14 years ago tonight (2000) – Brad Isbister scored both goals and John Vanbiesbrouck made 32 saves as the Islanders defeated the Nashville Predators 2-1.
The game was played on Election Night (Bush v Gore) and one of the highlights of the night was not seen by the sparse crowd in attendance.
During his play-by-play, Howie Rose (with the help of his statistician) interspersed Election returns. “Puck cleared to center ice… Bush wins Georgia … stopped by Vanbiesbrouck as Gore claims Maine”. It was a strange night!
The win improved the Isles record to 6-4-2-1, moving the team into a tie with New Jersey for the Patrick Division lead. As Alan Hahn related in Newsday, and according to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time the Isles had a share of first place this late in the season since Feb. 18, 1995, when they were tied with the Rangers at 14 games of the lockout- shortened season. (Neither of those seasons ended well; the Isles finished 15-28-5 in 1995 and 21-51-7-3 in 2000-01)
NHL Division Standings after Nov 7 in 2000-01 season (shrpsports.com)
| EASTERN CONFERENCE | |||||||||
| Atlantic Division | W-L-T-OL | Pts | GF | GA | Home | Away | |||
| New Jersey | 6-4-3-0 | 15 | 50 | 36 | 4-1-1-0 | 2-3-2-0 | |||
| NY Islanders | 6-4-2-1 | 15 | 34 | 32 | 3-3-0-0 | 3-1-2-1 | |||
| NY Rangers | 7-7-0-0 | 14 | 50 | 45 | 4-4-0-0 | 3-3-0-0 | |||
| Pittsburgh | 6-5-2-0 | 14 | 38 | 39 | 3-4-0-0 | 3-1-2-0 | |||
| Philadelphia | 4-6-4-0 | 12 | 35 | 43 | 3-4-2-0 | 1-2-2-0 | |||
Also on this date: (1992) – Pierre Turgeon became the first Islander to score on a penalty shot in nearly 15 years but Doug Crossman, making his Coliseum return, scored in overtime to complete a hat trick, and give Tampa Bay a 6-5 win over the Isles in the first game ever between the teams. Crossman finished with six points -- the only six point game in Lightning history.
Turgeon's goal, necessitated after former Islander Joe Reekie covered the puck in the crease, came with just eight seconds to play.
Turgeon's goal, necessitated after former Islander Joe Reekie covered the puck in the crease, came with just eight seconds to play.
All-time, the Isles have played eight November 7th games at the Coliseum and finish with a 4-4-0 record on this date at 1255 Hempstead Turnpike in Uniondale.
No comments:
Post a Comment