1. Matt Moulson scored twice to become the first Islander to reach double digits, with 10. His second goal, with 1:11 left in the middle session proved to be the winner. Moulson has four goals in the last five games, and he nearly had a fifth. John Tavares was credited with a goal that went in off the skate of Matt Hunwick. Hunwick's deflection denied Moulson the chance to become the first Islander to ever record a hat trick IN Boston. The Isles have five hat tricks against the Bruins, including two in the Playoffs, but all five have happened at the Coliseum.
2. Daniel Paille had the Bruins' goal, which needed video review to confirm. Paille now has scored in consecutive games after not scoring in his first thirteen games with Boston.
3. Trent Hunter finished the scoring with an empty-net goal, securing the Isles first regulation win on the road this season and only the 7th regulation win in 53 road games under Scott Gordon. You have to go back to January 22, 2008 (Isles 6, Carolina 3) to find another road game that the Islanders won by at least three goals, making this the most lopsided road win of the Gordon era.
4.. The Isles have scored at least four goals in five straight games. It's the first time that they've done that since scoring at least four goals in seven consecutive games from December 11-26, 1993. They've scored at least four in each of the four games on this trip; it's the first time since December of 1983 that the Isles have had four straight games on the same road trip in which they scored at least four games.
5. Richard Park assisted on thre first three goals, tying his career high. Park has earned five assists in the last three games.
6. As the score suggests, it was a strong night for the Islanders' defense: Mark Streit led the Isles with 28:35 of ice time, blocking 4 shots. Bruno Gervais was +3 and Andy Sutton was +2 with six hits. Andy MacDonald, making his season debut for the Isles, was +1 as he played 11:44 in his fourth NHL game.
7. John Tavares now has a 5-game point streak (4-4-8). He is the second NHL rookie to have a streak of at least five games this season. (Colorado's Ryan O'Reilly had a seven-game streak in October.)
8. The Isles have earned at least one point in eleven of Roloson's twelve starts (6-1-5) and are 6-0-3 in his last nine starts. He has made twelve appearances, more than any goalie who has one or fewer losses. Roloson, who made 28 saves, has played in four of the last five Islander games.
9. Isles have earned points in 11 of the last 13 games (7-2-4) and are 9-3-4 since their 0-3-3 start. Their 8-6-7 record give them 23 points in the season's first 21 games; they had only 23 points last season through 34 games. The Isles are also two games over NHL .500 for the first time since they were 32-30-7 after losing to the Rangers on March 6, 2008.
10. It was the Isles' first win in Boston after six straight losses (0-4-2), dating back to a shootout win on January 11, 2007. The Isles all broke a seven game losing streak to Boston overall (0-6-1) with their first win over B's since November 24, 2007. The season series is even at a game each, with the Isles holding a three point to two edge. The teams have two meetings left, both on Long Island (December 12 and March 6).
Up next: The Isles will look to extend the point streak to six for the first time under Scott Gordon when the road trip continues on Friday in Minnesota against the Wild. The Isles are 3-6-1 all-time against the Wild, and have lost four straight (0-3-1). They've won only once ever in St. Paul, on December 19, 2002, but are only 0-1-1 in Minnesota since then.
Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick
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