Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Heals and Flats to CBC

<<Heals and Flats takes over CBC Sports
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 30, 2010 | 3:02 PM ET
CBC Sports
Heals and Flats is coming to CBCSports.ca, and it may never be the same again.
The show, hosted by Hockey Night in Canada personality Glenn Healy and Patrick
Flatley, was a huge hit when it aired in the New York area in the late 1980s
and early '90's, when the pair were Islanders teammates.
"There wasn't a lot entertaining going on at that time for the Islanders — does
this sound familiar? — and it was a way to spruce things up, so to speak,"
Healy said.
"Of course, when you have someone who has the skill set that Pat Flatley does —
it's an easy target."
Off-the-wall and irreverent, nobody was safe from ridicule on the show.
"From teammates to the commissioner, the gloves were off," Healy said. It
developed a cult following that still lingers on Islanders blogs and message
boards.
"The ironic part is that we'd get more fan mail about the show than we'd get
about our team and our play," Healy said.
"So I don't know if that's an indication of the quality of the show or the
quality of our play. [But] when the team started to get successful they decided
to spend some money on some real content, instead of our corny act.
"It was a lot of fun, it really was.… Pat and I have been friends for a long
time … [he's] a great teammate, great leader, understands the game."
After almost two decades off the air, Heals and Flats will release new segments
on CBCSports.ca, starting with Wednesday's on-demand episode discussing the
Toronto Maple Leafs' "revolutionary" stretching techniques.
"I think it'll be informative, with an edge," Healy said. "That's the way both
of our personalities are. "[And] any time you can take advantage of somebody
for two minutes on television — is there nothing better than that?"

Read more:
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2010/11/30/sp-heals-flats.html#ixzz16pa4meiG

>>
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

Friday, November 26, 2010

The Skinny: Isles 2, Devils 0

"The Skinny"

 

By Eric Hornick

 

Game 21

Isles 2, Devils 0

Rick DiPietro made 29 saves as the New York Islanders broke a 14-game (0-11-3) winless streak with 2-0 shutout victory over the New Jersey Devils before a holiday matinee crowd of 10,897 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The victory, the Isles' first in a club-record 36 days, ends the club's longest winless streak in 20 years while extending the team's point streak to three straight games (1-0-2).

Joensuu Scores First

The Islanders jumped on the board early, when Jesse Joensuu converted a gorgeous pass from Frans Nielsen for his third career NHL goal, and his first this season just 1:32 into play.  It's the fourth straight game that the Islanders have scored first and only their 10th first period goal this season.  This time, however, the Isles would hold the lead the entire game.  The Isles would lead for the final 58:28 – they had led for only 29:27 in the past 14 games, combined.

Schremp Doubles It

Rob Schemp made it 2-0 Isles 5:15 into the second period, off a Blake Comeau pass.  It marked the Islanders' first two-goal lead since they defeated Colorado 5-2 on October 16th. Michael Grabner also earned an assist.

Third Period is Ricky's Time

Rick DiPietro has found his game over the past week; the Devils outshot the Isles 13-1 in the third period but could not beat him, despite 5:02 of consecutive power-play, including a 58 second 5-on-3. 2-0 Final. 

Coach Cap Gets His First

The win is the first NHL win for Jack Capuano (1-2-2).  The most successful coach in Islander history, Al Arbour, waited even longer.  Arbour went 0-3-4 in his first seven with the Islanders.

Home and Road

The Isles improve to 5-12-5, 3-4-2 at home.  With 15 points, the Isles are only one point behind New Jersey (7-14-2, 4-9-0 on the road) and have played one fewer game than the Devils.

It's Over, Finally

The win breaks a 14-game winless streak, tied for the second longest winless streak in club history:

·        15- November 21, 1972-December 20, 1972 (12 losses, 3 ties)

·        14 -February 13, 1990 –March 15, 1990 (11 losses, 3 ties)

·        14 -October 23, 2010 – November 24, 2010 (11 losses, 1 SO loss, 2 OT losses)

In the Nets

Rick DiPietro, making his third straight start, shuts out the Devils for the third time in his career.  He has blanked New Jersey three times in the last six meetings, and has allowed only nine goals in his last seven appearances against the Devils. DiPietro has 96 saves on 102 shots in these three games (1.96 GAA and 94.1% save percentage) as he evens his record at 3-3-4. 

The Isles had only 20 shots on goal – a single low at home; Johan Hedberg finished with 18 saves for New Jersey. 

 Power Plays

The Isles failed to connect on three power plays while New Jersey was 0-4, including a 58 second 5-on-3. The Isles have now gone 31 attempts without a power play goal, covering their last two chances against Philadelphia on November 6th and the eight games since. It's the first time since January 2-15, 2000 that the Isles have gone eight games without a power play goal.

In the Circle

The Isles lost 37 of 68 face-offs (46%).  Zenon Konopka won 7 out of 10 as he continues to be one of the top face-off men in the NHL.

Missing Men

Mark Streit, Kyle Okposo, Andrew MacDonald, Milan Jurcina, Jack Hillen, Doug Weight and Mike Mottau remain out.  Trent Hunter missed his first game and will be out indefinitely; he had a Grade 3 tear of the MCL in his left knee.  Jon Sim was an emergency recall to replace Hunter.

Matinee Idols

The Isles improve to 2-0-0 in matinee games, and hold wins over the rival Rangers and Devils.  Another division rival, Philadelphia, will be at the Coliseum a week from Sunday for a 1:00 game.

Missing Mac

The Isles have finally won a game without Andrew MacDonald.  They are 1-11-3 in the 15 games that he has missed.

It's Eaton Time

Mark Eaton led all players with 27:04 of ice-time (his highest total of the season in a regulation-time game) and was +1.  Eaton blocked six shots, as did Radek Martinek (26:04).

Bruno Puts Up the Dukes

Bruno Gervais fought Colin White after White boarded PA Parenteau.  It was the 3rd fight of Gervais' career, having previously dropped the gloves with the Rangers' Sean Avery and Lee Stempniak (then with Toronto).  Gervais was assessed 17 penalty minutes (including the first misconduct penalty of his career) for instigating the fight; he had only one minor penalty in his first 12 appearances this season.

First to 10

Nielsen's assist on Joensuu's goal was his 10th of the season.  He is the first Islander forward with 10 assists this season.  Both Nielsen and Grabner now have earned assists in three straight games.  James Wisniewski assisted on Schremp's goal for his team-leading 12th assist.

3 or Less

The Isles have been held to three goals or fewer in 17 straight games (3-11-3) since tallying five against Colorado on October 16.  It's the longest that the team has gone without scoring four goals (in a single season) since going 22 games from November 3 – December 19, 2007.  The first of those 22 games was Al Arbour's 1500th as an NHL coach.

No Points for New (Jersey)

In addition to stopping their 14 game winless streak, the Isles ended a streak of 16 games in which their opponent earned at least one point.  The two wins that preceded the winning streak were both decided by an overtime goal.

No Goals for New (Jersey)

DiPietro has shutout New Jersey three times, matching his high against any opponent; he's also blanked Tampa three times.  DiPietro now has 16 career shutouts.  The Isles have shutout New Jersey once in each of the last four seasons (Yann Danis had the other one).  It's only the second time in franchise history that the Isles have shutout an opponent at least once for a four-season span; the Isles blanked Tampa six times in a four season span (1996-97 to 1999-2000).  

The Devils have now been involved in six shutouts this season, winning three and losing three.

Season Series Stats          

This was the first meeting of the season.  The Isles have won 5 of the last 6 Coliseum match-ups between the squads.  The Isles will visit Newark for the first time this season on December 23rd while the Devils will return to Long Island for an MLK Day Matinee on January 17th.  The remaining three meetings will all be in March.

Black Friday

The Islanders are now 4-2 in Black Friday matinees, including three straight wins.

Happy Anniversary

29, 27, 13 and 5 years ago today (November 26, 1981-83-97-2005): The Isles have scored four hat tricks on this date.  Bryan Trottier turned the trick in 1981 vs. St. Louis; Mike Bossy matched the feat against Chicago in 1983.  In 1997, Robert Reichel recorded the only hat trick of his Islander career, beating Mike Richter three times in a 4-1 Islander win over the Rangers.  Jason Blake concluded the quartet by scoring three goals against Antero Niittymaki in a 4-2 win in Philadelphia.

Up Next

Thursday, December 2- Rangers @ Islanders 7:00pm

[MSG+2 (Subway Islanders Game Night at 6:30), WRHU 88.7FM]
The Islanders will now have five days off before they begin a very busy December. Other than the All-Star break, it's the last time that the Isles will go five days without a game. The Isles will play 14 games in December, including a home-and-home with the Rangers to begin the month; the teams will also meet in the Garden during Christmas Week.  The teams have met once this season, with the Isles blasting the Blueshirts 6-4 on Columbus Day so the Isles will be looking for consecutive home wins against the Rangers for the first time since 2007.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources.

 
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

Thursday, November 25, 2010

The Skinny: Columbus 4, Isles 3 (overtime)

"The Skinny"

 

By Eric Hornick

 

Game 20

Columbus 4, Isles 3 (overtime)

 

Jakub Vorocek scored 2:31 into overtime to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a club record-tying fifth straight win, a 4-3 extra time victory over the Islanders before 8,652 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The overtime loss, the second straight for the Isles, extends their winless streak to 14 games (0-11-3).

Now's the Time for 99

Trent Hunter gave the Isles the lead at 10:16 of the first period. It was his first goal since last April 1st (22 games) and 99th of his NHL/Islander career.  The Blue Jackets evened the game with a 5-on-3 goal by Antoine Vermette and grabbed the lead on a Chris Clark goal 2:10 later.  RJ Umberger assisted on Clark's goal, setting a Blue Jacket record with an assist in seven straight games. 

Two in 93 Regain the Lead for the Isles

The Isles regained the lead in the first 2:24 of the period as Michael Grabner and John Tavares scored for New York. Grabner's goal was his 5th – only two rookies (Logan Couture and Jeff Skinner) have more. Grabner is also now third on the team in goals, behind Matt Moulson and Tavares.  Tavares, playing his 100th NHL game, now has 32 goals and 34 assists in his career, and tied Moulson for the team lead with eight goals.

Umberger Re-Ties It

Long-time Islander nemesis Umberger tied the game at 6:46 of the middle period with his seventh goal of the season.  Umberger now has 12 goals in 26 career games against the Islanders.  Neither team scored in the remainder of regulation.

Overtime Not Our Time, Again.

The Islanders had two good scoring chances in overtimes but couldn't beat Mathieu Garon, who finished with 21 saves.  Midway through the session, Rick DiPietro, playing on home ice for the first time since Columbus Day, stopped Kris Russell's dead on shot, but Voracek cashed in the rebound for Columbus' eight win in nine road games (8-1-0).  4-3 Final.  The Isles are 2-3 in games decided by an overtime goal this season (2-5 including shootouts) while the Jackets are 3-0 in games that go beyond 60 minutes.  Voracek has been a good luck charm for the Jackets – Columbus is 11-0-0 when he earns a point.

Capuano Still Looking

The Isles pick up a point for the second straight game, but Jack Capuano is still looking for his first win (0-2-2).  It's the first time since October 24/26, 2009 that the Isles have lost consecutive games in overtime.

Stopping Nash

The Islanders held Rick Nash off the scoresheet.  Nash had scored a goal in each of his last six games and a point in each of the last nine games he had played.  He had missed a game during that stretch, so officially he had a four game goal/point streak stopped.

Offense Sees the Light

The Isles scored three goals for the first time in 12 games, after having scored at least three goals six times in their first nine games.

Home and Road

The Jackets improve to 14-6-0, 8-1-0 on the road.  The Jackets are off to the best starts in their history, both overall and on the road.  It's their fifth straight road win, which breaks the club record set in 2006. The Isles, who broke a four-game home losing streak, are 4-12-5, 2-4-2 at home. 

Still Streaking

The Isles are now winless in 14 straight for the first time since February/March, 1990.  It matches the second longest winless streak in club history:

·        15- November 21, 1972-December 20, 1972 (12 losses, 3 ties)

·        14 -February 13, 1990 –March 15, 1990 (11 losses, 3 ties)

·        14 -October 23, 2010 – CURRENT (11 losses, 1 SO loss, 2 OT losses)

In the Nets

Rick DiPietro, making his second straight start, finished with 34 saves.  It's his highest save total in a game since he also made 34 against Florida on October 18, 2008.  DiPietro made 67 saves on 73 shots in these two games (2.90 GAA and 91.8% save percentage). His record is now 2-3-4.  Garon, who raised his record to 6-1-0, allowed three goals for only the second time this season.

 Power Plays

The Isles failed to connect on two power plays while Columbus scored on a 5-on-3 and was 1-4 overall. The Isles have now gone 28 attempts without a power play goal, covering their last two chances against Philadelphia on November 6th and the seven games since. It's the first time since November 13-28, 2003 that the Isles have gone seven games without a power play goal.

In the Circle

The Isles won the game's first seven draws, but lost 36 of 65 face-offs overall (45%). Rob Schremp won 5 out of 6.

Missing Men

Mark Streit, Kyle Okposo, Andrew MacDonald, Milan Jurcina, Jack Hillen and Doug Weight remain out and Mike Mottau missed his first game since suffering an eye injury in Atlanta. 

Back In Business

With Josh Bailey on loan to Bridgeport, Trevor Gillies returned to the line-up.  He played only 1:00, but it was an important minute as Hunter's goal immediately followed Gillies' fight with Jared Boll after Boll had a late hit on John Tavares. Gillies, who was assessed 17 penalty minutes, has recorded 141 penalty minutes in 28 NHL games.  He has 45 penalty minutes this season, despite having been on ice for only 26:51.

Missing Mac

The Isles are 0-11-3 in the 14 games Andrew MacDonald has missed.

Hamonic Debuts               

Travis Hamonic, the Islanders' 2nd pick (53rd overall) in 2008, played 19:57 in his NHL debut.  His mother and brother flew in for the occasion, and were interviewed by MSG Network's Deb Placey.

3 or Less

The Isles have been held to three goals or fewer in 16 straight games (2-11-3) since tallying five against Colorado on October 16.  It's the longest that the team has gone without scoring four goals (in a single season) since going 22 games from November 3 – December 19, 2007.  The first of those 22 games was Al Arbour's 1500th as an NHL coach.

Season Series Stats          

This was the only meeting of the season between the squads.  The teams have met seven times since the lockout; five of the games have gone into overtime.  Both meetings last season also went to overtime.  The Isles are 4-1-2 in their last seven vs. Columbus, but the Blue Jackets have earned at least a point (8-1-4) in 12 of 13 all-time meetings.

Happy Anniversary

2 years ago today (November 24, 2008):  Richard Park had the deciding goal in the shootout as the Islanders took advantage of a Ryan O'Byrne gaffe to defeat the Canadiens 4-3 in Montreal.  Overall, the Isles have earned at least a point in 9 of their last 10 games on this date, dating back to 1990.

Up Next

Friday, November 26th- New Jersey @ Islanders 1:00pm

[MSG+ (Subway Islanders Game Night at 12:30), WRHU 88.7FM]
While the Thanksgiving Eve game has been an Islander tradition since the mid-1990s, this will be the sixth time since 2001 that the Isles have hosted a Black Friday game.  The Isles have won three of the previous five, including a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh last season.

The Devils come in having won consecutive games for the first time all season.  Johan Hedberg earned the win in both games, once by shutout and once by shootout, allowing only one goal.

It's the final game of November for the Islanders and they will need a victory to avoid matching the club winless record (15) and avoid a winless month for the first time in franchise history.

And Finally…

Just two words: Happy Thanksgiving.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources.

 
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

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Bailey to Bridgeport

Isles have loaned Josh Bailey to Bridgeport.

He doesn't have a point, and is -7, since suffering his hip pointer in October.

Bridgeport plays 4 ni 5 nights this week, starting tonight, including an unusual home/home with the Rangers farm club.  On Friday, they will host the Hartford Wolf Pack; on Saturday they will visit the Connecticut Whale (as the team's name change takes place).
 
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

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

This week marks the 20th anniversry of the last Thanksgiving home game in Islander history.
Here's the box, courtesy of the hockey summary project.

22-Nov-90


Winnipeg Jets 1 @ New York Islanders 3

First Period

1 - NYI : Flatley 5 (Sutter, Healy) (EV) 9:11

Penalties - WIN - Cole 2:34 ; NYI - Chyzowski 10:55 ; NYI - Ludwig 17:32 ;


Second Period

2 - NYI : Dalgarno 1 (Ferraro, Chyzowski) (EV) 5:51

3 - WIN : Cole 4 (Olczyk) (EV) 7:38

Penalties - WIN - Macdermid 0:55 ; NYI - Healy 6:26 ; WIN - Steen 6:37 ; NYI - Lauer 12:52 ; WIN - Macdermid 16:08 ;

Third Period

4 - NYI : Norton 1 (SH) 13:32

Penalties - WIN - Housley 3:31 ; NYI - Berg 8:54 ; WIN - Mcllwain 11:30 ; WIN - Donnelly 12:58 ; NYI - Ferraro 12:58 ; NYI - Ferraro ( (maj)) 12:58 ; NYI - Volek 16:32 ; NYI - Dalgarno 19:27 ;

Monday, November 22, 2010

Winless streaks

The Isles have 2 games remaining in November: Wednesday vs Columbus and Friday vs New Jersey.  They will need to win one of them to avoid the first winless calendar month in franchise history as well as matching the franchise record for games without a win (15).
 
The Isles will need to beat Columbus to avoid the longest winless streak in terms of days in club history.  The current record is 35, set during the 14-game winless streak in 1990.

 
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

The Skinny: Atlanta 2, Isles 1 (ot)

"The Skinny"

 

By Eric Hornick

 

Game 20

Atlanta 2, Isles 1 (overtime)

 

Dustin Byfuglien scored 90 seconds into overtime to give the Atlanta Thrashers a 2-1 extra time win over the Islanders before 10,066 at Philips Arena in Atlanta. The overtime loss extends the Islanders winless streak to 13 games (0-11-2).

Grabner'ing the Lead

After a scoreless first period, Michael Grabner gave the Islanders the lead with 13 seconds to play in the middle session with a 4-on-4 goal.  Frans Nielsen and Radek Martinek earned assists as the Islanders scored first for the second straight game.  It was Grabner's 4th goal of the season – only three rookies (Logan Couture, Jeff Skinner and Tyler Ennis) have more.

Antropov Evens It

With the Islanders carrying a lead to the third period for the first time during the streak, Zenon Konopka took a holding penalty at 2:12 of the third.  It took only 13 seconds for Nik Antropov to blast one past Rick DiPietro to tie the game; Andrew Ladd and Byfuglien earned assists.

Overtime Not Our Time

The game went into overtime, earning Jack Capuano the first point of his NHL career (0-2-1) but Byfuglien blasted an uncontested shot past Rick DiPietro for the winning tally.  It was his 7th goal of the season, tops amongst NHL defenders.  2-1 Final.  The Isles are 2-2 in games decided by an overtime goal this season (2-4 including shootouts).  It's the first time that the Isles have not won in a game that they led after 40 minutes (2-0-1).

One is the Loneliest Number

The Isles have been held to one goal or less in seven of the last eight games; John Tavares' sixth-attacker goal on Wednesday gave the Isles their only two-goal game in that stretch.

Home and Road

The Thrashers improve to 9-9-3, 5-5-1 at home.  Atlanta has won two straight after losing their previous three games. The Isles are 4-12-4, 2-8-3 on the road.  The Isles have earned two points in their last three on the road (0-1-2) but have not won a regulation game on the road this season.

Still Streaking

The Isles are now winless in 13 straight for the first time since 14-game winless streak in February/March, 1990.  It's the third longest winless streak in club history:

·        15- November 21, 1972-December 20, 1972 (12 losses, 3 ties)

·        14 -February 13, 1990 –March 15, 1990 (11 losses, 3 ties)

·        13 -October 23, 2010 – CURRENT (11 losses, 1 SO loss, 1 OT loss)

Unbalanced Schedule

This matches the earliest in Islander history that they played their 13th road game by both number of games, done twice previously.  The Isles actually played their 13th road game last season on November 20th, but that was in their 22nd game.

In the Nets

Rick DiPietro, playing for the first time in eight games, finished with 33 saves.  It's his highest save total in a game since making 34 against Florida on October 18, 2008.  His record is now 2-3-3.  Ondrej Pavelec, playing in his 9th straight game, has been brilliant in nets since recovering from his scary Opening Night collapse, although his record doesn't show it.  He is in the top 4 in both goals against average (1.93) and save percentage (.939) as he improved to 3-4-2. 

 Power Plays

The Isles failed to connect on four power plays while Atlanta was 1-4. The Isles' power play is 0-24 in the last six games, while the penalty killers killed 9 of 10 over the weekend.  It's the first time since March 6-16, 2006 that the Isles have gone six games without a power play goal.

Goal drought

The Isles have scored only twelve goals in the last eleven games.  It matches the club record for the fewest goals that the Isles have scored in an eleven-game stretch that was set during the inaugural 1972-73 season, when they scored 12 goals in the 11 games preceding their 9-7 win in Boston on January 18, 1973.

The Isles have scored 41 goals in the first 20 games, which is also the fewest in club history (42 in 2000-2001).

In the Circle

The Isles won 32 of 61 face-offs (52%). Zenon Konopka (8-5) and John Tavares (13-8) were the Isles' best face-off men.

Missing Men

Mark Streit, Kyle Okposo and Andrew MacDonald Milan Jurcina and Jack Hillen remain out, although MacDonald has resumed skating.  Doug Weight missed his 2nd game with back spasms while Trevor Gillies was a healthy scratch. Mike Mottau was injured in the first period when he was struck in the face with a puck and was taken to the hospital for overnight observation.

Missing Mac

The Isles are 0-11-2 in the 13 games Andrew MacDonald has missed.

3 or Less

The Isles have been held to three goals or fewer in 15 straight games (2-11-2) since tallying five against Colorado on October 16.  It's the longest that the team has gone without scoring four goals (in a single season) since going 22 games from November 3 – December 19, 2007.  The first of those 22 games was Al Arbour's 1500th as an NHL coach.

Season Series Stats          

Atlanta leads the season series 1 game to none.  The Isles are 4-1-1 in their last six games against the Thrashers.

Happy Anniversary

17 years ago today (November 21, 1993):  Pierre Turgeon scores in overtime to give Ron Hextall a victory over the Flyers, 5-4 in Philadelphia. 

Up Next

Wednesday, November 24th- Columbus @ Islanders 7:00pm

[MSG+ (Subway Islanders Game Night at 6:30), WRHU 88.7FM]
The Islanders invite Columbus to Long Island for the annual Thanksgiving eve home game, when they entertain the Blue Jackets on Wednesday.

It's the only meeting of the teams this season.  The Islanders beat Columbus twice last season, once in overtime and once in a shootout.  NHL accounting can produce some strange figures – such as these: the Isles are 4-1-1 in their last six against the Jackets while Columbus has lost only once in regulation in their history to the Isles.

The first Wednesday home game in Islander history was on Thanksgiving Eve 1991.  Since 1995, the Isles have hosted a Thanksgiving Eve game in every year except 1999 and the lockout year of 2004.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources.

 

 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

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Isles winless streaks of at least 12 games

Isles winless streaks of at least 10 games:

15- November 21, 1972-December 20, 1972 (12 losses, 3 ties)

14 -February 13, 1990 –March 15, 1990 (11 losses, 3 ties)

12- December 27, 1972- January 16, 1973 (12 losses)

12- February 24, 1974- March 17, 1974 (11 losses, 1 tie; includes 10 straight losses Feb 28 – Mar 17)

12 -November 22, 1988-December 15, 1988 (12 losses – 8 under Simpson, 4 under Arbour)

12 -October 23, 2010 – CURRENT (11 losses, 1 SO loss)


 
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

The Skinny: Florida 4, Isles 1

"The Skinny"

 

By Eric Hornick

 

Game 19

Florida 4, Isles 1

 

Mike Santorelli scored two goals as the Florida Panthers rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Islanders 4-1, before 9,157 at Nassau Coliseum.  The loss extends the Islanders winless streak to 12 games (0-11-1).

Moulson Scores First

Bryan McCabe's giveaway led to the only goal of the first period.  Matt Moulson blasted one by Islander nemesis Tomasa Vokoun at 13:07 to give the Islanders the lead.

Clawed in the Second

The Islanders began the middle period with a 5-on-3 advantage for 36 seconds, but by the 3:06 mark of the period, Florida had turned the game upside down to grab a 2-1 lead.  Santorelli and Marty Reasoner scored the goals 39 seconds apart.  Santorelli's second goal of the period off a cross-crease pass by David Booth made it 3-1 Panthers and then Stephen Weiss beat Dwayne Roloson to make it 4-1.  All four Florida goals came within a 7:54 span.

Pressure, but No Goals

The Isles outshot Florida 21-12 in the third period (they even killed a 1:24 5-on-3) but couldn't beat Vokoun.  4-1 Final.

One is the Loneliest Number

The Isles have been held to one goal or less in six of the last seven games; John Tavares' sixth-attacker goal on Wednesday gave the Isles their only two-goal game in that stretch.

Home and Road

The Panthers improve to 9-9-0 , 4-7-0 on the road.  The Panthers have not won or lost more than two consecutive games all season. The Isles are 4-12-3, 2-4-1 at the Coliseum.  The Isles have lost four straight at home for the first time since December 14-21, 2009.

Still Streaking

The Isles are now winless in 12 straight for the first time a 14-game winless streak in February/March, 1990.  It's the sixth time in franchise history that the Isles have gone winless in at least 12 straight games.

Hard Hitter

Matt Martin was credited with 8 hits, raising his team-leading total to 65. 

Lots of Shots

Bruno Gervais and Blake Comeau led the Isles with five shots on goal.  Zenon Konopoka was the only Isalnder without a shot on goal. The Isles recorded 40 shots in a game for the first time since Opening Night.

Unbalanced Schedule

This is the latest in Islander history that they played their 7th home game by both number of games and the calendar.  In four seasons, including last year, they played at least six home games in October.  The previous latest date was November 14th, which they did both in 1992 when they played their seventh home game in their 17th overall game.

In the Nets

Dwayne Roloson, playing for the seventh straight game, finished with 27 saves.  His record falls to 2-9-1.  Tomas Vokoun made 39 saves for Florida to improve to 8-6-0.  He is 14-4-1 in his career against the Isles.

 Power Plays

The Isles failed to connect on four power plays while they killed all 6 Florida power plays.  Each team failed on convert on a lengthy 5-on-3.  The Isles' power play is 0-20 in the last five games, while the penalty killers were perfect for the first time in four games.  Florida is a league-worst 5-62 on the power play.

Goal drought

The Isles have scored only eleven goals in the last ten games.  It's the fewest goals that the Isles have scored in a ten-game stretch since the inaugural 1972-73 season, when they scored 10 goals in the 10 games preceding their 9-7 win in Boston on January 18, 1973.

In the Circle

There were 65 draws, and the Isles won 33 of them (51%). Zenon Kenopka (11-4) was the Isles' best face-off men.

Home Stretch

This was the second game in a 14 game stretch in which the Islanders will play ten times at home and only four times on the road.  The Isles have only three road games out of the metro-area between now and New Year's Eve, and do not play consecutive road games in that stretch.

Missing Men

Mark Streit, Kyle Okposo and Andrew MacDonald Milan Jurcina and Jack Hillen remain out, although MacDonald has resumed skating.  Doug Weight missed the game with back spasms, allowing Rob Schremp back in the lineup. diagnosed with a concussion, Dylan Reese made his season debut. Trevor Gillies was a healthy scratch.

Missing Mac

The Isles are 0-11-1 in the 12 games Andrew MacDonald has missed.

3 or Less

The Isles have been held to three goals or fewer in 14 straight games (2-11-1) since tallying five against Colorado on October 16.  It's the longest that the team has gone without scoring four goals since a 14-game stretch last December 5th-31st.

Season Series Stats          

Florida leads the season series 2 games to none.  The Panthers return to the Coliseum for a President's Day matinee (February 21).  Florida now has at least a point in seven straight games against the Isles (6-0-1); each team has a shootout win in that stretch.

Happy Anniversary

24 years ago today (November 20, 1986):  The Islanders defeat Toronto 6-4.  They had not played at the Coliseum on this date since then, going 0-6-2 in the interim, all on the road.

At Least it Looked Better

Saturday's game was the Islanders' first MSG+2 game to be shown in High Definition.

Up Next

Sunday, November 21st- Islanders @ Atlanta 5:00pm

[MSG+ (Subway Islanders Game Night at 4:30), WRHU 88.7FM]
The Isles will look to break their 12-game winless streak (0-11-1) with their second game in 22 hours as they visit Atlanta.  The Isles split two games in Atlanta last season and have won four out of five overall against the Thrashers.  Rick DiPietro is expected to return to the nets for the Islanders.  This is the only game in an 8-game stretch that the Isles are playing outside of the Metro area (six at home and one at Madison Square Garden).

Finally…

Rest in Peace, Pat Burns.

 

 

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since 1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various sources.

 

 

 


 
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