By Eric Hornick
Game 15
Anaheim 1, Islanders 0
Saku Koivu snapped a scoreless tie early in the third period and Curtis
McIlhenny made it stand up, as the Ducks defeated the Islanders 1-0. It's the
fifth straight win for Anaheim, who handed the Islanders their eighth straight
loss before 14,393 at Honda Center in Anaheim. The Islanders have not led at
any point during the streak.
Scoreless First
While the Isles had traveled from coast to coast, the Ducks were playing their
2nd game in two nights. It showed in the first period as the Isles had the
game's first seven shots (all in the first 9:14). Meanwhile, Dwayne Roloson,
making his third straight start, had most of the first period off, making just
one save- off Saku Koivu with 1:47 to play.
Break Out the Record Books
The one shot allowed tied the Islander club record for fewest shots allowed in a
period. It's now been done at least 11 times. It's the first time the Isles
have done so on the road since October 10, 2002 in Buffalo; they last allowed
one shot in a period on January 23, 2010 vs. New Jersey. The Ducks have had at
least one shot on goal in every period that they have played on home ice in
their history; they have been held shotless three times – all on the road.
Scoreless Second, Too.
Neither team scored in the middle session either. The period was highlighted by
the first fight of Radek Martinek's 404 NHL game career. He earned seven
penalty minutes on that play – his second highest total of any game of his
career. James Wisniewski did put the puck in the net for the Islanders, but it
was called back on a high stick.
Saku Blue
The Isles had some good opportunities on a power play early in the third period,
but the Ducks earned the game's only goal with a strong counter-attack. Koivu,
who beat the Isles last season with an unassisted goal in overtime, tallied at
3:40 to extend his point streak to four games. The Isles are 0-8-2 this season
when allowing the opening goal. The Isles pressed for the equalizer but were
blanked for the first time this season. 1-0 Final.
One is the Loneliest Number
The Isles have lost their last five 1-0 games, since Rick DiPietro blanked Tampa
Bay by that score on February 21, 2008.
Konopka Tossed
Zenon Konopka received a misconduct and game misconduct with 4:11 to play.
Konopka finished with 22 penalty minutes on the evening, and now has an
NHL-leading 79 penalty minutes on the season.
Home and Road
Anaheim improves to 9-7-1, 6-1-1 at home. The Isles are 4-9-2, 2-7-1 on the
road.
Unbalanced Schedule
This is the earliest in Islander history that they played their tenth road game
by both number of games and the calendar. The previous earliest was on November
12, 1992, when they played their 10th road game in the 16th game.
In the Nets
Dwayne Roloson, playing for the second straight game, finished with 13 saves
(including five on Cory Perry). His record dropped to 2-6-0 despite his goals
against average falling to 2.26. It's the fifth time this season he has allowed
two goals or less, but his record in those five games is only 2-3-0.
Curtis McElhinney made 27 saves for Anaheim and recorded his first NHL shutout.
McElhinney has 11 NHL wins to his credit, including two against the Isles. It's
the first time that the Ducks have ever blanked the Isles in California; JS
Giguere did so on Long Island in 2008.
Power Plays
Much of the Islanders' offense this season has been associated with their power
play, but the Ducks killed all six Islander opportunities. Anaheim was 0-2 on
the power play.
Can't Win if You Can't Score
The Isles have scored only six goals in the last six games, with three coming on
power plays. (A 3-5 shorthanded penalty shot goal by Frans Nielsen in
Philadelphia and even strength goals by Matt Martin vs Montreal and Michael
Grabner in Ottawa were the others.) It's the fewest goals that the Isles have
scored in a six-game stretch, since tallying a club record-tying five in six
games between March 28 and April 6, 2006.
In the Circle
There were 49 draws, and the Isles won 24 of them (49%). Frans Nielsen, who won
all 12 draws he took Saturday, won 8 of 13.
End in Sight
This was the 13th game in a 15 game stretch that finds the Islanders playing 12
on the road and only three at home. After going 3-1-1 in the first five, they
have now lost eight straight. Games in San Jose Thursday and Los Angeles
Saturday will complete this stretch.
Eight is (More Than) Enough
The Isles were 4-1-2 in the first seven games of the season, but are 0-8-0 in
the last eight. It's the first time that they've gone eight without a win
(single season) since January 2-19, 2009 (0-7-1) and the first time that they
have gone pointless in eight straight games since a ten-game skein
12/22/97-1/10/98.
Missing Men
Mark Streit, Kyle Okposo and Andrew MacDonald remain out for extended periods
while Milan Jurcina is out with a hamstring injury. Jon Sim returned to the
lineup after scoring five goals in two goals for Bridgeport; PA Parenteau was
also reinserted into the lineup, leaving Rob Schremp and Trevor Gillies as the
healthy scratches.
3 or Less
The Isles have been held to three goals or fewer in ten straight games (2-8-0)
since tallying five against Colorado on October 16. It's the longest that the
team has gone without scoring four goals since a 10-game stretch last January
21st- February 10th.
Season Series Stats
The Ducks lead the season series 1 game to none. The teams will meet again at
the Coliseum on December 16th. It's the first time since the 2003-04 season
that the teams will play twice. This was only the Isles' second regulation loss
ever in Anaheim, and their first since November 19, 2000. The Isles have earned
at least one point in ten of their 12 visits to Anaheim (5 wins, 3 ties, an
overtime loss and a shootout loss). Both regulation losses in Anaheim have been
by one goal.
Happy Anniversary
11 years ago today (November 10, 1999): Felix Potvin records his only career
shutout, blanking the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0. Josh Green, who played for
Anaheim tonight, had the winning goal – one of twelve he scored in 49 games for
the Islanders that season.
This was the 10th time that the Islanders have played on November 10th since
1990. They have scored three goals or fewer in all ten games (3-7-0).
Up Next
Thursday, November 11th- Islanders @ San Jose 10:30pm
[MSG+ (Islanders pre-game at 10:00), WRHU 88.7FM]
The Islanders head up the coast to face the Sharks on Thursday. San Jose has
been a tough place to visit for a lot of teams for many years and the Isles are
no exception. The Isles have lost their last three in San Jose and own only two
wins (one on a Garth Snow shutout) in the last 11 meetings overall between the
teams (2-8-1). The Isles will be playing on back-to-back nights, while the
Sharks will be rested and waiting for them. Particularly well-rested will be
Joe Thornton. The former #1 overall draft pick will be returning from a
two-game suspension.
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
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