Isles-Flyers facts

The Isles will look to break their 15 game losing streak against the Flyers on Thursday night.

Some fact and figures:

The Isles are 0-12-3, with one overtime loss and two shootout losses.

The Flyers have won all five this season in regulation, and six straight overall.

Goals:  Flyers 76, Isles 25

PP's
Isles: 7-62   (11.3%)  with 3 SH Goals Allowed 
Flyers: 20-49  (40.8%)

5 different Flyer goaltenders have won games during the streak:
Biron (9), Boucher (2), Leighton (2), Niittymaki (1) and Emery (1)
 
5 different Flyers have scored winning goals:
Carter (4), Gagne (3), Hartnell (3), Coburn (2) and Richards
Richards and Briere have scored the shootout-winning goals

Nine of the last 12 games have been decided by one goal, one by 2 goals, three by 3 goals and two by 4 goals.

The Isles have scored three goals or less in all 15 games, and two goals or less in all five games this season.

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

Isles Blown 2-goal leads

Last night was (at least) the 8th time that the Isles have blown a 2-goal lead.  I say "at least" because I saw a report that it was the 9th time, but I haven't found it.

Here's the list (0-3-5):

Oct 10  - Led Boston 3-0; lost 4-3 in shootout
Oct 24  - Led Washington 2-0; lost 3-2 in overtime
Nov 11 - Led Washington 3-1; lost 5-4 in shootout
Nov 14 - Led Florida 2-0, lost 5-4 in shootout
Feb 14 - Led Ottawa 3-1, lost 4-3
Mar 9   - Led Philadelphia 2-0, lost 3-2
Mar 19 - Led Anaheim 4-2, lost 5-4 in ovetime
Mar 30 - Led New York 2-0, lost 4-3 

The Isles are 18-13-10 in one-goal games.  It's the first time in club history that they have played at least 41 games settled by one goal.  Two seasons ago, they played 40, winning 17 of them  (17-14-9).

However, the Isles have had more than 41 games settled by one goal or less (i.e. with ties) twice in their history: 

45 in 2001-02  (20-17-  8)
43 in 1986-87  (18-13-12)
41 in 1998-99  (  8-23-10)

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

Pushed to the brink

The Islanders' loss on Tuesday night has pushed them to the precipice of elimination from the playoffs.

They can be eliminated as early as tomorrow night, unless they beat the Flyers for the first time in 16 tries.

If the Isles:
Beat Philly- they can not be eliminated on Thursday
Lose in OT/SO- they are eliminated if Montreal earns a point vs Carolina tonight and Boston beats Florida on Thursday
Lose in regulation- they are eliminated if Boston earns a point vs Florida

The Isles have six games to play; if they earn no more than seven point in those games, they are guaranteed to finish in the bottom eight, with bottom six appearing quite likely.

While Edmonton has locked up the worst record in the league, five Eastern Conference teams, including the Islanders, are separated by only four points for 25th-29th.

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

Stat Trick: Rangers 4, Isles 3

Marian Gaborikm became only the 17th player in Ranger history to record 40 goals as the Rangers rallied from a 2-0 deficit and defeated the Isles 4-3 on Tuesday at the Coliseum, effectively extinguishing the Isles' playoff hopes.  On to the trick:

1. The Isles started well.  After the Rangers were caught for too many men just 1:12 in, Mark Streit converted on the power play at 2:09.  It was his 9th power play goal of the season, tying Drew Doughty and Mike Green for the NHL lead among defensemen.  The Isles dominated play throughout most of the first period and upped their advantage to 2-0 on Blake Comeau's 13th goal of the season and first since March 2.

2. The Rangers grabbed control of the game in the second period, scoring three times and killing off a 59 second 5-on-3.  Vinny Prospal, Olli Jokinen and Gaborik had the Ranger goals. It was Gaborik's fourth goal of the season against the Isles.

3. Marc Staal's first goal since January 19th gave the Rangers a 4-2 lead 5:05 into the third period.  Staal's goal became the game-winner when Comeau scored his second goal of the game with 6:33 to play.  It's the 3rd time in the last 15 games that Comeau has recorded at least two goals

...a few more..

4. The Isles went 1-4 on the power play while the Rangers were 0-2.  The Isles finished the season 2-21 against the Rangers, while the Blueshirts were 5-27 with the extra man.  The Isles have now scored two power play goals in their last 49 attempts against the Rangers.

5. Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves to record his 31st win of the season. He is now 17-8-5 in his career against the Isles. Dwayne Roloson finished with 23 saves for the Isles. The Isles have been held to 32 shots or fewer in 11 straight games, after totalling 32 shots or more in ten of the prior 11 games.

6. Richard Park won 15 of 20 faceoffs, assisted on Comeau's first goal, and was +1.  The Isles won 32 of 53 face-offs overall.

7. The loss breaks an Islander three-game home win streak (and four-game home point streak).

8. It's the eighth time this season that the Isles have lost a game (three in regulation, five in overtime or shootout) that they have led by two goals at some point. That makes a total of 11 points lost by the Isles in games that they had at least a two goal lead. 

9. The Isles finish March with a 6-6-3 record. It's the fourth time this season that the Isles have ended a month with exactly an NHL .500 record.  The Rangers were 6-5-3 in March.

10.  The teams split the season series, with each team winning three times.  One of the Isles' wins was in overtime, giving the Rangers seven points to the Isles' six. The Rangers stay two points behind Atlanta and four points behind the Bruins.  They are also four points behind Philadelphia and Montreal.  The Isles drop to 10 points behind Philadelphia, Montreal, and Boston, who all have 82 points, with only six games to play.  The Isles could be eliminated from playoff competition as early as Thursday.

Up next:  The Flyers look to seek the Islanders for the second straight season as they visit the Coliseum on Thursday. The Isles have not managed even a loser point against Philadelphia this season, and have lost 15 straight to the Flyers overall.  The Isles' last victory over the Flyers was on February 12, 2009

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

Streit and the Power Play; 11-season streak in jeopardy

Entering tonight's game, Mark Streit leads the entire NHL in power play time, just ahead of Ilya Kovalchuk. He has played 31 minutes more on the power play than any other defenseman in the NHL. The Isles rank tied-22nd in PP opportunities with 275 this season.

Power Play Ice Time
1. Mark Streit NYI D 382:13
2. Ilya Kovalchuk NJD, ATL L 380:41
3. Brad Richards DAL C 369:19
4. Sidney Crosby PIT C 365:29
5. Martin St Louis TBL R 351:42
6. Mike Green WSH D 351:13

John Tavares leads all rookies in power play time with 297:05; the Rangers' Michael del Zotto is 2nd with 283:11.

The Isles have had 275 power plays to their opponents' 273, putting in jeopardy a long-standing streak. The Isles have had fewer power plays than their opponents in each of the last 11 seasons, and in all but two seasons in their history (1992-93 and 1996-97).

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

Eastern update

Buffalo beats Boston, Carolina beats Atlanta, and Florida earns a loser point.
 
 
EASTERN CONFERENCE
GP Ptsxz 1. Washington (SE) 75 109
xy 2. Pittsburgh (A) 76 95
xy 3. Buffalo (NE) 75 94
x 4. New Jersey (A) 75 93
5. Ottawa (NE) 76 87
6. Philadelphia (A) 76 82
7. Montreal (NE) 76 82
8. Boston (NE) 75 80
-----------------------------------------
9. Atlanta (SE) 76 78
10. NY Rangers (A) 75 76
11. Carolina (SE) 75 73
12. NY Islanders (A) 75 72
13. Tampa Bay (SE) 75 72
14. Florida (SE) 75 72
15. Toronto (NE) 76 69
 
Rangers can move within 2 points of Boston on Tuesday with a win at the Coliseum. 
 
7 points separate 23rd and 29th....
 

 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

Stat Trick: Isles 4, Columbus 3 (overtime).

Josh Bailey scored 2:58 into overtime as the Isles did something that they had never done before: win a game in Columbus.  The win allowed the Isles to sweep the season series from the Blue Jackets.  On to the Trick:

1.  The Isles grabbed the early lead as Kyle Okposo and Sean Begenheim scored 62 seconds apart to give the Isles a 2-0 lead before the first television timeout. It was Okposo's 17th goal of the season, one fewer than he had last season when he led the squad.

2.  RJ Umberger scored the only goal of the second period, recording his 21st goal just 51 seconds into play. RJ now has 50 points on the season (21-29-50), matching a career high.  It was Umberger's 11th goal in 25 games against the Isles.

3. The Blue Jackets struck for two goals in the first 1:18 of the third to grab the led.  Rick Nash's 31st goal tied the game just 33 seconds into play; Grant Clitsome, playing just his 4th NHL game then gave the Jackets the lead. Jon Sim tied the game at 4:14 of the third, setting the stage for Bailey's overtime heroics.
 
... a few more...
 
4.  Dwayne Roloson made 34 saves to record his 23rd win of the season, which equals the third highest total of his career; Mathieu Garon had 24 saves for Columbus.
 5. The Jackets went 1-4 on the power play while the Isles did not have a single power play opportunity for the second time this month (3/2 vs. Chicago).  It's the first time since November 17, 2006 in Tampa Bay that the Isles have not had a power play in a road game.

6. Bailey assisted on Sim's goal before scoring the winner.  It was his 19th assist, one more than he had last season.  He now has career highs in goals, assists, and points (15-19-34).

7. With the win, the Isles rewrote several sections of their record book:

Most overtime games 23 (previous record 22 in 2006-07); also played 22 ties in 1974-75.
Most overtime/shootout wins 13 (previous record 12 in 2005-06)
Most overtime goals 6 (ties record set in 2001-02)

Most overtime games, road 13 (ties record set in 1993-94)
Most overtime goals, road 5 (previous record 4 in 1985-86)

Most overtime goals, season  (one player)  2, (ties record held by several others, including Kyle Okposo earlier this season)
Most overtime goals, season, road (one player) 2, ties record set by Pierre Turgeon in 92-93 and again in 93-94,  and equaled by Okposo earlier this season

8. Sims' tying goal and Bailey's winner helped overshadow that the Isles lost another third period lead.  They have been oustcored 82-43 in the third period this season.

9.  The Isles improve to 2-2-1 in their last five on the road and 5-2-2 in their last nine overall.   They are now 11-21-7 in road games this season; their 29 road points are eight more than last season's total.  The eight point improvement is their biggest since improving by 21 points on the road between 2000-01 and 2001-02.  The Isles end the season 10-6-2 against the West and 5-1-1 against the Central Division.  Buffalo is the only other Eastern Conference team to beat the West ten times this season (Washington has nine wins, with one game to play).  The Isles finish with the best record of any Eastern team against the Central, losing only to St. Louis (0-1-1).

10.  The Isles sweep the season series two games to none, and four points to two.  The Isles have beaten Columbus four times since the Jackets came into the NHL; with the exception of a Rick DiPietro shutout in 2006, all of their wins have come in either overtime or shootouts.  The Isles now have 72 points, putting them eight points behind Boston for the final playoff spot (with seven games to play).  With the win, the Isles move into a tie for 25th in the overall standings; three points separates 25th and 29th.

Up next:

The Isles return home to battle the Rangers on Tuesday night.  It's the final meeting of the season between the Isles and Rangers this season. The Rangers blanked the Isles 5-0 on Wednesday; they have not done had consecutive shutouts against the Isles in regular season play since blanking them 6-0, 6-0 in a home-and-home series in 1973.  The Rangers also won the first two games on the 1994 Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals against the Isles by that identical set of scores.  The Isles lead the season series three games to 2 (and six points to five).  The teams have split two games at the Coliseum this season.  This is the first of a four-game homestand for the Isles, who will play five of their final seven games at home.

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

Rewriting the Overtime Record Book

I'll have a complete Stat Trick tomorrow but suffice it to say that the Isles' first win ever in Columbus rewrote several parts of the Isles' record book:

Most overtime games 23 (previous record 22 in 2006-07); also played 22 ties in 1974-75.
Most overtime/shootout wins 13 (previous record 12 in 2005-06)
Most overtime goals 6 (ties record set in 2001-02)

Most overtime games, road 13 (ties record set in 1993-94)
Most overtime goals, road 5 (previous record 4 in 1985-86)

Most overtime goals, season  (one player)  2, (ties record held by several others, including Kyle Okposo earlier this season)
Most overtime goals, season, road (one player) 2, ties record set by Turgeon in 92-93 and again in 93-94,  and equaled by Okposo earlier this season

 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

Stat Trick: Isles 3, Flames 2

Eric Nystrom scored a goal and added an assist in his first NHL game on the ice where his father once starred, but the Isles rallied for two goals in the third to hand the Flames a devastating 3-2 defeat.  On to the trick:

1.  Trent Hunter broke the seal when he scored 8:23 into play.  It was Hunter's first goal since January 19th and his 10th of the season. Hunter has scored at least 10 goals in each of his six full NHL seasons.  The Flames knotted the game 50 seconds later when Nigel Dawes deflected home a shot by Cory Sarich

2. The Flames grabbed the lead with seven minutes left in the second period on Nystrom's 11th goal of the season.  It's the first time since October 6 that Nystrom, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, has recorded two points in a game.

3.  The Isles have struggled in the third period all season but got goals from Matt Moulson (28 seconds into play) and Bruno Gervais.  Mark Streit earned assists on both goals.  It was the 27th goal of the season for Moulson; over the last four seasons only Jason Blake (40 goals in 2006-07) has scored more goals for the Islanders.Gervais' goal, which came one second after an Isles power play expired, was his third of the season, matching his career high.  The Isles then hung on for the final 8:29 to record the victory.

...a few more...

4. Hunter's goal ended 154:06 of scoreless hockey for the Isles.

5. The Isles improve to 2-28-4 in games that they trailed after two periods.  Their other win came on November 27 vs Pittsburgh when Sean Bergenheim and John Tavares recorded third period tallies to also turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 victory.

6.  The Isles have won three straight on Coliseum ice and are 3-0-1 in thier last four games at home.  All three wins have come in regulation, the first time that they have done that since October 28- November 7 when they record four consecutive regulation wins at home.  The Isles have earned 43 points at home (20-13-3), guaranteeing them their first over-NHL .500 season at home since 2006-07, when they earned 50 points.

7. Gervais suffered a groin strain late in the game, joining Dustin Kohn, Andrew MacDonald and Radek Martinek as injured Islander defensemen.  Mark Flood played 10:49 in his NHL debut, replacing the injured Kohn, and was -2.

8. The teams combined for only 45 shot on goal (23 by Calgary).  It's the fewest shots in an Islander game since the teams combined for only 40 shots in a 3-1 Montreal win over the Isles on January 15, 2008.  Martin Biron made 21 saves and improved to 4-0-2 in six starts since returning to the Islander lineup on February 9th. Miikka Kiprusoff made 19 saves for Calgary.

9. The Isles improve to 9-6-2 against the West, with one inter-conference game remaining (Saturday in Columbus).  Pittsburgh is the only other Atlantic Division team to earn 20 points against the West; the Penguins finished 9-7-2 against the Western Conference.  Only Buffalo (10-5-3) and Washington (9-4-3 with two games to play) have better records against the West than the Islanders.

10.  This was the only meeting of the teams this season. The Islanders have won two straight on Coliseum ice against Calgary (they last hosted the Flames in 2006) and are 3-1-0 in their last four overall against the Flames. The Isles' win gives them 70 points, keeping them one point behind Carolina and two points behind Columbus (who both won tonight); the Isles are also four points ahead of Toronto (who also won tonight) and one point behind Florida (who lost to Montreal).  The Flames remain in 9th place in the West, four points behind Detroit.

Up next:  The Isles will look for their first win in Ohio in 33 years when they visit Columbus on Saturday night. The Isles are 0-4-2 in six trips to Nationwide, managing only a tie and a shootout loss.  The last time the Isles won in Ohio was on March 27, 1977 when they defeated the Cleveland Barons 6-3 behind two Denis Potvin goals and three Lorne Henning assists.
 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

Mark Flood and Doug Gilmour

Mark Flood is a footnote on the final game of Doug Gilmour's storied NHL career.

In 2003, the Canadiens sent Gilmour back to the Leafs at the trade deadline. Unfortunately, Gilmour, in the second shift of his first game back with the Leafs, accidentally collided with Dave Lowry of the Flames, resulting in Gilmour breaking his leg. He never played again.

The Habs received a sixth round pick in that deal, and used it to select Mark Flood. Flood has toiled in the minor leagues for five years, and nearly 300 games, but will make his NHL debut tonight.

Flood, who played two seasons with Eric Staal in Peterborough, is a minor league version of Guy Charron (or until recently Olli Jokinen) in that he has never appeared in a Calder Cup playoff game. The Sound Tigers, 8-0-1-0 in their last 9, are currently in a battle with several teams to qualify for the AHL playoffs.

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

Stat Trick: Rangers 5, Isles 0

Marian Gaborik scored two goals and added an assist as the Rangers dominated from start to finish and defeated the Isles 5-0 at Madison Square Garden.  The Isles have been shutout in two straight games, tying the club record.  On to the trick:

1. The Rangers scored three times in the first 8:30.  Artem Ansimov and Gaborik scored even strength goals in the first six minutes.  Michael Del Zotto made it 3-0 8:30 into play with a power play goal.  The Rangers took 11 of 13 shots to start the game and outshot the Isles 15-10 in the first period.

2. Neither team scored in the second period, but the Rangers dominated play throughout most of the period, outshooting the Isles 14-1 to begin the period.

3. Gaborik's second goal just after the midway point of the third period gave the Rangers a 4-0 lead.  It was his 39th goal of the season, and his first multi-goal game since January 31st; he now has three 3-point games in the last six.  Dan Girardi scored on the powerplay with less than four minutes to play for the final margin.

... a few more...

4. Dwayne Roloson made 39 saves and was clearly the Isles' best player.  Roloson has stopped 137 of 147 shots (93.2%) over his past four games.  Roloson faced shots from 16 different Rangers as everyone but Wade Redden and Jody Shelley had at least one shot. The 44 Ranger shots were their most against the Islanders since April 3, 2008, when they had 51 shots in an Islander shootout win.

5. Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves as he blanked the Isles for the second time in his career.  It's his 23rd shutout overall.

6. The Isles have now been shutout for 145:43, and have allowed nine straight goals in that span.  It's the first time that the Isles have been shutout in consecutive games since December 27 (in Ottawa) and December 30 (vs. New Jersey), 2006, and ties the club record for consecutive shutout losses (2). It's also the first time that they have been shutout in consecutive games, both on the road, in over ten years: January 19 -21, 2000 (in Montreal and New Jersey).

7. Trevor Gillies had his first NHL fight (against Brandon Prust) and finished the evening with 19 penalty minutes (in only 3:03 of playing time).

8. The Rangers went 2-6 on the power play, while the Isles were 0-3.  The Rangers are 5-20 in the season series while the Islanders are 1-17.  In fact, the Isles are now 1-45 on the power play in the last fifteen games against the Rangers.

9.  The Rangers improve to 15-10 in games decided by at least three goals, while the Isles are 8-16.

10. The Isles still lead the season series three games to two, and six points to five.  The final meeting of the teams this season wil be on Tuesday at the Coliseum.  With the win, the Rangers climb with five points of 8th place Boston.  The Isles remain in 28th place overall, with four points more than Toronto.  The Rangers have now shutout the Islanders 11 times, joining Montreal and New Jersey as opponents that have blanked the Isles 11 times.  the Flyers have shutout the Isles 12 times.

Up next:  The Calgary Flames, four points behind Detrroit for the final playoff spot in the West, visit Long Island for the first time since 2006 on Thursday night.  It will be the first Coliseum appearance of Eric Nystrom, son of the Islander legend.  The Isles defeated Calgary 3-2 on January 12, 2006 in Brad Shaw's debut as Islander coach.  It is the only Islander win in the last seven trips by Calgary to the Coliseum (1-6-0).  The Isles will need to score a goal by the early moments of the third period to avoid setting a new franchise record for the longest shutout streak- the record is 186:31, set in 2006-07. (They are 40:48 away from the record)
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

Did this guy ever do anything else? :)

<<Avs' Tucker suspended for one game
Tuesday, 03.23.2010 / 5:42 PM / News
NHL.com
The National Hockey League on Tuesday suspended Colorado Avalanche forward Darcy
Tucker for one game, without pay, for making excessive physical
contact on an icing play in Monday's game at Los Angeles.

Tucker was assessed a minor penalty for tripping Kings defenseman Matt Greene on
the play, which occurred at 10:13 of the third period. He will miss
Wednesday's rematch against the Kings at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Tucker will forfeit $11,658.03. The money goes
to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
>>

Tucker was not suspended for his actions in the 2002 playoffs against the Isles.

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

Nystrom and Sutter visit Long Island

It could be the battle of the Dynasty relatives on Thursday when the Flames visit Long Island for the first time since January 12, 2006. Brad Shaw made his head coaching debut in that game, a 3-2 Isles victory, replacing a fired Steve Stirling.

Eric Nystrom faced the Isles last year in Calgary but will visit the Coliseum for the first time. Nystrom enters tonight's game in Calgary against the Ducks with a 3-game goal scoring streak for the first time as an NHL'er. Another dynasty relative, Brett Sutter (nephew of Brent/Duane and son of Darryl) may also be in the line-up. Brett was recalled from Abbotsford (AHL) today. Brent Sutter will make his first visit to Long Island as the Flames' coach.

Jeff Tambellini is of course also the son a Dynasty member.

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

Tavares named 2nd Star of the Week

Pekka Rinne was the 1st Star and Teemu (600th goal) Selanne was third.

The NHL release notes that Tavares is the 4th first player selected with the first overall draft pick to record five points in a game in his rookie season. The others all did okay with their careers:

Dale Hawerchuk (Winnipeg, 1981-82),
Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh, 1984-85) and
Ilya
Kovalchuk (Atlanta, 2001-02).

No rookie had recorded a five point game since Philadelphia's Alexandre Picard notched
five assists against New Jersey on Feb. 1, 2007.

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

Stat Trick: Kings 1, Isles 0

Brad Richardson scored the game's only goal as the Kings blanked the Isles 1-0 at Staples Center on Saturday.  On the trick:

1.  Richardson's goal, his 11th of the season, came 13:35 into the opening period.  Wayne Simmonds earned the game's only assist.

2. Jonathan Quick made 26 saves to record his 38th victory (extending his Kings club record) and 4th shutout of the season .  Dwayne Roloson stopped 25 of 26 for the Isles.

3.  Each team failed on four power plays, with each team having five shots with the extra man.  The Kings have now gone seven games without allowing a power play goal, and have killed 23 straight.  The Isles have not scored a power play goal in their last six games against Los Angeles, covering 22 opportunities.

...a few more...

4. The Isles were shutout 1-0 for the first time this season.  They were blanked 1-0 three times last season, most recently on Feburary 25, 2009 by Pittsburgh.

5. It's the second time that the Kings have blanked the Isles 1-0.  The previous time was the opener of the 1996-97 season.  Stephane Fiset shutout the Isles that night; Ed Olczyk (whose son Nicholas was born earlier in the day) had the game's only goal.

6. Of the 12 forwards the Isles dressed, seven have played their enitre NHL career for the Islanders (Bailey, Bergenheim, Comeau,Hunter, Nielsen, Okposo, and Tavares).  Four of the other five also played for the Kings  (Jackman, Moluson., Sim and Tambellini).  The 12th Isles forward was Richard Park, who grew up in Southern California, and played for the Junior Kings.

7. Quick improves to 3-0-0 against the Isles; he's allowed only four goals in the three games.

8. The Kings improve to 27-0-0 in games that they lead after two periods.  (The Islanders, by contrast, are 24-3-4.)

9. The shutout ended three Islander streaks:  they had earned points in five straight games (3-0-2), they had scored at least one power play goal in each of those five games (six power play goals total), and they had scored at least four goals in four straight games. The Isles were within a minute of going 2-0-0 to start this road trip on Friday night, instead they finish the West Coast swing 1-1-1.

10.  The Kings sweep the season series, winning a pair of 1-goal games. Los Angeles has won five straight from the Isles, and the Isles are 0-4-2 against the Kings since defeating Los Angeles 3-2 on February 16, 2003. The Kings have held the Isles to three goals or less in 12 straight games, dating back to a 5-4 Islander overtime win in December 1998 (Bryan Berard had the winner in that game).

Up next: The road trip concludes at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. It's the first meeting of the teams since Kyle Okposo's overtime goal gave the Isles a 3-2 win on Boxing Day.  The teams will also meet on March 30 at the Coliseum; the Isles lead the season series three games to one (and six points to three).  It's the first of four consecutive games for the Isles against teams not currently in a playoff position.
 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

Stat Trick: Ducks 5, Isles 4 (overtime) Anaheim ties it in final minute and wins it 14 seconds into overtime

Saku Koivu scored just 14 seconds into overtime as the Anaheim Ducks rallied from a 4-2 deficit with ten minutes to play and defeated the Isles 5-4 at Honda Center. With the "loser point", the Isles climb within six points of Boston for 8th place in the East. On to the Trick:

1. Each team scored twice in the first period as neither team could hold a lead for more than one minute.  Richard Park and Kyle Okposo had the Isles' goals, sandwiching Duck  goals by Matt Beleskey and Lubomir Visnovsky.

2.  The Isles grabbed control of the game in the second period as Okposo and John Tavares each scored on the power play.  Okposo's goal, his 16th, gave him only the second multi-goal game of his career (2 against Atlanta on 1/29/2009).  Tavares, who scored in consecutive games for the first time since December 8-9, now has four goals in the last six games.

3. Former Islander Jason Blake got the Ducks back in the game with a power play goal midway through the third.  It was only his third career goal against the Isles (in 14 games). Visnovsky then tied the game with a 6th-attacker goal with just 32 seconds to play in regulation.  It was his 15th goal of the season (only Mike Green, with 17, has more among defensemen).  Saku Koivu scored 46 seconds later (:14 seconds of overtime) to give the Ducks the improbable victory.  It's the first time that the Ducks have ever scored five goals in a game against the Islanders.

...a few more...

4. For the second straight game, the Isles chased an Olympic netminder, sending Jonas Hiller to the bench by scoring three times on their first 17 shots.  Former Blue Curtis McIlhenny earned the win in relief, stopping 13 of 14.  Marty Biron made 34 saves for the Isles; he is 3-0-2 in his last five starts.

5. The Isles went 2-3 on the power play. It's the 11th time this season that they have had two power play goals in a game. They have connected on the power play in five straight games for the first time since December 4-13, 2008. Mark Streit assisted on both power play goals; 18 of his 39 points have come with the man advantage. Ironically, they lost all five of those games. The penalty killers allowed a goal for the first time in four games, setting the stage for the Ducks' comeback.

6. The Isles have been outscored 78-40 in the third period.  Islander coach Scott Gordon refused to answer a question about the third period problems during the club's postgame show, walking out on an interview with Rob Carlin.  The Isles' 40 goals in the third period are nine fewer than any other team; only three teams have allowed more third period goals.

7. It's the earliest overtime goal the Isles have ever allowed in their history.  They have scored two goals earlier in overtime, one by Pat Lafontaine (:10 on 11/5/88 vs. Washington) in the regular season and one by JP Parise :11 on 4/11/75 at Madison Square Garden) in the playoffs.

8.  The Isles are now 12-10 in extra time, including 5-4 in overtime.  It's the first time since October 26th that the Isles have allowed an overtime goal.  The 22 overtime games matches the club record, set in 2006-07.  The Isles also played 22 ties in 1974-75, but there was no regular season overtime in those days.

9. Jack Hillen and Matt Moulson each played in their 100th NHL game.

10.  This was the only meeting of the teams this season.  Despite the overtime loss, the Isles are 5-1-2 in their last eight games against Anaheim.  The Isles are 8-5-2 against the West this season, for a total of 18 points in inter-conference games.  They have three games to play against the West, all in the next eight days (at Los Angeles, vs. Calgary, at Columbus).  Buffalo has 23 points against the West, most of any Eastern Conference team.

Up next:  The Isles play their final game West of the Mississippi on Saturday night in Los Angeles.  The Kings defeated the Isles 2-1 on Columbus Day and have had the Isles' number in recent years.  The Isles have not defeated the Kings anywhere since winning 3-2 in Los Angeles on February 15, 2003. Since then, the Isles have earned only two points in five meetings ( a tie in 2004 and a shotoout loss in 2009).  It will be interesting to see if the Isles have any retribution in mind for Sean O'Donnell, who received a match penalty for a stick incident with Matt Martin in the pre-season.

 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

Isles pick Rhett Rakhshani named finalist for Hobey Baker Award

The 10 finalists were announced today and Rakhshani is one of them:

<<Rhett Rakhshani – University of Denver, Senior, Forward, Huntington Beach, California
The senior captain has led the Pioneers to the top of the national rankings and has done so in the highly competitive WCHA where Rakhshani led the conference in points, earning First Team all star honors in the process as DU finished in first place.  His 49 points in 38 games is seventh best in the nation and he is especially dangerous on the power play.
• Had 16 multiple-point games – has 20 goals and 29 assists in 38 games
• Majoring in Management with 3.5 GPA – All Academic three years
• NY Islanders draft pick - Volunteers with 4 organizations
>>

 
Winning the Hobey Baker Award is no guarantee of a successful NHL career, though.  Ryan Miller was a Hobey winner as was Olympic teammate Chris Drury, but so was Jason Krog.

Krog is one of 4 former Isles to have won the award: Kip Miller, Chris Marinucci and Tom Kurvers are the others.

Matt Gilroy was the winner last season, marking the first time since 2000 that an a player from an Eastern school had won the award.

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

Isles rookies with 5 points in a game

I've located Trottier's other five point game as a rookie.  Here's a revised, complete list:

Tavares tied the Isles' rookie club record of five points in a game; he's only the third to do so on the road.

MOST POINTS, ROOKIE, ONE GAME: .................................. 5
John Tavares (2-3)..........................................  3/16/09 at Vancouver
Mikko Makela (2-3)............................................1/28/86 vs. Toronto
Pat LaFontaine (3-2)..............................................3/3/84 at Toronto
Mike Bossy (1-4) ................................................11/1/77 vs. Atlanta
Bryan Trotter (1-4)....................................11/26/75 at Minnesota
Bryan Trottier (3-2) ..................................10/11/75 vs. Los Angeles
Dave Hudson (1-4)..........................................3/3/73 vs Vancouver 

 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

Elias Says: Dave Hudson also a 5 point rookie

John Tavares did indeed tie the Isles' club record with a 5 point game on Tuesday.  However, research by Elias uncovered an error in the Isles media guide that goes back nearly to the very begiinning.

On March 3, 1973, Islander rookie Dave Hudson recorded a goal and four assists in the Isles' 9-3 victory over (ironically) Vancouver.  It was Stick Night at the Coliseum (and a future statistiican should have taken note of Hudson's feat--it was my first NHL game).

Elias is also noting that BryanTrottier had two five-point games as a rookie.  The Isles' guide gives him credit for one (10/11/75).
 
 
Forever 1940 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

Special special teams

Lost in Tavares' big night Tuesday is this nugget about the Isles' special teams:  they have scored at least one power play goal in each of the last three games, while not allowing a single opponent power play goal.  It's the second time that they have done that this season (they also did it in the first three games of the season). Those are the only times theat they have done this since the lockout.  Prior to that, it last happened in the final three games of the 2003-04 season.

The Isles will look to extend the streak to four games on Friday in Anaheim.  They have not done that in four straight games since December 26-31, 2003.
 
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

John Tavares had two goals and three assists, earning a point on every Islander goal as the Isles shocked the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 for their first win in Vancouver in the 21st century.  On to the trick:
1.  Dylan Reese got the Isles started with his first NHL goal 6:22 into play; Tavares doubled the advantage with a power play tally five minutes later.
2. Each team scored twice in the middle session.  Matt Moulson gave the Isles a 3-0 advantage with his team-leading 26th goal.  After Kyle Wellwood and Alex Burrows scored two minutes apart to get the Canuclks within one, Freddy Meyer converted off of a scramble in the period's final seconds to give the Isles a two--goal advantage.
3. The Canucks pressed throughout the third period, and pulled Andrew Raycroft (who had relieved Roberto Luongo) with 2 1/2 minutes to play for the extra skater.  Tavares then hit the empty-net for the final margin of victory.
...a few more...
4. Tavares tied the Isles' rookie club record of five points in a game; he's only the second to do so on the road.
MOST POINTS, ROOKIE, ONE GAME: .................................. 5
John Tavares (2-3)..........................................  3/16/09 at Vancouver
Mikko Makela (2-3)............................................1/28/86 vs. Toronto
Pat LaFontaine (3-2)..............................................3/3/84 at Toronto
Mike Bossy (1-4) ................................................11/1/77 vs. Atlanta
Bryan Trottier (3-2) ..................................10/11/75 vs. Los Angeles

It's the first time in his career that he's had three assists and it is also his 4th two-goal game of the season. Tavares' empty-net goal gives him 20 on the season, joining Matt Duchesne (23) in the 20 goal club.  He now has 41 points, six behind Duchesne for the rookie lead.
5. Dwayne Roloson outplayed golden goaltender Roberto Luongo.  Roloson finished with 35 saves, while Luongo had only eight saves through two periods. 
6.  The Isles, who went through a stretch of eight games in late Janaury/early February where they scored only ten goals, have scored thirteen goals in their last three games.  It's the first time that the Isles have scored at least four goals in regulation of three consecutive games since Dec. 29, 2008- Jan. 2, 2009. They had a five game streak of scoring at least four goals in late Oct/early Nov but an overtime goal produced the fourth goal of the middle game.
7. The Isles record their first road victory since January 9th, which was a 5-4 shootout win in Phoenix.  They had lost eight straight since then.  It's the first time that they have scored five goals during the actual game since January 29, 2009 in Atlanta.
8. The Sedin brothers both extended long assist and point streaks on the goal by Alex Burrows, but the brothers were each -3 on the night.  Daniel now has an 11-game point/assist streak while Henrik has 6-game poinrt/assist streaks. The Isles did stop Ryan Kesler's 13-game point streak and Mikael Samuelsson's 7-game point streak.
9. Stats can lie.  Josh Bailey had a terrific game, but was -1.  Sean Bergenheim had six hits to lead the team.
10.  In winning the only game of the season against Vancouver, the Isles win in Vancouver for the first time since March 19, 1999 (0-2-1).  The Isles are 5-2-1 in their last eight games overall against Vancouver.  The Isles have now won in the 21st century in every opposing city.  Their longest time since a road win now is against Nashville, dating back to 2002.  The five longest droughts (by time, not by games):
11-Apr-02 @ Nashville
19-Dec-02 @ Minnesota
15-Feb-03 @ Los Angeles
19-Feb-03 @ San Jose
13-Mar-03 @ Edmonton
Up next: The road trip continues in Anaheim on Friday.  It's their only meeting of the season with the Ducks.  The Isles have had success over the years in Anaheim, but have not played there since Mike York's shootout goal gave Ted Nolan his first win as Islander coach on October 11, 2006.  The Isles are 2-0-1 in Anaheim since 2000 and are 5-1-1 in their last seven overall against the Duclks.
 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

Stat Trick: Isles 4, Maple Leafs 1

Blake Comeau recorded the first three-assist game and set a career high with 27 points as the Isles concluded a three-game homestand with five out of a possible six points, with a 4-1 victory over the Maple Leafs.  On to the trick:

1. Nikolai Kulemin scored just 57 seconds into play, extending his point-scoring streak to five games and giving Toronto the lead.  However, Tim Jackman tied the game just 1:54 later, and Richard Park gave the Isles a lead with a shorthanded tally.  It's the second time this season that the Isles have scored shorthanded in consecutive games (October 22-24) but the first time that they had done so in both ends of a back-to-back since November 3-4, 2008.

2. Frans Nielsen expanded the lead to 3-1 with a goal off a gorgeous passing play late in the second period. It was Nielsen's 10th goal of the season, giving the Isles eight players with at least ten goals.

3. Matt Moulson added the final goal when he scored on the power play with 2:22 to play.  It was his 25th goal of the season; he's the first Isle to reach to 25 goals since 2006-07.

...a few more...

4. Martin Biron made 26 saves to improve his record to 3-0-1 in his last four starts.  He had only two wins prior to this stretch.  JS Giguere finished with 28 saves for the Leafs.

5. Trevor Gillies recorded his first NHL point on the Park goal. He is 662 points behind Clark Gillies on the all-time Isles list.

6. Special teams helped win the game for the Isles, as they killed all seven Leaf power plays, and scored both a power play goal and a shorthanded goal.  Toronto was 1-20 on the power play this season against the Isles.  The Isles have now scored a power play goal in four straight home games for the first time since last January/February.

7. The Isles improve to 19-13-3 at home.  With six games remaining, they are assured of an NHL-.500 season at home.  The 41 points is one more than they managed last season and equaled their total two seasons ago under Ted Nolan.

8.  It's only the second time all season that the Isles have won consecutive games, both in regulation.  The Isles won consecutive regulation-time games on October 31 (vs. Buffalo) and November 2 (vs. Edmonton).

9. The Isles scored four goals in each of the weekend games.  They had not scored four goals in consecutive games since January 18-19.

10.  The Isles win the season series three games to one, six points to three.  They now have a seven point lead over the Leafs in the overall standings (and climbed over Carolina in the process).  The Isles won both Coliseum match-ups and are 9-1-2 in their last twelve games at home against Toronto.

Up next: The Isles begin a four-game road trip in Vancouver on Tuesday. This is the only meeting of the season between the teams, who have traded shootout victories the past two seasons.  It's only the fourth trip of the century for the Isles to Vancouver (0-2-1), who have won only once in Vancouver since 1993 (1-5-2).  The Isles' most recent win in Vancouver came on March 18, 1999 by a 3-1 score.  Mark Lawrence, Mike Watt and Bryan Smolinski scored in that game for the Islanders, which was played the week John Tavares turned 8 1/2 years old. Wade Flaherty recorded the victory in nets for the Isles.  The trip continues with games in Anaheim and Los Angeles, before finishing next Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

 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

Stat Trick: Isles 4, Devils 2

Jon Sim and Mark Streit scored 50 seconds apart in the second period as the Isles broke open a tied game and went on to defeat the Devils 4-2 on a rainy Saturday night at the Coliseum.  On to the trick:

1.  The first 12 minutes were all Devils, as New Jersey had 11 of the game's first 12 shots..  Mike Mottau scored three minutes in to give New Jersey the lead.  It was his second goal of the season; both goals have come against the Isles.  Freddy Meyer tied the fame late in the first period to get the Isles into the first intermission even at 1-1.

2.  The Isles dominated play through most of the second period and scored twice in 50 seconds late in the frame to take the lead.  Both Sim and Stret scored their tenth goals of the season, giving the Isles seven players with at least ten goals.  Eight of Streit's goals gave come on the power play; among NHL defensemen, only Mike Green has more power play goals (9).

3. Ilya Kovalachuk blew one past Dwayne Roloson to get the Devils within one goal early in the third period, but it was a  msitake by Kovalchulk at the point that gave the Isles the final margin.  Kovalchuk couldn't keep the puck in, fell down, and the led to Sean Bergenheim scoring his first goal since January 16th midway through the third.  It was Bergenheim's second shorthanded goal of the season; seven of his 36 career goals have come shorthanded.

...a few more..

4. Roloson made 38 saves to record his first career victory (1-6-2) against the Devils.  Roloson, who had not faced New Jersey since 2003, recorded his 21st victory of the season.  He has now beaten every team but Buffalo in his NHL career.  Yann Danis suffered his second loss of the season (3-2-0) and finished with 25 saves.

5. The Isles were credited with 44 hits, a season high.  It's the most hits that they have had since also having 44 against Tampa on April 4, 2009. Sim led the team with six hits; Bergenheim and Jeff Tambellini each had five.
 
6.  Special teams were a big part of the story. The Isles connected on the power play for the third straight home game.  It's the first time they have done in over a year, last doing so in four straight games from January 19, February 3, 2009.  The Isles also killed off 5:11 of continuous power play in the third period, including a 49 second 5-on-3.  In all, the Isles killed all four Devil power plays; it's the first time in seven games that they have not allowed a power play goal.
 
7. Richard Park won eight of 12 face-offs, and assisted on Sim's goal.  15 of his 16 assists have come at even-strength.  He has seven more even-strength assists than John Tavares and it four helpers shy of matching his career high of 20.
 
8. Zach Parise and Brian Rolston each had eight shots on goal but the Isles held both players off the scoreboard.  Fomer Islander Dean McAmmond assisted on both New Jersey goals.
 
9. The Devils had 11 shots in the first 12 minutes and 21 shots in the third period, but only eight shots in the 28 minutes in between.
 
10.  The Isles beat New Jesery for the seocnd time in three tries at home this season; they are 0-2 in New Jersey with one trip remaining on April 10th.  The Isles are 4-12 in the three home games against New Jersey this season.
 
Up next: The Leafs visit on Sunday at 5pm.  The Isles have taken two of the three games this season from Toronto.

 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

Stat Trick: Blues 2, Isles 1 (shootout)

TJ Oshie and Brad Boyes scored in the shootout as the Blues defeated the Islanders 2-1 at the Coliseum on Thursday night. It was the first shootout ever between the teams. On to the trick:

1.  Each team scored just once in regulation play.  Matt Moulson had the Islander goal with just ten seconds remaining in the first period.  It was the 24th goal of the season for Moulson, the most by any Islander since four players scored 25 or more in the 2006-07 season.  Moulson's goal came on the first of five Islander power plays in a game that matched the league's next-to-last home power play against the league's best road penalty kill.

2.  Patrik Berglund, who had the winning goal when the teams met in November,  knotted the score 6:24 into the middle session, also on a power play.The goal extended his point streak to a career-high six games.  It was the first of six Blues power plays on the night.  The Isles however killed off the remaining five power plays, improving their penalty kill to 7-18 since the Olympic break.

3. The Blues outshot the Isles 36-30, including 5-2 in the overtime session (despite a full Islander power play in the extra session).

... a few more...

4. The Islanders have allowed a power play goal in all five games since the Olympic break (7-18) and in six straight overall (8-20).  It's the first time this season that the Isles have allowed a power play goal in six straight games.

5. Chris Mason has 29 saves for the Blues, while Martin Biron had 35 saves for the Islanders.  It's the second win of the season for Mason over the Isles; he allowed only two goals in the two games.  Biron is now 2-0-1 in his last three starts; it's the first time this season that he has earned a point in three straight starts. Biron  has never beaten the Blues; he's 0-6-2 against St. Louis.

6. Erik Johnson led the Blues with four shots; Romak Polak was the only Blue held without a shot.  Blake Comeau, playing his first game since being injured last week, led the Isles with five shots on goal and assisted on Moulson's tally.

7. The Isles are now 26-32-9, matching last season's win and point total, with 15 games to play.  The Blues have won six out of seven and are a sparkling 19-10-4 on the road this season.

8. The Isles fall to 12-9 in overtime, including 7-6 in shootouts. Oshie is now 5-for-8 in shootouts while Boyes is 7-for-11. The Blues are 7-4 in shootouts this season, including three wins in their current 6-1 streak.

9. Mark Streit earned an assist on Moulson's goal.  He had four shots on goal and played over 31 mni

10. The Isles are 0-2-0 against the Blues this season, and 4-0-0 against the rest of the Central Division.

Up next: The homestand continues on Saturday when they entertain the Devils.  The Isles are 1-3-0 against New Jersey including 1-1-0 at home. Their most- recent match-up, on Januaury 23rd, was the first game of their current 3-12-1 stretch.
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

Stat Trick: Flyers 3, Isles 2. Flyers defeat Islanders for 15th straight time

The Islanders are a .500 hockey team since the Olympic break.  Unfortunately, it is their penalty kill that is batting .500, as the Isles have allowed six goals in twelve times short, including two in the third period as the Isles blew a 2-0 second period lead and lost their fifteenth straight game to the Flyers, 3-2 in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.  On to the trick:

1. The Islanders grabbed a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes on a John Tavares goal.  It was only the third goal in the last 35 games for Tavares since he scored five consecutive Islander goals in early December.

2. Kyle Okposo gave the Isles a 2-0 lead with his first goal in 12 career games against the Flyers just past the midway point of the second, but Jeff Carter brought the Flyers within one goal 96 seconds later. It was the fourth time this season, but the first time since November 14th that Tavares and Okposo have scored in the same game. 

3. The Flyers took advantage of three power plays in the third period, scoring the tying and winning goal.  Claude Giroux scored the tying goal and set up the winning goal, which was scored by Simon Gagne.  Gagne's goal, his third in three games, came after a penalty by Islander tough guy Trevor Gillies, who was recalled for this game.  Mike Richards assisted on Giroux' goal, extending his point streak to six games.  Either Gagne, Richards, Carter, or Scott Hartnell have scored the winning goal (or deciding shootout goal) in all 11 Flyer wins in the Gordon era.

... a few more...

4.  The Flyers are now 7-18 on the power play this season against the Isles.  The Isles failed on their only attempt of the evening, and are 3-20 vs. Pniladelphia this season.  The Isles have had only eight power plays in their last four games; they have been held to one power play (or fewer) in three of thie last 16 games after having at least two power plays in each of their first 50 games.

5.  Philadelphia improves to 2-17-0 in games that they have trailed after two periods, while the Isles fall to 21-3-3 in games that they led.  Only three teams have lost more games than the Isles after holding second period leads; the Isles also dropped to 13-7-3 when leading after one period -- no team has lost more games that they have led after 20 minutes than the Islanders.

6.  The Isles have now been outscored by a 75-37 margin in the third period.  Their 37 goals scored are by far the fewest in the NHL (Boston has 43) while only Anaheim and Carolina (79 each) have allowed more third period goals.

7. Matt Moulson's point streak was stopped at five games.  Tim Jackman led the Isles with seven hits while Bruno Gervais matched career single game highs in both assists and points as he assisted on both Islander goals.  It was his first two-assist game since November 23rd in Toronto.

8. Michael Leighton, who was claimed on re-entry waivers by Philadelphia in December, made 23 saves as he defeated the Isles for the second time in as many tries.  He is 7-0-1 in his last eight decisions and 15-3-2 as a Flyer.  Dwayne Roloson, who has started five straight games, finished with 32 saves for the Isles.

9. The Isles have lost eight straight on the road and three straight overall. They are now 3-12-0 in their last fifteen games and have fallen ten points behind trhe 8th place Bruins, who lost in overtime to the Leafs tonight.  The Isles are only six points ahead of the Leafs, who sit last in the Eastern Conference.

10.  The Flyers have won 15 straight against the Isles (12-0-3), including nine one-goal victories.  Six of the last seven games between the teams have resulted in one-goal Flyer victories  It's the longest winning streak in Flyer history against the Islanders and the longest active streak by one team against another since the Bruins defeated Ottawa 17 straight times from 1992-95.  The Isles have lost ten straight games in Philadelphia.

Up next: The Isles return home on Thursday to begin a three game in four day homestand by facing the Blues.  It will be St.Louis' first visit to Long Island since providing the opposition for Scott Gordon's home debut as the Islander coach.  The Isles had gone 2-0-2 in thei last four against the Blues prior to dropping a 4-1 decision in November.
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

Stat Trick: Boston 3, Isles 2

Perhaps if the Isles had played the first period liked they played the last two the result would have been different.  After being outshot 16-4 in the first 20 minutes, the Isles outshot the Bruins 35-18 over the final 40 minutes, but fell a goal shy, and lost to Boston 3-2.  On to the trick:

1.  The first period was all Boston.  Milan Lucic scored the session's only goal, with 1:34 to play. The Isles have allowed the first goal in four straight games, amd they have been badly outplayed in the first period of their last two home games (38-13 combined).

2. Josh Bailey tied the game early in the second period with a power play goal. It was his 14th goal of the season (one more than Kyle Okposo, despite playing six fewer games), and was set-up by Mark Streit's 200th NHL point. The deadlock lasted only 2:46 until David Krejci scored.  Marc Savard added a powerplay tally off a bad bounce to give the Bruins a 3-1 advantage after two periods.

3.Matt Moulson extended his point streak to five games, when he scored the only goal of the third period, just 5:43 into the session.  It was his 23rd goal of the season and fourth against the Bruins.  Bill Guerin had 23 goals two seasons ago; no Isle has had more since four players had at least 25 in 2006-07.

...a few more...

4.  Dwayne Roloson who was pulled after allowing fou goals on seven shots Thursday, made 31 saves for the Isles.  Tim Thomas, playing consecutive Bruin games for the first time since January 30/February 2, made 37 saves for Boston, including 21 in the second period.  He is now 8-4-1 in career against the Isles.
 
5. Michael Ryder was ejected after checking Blake Comeau from behind.  The Isles had six shots on goal on the ensuing major power play but failed to score.  Ryder received 15 penalty minutes on the play, one fewer than he had in 62 prior games this season.
 
6.  Each team went 1-2 on the power play.  The Isles have allowed five goals their last ten times short.  The Bruin power play goal was their only pp goal in 14 chances against the Isles this season.

7. There were only eight face-offs in the third period (including one to start the period, and one after Moulson's goal).  The Isles won five of them, but Boston won 30 of 46 overall.  Rob Schremp had a rough afternoon in the circle, dropping 12 of 15.
 
8. The Isles are now 3-11-0 in their last 14 games.  John Tavares does not have a goal in this stretch, having now gone 17 games without a goal. The Isles have been a streaky team all season as they opened 0-3-3 and had a 2-7-0 stretch in December.  They have also had stretches of 5-1-2 in October/November and 10-3-1 in the fourteen games immediately prior to the current stretch.
 
9. Sean Bergenheim returned to the Isles' lineup but was held without a point for the 15th straight game.
 
10. The season series ends deadlocked, with each team winning once in regulation and once in extra time. Marc Savard had the shootout winner in Boston's other win other the Isles this season.  He has scored the winning goal or the shoot-out winner in each of Boston's last four wins over the Isles.

Up Next:  The Isles head to Philadelphia to face the Flyers in a nationally-televised game on Tuesday (Versus/ 7:00pm).  Doc Emrick will join Billy Jaffe in the booth for this one.  The Isles will bring four long, nasty streaks into Philadelphia:
 
1. The Isles have 0-7-0 on the road in the last two months, since winning in a shootout in Phoenix on January 9. (The Isles are 9-18-6 on the road this season; only four of the wins have been in regulation.)
2.  The Isles have dropped 14 straight games to the Flyers (0-11-3, including once in overtime and twice in a shootout) since a 4-3 Coliseum win for Rick DiPietro on February 12, 2008.
3.  The Isles have lost nine straight games in Philadelphia (0-8-1, including an overtime loss on October 30, 2008) since a 4-2 win in Philadephia on April 7, 2007. That 2007 win came in game 81; the Isles qualified for the playoffs with a shootout victory over New Jersey the following day.
4.  The Isles have not won a divisional road game under Scott Gordon any place but Madison Square Garden. They are 3-16-1 in divisional road games over the past two seasons (0-5-0 in both New Jersey and Pittsburgh, 0-4-1 in Philadelphia and 3-2-0 in New York)

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

Stat Trick errata

Roloson had 41 saves vs. Chicago (not 42).
 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

Stat Trick: Atlanta 6, Isles 3

One game after making 42 saves, Dwayne Roloson made only four.  By that point he had allowed three goals, and was pulled 9:16 into the game.  Things did not get any better from there, as the Thrashers beat the Isles 6-3, ending a four-game losing streak against the Isles.  On to the trick:

1. Atlanta jumped all over the Isles early.  After Niklas Bergfors gave the Thrashers the early lead with his fifth goal in seven games since being acquired in the Ilya Kovalchuk deal, Nik Antropov and Clarke MacArthur scored 25 seconds apart to chase Roloson.  Maxim Afinogenov (10-19-29 in 32 games vs. the Isles) made it 4-0 Atlanta before Mark Streit got the Isles on the board late in the first session with a power play tally.

2. Antropov's second goal was follwed by an end-to-end goal by Evegeny Artyukhin, who was making his Atlanta debut, to expand the Thrasher lead to 6-1 in the second period.

3. The Isles scored a pair of goals in the third as Rob Schremp and Tim Jackman scored 70 seconds apart to cut the lead to 6-3 with 7:12 to play.  However, the Isles could not get any closer, as Johan Hedberg made 34 saves.

... a few more...

4. Marty Biron made twelve saves in relief of Roloson; Jackman's goal made him the losing goaltender. 

5. Blake Comeau, who had scored six goals in his last three games, was held off the board and was -3 on the game.  Rob Schremp was also -3, but he did have a goal and an assist.

6. The Isles have now lost seven straight on the road since defeating Phoenix in a shootout on January 9th.  With their next road game not until Tuesday, the Isles will have a road losing streak of at least two months. The seven game streak is their longest (single season) road losing streak since going 0-6-1 from February 5- March 10, 2009.  The Isles had gone 0-20 on the power play in the prior six road losses but connected twice in five attempts tonight.

7. The Isles outshot Atlanta 37-22, equaling the fewest shots allowed by the Isles in a regulation defeat since a 5-1 defeat to Atlanta (and Hedberg) on December 6, 2008.  The Isles allowed only 17 shots in that game.

8. The Thrashers have a point in six straight games (4-0-2) and are 4-1-2 since trading Kovalchuk to New Jersey. It's only the fourth time (4-8) that Atlanta has won by at least three goals; the Isles drop to 6-15 in games decided by three goals or more.

9.  Doug Weight and Matt Moulson had assists for the Isles, extending point streaks to four games. Weight also has a four game assist streak, while Moulson finishes the season series with eight points (5-3-8) against Atlanta.  Dylan Reese made his NHL debut for the Islanders, playing 11:06 and going -1.

10. The Isles win the season series three games to one, and six points to three.  However, the Thrasher win stops an Islander four-game win streak against the Thrashers.

Up next:  The Isles return home to entertain the Bruins in a Saturday matinee.  The Isles are 2-0-1 against the Bruins this season, including an overtime win in December on a Frans Nielsen goal.

 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

Stat Trick: Isles 5, Chicago 3

Blake Comeau had never had a multi-goal game in his first 151 NHL games.  One game after he scored twice against Ottawa, Comeau recorded the first hat trick of his career as the Isles defeated the Blackhawks 5-3.  On to the trick:

1.  Dwayne Roloson made 41 saves, including twenty in the first period as he held the Isles in the game. Brian Campbell, who had six first period shots and Patrick Kane scored in the session for the Hawks, sandwiching Comeau's first goal.

2.  The game changed in the second period as the Isles scored twice in 25 seconds.  Comeau tied the game at 2:27 and Jon Sim was credited with the lead goal at 2:52.  Sim's goal was enough to chase Hawk starter Antti Niemi after allowing three goals on 12 shots.  Richard Park beat Cristobal Huet at 7:06 and Comeau completed his trick with 18 seconds to play in the middle session.

3. Dustin Byfuglien missed half of the third period with an injury but came back with 4:17 to play to score a power play goal.  The Hawks would get no closer, but Byfuglien's goal made Huet, not Niemi, the losing goaltender.

... a few more...

4.  The Isles have won six straight against the Hawks since a 3-2 loss to Chicago on December 10, 2002. The six straight wins followed a stretch of 22 games in which the Isles beat the Hawks only once. It's the third time that the Isles have beaten Chicago three straight times, doing so six times from 1983-85 and seven times from 1980-82.  This was the only meeting of the season between the teams.

5. The Isles did not have a single power play.  It's the first time since a 3-2 shootout loss in Tampa on November 17, 2006 (292 games) that they have not had an advantage. It's the first time since the lockout that the Isles have not had a power play at home (January 27, 2004 vs. Boston), and the first time since November 10, 1999 in Carolina that the Isles have won a game without a power play chance.

6.  The Isles complete their 3-game, 18 day homestand with a 2-1-0 record.  They scored 13 goals during the three games, including six by Blake Comeau.  The 13 goals match their offensive output in the previous nine games (1-8-0).

7. Rob Schremp had two assists.  He has seventeen on the season, tying John Tavares for the club rookie lead.  Only four rookies have more assists in the entire league than Schremp; he has recorded 17 assists in only 41 games-- his .41 assists per game leads all rookies.

8. Roloson recorded his 20th win of the season.  It is the fourth time in his career that he has won 20 games (once for Minnesota and twice, including a career-high 28 last season, for Edmonton). Roloson faced 44 shots, which is the most that the Isles have allowed at home since allowing 47 in a 2-1 overtime loss to New Jersey on April 1, 2008. The 44 shots matched the most the Isles have allowed in a home victory since 1999; the Isles also allowed 44 shots in a 3-2 home victory over Carolina on October 8, 2005.

9. The Isles scored four goals in the second period.  It's their first four-goal period of the season.  They last scored four goals in a period on March 20, 2009 in Carolina, scoring all four of their goals in a 5-4 defeat during the second period. It's the first time that they have scored four goals in any home period, since scoring four times against St. Louis in the 2008-09 home opener.
 
10. The Isles improve to 26-29-8 and remain on the fringes of the playoff race. They finished last season with a 26-47-9 record.
 
Up next: The Isles head to Atlanta on Thursday night to face the Thrashers for the final time this season.  The Isles have dominated the season series, winning all three games (one by shoot-out).  The Isles will be looking for a fifth straight win against the Thrashers, which would match the longest stretch in club history (five straight wins from March 2, 2002 to January 19, 2003).  The Isles are also looking for their third straight win in Atlanta, which they have never done against the Thrashers.  The Isles' only three-game win streak in Atlanta came in the 1976-77 season, when the Isles swept the three games played at the Omni.

 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

Dylan Reese

One interesting note on this minor league defensemen, who was acquired earlier today.

Reese led Syracuse in +/-  at +12.  Even more impressive is that he is +19 in January/February for a team that is 26-29-3-3 on the season (26-29-6 by NHL accounting).

Reese, who played at Harvard, is 25 1/2 years old (born 8-29-84).

 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

Olympic hockey ratings through the roof!

Now it's up to the NHL to maintain some (even just a little bit) of the momentum--

<<The Canada/USA Olympic Men's Hockey Gold Medal game drew a 17.6 overnight rating on NBC Sunday afternoon, up 46% from the '02 Gold Medal game, which featured the same two teams.

Overnight ratings for the 2006 Gold Medal game were unavailable.

Sunday's game is on pace to finish as the highest rated hockey telecast in the United States since 1980.
To put the numbers in perspective, Sunday's game drew a higher overnight rating than every World Series game since 2004 (including every game of Yankees/Phillies last year), every NBA Finals telecast since 1998, and every NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four game since at least '98.

Excluding the NFL, the 17.6 overnight for the game is the second-highest of the year for any sporting event, behind only the Texas/Alabama BCS National Championship Game in January (18.2).
>>

 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