Matt Donovan makes Team USA

Congrats to Islander prospect Matt Donovan.  Donovan was selected for Team USA at the upcoming World Jr Hockey Tournament. Donovan was a 4th round pick of the Isles in 2008 and is a Freshman at the University of Denver.  Donovan will turn 20 this spring.

He was profiled last week in FanHouse:

<<
Hi, My Name Is ... Matt Donovan1
12/15/2009 3:00 PM ET By Bruce Ciskie
Bruce Ciskie is a FanHouse Blogger

Every Tuesday, FanHouse discusses the top NHL prospects found in college hockey.

Every once in a while, you end up hearing about a top freshman player in the college game. It's tough for the highly-touted to meet expectations. For Denver freshman defenseman Matt Donovan (NHL rights: N.Y. Islanders), it's clear that he is well on his way to surpassing the high expectations he brought with him to college.

The fourth-round pick from 2008 hails from Edmond, Okla., hardly a hotbed of hockey talent. Donovan played two seasons with Cedar Rapids (Iowa) of the United States Hockey League, and also has international experience with Team USA.

He played in 17 of Denver's 18 games over the first half of the season, scoring twice and adding seven assists. Those nine points rank him second overall among Denver's defensemen, and he is the highest-scoring freshman on the team so far.

His stock is only going to rise as he moves forward. Donovan was one of 11 defensemen on the preliminary roster for Team USA's entry in the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championships, which begin Dec. 26 in Saskatchewan.

If his play this past weekend during a series against Minnesota Duluth is any indication, one has to like his chances of making the final cut.

Donovan was a huge factor in Denver's weekend split against UMD, collecting two assists and rating as a plus-two. He moves the puck well, with a great first pass, and he has very good poise in his own zone. Donovan isn't terribly big, and he could use a bit more speed, but he has all the intangibles of a top offensive defenseman.

Already, his poise, vision, and passing skill make him a tough guy to forecheck. He'll only be more dangerous when he improves his skating.

Moving forward, Donovan has a great chance to play some high-level international hockey. The World Juniors are about as big as it gets for non-professional international events. Even if he doesn't make the team, Donovan should return to Denver a better player for the experience of trying out..

If he keeps getting better, Donovan will eventually have a chance to make an impact with the Islanders, a young team that is only going to improve as the young prospects develop.
>>

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

Stat Trick: Tampa Bay 4, Isles 2

Ryan Malone played with Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh; he plays with Steven Stamkos in Tampa.  If he only faced the Islanders, he might make the Hall of Fame before either of them.  On to the trick:

1.  Malone assisted on Tampa Bay tying goals in both the first and second periods, before scoring twice himself in the third period. Malone, who recorded his fourth 4-point game of his career, has 17 goals and 7 assists in 31 career games against the Isles.

2.  Trent Hunter had given the Islanders a 1-0 lead with a power play tally in the first period. The goal broke an 0-19 streak for the Islander power play.  It was his 93rd career goal as an Islander, establishing him as one of the Top 30 goal scorers in Islander history, tying Garry Howatt and Greg Gilbert for 28th  place on the all-time list. Nate Thompson had the other Islander goal; it was his first in 62 games and his first-goal ever at the Coliseum.

3.  Steven Stamkos and Vinny Lecavalier  both scored in the second period for Tampa, with Lecavalier's goal coming with 19 seconds left in the middle session.  Stamkos and Malone have combined for 39 goals this season; among teammates, only San Jose's Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau (42) have combined for more.

... a few more...

4.  The penalty kill continues to be a huge problem for the Islanders.  They've allowed eight goals in fifteen times short over their last three games, all losses.  The Islanders have allowed 18 power play goals in 40 attempts (55% penalty kill) in their last 11 games after allowing only 18 on 102 attempts (82.4% penalty kill) in their first 26 games.  The results show up in their record as well: 10-9-7 in the first 26 and 3-8-0 in the last 11.

5.  Mike Smith, who shut the Islanders out earlier this month, made 36 saves.  He's 2-0-0 vs. the Isles and 4-9-5 vs. the rest of the league.  Dwayne Roloson suffered his third straight home loss, making 24 saves.

6.  The game featured ten power play plays -- four of them (two for each team) came on Delay of Game penalties for shooting the puck over the glass from the defensive zone.

7..  Alex Tanguay earned an assist on the Lecavalier goal.  It was his 600th NHL point.

8. After going through a four-game stretch in which all of their goals were scored by either John Tavares or Matt Moulson, the last ten Islander goals have been scored by nine different players.  Unfortunately, it's taken six games for the Isles to score those ten goals.  The Isles have been outscored 42-19 in their last eleven games.

9.  The Isles have lost four straight at home (all in regulation).  They have been outscored 19-5 in those four games.

10.  Tampa, who broke a four-game Coliseum losing streak, now leads the season series two games to none, and four points to zero.  The teams will play twice in a ten-day span just beofre the Olympic break in February.

Up next:  The Isles look to salvage the final game of the homestand when the Maple Leafs visit on Wednesday.  The teams split two games in Toronto earlier in the season, with the Islanders' win coming in overtime.  The Isles have dominated the Leafs on Long Island in recent years, going 7-1-2 against Toronto since the 2003-2004 season.  It's the tenth time in the last 14 seasons that the Isles have hosted a game on December 23rd; they're 5-3-1 in the last 9.
 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

Hotstove

The Isles were menioned in the final 15 seconds of Hotstove last night, with Elliotte Friedman reporting:

"lot of rumblings that Charles Wang has finally had enough. The NHL denies it- says they don't know of Wang talking to anybody about them selling the team but the rumblings are that he's finally had enough and he's got some interest."

Milbury chipped in that the October 3rd deadline has come and gone.
 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

Stat Trick: Montreal 3, Isles 0.

Jaroslav Halak wants to be a number one goalie.  The Islanders would tell you that he already is.  Halak made 40 saves as the Canadiens blanked the Islanders in a blizzard at the Coliseum for Halak's third victory of the season over the Isles.  On to the trick:

1.  Andrei Markov played for the first time since being injured on Opening Night, and one night before his 31st birthday, scored power play goals in both the first and second period.  It was the fourth two-goal game of his career; Markov has never had an NHL hat trick.

2. Glen Metropolit also scored on the power play, with six minutes to play, for the final margin of 3-0.  It was the eighth goal of thed season for Metropolit, who has never scored more than twelve goals in an NHL season.

3.  Halak has allowed only three goals in 182 minutes against the Isles this season (0.99 GAA).  He is now 3-0-0 vs.. the Isles and 3-5-0 vs. the rest of the NHL this season.  Halak improves to 5-1-0 in his career against the Isles; he's allowed only seven goals in the six games. 

...a few more..

4.  The shutout was the fifth of Halak's career and second against the Isles.  He blanked them by the same 3-0 score on March 15, 2008 in Montreal.  It's the first time that the Canadiens have shutout the Islanders at the Coliseum since Jose Theodore punctuated his shutout by scoring an empty net goal on January 2, 2001.

5. Special teams have become a huge problem for the Islanders in recent games.  They went  0-6 on the power play and are 0-17 in their last four games.  The penalty kill is even worse.  Over the last ten games, the Isles have allowed 16 power play goals in 36 times short -- which is a penalty kill percentage of only 55.6%.  They have allowed at least two power play goals six times in that stretch (including three times that they have allowed three power play goals).

6.  As their offense has turned anemic, the penalty kill issues have been magnified.  In their last eight games, the Isles have scored a total of twelve goals, while they have allowed sixteen goals just to the opponent's power play.  The twelve goals marks the fewest that the Isles have scored in an eight-game span since also scoring 12 over an eight-game span in November/December 2007.  They haven't scored fewer over an eight-game span since scoring 11 over an eight-game span in November/December, 2003.  Ironically, those eight games preceeded the Isles' last home blizzard game (a 5-2 win over Chicago on December 6, 2003).

7.  The Isles, who opened the season 7-3-2 in their first twelve home games, have now lost three straight at the Coliseum and have been outscored 15-3.  It's the first time that they have been outscored by at least 12 goals over three home games sicne March 1-6, 2001 when they lost 6-0 to Tampa Bay (costimg Butch Goring his job), 5-1 to Washington and 4-1 to Minnesota.

8. Rob Schremp had a strong game for the Isles, winning 7-of-9 draws and being one of four Isles with at least four shots.  Every Islander had at least one shot on goal in the game. Tomas Plekanec had a strange game statistically.  He assisted on both of Markov's goal and won 16-of-25 face-offs, however he had a "natural hat trick" of penalties as he was sent to the sin bin for three separate second period infractions.

9. Martin Biron continues to get no support from his teammates.  Entering play tonight, he had received the next-to-lowest goal support of the 47 goalies who had played at least one-third of their team's games.  Biron made 25 saves, but suffered his fifth straight defeat.  Marty, who has had only one losing season in his NHL career (17-28-6 in 2003-04) is now 2-10-2 on the season.

10.  Montreal leads the season series three games to none, and  six points to one.  The season series concludes on April 6 at the Coliseum.  Montreal has won five straight on Long Island, equalling their longest-ever streak at the Coliseum.  Montreal has won four straight overall from the Isles and 10-of-12, with the Isles earning one loser point (2-9-1).

Up next:  The Isles are 0-2-0 on this homestand, which continues on Monday against Tampa Bay. Tampa blanked the Isles earlier this month, but the home team has dominated this series in recent years..  The Isles have won four straight from Tampa on Long Island, even though they don't own a regulation win in Tampa since before the lockout.

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

Blizzard games of the past: December 6, 2003

Before 3,863 at the Coliseum, the Isles turned the 2003-04 season around with a 5-2 win over the Blackhawks in a game played in a blizard.  The win ended a 7-game losing streak and jumpstarted the Isles' season:

Here's the box:
 
Saturday, December 6, 2003

Chicago Blackhawks 2 @ New York Islanders 5

First Period
1 - CHI : M. BELL 5 (M.. YAKUBOV, J. STRUDWICK) (EV) 4:08
2 - NYI : A. YASHIN 7 (R. HAMRLIK) (EV) 8:15

Penalties - CHI - T. RUUTU (Tripping) 5:03 ; CHI - J. STRUDWICK (Slashing) 5:50 ;

Second Period
3 - NYI : D. SCATCHARD 1 (M. CZERKAWSKI) (EV) 8:25
4 - NYI : T. HUNTER 9 (A. ASHAM, D. SCATCHARD) (EV) 17:32

Penalties - NYI - R. MARTINEK (Interference) 2:59 ; NYI - S. BATES (Slashing) 14:12 ;

Third Period
5 - NYI : A. YASHIN 8 (J.. NIINIMAA) (EV) 1:24
6 - NYI : E. CAIRNS 2 (A. AUCOIN) (EV) 3:32
7 - CHI : T. ARNASON 5 (D. QUINT, S. SULLIVAN) (EV) 5:37

Penalties - CHI - M. BELL (Interference - Goaltender) 15:13 ; NYI - R. HAMRLIK (Cross check) 17:52 ;

Shots On Goal
1 2 3 T
Chicago Blackhawks 8 9 6 23
New York Islanders 11 12 10 33

Powerplay Conversions
Chicago Blackhawks : 0 of 3
New York Islanders : 0 of 3

Goaltenders
ANDERSON (CHI) (L) 28 saves on 33 shots - 60:00 mins
DIPIETRO (NYI) (W) 21 saves on 23 shots - 60:00 mins

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

Stat Trick: Rangers 5, Isles 2

Henrik Lundqvist made 35 saves and the Rangers got a career night from Ryan Callahan as they earned a split of the home-and-home series with a 5-2 win at the Coliseum.  On to the trick:

1.  Lundqvist was the story for most of the first two periods.  The Islanders had ten shots before the Rangers had one, yet the Rangers got goals from Callahan and from Chris Drury to take a 2-0 lead after twenty minutes.  Drury's goal was the Rangers' first in a 5-on-5 situation in 250:46 and his first goal in 20 games.

2.  The teams traded goals in the middle period as Callahan's second goal, in the opening minute of the period, was matched by Andrew MacDonald's first career goal just before the midway point.  MacDonald's goal came in a 4-on-4; the Isles have outscored opponents 7-3 in such situations this season.  However, that was as close as the Isles would get.

3.  Marian Gaborik scored on a 5-on-3 early in the third period and Artem Anisimov tacked on his first goal in eleven games to make it 5-1, before Frans Nielsen scored with 4:46 to play for the final margin.

...a few more...

4.  Lundqvist improved to 15-8-4 against the Isles as he won his 155th career game.  Callahan finished with two goals and two assists.  It's the first time in his career he's had three points in a game, let alone four.  Gaborik, who extended his league lead in goals (24) and power play goals (12), finished with three points for his 14th multi-point game of the season.

5.  The five goals scored by the Rangers equaled their total over the last three games.  It's the first time that the Rangers have scored five goals since tallying seven on November 23rd against Columbus.  It's also the first time that they've scored five goals on the road this season.

6. John Tavares had a frustrating night, although he did have four shots on goal.  Tavares had three shots blocked by Rangers, and missed the net three other time.  He also lost 9-of-13 face-offs and was charged with three giveaways.

7.  The Isles suffered their second straight home loss; they've been outscored 12-3 in those two games.  Dwayne Roloson made 17 saves, as the Isles fell to 2-5-0 in their last seven.  They've been outscored 28-12 in those seven games.

8. Kyle Okposo led the Isles with six shots, but was held off the board for the fifteenth straight game.  Nate Thompson had the game's most embarrassing moment , when he missed a wide open net with Lundqvist out by the outside edge of the face-off circle.

9.  Special teams were a big part of the story.  The Rangers went 3-6 with the extra man, while the Isles had 14 pp shots, but failed to score in seven power play attempts.  The Isles have allowed 11 power play goals in their last 26 times short , covering seven games while the Isles power play is 1-13 over the last four contests.

10.  The teams split the home-and-home, leaving the Isles with a 2-games-to-1 lead in the season series, which continues on Boxing Day (December 26th) at Madison Square Garden. The loss deprived the Islanders of a 101st victory all-time against the Rangers; they had won #100 on Wednesday.  This was the 23rd time that the Isles had played consecutive games against the Rangers; they've swept only twice.

Up next: Game two of the four-game homestand is Satuday as the Isles host the struggling Canadiens.  Montreal has lost five straight but they have beaten the Isles twice this season (once in overtime) and are 9-0-2 against the Isles in their last 11 meetings, including four straight Coliseum wins; the Isles beat the Habs twice in Montreal last season -- once in overtime and once in a shooutout.
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

Stat Trick: Isles 2, Rangers 1

The Islanders gots a solid all around effort as they defeated the Rangers 2-1 at the Garden on Wednesday night.  On to the trick:

1.  Jon Sim got the only goal of the first 56 minutes when he converted a pass from Jack Hillen midway through the first period to give the Isles the lead.  It was Sim's first goal in twelve games.

2. Blake Comeau scored an insurance goal with 3:10 to play when he converted a rebound of a Matt Moulson slapshot.  It was Comeau's first goal since November 7th, and ended a 7-game goalless streak.

3. Comeau's "insurance" would be cashed in, as it would eventually become the winning goal.  Enver Lisin scored with an extra attacker with 55 seconds to play to bring the Rangers within one -- but they couldn't get the equalizer.  It was Lisin's first goal since October 25th; it will go into the books as an even strength goal -- the first one scored by the Rangers in their last 231:55.  The Rangers have not been shutout this season, but were held to one goal for the eighth time.

....a few more...

4.  It was a strong night for the Islander defense.  The Isles blocked 28 shots in the game.  Jack Hillen and Andy Sutton led the way, each blocking five shots.

5.  Marian Gaborik played 26:51, and had six shots on goal.  However, he had four shots blocked and missed the net four other times. Eight Rangers played at least 21:57, while only two Islanders (Mark Streit and Jack Hillen) played that long.   Every Islander played at least 11:20; six Rangers however, played 9:16 or less..  It will be interesting to see if this affects the Rangers, when both teams play their third game in four nights on Thursday.  Josh Bailey played over 14 minutes for the Isles, and recorded three shots on goal, ending a seven game streak in which he was held without a single shot.

6.  Dwayne Roloson recorded 25 saves as he beat the Rangers for the second time this season; Henrik Lundqvist had 25 saves for the Rangers. Roloson came within 55 seconds of becoming only the second goaltender in Islander history to shutout the Rangers at the Garden; Billy Smith did so on December 17, 1975.

7.  The Rangers were held to two goals or less for the seventh straight games as they dropped to 1-6-2 in their last nine overall.  The Rangers, who were 8-3-1 when they faced the Isles on October 28, are 6-13-2 in their last 21 games.

8.  Neither team could get much going with special teams as each squad failed on two powerplays.  That was somewhat of a relief for the Islanders' penalty-killing, who had been scored upon eight times in their previous 18 times short.

9. The win was only the second for Scott Gordon in a division road game since he became the Islander coach, and it broke a 12-game losing streak in road divisional games.  Both of Gordon's road wins in division game have come at Madison Square Garden, where he is now 2-2.  The Isles, under Gordon, are 0-5-0 in New Jersey, 0-3-1 in Philadelphia and 0-3-0 in Pittsburgh.

10. The Isles lead the season series two games to none (and four points to none).  It's the first time since 2007 that the Isles have won consecutive games against the Rangers.

Up next:  The Isles look to sweep a home-and-home from the Rangers for only the third time in their history when they entertain the Rangers at the Coliseum on Thursday.  The Isles swept the home in home on November 21/22, 1981 (4-3 and 7-2) and on October 19/20, 2005 (3-2 in a shootout, and 5-4).  The Isles will be looking for only their second winning streak of the season; they won four straight from late October to early November.
 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