The Skinny on Sweeping SoCal (and JT's milestone/329 night)

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I thought about leaving it just blank, because the Isles tonight will attempt to do something that they have never done -- sweep consecutive games in Southern California.

This is the 13th time that the Isles have played consecutive games out west (in either order) against the Ducks and Kings, and the best the Isles have for the previous 12 trips is a win and a tie:

• December 17 - 18, 1998 -- OT win @ Los Angeles (Berard scored in OT), Tie @ Anaheim
• February 15 - 17, 2003  -- Win @ Los Angeles, Tie @ Anaheim

The Isles' 3-2 OT win in Anaheim last night was their first since a 5-4 shootout win on October 11, 2006; it was Ted Nolan's first win as Islander coach.

The Isles haven't won in LA since that February 15, 2003 win (3-2, with Garth Snow in net), going 0-4-0 in their last four games.  They have been outscored 13-3 in those four games, with a power play that has gone 0-20 over that span.



ICYM last night's Skinny -- John Tavares re-wrote part of the Isles' record book.

<<The Franchise Record:

John Tavares is the first player in Isles history to score 5 overtime goals, breaking a tie with four others: (Kyle Okposo, Mike Bossy, Pat LaFontaine and Pierre Turgeon).

Tavares' Overtime Goals

1.  18-Oct-10      @   Toronto
2.  22-Dec-10     Vs   Tampa Bay
3.  8-Jan-11        @    Colorado
4.  21-Jan-12      Vs   Carolina 
5.  5-Nov-14       @   Anaheim

>>

Tavares' overtime goal was his 329th point as an Islander, delighting a group of die-hard Islander fans:








Tavares has never scored a goal against Los Angeles (0-3-3 in 7 games).  The only other opponent that he has not scored a goal against is Chicago (0-4-4 in 6 games).  Last time I checked both of those teams have been pretty successful throughout JT's career.

The final 10:30 ET start of the season for the Isles is tonight.  They'll play only three other games that will start at 9pm or later -- the first three games of January 2015.