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The Skinny: Isles 3, Florida 2

"The Skinny" By Eric Hornick Game 72 Isles 3, Florida 2 Mathew Baral and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored second period goals to erase a...

Friday, October 22, 2010

The Skinny: Isles 3, Tampa Bay 2 (ot)

"The Skinny"
 
By Eric Hornick
 
Game 7
Islanders 3, Tampa Bay 2 (overtime)
 
There are overtime goals, and then there are overtime goals awarded after
lengthy video reviews.  Matt Moulson's fourth goal of the season fits both
categories as his tally at 1:56 of overtime gave the Islanders a 3-2 win in
Tampa Bay before 13,333 at the St. Pete Times Forum.  It's the second straight
overtime win for the Isles and their third straight win overall.
Isles Grab(ner) the Lead
Michal Grabner scored the game's first goal just 2:16 into play; it was his 2nd
goal as an Islander.  Nino Neiderreiter and Doug Weight earned assists on the
goal; their 1st and 754th NHL assist respectively.
Bergenheim Evens It
Sean Bergenheim had two breakaways in the game, his first ever against the
Islanders, and cashed the first one in to knot the game at one.  It was
Bergenheim's second goal for the Lightning and left the teams in a 1-all tie
after 20 minutes.
Even Second Period
Martin St. Louis gave the Lightning their only lead at 4:44.  Steven Stamkos
assisted on the play.  The lead lasted just 5:16; PA Parenteau tied the game on
a 5-on-3 power play exactly midway through the game.   It was his second goal of
the season.   The play was quite similar to the goal Phil Kessel had scored
against the Islanders on Monday night, as a fanned shot (this time by James
Wisniewski) ended up on a teammates stick. The Isles later killed a full
2-minute 5-on-3 to send the game into the third even at 2-2.
Scoreless Third
The Bolts had the better of the play in the third period but Rick DiPietro stood
tall, making 12 stops.  As it turned out, the game turned in the final seconds
of regulation when Blake Comeau was tripped by Pavel Kubina.
Moulson's Hanging Chad
Just seconds after he Kubina penalty expired, Moulson's shot from close in was
ruled, after a lengthy video review, to have broken the plane of the goal line
in the glove of Tampa Goalie Dan Ellis.  That gave the Isles the win.  It was
Moulson's first career overtime goal.  3-2 (OT) Final.
DiPietro Piling Up the Points
Rick DiPietro made 28 saves and improves to 2-0-2 on the season.  The Isles have
earned points in all four of his starts.  It's DiPietro's longest point streak
since going 6-0-1 in February 2008 and the first time in his career that he has
ever started a season earning at least one point in each of his first four
starts.
30-30-30 Win! Win! Win!
The Isles have allowed exactly thirty shots in their last three games—all wins. 
It's the first time since February 29- March 4, 2004 that the Isles have allowed
the same number of shots in three straight games.  Strange!
Still Number 1
With the win, the Isles improve to 2-1-1 on the road and 4-1-2 overall.  With 10
points in seven games, the Isles still own a share of the Atlantic Division lead
with Pittsburgh, who also won in overtime on Thursday – the Penguins have played
eight games.
Goal a Game Guys
Parenteau's  5-on-3 goal marked the fourth straight game that the Isles scored
on the power play.  The penalty killers were perfect on all 4 chances (including
the 2-minute 5-on-3); the Isles have killed 17 of 19 over the last four games.
Overtime is Our Time
The Isles have won consecutive games, both in overtime for the first time since
December 22-26, 2007. Richard Park and Mike Comrie had the winning goals in
those games.
If you're wondering whether the Isles had ever won consecutive games, both on
the road, and both in overtime before – the answer is no, at least in regular
season play.  Clark Gillies and Bob Bourne scored overtime goals to win games 1
and 2 of the 1980 Quarter-Finals in Boston.

In the Circle
The Isles won 28 of 57 draws (49%).  Zenon Konopka won 13 of 20 (65%); it's the
sixth time in seven games that he has won at least 60% of his draws.    The
Isles entered play as the only team in the Eastern Conference among the top 5 in
face-off percentage.
On The Mark
Mark Eaton played a season-high 23:34.  He had only one game with more ice-time
all last season (24:11 in San Jose for the Penguins on November 7th).
It's Spelled T-E-A-M
The Isles blocked 17 shots to Tampa's 5.  Mark Eaton led the way with 4 blocks.
Strange Stat
Blake Comeau, a forward, led the Islanders in ice-time with 23:24.  Comeau, who
appeared to be shaken up when he was tripped late in regulation, returned to
play in overtime… although not officially.  Comeau was on the ice after
Moulson's goal was scored, but before the subsequent whistle led to the video
review.
One-third Through The Long Road Stretch
This is the fifth game in a 15 game stretch that will find the Islanders playing
12 on the road and only three at home.  They are now 3-1-1 in the first five
games.  This was the second game of a 4-game road trip, with games in Florida
(Saturday) and Montreal (next Wednesday) upcoming.  The Isles will not be back
at the Coliseum until October 29th; their only other home game in this stretch
is on November 6.
Missing Men
Mark Streit, Kyle Okposo and Rob Schremp remain out for extended periods; Josh
Bailey missed the game with a hip injury.  Trent Hunter returned after missing
two games with a foot injury, but played only 9:32.  Andrew MacDonald suffered a
hand injury in the second period and did not return.
Season Series Stats          
The Isles lead the season series 1 game to none.  The teams will next play on
Long Island on November 17th.  The Isles are now 2-3-0 in Tampa under Scott
Gordon; both of their wins have come in overtime.  The Isles have not won in
Tampa in regulation time since March, 2006; all three of their wins have been in
overtime (3-4-2).
This One Is (Still) Hard to Believe
The Isles are now 4-1-2, giving them ten points in seven games.  This equals
their second-best seven-game start in the Post Cup era.  The Isles were 6-0-1
(13 points) in 2001-02, but haven't earned more than ten points in any other
season since the 1982-83 Champions opened 6-1-0.  They also earned ten points in
the first seven games in 1984-85 and 1987-88.    
Road Warriors
The Isles are 2-1-1 on the road.  It's only the second time in the Gordon era
that the Isles have had a winning record on the road at any point during a
season.  (The Isles were 5-4-1 in their first 10 road games two seasons ago). 
The Isles earned only five points in their first eight road games last season
(2-5-1).
More Gordon Goodies
The Isles are three games over .500, matching their high water mark under Gordon
(They were 22-19-8 and 23-20-8 last season.)  The Isles have 5 points in the
first 4 road games for only the second time in the last 22 seasons (4-0-0 in
2001-02).
Streakers
PA Parenteau, James Wisniewski, and John Tavares each extended their point
streak to three straight games when the latter two assisted on Parenteau's
second period goal.  Parenteau lead the team in scoring with 7 points (2-5-7),
while Wisniewski is tied with Weight and Parenteau for the assist lead (5). 
Wisniewski has recorded a point in all five of his games played with the
Islanders, but the NHL does not recognize streaks that do not occur in
consecutive team games.
Everybody Wins
All three metro-area teams played on the road, and the Islanders, Devils and
Rangers all recorded victories on Thursday night.
Can't Spell OcTober 21 without OT
The Isles have played on this date only 4 times since 2000 and all four have
gone to overtime.  The Isles tied Washington in 2000, and beat Carolina in both
2006 (overtime; Tom Poti) and 2009 (shootout; Frans Nielsen).
Up Next
Saturday, October 23- Islanders @ Florida Panthers 7:00
[MSG+2 (Islanders pre-game at 6:30pm), WRHU 88.7FM]


Game 3 of this four-game trip is in Sunrise, Florida against the Panthers
Saturday.It's Bill Torrey Tribute Night: the former Islander general manager,
and Architect of the Dynasty, will be honored before the game. 

The Isles have won both games of a Florida trip only once in their history; they
opened the 2001-02 season with wins in both Tampa and Sunrise.
 
 
The Isles have had a lot of trouble in South Florida in recent years, going
0-6-1 since a 4-1 win for Mike Dunham on November 18, 2006. 

 
 
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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