1. Following a scoreless first period, the Isles took control of the game with two goals exactly two minutes apart, early in the second period. John Tavares and Dylan Reese, who each finished +3, had the goals. Tavares' goal was his 22nd, one behind Colorado's Matt Duchesne for the rookie lead. Tavares, who also earned an assist, is 4-9-13 in his last 13 games, and now has 49 points in his rookie campaign. Only seven of Tavares' 22 goals have come at home; this was his first goal at the Coliseum since January 16th against Buffalo.
2. The Isles grabbed a 3-0 lead on a goal by Jack Hillen just before the midway point of the second period. It was Hillen's third goal of the season. The Sens have been outscored 90-66 in the second period this season.
3. Sean Bergenheim's 9th goal of the season, 4:13 into the third, put the game on ice. Bergenheim has struggled offensively this season (9-11-20) but extended his point streak to four straight games. Matt Cullen broke Marty Biron's shutout at 13:27
...a few more...
4. Biron made 28 saves for the Isles. The Isles are now 6-0-2 in his last eight starts; it's Biron's longest point streak since winning nine straight games over parts of two seasons in 2006. Brian Elliott, who had been in nets for all six wins for Ottawa, suffered the defeat, depriving him of a 30th victory. Elliott did record his first professional assist on Cullen's goal.
5. With the win, the Isles move within two games of NHL .500 for the first time since a loss to Florida on January 31st dropped their record to 23-25-8. The Isles will need to earn six points in their final four games to reach NHL .500.
6. Blake Comeau had two assists, giving him four goals and two assists in three games this week. He was +3 and is +5 for the week. Reese completed a huge weekend -- he was +7 in the two games. Tavares was +3 for the second straight game and is +8 since the Olympic break. Richard Park had two assists; he now has 21 on the season, which is a career high. Park is four games away from playing in every Islander game for the third time in four seasons.
7. Chris Campoli had an awful game in his return to the Coliseum, going -4. At least Campoli finished the game. A frustrated Andy Sutton took 14 penalty minutes at 7:11 of the third to end his afternoon. The Islanders stopped Jason Spezza's point streak after four games in which he had amassed eleven points. Sens' Captain Daniel Alfredsson played in his 999th NHL game.
8. Kyle Okposo earned an assist on the Tavares goal; it was his 30th assist of the season. He is the first Isles forward to record 30 assists in a season since Miro Satan (32) and Mike Sillinger (33) both did it during the 2006-07 season.
9. Despite the win, the Isles were pushed to the brink of elimination by Boston's overtime win on Saturday night. The Isles' tragic number is now 1. The Isles must win out, have Boston not gain another point and also get help from Atlanta and either Philadelphia or the Rangers to make the playoffs.
10. The Sens win the season series three games to one, and six points to four. All three Ottawa wins this season were by one goal.
Up next: The Isles could be eliminated by the time they face Montreal on Tuesday (as Boston visits Washington on Monday). Montreal has dominated the series in recent years, going 10-0-2 in the last twelve meetings. Les Habitants have won all three match-ups this season, including once in overtime.
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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