Capitals 5, Isles 4 (shootout)

Trent Hunter, playing for the first time in over a month, scored on a power-play with 2:08 to play to force overtime, but in the eventual shootout, the Capitals got an 11th round goal from Chris Clark to beat the Islanders 5-4 in the longest shootout in Islander history and the longest in the NHL this season.  On to the trick...

1.  It certainly didn't start well for the Isles as Alex Semin scored the first of his two goals just 8 seconds into the game.  It was the earliest goal ever allowed by the Islanders (breaking a record set by Kevin Hatcher, also of the Caps, on January 27, 1991) and tied the Capital record (set by Gaetan Duchesne is 1987) for their earliest goal.  It's only the 22nd time in NHL history that a goal has been scored in the first eight seconds.

2.  The Islanders rebounded for three goals before the game was seven minutes old, as Matt Moulson, Mark Streit and Sean Bergenheim all scored to chase Jose Theodore in the shortest start of his career.  The three goals were one more than the Isles had scored in the first period of their first eight road games this season.  Washington had allowed only six first period goals prior to tonight all season!

3.  The Caps scored three straight goals, off the sticks of Tomas Fleischmann, Semin and Eric Fehr to take a 4-3 lead after two periods, setting the stage for Hunter's game-tying heroics.  The first two of these goals were power play tallies.

... and a few more...

4. The Isles had all three power plays in the third period, and cashed in on the third for the tying goal by Hunter.  It was the only goal allowed by Semyon Varlamov, who replaced Theodore at the 6:54 mark. Varlamov finished with 25 saves.

5. In the shootout, two of the first three shooters scored, as Jeff Tambellini and Alex Semin tallied.  The goalies then stopped seventeen straight before Clark scored the shootout winner.  Washington, who has lost only three times all season, now leads the Eastern Conference with 26 points, are are 9-1-2 in their last twelve games.

6.Dwayne Roloson made 37 saves during the game, and stopped 9 of 11 in the shootout.  The Isles have earned at least one point in 9 of his 10 starts (5-1-4).

7. With the shootout defeat, the Isles' record is now a soccer-like 6-6-6, including 5-2-3 in their last ten games.  The Isles didn't earn their sixth "loser point" last season until their 53rd game.  Three of the six loser points have come in shootouts (1-3) while three others have come in games decided in overtime (also 1-3).  The Isles are now 1-4-4 on the road -- their overall record was 1-4-4  after losing to Washington in overtime in October.

8. With Alex Ovechkin out with an injury, Alex Semin played like Alex Ovechkin.  In addition to scoring twice and adding a shootout goal, Semin also had 11 shots on goal.  Mark Streit led the Islanders with 4 shots on goal in 25:02 of ice-time, but it was Jack Hillen who led the squad, playing 25:24

9. Rob Schemp played for the first time in ten games, assisted on Streit's goal, and drew the penalty that led to Hunter's tying tally.  He couldn't finish the story, though, as he was stopped by Varlamov when he had a chance to win the shootout for the Isles.

10.  All three games between the teams this season have gone at least to overtime, with the Capitals winning twice.  Seven of the last nine games between the squads have gone to overtime, with Washington winning four of the extra session games.  The final meeting of the season will be on Long Island January 26th.

Up Next: The "Devilish" 6-6-6 Isles will next face Carolina on Friday... the 13th.  The Hurricanes dropped to 2-12-3 with their loss to Los Angeles this evening.  The 'Canes, who have equalled the worst start in their history, will be looking to avoid equalling their club record of 14 straight without a win.  The Isles beat Carolina in a shootout last month for their first victory of the 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

The upcoming trip

I've noted that the Isles will begin a club-record-tying seven consecutive games away from the Coliseum when they visit Washington (quite likely without Ovechkin) tomorrow.

In addition to being a long trip, this trip arguably features more winnable games than any trip in Islander history.  A quick look at the standings confirms why.

The Islanders are one of 19 teams in the NHL with at least 17 points (entering play Tuesday, they are one of four teams with exactly 17).

Washington, the Islanders' first opponent, has 24 points -- tied with Pittsburgh for the Conference lead, and only two points behind San Jose and Colorado, yet the Islanders have already earned three points in two games vs. the Caps.

The other six games are all against teams currently behind the Islanders in the overall standings:

Carolina (Friday) - 30th/ 7 points
Florida (Saturday) - tied 28th/ 11 points
Boston (Monday) -tied 20th/ 16 points
Minnesota (next Friday)- 27th/ 12 points
St. Louis (next Saturday)-  tied 25th/ 14 points
Toronto (next Monday) -tied 28th/ 11 points

Is it too much to ask for the Isles to come back with at least seven points in the seven games?  We'll see.

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Most consecutive road games in Islander history

The Islanders will begin a stretch of 7 consecutive road games on Wednesday in Washington.  It will match the longest consecutive road game streak in Islander history, done twice prior:

In 1981, the Isles went 1-5-1 on a seven game trip:

28-Nov-81 @ Boston    4 5 L
29-Nov-81 @ Buffalo     2 5 L
5-Dec-81 @ Minnesota 8 5 W
6-Dec-81 @ Winnipeg  2 5 L
9-Dec-81 @ Vancouver 3 4 L
12-Dec-81 @ Calgary  3 3 T
13-Dec-81 @ Edmonton  3 4 L

and in 2001, the Isles went 2-3-2:

14-Mar-01 @ Pittsburgh 29 Pittsburgh 3 1 W
17-Mar-01 @ Columbus 29 Columbus 3 3 T
18-Mar-01 @ Carolina 29 Carolina 1 2 L
20-Mar-01 @ St. Louis 29 St. Louis 4 3 Wot
23-Mar-01 @ Dallas 29 Dallas 1 2 L
25-Mar-01 @ Phoenix 29 Phoenix 2 2 T
28-Mar-01 @ New York 29 New York 2 4 L

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Stat Trick: Isles 6, Atlanta 3

After playing against the Devils, facing almost anyone else would seem to be an easier test.  The Thrashers didn't seem to put up much of a fight as the Isles waltzed to a 6-3 victory.  On to the trick:

1. As they have all season, the Islanders started strong on home ice, dominating play at times and recording a season-high 21 shots in the first period. Andy Sutton, Sean Bergenheim (who was playing his 200th NHL game) and Jack Hillen scored in the first session for the Islanders while Zach Bogosian was the first of three Thrasher defensemen to score.

2. The Isles blew the game open in the second period, getting goals from Blake Comeau and Matt Moulson, sandwiching an Atlanta goal by Pabel Kubina.  Chris Schubert and Josh Bailey traded goals in the third.

3. Freddy Meyer and Comeau got back in the line-up, and both figured in the scoring.  Meyer had an assist while Comeau, who was named the game's first star, had a goal and an assist.  Meyer replaced Radek Martinek, who suffered a torn ACL Friday in New Jersey.  Martinek's season is likely over, meaning that he will have played only 389 out of a possible 656 games in his first eight NHL seasons.  Comeau replaced Doug Weight, who is expected to miss a week or so.

 ... and a few more...

4. Sean Bergenheim, playing in his 200th NHL game, had his first goal of the season.

5. The Isles regained NHL .500 with a 6-6-5 record.  They are now 5-2-2 at home, where they have won four straight for the first time since February 2008.  Dwayne Roloson, who made 31 saves, is now 5-1-3 on the season.  He has had more ice-time (526:12) than any other goalie in the league who has lost just once in regulation time.  Roloson was originally credited with an assist on Bailey's third period goal, but that assist was later taken away.

6. The Isles have now allowed three goals or fewer in nine straight games, their longest streak of allowing three or fewer since the 2003-04 season, when they went ten games between December 23, 2003 and January 10, 2004.

7.  Thirteen different Islanders had points.  John Tavares and Nate Thompson each had two assists -- the first time in their careers that they had accomplished that.  Thompson, one of two Islanders without a shot on goal, also drew a key penalty on Pavel Kubina that set up Bailey's power play goal to seal the game.  Thompson and Meyer led the Isles with four hits each.

8. Matt Moulson had a strong all-around game, with a goal, an assist, six shots, two hits and three takeaways.

9. The Islanders finished with 45 shots on goal, chasing Ondrej Pavelec after two periods.  It was their highest total since having a club record 60 shots on goal in a loss to Carolina on October 26, 2008.

10. It was an offensive night for the defenses.  The Thrashers got three goals and two assists from their defenders while the Isles recorded two goals and two assists.

Up next: The Isles begin only the third 7-game road trip in their history when they visit Washington on Veterans Day Wednesday.  The Caps played without Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green on Saturday, but still managed to rally with five third period goals to defeat Florida 7-4.
The teams have split the first two games, with the visitors winning in overtime on each occasion.

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: New Jersey 2, Isles 1

No Marty to start for Devils, bad goal allowed by Marty in second period, no Marty to finish for Isles. No problem for Devils.  Problem for Isles.  On to the trick:

1. Ex-Isle Yann Danis, starting in place of the resting Marty Brodeur, makes 23 saves in his first game against his former squad. Danis is 2-0-0 on the season, allowing just one goal in each game.  It's the first time that he's won consecutive starts since last March 8th-12th.  It's the first time since October 20, 2007 that a healthy Marty Brodeur did not play in a game against the Islanders -- he missed four Islander-Devils games last season while injured.

2. Islander defensemen Radek Martinek needed help to get off the ice following an injury late in the third.  It's the latest in a series of injuries for Martinek, who has played in only 373 out of a possible 574 games in his first seven NHL seasons.  If Martinek misses tomorrow's game (and assuming Trent Hunter does not return), Richard Park will be the Islander on the ice who has played the most games, and had the most goals, assists and points as an Islander.

3. Brian Rolston scored his 100th career Devil goal, beating Marty Biron for the winning goal late in the second period.  Cory Murphy had the other New Jersey goal, on a shot from the blue line.

... and a few more...

4. Frans Nielsen, playing in his 100th NHL game, had the only Islander goal.  It was only the second goal that the Isles have scored on the road in the first period this season and the only goal that they scored on this two-game road trip.

5. The Isles (5-6-5) suffered their sixth regulation loss of the season.  They have scored one goal or fewer in five of them.

6. The Isles have now allowed three goals or fewer in eight straight games, equalling their longest streak of allowing three or fewer in the post-lockout era.  The last time that the Isles went longer than eight straight games allowing three goals or fewer was in the 2003-04 season, when they went ten games between December 23, 2003 and January 10, 2004.

7. The Isles drop to 1-4-3 on the season on the road.  The Isles were 3-4-1 in their first eight road games last season, then won games 9 and 10, but earned only ten points on the road in their final 31 road games.

8.  Odd stat of the night: each team was credited with only three blocked shots.  The Isles have been credited with 280 blocks on the season - second in the NHL, behind only Colorado.  The Isles were better on face-offs than they were in Buffalo on Wednesday, winning 22 and losing 26.  They lost an almost incomprehensible 39 draws out of 47 on Wednesday.
 
9.  The Devils have won 4 straight overall and are 10-2-0 in their last 12 games.  New Jersey is now 7-1-0 in games decided by one goal, while the Isles fall to 2-2-5.  The Devils have allowed only 15 goals in their ten wins (and 16 goals in their four losses) this season.
 
10.  The Isles are 0-4-0 under Scott Gordon in New Jersey.  It's their longest winless streak in the Garden State since going 0-3-2 between December, 2001 and December 2003.  This was the second game of a 17-game stretch in which the Isles play twice in both New Jersey and Toronto, but only three times at home.
 
Up next: The Isles play the back-end of the back-to-backs on Saturday when they entertain Atlanta.  The Thrashers swept both Coliseum contests last season--only the second time in their history that they managed that.  The Islanders have won three straight on home ice, equalling their longest home winning streak under Gordon.  They last won four straight at home in February, 2008.
 

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Stat Trick: Buffalo 3, Isles 0

Marty Biron's first start as an Islander in Buffalo didn't go as well as his home start against Buffalo four days earlier.  This time it was the Sabres with the shutout.  On to the trick...
 
1.  The Isles chased Ryan Miller to the bench on Saturday but the All-Star, and likely US Olympian, made 24 saves to blank the Islanders for the second time in his career (10/26/06) and end the Islanders' 4-game winning streak. Biron finished with 36 saves for the Islanders.

2.  The Sabres scored once in each period, with Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek scoring on power plays in the first and second period.  Paul Gaustad scored with 3:41 to play to seal the deal.

3.  It's the first time this season that the Islanders have been shutout.   They were last blanked on April 7 in Carolina (9-0).

.... and a few more...

4.  The Islanders entered the game ranked second in the NHL in face-off percentage, but lost 39 of 47 face-offs.  It's likely the most lopsded face-off differential in Islander history since face-offs became an official real-time statistic.  Richard Park lost all nine that he took, while Josh Bailey lost eight of nine.    In addition to scoring his first goal of the season, Derek Roy won all fourteen face-offs that he took.

5. The Isles out-hit the Sabres 15-12.  Tim Jackman had five hits for the Isles while Patrick Kaleta led all players with seven hits.

6. Mark Streit led all players with 26:14 of ice-time.  He attempted five shots, but three were blocked by Buffalo and two missed the nets.

7. Jason Pominville, who had five shots against the Isles in the first period on Saturday was one of three Sabres held without a shot.

8. John Tavares had his four-game point streak wiped away by the shutout.

9. Buffalo has allowed a league-low 24 goals in their first twelve games.  They have held nine of their twelve opponents to two goals or less, although the Isles had scored eight goals in their firt two games against the Sabres.

10.  The home team has won all three games in the series, with the final meeting set for January 16th on Long Island.

Up next:  The Isles travel to the Prudential Center in Newark to face the Devils.  The Isles lost all three meetings in New Jersey last season. Face-off is at 7:08pm with the Islander telecast on MSG Plus 2 (and the Devils telecast on MSG Plus).
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

Byers suspended; why not Rivet?

The NHL today announced a suspension of Ranger forward Dane Byers, who received an instigator in the last five minutes of the game last night.  However, I haven' t seen a suspension of Craig Rivet for the same rule....

<<Rangers' Byers suspended one game Wednesday, 11.04.2009 / 3:08 PM

New York Rangers forward Dane Byers has been suspended for one game and coach John Tortorella has been fined for an incident in the third period of Tuesday's game against the Vancouver Canucks.

Byers was given an instigator penalty with 1:10 left in the third period of the Rangers' 4-1 loss. Pursuant to NHL Rule 47.22, a player who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation in the final five minutes of a game is subject to an automatic one-game suspension. Byers will miss Thursday's game at Edmonton.

Tortorella was fined $10,000 as well, as the rule states that the offending player's coach is subject to that automatic penalty.

The players' suspension money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund while the coach's fine goes to the NHL Foundation.
>> 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 look to match club record tonight

The Islanders will be looking for their fifth straight win when they visit Buffalo tonight (MSG Plus 2).  While the Isles have won at least five straight games 26 previous times (including once over a two-season span), they are looking to do something tonight that they have done only 9 times in their history - win five games in an 8-day span.

While the Isles accomplished this feat seven times in their first 12 seasons (including once in the "Drive For Five" campaign in 1983-84), it has been done only twice since 1984:

January 10-17, 1990      (Games 4-8 of a 9-game win streak)
February 14-21, 2008    (Final 5 games of a 6-game win streak)

(The Isles have played 5 games in 7 days a number of times in their history, but have come close to winning all five only once -- the won 4 times in the final six days of 2003 before dropping a 1-0 decision in Ottawa on New Year's Day.)

On a more generic note, the Isles will be looking to win for only their second road winning streak under Scott Gordon. They defeated Buffalo and Montreal last November 22-24, with the latter being the famed Ryan O'Byrne game.
 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

Fewest losses in first fourteen games since....

Nice to be digging positive numbers out of the archives.  :)

The Isles arre 5-4-5 through 14 games.  It's their fewest losses since 2001-02 in the first 14 games, when they opened 11-1-1-1.
These are the only two times in the "loser point" era that the Isles have suffered only four losses or fewer in the first 14.

In fact, the 4 losses in 14 equals the second fewest in the post-Cup era.  The Isles went 9-4-1 in their first 14 in the 1987-88.

Six times in the first 11 seasons in their history the Isles managed four or fewer losses in the first 14:

7 4 3 in 1974-75
8 2 4 in 1975-76
10 2 2 in1976-77
9 3 2  in 1978-79
9 2 3  in 1981-82
11 3 0 in 1982-83

Maybe Tom Renney was right.  The Isles have made the playoffs in every season that they had four or fewer losses in the first fourteen games. :)

 Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick

Stat Trick: Isles 3, Edmonton 1

It took him 862 games, but Brendan Witt now has a two-goal game in the NHL.  Oh yes, the Islanders have a four-game winning streak, too.  On to the trick:

1.  Witt scored twice in the second period to break a 1-1 tie.  It was his first goals since scoring on January 22, 2008 against Carolina, a span of 92 games that Witt had played.  Witt, who three times scored three goals in a season for the Capitals, had scored only three goals in 219 previous games with the Islanders.  Witt now had three goals in twelve career games against Edmonton and 22 goals in 848 games against the rest of the NHL.  It's the first time since 2002, and the fourth time in his career, that Witt has even recorded two points in a game.

2.  Ethan Moreau and John Tavares traded first period goals.  Moreau's goal ended an Islander shutout streak at 95:12 dating back to Thomas Fleischmann's second period goal in Washington on Friday night.  Tavares now has a point in four straight games (2-2-4)

3.  Dwayne Roloson made 22 saves as he defeated his former team, recorded his three straight win, and raised his record to 4-1-3. He also raised his career mark to 4-11-0 against the Oilers.  Nikolai Khabibulin finished with 34 saves for Edmonton.

... and a few more...

4.  The Islanders have now won four straight for the first time since January 21- February 3, 2009 and have earned points in six straight (4-0-2) for the first time since a seven game point streak (6-0-1) in February, 2008.  The Isles move over .500 (5-4-5) for the first time EVER under Scott Gordon.  They last had a winning record on March 8, 2008, when they were 32-31-7.  The Isles have also won three straight at home, allowing only two goals total (one to the Rangers and one to Edmonton). 

5.  The Isles power-play were 0-4, while their penalty kill was non-existant.  Literally.  Edmonton did not have a power play in the game.  It's only the second time in 197 games in the NHL this season that a team was held without a power play attempt -- Montreal did not have a power play on October 6 in Calgary.  The Islanders last held an opponent without a power play attempt on November 10, 2007 (against New Jersey).

6. The Islanders outshot the Oilers in every period and 37-23 for the game.  The Isles outscored Edmonton 2-0 in the second period and have now outscored their opponents 18-10 in the middle period.  They've been outscored 30-18 in the other periods (including overtime).

7.Jeff Tambellini was held without a goal, but did add an assist.  Tambellini led the Islanders with a career-high eight shots on goal; he had never had eight shots on goal over a two-game span in his NHL career. 

8. It was a bad night for Edmonton defensemen Denis Grebeshov and Taylor Chorney.  Both defenders finished at -3.

9. Witt wasn't the only Islander defenseman to have a strong night as Andy Sutton led the team with five hits and four blocked shots. He also was victorious in a fight with J-F Jacques.  The Isles now have four defensemen each with two goals as Mark Streit, Radek Martinek, Sutton and Witt have each tallied twice.

10. The Islanders have now beaten Edmonton 5 straight times on Long Island, dating back to Edmonton's win on December 14, 1999.  This was the only meeting of the season between the teams, and the first at the Coliseum since December 10, 2005..

Up next:  The Islanders begin a two-game road trip on Wednesday in Buffalo.  It will be the Sabres' first game since being blanked 5-0 by the Isles at the Coliseum on Saturday.  The game will be shown on MSG Plus 2 (check local listings).  Face-off is at 7:08pm.
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