Stat Trick errata

Roloson had 41 saves vs. Chicago (not 42).
 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: Atlanta 6, Isles 3

One game after making 42 saves, Dwayne Roloson made only four.  By that point he had allowed three goals, and was pulled 9:16 into the game.  Things did not get any better from there, as the Thrashers beat the Isles 6-3, ending a four-game losing streak against the Isles.  On to the trick:

1. Atlanta jumped all over the Isles early.  After Niklas Bergfors gave the Thrashers the early lead with his fifth goal in seven games since being acquired in the Ilya Kovalchuk deal, Nik Antropov and Clarke MacArthur scored 25 seconds apart to chase Roloson.  Maxim Afinogenov (10-19-29 in 32 games vs. the Isles) made it 4-0 Atlanta before Mark Streit got the Isles on the board late in the first session with a power play tally.

2. Antropov's second goal was follwed by an end-to-end goal by Evegeny Artyukhin, who was making his Atlanta debut, to expand the Thrasher lead to 6-1 in the second period.

3. The Isles scored a pair of goals in the third as Rob Schremp and Tim Jackman scored 70 seconds apart to cut the lead to 6-3 with 7:12 to play.  However, the Isles could not get any closer, as Johan Hedberg made 34 saves.

... a few more...

4. Marty Biron made twelve saves in relief of Roloson; Jackman's goal made him the losing goaltender. 

5. Blake Comeau, who had scored six goals in his last three games, was held off the board and was -3 on the game.  Rob Schremp was also -3, but he did have a goal and an assist.

6. The Isles have now lost seven straight on the road since defeating Phoenix in a shootout on January 9th.  With their next road game not until Tuesday, the Isles will have a road losing streak of at least two months. The seven game streak is their longest (single season) road losing streak since going 0-6-1 from February 5- March 10, 2009.  The Isles had gone 0-20 on the power play in the prior six road losses but connected twice in five attempts tonight.

7. The Isles outshot Atlanta 37-22, equaling the fewest shots allowed by the Isles in a regulation defeat since a 5-1 defeat to Atlanta (and Hedberg) on December 6, 2008.  The Isles allowed only 17 shots in that game.

8. The Thrashers have a point in six straight games (4-0-2) and are 4-1-2 since trading Kovalchuk to New Jersey. It's only the fourth time (4-8) that Atlanta has won by at least three goals; the Isles drop to 6-15 in games decided by three goals or more.

9.  Doug Weight and Matt Moulson had assists for the Isles, extending point streaks to four games. Weight also has a four game assist streak, while Moulson finishes the season series with eight points (5-3-8) against Atlanta.  Dylan Reese made his NHL debut for the Islanders, playing 11:06 and going -1.

10. The Isles win the season series three games to one, and six points to three.  However, the Thrasher win stops an Islander four-game win streak against the Thrashers.

Up next:  The Isles return home to entertain the Bruins in a Saturday matinee.  The Isles are 2-0-1 against the Bruins this season, including an overtime win in December on a Frans Nielsen goal.

 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, Chicago 3

Blake Comeau had never had a multi-goal game in his first 151 NHL games.  One game after he scored twice against Ottawa, Comeau recorded the first hat trick of his career as the Isles defeated the Blackhawks 5-3.  On to the trick:

1.  Dwayne Roloson made 41 saves, including twenty in the first period as he held the Isles in the game. Brian Campbell, who had six first period shots and Patrick Kane scored in the session for the Hawks, sandwiching Comeau's first goal.

2.  The game changed in the second period as the Isles scored twice in 25 seconds.  Comeau tied the game at 2:27 and Jon Sim was credited with the lead goal at 2:52.  Sim's goal was enough to chase Hawk starter Antti Niemi after allowing three goals on 12 shots.  Richard Park beat Cristobal Huet at 7:06 and Comeau completed his trick with 18 seconds to play in the middle session.

3. Dustin Byfuglien missed half of the third period with an injury but came back with 4:17 to play to score a power play goal.  The Hawks would get no closer, but Byfuglien's goal made Huet, not Niemi, the losing goaltender.

... a few more...

4.  The Isles have won six straight against the Hawks since a 3-2 loss to Chicago on December 10, 2002. The six straight wins followed a stretch of 22 games in which the Isles beat the Hawks only once. It's the third time that the Isles have beaten Chicago three straight times, doing so six times from 1983-85 and seven times from 1980-82.  This was the only meeting of the season between the teams.

5. The Isles did not have a single power play.  It's the first time since a 3-2 shootout loss in Tampa on November 17, 2006 (292 games) that they have not had an advantage. It's the first time since the lockout that the Isles have not had a power play at home (January 27, 2004 vs. Boston), and the first time since November 10, 1999 in Carolina that the Isles have won a game without a power play chance.

6.  The Isles complete their 3-game, 18 day homestand with a 2-1-0 record.  They scored 13 goals during the three games, including six by Blake Comeau.  The 13 goals match their offensive output in the previous nine games (1-8-0).

7. Rob Schremp had two assists.  He has seventeen on the season, tying John Tavares for the club rookie lead.  Only four rookies have more assists in the entire league than Schremp; he has recorded 17 assists in only 41 games-- his .41 assists per game leads all rookies.

8. Roloson recorded his 20th win of the season.  It is the fourth time in his career that he has won 20 games (once for Minnesota and twice, including a career-high 28 last season, for Edmonton). Roloson faced 44 shots, which is the most that the Isles have allowed at home since allowing 47 in a 2-1 overtime loss to New Jersey on April 1, 2008. The 44 shots matched the most the Isles have allowed in a home victory since 1999; the Isles also allowed 44 shots in a 3-2 home victory over Carolina on October 8, 2005.

9. The Isles scored four goals in the second period.  It's their first four-goal period of the season.  They last scored four goals in a period on March 20, 2009 in Carolina, scoring all four of their goals in a 5-4 defeat during the second period. It's the first time that they have scored four goals in any home period, since scoring four times against St. Louis in the 2008-09 home opener.
 
10. The Isles improve to 26-29-8 and remain on the fringes of the playoff race. They finished last season with a 26-47-9 record.
 
Up next: The Isles head to Atlanta on Thursday night to face the Thrashers for the final time this season.  The Isles have dominated the season series, winning all three games (one by shoot-out).  The Isles will be looking for a fifth straight win against the Thrashers, which would match the longest stretch in club history (five straight wins from March 2, 2002 to January 19, 2003).  The Isles are also looking for their third straight win in Atlanta, which they have never done against the Thrashers.  The Isles' only three-game win streak in Atlanta came in the 1976-77 season, when the Isles swept the three games played at the Omni.

 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

Dylan Reese

One interesting note on this minor league defensemen, who was acquired earlier today.

Reese led Syracuse in +/-  at +12.  Even more impressive is that he is +19 in January/February for a team that is 26-29-3-3 on the season (26-29-6 by NHL accounting).

Reese, who played at Harvard, is 25 1/2 years old (born 8-29-84).

 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

Olympic hockey ratings through the roof!

Now it's up to the NHL to maintain some (even just a little bit) of the momentum--

<<The Canada/USA Olympic Men's Hockey Gold Medal game drew a 17.6 overnight rating on NBC Sunday afternoon, up 46% from the '02 Gold Medal game, which featured the same two teams.

Overnight ratings for the 2006 Gold Medal game were unavailable.

Sunday's game is on pace to finish as the highest rated hockey telecast in the United States since 1980.
To put the numbers in perspective, Sunday's game drew a higher overnight rating than every World Series game since 2004 (including every game of Yankees/Phillies last year), every NBA Finals telecast since 1998, and every NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four game since at least '98.

Excluding the NFL, the 17.6 overnight for the game is the second-highest of the year for any sporting event, behind only the Texas/Alabama BCS National Championship Game in January (18.2).
>>

 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: Ottawa 4, Isles 3

For forty minutes, the Islanders looked like that they were going to go into the Olympic break on a high note, sweeping a pair of back-to-backs, and winning three of the final four before the two week hiatus.  Unfortunately, then they played the third period.  On to the trick:

1.  Each team scored once in the first period.  Jarkko Ruuttu beat Dwayne Roloson for his tenth goal of the season, 6:16 into play. Blake Comeau matched that with his first of two goals with just over four minutes to play in the session.

2.  The Isles took control of the game in the middle period as Matt Moulson and Comeau both scored.  It was the 22nd goal of the season for Moulson, tops on the team. No Islander scored twenty goals last season; Moulson's 22 is one shy of Bill Guerin's team-leading 23 in the 2007-08 season.  It was the first time in his career that Comeau has scored twice in a game. Prior to today, he had scored 22 goals...in 22 different games.

3. The Isles had a chance to take a stranglehold on the game early in the third with a 5-on-3 power play, but when the Sens killed it off, they grabbed all of the momentum, leading to goals by Alex Kovalec (411th career), Jason Spezza (on the power play) and Mike Fisher. Fisher's goal, the second Senator tally in 93 seconds turned out to be the winner, which is not surprising. Fisher has scored seven career goals against the Islanders; five have been game winning goals.  The Isles pressed for the deadlock in the final 9:14 but couldn't beat Brian Elliott.

...a few more...

4.  It's only the second time all season that the Islanders lost a game in regulation that they led after two periods (20-2-4).  It's also only the second time that the Sens have won, when trailing after forty minutes (2-21-1).  Ottawa's comeback deprived the Isles of a chance for a .500 February.  They finish the month with a record of 2-4-0.

5. The power play continues to be a sore point.  The Isles failed on all five power plays, including a 54 second 5-on-3 to start the third period.  The Isles are 0-12 in the last three games, and are 2-41 since Rob Schremp scored in the first period against Washington on January 26th.  The Isles' power play is 35-237 on the season; their 14.8% is last in the NHL. 

6. Matt Martin had a strong game, leading the Isles with eight hits and adding six shots on goal (only Tavares, who matched his career-high with seven, had more).  He now has 14 hits in his first four games.

7. Alex Kovalev had points on all three Senator goals in the third period, and is now 12 points shy of 1,000 for his career. He has 28 goals and 46 assists in 79 career goals against the Islanders.

8. The Isles have played their opponents even for two periods this season (outscored 114-113) but they have been outscored 72-34 in the third period.  The 34 goals are five fewer than any other team has scored in any period (Phoenix has 39 in the first period), while only Carolina (75) and Anaheim (74) have allowed more third period goals.

9. Dwayne Roloson, playing his first Coliseum game since being pulled after one period on January 26th, made 31 saves in his 500th NHL game.  He has now lost five straight starts and six out of his last seven. Brian Elliott had 34 saves for the Sens as he defeated the Isles for the second time in as many career starts.

10. The Sens lead the season series three games to none and six points to two.  The final meeting will be on April 3rd at the Coliseum.

Up next: The Olympic break.  Scott Gordon and Mark Streit head to Vancouver with Gordon as an assistant on Team USA and Streit as captain of the Swiss team.  When the season resumes on March 2nd, the Isles will entertain Chicago.  The Isles have dominated the Blackhawks in recent seasons, winning five straight games by a combined 25-9. Last season's win in Chicago was Peter Mannino's first (and to this point only) NHL win; Mannino is having a stellar season with Chicago in the IHL this season--he's 17-3-0. This will be the Hawks' first visit to Long Island since Halloween, 2006.  Perhaps the Blackhawk visit will be the cure for the Islander power play.  The Isles last scored three power play goals on March 15, 2009 in Chicago (74 games ago) and have not scored three power play goals at the Coliseum since that Halloween visit by the Hawks- a span of 146 home games.

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, Lightning 4

Richard Park scored a pair of goals, the latter awarded after a video review with only 2:22 to play, as the Islanders defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 on Saturday afternoon at the Coliseum. On to the trick:

1. Blake Comeau gave the Isles a 1-0 lead 7:31 into play. It's only the second time in the last twelve games that the Isles have scored first, and the first time in those twelve games that the Isles have had a lead at any point in the first period in those twelve games. The lead did not last long, as Steven Stamkos tied the game and Mike Lundin gave the Bolts the lead after twenty minutes. It was the 50th goal since last February 17th for Stamkos; only Alex Ovechkin (57) and Sidney Crosby (51) have more goals in that span.

2. There were four goals scored in the middle session, all by players who started the season with the Islanders. After Doug Weight scored his first goal of the season, Nate Thompson scored his first goal for the Lightning. (Thompson was claimed on waivers by Tampa on January 21st) Two strikes by the Isles in a sixty-second span gave the Isles the intermission advantage as Kyle Okposo tied the game off hard work from John Tavares and Park converted the rebound of a Comeau shot to give the Isles the lead.

3. Steve Downie tied the game 2:57 into the third, and the Lightning controlled most of the final period, outshooting the Isles 19-7, but it was Park who would score for the Islanders to give them the victory. It was Park's sixth career two-goal game, and his first since January 2, 2009.

...a few more...

4. It was a goaltending battle of ex-Flyers, as Martin Biron stopped 38 shots for his second straight win, beating former Flyer mater Antero Niittymaki. It's the first winning streak for Biron as an Islander and his 38 saves matches his season high. The Isles have scored eight goals in Biron's last two starts (both wins), after scoring only seven goals in his previous six starts.

5. Several Islanders broke scoring droughts: it was the first goal in 30 games for Weight, first in 11 games for Park, first in nine games for Comeau and first in eight games for Okposo.

6. The Isles improve to 16-11-2 at home; their 34 points equals their second highest total over the first 29 home games since 1987-88. (The Isles had 40 points in 29 games in 2003-04.)

7. Matt Martin and former Islander Nate Thompson engaged in a first period brawl. Martin also received a misconduct penalty; he has 22 penalty minutes in his first three NHL games.

8. Bruno Gervais finished +3 for the Isles as he was on-ice for all three second period goals. It was the first time since January 19th that he had a "plus" rating. The three Islander goals in the middle session marked their first three-goal period since January 2nd against Atlanta.

9. The Isles recorded their 25th win of the season; however twelve of the 25 have been in overtime or in shootouts. It's the first regulation win for the Isles since Rick DiPietro (who apparently is out again, this time with the flu) blanked New Jersey on January 18th.

10. The Isles scored more goals in this game than they did in the first three games against Tampa, when they were outscored 13-4. The teams split the two Coliseum games, but the Lightning win the season series three games to one.

Up next: The Isles play their final pre-Olympic game on Sunday at 5:00 when they entertain Ottawa. The Isles have struggled on the back-end of back-to-backs, going 1-8-0 in their last nine, with the victory coming in a shootout in Phoenix. It's the first visit of the Senators since November 29, 2008; the Isles swept both Coliseum meeting last season. The Isles played Ottawa even through sixty minutes in Ontario twice this season, but the Sens own both an overtime win and a shootout win over the Isles this season.

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