The Skinny: Isles 9, Penguins 3.

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 55
Isles 9, Penguins 3

Where to begin? Three Islanders reached 20 goals in the same game, 351 penalty
minutes (at last count) were assessed, the Isles scored four goals in each of
the first two periods, and put up a 9-spot at the Coliseum for the first time
since 1992. Add it all up and the Islanders defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins
9-3 before a raucous crowd of 12,888 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
4-Goal First and a 6-0 lead
For only the 3rd time in the last 18 games, the Isles scored first. Then they
scored 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th as they built a 6-0 lead before the game was
24 minutes old. The 6 goals came in a span of 14:55 with Travis Hamonic, Jesse
Joensuu, PA Parenteau and Michael Grabner all scoring in the first period and
John Tavares and Micheal Haley scoring 30 seconds apart in the second period.
Hamonic had two assists in addition to the goal as he recorded a three-point
game for the first time in the NHL. Joensuu scored his first NHL goal since New
Year's Eve in Detroit and his 4th of the season. Parenteau's tally was one of
two power play goals for the Isles. Grabner's goal made him first on the team
to 20 goals and came after he was stopped on his first career penalty shot
earlier in the session. Tavares became the second Isle to reach 20 goals, and
extended his point streak to four games; Tavares finished with four points - he
is the first Islander to have four points at home since Jason Blake did so on
February 27, 2007 against Philadelphia. Micheal Haley made it 6-0 with his
first NHL goal.
Fight Night
The first brawl of the evening came at 5:21 of the second period. Three
Islanders (Matt Martin, Josh Bailey and Travis Hamonic) and three Penguins
(Deryk Engelland, Pascal Dupuis and Mike Rupp) were ejected. The Penguins ended
up with a 5 minute power play and got goals from Kris Letang and Jordan Staal
(the latter on a 5-on-3).
Third to 20, First to 21
Matt Moulson scored two goals 4:19 apart late in the second period, the latter
on a power play to give the Isles an 8-2 lead. Moulson's first goal gave the
Isles three 20-goal scorers; Dallas is the only other team with three 20-goal
scorers.
The Ol' Brawl Game
The third period featured several sets of fights, including an incident at 4:47
that saw Haley get into two fights following a check by Trevor Gillies on Eric
Tangradi. One of Haley's fights was with Penguin netminder Brent Johnson, who
knocked out Rick DiPietro in last week's game. Former Islander Eric Godard came
off the Penguins bench during that altercation, earning himself an automatic
10-game suspension. Gillies, Haley, and Pittsburgh's Craig Adams all received
game misconduct penalties, while Godard earned two. The officials spent the rest
of the period giving out misconduct penalties. When the game ended, Pittsburgh
had only two players on the bench.
Grabner Scores a Shorty
Tyler Kennedy scored a power play goal for Pittsburgh at 7:46 of the third; late
in the game, Michael Grabner scored his second goal of the game. This one was a
shorthanded goal, his second of the season. It's the 21st goal of the season
for the hottest goal scorer in the NHL, who now has six goals in the last four
games. Since January 15th, Grabner has 12 goals in the last 13 games, by far
the most of any player in the NHL (Entering play Friday, no one else had more
than eight) Among NHL rookies, only Logan Couture (24) has more goals. Grabner
had 8 shots on goal, representing a season high for the Isles. Grabner was also
+3, raising his team-leading +/- rating to +9. Grabner is the first Islander to
score twice in consecutive games (and in back-to-backs) this season. Blake
Comeau was the last Isle to score twice in consecutive games (3/30-4/1/10) while
John Tavares was the last to score twice in consecutive days (12/8-12/9/09).
9-3 Final.
Rewriting the Record Books (Offense)
The Isles scored 9 goals for the first time in 653 games, dating back to a 9-2
win in Chicago on March 25, 2003. They scored four goals in two separate
periods for the first time since that same game. The Isles had gone over 18
YEARS without scoring nine goals at home; they last did so against Ottawa on
December 17, 1992. The Isles are only the second team in the NHL to record 9
goals in a game this season; Toronto scored nine against Atlanta last month.
The Isles scored nine goals against Pittsburgh for the first time since January
27, 1990. It's the first time that the Penguins have allowed nine goals in a
goal since a 9-0 loss at Tampa Bay on Nov. 8, 2003.
Rewriting the Record Books (Penalties)
There were 351 penalty minutes assessed, including 188 to the Islanders. Both
are Islander club records, breaking marks of 233 combined and 108 to the
Islanders in an October 14, 1982 game between these same two teams. 213 of the
penalty minutes (108 to the Islanders) were assessed in the third period,
establishing new club records in those categories as well. All of these marks
represent NHL season highs as well.
Three Islanders were hit with over 30 penalty minutes: Haley 39, Gillies 34, and
Martin 32. Haley's total matches Gino Odjick's total in a 1998 game with
Montreal, and fell just three minutes short of the club record. Eric Godard
finished with 31 minutes for the Penguins. They are the first players in the
NHL to exceed 30 penalty minutes since Colton Orr had 32 for Toronto last
February 12th. Haley's 39th is the highest total by any player in an NHL game
since Jody Shelley had 41 minutes for San Jose on April 6, 2008.
Strange Stats of the Night
The Isles had three players reach the 20-goal mark in the same game. Only two
Islanders (Moulson and Tavares last season) had reached 20-goals in the last two
seasons.
Hamonic's goal ended an Islander scoreless streak of 173:17 against Pittsburgh.
It's the sixth longest scoreless streak against a single opponent in club
history.
The Isles had scored just three goals in the first four games of the season
series, but scored nine in this game.
All 18 Isles were "+" players while all 18 Penguins were "-". Bruno Gervais was
the only +4 player; it's the second time that he has been +4 in his career.
Sean Bergenheim and Dylan Reese were the last Isles to go +4, doing so on April
1, 2010 against Philadelphia.
With all the power play time, some Isles saw shorthanded time similar to even
strength time in some games. Milan Jurcina played 9:19 shorthanded while Frans
Nielsen played 9:15. Grabner saw 9:21 of shorthanded time.
It's Been a Long Time…
…since the Isles scored 13 goals in a two-day period. It last happened on
December 10-11, 1996, when the Isles beat Phoenix 8-2 and the Rangers 5-3. The
last time the Isles scored more goals in a back-to-back situation was on October
31 – November 1, 1987, when the Isles beat the Rangers 8-2 and Boston (in
overtime) 6-5.
…since the Isles scored at least 13 goals in consecutive games. It last
happened when they scored 14 goals in a home-and-home with Boston on March
27-29, 1997, winning 6-3 in Boston and 8-2 on Long Island.
Home and Road
The Isles are 19-29-7, and are 10-13-4 at home. They are now 15-19-4 under Jack
Capuano, including 14-11-2 in the last 27. The Isles are 4-2-0 in February with
eight games to play; they have won more than four games in only one month this
season, going 6-7-1 in December.
The Penguins are 35-18-4 and 15-8-3 on the road. The Penguins came into the
game allowing the second fewest goals in the league, and left in 6th place in
that category.
In the Nets
Koskinen made 35 saves to record his second straight win, and improve his record
to 2-1.
Brent Johnson started and finished for Pittsburgh, stopping 20 of 27 shots.
Marc-Andre Fleury played the final 16:15 of the second period and stopped seven
of nine.
Power Plays
The Isles scored twice on the power play and once shorthanded, while all three
Penguin goals came with the man advantage. Pittsburgh had 22 shots on their
power play, while the Isles had 11 on theirs. The Isles' two goals came
against a Penguin team that had killed 42 of 43 opponent's power plays.
In the Circle
The Isles won 37 of 71 (52%) face-offs. Zenon Konopka won 15 of 23 for the
Isles while Jordan Staal lost 16 of 30 for Pittsburgh.
Missing Men
Mike Mottau, Trent Hunter, Kevin Poulin and Mark Eaton are out for the season.
Mark Streit, Doug Weight, Rick DiPietro, Blake Comeau, Jeremy Colliton and
Nathan Lawson remain out. The Isles have now lost a league-leading 367 man-games
to injury. Rob Schremp and Ty Wishart were healthy scratches. Al Montoya
replaced Joel Martin on the active roster; he is the 7th goaltender to dress for
the Islanders this season.
Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 137 games since
joining the team last season. Zenon Konopka is the only other Isle to have
played every game this season; his 67-game streak includes the final 12 games
last season for Tampa Bay. Travis Hamonic has now played 35 NHL games (all
consecutive); he has the longest consecutive game streak on defense for the
Isles.
Grabner Climbing the Rookie Leaderboard
With 27 games to play, Grabner has a chance to do something no Islander rookie
since Mike Bossy has done—score as many as 26 goals. David Volek had 25 in
1988-89 and Trent Hunter had 25 in 2003-04. John Tavares had 24 last season.
Bossy had a club rookie-record of 53 in 1977-78. Four rookies have led the
Isles in goals: Billy Harris - 28 in 1972-73, Mike Bossy - 53 in 1977-78, Trent
Hunter -25 in 2003-04 (tied with Mariusz Czerkawski) and Kyle Okposo-18 in
2008-09.
Hit Parade
The Isles out-hit the Penguins 22-18. Travis Hamonic and Milan Jurcina led the
way with three hits each. Matt Martin had 2 hits, giving him 200 hits on the
season.
Season Series Stats
The Penguins still lead the season series, three games to two (and seven points
to five). They will meet one last time this season – in the home finale on
April 8th. The Isles have not won in Pittsburgh since 2007 but have more than
held their own against the Penguins on Coliseum ice in recent years, going 4-0-2
in the last six games and 10-3-4 in the last 17 Coliseum matchups. The six game
point streak matches the longest that the Isles have managed against Pittsburgh
since they went 12-0-1 between 12/20/83 and 2/26/87.
Happy Anniversary
25 years ago today (February 11, 1986): Bryan Trottier scored the game's only
goal as Billy Smith shutout the Canucks 1-0 at the Coliseum. It is the only 1-0
regular season win of Smith's career; he also defeated the Blackhawks in a 1-0
overtime game in the 1979 playoffs.
All-time, the Isles are 10-3-2 on this date, including a 6-2 win over Tampa Bay
in 2003 that was powered by Dave Scatchard's only hat trick as an Islander.
Up Next
Sunday, February 13 Islanders @ Buffalo 3:00pm
[MSG+ (Subway Islanders Game Night at 2:30), WRHU 88.7FM]
The Islanders conclude the season series with the Buffalo Sabres as they play
the Sabres for the 4th time in 30 days. The Isles have won two of the first
three, including a 5-2 win in Buffalo on January 21st. The Isles have not swept
a season series in Buffalo since the 2003-04 campaign.
And Finally…
The 116th anniversary of Conn Smythe's birth was observed on February 1st. The
Maple Leaf founder's famous phrase: "If you can't beat them in the alley, you
can't beat them on the ice"
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since
1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various
sources.
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

Poulin's knee cap

Katie notes on her blog today that Poulin has actually suffered a dislocated
knee cap before.

The first injury is mentioned in this SprotsNet story that ran nearly a year
ago.

<<

* Worth the trip to the Isle for Poulin
March 19, 2010

BY PATRICK KING
sportsnet.ca
Kevin Poulin's renaissance season is almost complete.

Once considered the top goaltending prospect in the Québec Major Junior Hockey
League, the Victoriaville Tigres' starting goaltender is now realizing his
potential after a clean bill of health all season. Now Poulin is rewarding his
team's confidence and dedication as the Tigres enter the post-season as one of
the league's top teams.

"He's really determined; it's a big year for him," his head coach Yanick Jean
said. "When he's mature - when he's 19 - you want him to be a premier player
and this is what he was this year."

Victoriaville finally saw what Poulin could accomplish in a full season. The
former third-overall pick in the 2006 QMJHL draft arrived with such promise
that the Tigres shipped out Jean-Christophe Blanchard, then considered one of
the league's top goaltenders, to anoint Poulin their starter while only still a
sophomore.
Expectations were high for his third season, and first full campaign as a
starter. Unfortunately, Poulin missed his own party.

In what should have been his ascension to stardom, Poulin spent the stretch run
watching from the press box. The team missed him dearly as he rehabbed one
injured knee after another, only to have him back right in time for the
playoffs.

Ironically, the first injury occurred out of uniform. Poulin dislocated his
left knee cap before a game shortly after Christmas that year, doing so by
kicking a soccer ball in warm-up with his teammates.

"It was bad luck," he said.

Where the first injury may have been bad luck, the second was bad planning.
Poulin had been so focused on rehabbing his injured left knee that he neglected
his right leg, which may have become vulnerable due to a lack of exercise.

Playing in only his fourth game since returning to the lineup, Poulin was back
on the shelf after injuring his right knee against Québec.

"I think we focused too much on my left knee and we put the other one aside,"
Poulin recalled. "When I came back from the first injury the other (leg) was
maybe a little weak because I was only working on the left one."

Poulin was dedicated not to miss any more of his junior career due to injury.
He spent the summer working out and showed up to Victoriaville's training camp
20 pounds lighter.

Part of his dedication away from the ice came at training camp with the New
York Islanders. Poulin was chosen in the fifth-round of the 2008 draft by New
York, and earned two starts against the Calgary Flames in pre-season.

Poulin soaked in the experience and the mentorship of Martin Biron during his
short stint on Long Island. After seeing firsthand what it took to become, and
remain, an NHL goaltender, Poulin returned to Victoriaville without needing any
prompting from his coach towards fitness.

"When guys are going to the NHL level, they're coming back and it's like you
don't have to tell them any more. They understand," Jean said. "As a coach, you
can tell them, but they don't always believe you. Once they see how hard the
guys that are up there are working, it makes a huge difference."

"It's just how they prepare," Poulin noted, "and the way they play and approach
the game made me realize a lot of things."

Poulin is now preparing for a return to the playoffs against a familiar foe.
The Tigres will take on the Shawinigan Cataractes in the opening round
beginning Friday, the same team that swept them in the first-round of last
year's playoffs.

The Cataractes advanced to the league championship series a year ago, losing in
the seventh game to the Drummondville Voltigeurs. Although Shawinigan was hit
hard by graduation, the Tigres are looking forward to the opportunity of
returning the favour.

"It's not really about revenge, but every time you feel like you have a chance
of beating a team that got you out of the playoffs the year before, you want to
put in a little more, you want to work a little harder," Jean said.

Like the learning lessons from Islanders training camp, Poulin saw the
dedication of the Cataractes players in last year's series and is hoping his
team can incorporate some of those characteristics for their playoff run.

"They were talented, but they were working 60 minutes pretty hard," he said.
"We have to be like this. We can't only be good; we have to work (hard)."
Poulin is hopeful a long playoff run and team success will lead to personal
success. The 19-year-old wants to sign a contract with the Islanders and begin
his professional career next season.

Should Poulin receive that contract, his renaissance season will come full
circle.

>>

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

Isles scoreless in 164:26 vs Pittsburgh

The Isles will need a goal in the first two periods on Friday to avoid setting a
club record for the longest scoreless streak against one opponent.  The record
of 202:00 was set in 1973.  The Isles got real close to the record in 2003, but
Michael Peca ended a goal-less streak against the Devils 16 seconds shy of the
record.

2-Dec-72  24-Feb-73 Vs Detroit  202:00        

22-Mar-03 16-Dec-03 Vs New Jersey 201:44        

10-Dec-72 18-Feb-73 Vs New York  191:52        

20-Apr-95 25-Oct-95 Vs Philadelphia 186:42        

12-Mar-00 27-Jan-01 Vs Buffalo 175:03        

29-Dec-01 23-Dec-02 Vs Montreal 169:05        

29-Dec-10  CURRENT Vs Pittsburgh 164:26  since Bailey scored at 26 seconds of
2nd pd during shootout win (12/29/10)

(List only include streaks that include at least 1 shutout.  The Devils shutout
the Isles 3x during their streak; the other streaks listed included two
shutouts.)

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

The Skinny: Isles 4, Canadiens 3 (shootout)

"The Skinny"
 
By Eric Hornick
 
Game 54
Isles 4, Canadiens 3 (shootout)
 
Mikko Koskinen's first NHL win is a game he never led.  The Islanders rallied
three times from one-goal deficits and then Koskinen was a perfect 4-for-4 in
the shootout as Kyle Okposo's shootout tally gave the Isles a 4-3 win over the
Canadiens before the 278th consecutive sellout crowd of 21,273 at Bell Center in
Montreal.
Down Early
The first goal stat continues to grow.  The Isles allowed the first goal for the
15th time in the last 17 games when Max Pacioretty beat Koskinen at 14:10,
however John Tavares tied the game 2:25 later.  It was Tavares' 19th goal, tying
Matt Moulson for the club lead (they would get company later), but his first in
11 games.
It's Grabner Time… Again
Who is the hottest goal scorer in the NHL?  Since January 15th, it is Michael
Grabner.  After Benoit Pouliot gave Montreal a 2-1 lead, Grabner tied the game
at 17:10 of the second period off a gorgeous lead pass from Frans Nielsen.  It
was Nielsen's 100th point, joining teammates Blake Comeau and Kyle Okposo in
accomplishing the milestone for the Islanders this season.  However, Tomas
Plekanec scored 58 seconds later to give Montreal a 3-2 lead after two periods.
It was Plekanec's 300th NHL point, all with the Canadiens.  He is the 48th
player to record 300 points for Montreal.
…and Again
There was only one goal in the third period, and again it was Grabner providing
the tally at 4:08 of the period.  It's Grabner's 19th goal, tying Moulson and
Tavares for the club lead.  Among NHL rookies, only Logan Couture (24) and Jeff
Skinner (20) have more goals.  Grabner now has 10 goals in the last 12 games,
dating back to January 15th. He leads the entire NHL in goals in that span.
Grabner was also +2, raising his team-leading +/- rating to +6. Neither team
scored the rest of the way, or in the overtime, setting the stage for the
shootout.
Kyle's the Shootout Star
The Canadiens opted to shoot first, but Koskinen stopped Brian Gionta, and
Montreal's three goal scorers: Pacioretty, Plekanic and Pouliot.  Alex Auld
stopped Rob Schremp, Nielsen, and PA Parenteau before Okposo's wrist shot beat
Alex Auld for the shootout win.  It was only Kyle's 2nd goal in 11 shootout
attempts and his first game deciding goal.  4-3 (shootout) Final.
Shootout Stats
The Isles are 2-4 in the shootout this season (1-1 on the road).  It's their
first road shootout win since January 9, 2010 in Phoenix.  The Isles had played
only one shootout on the road in the previous 42 games (in San Jose on November
11th).  Koskinen is the first goalie in Islander history to record his first NHL
win in a shootout; two veteran netminders (Mike Dunham and Dwayne Roloson)
recorded their first Islander win in a shootout.
Strange Stat of the Night
Montreal has played three sets of back-to-backs in the first ten days of
February.  They have only two sets of back-to-backs remaining this season. This
was the front-end of a back-to-back for the Isles; they still have seven sets of
back-to-back remaining after this one.
Home and Road
The Isles are 18-29-7, and are 9-16-3 on the road. They are now 14-19-4 under
Jack Capuano, including 13-11-2 in the last 26 and have won 7 of their last 12
road games (7-5-0).
The Canadiens are 30-20-6, and are 18-7-5 at home.   Montreal falls to 15-4-6 in
one-goal games as they drop their third straight game (0-2-1),  which matches a
season high.
Hard to Come From Behind
The Isles have allowed the first goal a league high 36 times, including 20 times
on the road.  The Isles are 12-3-3 when they score first and 6-26-4 when they do
not.  Tonight's victory is the Isles' first all season when they trailed after
two periods (1-20-2).
In the Nets
Koskinen made 37 saves to record his first NHL win, and even his record at 1-1. 
18 of the 37 saves came in the middle period, when Montreal outshot the Isles
20-10.   It's his first victory at any level in 2011, having last won in the AHL
on December 28.  Koskinen's second period save on former Islander James
Wisniewski was named the NHL Highlight of the Night by NHL Network.
Alex Auld finished with 30 saves as his record drops to 4-2-1.
Power Plays
The Isles were 0-3 on the power play while the Canadiens were 0-4.   The Isles
penalty kill continues to sparkle; they have killed 22 of 23 (95%) over the last
7 games and 51 of 55 (91%) over the last 19 games.

In the Circle
The Isles won 29 of 61 (48%) face-offs.  Zenon Konopka won 8 of 12.
Missing Men
Mike Mottau, Trent Hunter, Kevin Poulin and Mark Eaton are out for the season.
Mark Streit, Doug Weight, Rick DiPietro, Blake Comeau, and Nathan Lawson remain
out. Jeremy Colliton missed his first game with a rib injury. The Isles have now
lost a league-leading 356 man-games to injury.  Jesse Joensuu replaced Colliton
on the active roster.  Ty Wishart was a healthy scratch.
Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 136 games since
joining the team last season.  Zenon Konopka is the only other Isle to have
played every game this season; his 66-game streak includes the final 12 games
last season for Tampa Bay. Travis Hamonic has now played 34 NHL games (all
consecutive); he has the longest consecutive game streak on defense for the
Isles.  Hal Gill did not dress for Montreal, ending his 109 consecutive-game
streak, which was the longest on the team.
Grabner is the #1 Star
For his efforts, NHL Overtime (on Versus) honored Grabner as the #1 Star in the
NHL tonight even though he somehow was not selected in Montreal as one of the
game's three stars.  
Ode to Trottier
The number 19 is royalty to the Isles, having been worn by Bryan Trottier.  In
Trotts' honor, the Isles now have three players (Moulson, Tavares and Grabner)
who have each scored 19 goals – Tavares and Grabner also have three game point
streaks.  Only four other teams have three players with at least 19 goals
(Dallas, Philadelphia, San Jose and Toronto); ten teams do not have a single
player with 19 goals.
Grabner Climbing the Rookie Leaderboard
With one-third of a season to play, Grabner has a chance to do something no
Islander rookie since Mike Bossy has done—score as many as 26 goals.  David
Volek had 25 in 1988-89 and Trent Hunter had 25 in 2003-04. John Tavares had 24
last season. Bossy had a  club rookie-record of 53 in 1977-78.   Four rookies
have led the Isles in goals: Billy Harris - 28 in 1972-73, Mike Bossy - 53 in
1977-78, Trent Hunter -25 in 2003-04 (tied with Mariusz Czerkawski) and Kyle
Okposo-18 in 2008-09
Hit Parade
The Isles out-hit the Canadiens 24-14. Travis Hamonic led the way with six hits;
Hamonic played a career high 27:54. Matt Martin had 2 hits, giving him 198 hits
on the season.
Season Series Stats          
The teams split the season series, with each team winning twice; Montreal did
earn five points to the Isles' four.  The win is the Isles 3rd in their last
nine trips to Montreal (3-6-0), however all three have been in either overtime
or a shootout.  The Isles and Habs have completed their season series; the Isles
still have games remaining with the 13 other Eastern Conference teams.
Happy Anniversary
21 years ago today (February 10, 1990):   Randy Wood scored in overtime as the
Isles rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Bruins in Boston Garden.  Alan Kerr had
tied the game with 2:13 to play as the first place Islanders stretched their
unbeaten streak to five games and raised their record to 28-24-6.
All-time, the Isles are 6-6-3 on this date with their win tonight ending a
six-game winless streak on this date (0-3-3) stretching back to 2000.
Up Next
Friday, February 11 Pittsburgh @ Islanders 7:00pm
[MSG+ (Subway Islanders Game Night at 6:30), WRHU 88.7FM]
The Isles head home to face a team with as many injury problems as they do as
the Penguins visit Long Island for the team's first meeting since last week's
Brent Johnson- Rick DiPietro goalie fight.  Noted pest Matt Cooke will miss the
game, his 2nd of a four-game suspension while Sidney Crosby remains out and
Evgeny Malkin will not see the ice until next season.  The Penguins needed to
recall four players from the AHL to play in their win over Los Angeles on
Thursday; expect many of the call-ups to be in the line-up on Friday as well.
The Isles have not won in Pittsburgh since 2007 but have more than held their
own against the Penguins on Coliseum ice in recent years, going 3-0-2 in the
last five games and 9-3-4 in the last 16 Coliseum matchups.
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since
1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various
sources.
              
 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

The Skinny: Leafs 5, Isles 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 53
Toronto 5, Isles 3

With Kevin Poulin suffering an injury in the pre-game warm-up, Mikko Koskinen
made 21 saves in his NHL debut, but it was not enough as the Toronto Maple Leafs
scored three times in the third period and beat the Islanders 5-3 before a crowd
of 7,249 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The Leafs have won four out
of their last five games.
Down Two Early
The Isles allowed the first goal for the 14th time in the last 16 games when
Colby Armstrong beat Koskinen just 89 seconds into his NHL debut. The Leafs did
not get a shot for another 5:02, but when they did Jay Rosehill scored his first
goal in over a year to make it 2-0 Leafs.
Moulson Gets One Back
The Isles got on the board at 10:48 of the first when Matt Moulson beat James
Reimer on the power play for his 19th goal of the season. John Tavares and PA
Parenteau earned assists as Moulson took over the team lead in goals. It was
only the 2nd time this season that the Isles have scored a 1st period power play
goal at home.
Grabner Scores Again
Michael Grabner evened the game at 15:02 of the second period with his 17th
goal, tied for third among all NHL rookies (Couture-24, Skinner-20, Hall-17).
It was Grabner's 8th goal in the last 11 games. He also improved his
team-leading +/- rating to +4.
Leafs Win the Game in the Third
The Leafs had only seven shots in the 3rd period, but scored three goals: Tomas
Kaberle, Nikolai Kulemin and Freddy Sjostrom, all in a 12:19 span, to grab a 5-3
lead. It was Kulemin's 20th goal of the season, giving Toronto two 20+ goal
scorers (Mikhail Grabovski has 22).
Isles Try to Rally
Rob Schremp deflected Milan Jurcina's shot at 18:08 to cut the Toronto lead to
5-3. It was Schremp's 10th goal, and third in the last two games. An apparent
Moulson power play goal was erased in the final seconds by a high sticking
penalty assessed to Parenteau. 5-3 Final.
Strange Stat of the Night
The Isles have now used five goalies this season (Dwayne Roloson, Rick DiPietro,
Nathan Lawson, Poulin and Koskinen), matching the club record set in 1990-91
(Glenn Healy, Jeff Hackett, George Maneluk, Mark Fitzpatrick and Danny Lorenz)
and equaled in 1999-2000 (Stephen Valiquette, Wade Flaherty, Felix Potvin,
Roberto Luongo and Kevin Weekes). The Isles are the first team to use five
goalies this season; two teams, the Rangers and Flyers, used five last season.
Koskinen becomes the third Isles goalie to make his NHL debut this season,
joining Lawson and Poulin. It's the first time in club history that three
goalies have made their NHL debuts in the same season.
Home and Road
The Leafs improve to 23-26-5; they are 10-15-1 on the road. It's only the 7th
time this season that Toronto has scored first on the road – fewest in the NHL.
The Leafs are 5-1-1 in those seven games.

The Isles are 17-29-7, and are 9-13-4 at home. It's their worst home record
after 26 games since 2000-01. They are now 13-19-4 under Jack Capuano, including
12-11-2 in the last 25. The Isles have lost 5 of the last 6 at home and are
2-6-1 in 2011 on home ice.

Hard to Come From Behind
The Isles have allowed the first goal a league high 25 times, including 16 times
at home. The Isles are 12-3-3 when they score first and 5-25-4 when they do
not. The Isles are 7-2-1 when scoring first at home and 2-11-3 when allowing
the opening tally.
Leaf Notes
Kulemin and Armstrong each extended their point streaks to five games. Kulemin
also has a goal in three straight while Armstrong, who had three points, has
earned an assist in five straight as well. Danny Boyce, who had three career
assists entering the game, had three assists for the Leafs. Phil Kessel was +1;
Toronto is 10-0 when Kessel is a "plus" player. The Isles held Clarke MacArthur
without a point; Mac Arthur had had a point in 20 of the first 22 Leaf wins,
including the last 11.

In the Nets
Following Poulin's injury, Koskinen made his NHL debut. After allowing goals on
the first two shots he faced, he stopped 17 straight in the rest of the first
period and second period, before allowed three goals on seven shots in the
third.
Reimer made 31 saves as he improved to 6-4-0. Reimer has started four of the
last six Leaf games.

Power Plays
The Isles were 1-4 on the power play while the Leafs were 0-4. The Isles, who
outshot Toronto 4-2 on the Leafs' power plays, have killed 18 of 19 (95%) over
the last 6 games and 47 of 53 (89%) over the last 18 games.

In the Circle
The Isles won 21 of 49 (43%) face-offs. Frans Nielsen won 8 of 15, but John
Tavares dropped 12 of 16.

Missing Men
Mike Mottau, Trent Hunter and Mark Eaton are out for the season. Mark Streit,
Doug Weight, Rick DiPietro, Blake Comeau, Bruno Gervais, and Nathan Lawson
remain out. Kevin Poulin was injured during the pre-game and Jeremy Colliton
left the game in the third period with a rib injury. The Isles have now lost a
league-leading 34 man-games to injury. Joel Martin arrived from Bridgeport late
in the second period and dressed for an NHL game for the first time. The injury
bug even affected the officials as Tim Nowak left the game with an apparent
injury in the first period and did not return.
Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 135 games since
joining the team last season. Zenon Konopka is the only other Isle to have
played every game this season; his 65-game streak includes the final 12 games
last season for Tampa Bay. Travis Hamonic has now played 33 NHL games (all
consecutive); he has the longest consecutive game streak on defense for the
Isles.

Martin Continues to Hit
The Isles were out-hit 26-24. Joey Crabb had five hits for the Leafs, while Matt
Martin had 6 for the Isles. Martin now has 196 hits on the season.
Season Series Stats
The season series is even at one game each; Toronto has earned three points to
the Isles' two. The teams will meet again on February 22nd in Toronto and on
March 8th on Long Island. The loss breaks an Islander three-game winning streak
over Toronto; they haven't won four straight from Toronto since November 16,
1989- November 6, 1990.

Happy Anniversary
17 years ago today (February 8, 1994): In the midst of a blizzard, only 2,966
make it to the Coliseum to watch the Isles defeat the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 behind
26 saves from Jamie McLennan.
All-time, the Isles are 5-9-1 on this date with a win over Buffalo in 2003 being
their only win on this date since 1994.
Up Next
Thursday, February 10 Islanders @ Montreal 7:30pm
[MSG+ (Subway Islanders Game Night at 7:00), WRHU 88.7FM]
The Islanders head north of the border to meet the Canadiens for the final time
this season. Montreal swept a home-and-home from the Isles in late October but
the Isles rebounded to beat Les Habitants in the Boxing Day blizzard game at the
Coliseum. Montreal is 6-0-2 in their last eight at home against the Isles with
the Isles holding only a shootout win and an overtime win in that stretch.
Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since
1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various
sources.

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

The Skinny: Isles 5, Ottawa 3

"The Skinny"
By Eric Hornick

Game 52
Isles 5, Ottawa 3

Rob Schremp scored twice and Kevin Poulin stopped the final 18 Senators shots as
the Isles defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-3 before a crowd of 10,415 at the
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The win breaks a four-game home losing streak
for the Islanders as they hand the Sens their 9th straight defeat.

Wild First Period
The Isles scored first for only the 2nd time in the last 15 games when Matt
Moulson beat Senator starter Brian Elliot at 4:10 of the opening session for his
18th goal of the season, tying John Tavares for the team lead. It was the first
time that the Isles had opened the scoring at home since December 28. Chris
Neil got the goal right back for Ottawa, tying the score 13 seconds later.

Grabner Scores Again
Michael Grabner gave the Isles a 2-1 lead at 9:44 of the first period with his
16th goal, fourth among all NHL rookies (Couture-23, Skinner-18, Hall-17). It
was Grabner's 7th goal in the last ten games. However, Mike Fisher tied the
game for the Sens 2:36 later with his 14th goal of the season.

Reversal
Ottawa then grabbed the lead on Alexei Kovalev's 11th goal of the season at
17:11 of the first. It was the 421st career goal for Kovalev (5th among active
players and 70th all-time). Rob Schremp got the goal back just 17 seconds to
send the game into the first intermission even at 3-3.

Exit Elliott, Enter Lehner
Teenager Robin Lehner replaced Elliott to start the second period. The period
was scoreless, but the game changed in the final seconds of the session. Chris
Philips took an interference penalty at 19:55 and after the buzzer sounded,
Lehner threw an elbow at Islander goaltender Kevin Poulin as the goalies crossed
to their respective dressing rooms. Lehner drew a penalty for his actions and
the Islanders would make him pay early in the third period.

Schremp Again
The Isles began the third period with John Tavares in the penalty box, sitting
out a coincidental roughing penalty. That opened a space on the power play for
Schremp and he converted on the 5-on-3 at 1:39 of the third for the lead goal.
It's the first time this season and the second time in his career that Schremp
has scored twice in a game (1/12/2010 vs Detroit).

Sens Pressure…
Ottawa had a late power play when Andrew MacDonald was called for tripping at
18:15 of the third. MacDonald had 12 penalty minutes on the night, matching his
season-high. The Sens pulled Lehner for a 6-on-4 advantage but tight Isles
defense allowed for only one Senator shot on goal. With just nine seconds to
play, Frans Nielsen hit the empty net for his first goal since December 23rd.
It's his 6th goal of the season and his 4th shorthanded, tying Boston's Brad
Marchand for the league lead. It was the Isles' 6th shorty of the season and
their 5th empty-netter. Nielsen's four SH goals equals the most by an Islander
since Shawn Bates had six in 2002-03; the club record is 7, set by Bobby Bourne
in 1980-81. It's the 25th time in Islander history that a player has had 4
shorthanded goals (Butch Goring and Lorne Henning each did it three times).
Nielsen, who also earned an assist on the Grabner goal, now has 99 career
points; 6 of his 30 goals have been scored shorthanded. 5-3 Final.

Drop the Gloves
Matt Martin and Zack Smith's engaged in the game's only fight, just 3:08 into
play. A scramble late in the second period resulted in double roughing
penalties to Tavares and Milan Michalek; Andrew MacDonald drew a misconduct
penalty on the play.

Strange Stat of the Night
There were six goals scored in the first period, the most in any first period
between the teams since November 17, 1993, when the Isles scored all six goals.
The goals all came in the first 12:18 of the period. Pierre Turgeon had a pair;
four other players each scored once.

Home and Road
The Isles are 17-28-7, and are 9-12-4 at home. They are now 13-18-4 under Jack
Capuano, including 12-10-2 in the last 24. The Isles have 21 points on the road
and 20 points at home.
The Sens are 17-28-8, and are 8-13-4 on the road. They have won only once in
2011 (1-10-3).
With 41 points, the Isles have one more point than New Jersey and three more
points than Edmonton. The Isles are just one point behind the Sens.

In the Nets
Kevin Poulin improved to 4-2-1 as he made 20 saves. Poulin has now stopped 242
of 262 shots in the NHL for a .924 save percentage. His goals against average
is an impressive 2.44.
Elliot stopped 10 of 13 in the first period; he remains winless since Boxing
Day. Lehner is charged with the loss (1-2-0); he finished with 23 saves and
allowed just one goal. Two of his three career decisions have been against the
Isles.

Power Plays
The Isles were 1-5 on the power play while the Sens were 0-2, allowing an empty
net shorty. The Isles have killed 14 of 15 (93%) over the last 5 games and 43
of 49 (88%) over the last 17 games.

In the Circle
The Isles won 28 of 61 (46%) face-offs. Jeremy Colliton won all six draws he
took for the Isles, including four in the third period. Jason Spezza won 16 of
23 for Ottawa.

Missing Men
Mike Mottau and Mark Eaton are out for the season. Mark Streit, Doug Weight,
Trent Hunter, and Nathan Lawson remain out. Rick DiPietro (facial fractures/knee
swelling), Blake Comeau (concussion) and Bruno Gervais (upper body injury) all
sat out with injuries. The Isles have now lost a league-leading 337 man-games to
injury. Trevor Gillies returned to the lineup, Ty Wishart had two assists in
his Islander debut, and Mikko Koskinen dressed for an NHL game for the first
time.

Man-Games Lost (as seen on MSG+)
The Isles lead the NHL by a wide margin in man-games lost. Entering Saturday's
games, the Isles had lost 328 games, New Jersey 288, Colorado 249, Minnesota 247
and Calgary 229.

Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 134 games since
joining the team last season. Zenon Konopka is the only other Isle to have
played every game this season; his 64-game streak includes the final 12 games
last season for Tampa Bay. Travis Hamonic has now played 32 NHL games (all
consecutive); he has the longest consecutive game streak on defense for the
Isles.

1300 Club
The win is the 1,300th in Islander regular season history (1300-1297-415). The
Isles have been over .500 for 33 years, having never fallen back to all-time
.500 since improving to 179-178-83 on January 18, 1978.

Offense from the Defense
The Isles received five assists from their defense: two each from Travis Hamonic
and Ty Wishart and one from Jack Hillen. Each of the defender assists came on a
different goal. It was the first 2-assist game of their career for both Hamonic
and Wishart.

Lots of Hits
The Isles out-hit Ottawa 29-17. Travis Hamonic (who had 51 hits in 31 previous
games) led the way with six hits; Matt Martin had 4.

Season Series Stats
The Senators still lead the season series two games to one (and four points to
two). The teams have split the two Coliseum match-ups this season; the final
meeting of the season will be on February 15th in Ottawa. The 5 goals and 38
shots were the most by the Islanders since they had identical totals vs. the
Sens in a 5-2 win on January 19, 2004.

Happy Anniversary
9 years ago today (February 5, 2002): Garth Snow made 29 saves and Brad
Isbister scored the winning goal with 9:39 to play as the Isles defeated the St.
Louis Blues 4-3 at the Coliseum.
All-time, the Isles are 8-6-1 on this date with their win over Ottawa being
their first in four games since 2002.

Up Next
Tuesday, February 8 Toronto @ Islanders 7:00pm
[MSG+ (Subway Islanders Game Night at 6:30), WRHU 88.7FM]
If it's Tuesday, it will be Toronto…as the Isles and Leafs will meet three times
in a 29 day period, all on Tuesday nights. This Tuesday marks the Leafs' first
visit of the season to Long Island and the first game between the squads since
October 18th. The Isles have had their way with Toronto on Coliseum ice for the
last several seasons, going 9-1-2 in the last 12 games. Overall, the Isles have
won three straight over the Maple Leafs; they haven't won four straight from
Toronto since November 16, 1989- November 6, 1990.

Eric Hornick has been the statistician on Islander home game telecasts since
1982. Information contained in "The Skinny" has been gathered from various
sources.

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

Koskinen in position to help Isles tie club record

"Half of life is just showing up" - Woody Allen.

Mikko Koskinen, recalled from Bridgeport in the wake of Rick DiPietro's injury
could help the Isles tie a club record -- all he has to do is play.

The Isles have used four goalies this season (Roloson, DiPietro, Lawson,
Poulin); the club record for goaltenders used in a season is 5, set in 1990-91:
(Glenn Healy,Jeff Hackett, George Maneluk, Mark Fitzpatrick and Danny Lorenz)
and equalled in 1999-2000 (Stephen Valiquette,
Wade Flaherty, Felix Potvin,Roberto Luongo and Kevin Weekes)

Tampa and Ottawa are the other two teams that have used four goalies this
season.

Two NHL teams, the Rangers and the Flyers, used five goalie last 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