Saturday, November 22, 2008

Islanders Esoteric #2816 or #20-08

Overall a good stats night.

*** ESOTERIC NOTES ***

We are 4 points out of a playoff spot.
We are 6 points out of a playoff spot when viewed via the Esoteric Standings
We are 3 points out of the Tavares Sweepstakes.

Speaking of playoffs. I would like you to take a look at the Points Attainable Standings in the right column of the Esoteric Blog. Your normal contemporary standings tells you who is in the lead. As of this morning the Rangers were in the lead. Them and their 2 extra games with 23 Games Played had 30 points. Tonight, the Bruins take the top spot with only 21 Games Played.

The esoteric standings tell you the true status - leveling the playing field by addressing the issue of games played and games in hand. Yes the Rangers have 30 points. You will see that when you look at the standings on Islanders Esoteric you will find a much more palatable Rangers tied for the 8th spot in the standings with 148 Points Attainable.

*** Esoteric Log ***

2 players had 2 points.

There were only 10 players in all of last season that had more Points than Doug Weight does right now. There were only 8 plyers that had more Assists than Doug has right now.

3 out of 5 of Sim's Goals with the Islanders have been on the power play.

John Tucker shows up in 3 places in tonight's Esoteric. John who went on to play in Italy, came back to join Tampa Bay, then back to Europe and retired after playing 86 games in Japan.

Fan favs Don Maloney & Luongo pop up in the Esoteric.

*** ESOTERIC SCORING LINE ***
Hilbert (5) Hunter Bailey
Sim (5) PPG Streit Campoli
Guerin (7) GWG Hilbert Weight
Streit (5) PPG/EN Weight

*** FACEOFFS ***
Weight - won 7 of 19
Park - won 11 of 17
Colliton - won 8 of 12
Bailey - won 6 of 14

*** ESOTERIC PACE CLOCK ***
Hunter is on pace to go 29-29-58
Weight is on pace to go 16-62-78
Streit is on pace to go 20-37-57
Guerin is on pace to go 29-25-54

*** MILESTONES ***
Hilbert gets his 50th NHL Assit
Hunter gets his 100th NHL and Islanders Assist
Streit has played in 30 NHL games

*** THE ESOTERIC ***

HILBERT had a two-point night with a goal and an assist. He scored his 20th Goal with the Islanders and gains the #85th position tied with 5 others to include Gerry Hart, Paul Boutilier, Mats Lindgren, Gagnon Germain, and Alex Semak. His 32nd Assist ties him with Don Maloney at #110th. He did this in 171 Games Played which lands him in sole possession of the #101st spot.

SIM playing in his 22nd Game with the Islanders ties Martin Straka and Chris Taylor at #283rd overall in games played. His Goal, a Power Play Goal, was his 5th with the Islanders and ties him with 12 others to include STREIT and Luongo - Chris Luongo at #178th. It is his 3rd PPG tying him with 10 others at #92. He is the 101st player to get at least 3 Power Play Goals.

GUERIN ties Doug Houda, Mike Kaszycki and Mike Comrie tonight in the main esoteric categories. He ties Houda in Games Played at #142nd with 101 games played. He ties Mike Kaszycki with his 30th Goal at #65th overall. Bill Ties Comrie with 57 Points and the #97th spot overall in this category. This is Bill's sixth Game Winning Goal. He is the 55th person to get 6 Game Winning Goals. He is tied again with Mike Kasycki as well as Bryan Berard and Brad Dalgarno.

STREIT also had a 2-point night with a Goal and an Assist as well. He ties Sim and 12 others with 5 Goals at #178th overall. The 2nd Point tonight was an Assist and it was his 9th Assist with the Isles to get him into the top 200 at the 199th spot overall tued with 6 others. His 13th and 14th Points tonight gives him 14 Points in his Islander Lifetime so far. It ties him at #190th with Frans Neilsen, Bob Beers and Daniel Marois. Tonight was his 20th game. This is good enough for the #287th spot to rank him as an equal with Weight, Giles Thibaudeau, and John Tucker.

HUNTER scored his 100th Assist tonight. This gets him up to the #44th spot overall tied with Bryan Berard. He is 4 Points behind Lorne Henning with 180 Points at the #39th spot. Trent has played in 346 Games with the Islanders. This is the same amount of games that bought out player Alexi Yashin had for the shared ranking of #40th overall.

BAILEY has played in 6 Games for 363rd overall tued with a bunch of others. His 2nd Assist makes him the 304th player to score an Assist. He is the 317th player to score 2 points with the Islanders.

CAMPOLI
Games Played - 192; #89th Overall Ranking: Tied - Bertuzzi and Tom Kurvers
Assists - 54; #73rd overall tied with Rich Pilon
Points - 71; Sole Possession of #78th overall

WEIGHT has played in 20 Games for #287th overall tied with Streit, Giles Thibaudeau, and John Tucker. His 15th Assist ties him with Cliff Ronning and Jeff Tambellini at #155th overall on the all-time Assist lsit. His 19th points with the team gets him the #165th spot tied with Marc Bergevin, Dick Tarnstrom and Jeff Tambellini.

Islanders Esoteric #2815 or 19-08

Can you believe that we are only 5 points out of a playoff spot and 1 point out of the Tavares sweepstake. What an emotional roller coaster ride this is. I don't know which way I should root? The future of the franchise or the winning right now that I crave so much?

Tonight the Islanders gave up their 8,996th; 8.997th; 8,998th; 8,999th & 9,000th Franshise Goals Against. Great milestone. The other night we scored out 9,300th Goal. After tonight we stand at 9,307GF & 9,000GA.

Have to congratulate Bergenheim for his 40th and Bergenheim for his 50th Islander Points.

*** ESOTERIC SCORING LINE ***
Hilbert (4) Witt
Bergenheim (4) Sutton Weight

*** ESOTERIC STREAKS ***
HUNTER on pace for 30-26-56
WEIGHT on pace for 17-56-73

*** ESOTERIC TAVARES SWEEPSTAKES ***
The Goat - Doug Weight for being 2-5-7 in his last 7 games.
The Eagle - Richard Park for his being scoreless in his last 7 games

Way to go Richard in the fight to get the #1 overall draft pick.

*** THE ESOTERIC ***

HILBERT played in his 170th Game with the Isles and lands at the #101th spot after breaking a tie with Steve Konroyd. His 19th Goal, ties him at #90th overall with Billy Carroll, Bergenheim, Brian Spencer and Mike York. His 50th Point ties him, Ken Leiter and Hubie McDonough all at the 103rd spot on the all-time points list.

BERGENHEIM is 1 Game behind Sergei Nemchinov in Games Played with 140GP and the #114th ranking. In Goals you should read HILBERTS entry above. His 40th Point with the Islanders gives him and Alexi Zhitnick the #123rd spot. Sean jumps Chris Simon to 119 PIMs and the 103rd spot in all-time penalty minutes.

WITT has played in 147 Games. He is at the #110th spot overall. This ties him with the Islanders 1987 First-Round draft pick, Dean Chynoweth, whose father was just inducted in to the Hall of Fame. WITT's 19th Assist is good for the #135th spot tied with 5 others including Wendel Clark, who is being honored tonight at the Leafs/Hawks game. WITT has 22 points with the Islanders good enough to catch Gino Odjick at the #156th spot overall.

SUTTON in his 69th Game ties 6 others for the #191st slot. His 12th Assist joins him at the #176th spot with Goalie Billy Smith, Bob Beers and 5 others. His 13th Point ties him and Goalie Rick DiPietro at the #197th spot.

WEIGHT has played in 19 Games with the team. Along with Streit, Doug is tied at the #289th spot in Games Played. His Assist, his 13th with the Islanders ties him with a bunch of others to include Rick DiPietro. Doug's 17 Points ties him with 9 others at the #174 ranking.

HUNTER playing in his Mark Parrish tying 345th Game has reached #41 overall. His 17PIMs tonight gives him sole possession of the 80th spot with 162 PIMs. These 17 jumps him from 89th overall and lands him ahead of Brett Lindros, Dave Fortier, Anders Kallur, Claude Loiselle, Bill Berg, Ray Schultz, Brian Spencer and JP Parise.

CAMPOLI has now played in 191 Games and is 1 game behind Bertuzzi and Tom Kurvers at #91st. His 70th PIM ties him with Sir Pierre at 144th overall.

Stolen From Forever1940's Stat Trick

Visit Eric's blog at forever1940.blogspot.com

The stars were all aligned for an Isle win in Newark tonight; 3 straight wins, 3 straight days off, and going against a Devil team that had played last night. So much for the stars. On to the trick:

1. After earning points in 7 of 8 game slast season, the Isles drop to 0-2-0 against New Jersey, with both losses on the road, this season.

2. Jamie Langenbrunner and Zach Parise each had three assists. Parise leads the Devils in both goals (12) and points (23).

3. Frans Nielsen suffered apparent head and lower body injury when he was elbowed by Mike Mottau in the third period. It will be interesting to see whether Mottau is suspended, and if so, for how long.

... a few more

4. The Devils scored five goals against the Isles for the first time in 36 games, covering over 5 1/2 years (Devils 6, Isles 0 -- March 30, 2003).

5. Mitch Fritz was in the line-up, replacing the injured Okposo. Fritz saw only 2:30 minutes of ice-time, including only one shift in the 2nd --the 23 second shift in which the Devils responded to the Isles' goal -- and did not play in the third.

6. The Isles lost 32 of 50 faceoffs; rookie Josh Bailey had an awful night in the circle, losing 9 of 10. Travis Zajac won 14 of 17 for New Jersey.

7. Part of it may reflect a difference in how "hits" are accounted for in different buildings, but the Isles were credited with only 3 for the entire game. (NJ had 11.)

8. Ex- Isle Kevin Weekes picked up the 100th win of his career; 10 of those wins came for the Islanders.

9.Joey Mac Donald made his 9th straight start (Peter Mannino dressed for the first time, as his back-up.) He allowed five goals in a game for only the second time this season (Columbus Day vs. Buffalo was the first).

10. Looking ahead: the Isles face the struggling Sabres in Buffalo on Saturday; the Isles have lost five of their last six games in Buffalo.

Seth's Esoteric NHL Standings 11/20/1008

EASTERN CONFERENCE (20)
1. NY Ranjerks - 30 [22] --- vs. 8. New Jersey - 20 [18]
2. Boston - 28 [19] ---------- vs. 7. Buffalo - 21 [18]
3. Washington - 25 [19] --- vs. 6. Carolina - 22 [19]
4. Pittsburgh - 27 [19] ----- vs. 5. Montreal - 24 [18]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Philadelphia - 18 [17] -2
10. Toronto - 18 [19] -2
11. NY Islanders - 16 [18](7W) -4
12. Atlanta - 16 [18](7W) -4
13. Tampa Bay - 16 [18](5W) -4
14. Ottawa - 16 [19] -4
15. Florida - 15 [18] -5

WESTERN CONFERENCE (20)
1. San Jose - 33 [20] ----- vs. 8. Edmonton - 20 [20]
2. Detroit - 29 [18] -------- vs. 7. Anaheim - 22 [20]
3. Vancouver - 26 [20] --- vs. 6. Calgary - 23 [20]
4. Minnesota - 23 [17] -----vs. 5. Chicago - 23 [18]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Nashville - 19 [18] -1
10. Columbus - 19 [19] -1
11. Los Angeles - 18 [18] -2
12. Phoenix - 17 [17] -3
13. Colorado - 16 [18] -4
14. Dallas - 15 [18] -5
15. St. Louis - 14 [16] -6

278 games played - 73 into OT - 26.3%.
73 OT games - 45 end in shootout = 61.6% OR 16.2% of ALL games end in
shootout.
Yesterday - 43 goals scored in 8 games = 5.38 goals per game.
Total - 1,633 goals scored in 278 games = 5.87 gpg.
1,633 goals minus 45 SO goals = 1,588 = 5.71 gpg minus shootout.
There have been 32 shutouts = 1 per 8.69 games.
The eastern conference is 29-31-12 for 70 out of a possible 144 points
against the western conference. That equates to 48.6%.
The Isles have scored 46 goals = 2.56 gpg.
The Isles have allowed 56 goals = 3.11 gpg.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Who Killed Duncan MacPherson?

Originally Posted on Thursday, November 1, 2007

Who Killed Duncan MacPherson?

News Report: http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/iceman/

Video: http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/iceman/video.html

Timeline: http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/iceman/timeline.html

***************************************************

A letter from Duncan's Parents

Hi Roger,

We have no problem with the headline you chose; and please don't feel you are out of line in asking us anything. We appreciate your interest, and your support; and, as far as we are concerned, the more people that hear the story, the better. It is not a mater of IF someone else dies on this ski slope in similar circumstances; it is only a matter of WHEN, if indeed, it has not already occurred, while authorities turn a blind eye, and allow the ski operator to operate a summer ski operation, with seemingly no restrictions.

For fourteen years, the ski operator, fully supported by police, insisted that "absolutely nothing could happen to Duncan on the licensed ski slope"; the ski operator, fully supported by police, insisted the rented snowboard and boots had been returned, but could not provide supporting evidence.

For fourteen years, we were forced to live with their lies. When Duncan's body was found in 2003, we were relieved, because we believed that finally, with the body as evidence, authorities would have to conduct an effective investigation of death, and we would learn how/why Duncan died. We were wrong to make that assumption, and we were wrong to place our trust in authorities. Police lied about the location of the death site (placing Duncan outside the controlled ski area), and lied about the circumstances ("plunged with his snowboard into the free skiing area"). They refused to conduct an autopsy, but then falsified the death certificate, stating an autopsy had been conducted. Then, four days after we had been notified of the death, and just hours before our arrival in Innsbruck, they ordered the removal of his upper and lower jaws, for what they said was identification purposes. Thank goodness the pathologist refused to do this unnecessary and unethical procedure. As a parent, there is not much left after your child is dead, other than to be with them to say goodbye. I think if they had have succeeded in their attempt to mutilate Duncan's body, I would probably have killed someone!

The ski operator buried Duncan in 1989; police, coroner, prosecutor, and Minister of Justice buried the facts in 2003. In fact, there was NO investigation of death.

Inasmuch as it is a tragedy Duncan lost his life while innocently snowboarding on a ski slope which is licensed and regulated by state authorities, equally as tragic, and unjust, is the fact his death was not investigated. As bad as it is for the ski operator to have covered up the accident, in our view, it is far more serious when state authorities are complicit in the cover up.

In May 2006, we sent a detailed appeal to the Minister of Justice, requesting a re-opening of the investigation of death. As you know, she refused, defending the actions of authorities in carrying out the investigation of death, and defending the ski operator.

I have spent the past year, putting together an application to the European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg, France), claiming violation of Article 2 (Right to Life), and Article 13 (Right to Effective Remedy. I was unable to research Austrian law because of my inability to communicate in German. However, I did do quite a lot or research through the UK website on Human Rights issues. It seems the ECHR gives a wide interpretation of "Right to Life", and includes in it the right to an effective investigation of death which occurs in suspicious circumstances in a regulated setting. In my mind, there is no question Duncan's death was "suspicious"; no question his death occurred in a state-regulated setting; and no question that his death was not investigated. So I am hopeful that I am able to convince the Court that the case needs to be heard. I understand it could take a while before the Court examines our documentation - - the wheels of justice turn slowly! Once they have reviewed it, they rule on whether it is admissible, and then whether it has merit. I hope it is before I am in a nursing home!

Some people ask why we do this, why we put ourselves through the work, frustration, stress, etc. I would say as much as anything, it is Duncan's spirit that drives it. I remember during his hockey-playing days, and how I'd always tell him that I wished he would not get into fights. His response was that I did not understand that there were times when you had to fight - to stand up for yourself, or your teammates; and that whether you "won" the fight was irrelevant, but it was important that you "show up".

So, while I recognize I am taking on the entire Austrian tourist industry, and my chances of "winning" against these formidable forces are slim, I feel it is important to "show up". As Duncan used to say, "The only time you fail, is if you don't try".

As to your question as to what we want - we don't want Duncan's death covered up; he has a right to an effective investigation of his death. We don't want anyone else to needlessly lose their life on this ski slope, all for the sake of "business". I wish there was a way to hold the ski operator accountable for Duncan's death, but, when he has the entire system covering for him, that is just not possible. As we see it, our only hope for any justice is to attempt to hold authorities to account for their complicity in the cover up of the facts related to Duncan's death.

The hockey community, and the media, have been our sole source of support throughout the eighteen years. I don't know if you know, but without the help of the hockey community, it is questionable as to if, or when, we would have located Duncan's car.

By the way, Roger Kortko lives here (has four daughters). He was interviewed for the Fifth Estate program (he lived with Duncan in Springfield in 1986-1987); I guess his interview was very good, but there just wasn't time within the program to air it. Duncan spent his last night with Roger and Donna in Fussen, Germany.

I have thought about contacting American media - "60 Minutes, and/or Dateline. Any thoughts on this?

No, we don't have any snow yet - in fact, it is the warmest Halloween I can remember - 11C! Our son lives in Vancouver, and usually rubs it in about how much better weather they have, but this year, he hasn't been able to do that! But, I'm sure that we will get the sow, and te cold weather soon enough!

We welcome any suggestions, advice, input you may be able to offer.

Thank you for contacting us, and for caring,

later,

lynda and bob

Seth's Esoteric NHL Standings 11/19/2008

EASTERN CONFERENCE (18)
1. NY Ranjerks - 30 [22] --- vs. 8. New Jersey - 18 [17](8W)
2. Boston - 28 [19] ---------- vs. 7. Buffalo - 21 [18]
3. Washington - 25 [18] --- vs. 6. Carolina - 22 [19]
4. Pittsburgh - 25 [18] ----- vs. 5. Montreal - 22 [17]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Philadelphia - 18 [17](7W) -0
10. Toronto - 18 [19] -0
11. Atlanta - 16 [17] -2
12. NY Islanders - 16 [18](7W) -2
13. Tampa Bay - 16 [18](5W) -2
14. Florida - 15 [17] -3
15. Ottawa - 15 [18] -3

WESTERN CONFERENCE (20)
1. San Jose - 33 [20] ----- vs. 8. Edmonton - 20 [19]
2. Detroit - 27 [17] -------- vs. 7. Calgary - 21 [19]
3. Minnesota - 23 [16] --- vs. 6. Chicago - 21 [17]
4. Vancouver - 24 [19] --- vs. 5. Anaheim - 22 [20]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Nashville - 19 [18] -1
10. Columbus - 19 [19] -1
11. Phoenix - 17 [17] -3
12. Colorado - 16 [17](8W) -4
13. Los Angeles - 16 [17](7W) -4
14. Dallas - 15 [17] -5
15. St. Louis - 14 [16] -6

270 games played - 72 into OT - 26.9%.
72 OT games - 44 end in shootout = 61.1% OR 16.3% of ALL games end in
shootout.
Yesterday - 30 goals scored in 3 games = 10.00 goals per game.
Total - 1,590 goals scored in 270 games = 5.89 gpg.
1,590 goals minus 44 SO goals = 1,546 = 5.73 gpg minus shootout.
There have been 31 shutouts = 1 per 8.71 games.
The eastern conference is 29-30-12 for 70 out of a possible 142 points
against the western conference. That equates to 49.3%.
The Isles have scored 46 goals = 2.56 gpg.
The Isles have allowed 56 goals = 3.11 gpg.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Seth's Esoteric NHL Standings for 11/18/2008

EASTERN CONFERENCE (18)
1. NY Ranjerks - 30 [21] --- vs. 8. New Jersey - 18 [17](8W)
2. Boston - 26 [18] ---------- vs. 7. Buffalo - 21 [17]
3. Washington - 23 [17] --- vs. 6. Carolina - 22 [19]
4. Pittsburgh - 25 [18] ----- vs. 5. Montreal - 22 [17]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Philadelphia - 18 [17](7W) -0
10. Toronto - 18 [19] -0
11. Atlanta - 16 [17] -2
12. NY Islanders - 16 [18](7W) -2
13. Tampa Bay - 16 [18](5W) -2
14. Florida - 15 [17] -3
15. Ottawa - 15 [18] -3

WESTERN CONFERENCE (20)
1. San Jose - 33 [20] ----- vs. 8. Edmonton - 20 [19]
2. Detroit - 27 [17] -------- vs. 7. Calgary - 21 [19]
3. Minnesota - 23 [16] --- vs. 6. Chicago - 21 [17]
4. Vancouver - 22 [18] --- vs. 5. Anaheim - 22 [19]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Nashville - 19 [18] -1
10. Columbus - 19 [19] -1
11. Phoenix - 17 [17] -3
12. Colorado - 16 [17](8W) -4
13. Los Angeles - 16 [17](7W) -4
14. Dallas - 15 [17] -5
15. St. Louis - 14 [16] -6

267 games played - 72 into OT - 27.0%.
72 OT games - 44 end in shootout = 61.1% OR 16.5% of ALL games end in
shootout.
Yesterday - 32 goals scored in 6 games = 5.33 goals per game.
Total - 1,560 goals scored in 267 games = 5.84 gpg.
1,560 goals minus 44 SO goals = 1,516 = 5.68 gpg minus shootout.
There have been 31 shutouts = 1 per 8.61 games.
The eastern conference is 28-29-12 for 68 out of a possible 138 points
against the western conference. That equates to 49.3%.
The Isles have scored 46 goals = 2.56 gpg.
The Isles have allowed 56 goals = 3.11 gpg.

Seth's Attendance Esoteric

Last night, there were 4 out of 6 games played with more than 2,000 empty
seats, or 66.7%.
Out of 267 games played, there have been 74 played with MORE than 2,000
empty seats, or 27.7% of all games played.
There have been 19 east vs. west games out of 68 played on this list, for a
27.9%.
There have been 18 divisional games played on this list, or 6.6%.
There have been 27 games played at less than 75% capacity, or 9.8%.
Out of 74 games, the Islanders appear 7 times on this list, or 9.5% and 2.6%
out of 267 games.
** = new statistic.

Team leaders at more than 2,000 HOME empty seat games (74):
8 - Columbus, Phoenix.
7 - New Jersey, NY Islanders, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Tampa Bay, Carolina.
6 - Nashville.
5 - Florida.
4 -
3 - Colorado.
2 - Boston.
1 -

Team leaders at less than 75% capacity games (27):
4 - Atlanta, NY Islanders, Columbus.
3 - Tampa Bay, New Jersey, Florida, Carolina.
2 - Nashville.
1 - Los Angeles.

Team leaders at more than 2,000 TOTAL (home and away) empty seat games
(148):

11 - Columbus,
10 - Florida, Carolina, Atlanta, NY Islanders.
9 - Phoenix, Tampa Bay.
8 - New Jersey, Los Angeles.
7 - Nashville.
6 - Edmonton.
5 - San Jose, Minnesota, Dallas.
4 - Colorado, Ottawa.
3 - Calgary, Philadelphia, Vancouver, Toronto, Buffalo.
2 - Montreal, Anaheim, Washington, Boston, Chicago.
1 - NY Ranjerks, Pittsburgh.
0 - Detroit, St. Louis.

Seth's Esoteric NHL Standings 11/17/2008

EASTERN CONFERENCE (18)
1. NY Ranjerks - 30 [21] --- vs. 8. New Jersey - 18 [17](8W)
2. Boston - 26 [18] ---------- vs. 7. Carolina - 20 [18]
3. Washington - 23 [17] --- vs. 6. Buffalo - 21 [17]
4. Pittsburgh - 24 [17] ----- vs. 5. Montreal - 22 [16]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Philadelphia - 18 [17](7W) -0
10. Toronto - 18 [19] -0
11. Atlanta - 16 [17] -2
12. NY Islanders - 16 [18] -2
13. Tampa Bay - 15 [17] -3
14. Ottawa - 15 [18] -3
15. Florida - 13 [16] -5

WESTERN CONFERENCE (19)
1. San Jose - 33 [20] ----- vs. 8. Calgary - 19 [18](9W)
2. Detroit - 27 [17] -------- vs. 7. Nashville - 19 [18](9W)
3. Vancouver - 22 [18] --- vs. 6. Chicago - 19 [16]
4. Anaheim - 22 [19] ----- vs. 5. Minnesota - 21 [15]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Columbus - 19 [18](8W) -0
10. Edmonton - 18 [18] -1
11. Phoenix - 16 [16] -3
12. Colorado - 16 [16] -3
13. Los Angeles - 16 [17] -3
14. Dallas - 15 [17] -4
15. St. Louis - 14 [16] -5

261 games played - 69 into OT - 26.4%.
69 OT games - 41 end in shootout = 59.4% OR 15.7% of ALL games end in
shootout.
Yesterday - 20 goals scored in 5 games = 4.00 goals per game.
Total - 1,528 goals scored in 261 games = 5.85 gpg.
1,528 goals minus 41 SO goals = 1,487 = 5.70 gpg minus shootout.
There have been 31 shutouts = 1 per 8.42 games.
The eastern conference is 28-29-11 for 67 out of a possible 134 points
against the western conference. That equates to 49.5%.
The Isles have scored 46 goals = 2.56 gpg.
The Isles have allowed 56 goals = 3.11 gpg.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Seth's Esoteric NHL Standings as of 11/16/2008!

EASTERN CONFERENCE (18)
1. NY Ranjerks - 28 [20] --- vs. 8. New Jersey - 18 [17](8W)
2. Boston - 24 [17] ---------- vs. 7. Carolina - 20 [18]
3. Washington - 23 [17] --- vs. 6. Buffalo - 21 [17]
4. Pittsburgh - 24 [17] ----- vs. 5. Montreal - 22 [16]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Philadelphia - 18 [17](7W) -0
10. Toronto - 18 [18] -0
11. Atlanta - 16 [17] -2
12. Tampa Bay - 15 [17] -3
13. NY Islanders - 14 [17] -4
14. Ottawa - 14 [17] -4
15. Florida - 13 [16] -5

WESTERN CONFERENCE (19)
1. San Jose - 31 [19] ----- vs. 8. Calgary - 19 [18](9W)
2. Detroit - 25 [16] -------- vs. 7. Nashville - 19 [17]
3. Minnesota - 21 [15] --- vs. 6. Chicago - 19 [16]
4. Anaheim - 22 [19] ----- vs. 5. Vancouver - 21 [17]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Columbus - 19 [18](8W) -0
10. Edmonton - 18 [17] -1
11. Phoenix - 16 [16] -3
12. Colorado - 16 [16] -3
13. Los Angeles - 16 [17] -3
14. Dallas - 15 [17] -4
15. St. Louis - 14 [16] -5

256 games played - 67 into OT - 26.2%.
67 OT games - 39 end in shootout = 58.2% OR 15.2% of ALL games end in
shootout.
Yesterday - 30 goals scored in 5 games = 6.00 goals per game.
Total - 1,508 goals scored in 256 games = 5.89 gpg.
1,508 goals minus 39 SO goals = 1,469 = 5.74 gpg minus shootout.
There have been 30 shutouts = 1 per 8.53 games.
The eastern conference is 27-29-11 for 65 out of a possible 132 points
against the western conference. That equates to 49.2%.
The Isles have scored 44 goals = 2.59 gpg.
The Isles have allowed 55 goals = 3.24 gpg.

Stolen from Forever1940's Stat Trick: Isles 2,Van 1(SO)

Visit Eric's blog at http://forever1940.blogspot.com

Uh, oh. Don't look now, but the Isles are closer to a playoff spot (2 points) than they are to the first pick in the draft (3 points). Any they beat that Luongo kid too. On to the trick:

1. Many people could tell you that the Islanders have won three straight games for the first time since a six-game win streak last February. But only on the trick do you get these:

--The Isles have won three straight games against Canadian opponents for the first time since beating Montreal and Toronto twice each in a three-week period in February, 2007
-- The Isles have won three straight, all against Canadian opponents for the first time since beating Vancouver, Montreal and Winnipeg in a four-daystretch in January, 1990. Those were the final three games of a 9-game win streak -- the Isles have not had a nine game iwnning streak since.

2. The Isles have allowed only 4 goals in their current 3-game win streak. The last time they did that was in the final three-games of their six-game win streak last February.

3. Doug Weight padded his team scoring lead with his 4th goal and 16th point. Weight, who has recorded a point in three straight games, now has 3 pp goals. He has a point on 10 of the Isles 13 pp goals this season.

...and a few more

4. The teams played a scoreless third period tonight. The Isles have allowed 25 third period goals (most in the NHL) while Vancouver has allowed only eight (fewest in the NHL).

5. The second period has been good to the Isles this season; they've now outscored thier combined opponents 16-13.

6. The Isles won for the first time this season after trailing after 1 period (1-4-1) while the Canucks failed to win after leading after 1 period for the first time (7-0-1).

7. The Isles improve to 3-1-0 against the West while the Canucks are now 1-3-1 against the East.

8. The Isles are noe 23-12 all-time in shootouts, and are 12-4 at home. The Isles have lost exactly once in a shootout at home in each season including this one. Frans Nielsen had the only goal of the shootout; he's now 2-3 in shootouts.

9. Andy Sutton appeared in his 500th NHL game.

10 Pavol Demitra continued his point-a-game pace against the Isles; he has 8 goals and 10 assists in 18 games vs the Isles.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.

Islanders Esoteric #17-08 or #2814

Check this out: Joey becomes the 22nd winningest goalie in franchise history with his 7th win tonight. This ties him with two others: Felix Potvin and...

Wait for it....

...Roberto Luongo.

Joey is also the 24th goalie to man the net for 1,000 plus minutes.

Anyone look at the Isles upcoming schedule? They dont play until Fridy and then they go on a 6 game in 9 night tear through the Thanksgiving holiday.

Before you know it we might be fighting for a playoff position. How are we in the middle of a 3-game win streak. But we still have our annual 10 game losing streak to look forward to in December/January time frame.

Not a lot of movement on the esoteric so I had to dig to pull some stats out.

In Franchise game #2,814 we get franchise win #1,230.

Face-offs we are still doing poorly: Nielsen - 8/15; Park - 4/14; Weight 6/17

High Icetime: Streit 26:04 & Sutton 25:40
Low Icetime: Jackman 10:25 & Skinner 10:53

*** ESOTERIC SCORING LINE ***
Weight (4) PPG Guerin Nielsen

*** THE ESOTERIC ***

WEIGHT played in his 18th game. Tying him with 11 others to include Streit and Richie Hansen at #292nd spot. His Goal is his fourth tying him with a bunch of others at #189th. He now has 16 Points for the #183rd spot tied with Justin Paineau. His 3rd PPG ties him with 8 others including Shawn Bates, Andre St. Laurent, Germain Gagnon, Sergei Nemchinov, Alexi Zhitnik, Randy Boyd, David Chyzowski, and Mark Streit. They are all ranked at the #92 spot.

GUERIN has played in 99 Games which is #143rd and two GPs behind Doug Houda. He scored his 27th Assist for the #118th spot tied with Nemchinov, and Cairns. He is tied with Mathieu Schneider and Billy Carroll with 56 Points and is inside the top 100 all-time in Points at #96th.

NIELSEN
49 Games Played for #225th tied with Jim Mair & Josh Green
9 Assists to break into the top 200 at #199th tied with 5 others and Chico
14 Points for the #190th spot tied with Bob Beers & Daniel Marois

MARTINEK played in his 326th game and ties Alan Kerr for #49th spot on the all-time games played listing. His penalty minutes gets him 201PIMs tied with David Volek for #68th ranking.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Coliseum Report from The Captain

Game report -

Nassau Coliseum

Isles 2 Vancouver 1 FINAL in SHOOTOUT

Joey Mac is KILLING US !! :)

He is playing GREAT!

He is leaving gargantuan rebounds out there - and has to control them
better.....but He came up big for us tonight and both goalies played
very well ( Luongo got 3rd star, Nielsen 2nd and JoeyMac 1st) and all
three were well deserved. THey should make an extra star for Tim
Jackman. Had a FANTASTIC game. Fritz won't play here much if
Jackman can bring it like he has and can do ok in the fights dept.
(Still think Fritz should dress vs. NYR and some select opponents)

Tambellini - no results - but continues to play hard.

Josh Bailey - WHAT A PLAYER ! Has a ton of talent. Poor man's Adam
Oates or Joey Juneau.

I don't think much of Vancouver's team. Over-rated - and the goalie
keeps them in it.

Gotta run so will keep a condensed version of my game report.

State Farm Agent of the game = Pete Mathison of New Hyde Park ( WHEN
will a Suffolk county agent get some props ??)

50-50 = $ 2,648 ( Wounded Warriors was the charity and they did a
good job steering traffic to the raffle)

Number of occurrances for "Everybody Clap Your Hands" = 3

Special song - Cotton Eye Joe makes first appearance in a while.

Also - Bruce had nice things to say about the team AGAIN !!!

sorry ! I forgot what they were ! I am recovering from this !

Sunday, November 16, 2008

The New York Rangers and Points Attainable Esoteric

Everyone is swooning over the NY Rangers. Blah, Blah, Blah. They are in first place. They have such a big lead. Blah, Blah, Blabbity Blah.

Do you want to know where the Rangers really fall? They are in fifth place. The problem with your contemporary standings is that it doesnt take into consideration games in hand. The Rangers (20 GP) have played 3-4 games more than everyone else less Toronto (18 GP) & Montreal (15 GP). I have made a table so that you can look quickly at the Points Attainable rankings for all the teams in our conference. The table is located in the right margin of the esoteric page.

I have taken the liberty to cut and paste the top 5 team in the league so that you can get a better idea of why the Rangers are really in 5th place after games in hand and games left are taken into consideration. When you realize that Montreal has only played 15 Games so far and has only lost 4 games then you realize that the Rangers arent doing as great as everyone makes them out to be.

Team Pts Points Attainable
1 Mon 20 154
2 PIT 24 154
3 BOS 24 154
4 WAS 23 153
5 NYR 28 152

Islanders Esoteric #17-2008


Only 3 goals tonight but a lot of movement on the Esoteric.

You know that game from Price is Right called the "Range Game". You win a prize by stopping the marker in the right range of the price of the prize? Bergenheim and Campoli are in a range right now because whenever they hit the Esoteric they are making some changes to the Esoteric Landscape.




A few esoterics ago I wrote about making the top 100 on the all-time Goals scored list all you needed was to score 15 goals. You now need 17 Goals to tie Kenny Morrow for the 100th spot. This is due in part to Campoli and Bergenheim getting their goal amounts into the upper-teens.

Campoli's Goal breaking into the top 100 tonight, drops Don Maloney out of the top 100 in all-time Islander Goal scorers.

.
The Esoteric Esoteric
In tonights Esoteric you will find 2 Andersons (different spellings); Smitty, Hrudey and Bob Beers appearing twice; Two different Bergerons; A Maloney & A Muller - A Sutter & A Morrow

WELCOME BACK MARTY
With Martinek's return we had the top 2 active all-times games played leaders on the ice tonight. Hunter is #43rd with 343 GP and Martinek is #50th with 325 GP.

ESOTERIC SCORING LINE
Bergenheim (3) Weight Sutton
Sim (4) PPG Nielsen Streit
Campoli (3) GWG Jackman Sim

Tamby V. Tamby
Jeff: 90GP, 4 G, 15 A, 19 Pts, 30 PIM
Steve: 107GP, 24 G, 25 A, 49 Pts, 21 PIM

On Pace
Weight 15-58-73
Streit 19-39-58
Sutton 0-32-32
Neilsen 10-29-39
Jackman 21-21-42

Streaks
Camploi 1-1 (2 Games)
Bergenheim 1-1 (2 Games)
Weight 1-4 (5 Games)

***ESOTERIC ***
BERGENHEIM played in his 138th game and is tied with Niklas Anderson for #116th place. His Goal tonight, his 18th, ties him with McCabe, Nemchinov, Lawrence, and B. Mullen for the #94th spot. His 39th Point ties him with Dale Henry and M. A. Bergeron for #124th overall.

SIM had a 2 point night tonight and a 6 column esoteric night racking up esoteric info in 6 different esoteric categories:

GP: 19th for #288 - Tied with Warren Luhning, Mikael Andersson, & Mike Dunham
G: 4th for #189th - Tied with a bunch of others to include Terry Crisp
A: Jon is the 303rd player to ever score 2 Assists
Pts: Jon is the 258th player to ever tally 6 Points
PPG: Jon is the 132nd player to ever net 2 PPGs
PIM: 16 for #259th - Tied with Jorgen Jonsson, Bob Beers and Darren Van Impe

"PHEWWW!"

CAMPOLI is in sole possession of the #91st spot in Games Played having played in his 189th game. His 17th Goal breaks him into the top 100 all-time in Goals tied with Ken Morrow (550 GP). He tallies his 70th Point and breaks the 3-way tie for #77th spot with Tom Fitzgerald & Rich Kromm. The Goal tonight was Chris's 4th GWG and he is tied with 9 others all the way up at the #62nd spot.

WEIGHT played in his 17th Game and ties him with Yvon Vautour, Raffi Torres, Allan Rourke & STREIT for #307th overall. His 12th Assist ties him with 5 others to include Bob Beers and Billy Smith at #175th on the rackin'-'em-up board. Doug now has 15 Points and is tied at #184th with Kirk Muller, Michel Bergeron, and Blake Comeau.

SUTTON
Games Played: 67 for #198th - Tied with Ruslan Fedetenko
Assist: 11 for #181th - Tied with 7 Others
Points: 12 for #203rd - Tied with 9 Others to include STREIT
PIMs: 106 for #110th - Breaks tie with Pat Price and jumps Kelly Hrudey in the rankings

NEILSEN is 1GP behind Josh Green having played in 48 Games/#227th Place. His 8th Assist is #204th all-time tying him with 8 others to include Kelly Hrudey & STREIT. Frans' 13th Point gets him into the top 200 and ties him with a bunch to include DIPIETRO & Billy Smith.

STREIT - I think this is an Esoteric first where ALL the players stats can be referred to another players stats for ranking:
GP: See WEIGHT
A: See NEILSEN
PTs: See SUTTON

JACKMAN has reached the 40 Games Played plateau at #237th tied with Doug Rombough, Daniel Marois, Cliff Ronning, and Neil Nicholson. His 4 Assists ties him with a bunch of others to include Ron Sutter & Chris Osgood. He is the 257th player to score 6 Points. His 64th PIM ties him with Brent Sopel at #148th.

GUERIN in his 98th game with the Islanders ties Joe Sacco at #143rd all-time. His 2 PIMs, which gives him a total of 87PIMs with the Isles jumps him over Robert Reichel and Tim Connolly for the #148th spot on the overall PIM roster.

BAILEY is the 402nd player to ever play in at least 3 games with the Islanders. He now ranks #304th overall with his 6 PIMs. That also makes him the 315th player to ever get 6 PIMs with the Islanders out of the 375 players to ever have to actually sit in the sin bin.

WHAT AN ESOTERIC!!!!

Nassau Coliseum Report from The Captain






Game Report - Nassau Coliseum

Ottawa @ New York Islanders

Key Statistics:
State Farm Agent of the game - Steve Candon of Franklin Square, NY (http://www.stevecandon.com/)

50/50 Ice Girl Raffle - $ 1,497.00 was the payout

Special Event - Autism Awareness Night

National Anthem singer = NONE - Paul Cartier on the Hammond Organ
soloed.

Cermonial First Puck - Dropped by Former Mets player Darryl
Strawberry in association with Autism Awareness

Attendance as listed by NHL - 13,722

The Captain's estimated crowd - 9,200

# of times the Game Ops people pleaded "EVERYBODY CLAP YOUR HANDS" =
3 times.

Song Isles skated onto the ice to Period 1 = DOA by Foo FIghters and
by fan vote - Enter Sandman - Metallica in 3rd.

Guest on Isles radio post game show = Chris Campoli

Activity between first and second period on ice - Sled Hockey

Activity between second and third - contest - shoot puck closest to
center ice faceoff dot ( won by contestant # 1)

Number of Text Messages that made it on screen from me: 3 -- one of
was:


* Megz loves Bruno ( my daughter attended with me - extending her
personal Nassau Coliseum record to 12-2-1 She is 2-0 this year -
attending Blues game with me so far - but she is a big Gervais fan)


Attendance -

My comments - this team is not playing like a "dregs of the NHL"
team. The style Gordon is playing is entertaining. It forced Ottawa
into mistakes. The Isles got two of three goals by just jamming the
net. Tambellini went to the net and seems like he is really
trying....like he gets it now. Jackman looks so much better than
Fritz - but I still want FRITZ on this team. Would sort out a guy
like Chris Neil ( did he play after that fight he won vs Jackman ?)

Joey MacDonald played well. Ottawa brought it to the Isles in the
first. He was the difference.

Except for a bad penalty or two or three - no one on our team was a
dog tonight.

Good win.

Stolen from Forever1940

Visit Eric's Blog at http://forever1940.blogspot.com

The last time the Isles opened a season by beating the Sens in their first two meetings, Mike Milbury was in his first year as Islander coach. In fact, in the first of those wins in 1995-96, Don Maloney was still the Islander General Manager. On to the trick:

1. Joey MacDonald had another strong night in goal, making 38 saves--a season high. He's had more than 38 saves only once in an NHL game--this past April Fools Day against the Devils.

2. The Isles are now 4-2 in their last six games against Ottawa; it's their best stretch against the Sens since going 4-1-3 in the first eight games between the squads.

3. Trent Hunter filled up the box score, even though he didn't had a point. He had six shots on goal (plus 6 more that were blocked or missed the net) and four hits.

...and a bunch more

4. The Isles are 4-2-1 in their last 7 (after opening 2-7-1). It's their best seven game stretch since following up an OT loss with six straight wins last February.

5. The Isles improve to 3-6-1 at home, winning in regulation for the first time since the season opener.

6. The Isles were outscored 2-1 in the third, and have been outscored 25-14 in the third period this season. The Isles were outshot 11-8 in the third and have been outshot 197-142 in the third period this season.

7. The Isles now had 6 pp goals at home and 6 on the road, but they've had 18 fewer chances on the road (6-50, 6-32). Three of their 12 goals have come in the two games against Ottawa.

8. Tim Jackman recorded seven penalty minutes in his fight with Chris Neil --Neil left the game and did not return. Before the fight, Jackman had more goals (1) than penalty minutes (0) -- a stat this is not likely to recur again this season. Jackman later recorded an assist on Campoli's game winner.

9. The Isles have now scored 22 goals 5-on-5 and 22 goals in all other situations. They've allowed 36 goals 5-on-5 and 18 in other situations.

10. The Sens were 15-2-0 after 17 games last season; 6-9-2 this year.

11. The Isles had 31 shots, despite having only 1 shot in the first 8:15 (it came from their own zone, 133 ft away) and only one shot in the final 15 minutes.

Finally, a look ahead--- the Canucks will visit the Coliseum on Monday. Scott Gordon will be the fifth different man to coach the Isles in the last five games between the clubs:

11-Mar-03 - Laviolette
3-Feb-04 - Stirling
14-Jan-06 - Shaw
8-Jan-08 - Nolan
17-Nov-08 - Gordon

The Isles are 1-2-1 in the previous 4, with the win coming on an Aucoin overtime goal in 2004.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.