Stat Trick

aka March Badness (2-4-2 in March, with both wins over the Caps)

1. For a team that has been very good all season 5 on 5, the Isles were outscored 6-0 (including the two empty-nets). This led to some hideous minuses: Satan -5, Hill -4, Witt and Park -3. Olli Jokinen was a very "rolly" +6 while Mike Van Ryan was +5.

2. The eight goals allowed are the most by the Isles since an 8-1 loss to Vancouver last January 14th in the second game under Brad Shaw. It's also the first time that the Panthers have ever scored more than six goals against the Islanders.

3. The Isles have allowed eighteen goals in three games, most since allowing a similar number nearly seven years ago:

21-Mar-00VsPittsburgh28L
22-Mar-00@Toronto52W
24-Mar-00VsNew Jersey28L

(The club record for goals allowed in a three game period is 22, set by the Original Islanders:

3-Nov-72@Vancouver27L
4-Nov-72@Los Angeles29L
8-Nov-72@Chicago16L

Milestone night

1. Miro Satan played his 300th consecutive game.

2. Rick DiPietro became the 4th goaltender in Islander history
to appear in 200 games (Smith 675; Resch 282; Hrudey 241)

3. The Islanders won their 200th all-time March game, tying
January as the winningest month in club history. The Isles have
also won exactly 200 January games.

Stat Trick

1. The Islanders opened the scoring for the 7th straight game.
Mike Sillinger did the honors for the third time this
month--tops in the NHL.

2. The Isles recorded their 77th and 78th points -- tying last
season's total. They have 43 points at home and 35 on the road,
the exact split they ended last season.

3. The Isles finish the season 3-0-1 against the Caps and are
8-1-1 in their last 10 games against Washington. Prior to this
stretch the Isles had won only 1 of 29 games against the Caps.

...

and one more-- could this be the end of the Post-Ranger
let-down?

The Isles have won 2 of their last three games that immediately
follow a game with the Rangers. (the loss was on Thursday,
following Monday's game). The Isles also broke a three-game
winless streak in games following a home-home with the Rangers.
They are now 11-6-3 all-time in the game following the 20 home-home.

Stat Trick

1. The Islanders clinched the season season against the Rangers,
9 points to 2, with tonight's shootout loss, as they improve to
12-2-6 in their last 20 games. It's the first time since 1982
that the Isles have been beaten only twice in a 20-game span.
The shootout loss does end the Isles' five-game MSG winning
streak.

2. Rick DiPietro established a new club record by making 56
saves, on 57 Rangers shots. [Felix Potvin and Billy Smith shared
the club record, at 55.] The club record for shots allowed
remains 60, set by the Flyers in Nov, 1972. It wasn't the most
save DiPietro has ever made in a game -- he made 77 saves in a
4ot loss to St. Lawrence in the 2000 National Playoffs. (At the
time it was the longest game in college hockey history).
DiPietro improved his season save percentage from .915 to .917
with his effort tonight, cementing his place in the top 10.

3. The Rangers equalled the 57 shots that they took against the
Islanders on Veterans Day, (11-11) 1973. The Rangers beat the
Islanders 5-2 that night. Billy Smith made 46 saves and allowed
all five goals; Gerry Desjardins made six late saves on as many
shots. Rod Gilbert became the Rangers' all-time leading goal
scorer that night as Al Arbour coached the Isles at MSG for the
first time.

By the way....

If the Isles win on Thursday, they'll equal last season's total
of 78 points.

Stat Trick

This list could have about 10 points tonight, but time is short:

1. Jason Blake recorded his second hat trick of the season and
fifth of his career. He is the first Islander to record a hat
trick in a single period since Yashin did it at MSG on January
30, 2002.

2. The Isles finish February 9-2-2. It's their most wins in
February since 1994, when they went 9-4-1 and their best
February since they went 12-1-1 in 1982.

3. The Isles now have 72 points in 63 games, most since 1983-84
when they had 78.

4. DiPietro made his 12th straight start, tying a career high.
He is 8-2-2 in the twelve games.

5. The Islanders have won four straight games, all by one goal.
It's only the second time that's happened in Islander history:

27-Feb-93 @ Philadelphia 3 2 W
28-Feb-93 @ Hartford 7 6 Wot
2-Mar-93 Vs Detroit 3 2 W
7-Mar-93 @ Washington 3 2 W

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of FSN statistician Eric Hornick.Eric, who has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, celebrated his 25th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2007. Often referred to on-air as an actuary, he is one of 2,921 Fellows of the Casualty Actuarial Society and is the President-Elect of the Casualty Actuaries of Greater NY.You can find him in the "Best Seat in the House", about six feet to Howie and Billy's left, at most Islander home games.For more on the actuarial profession, visit www.beanactuary.org

It was 25 years ago today: February 20, 1982

John Tonelli's goal with 47 seconds to play broke a 2-2 tie, and
Chico Resch's heart, as the Isles defeated their former
goaltender and the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at the Coliseum to
establish an NHL record with a fifteenth straight win.
(I hope that you saw the highlight package we aired on Monday's
telecast)

The win broke a record established by the Boston Bruins in the
1929-30 season.

The NHL record winning streak is now 17 games, held by the
1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins' streak, however,
included two overtime wins, leaving the Islanders as the only
NHL team to ever be better than their opponents after 60 minutes
in fifteen straight games.

Pittsburgh, btw, broke the Islanders streak, 4-3 at the Igloo
the following night. The Islanders would respond by breaking
the Penguins hearts, and extending the dynasty, with the
miraculous comeback in game 5 of the Patrick Division
Semi-Finals.

Memories, anyone?

Begeron

Marc Andre Bergeron should be a big help to the Islanders' power
play.

Entering play Sunday, only 10 defensemen in the NHL have more pp
goals --Bergeron has six.

He had eight power play points in an eleven game span earlier
this season. The Isles, as a team, have only eight pp goals in
the last sixteen games.

Bergeron also has wheels and a great shot. He won the Oilers'
skill competition this year for both the fastest skater and for
the hardest shot.

I guess we'll learn soon why the Oilers were willing to give him
up....