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The Skinny: Rangers 5, Isles 2

"The Skinny" By Eric Hornick Game 68 Rangers 5, Isles 2 Johnny Brodzinski broke a 2-2 tie with 4:59 left in the middle period and ...

Monday, April 13, 2009

Stat Trick: Bruins 6, Isles 2

School is out.  On to the trick:

1.  Phil Kessel's second career hat trick was all the Bruins needed as the best team in the East beat the worst team in the NHL on the season's final day.

2. Michael Ryder scored 23 seconds in to launch the rout; Marc Savard and Chuck Kobasew had the other goals for Boston.

3.  Radek Martinek and Doug Weight had the Islander goals.

...a few more...

4. Mark Streit assisted on the Martinek goal.  It was his 40th assist -- the first Isle since Yashin to 2001-02 to reach that total.  He's the first Isles defensemen to reach 40 assists since Berard in Bryan's rookie season (1995-96). Streit finishes the season 16-40-56; he's the first defensemen to lead the Isles in scoring since Denis Potvin did so in each of  his first four seasons.

5. Tim Thomas made 32 saves for the Bruins; Yann Danis allowed 4 goals on 15 shots; Joey MacDonald stopped 16 of 18.

6. The Isles finish the season with a 4-game losing streak (longest ever to end a season).  They were outscored 24-5 in the 4 games. It's the first time since February, 1973 that the Isles were outscored by more than 18 goals in a 4-game stretch.

7. The Isles finish the home season 16-17-8.  It's their first season below NHL .500 at home since 2000-01.  Their 61 points overall are also the fewest since 2000-01.

8. A tale of three seasons:  The Isles were 9-10-2 when they led Pittsburgh heading to the third period on Turkey Eve.  They lost that lead, and the game, and went 9-26-5 in their next 40, before finishing 8-11-2 (8-7-2 before the Final 4)

9. The Bruins sweep the season series, 4 games to 0 and 8 points to 0.  They've beaten the Islanders six straight over two seasons.
The Bruins were one of three Eastern Conference teams to win every game against the Isles this season, but the only one to win each game in regulation.  The Isles were 0-2-2 vs. Washington and 0-4-2 vs. Philadelphia.

10. Up next:  the draft lottery - Tuesday 8pm on VERSUS.  It's basically a coin flip whether the Isles will pick 1st or 2nd.  They have a 48.2%  chance of retaining the first pick.  In their history, the Isles have picked 1st three times (Harris, Potvin, DiPietro) and 2nd twice (Chyzowski, Redden).

Have a great summer!

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982.

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