Sad but true: the Peter Mannino stat story

Peter Mannino made his NHL debut for the Islanders on Friday, mopping up for Joey MacDonald.  Hopefully, he'll get some additional NHL opportunities.  If he doesn't, he'll have some of the worst career numbers for a goalie in NHL history.

According to NHL.com, 637 people have played goal in the NHL.  (Note that stats for some early years of the NHL are incomplete.) 
Only three have higher career GAA's than Mannino's 13.81:

Greg Redquest      13.85  Penguins 1977-78
James Stewart Jr   15.00  Boston 1979-80
Martin Houle          27.27  Flyers 2006-07  (It's actually listed as 30.00 on his bio of NHL.com.  The difference is whether you reflect the                                                                     seconds he played or just the minutes.)

You could argue that Mammino and Redquest are actually tied.  Mannino is credited with 13:02 of ice-time, while Redquest was credited with 13 minutes.  Both players allowed three goals.

Save percentage became an official stat about 20 years.  The career totals are shown on NHL.com only for players whose entire career happeend while save percentage was an official stat.  Of all those players, Mannino has the worst save percentage of all-time:  .625  (stopping 5 of 8 shots)

 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.

Stat Tricks: Boston 7, Isles 2 ; Isles 4, Ottawa 2

Perhaps the Isles could get Great Adventure to sponsor them.  This season is looking like a terrific roller coaster ride... high, high highs, and low, low lows.  Just like you'll find in today's tricks:

Isles v Boston.

1.  The Isles allowed 7 goals for the first time since Columbus Day as they suffered their most one-side loss to the Bruins in 17 years.  THe Bruins scored five times in the third period.

2.  Peter Mannino made his NHL debut, mopping up for Joey Mac Donald.  His NHL numbers after allowing 3 goals in 13:02.  GAA of 13.85, save percentage of .625  He was returned to the Sound Tigers after the game and lost to Worcester on Saturday, allowing a goal to Claude Lemieux.  It was Lemieux' first AHL goal since the 1985-86 season.  (Mannino turned two during that season.)

3.  Team effort:  Seven Bruins had two points.

4.  The Isles scored a pp goal for the fourth straight game, but scoring only once on the pp ended a streak of three straight 2-pp goal games.

Isles vs. Ottawa

1.  Never say never.  The Isles beat the Senators for a third straight time, and for a third time in a season, for the first time ever.

2.  The Isles are 4-0-0 on the back-end of two in two days (also beating St. Louis, the Rangers and Buffalo) this season.  They've won the back-end of 6 straight, going back to last season.  (The Isles won their first six back-ends in 2006-07).

3.  Trent Hunter's empty-netter gives him 10 goals on the season to lead the team.  He scored only 12 last season and didn't score his 10th until March 4th.  Hunter has 3 goals in the last 4 games, and finishes November with 6 goals.  Hilbert and Hunter each had a goal and an assist.

4. Frederic Meyer IV recorded the first two-goal and first three-point game of his career.  Isles defenders combined for 2 goals and 4 assists.

5. Heatley, Spezza, Alfredsson combined for 5 points on Ottawa's two goals.

6.  According to the official stats, the Isles were credited with 24 blocked shots.  They began the night with the most in the NHL.  The Sens were credited with 38 hits, but only 4 in the final period -- the question is, "Did the Sens stop hitting?  or did the off-ice officials just stop counting"?

7.  Farewell to my font coordinator, Steve Daily, who's leaving MSG+ to join MLB-TV.

8.  The Isles finished November 8-6-1, despite losing 7 points (0-3-1) on games that they led going to the third period.  The Isles have put together 8 wins in consecutive November (8-5-1 last season); matching their most wins in November since 1987-88.  The Isles have strung together winning records in 4 consecutive November for the first time since 5 straight winning Novembers from 1983 to 1987.

9,  Josh Bailey went +1 in 17:41 of ice time.  It was his tenth game, triggering the first year of his entry contract.

10.  Up next: the Isles visit Washington on Wednesday.  After losing their first match-up last season, the Isles beat the Caps three straight times, including once in overtime and once in a shootout.  After going winless in 15 games in DC, the Isles are 5-1-1 in their last 7 trips to the nation's capital.

 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.

Stat Trick: Pittsburgh 5, Isles 3

For the better part of two periods, the Islanders beat the stuffing out of the Pens, but in the end it was the Islanders who were the turkeys. On to the trick:

1. Josh Bailey had his first 2-assist game. At one point he had credit on the third goal as well, but this was later changed.

2. Bill Guerin scored for the third straight game; he's 4 goals shy of 400. Guerin however was -4 and also did a bad penalty in the third period when he came to the defense of Doug Weight.

3. Weight did not play in the final 7 1/2 minutes. He did score on the power-play earlier in the game -- it was career goal # 270 (and point 991). Robert Gordon Orr also scored 270 NHL goals. Weight now has a seven-game point streak -- his longest since a 10-game streak in 2003-04.

4. Malkin and Crosby did it the Islanders again. Malkin recorded his third career hat trick and added an assist while Crosby had a goal and three assists. It was Malkin's third career hat trick

5. John Curry replaced Dany Sabourin in goal after Guerin's goal gave the Isles a 3-0 lead. He stopped all 11 shots and earned a win in his NHL debut.

6. The Isles have now lost 3 games in regulation that they led after two periods (6-3-1). They lost only two games in regulation that they led after 40 minutes in the past two seasons combined. No other team has lost more than 2.

7. The Isles scored two pp goals for the third straight game (6-14, 42.9%). They have 10 pp goals in the last 7 games after connecting for only 9 pp goals in the first 15 games. It's the first time since Jan/Feb 2006 that the Isles have connected for at least two pp goals in three straight games.

8. The Isles won 42 of 74 faceoffs, including 35 of the final 54. Jeremy Colliton won 13 of 18, while Bailey won 7 of 10.

9. The Isles fall to 4-7-1 at home, equaling their worst 12-game home start since 1999-2000.

10. Up next: a Friday MATINEE in Boston (faceoff at noon). It's the 8th straight season that the Isles have played on the day after Thanksgiving, and their second straight in Boston. They've gone 2-5-0 and have been outscored 21-11, including last year's 2-1 loss in Beantown.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

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.

Stat Trick: Isles 4, Canadiens 3 (Shootout)

"That's why I love sports. Every day, you have a chance to see something you've never seen before." --John Sterling on Isles radio after MIke Bossy scored the 50th and 51st goals of his rookie season, the latter with 5 seconds to play, to give the Isles a come-from-behind win over Washington on their way to their first division title. (4/1/78) I saw the goal credited to Smith in 1979, and was at the game when Jose Theodore cemented a Habs win against the Isles with an empty-netter, but my 8 year old hadn't seen either of those as they happened. This one he did. On to tthe trick.

1. Ryan O'Byrne played 16:20, had 2 hits, 1 blocked shot, and an even rating. Of course he would have been +1 had he not put the puck into HIS OWN EMPTY NET to allow the Islanders to even the game on a delayed penalty late in the third period.

2. Bill Guerin was credited with the goal (he was the last Islander to touch the puck) and now has eight, as does Trent Hunter who scored earlier in the game.

3. The Isles scored twice on the power play for the secod straight game. That hadn't happened since December 31 2007 -January 3, 2008, and hadn't happen in consecutive games, both on the road, since December 2005.

and wait... there's more...

4. Doug Weight earned assists on both PP goals, giving him 17 assists on the season. Only five players in the NHL started the night with more than 17 assists: Malkin, Savard, Getzlaf, Crosby, and Henrik Sedin. Weight now has 13 pp points

5.The win breaks a six-game Islander losing streak to Montreal., dating back to a 3-2 win on February 24, 2007.

6.Josh Gorges scored his first goal as a Canadien (89 games + 12 playoff games). His only previous NHL goal came for the Sharks, against Detroit, on January 5. 2007.

7. The Isles lost 34 of 55 faceoffs. Jeremy Colliton was the only Isles success in the circle, winning 5 of 6.

8. THe Isles won the shootout 2-0, It was the first shoout out ever between the teams. RIchard Park, who also scored in regulation, had the deciding goal in the shootout. (Scott Gordon used the three Islander goal scorers in the shootout) Park is now 3-7 for his career in shootouts; all three have been deciding goals.

9. The Isles improve to 5-1 in their last six games. SInce opening 2-7-1, the Isles are 7-3-1.

10. Looking ahead: The Penguins viist the Coliseum in the now tradiitonal Turkey Eve game on Wednesday. This will be the eighth consecutive season that the Isles have played at home on Thanksgiving Eve. The Isles have won twice, lost in regulation twice, tied once, lost in overtime once and lost in a shootout once. (2-2-3) Overall the Isles are 6-3-3 on Thanksgiving Eve at home. The Pens rallied to beat the Isles in a disputed shootout earlier this month. The Isles are 2-5-1 in their last eight games against Crosby and Company.

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.

Stat Trick: Isles 4, Buffalo 2.

A stat trick delayed is a stat trick denied. On to the trick.

1. The Isles went 2-7-1 in their opening 10 games, but are 6-3-1 in their second 10. They were outscored 37-25 in the first 10, but have outscored their opponents 27-26 in the second 10.

2. The Isles improve to 4-4-1 on the road; it's their second best 9-game road start since going 7-2 in the first year under Laviolette. (The Isles were 5-3-1 in their first nine on the road two seasons ago.

3. The Isles won the middle period, 1-0, despite being outshot 18-2.

...and a few more.

4. Andy Hilbert scored for the second straight game and now has five goals on the season. Hilbert last scored in consecutive games on April 15-17, 2006, when he tallied in both ends of a home and home for Pittsburgh AGAINST THE ISLANDERS. Hilbert has 5 goals on the season (on pace for 20); he's never scored more than 12 goals in an NHL season.

5. Jon Sim is becoming a regular Cy Young. He's 5-1 on the season (goals/assists) and is 57-47 in his career.

6. Mark Streit also recorded his fifth goal of the season, giving the Isles five players with at least five goals. Streit's goal was a pp-empty netter. All five of his goals have come on special teams (4pp, 1 sh). Among NHL defensemen, only Mike Green has more pp goals (6) and special teams goals (6). Ten of Streit's 14 points have come on special teams.

7. The Isles were outshot 37-26; all but two Sabres had at least one shot on goal. One of the two who didn't, Andrew Peters, took a shot to his head.

8. Jeremy Colliton had a good season debut. Recalled to replace the injured Frans Nielsen, Colliton won eight of 12 draws and was credited for a team-high five hits. Colliton has gone 18 straight games without an NHL point (since earning an assist on April 18, 2006).

9. It was the Isles second win in their last seven trips to Buffalo (2-5-0).

10. Up next: the road trip concludes Monday in Montreal. The Isles will be looking to win consecutive road games for the first time this season. The Isles have lost 6-straight to Montreal, beginning with the loss in the game DiPietro suffered a concussion in a collision with Steve Begin in 2007. Of all the losses, perhaps the latest was the most memorable, as Les Habitants erased a 4-1 deficit and beat the Isles 5-4 on November 1. Plekanac and Kovalev each had two goals and two assists in that game.

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.

Stat Trick: New Jersey 5, Isles 2

The stars were all aligned for an Isle win in Newark tonight; 3 straight wins, 3 straight days off, and going against a Devil team that had played last night. So much for the stars. On to the trick:

1. After earning points in 7 of 8 game slast season, the Isles drop to 0-2-0 against New Jersey, with both losses on the road, this season.

2. Jamie Langenbrunner and Zach Parise each had three assists. Parise leads the Devils in both goals (12) and points (23).

3. Frans Nielsen suffered apparent head and lower body injury when he was elbowed by Mike Mottau in the third period. It will be interesting to see whether Mottau is suspended, and if so, for how long.

... a few more

4. The Devils scored five goals against the Isles for the first time in 36 games, covering over 5 1/2 years (Devils 6, Isles 0 -- March 30, 2003).

5. Mitch Fritz was in the line-up, replacing the injured Okposo. Fritz saw only 2:30 minutes of ice-time, including only one shift in the 2nd --the 23 second shift in which the Devils responded to the Isles' goal -- and did not play in the third.

6. The Isles lost 32 of 50 faceoffs; rookie Josh Bailey had an awful night in the circle, losing 9 of 10. Travis Zajac won 14 of 17 for New Jersey.

7. Part of it may reflect a difference in how "hits" are accounted for in different buildings, but the Isles were credited with only 3 for the entire game. (NJ had 11.)

8. Ex- Isle Kevin Weekes picked up the 100th win of his career; 10 of those wins came for the Islanders.

9.Joey Mac Donald made his 9th straight start (Peter Mannino dressed for the first time, as his back-up.) He allowed five goals in a game for only the second time this season (Columbus Day vs. Buffalo was the first).

10. Looking ahead: the Isles face the struggling Sabres in Buffalo on Saturday; the Isles have lost five of their last six games in Buffalo.

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.

Stat Trick: Isles 2, Vancouver 1 (SO)

Uh, oh.  Don't look now, but the Isles are closer to a playoff spot (2 points) than they are to the first pick in the draft (3 points).  Any they beat that Luongo kid too.  On to the trick:

1.  Many people could tell you that the Islanders have won three straight games for the first time since a six-game win streak last February. But only on the trick do you get these:

--The Isles have won three straight games against Canadian opponents for the first time since beating Montreal and Toronto twice each in a three-week period in February, 2007
-- The Isles have won three straight, all against Canadian opponents for the first time since beating Vancouver, Montreal and Winnipeg in a four-daystretch in January, 1990.  Those were the final three games of a 9-game win streak -- the Isles have not had a nine game iwnning streak since.

2.  The Isles have allowed only 4 goals in their current 3-game win streak.  The last time they did that was in the final three-games of their six-game win streak last February.

3.  Doug Weight padded his team scoring lead with his 4th goal and 16th point.  Weight, who has recorded a point in three straight games, now has 3 pp goals.  He has a point on 10 of the Isles 13 pp goals this season.

...and a few more

4.  The teams played a scoreless third period tonight.  The Isles have allowed 25 third period goals (most in the NHL) while Vancouver has allowed only eight (fewest in the NHL).

5.  The second period has been good to the Isles this season; they've now outscored thier combined opponents 16-13.

6.  The Isles won for the first time this season after trailing after 1 period (1-4-1) while the Canucks failed to win after leading after 1 period for the first time (7-0-1).

7.  The Isles improve to 3-1-0 against the West while the Canucks are now 1-3-1 against the East.

8.  The Isles are noe 23-12 all-time in shootouts, and are 12-4 at home.  The Isles have lost exactly once in a shootout at home in each season including this one.  Frans Nielsen had the only goal of the shootout; he's now 2-3 in shootouts.

9.  Andy Sutton appeared in his 500th NHL game.

10  Pavol Demitra continued his point-a-game pace against the Isles; he has 8 goals and 10 assists in 18 games vs the Isles.

 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.