Stat Trick: Isles 6, Atlanta 5 (shootout)

The Islanders do not score five goals in a game very often.  When they do, they need to win the game.  After blowing 3-0, 4-1, and 5-2 leads, the Islanders finally did win, albeit in a shootout, defeating Atlanta 6-5 in the first game of the 10's and the first-ever 6-5 shootout game in Islander history.  On to the trick:

1.   The Isles grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first twenty minutes, on goals by Matt Moulson, Jon Sim, and Richard Park.  Moulson's goal, came one second after an Islander power play expired and was his 16th of the season, tying John Tavares for the club lead.  Sim recorded his third goal in the last four games and sixth overall, while Park scored for the first time in 16 games.

2.  Maxim Afinogenov scored twice in the second period (he also had two assists), but each goal was answered by an Islander tally, as Trent Hunter made it 4-1 and Josh Bailey made it 5-2.  Bailey's goal, his second in three games, came two seconds after the midway point in the game.  However, the Islanders could not deal with the prosperity.  Nik Artropov scored ten seconds after Bailey to get the Thrashers within two and Rich Peverly scored 2 1/2 minutes later to make it a 5-4 game after two periods.

3.  The only goal of the third period came on the power play off the stick of Ilya Kovalchuk.  Kovvalchuk, who scored 320 goals in the 2000's, second only to Jarome Iginla (360), now has scored twice in two games to kick off the 2010's.  The Kovalchuk goal was his fourth point of the game, and was enough to get the Thashers a point, but the Islanders would eventually prevail in the shootout. 

...a few more...

4.  Jeff Tambellini and Frans Nielsen scored for the Islanders in the shootout to give the Isles a 2-0 advantage..  Tambellini is now six of nine in shootouts, while Nielsen has converted eight times in 13 attempts. After Slava Kozlov scored for the Thrashers, Rob Schremp shot the puck over the net but Rich Peverley shot the puck wide on his shootout attempt to give the Islanders the victory and the extra point.

5.  It was the third straight Islander game to end in a shootout. The Isles have won two shootouts at home, and lost in Ottawa during this stretch.  It's the first time in Islander history that three consecutive games have required a shootout and the second time that the Isles have had a shootout in successive home games.

6.  The Isles improve to 3-2-0 in decade-opening games:
October 7, 1972  Lost 3-2 to Atlanta
January 2, 1980  Beat Toronto 3-1
January 2, 1990  Beat Los Angeles 5-3
January 2, 2000  Lost 4-1 to Philadelphia

7.  Prior to scoring the game-deciding goal in the shootout, Frans Nielsen was credited with three assists.  It's the first three assist (and three point) game of his career.  Schremp had a perfect night in the face-off circle, winning all six of his draws; the Isles won 34 of 56 overall.  Dwayen Roloson improved to 4-0-1 in his last five games, making 22 saves.  Johan Hedberg finished with 31 saves for Atlanta.

8. The Islanders recorded their first 6-5 win since February, 2007 when they did s otwice in a ten-day period.  The shootout victory allowed the Isles to avoid a 6-5 loss for the first time since losing to Washington in overtime in February, 1996.

9. The Isles improve to 17-18-7, climbing within one win of NHL .500 for the first time since December 17th.  The Isles are 4-1-1 in their last six games, while their opponents are 2-1-3 as three of the four Islander wins have come in extra time.

10.  The Isles lead the season series three games to none, and six points to one.  The final meeting will be in
Atlanta on March 4th.  The Isles have won four straight overall from the Thrashers, who are 0-4-2 on their seven game road trip and 0-5-3 in their last eight games overall.  Atlanta is 4-10-3 in their last 17 games, with all four wins coming in extra time.

Up next: The Islanders begin a three game road trip on Wednesday in Denver against the Avalanche.  Game time is 9:00.  The Isles have not won in Denver since November 19, 1999, when Butch Goring was still their coach.  They have gone 0-2-2 since then, tying once and losing once in overtime.  The Isles are, however 4-0-2 in their last six against the Avalanche since being blanked 1-0 on Novermber 16, 2001 by Patrick Roy.
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 3. Isles 2 (shooutout)

Jon Sim scored in the opening minute of the third period to force overtime, and eventually a shootout, but the Senators scored on all three of their shootout attmepts against Dwayne Roloson to defeat the Islanders 3-2 on New Year's Eve at Scotiabank Place.  On to the trick:

1. After a scoreless first period, Rob Schremp gave the Islanders the lead on a power play eight minutes into the second.  It was only the second Islander power play goal in the last ten games.  Schremp has scored two of the Isles' last three power play tallies.

2. Chris Kelly and Peter Regin scored for the Sens later in the second period.  Regin's goal, with 52 seconds to play, gave the Sens a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.

3. Sim's tying goal, his fifth of the season, was his second in three games, and earned the Islanders their sixth point (1-15-4) in 20 games where they have trailed after two periods.

... a few more...

4.  After only four goals in 65 minutes of hockey, there were five goals scored in the shootout.  Alexei Kovalev, Mike Fisher ans Ryan Shannon all scored for the Senators, but only Frans Nielsen and Rob Schremp could successsfully respond for the Isles.  John Tavares missed the net in an attempt to prolong the game and gave the Sens the extra point.  The loser point is the Islanders' 20th point on the road this season (7-10-6).  They had only 21 points on the road last season.

5. Shannon, who was credited with the game-deciding goal, had a three-game goal scoring streak stopped.  Shannon had scored four goals in the last three games after not scoring in his first 28 games of the season.

6. Dwayne Roloson made 34 saves to earn a point for his fourth straight game (3-0-1).  He has allowed only six goals on 143 shots in those four starts (1.41 GAA, 95.8 save percentage).  Pascal Leclaire finished with 25 saves for the Senators and is 3-0 this season in shoot-outs.

7.  The Isles shut down the Senators' power play, stopping all three attempts.  After allowing 18 goals in their previous 40 attempts, the Isles have now killed 13 straight opponents' power play attempts.

8. Tim Jackman left the game after the first period.  He was taken to the hospital after taking a couple of punches from Matt Carkner just after the first period buzzer.  Jackman ended up with some blood behind his eye, but was well enough to return to New York with the team after the game.

9.  The Isles are now 2-5 in shoot-outs and 7-8 in games that have gone into overtime.  The loss broke a four-game extra time winning streak for the Isles. As good as Roloson has been, he has struggled in shoot-outs, allowing 12 goals on 28 shots (57.1 save percentage).  The Isles are now 27-21 all-time, in shoot-outs.

10.  The Sens have swept the two games in Ottawa in this year's season series, and lead the season series four points to two.  The series continues on Valentine's Day on Long Island, which will be the final game before the Olympic break.  The Islanders finish the decade with a record of 304-342-41-58.  They were 167-157-18- 27 at home and 137-185 -23 -31 on the road.  After playing at NHL .500 in both October and November, the Isles finished December with a 6-8-1 record.  This was the Islanders' final road game of the season against a Northeast Division team; they finished 2-4-4 in the ten games. It's the Isles' first loss on New Year's Eve since 1998; the Islanders had played four times on New Year's Eve since, and won them all.

Up next:  The Isles play their first game of 2010 on Saturday when they entertain Atlanta at the Coliseum.. The Isles have won the first two games this season, each by three goals.  Matt Moulson recorded a hat trick in the last meeting, on December 4th, but has scored just one goal in fourteen games since then.

 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

Happy New Year

Stat Trick will have to wait until Friday evening, but I'll share the first tidbit of 2010.

 

The  Islanders are in the midst of their 37th season.  In that time they've earned at least one point on every day on the calendar from October 3rd to April 18. Every day but three, that is.

 

The Isles have never played on December 24th or 25th, per NHL labor negotiations. They've played seven times on New Years Day---and lost them all:

 

 

1-Jan-77	Vs	Vancouver			1	5	L
1-Jan-83	@	Pittsburgh			1	2	L
1-Jan-92	@	Washington			5	8	L
1-Jan-94	Vs	Hartford			3	4	L
1-Jan-02	@	Washington			2	3	L
1-Jan-04	@	Ottawa			0	1	L
1-Jan-07	@	Buffalo			1	3	L

 

Happy New Year!

 

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, Columbus 1 (shootout)

Dwayne Roloson made 41 saves and then stopped all three Blue Jacket shooters in the shootout as the Islanders beat Columbus 2-1 before 12,192 at the Coliseum.  With the win, the Isles end the first-half of the 2009-2010 season with a record of 16-18-7.  On to the trick:

1. The Islanders grabbed the lead midway through the first period as Josh Bailey nudged a puck over the goal line after a shot by Kyle Okposo got through Columbus netminder Steve Mason.  It was Bailey's eighth goal of the season (a career high, as he had seven last year) and his first in 15 games.

2.  The Isles protected the lead for nearly 40 minutes, but RJ Umburger, who has always been a thorn in the Islanders' side, tied the game at 9:47 of the third. It was Umburger's 9th goal in the last 20 games and his 10th in 24 career games against the Islanders.  It was the first goal scored in the last eight periods of regulation time by the Blue Jackets, who won a 1-0 game in overtime on Monday night.

3.  The Blue Jackets dominated the third period but the tied changed when Fredrik Modin was called for Delay of Game with 1:42 to play in regulation.  While the Isles couldn't score on the power play, they did turn the play in their favor, and eventually outshot Columbus 5-2 in the overtime session.  After the first four shooters  (Jeff Tambellini and Frans Nielsen for the Islanders; Kristain Huselius and Rick Nash for the Coyotes) were stopped, Rob Schremp converted for the only goal of the shootout. Roloson then stopped Fedor Tyutin to earn the second point for the Isles and hand the Blue Jackets their 12th straight road loss (0-8-4).

... a few more...

4.  It was the second shootout goal in three attempts for Schremp, who has scored only one regulation goal in his first 26 NHL games. The shootout win raised the Isles record to 2-4 in shootouts and to 7-7 in games that have gone beyond 60 minutes.

5. For the fourth straight game, neither the Isles or their opponents scored on the power play.  The Isles failed on four opportunities, all in the third period, including a 47 second 5-on-3 while the Blue Jackets were blanked on three attempts.  In those four games, the Isles are 0-13 on the power play and 10-10 on the penalty kill. Over the last 10 games, the Isles are 2-38 on the power play, scoring on the 1st attempt (Schremp vs. Boston on December 11) and going 1-37 since.  The Isles have not allowed a power play goal in any of their last nine wins, killing all 30 of the opposition power plays.

6. Roloson records his third straight win to raise his record to 14-7-5. In those three games, he's allowed only four goals on 107 goals.  It's the third time this season that Roloson has had a winning streak of at least three games.

7. This game ends a stretch of ten consecutive games in the metro-NY area (eight at home, and two at Madison Square Garden).  The Isles went 5-5-0 in the ten games, including 3-5-0 at the Coliseum. The Isles now have 39 points in 41 games; they had only 38 points in their first 55 games last season.  With the win, the Isles move from a tie for 13th place to within one point of a playoff spot.  Such is life in the NHL's Eastern Conference, where three points separates 8th place and 14th place.

8. Jeff Tambellini, playing for the first time in ten games, made a big impression early, finishing with two shots and five hits.  He was averaging less than one hit per game prior to tonight.  TIm Jackman had six hits for the Isles, who out-hit Columbus 34-24.  Andy Sutton had four hits and five blocks for the Isles, while Andy Hillen also blocked five shots.

9.  Mark Streit led all skater with 26:44 of ice-time while Tyutin led Columbus with  22:43 of ice-time and 5 blocked shots.  Columbus won 26 of 49 face-offs; Schremp was by far the best Islander, winning 9-of-12.

10. The Islanders lead the season series 1-0; the teams will play again on March 27th in Columbus.  The Isles have won the last three Coliseum meetings between the squads, but are still looking for their first-ever win at Nationwide Arena.

Up next:  The Isles will ring out the old, as they end 2009 with a New Year's Eve game in Ottawa.  The Isles have won their last four December 31 games, including a 4-2 win over Florida in a matinee last season.  The Islanders have not been beaten on New Year's Eve since the final night of 1998, when Jocelyn Thibault and the Blackhawks blanked the Isles 1-0 in Chicago.

 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

USA

Matt Donovan has a first period assist, but then again so does just about everybody else.

US 6 - Latvia 0.  end 1st.

Canada beat Latvia 16-0 early in the tourney.
 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

Decade in Review

Tonight in the final home game of the ''00's for the Isles, while Thursday will mark the final road game.  Here's a quick Decade in Review:

Entering tonight in the 2000's:

Regular Season:
             W   L     T OT
Home:  166 157 18 27 for 377 points in 368 games
Road:   137 185 23 30 for 327 points in 375 games
Total:   303 342 41 57 for  704 points in 743 games

(The Isles played 3 more road games than home games in the 2000 portion of the 1999-2000 and have played 4 more road games than home games so far this season)

Playoffs: the Isles made the playoffs four times, but lost in the first round each time:
4 games-3 to Toronto in 2002
4-1 to Ottawa in 2003
4-1 to Tampa Bay in 2004
4-1 to Buffalo in 2007

Best season of the 2000's:
2001-02
Under rookie head coach Peter Laviolette, the Isles open 9-0-1-1 and finish 42-28-8-4 for 96 points for their best record overall since 1983-84.

Best home season of the 2000's:
2003-04
The Isles are 25-11-4-1 under Steve Stirling for their best record at home since 1984-85

Best moment of the 2000's  (regular season on-ice):
Wade Dubielewicz' poke check completes another Easter Miracle for Isles as team qualifies for playoffs with win at New Jersey

Best moment of the 2000's  (playoffs on-ice):
Shawn Bates' penalty shot goal 4/24/02  Game-winner with 2:31 to play in third period evens series at 2 games each

Best moment of the 2000's  (off-ice):
Al Arbour steps behind the bench for the 1,500th time November 3, 2007 and Isles respond with 3-2 victory over Penguins

 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 reach mid-point of season Tuesday

If you think it's early, you're right...but the Isles will play the 41st game of their 82 game schedule on Tuesday night at the Coliseum.

It's only the 2nd time that the Isles will reach the season's midpoint before the turning of the New Year.  In 1982-83, the Isles played game 40 on December 26 in Hartford, and game 41 on New Year's Eve in Buffalo.  (That was an 80-game schedule)

This is the fourth time that the NHL has suspended their season to allow players to participate in the Olympics.  Game 41 came in those seasons on January 2, 1998, January 6, 2002 and January 7, 2006..

The Isles played these 41 games in 88 days, which actually matches last season's pace.  (The Isles opened on October 10th last sason and October 3rd this season)  It's also the same pace that was used to play the first 41 games of the 1995 lockout season.  The Isles have played their first 41 games in a faster pace only once -- 85 days in 1980-81.

This season will end earlier than any of the previous Olympic seasons, with the final regular season game being played on April 11th (April 18th in both 1998 and 2006, April 14th in 2002).

Finally, in the "this doesn't mean anything but it's kind of strange department", the Isles have closed the first half with a loss in each of the last four seasons.. and in 10 of the last 12.
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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