The Skinny: Carolina 3, Isles 2 (OT)

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game 72
Carolina 3, Isles 2 (OT)

Joni Pitkanen scored with 1:02 to play in overtime as the Carolina Hurricanes
rallied from a 2-1 deficit late in the third period to defeat the Islanders 3-2
before 17,686 at RBC Center in Raleigh. With the victory, Carolina ties Buffalo
for eighth place in the East, although the Sabres still have two games in hand.
The Isles have earned points in eight of their last nine games (4-1-4). The
Isles are 10 points behind the 8th place Sabres.

Battle of the Rookies
After Michael Grabner was stopped twice on breakaways, Carolina's Jeff Skinner
gave the Canes the lead at 16:33 of the first. Frans Nielsen tied the game,
converting a rebound of a Grabner shot 79 seconds later. Radek Martinek earned
an assist on the goal for his 100th career point. It was Nielsen's 10th goal;
after scoring five of his first seven goals shorthanded, his last three goals
have been scored at even-strength.

Isles Get the Only Goal in the Second
Grabner got on the board at 3:10 of the second period off a Nielsen faceoff
win. It's his 29th goal of the season, tops among NHL rookies, and second to
Matt Moulson on the squad. Grabner has 25 goals at even-strength; only Bobby
Ryan (27) and Steven Stamkos (26) have more in the entire NHL. No rookie has
scored 25 even-strength goals since 2005-06, when Alex Ovechkin potted 28 of his
52 goals at even-strength.

Late Cane Goal Knots the Score
Hard work by Carolina, combined by bad luck for the Islanders tied the game at
15:23 of the third. Erik Cole beat Al Montoya for his 20th goal of the season
after Nielsen's clearing attempt appeared to be interfered with by referee Ian
Walsh. It 's the 4th time in his career, but first since 2007-08 that Cole has
tallied twenty times in a season. It's the 4th goal of Cole's career against the
Islanders, but his first since 2007. Cole's goal avoided a rare one-goal
regulation win for the Isles; they remain 1-12 in games decided in regulation by
a single tally.

Pitkanen Wins It
Joni Pitkanen's first goal in 45 games banged off the post and behind Montoya
for the winning goal. It's the Isles' 24th one-goal loss this season
(11-12-12). They are 10-12 in extra time, including 7-7 in games decided by an
overtime goal. Pitkanen figuring in the scoring is usually a good sign for
Carolina: the Canes are 17-4-5 when he earns a point. 3-2 (OT) Final.

Top 5
The Islanders have five players with at least 17 goals: Moulson 30, Grabner 29,
Tavares 26, Comeau 20, and Parenteau 17. The quintet has combined for 122 of
the Islanders' 196 goals (62%) this season.

9 Shots for Grabner
Grabner finished the game with a career-high nine shots. It's the most shots by
an Islander since Bill Guerin had ten, also against Carolina, on October 25,
2008 at the Coliseum and the most by an Islander in a road game since Trent
Hunter had nine on November 10, 2005 in Philadelphia. He now has 197 shots on
the season; with three more he will give the Islanders three players (Moulson
and Tavares) with 200 shots in a season for the first time since 2006-07 (Blake,
Satan and Yashin). No Islander rookie has recorded 200 shots in a season since
David Volek had 229 in 1988-89.

Grabner's Chase of the Record Books

Most Goals, Islander Rookie
1. Mike Bossy 53 (1977-78)
2. Bryan Trottier 32 (1975-76)
3. Michael Grabner 29 (2010-11)
Grabner needs three goals to tie Trottier for second place on the all-time
rookie goal scoring list.

Most Shots on Goal, Islander Rookie
1. Mike Bossy 235 (1977-78)
2. David Volek 229 (1988-89)
3. Denis Potvin 209 (1973-74)
4. Michael Grabner 197 (2010-11)
Grabner would need to average 3.9 shots per game to break Bossy's record.

Battle for the Calder
Both Grabner and Skinner each had a goal and an assist. Grabner continues to
lead all rookies in goals (29—most by a rookie since Bobby Ryan had 31 two
seasons ago), while Skinner leads in points (52). Along with San Jose's Logan
Couture and Flyer goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, they are two of the leading
contenders for the Calder Trophy, which was last won by an Islander when Bryan
Berard did so in 1997.

Second-Half Surge
The Islanders are 12-6-5 since the All-Star Break and are 22-15-7 in their last
44 games.

Growing Up Together
The Islanders have had five players record their 100th career point, all of them
in Islander uniforms, this season.
· Frans Nielsen had a goal and an assist. He now has 116 points
(34-82-116).
· Blake also has 116 career points (52-64-116).
· John Tavares' three-game point streak ended. He has 114 points
(50-64-114). He is the youngest player in Islander history to record 50 goals
and the second youngest player (Bryan Trottier) to record 100 career points.
· Kyle Okposo has 112 points (43-69-112).
· Veteran defender Radek Martinek's assist give him 100 career points
(20-80-100), all as an Islander. He is the 18th defenseman in Islander history
to record 100 career points.

With 229 points, Trent Hunter (injured) is the only player on the current roster
to have recorded more points in an Islander uniform.

Matt Moulson has 107 career points; however, his first ten points came as a
member of the Los Angeles Kings.

Home and Road
The Isles are 27-33-12, and are 11-18-7 on the road. They are 23-23-9 under
Jack Capuano, including 22-15-7 in the last 44. Their 66 points is five more
than they managed in the entire 2008-09 season; they are two points behind last
season's pace.
The Canes are 33-29-10, and are 19-12-4 at home. Carolina, who started 22-16-6,
is 11-13-4 in their last 28 games.

Sharing the Wealth
The Isles are 22-15-7 in their last 44 games, and all six goalies that the Isles
have used this season have wins during that stretch (Montoya 7, DiPietro 4,
Roloson 4, Poulin 4, Koskinen 2, and Lawson 1).

In the Nets
Al Montoya made 32 saves. He is now 7-3-4 on the season. This was Montoya's
13th start for the Isles; he has allowed more than three goals in regulation
only once. He remains tied with Rick DiPietro for the team lead in wins (7).
Montoya has started eight straight games (5-1-2); he is the first Islander to do
so since Joey MacDonald made 17 straight starts (8-8-1) from November 3-December
8, 2008.

Cam Ward continues his remarkable career run against the Isles. Ward, who made
35 saves, including 28 in the first two periods, is now 13-2-1 in his career
against the Isles.

Power Plays
The Islanders went 0-4 on the power play while the Canes were 0-2.

In the Circle
The Islanders won 38 of 64 (59%) face-offs. John Tavares was the Islanders'
best, winning 14 of 21.

Missing Men
Mike Mottau, Trent Hunter, Kevin Poulin and Mark Eaton are out for the season.
Mark Streit and Doug Weight remain out. Trevor Gillies served the seventh
game of his 10-game suspension. The Isles have lost 500 games to injury and 23
games to suspension this season. Rick DiPietro backed up Montoya, while Jesse
Joensuu was recalled from Bridgeport. Nathan Lawson and Justin DiBenedetto have
been assigned to the Sound Tigers.

Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 154 games since
joining the team last season. Zenon Konopka is the only other Isle to have
played every game this season; his 84-game streak includes the final 12 games
last season for Tampa Bay. Travis Hamonic has now played 52 NHL games (all
consecutive); he has the longest consecutive game streak on defense for the
Isles.

Cappy's First 55
Jack Capuano is back to NHL .500 with a 23-23-9 record. Only four other coaches
in Islander history who coached at least 50 games have at least a .500 record
(Al Arbour, Peter Laviolette, Steve Stirling, and Ted Nolan).

Half-Full or Half-Empty
The Islanders have earned points in seven of their last nine road games.
However, they have only won three of those games [3-4-2]. Eight of the nine
games have been decided by a single goal, with the exception being Tuesday's
loss at the Garden. The Isles are 0-1-2 on their current five game road trip.

Season Series Stats
Carolina leads the season series three games to none and six points to one. The
Hurricanes have beaten the Isles five straight over the last two seasons, with a
Coliseum battle on tap for April 2nd. The Isles do not have a regulation win
over Carolina since January 22, 2008, going 2-8-1 in that span.

Trouble Down South
The Isles are 4-9-3 vs. the Southeast this season: 1-1-1 vs Atlanta, 0-2-1 vs
Carolina, 1-2-0 vs Florida, 2-1-0 vs Tampa and 0-3-1 vs. Washington.

Happy Anniversary (This One is Hard to Believe)
Brandon Sutter is an Assistant Captain for Carolina; he played 16:27 in the game
tonight. 25 years ago today (March 18, 1986): Brandon's dad Brent had two goals
and an assist as the Islanders pounded the rival Rangers 6-2 at the Coliseum.

All-time, the Isles are 3-8-8 on this date and here's the hard-to-believe part.
The Isles have not won on this date since that 1986 win, going 0-6-7 in 13
tries.

Up Next
Saturday, March 19 @ Florida 7:00pm
[MSG+ (Subway Islanders Game Night at 6:30), WRHU 88.7FM]
The Islanders head to Sunrise, Florida to face the Panthers on Saturday night in
the back-end of the back-to-backs. It's the fourth and final meeting of the
season between the teams; the Islanders defeated Florida 5-1 at the Coliseum on
President's Day after dropping two meetings earlier in the season. The
Islanders are 0-7-1 in their last eight trips to Sunrise. Mike Dunham made 43
stops for the Islanders last victory: November 18, 2006, by a 4-1 score.

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 only stat you need to know about tonight's Isles-Canes game

Man Games Lost:

Carolina: 55
Islanders: 494 to injury + 21 to suspension = 515

The Isles have six players who will miss at least half of this season due to
injury (Streit, Weight, Hunter, Mottau, Eaton and Okposo).

Tonight's game is part of an MSG Network quadruple-header. Isles will air on
MSG+2: On Long Island, the game will air in HD on channel 460, should also be
on channel 79 (or perhaps 66).

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: Rangers 6, Isles 3

"The Skinny"

By Eric Hornick

Game
71
Rangers
6, Isles 3

Ryan Callahan scored midway
through the second period to break a 2-2 tie and Marian Gaborik and Bryan
McCabe added power play goals before the session was complete as the New York
Rangers defeated the Islanders 6-3 before a sellout crowd of 18,200 at Madison
Square Garden. The Rangers improve to 4-1 in their last five games as they hand
the Isles their first regulation loss (4-1-3) since February 25th.  The Isles remain 11 points behind the 8th place Sabres, who were blanked by Carolina tonight.

Rangers Score Twice in First
Sean Avery took a boarding
penalty just 2:47 into play but it was the Rangers who would score on the
ensuing power play as Brandon Prust scored his 11th goal of the
season.  It was the Rangers' 11th shorthanded goal, one ahead of the Islanders (and one behind league-leading
Philadelphia).   Eric Christensen doubled
the advantage with a power play goal at 14:52 of the period.  The Rangers outshot the Isles 21-12 in the
opening period; it was the most shots on goal that the Isles have allowed in a
period since the Devils had 21 on March 13, 2010. It was the first time the
Isles had allowed two goals in the first period since February 17th vs Boston.

Isles Fight Back Early in the Second
The Isles' beat stretch
came in the first four minutes of the second period, when they took the only
three shots, and scored twice.  It took
until the intermission for Matt Moulson to be awarded his 30th goal
of the season on a deflection of a Jack Hillen shot.  Moulson, who ties last season's total, is the
first Islander to have consecutive 30-goal seasons since Mariusz Czerkawski did
so in 1999-2000 and 2000-2001.  PA
Parenteau then knocked a puck out of mid-air off a pass from John Tavares to
knot the game.  It was PA's 17th goal of the season.

Rangers Score 3 in 7:40
Callahan's goal at 11:31
broke the deadlock and gave the Rangers the lead for good.  It was his 21st goal of the
season, and his fifth in the last two games.  The Islanders ran into penalty issues shortly thereafter, and found
themselves allowing two more power play goals.  Marian Gaborik scored his 19th goal at 15:09, and former
Islander Captain Bryan McCabe had the back-breaking goal on a 5-on-3 goal with
49 seconds to play.  It was his first
goal as a Ranger.  The Rangers took the
final 14 shots of the session and had a 36-17 shot advantage through two periods.

One Each in the Third
Marian Gaborik scored his
second goal of the game and his 6th in five games against the Isles,
at 12:43, beating Nathan Lawson.  John
Tavares got one back for the Islanders with 4:03 to play – it was his 50th career goal and 26th of this season.  Unfortunately, it was not enough.   6-3 Final.

3 x 26
Tavares' goal gives the
Isles three 26-goal scorers, joining Michael Grabner and Matt Moulson.  It's the first time since 2006-07 that the
Isles have had the players with at least 26 goals.  That season Jason Blake had 40, Miro Satan had
27, and Mike Sillinger had 26.

Top 5
Parenteau's goal gives the
Islanders five players with at least 17 goals: Moulson 30, Grabner 28, Tavares
26, Blake Comeau 20, and Parenteau 17.  The quintet has combined for 121 of the Islanders 194 goals (62%) this
season.

End of the Seven-Pack
The loss is the Isles'
first in March, and their first in regulation over the last eight games.  The Isles had been 4-0-3 in their prior seven
games marking the first time since 1981 (7-0-4) that they have earned points in
their first seven March games; it was their longest point streak of the
season.  They last had a seven game point
streak from February 19 – March 5, 2007 (5-0-2).  They have not had a longer point streak since
they went 5-0-3 over eight games from January 18- February 7, 2007.

Fast 50 (With Thanks to the Elias Sports Bureau—As Seen on
MSG2)
John Tavares is now the
youngest Islander to reach 50 goals, 22 days younger than Hall-of-Famer Bryan
Trottier.  Tavares is 20 years, 177 days.  The next five youngest: Trottier (20-199),
Pat LaFontaine (20-302), Mike Bossy (21-69), Brent Sutter (21-137) and Clark
Gillies (21-305).  All but Sutter are now
members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The A Team
The Isles' top line had a
big night offensively, with Parenteau, Moulson and Tavares each scoring a
goal.  Parenteau added one assist while
Moulson and Tavares each had two.  Jack
Hillen was the only other Islander to record a point.

Second Half-Surge
The Islanders are 12-6-4
since the All-Star Break and are 22-15-6 in their last 43 games.

Growing Up Together
The Islanders have had four
players record their 100th career point, all of them in Islander
uniforms, this season.
·         Blake Comeau
has 116 career points (52-64-116), more than any healthy Islander.
·         John Tavares scored
his 50th career goal, added two assists and now has 114 points (50-64-114).
He is the second youngest player in Islander history (Bryan Trottier) to record
100 career points.  
·         Frans Nielsen also
has 114 points (33-81-114).
·         Kyle Okposo has
112 points (43-69-112).
With 229 points, Trent
Hunter (injured) is the only player on the current roster to have recorded more
points in an Islander uniform. 
With his assist tonight, Matt
Moulson has 107 career points; however, his first ten points came as a member
of the Los Angeles Kings. Veteran defender Radek Martinek has 99 career points,
all as an Islander.

Home and Road
The Isles are 27-33-11, and
are 11-18-6 on the road.  They are 23-23-8
under Jack Capuano, including 22-15-6 in the last 43.  Their 65 points is four more than they
managed in the entire 2008-09 season; they are three points behind last
season's pace.   
The Rangers are 37-30-4,
and are 16-16-3 at home.  Their win,
coupled with a Sabres loss, leaves the Rangers alone in 7th Place in
the East, two points ahead of Buffalo.

Sharing the Wealth
The Isles are 22-15-6 in
their last 43 games, and all six goalies that the Isles have used this season
have wins during that stretch (Montoya 7, DiPietro 4, Roloson 4,

Poulin 4,
Koskinen 2, and Lawson 1).

In the Nets
Al Montoya played the first
two periods and made 31 saves. He is now 7-3-3 on the season.  This was Montoya's 12th start for
the Isles and the first time that he has allowed 2 goals in the first period,
more than two goals in the first two periods and more than three goals in
regulation.  He remains tied with Rick
DiPietro for the team lead in wins (7).  Montoya has started seven straight games (4-1-2); he is the first
Islander to do so since Dwayne Roloson started seven straight games (0-6-1) in
early November.  Nathan Lawson, seeing
his first game action in two weeks, stopped 10 of 11.
Henrik Lundqvist defeats
the Isles for the fourth straight time.  Lundqvist, who made 25 saves, improves to 29-24-4 as he defeats the
Isles for the 21st time (most of any goalie since 2005-06)

Power Plays
Special Teams paid a huge
part in the game.  The Isles were 1-3 on
the power play while the Rangers scored on their first three attempts, and went
3-5.  The Isles also allowed a
shorthanded goal and scored a 4-on-4 goal.  It was their 10th 4-on-4 goal of the season, tying Buffalo
for the NHL lead.

In the Circle
The Islanders won 25 of 58
(43%) face-offs.  Zenon Konopka was the
Islanders' best, winning 8 of 12.

Big Bang Theory
Matt Martin fought Michael
Sauer in the third period. The Islanders out-hit the Rangers 33-29.

Missing Men
Mike Mottau, Trent Hunter, Kevin
Poulin and Mark Eaton are out for the season. Mark Streit, Doug Weight and Rick
DiPietro remain out.    Trevor Gillies served the sixth game of his
10-game suspension.  The Isles have lost 495
games to injury and 22 games to suspension this season.

Ironmen
Matt Moulson, the Isles'
reigning ironman, has played in all 153 games since joining the team last
season.  Zenon Konopka is the only other
Isle to have played every game this season; his 83-game streak includes the
final 12 games last season for Tampa Bay. Travis Hamonic has now played 51 NHL
games (all consecutive); he has the longest consecutive game streak on defense
for the Isles.  

Cappy's First 54
Jack Capuano is back to NHL
.500 with a 23-23-8 record. Only four other coaches in Islander history who
coached at least 50 games have at least a .500 record (Al Arbour, Peter
Laviolette, Steve Stirling, and Ted Nolan).

Season Series Stats            
The Rangers lead the season
series four games to one and eight points to two. The final meeting of the
season will be at the Coliseum on March 29th.  The Rangers sweep the Garden portion of the
season series, outscoring the Isles 15-5.  It's the first time since 2003-04 that the Rangers have swept the
Islanders at the Garden.  The Rangers
particularly dominated the last two meetings, outscoring the Isles 13-5, and
out-shooting the Isles 99-48.  The 99
shots are the most the Isles have ever allowed in a two-game period to the
Rangers.  However, the Isles did manage a
late power play goal, their first in the last 11 games against the Rangers.

Happy Anniversary
2 years ago today (March 15,
2009):  Peter Mannino made 40 saves as
the Islanders defeat the Blackhawks 4-2 in Chicago. It was Mannino's only win
as an Islander, and to this point his only win in the NHL.
All-time, the Isles are 7-8-0
on this date; the Isles have played 8 straight road games on this date (2-6-0)
since defeating the Devils at the Coliseum in 1994.  Al Arbour is the only man to ever coach the
Islanders at the Coliseum on this date; he went 5-0-0.

Up Next
Friday, March 18 @ Carolina
7:00pm
[MSG+2 (Subway Islanders
Game Night at 6:30), WRHU 88.7FM]
After spending the first
two games of their five game road trip in metro-New York (0-1-1), the Isles now
head south for three games beginning Friday in Carolina.  The Hurricanes have won both games this
season, and have now won four straight from the Isles over two seasons.  The Isles do not have a regulation win over
Carolina since January 22, 2008, going 2-8-0 in that span.

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

Maloney and Montoya

Kaite Strang has an interesting piece on her blog -- she notes that when Don Maloney heard about all of the Isles goalie injuries, he called Snow suggesting that he take a chance on Montoya.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/isles-files-1.812028/phoenix-gm-don-maloney-thrilled-for-al-montoya-1.2758998?cmpid=Sports

Montoya, who made his 1st start for the Isles just 24 days ago -- can take over the team lead in victories with a win at MSG tonight. He is 7-2-3 on the season; Rick DiPietro (7-10-4) is the other Isles goaltender with seven wins on the 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

Bettman's Plan

The end of the seamless glass has to be a +  !

nhl.com

<<Here is the action plan NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman laid out at the start of Monday first session of the General Managers Meetings:

-- Brendan Shanahan has been directed to focus on equipment, in conjunction with the Players' Association, in an effort to reduce the size of the equipment without reducing its protectiveness but also without compromising the safety of an opponent who is contacted by that equipment.

-- The NHL Protocol for Concussion Evaluation and Management has been revised in three areas: 1) Mandatory removal from play if a player reports any listed symptoms or shows any listed signs (loss of consciousness ... Motor incoordination/balance problems ... Slow to get up following a hit to the head ... blank or vacant look ... Disorientation (unsure where he is) ... Clutching the head after a hit ... Visible facial injury in coombination with any of the above). 2) Examination by the team physician (as opposed to the athletic trainer) in a quiet place free from distraction. 3) Team physician is to use 'an acute evaluation tool' such as the NHL SCAT 2 [SCAT stands for Sports Concussion Assessment Tool] as opposed to a quick rinkside assessment.

-- The Board will be approached to elevate the standard in which a Club and its Coach can be held accountable if it has a number of 'repeat offenders' with regard to Supplementary Discipline.
 
-- In the continuing pursuit of the ultimate in player safety with regard to the rink environment, a safety engineering firm will be used to evaluate all 30 arenas and determine what changes, if any, can and should be made to to enhance the safety of the environment. For the 2011-12 season, the teams that have seamless glass behind the nets, on the sides, or surrounding the entire rink will be directed to change to plexiglass.
 
-- A 'blue-ribbon' committee of Brendan Shanahan, Rob Blake, Steve Yzerman and Joe Nieuwendyk -- all players who competed under the standard of rules enforcement that has been in place since 2005 -- to examine topics relevant to the issue.

 >>

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 goal games

The Isles have now played seven straight one goal games on the road, with six decided in overtime/shootout.  The Isles are 3-1-3 in those seven games.

The Isles also played seven consecutive one-goal games on the road last season, going 4-2-1 from December 9th - January 9th.

 

The club record for consecutive one-goal games on the road is 8, set from December 26, 1976-January 22, 1977.  The Isles went 3-2-3 in that stretch.

 

The Isles have won only once this season by one goal in regulation  (1-12 in regulation one goal games and 10-0-11 in ot/so).  The win was vs. Anaheim on December 16th -- the game that started their current 50 points in 42 games stretch.
 

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: Devils 3, Isles 2 (overtime)

"The Skinny"

 

By Eric Hornick

 

Game 70

Devils 3, Isles 2

 

Anssi Salmela scored with 1:51 remaining in overtime as the New Jersey Devils rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Islanders 3-2 before a sellout crowd of 17,625 at the Prudential Center in Newark. The Devils have been red-hot for nearly two months, going 22-3-2 in their last 27 games while the Islanders extended their point streak to a season-high seven straight games (4-0-3).  New Jersey moves within six points of 8^th place Buffalo, while the Isles climb within nine points of the Sabres.  It's the first time since November 23^rd that the Isles have been closer than 10 points to eighth place.

Devils Score First

Jacob Josefson gave the Devils an early lead at 1:57 of the first when he ricocheted a shot in off Islander netminder Al Montoya. The goal, Josefson's first in the NHL, ended a New Jersey streak of playing eight consecutive scoreless first periods (the first team since the 1936-37 Blackhawks to do so).

The Devils held the Isles off the board in the first. New Jersey has not allowed a first period goal in sixteen straight games; it's the second longest streak in NHL history (18 by Ottawa in 1927-28).   How long has that streak been?  The last time New Jersey gave up a goal in the first period was to Florida on February 4^th.  The Panthers scored twice in that first period (Chris Higgins and Dennis Wideman); neither player is still with the Panthers.  The Devils have not allowed more than two goals in any of those 16 games.

Isles Grab the Lead in the Second

With the Isles shorthanded early in the second period, Blake Comeau converted his 20^th goal of the season at 1:13.  It's the first time Comeau has scored 20 goals as a professional.  It was the Isles 10^th shorty of the season; only Philadelphia (12) has more.

The Isles grabbed the lead later in the period as an Andrew MacDonald shot was tipped, first by Matt Moulson and then by John Tavares, to beat Marty Brodeur at 6:46.  It was Tavares' 25^th goal of the season, one more than he managed in his rookie campaign.  The Isles have now outscored their opponents 76-72 in the second period.

Turning Point of the Game

With Jack Hillen sitting out a penalty early in the third period, Michael Grabner was stopped by Brodeur on a breakaway.  Seconds later, just as the penalty expired, David Clarkson shoved a loose puck home to tie the game at 5:42 and set up overtime.

An Unlikely Hero

Anssi Salmela scored his 4^th career goal, and his first since February 8, 2010 to give the Devils the overtime victory. 3-2 (OT) Final.

4 x 20 and 3 x 25

Comeau's goal gives the Isles four 20-goal scorers; Tavares joins Grabner and Moulson with at least 25 goals.  It's the first time since 2006-07 that the Isles have had at least four 20's or three 25's.  That season Jason Blake had 40, Miro Satan 27, Mike Sillinger 26, Viktor Kozlov 25, and Trent Hunter 20, giving the Isles five 20's and four 25's.

Seven-Pack

The Isles are 4-0-3 in their last seven games; it is their longest point streak of the season.  They last had a seven game point streak from February 19 – March 5, 2007 (5-0-2).  They have not had a longer point streak since they went 5-0-3 over eight games from January 18- February 7, 2007.

Strange Stats of the Day

The Isles are 4-0-3 in March.  It's the first time since 1981 (7-0-4) that they have earned points in their first seven March games, and matches the second-best point streak to start March in club history.  The Isles also earned points in the first seven games of March 1975.

The Isles share the NHL lead with 118 goals at home, yet have scored only 73 on the road (ahead of only New Jersey).

Nifty 50

The Islanders are 12-5-4 since the All-Star Break and are 22-14-6 in their last 42 games.  Their 50 points from December 16-March 12 is the most in the Eastern Conference:

GP W L OT Pts     NY Islanders 42 22 14 6 50 Boston 39 22 12 5 49   Washington 36 21 9 6 48   New Jersey 38 23 13 2 48   Tampa Bay 38 21 12 5 47   Montreal 38 20 13 5 45   Philadelphia 35 21 12 2 44   Buffalo 37 20 13 4 44   Pittsburgh 36 18 12 6 42   Carolina 39 18 15 6 42   Toronto 40 18 16 6 42   Florida 40 15 16 9 39   NY Rangers 37 17 17 3 37   Atlanta 37 12 17 8 32   Ottawa 36 12 18 6 30

It's the first time that they have managed at least 50 points in a 42 game span since 2007.

Growing Up Together

The Islanders have had four players record their 100^th career point, all of them in Islander uniforms, this season.

·         Blake Comeau's goal gives him 116 career points (52-64-116), more than any healthy Islander.

·         Frans Nielsen has 114 points (33-81-114)

·         Kyle Okposo has 112 points (43-69-112)

·         John Tavares scored his career-high 25^th goal and now has 111 points (49-62-111). He is the second youngest player in Islander history (Bryan Trottier) to record 100 career points.  

With 229 points, Trent Hunter (injured) is the only player on the current roster to have recorded more points in an Islander uniform. 

With his assist tonight, Matt Moulson has 104 career points; however, his first ten points came as a member of the Los Angeles Kings. Veteran defender Radek Martinek has 99 career points, all as an Islander.

Home and Road

The Isles are 27-32-11, and are 11-17-6 on the road.  They are 23-22-8 under Jack Capuano, including 22-14-6 in the last 42.  Their 65 points is six more than they managed in the entire 2008-09 season; they are two points behind last season's pace.   They remain five games shy of NHL .500 – the closest that they have been since they were 4-9-3 after a shootout loss in San Jose on November 11^th.

The Devils reach .500 at 32-32-4, and are 17-14-3 at home.  It is the first time since an overtime loss in their season opener that the Devils have been at NHL .500.

One Goal Games

The Isles have now played seven consecutive one goal games on the road; all but one of the contests has gone to overtime/shootout.  The Isles are 3-1-3 in those seven games, and are 11-12-11 in one-goal games this season (1-12 in games decided in regulation and 10-0-11 in overtime/shootouts)

The Devils have now played nine consecutive one goal games (7-1-1); 17 of their last 19 games have been decided by a single goal. New Jersey is 19-8-4 in one-goal games (9-8 in regulation and 10-0-4 in overtime/shootouts).

Sharing the Wealth

The Isles are 22-14-6 in their last 42 games, and all six goalies that the Isles have used this season have wins during that stretch (Montoya 7, DiPietro 4, Roloson 4, Poulin 4, Koskinen 2, and Lawson 1).

In the Nets

Al Montoya made 32 saves. He is now 7-2-3 on the season. Montoya has made 11 starts for the Isles; he has allowed two goals or fewer through two periods in all of them.  He remains tied with Rick DiPietro for the team lead in wins (7).  Montoya has started six straight games (4-0-2); he is the first Islander to start at least six straight since Dwayne Roloson started seven straight games (0-6-1) in early November.

Martin Brodeur did not have much to do, stopping 13 of 15 shots, as he raised his record to 19-20-2.  Brodeur has had a winning record in each of his NHL seasons.  The future Hall-of-Famer is now 47-25-6 in his career against the Isles; he now has an NHL record 621 career victories.

Power Plays

The Isles had only 11 seconds of power play time and went 0-1; the Devils went 0-5 on the power play and allowed a shorthanded goal.  However, Clarkson's goal came seconds after a Devil power play expired. The Isles are 4-14 on the power play over the last six games while they have killed 31 of 35 power plays over the last dozen games.

In the Circle

The Islanders won 23 of 55 (42%) face-offs.   Josh Bailey was the Islanders' best, winning 9 of 17.

No Hitter

The Islanders were out-hit 12-11. Matt Martin did not have a hit and remains 42 hits behind league-leader Cal Clutterbuck.

Missing Men

Mike Mottau, Trent Hunter, Kevin Poulin and Mark Eaton are out for the season. Mark Streit, Doug Weight and Rick DiPietro remain out.    Trevor Gillies served the fifth game of his 10-game suspension.  The Isles have lost 488 games to injury and 21 games to suspension this season.

Ironmen

Matt Moulson, the Isles' reigning ironman, has played in all 152 games since joining the team last season.  Zenon Konopka is the only other Isle to have played every game this season; his 82-game streak includes the final 12 games last season for Tampa Bay. Travis Hamonic has now played 50 NHL games (all consecutive); he has the longest consecutive game streak on defense for the Isles.  

Cappy's First 53

Jack Capuano is over NHL .500 with a 23-22-8 record. Only four other coaches in Islander history who coached at least 50 games have at least a .500 record (Al Arbour, Peter Laviolette, Steve Stirling, and Ted Nolan).

Season Series Stats            

The Devils lead the season series three games to two; two of New Jersey's wins have come in extra time so each team has earned six standings points.  The final meeting of the season will be at The Rock on March 30^th.

The Isles have been outshot 70-29 in their two games in New Jersey this season (35-14 on December 23^rd and 35-15 tonight).  These are the two lowest shot totals for the Islanders this season.

Happy Anniversary

26 years ago today (March 11, 1985):  The Islanders and Blues combined for a club-record-tying 9-goal second period in a 6-5 Islander victory in St. Louis.  Tied 1-1 after the opening period, the Isles tallied five goals and allowed four in the middle session.  Brent Sutter scored twice and assisted on the game-winning goal, while brother Brian scored for St. Louis.    It's one of only three times in Islander history that nine goals have been scored in a period (3/31/73 @ Philadelphia, 11/22/88 @ Washington); all three times occurred in the second period.

 All-time, the Isles are 7-7-2 on this date; the Isles have played 6 straight road games on this date (3-2-1) since losing to the Capitals at the Coliseum in 1998.

Up Next

Tuesday, March 15 @ New York 7:00pm

[MSG2 (Subway Islanders Game Night at 6:30), WRHU 88.7FM]

The Islanders head to Manhattan to face the Rangers on Tuesday night in the second game of this 5-game "road" trip.  The Isles trail the 7^th place Rangers by 11 points after the Rangers won a lengthy shootout in San Jose.

Since defeating the Blueshirts on Columbus Day, the Isles have dropped three straight to the New Yorkers. The Isles had difficulty generating any offense in two December trips to Manhattan, managing just 37 shots in the two games and dropping 2-0 and 7-2 decisions.  While the Islanders have generally been successful at The Garden in recent years, they have dropped three straight games on Broadway – their longest losing streak at MSG since 2003-04.

The Isles will be looking to score their first power play goal at The Garden in over three years; the Isles are 0-25 in their last ten games in New York.  The teams will finish the season series on March 31^st at the Coliseum.

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