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<<Islanders rate w/viewers

Wednesday January 13, 2010 2:27 PM By Neil Best

As of Jan. 2, the Islanders' TV ratings were up compared to last season by a higher percentage than those of any team in the NHL, according to the Sports Business Journal.

The Isles' jump has remained impressive since then. Not counting Tuesday night, they are averaging 0.39 percent of area homes, up 105 percent from 0.19 this time last season.

(True, that's less than a tenth what the Yankees average on YES, but it's hockey. Be nice.)

Their full-season ratings the past three years were 0.18 in 2008-09, 0.23 in 2007-08 and a microscopic 0.13 in '06-07.
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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

It was a loooong time coming...

A few other Isles-Detroit notes that didn't make "Stat Trick".

 

1.  It been a looooooong time since the Red Wings lost a game on Long Island.  Barry Richter scored the winning goal in a 3-1 Islander victory on February 27, 1999.  That game was marred by a vicious incident in which Sergei Federov eventually received a five-game suspension for slashing Zdeno Chara's neck, rendering the Islander defensemen briefly unconscious.  

 

2. The 6-0 win avenges a 6-0 loss in Detroit (the Red Wings' last regulation win over the Isles) on November 28, 2003.  Manny Legace recorded the shut-out; former Islander Steve Thomas had the winning goal.  The Red Wings scored twice in each period; as did the Islanders on Tuesday night.

3.  The Isles have won two straight from Detroit (both by shutout) for the first time in 18 years.  The last time the Isles beat the Red Wings in consecutive games was on January 7 and January 14, 1992.  The Isles won the games 5-2 and 6-2; they hadn't scored six goals in any of the 24 games the teams has played since then.

 

4. It's the 12th time that the Isles have scored at least six goals against the Wings.  The 1992 game cited above is the only other time it's happened since 1986. 

 

5. The six goal margin matches the second largest victory the Isles have ever had over the Wings.  The Isles beat Detroit by identical 8-1 scores twice in 1976.

 

6. The Isles have 49 points in 48 games.  It's the first time that they've been over .500 after Christmas since March 11, 2007 when a loss to Tampa dropped them to 32-32-7.

 

7. The Isles have won their two home games in 2010 by 6-5 (shoot-out) and 6-0 scores.  They scored six goals only twice in calendar year 2009 and not at all in calendar year 2008..  It's the first time since 2003 that they have scored at leat six goals in consecutive home games (1/3/03  8-4 over Boston; 1/7/03  6-3 over Pittsburgh).  The Isles last scored six or more goals in three consecutive home games in 1986.  (Since the 6th goal against Atlanta was in awarded for a shootout win, one could argue that they've only score 5 or more in the last two games; they did that three times in 2009 and only once in 2008.)

 

 

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

Soaring Isles TV ratings!

Ratings from sportsmediawatch (from sportsbusinessjournal)

 

Of all the US teams, guess who has seen the biggest increase in TV ratings? (Games thru January 2nd)

 

<<So far this season, the team with the largest increase in ratings is the New York Islanders, whose ...0.38 rating on MSG marks a 124% increase from last year.>>

 

Ok.. you'll note the "..." in the note above, here's the complete quote:

 

<<So far this season, the team with the largest increase in ratings is the New York Islanders, whose paltry 0.38 rating on MSG marks a 124% increase from last year.>>

Neil Best in Newsday noted that the Isles rating for Rick DiPietro's return Friday was a 0.55.  (The Nets rating was 0.02)

 

Devils ratings are up about 55%, while Ranger ratings have dropped 8%.  Nevertheless, more households watch an average Ranger game, than an average Islander+Devil game COMBINED.

 

Isles rating is 69% of the Devils, and about 40% of the Rangers.  Last season (to this point), they were only 49% of the Devils and only 16% of the Rangers.

 

The Penguins draw the highest rating of any team in their local market, averaging over 8%.  Buffalo is second, with a 6.17 rating.  (The teams were reversed at this time last year.)

 

The Penguin and Sabre ratings largely reflect the absence of an NBA team in those markets, as well as market size.  The Yankee rating on YES this season, was 4.62; of course New York dwarfs both of the other markets in size.
 

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

Most lopsided shutout wins in Islanders history

This was the 21st time the Islanders have ever scored at least six goals, and won by shutout.

 

The complete list

 

22-Nov-74	Vs	Toronto	6	0	W
29-Dec-74	@	Washington	7	0	W
11-Oct-75	Vs	Los Angeles	7	0	W
9-Dec-75	Vs	Minnesota	6	0	W
12-Oct-76	Vs	Atlanta	7	0	W
1-Nov-77	Vs	Atlanta	9	0	W
13-Nov-77	@	Washington	6	0	W
2-Jan-79	Vs	Vancouver	9	0	W
21-Dec-80	@	Chicago	9	0	W
14-Oct-82	Vs	Pittsburgh	9	0	W
27-Mar-84	Vs	Montreal	7	0	W
9-Jan-86	Vs	Pittsburgh	9	0	W
22-Feb-87	@	New Jersey	7	0	W
15-Oct-87	@	Philadelphia	6	0	W
20-Mar-88	@	Winnipeg	6	0	W
15-Apr-92	Vs	New Jersey	7	0	W
16-Mar-93	@	San Jose	6	0	W
26-Oct-93	Vs	Los Angeles	7	0	W
11-Oct-03	@	Buffalo	6	0	W
16-Dec-06	Vs	Atlanta	6	0	W
12-Jan-10	Vs	Detroit	6	0	W

 

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 6, Detroit 0. Party Like it's the Early 1980's!

The Islanders won four Stanley Cups in the early 1980's; the Red Wings finished near the bottom of the League in all four of those years. Since then, Detroit has finished in first place 15 times, and won four Stanley Cups, while the Islanders, well..you know.  Maybe the times are changing as the Islanders dominated Red Wings 6-0 at the Coliseum.  On to the trick:

 

1.  Deuces were wild for the Isles as they scored twice in each period, got two goals by Rob Schremp, got two goals by their defense, and battered two Red Wing goalies in nearly doubling Detroit in shots (31-16).

 

2.  Matt Moulson scored the game-winning goal just 1:11 into play to re-take the team goal scoring lead with 17.  Schremp scored the next two goals, both at even strength.  It was Schremp's first even strength goals as an Islander and his third two-point game in the last four games.  Mark Streit scored a power play goal (for the seocnd straight game) late in the second period to give the Islanders a four-goal bulge.

 

3.  Kyle Okposo and Richard Park scored in the third period to complete the scoring.  Okposo's goal was his fourth in as many games, and his fifth in the last nine games. 

 

...a few more...

 

4.  Dwayne Roloson could have used a lounge chair at times, particularly in the second period when he faced only two shots. He stopped 16 shots for his first shutout since December 13, 2008 and the 24th of his career. It's the second time in his career he's blanked the Red Wings.  He has won four straight starts, is 7-0-1 in his last eight starts, and is now 18-7-6 on the season.

 

5.  The Isles blank the Red Wings for the second straight game; Joey MacDonald shutout Detroit late last season.  The Red Wings were blanked for the seventh time this season.  The Isles have not allowed a goal to Detroit in 120:00, daying back to a Henrik Zetterberg overtime goal on January 30, 2007.   However, it's the first time the Islanders have shutout the Wings on Long Island in nearly 34 years!   Chico Resch blanked Detroit 1-0 on January 13, 1976; Clark Gillies had the game's only goal.

 

6. It's the first time that the Isles have shutout the same opponent in consecutive games since blanking Atlanta on December 13, 2003 and January 24, 2004.  The 16 shots are the fewest allowed by the Islanders in any game since holding Atlanta to ten shots on February 16, 2008; it's the fewest shots that the Isles have allowed in a shutout since blanking Buffalo on 13 shots on October 11, 2003 (also by a 6-0 score).

 

7.  Josh Bailey earned an assist on Okposo's goal, extending his assist streak to six games, and his point streak to seven games.  Bailey is closing in on the Islander club record for consecutive games with an assist.  The record is 9, done eight times by seven players.  Tom Kurvers, in 1991-92, was the last Islander to have a 9-game assist streak.  Bailey finished with 25 points in his rookie season; he has 23 this season with 34 games still to play.

 

8.  The Isles improve to 7-2-1 in their last ten games, matching their best ten game streak since late-February, 2008.  The blowout win ends a club record-tying streak of eight consecutive games that were decided by one goal or less. 
 

9. With five even-strength goals, all by the Islanders, there were some interesting +/- notes.  Gervais, who scored for the first time since March 25, 2009, and Freddy Meyer were both +3. Andrew MacDonald (+7) and Frans Nielsen (+12) came into the game leading Islander defenders and forward in +/-, but were the only Isles not on the ice for at least one even-strength goal, although Nielsen was on the ice for a power play tally.  Detroit's Derek Meech was a -5 while future Hall-of-Famer Niklas Lidstrom was not on ice for an even-strength goal.

 

10. This was the only meeting of the teams this season... unless they meet in the Stanley Cup Finals, of course.  The Wings have made the finals six times, winning four, since the Isles last won a playoff series.

 

Up next:  the homestand continues on Saturday with the final meeting of the year with Buffalo.  The home team has won all three meetings of the teams this season, including a Martin Biron Halloween shutout.  The Isles have shutout the Sabres in each of the last two meetings of the teams at the Coliseum.

 

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

One more Roloson note

Rollie the goalie is now 17-7-6 as an Islander, meaning that he's won 56.7% of his starts.

 

Only two other goalies in Islander history have won at least 50% of their starts: 

 

Roland Melanson 77 of 134 (56.6%)

Chico Resch 157 of 282 (55.7%)
 

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 5, Phoenix 4 (shoot-out)

Some games are stranger than others.  When you get a hockey game where one team kills a five minute power play only to find themselves shorthanded for an addiitonal 2:52 because they did not have a man in the penalty box.  When you get a game where one team plays with an extra man for 9:58 of consecutive play to build a 4-1 lead, blows that lead in the third period, and then wins in a shootout, you have one strange game.  On to the trick:

 

1. This one started innocently enough.  With the Isles having killed 20 of 22 coming into the game, Ed Jovanovski scored just three minutes into the game on the power play.  However, the Isles tied the game on Blake Comeau's first goal in seven games with 2 1/2 minutes to play in the period.

 

2. The game changed in the final seconds of the first period, when Jovanovski was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for elbowing John Tavares.  Before the delayed penalty could be asssessed, Kyle Okposo scored for the third straight game to give the Isles the lead heading to the first intermission.  It was Okposo's ninth goal of the season; eight have been scored on the road..  While the Islanders did not score on the ensuing power play, Phoenix did not have a player in the penalty box and thus played shorthanded for an additional 2:52, ending only when Martin Hanzal took another penalty.  When former Islander Adrian Aucoin joined him in the penalty box, the Isles finally converted on the power play as Mark Streit and Josh Bailey scored power play goals.  It was Streit's first goal in 27 games and the first by an Islander defensemen since December 17th. Bailey's goal completed the first thiree-point game of his career; he had six points on the road trip and now has a 6-game point streak (4-6-10) and a 5-game assist streak.  He's the first Islander to have an assist in five straight games since Doug Weight did so October 20-November 1, 2008; no Islander since the NHL lockout has had a longer streak.

 

3. While the Isles carried the 4-1 led into the third period, but for the sixth time this season, could not hold a three-goal lead.  The Coyotes tied the game with three goals in a 3:43 span.  Paul Bissonnette scored to get Phoenix back in the game; Taylor Pyatt and Peter Mueller then scored power play goals to even the contest.  It was the 99th career goal for Pyatt, and only the 2nd goal in 37 games for Mueller, who was chosen with the pick right before Okposo in the 2006 Entry Draft.  Neither team scored in the final 10:46 of regulation or in the overtime, setting the stage for  the Islanders to win in a shootout.

 

.... a few more...

 

4. Each team scored in the first and third rounds of the shootout with Robert Lang and Lauri Korpikoski scoring for Phoenix and Frans Nielsen and Josh Bailey responding for the Islanders.   It was the fifth goal in seven career shootout attempts for Nielsen. After five shooters were stopped, Matt Moulson secured the extra point for the Islanders with his first career shootout goal.

 

5. Dwayne Roloson made 25 saves for the Islanders to record his third straight win and was voted the game's number one star.  He stopped 21 shots over the third period and overtime, and probably earned some support for his play in negating three attempted icings by Phoenix that would have allowed the Coyotes to get back to full strength after the Jovanovski penalty.  Roloson is now 6-0-1 in his last seven starts.  The win was his 17th of the season, tying Jamie McLennan 14th place on the all-time Islander list.

 

6.  Ilya Bryzgalov allowed four goals on 15 shots before being pulled midway through the contest.  Jason Labarbera stopped the final 15 shots for Phoenix.  Bryzgalov, who has allowed 12 goals in his last three starts, is 1-2-2 in six appearances since being named to the Russian Olympic team.

 

7.  John Tavares, who has scored only once in 14 games, was credited with an assist on Streit's goal, but replays indicated that the assist should belong to Doug Weight.  Weight played in his 1,200th NHL game; he's the 82nd player in NHL history to reach that mark.

 

8.  Despite their inability to hold leads, the Isles improved to 16-1-3 in games that they lead after two periods. The Isles have been outscored 55-26 in the third period this season.  The 29-goal differential ties Carolina for the worst differential in any period this season.

 

9. The win breaks a six-game losing streak for the Islanders in the back-end of back-to-backs (0-5-1).

 

10.  This was the only meeting of the teams this season.  It's only the second win in ten games in Arizona for the Islanders (2-6-2).  The Isles are 6-2-1 in their last nine games overall and are 4-1-1 in their last six road games.  It's the first time that the Isles have earned nine points over six road games under Scott Gordon, and matches their best road six-game streak since going 5-0-1 over six games early in the 2006-07 campaign that produced their last playoff berth.

 

Up next:  The Isles return home to entertain Detroit on Tuesday.  It's the first of game of a stretch in which the Isles will play six out of seven games at home, with a road game in Pittsburgh separating two three-game homestands.  It been a looooooong time since the Red Wings lost a game on Long Island.  Barry Richter scored the winning goal in a 3-1 Islander victory on February 27, 1999.  That game was marred by a vicious incident in which Sergei Federov eventually received a five-game suspension for slashing Zdeno Chara's neck, rendering the Islander defensemen briefly unconscious.  Detroit has made only five visits since then, winning four (twice in overtime) and tying once. In fact, this will be only the second Red Wing visit to the Coliseum since 2002.  Henrik Zetterberg scored in overtime on January 30, 2007.
 

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