Stolen From Forever 1940

Joey MacDonald played his first game in over three weeks, and seemed a little rusty early.  Rusty enough to end the Isles 4 game win streak.  On to the trick:

1.  JAy Bouwmeester and Karlin Skrastins scored first period goals for the Cats, who had the game's first six shots, leading up to a long-range goal by Bouwmeester.

2.  The Isles benefited from 4 Panther penalties in the second period. scoring twice with the extra-man.  Josh Bailey and Trent Hunter had the goals --  it was the 2nd goal for Bailey and the 88th career goal for Hunter --with exactly 1/4 of them on the powerplay (22).

3.  Richard Zednik sandwiched the Isle pp goals with a beautiful goal of his own.  Another ex-Isle, Bryan McCabe, earned an assist on the game-winning tally as the Panthers improved to 9-2-3 in 2009.

and a few more...

4.  Kyle Okposo was on the ice for both pp goals, but did not record a point, ending his point streak at 5.

5.  MacDonald made 26 saves, but drops his 4th straight decision.  He's 1-13-2 in his last 17 appearances (1 no decision)'

6.  The Isles had only 22 shots on goal on Tomas Vokoun, but there were 18 shots blocked by Panthers and 16 others that missed the net

7.  The home team won all 4 games of this series.  The Isles have dropped 5 straight in Sunrise.for the first time in thier history.

8.  With Mark Streit out injured, Chris Campoli saw his time on the pp (5:08) and led the Ises with 24:24 of overall ice-time.  Nate THompson played only 2:33 and left with a shoulder injury.. Jack Hillen and Joe Callahan replaced the injured Streit and Pock and each played over 12:30

9.  Maybe it's the Islander-Ranger thing, but Soup's son Gregory Campbell always seems to play well against the Isles.  Tonight was no exception, winning 11 of 16 draws, with three hits and two blocks.

10.  Up next: the mini road trip concludes in Tampa on Saturday.  The Isles lead the season 2 games to 0 (4 points to 1).  Overall the Isles have won 5 of 6 from Tampa and earned points in 5 of the last 7 (5-1-1) between the teams.

---

Great Deals on Dell Laptops. Starting at $499.

Tavares Musical Interlude

The Musical Group, Tavares

"Heaven Missing an Angel"



"More Than a Woman"

RaRa Note: I prefer the #5 version from the movie Short Circuit.



"She's Gone"



"Never Had a Love Like This Before"

NHL Standings as of 01/02/2009!

Awwww, the Rangers are in 4th place. One more loss could find them in 6th place.

EASTERN CONFERENCE (42)
1. Boston - 62 [38] -------- vs. 8. Pittsburgh - 42 [38]
2. Washington - 53 [39] ---- vs. 7. Carolina - 43 [39]
3. Philadelphia - 49 [38] -- vs. 6. New Jersey - 47 [37]
4. NY Ranjerks - 49 [39] --- vs. 5. Montreal - 48 [37]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Buffalo - 41 [38] -1
10. Florida - 37 [37] -5
11. Toronto - 36 [38] -6
12. Ottawa - 31 [35] -11
13. Atlanta - 31 [39] -11
14. Tampa Bay - 30 [37] -12
15. NY Islanders - 28 [39] -14

WESTERN CONFERENCE (40)
1. San Jose - 61 [37] -- vs. 8. Columbus - 40 [38]
2. Detroit - 55 [37] --- vs. 7. Phoenix - 43 [39]
3. Calgary - 48 [37] --- vs. 6. Anaheim - 43 [39]
4. Chicago - 47 [35] --- vs. 5. Vancouver - 46 [40]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Colorado - 39 [38] -1
10. Minnesota - 38 [36] -2
11. Edmonton - 37 [36](17W) -3
12. Dallas - 37 [36](16W) -3
13. Nashville - 37 [37] -3
14. Los Angeles - 36 [37] -4
15. St. Louis - 31 [38] -9

564 games played - 137 into OT - 24.3%.
137 OT games - 76 end in shootout = 55.5% OR 13.5% of ALL games end
in shootout.
Yesterday - 40 goals scored in 6 games = 6.67 goals per game.
Total - 3,295 goals scored in 564 games = 5.84 gpg.
3,295 goals minus 76 SO goals = 3,219 = 5.71 gpg minus shootout.
There have been 69 shutouts = 1 per 8.17 games.
The eastern conference is 55-59-15 for 125 out of a possible 258
points against the western conference. That equates to 48.5%.
The Isles have scored 102 goals = 2.62 gpg.
The Isles have allowed 141 goals = 3.62 gpg.

Esoteric Attendance Report

Last night, there were 3 out of 6 games played with more than 2,000
empty seats, or 50.0%.
Out of 564 games played, there have been 150 played with MORE than
2,000 empty seats, or 26.6% of all games played.
There have been 34 east vs. west games out of 129 played on this
list, for a 26.4%.
There have been 36 divisional games played on this list, or 6.4%.
There have been 41 games played at less than 75% capacity, or 7.2%.
Out of 150 games, the Islanders appear 12 times on this list, or 8.1%
and 2.2% out of 564 games.
** = new statistic.

Team leaders at more than 2,000 HOME empty seat games (150):
18 - Atlanta.
17 -
16 - Phoenix, Carolina.
15 -
14 - Columbus.
13 - Tampa Bay, Los Angeles.
12 - NY Islanders, Florida.
11 -
10 - Nashville, New Jersey.
9 - Colorado.
8 - / 7 - / 6 - / 5 - / 4 -
3 - Dallas.
2 - Boston, St. Louis.
1 -

Team leaders at less than 75% capacity games (41):
6 - Columbus, Atlanta.
5 - NY Islanders, Florida.
4 - Nashville, Tampa Bay, Carolina.
3 - New Jersey.
2 - Phoenix.
1 - Los Angeles, Colorado.

Team leaders at more than 2,000 TOTAL (home and away) empty seat
games (300):
23 - Atlanta.
22 - Phoenix, Carolina.
21 - Columbus.
20 - Florida.
19 - Nashville.
18 - Tampa Bay.
17 - NY Islanders, Los Angeles.
16 -
15 - Colorado.
14 -
13 - New Jersey.
12 - / 11 - / 10 -
9 - Minnesota.
8 - Dallas, San Jose.
7 - St. Louis, Vancouver.
6 - Edmonton, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Toronto.
5 - Calgary, Boston, Buffalo.
4 - Montreal, Pittsburgh, Washington.
3 - Anaheim, NY Ranjerks.
2 - Chicago.
1 -
0 - Detroit.

smallest crowd:
15. 10/23 - I-Dallas @ NY Islanders-16,234 - 10,183 = 6,051 = 62.7%.
lowest % of attendance:
41. 11/2 - D-Florida @ Atlanta - 18,545 - 10,584 = 7,961 = 57.1%.

Stolen from Forever1940

Visit forever1940.blogspot.com

A pair of third period milestones, but in the end an 11th straight road loss. On to the trick:

1. Moments after ex-Isle Olli Jokinen had given the Coyotes a 4-1 lead, Josh Bailey struck for the first NHL goal of his career. It came in his 25th NHL game. Bailey also was _+2, had four shots on goal and won 12 of 15 draws.

2. The game looked out of reach, but Richard Park scored twice in the final 3:06 to make the final minutes interesting. Doug Weight assisted on both goals for the 1000th and 1001st points of his NHL career. It was his 6th two-point game of the season. Weight leads the Isles in both assists (25) and points (32).

3. Weight reaches the milestone in 1167 games. He did it against one of his favorite opponents; Weight now has 63 points in 58 career games against the Jets/Coyotes.

and a few more...

4. The Isles are now 1-6-2 all-time in Phoenix, winning only in 2004.

5. The Isles have now scored four 6th attacker goals and allowed 1 in the last four games.

6. Guerin and Okposo each recorded assists to extend their point streaks to 5, but Comeau's point streak stopped at four, while Comrie's goal streak ended at 3. Comrie wnet down fighting -- a game-high 7 shots on goal; it's the 2nd straight game he's had 7 SOG's.

7. Rick DiPietro made 28 saves in his 5th start of the season. He recorded an assist for the second straight appearance, extending his club records for assists and points by a goalie to 15.

8. Lots of crooked numbers on the Isles +/- tonight. Gervais, Park, Guerin and Campoli were all +3 while Bailey was +2. However, Meyer was -4, Witt, Jackman, and Comrie were -3, Comeau and Bergenheim were -2. Only two crookeds for the Yote's: Michalek was +3 while Morris was -2.

9. When all was said and done, the Isles dropped to 6-12 in one-goal games (includes 4 ot/so losses). The 8 regulation one-goal losses share the league lead.

10. Up next: the road trip doesn't get any easier as the Isles head to the Tank to face the Sharks. The Sharks are 18-0-2 at home this season and haven't been beaten in regulation at home in over 10 months (26-0-3). The Sharks are 28-4-5 overall. A difficult task to be sure. But that's why they play the games.

The Captains Game Report - Nassau Coliseum

Dec 31, 2008

Islanders 4 Florida Panthers 2 FINAL

Where do I begin?

Happy New Year to all !

Lets Go Tampa and Lets Go Atlanta tonight !!! We gained back two
of the points of the three point lead we have in the Tavares derby.

No wonder none of my "Mitch Fritz" text messages made it on the
scoreboard today. Mitch was waived today - and likely winds up in
Bridgeport. I am unhappy about this. We need a big time goon to go
up against Daniel Carcillo in PHX on Fri. Is Jackman going to be the
guy to get beat up again?

The ones that made it up ?


" Happy New Year"

"RaRa luvs the Lighthouse"

My theory - is that they take some early texts - those made early in
the night and loop them. Some guy named Tristan's name was up there
32 times. Then some attendant adds a few in - after scanning them
for things which might be offensive or not "Wang Approved" so
patience and an early arrival are key.

National Anthem singer - Alyssa Cavallano - a teenage girl who gave
a worthy effort - Happy New Year Alyssa !

Your State Farm Agent of the game ? Sandra Simpson of Wantagh.

Brithday of the day on the big screen ? Jason Sirianni - six years
old today and IN THE HOUSE!

Tuscan Dairy goal for first Comrie goal = Section 205 Row H Seat 7

The Scotto Brothers fan of the game - getting a certificate for
dinner for two at Fox Hollow Inn was in seat 6 Row C Section 124 x

Second goal by Comrie - SECTION 303 !!!! However, Row S seat 6 was
your winner - not us.

Bergenheim goal Section 337 Row F Seat 2 was the Tuscan Goal
winner of a Bergie autographed puck

The choice of songs for the Islanders to skate onto the ice to for
the third period

* Next to you - Buckcherry

* Tick Tock Boom - Hives

* Stay with me - Finch

GUess what won ? ( will disclose at end of report.)

Instead of the Lucky Puck Shuffle - with the three pucks ( one with
an Islander Logo) - having to guess which one has the logo after the
shuffle......was called the "Stonebridge Champagne Shuffle" tonight -
in honor of Stonebridge Golf Course in Hauppauge. There were 4
bottles. Will disclose winner at end of report.

The Ice Girl 50/50 raffle was won by ticket number 488597 $ 1,065
was the winning amount. Our friend Dave O had ticket number 488598.

Last goal was Sectoin 104 Row J - Mark Streit

Comic Book Characters in attendance: Spiderman, Wolverine, Captain
America, the Incredible Hulk and Iron Man.

Hall of Fame announcers to make the scoreboard - Jiggs McDonald
(Back from Thailand !)

Also, one of the NY Lottery ladies - sorry - forgot which one -
hosted the between periods on ice gig where they give out prizes for
those who shoot the puck in the net from center ice.

My son's potential last game of the year before he heads back to
Chicago - is a winner. Suppose that his record - combined with
Roger's (who was in attendance) - they canceled each other out.

The game ? Not such an interesting game. We had a goal disallowed
and Comrie's first goal had to be reviewed. I am more interested in
game operations than the game these days. Have to get Tavares and
today's result is not helping.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL !!

Pat
********************************************

Winning Song - Tick Tock Boom.

Champagne Puck Shuffle - Bottle # 1 was the correct answer. The dude
in the stands picked Bottle 4 - but they gave the prize anyway.

Esoteric NHL Standings 12 / 22 / 2008

EASTERN CONFERENCE (37)
1. Boston - 52 [33] ------- vs. 8. Buffalo - 37 [34]
2. NY Ranjerks - 46 [36] -- vs. 7. Pittsburgh - 40 [33]
3. Washington - 43 [34] --- vs. 6. New Jersey - 41 [31]
4. Philadelphia - 43 [33] - vs. 5. Montreal - 42 [33]
OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Carolina - 37 [34] -0
10. Florida - 34 [32] -3
11. Toronto - 34 [33] -3
12. Ottawa - 29 [31] -8
13. Atlanta - 26 [33] -11
14. Tampa Bay - 23 [32] -14
15. NY Islanders - 23 [33] -14
WESTERN CONFERENCE (35)
1. San Jose - 55 [33] --- vs. 8. Nashville - 35 [32]
2. Detroit - 48 [32] ---- vs. 7. Phoenix - 36 [34]
3. Vancouver - 41 [34] -- vs. 6. Anaheim - 39 [34]
4. Chicago - 43 [31] ---- vs. 5. Calgary - 40 [33]
OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Minnesota - 34 [32] -1
10. Edmonton - 33 [32] -2
11. Colorado - 33 [33] -2
12. Columbus - 32 [33](14W) -3
13. Los Angeles - 32 [33](13W) -3
14. Dallas - 31 [32] -4
15. St. Louis - 29 [33] -6
493 games played - 125 into OT - 25.4%.
125 OT games - 69 end in shootout = 55.2% OR 14.0% of ALL games end
in shootout.
Yesterday - 28 goals scored in 4 games = 7.00 goals per game.
Total - 2,887 goals scored in 493 games = 5.86 gpg.
2,887 goals minus 69 SO goals = 2,818 = 5.72 gpg minus shootout.
There have been 57 shutouts = 1 per 8.65 games.
The eastern conference is 48-51-15 for 111 out of a possible 228
points against the western conference. That equates to 48.7%.
The Isles have scored 81 goals = 2.45 gpg.
The Isles have allowed 120 goals = 3.64 gpg.

---

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The Captain's Coliseum Report

Game Report

Capitals 5 Isles 4 ( OT )

Halfway decent crowd for a snowy night. Positive Bruce was there
with his son - and my son enjoyed sitting with them.

Brashear chickened out of a fight vs. Mitch Fritz. I remember
Brashear getting suspended for inferring that one of the Isles who
did not fight him a few years back ( Cairns?) was a nasty
term........and made a gesture which was quite vulgar.

As far as the game went - the Isles could have won this one. Nice
comeback effort. THe Caps have a pretty good team. they should have
won big.

Both goalies had goals they might want back. Especially Laich's goal

Getting to the important part

* State Farm Agent of the game - Victoria Van De Ven of Seaford -
named so at 7:28 PM.

* 50 / 50 raffle = $ 783.00

I got a lot in the third - when everyone thought they were done.

# of times - "Everybody clap your hands" = three

Song highlights - " Way-O" - "I like it like that" - "Dance Dance
Dance"

Song voted by the fans for the Isles to skate onto the ice in period
three - I forgot - but it was by Nickelback

I am not sure on the last sequence if Ovie had scored twice on the
same sequence - like Campoli did or not.

Anthem Singer - NONE - This was my 4th game in a row with out a
singer. Is this a cost cutting move - no one want to do it ?

End of report

---

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Esoteric NHL Standings

EASTERN CONFERENCE (33)
1. Boston - 46 [30] ------- vs. 8. Buffalo - 33 [30]
2. NY Ranjerks - 42 [33] -- vs. 7. New Jersey - 34 [27]
3. Washington - 39 [31] --- vs. 6. Pittsburgh - 36 [30]
4. Philadelphia - 38 [29] - vs. 5. Montreal - 37 [29]
OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Florida - 31 [30](14W) -2
10. Carolina - 31 [30](13W) -2
11. Toronto - 28 [29] -5
12. Ottawa - 27 [28] -6
13. Atlanta - 22 [29] -11
14. NY Islanders - 22 [30](10W) -11
15. Tampa Bay - 22 [30](7W) -11
WESTERN CONFERENCE (31)
1. San Jose - 50 [29] --- vs. 8. Minnesota - 31 [29]
2. Detroit - 44 [29] ---- vs. 7. Nashville - 33 [29]
3. Vancouver - 37 [31] -- vs. 6. Calgary - 35 [30]
4. Chicago - 37 [28] ---- vs. 5. Anaheim - 37 [31]
OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Phoenix - 31 [30] -0
10. Edmonton - 30 [28] -1
11. Los Angeles - 30 [29] -1
12. Colorado - 29 [29] -2
13. Columbus - 29 [30] -2
14. St. Louis - 27 [29] -4
15. Dallas - 26 [29] -5
443 games played - 108 into OT - 24.4%.
108 OT games - 63 end in shootout = 58.3% OR 14.2% of ALL games end
in shootout.
Yesterday - 18 goals scored in 3 games = 6.00 goals per game.
Total - 2,580 goals scored in 443 games = 5.82 gpg.
2,580 goals minus 63 SO goals = 2,517 = 5.68 gpg minus shootout.
There have been 52 shutouts = 1 per 8.52 games.
The eastern conference is 40-48-14 for 94 out of a possible 204
points against the western conference. That equates to 46.1%.
The Isles have scored 76 goals = 2.53 gpg.
The Isles have allowed 110 goals = 3.67 gpg.

---

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Esoteric Stuff

We gave up 9 goals last night and the Rangers gave up 8 tonight. HaHa!!!

The Rangers have fallen to 7th place in the Esoteric Standings

Another lose by the Rangers and a win by the Sabres, Canes, and the Kitty Cats and the Rangers fall to 10th place in the Esoteric points attainable standings.

The Islanders on the other hand are now tied with TB for last in the entire league. Only problem is we have more wins to their ties, thus TB gets the tiebreaker.

100 Years Ago Today

I know I bust on Shaman a lot but a big part of this year he spent dealing with saying goodbye to his Grandmother. I know what he was going through as I was really close with mine as well. There were a bunch of reasons from a family perspective why but one of the other big reasons was that she allowed myself and Pat the ability to nurture our Islander Fandom when we were kids. Every now and then you may catch a glimpse of those great times spent with my grandmother, times of Stanley Cups and Victory Iced Tea.

.

She past away 8 years ago in October and it still feels like yesterday. One of the things that she was most proud of was that she was a resident of East Meadow for her whole life. I also suppose that is why I am so supportive of the Lighthouse project in making our home a better place to live.

.

I bring this all up because if she were alive today, we would be celebrating her 100th birthday.

.

Happy Birthday Grandma and to all the grandmas out there that were always there with a 50 pound pocket book full of those pink mint candies that were always covered in fuzz that you only see at a discount drug store on the bottom shelf. It has been 8 years since I had one.

Esoteric - I've got issues with the Rangers

I have talked about this before and I will talk about it again. Can the Rangers stop laying waste to extra points where ever they go?

It is really screwing with my esoteric predictions.

The Rangers have now played in 31 games. They have played in 10 "extra-inning" games. That is 10 extra points they have given because they couldnt just win or simply lose. 10 games of 31 is about a third of all ranger games have been 3-point games.

Another way to look at it is that 31 rounds up to 32 games and of the 10 games that went to OT or SO, 8 of them had conference implications. Simply stated, a quarter of all Ranger games have strewn extra points across the conference.

I for one don't like it. Especially when the rangers have won 8 of those 10 decisions again showing how they have given away extra points.

Tonights game versus the Thrashers they helped our quest in the Tavares Sweepstakes by giving Atlanta that point before the Blueskirts went on to win.

I still don't like it though. Am I the only one that this bothers?

Esoteric Standings 12/09/2008

EASTERN CONFERENCE (29)
1. Boston - 42 [27] ------- vs. 8. Buffalo - 29 [27]
2. NY Ranjerks - 38 [30] -- vs. 7. New Jersey - 30 [24]
3. Washington - 33 [28] --- vs. 6. Philadelphia - 34 [27](14W)
4. Montreal - 37 [27] ----- vs. 5. Pittsburgh - 34 [27](15W)
.

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Carolina - 29 [28] -0
10. Florida - 27 [27] -2
11. Toronto - 26 [28] -3
12. Ottawa - 25 [25] -4
13. NY Islanders - 22 [28] -7
14. Atlanta - 21 [26] -8
15. Tampa Bay - 20 [27] -9
.

WESTERN CONFERENCE (30)
1. San Jose - 46 [27] ----- vs. 8. Nashville - 30 [27]
2. Detroit - 40 [26] ------ vs. 7. Minnesota - 31 [26]
3. Vancouver - 35 [29] ---- vs. 6. Chicago - 31 [25]
4. Calgary - 33 [28](16W) - vs. 5. Anaheim - 33 [28](15W)
.

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Colorado - 29 [28] -1
10. Edmonton - 28 [26] -2
11. St. Louis - 27 [26] -3
12. Phoenix - 26 [27](12W) -4
13. Los Angeles - 26 [27](11W) -4
14. Columbus - 25 [27] -5
15. Dallas - 24 [26] -6
.

405 games played - 101 into OT - 25.1%.
101 OT games - 58 end in shootout = 57.8% OR 14.4% of ALL games end
in shootout.
Yesterday - 23 goals scored in 4 games = 5.75 goals per game.
Total - 2,363 goals scored in 405 games = 5.84 gpg.
2,363 goals minus 58 SO goals = 2,305 = 5.67 gpg minus shootout.
There have been 46 shutouts = 1 per 8.71 games.
The eastern conference is 38-45-14 for 90 out of a possible 194 points
against the western conference. That equates to 46.4%.
The Isles have scored 73 goals = 2.61 gpg.
The Isles have allowed 98 goals = 3.50 gpg.

---

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Esoteric Situation

Tomorrows rags vs atlanta game is pretty big.

We need atlanta to beat the rags for sure.

So you know, with tonights loss we are now tied for last place in points attainable with TB. We have 22 points and have played 28 games. They have 20 points but have played 27 games. Thus we can achieve the same point total as of right now which is 130 points.

130 points is all we can score for the total of the rest of the season. Get it? One hundred thirty. If you need a conservative 94 points to make the playoffs. (I normally say 90 but with the rags giving away 3 points games like Christmas candy I say 94 will be a safe bet to make the playoffs this year). That means we can only give up 36 points or lose 18 more games.

To put this in perspective, we have played 28 games so far this season. In those 28 games we have won 10 games. That means we have lost 18 games.

If we extrapolate this out we will be mathematically eliminated during game #57 on Feb 18th at MSG. Blech!!!!!

For this reason I say we let all our injured players stay out and heal. There is no reason why Ricky should come back at all. I also think that keeping Bailey up was a mistake as well.

Take a Moment to Remember

Stolen from Forever1940's Stat trick

Visit Forever1940's blog at forever1940.blogspot.com


Ten days and one period ago, all the Isles had to do was hold off the Penguins in the third period to get back to NHL .500. Four losses in five games suggest that NHL .500 may be a long ways off. On to the trick:

1. The Thrashers have outscored the Isles 8-1 in the last 4 periods, and 5-0 in the third period this season.

2. Atlanta has beaten the Isles in regulation in consecutive games for the first time since winning the first two games between the franchises in 1999.

3. Bill Guerin' first minute pp goal was the 397th goal of his NHL career.

and a few more....

4. The Isles have won consecutive home games only once since February.

5. The penalties started early and ended late. The Isles earned a power play only 19 seconds into the game; there was a scrum that produced 42 minutes of penalties with 19 seconds to play.

6. Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists for Atlanta.

7. The Isles have allowed 24 goals in their last five games -- they haven't allowed more in a five-game stretch since December 2005.

8. Blake Comeau had three shots and three assists in his NHL season debut. He played Friday night for Bridgeport, where his game was reffed by Jamie Koharski. Jamie's dad, Don, was one of tonight's refs.

9. Josh Bailey led the Isles forwards in first period ice-time (7:16) but played only 9:20 the rest of the way.

10. Brendan Witt had eight hits and five blocked shots. Three of the blocks came on one shift, all on shots by Kovalchuk.

Up next: The Isles begin a 4-game trip in Toronto. The Isles won the series last year, 5 points to 4. They went 5-3-0 against the Leafs under Nolan; the Leafs are the only Eastern Conference team that the Isles have not played this season.

The Captain's Nassau Coliseum report.

Atlanta 5 NY Islanders 1 FINAL SCORE

Nassau Coliseum report.

Brought my son to the game - suffering his second loss of the year -
and is now 0-2 since his return from college in Chicago.

We texted our daughter for her analysis of the game and she wrote back

"A team that just lost 5 games in a row skated into our building and
just wanted it more than our team did."

The game -as anticipated - had a physical edge to it. Jackman and
Thorburn had a fight early on that was asked for by Thorburn and
accepted by Jackman - who held his own.

The better fight was towards the end - when Chris Campoli and Joe
Crabb dropped em. The Isles took a bunch of penalties which did not
help them get back in the game - Andy Sutton just took major whacks
at people with the express purpose of hurting them.

Just a game that was not in the cards for us - we had one disallowed
when Sim and some ATL guy knocked the net off the mooring and one
sequence when Comeau and I think Park hit the post and then ATL comes
back the other way and Perrin scored from Kovy.

Kovalchuk did not dominate in this game - but sure made some plays.
A game we could have won - but got both unlucky and became unglued
and took undisciplined penalties ( like Sim getting in trouble with
his big mouth)

The most fun I had was texting the scoreboard and making note of the
return of some songs to the roster ( "Let's Get Loud" by J-Lo
and "Unchained" by Van Halen.)

Positive Bruce studied Comeau. says "He has to play Right Wing" -
Comeau played good. Went to the net and had 3 shots on goal - two
were tough - he went to the net and played well.

Adam Okula of Albertson, NY = State Farm Agent of the game.

$ 1,367 was the amount of the take on the 50/50 raffle.

Also, before the game - we were accosted by an Isles photographer.
Picture of me, Kevin and his friend Nick is in group 7 - pic 12 of
the "Photo store" icon on the Isles web page. Its like DISNEY or
Universal on a ride - when they take your picture and then try to
sell it to you.

NY Rangers in 6th Place in the Islanders Esoteric

Normally I do the Points attainable standings in the column on the right but I didnt feel like dealing with it so I just cut & pasted from my spreadsheet. With the loss the other night I noticed that there were teams that scored 5 plus goals.

The Islanders were not one of them.

Nor, for that matter, were the Rangers.

Both the "lowly" Islanders and the "unstoppable" Rangers scored 2 goals apiece.

Fo me part of being am Islander fan is my unadulterated pure hatred of the NY Rangers. Having come to grips with our station in life as Islander Fans as being the whipping block of the league and the media, I have taken solace in the trust I have for the vision of this rebuilding process. Since the last major memorable playoff event happened almost a decade and a half ago I have grown to also take solace in the futility of the NY Rangers.

It is something that I really don't understand but we have both really have done nothing spectacular for years and years. The difference is that the Islanders & their fans have done it by being dragged over the hot burning coals of Milbury, Spano, Muller, and Malonet (ETC.). The Rangers have done it by outspending everyone, losing nearly as much and still being the darlings of the league.

Blech!

For this is why I posted the above chart. Yes the Rangers are doing very well sitting atop the division and the conference. However, looks are decieving. My chart takes into consideration "Games Left". This makes my hockey world a little brighter.

The Rangers are in reality tied for 6th and are 4 ponts from ** NOT ** making the playoffs.

Esoteric Standings

EASTERN CONFERENCE (26)
1. Boston - 38 [25] ------- vs. 8. Carolina - 26 [26]
2. NY Ranjerks - 38 [29] -- vs. 7. New Jersey - 28 [23]
3. Washington - 31 [26] --- vs. 6. Philadelphia - 30 [25]
4. Pittsburgh - 34 [25] --- vs. 5. Montreal - 34 [25]
OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Florida - 25 [25] -1
10. Buffalo - 25 [25] -1
11. Toronto - 24 [26] -2
12. Ottawa - 22 [23] -4
13. NY Islanders - 22 [25] -4
14. Tampa Bay - 20 [25] -6
15. Atlanta - 19 [25] -7
WESTERN CONFERENCE (28)
1. San Jose - 45 [26] --- vs. 8. Nashville - 28 [25]
2. Detroit - 38 [25] ---- vs. 7. Chicago - 28 [23]
3. Minnesota - 31 [24] -- vs. 6. Calgary - 29 [25]
4. Anaheim - 31 [27] ---- vs. 5. Vancouver - 30 [26]
OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Phoenix - 26 [25] -2
10. Columbus - 25 [25] -3
11. Edmonton - 24 [24] -4
12. Colorado - 24 [25] -4
13. Los Angeles - 23 [23] -5
14. St. Louis - 22 [23] -6
15. Dallas - 22 [25] -6
375 games played - 92 into OT - 24.5%.
92 OT games - 54 end in shootout = 58.7% OR 14.4% of ALL games end
in shootout.
Yesterday - 64 goals scored in 10 games = 6.40 goals per game.
Total - 2,193 goals scored in 375 games = 5.85 gpg.
2,193 goals minus 54 SO goals = 2,139 = 5.70 gpg minus shootout.
There have been 42 shutouts = 1 per 8.93 games.
The eastern conference is 37-44-14 for 88 out of a possible 190 points
against the western conference. That equates to 46.3%.
The Isles have scored 67 goals = 2.68 gpg.
The Isles have allowed 85 goals = 3.40 gpg.

Esoteric NHL Standings for 12/01/2008

EASTERN CONFERENCE (26)
1. Boston - 36 [24] ---------- vs. 8. Carolina - 26 [25]
2. NY Ranjerks - 36 [27] --- vs. 7. New Jersey - 26 [22]
3. Washington - 29 [24] --- vs. 6. Philadelphia - 27 [23]
4. Pittsburgh - 31 [23] ----- vs. 5. Montreal - 30 [23]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Buffalo - 25 [24] -1
10. Toronto - 24 [24] -2
11. NY Islanders - 22 [24] -4
12. Florida - 21 [23] -5
13. Ottawa - 20 [22] -6
14. Atlanta - 19 [23](8W) -7
15. Tampa Bay - 19 [23](6W) -7

WESTERN CONFERENCE (26)
1. San Jose - 41 [24] ----- vs. 8. Nashville - 26 [24]
2. Detroit - 36 [24] ------- vs. 7. Chicago - 26 [22]
3. Vancouver - 30 [25] --- vs. 6. Calgary - 29 [24]
4. Anaheim - 31 [26] ----- vs. 5. Minnesota - 29 [23]

OUT OF PLAY-OFFS
9. Columbus - 25 [24] -1
10. Colorado - 24 [24] -2
11. Los Angeles - 23 [22] -3
12. St. Louis - 22 [22] -4
13. Phoenix - 22 [23] -4
14. Edmonton - 22 [23] -4
15. Dallas - 20 [23] -6

354 games played - 89 into OT - 25.1%.
89 OT games - 53 end in shootout = 59.6.0% OR 15.0% of ALL games end in
shootout.
Yesterday - 25 goals scored in 5 games = 5.00 goals per game.
Total - 2,060 goals scored in 354 games = 5.82 gpg.
2,060 goals minus 53 SO goals = 2,007 = 5.67 gpg minus shootout.
There have been 41 shutouts = 1 per 8.63 games.
The eastern conference is 37-42-14 for 88 out of a possible 186 points
against the western conference. That equates to 47.3%.
The Isles have scored 65 goals = 2.71 gpg.
The Isles have allowed 80 goals = 3.33 gpg.