Lots of goals = Lots of fun

The coaches may not have liked it, but 24 hours later we're still digesting that crazy first period at MSG last night in which the Isles outscored the Rangers 4-3.

The Isles led 3-0 in the first 4:45.  It was the second-earliest 3 goals in a road game in Islander history.  As the Elias geniuses pointed out this morning, the earliest was on February 22, 1989 in Buffalo:

1 - NYI : M. Makela (D. King, B. Trottier) 2:39
2 - NYI : G. Nylund (B. Sutter, D. Volek) 3:34
3 - NYI : R. Wood (M. Bergevin, A. Kerr) 4:39

(The Isles would lead that game 5-2 early in the second, but Buffalo scored the game's final 5 goals for a 7-5 win.  Two guys who would later be traded for each other, Pat LaFontaine and Pierre Turgeon, each had a goal and an assist.  It was the Isles' first game without Kelly Hrudey, who had been dealt to LA earlier in the day.  Jeff Hackett was in nets for the Isles.)

The 7 combined goals in the first period was not an Isles team record (although it was the most in an Isles-Rangers game since Bryan Trottier obliterated the record books with 6 points of his own in a 7-1 Isles 2nd period on December 23, 1978 at the Coliseum). The Isles have played two 9-goal periods:

3/12/1985 -- 2nd period in St. Louis (Isles were outscored 5-4; Brent Sutter was 2-1-3, brother Duane was 0-1-1, while Brian Sutter had the period's final goal for St. Louis)

11/23/1988 -- 2nd period  in Washington (Isles were outscored 6-3; Bengt Gustafsson had four assists)

The most recent 8-goal FIRST period for the Isles came on 12/19/2005 in Toronto; each team scored 4 goals including the first NHL goals for Eric Godard and Rob Collins.  Godard scored five other NHL goals (1 for the Isles); Collins played only 8 NHL games and never scored again.

 

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick