteen saves in the first period and finished with 31 overall.
8. Cornell alumni had reasons to be proud. Not only did Moulson play for the Big Red, but Ryan Vesce scored his first NHL goal for San Jose. Vesce is a native of Lloyd Harbor, Long Island but grew up following the Rangers -- he was 12 when Lord Stanley was "bought", and "brought" to Broadway.
9. Going back to last season, the Islanders have lost ten straight (0-7-3), including five in a row on Long Island (0-3-2).
10. The Islanders beat the Sharks in each of San Jose's first five visits to Long Island. However, since 1996, the Sharks has lost just once in their eight trips to the Coliseum.
Up next: The Hurricanes visit the Coliseum on Wednesday. Carolina dominated the series last season, winning all four games in regulation, including a 9-0 win on April 7th -- the most one-sided loss in Islander history.
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