NYISkinny: Eric Hornick's Blog

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Tonight in Edmonton

Robert Nilsson recorded a goal and an assist as Edmonton beat Phoenix 8-4. Nilsson now has 10 goals and 27 assists on the season.

Only three Islanders have more points than Nilsson, and only two have more assists:

1Mike Comrie NYI C 74 21 28 49
2Bill Guerin NYI R 73 22 18 40
3Trent Hunter NYI R 74 10 28 38

By comparison Nilsson has played only 63 games in the NHL this season.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Stat Trick

1. Kyle Okposo's NHL debut means that all of the top 9 drafted players in the 2006 draft have played in the NHL. He played 14:45 with 2 shots and 1 hit. Florida draft pick Michael Frolik (10th overall) is the only player in the top 13 who has not yet played in the NHL.

2. Rob Davison scored the Isles' only goal, and it came from nearly 200 feet away.

3. The Isles had led for only 55 seconds in their previous five games, all losses, so perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise that they couldn't hold the lead in the third. The Isles were one of only six teams that hadn't lost when leading after two periods in regulation this season -- they are now 20-1-1. It's only the second time under Nolan (and first at home) that the Isles suffered a regulation loss after leading in the second intermission --the other loss was in Montreal 53 weeks ago -- the night DiPietro got hurt. The Isles are 49-2-6 under Nolan when leading after two periods.

and a few more...

4. Mike Comrie won 10 of 13 draws but was -2. Alex Steen lost 12 of 14 but had two assists and was +2.

5. Attendance was 13,134.

6. The Isles have lost six straight and have been outscored 26-9 in that stretch. They have lost five straight at home (all in regulation) and haven't won a game in regulation, home or away, since beaten Tampa 1-0 on February 21. (2-10-0 with 1 win in OT and another in a shootout).

7. Fort NeverLose has seen a series of streaks this season. Since the turn of the calendar, the Isles have played 16 games at home -- losing the first 7 (including 2 in ot), won four straight, and then lost their last 5.

8. Seventy-one apparently is an unlucky number. The Isles have lost six straight since reaching 71 points. Two years ago, the Isles also had a six-game losing streak after reaching 71 points.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Stat Trick: Florida 4, Isles 2

1. The Panthers sweep the season series, 4 games to 0 (and 8 points to 1). The Panthers have won five straight against the Isles for the first time since sweeping the Isles in all five games in 1993-94. The Isles have also lost three straight games against the Panthers in Florida for the first time ever.

2. Blake Comeau tied the game on a power play goal. It gave the Isles a power play goal in two straight games for the first time since February 14-16.

3. Jay Bouwmeester was +4 for Florida while Karlis Skrastins and Nathan Horton were both +3. Trent Hunter was -3. Horton finished 3-3-6 and +6 against the Isles this season.

4. Richard Park won 8 of 10 faceoffs and added an assist.

5. The Isles have lost four straight and are 2-8 (with one win in overtime and one in a shootout) since their six game win streak ended.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Stat Trick : Tampa Bay 8, Isles 4

It was one for the history books...and not in a good way. On to the trick:

1. 3 goals in 42 seconds allowed by Isles in the third period sets a new Islander club record (previous record 43 in 1988 by Washington).

2. The Lightning had eight goals, after never scoring more than 6 goals in a game against the Isles

3. It's the first time in his career that DiPietro has allowed eight goals in a game.
:
and a few more:

4. Hilbert's consecutive game streak ended at 151 (he played the final 81 last season after being scratched on opening night)

5. Despite having a hat trick, Vincent Lecavalier had an even +/- rating to go along with 9 shots. Despite playing only 13:35, Jeff Tambellini was -4.

6. The Isles scored a power play goal in the third period --it was their first pp goal in the last five games. Ben Walter scored the pp goal --his first NHL point (16 games with Boston and the Isles)

7. Tampa scored 2 pp goals in the first period -- at that point the Isles had allowed six pp goals in their last 9 chances short.

8. DiPietro was credited with a late assist on Comrie's garbage time goal. It's his 6th assist of the season, extending his club record. Comrie's goal was the final of 4 goals (three by Tampa) in a 100 second span.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Stat Trick : Flyers 4, Isles 1

At 2AM ET on Sunday, most of the US (except Arizona and Hawaii) will turn their clocks forward 1 hour. At about 9:40PM ET on Saturday, the Islanders may have turned their clocks forward to next season. On to the trick:

1. The Flyers scored 4 power play goals -- most against the Isles this season (and one shy of the Isles' club record).

2. The Isles went 0-5 on their own power play, and have been outscored 1-0 on their own power play in the last 4 games (15 chances). The Isles have also been outscored 4-2 on their own power play over the last 11 games (46 chances). The Isles are 0-17 on the power play on the road since scoring 4 pp goals in Toronto on February 14th.

3. The Islanders got out of the first period scoreless. They have scored only 36 first period goals this season, by far the fewest in the NHL (Phoenix has 44). The Isles have been outscored 50-36 in the opening frame. The Isles scored 67 first period goals last season.

...and a few more.

4. The Flyers clinched the season series, having won 5 of the first 6 (ten points to 2).

5. For the 22nd consecutive game, overtime was not played in a game between the two teams. The Isles are 9-13 in those games, which covers all of the teams' meetings since the lockout.

6. The Isles drop seven points behind the eighth-place Flyers, and fall below Florida (Nathan Horton overtime goal tonight) in the standings.

Bottom Up Standings (not including St.Louis -Vancouver)
30 Los Angeles Kings 70 27 38 5 59
29 Tampa Bay Lightning 68 26 34 8 60
28 Atlanta Thrashers 70 30 32 8 68
27 St Louis Blues 67 29 28 10 68
26 Edmonton Oilers 68 32 31 5 69
25 Toronto Maple Leafs 70 30 30 10 70
24 New York Islanders 70 32 31 7 71
23 Columbus Blue Jackets 69 30 28 11 71
22 Florida Panthers 71 32 31 8 72
21 Washington Capitals 69 32 29 8 72
20 Chicago Blackhawks 68 33 29 6 72
19 Phoenix Coyotes 69 34 30 5 73
18 Buffalo Sabres 69 32 27 10 74

7. Every Islander forward but Richard Park had at least one shot on goal. All eighteen players skated at least 10 minutes. The Isles used nine different players on face-offs (losing 33 of 61).

8. Another strong game for Sean Bergenheim: 3 hits and five shots.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Dubie v MacDonald

If Ted Nolan "rides" Rick DiPietro to the finish line, Wade Dubielewicz' season may be over.

His career with the Islanders may be as well.

The reason is buried in a Boston Globe story from this past summer:

http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2007/07/07/edwards_gets_all_calls_on_nesn/
<<MacDonald on Island

Former Bruins netminder Joey MacDonaldsigned a two-year deal with the New York Islanders. The 27-year-oldMacDonald, claimed off waivers by the Bruins from the Detroit Red WingsFeb. 24, will be on a two-way contract in 2007-08 worth $475,000 in theNHL and $100,000 in the AHL. In 2008-09, MacDonald will be on a one-waydeal worth $500,000.>>

As many of you know, Dubie earned a one-way contract this year with his heroic work last April. However, with MacDonald already under contract, you wonder what attempt (if any) the team will make to bring Dubielewicz back for another season. One thing is nearly certain: the Islanders aren't spending $500,000 on a goalie for the Sound Tigers.