The first Islanders chip has fallen. More on this to follow!

Per an Islanders release:

The New York Islanders have traded defenseman Andy Sutton to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a second round draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

The pick was originally acquired by Ottawa along with Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo from San Jose in exchange for forward Dany Heatley and Ottawa’s fifth-round draft choice in 2010 on Sept. 12, 2009.

Sutton was signed by the Islanders on August 10, 2007 as a free agent and has played on Long Island over the past three seasons. Over the course, Sutton has played in 135 games for the Islanders, scoring seven goals and 23 assists. This year, Sutton totaled four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 54 games with the Islanders.

The Islanders have recalled defenseman Dustin Kohn from the team’s American Hockey league affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

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Hey remember that guy that we would yell at for wandering out of the net, time after time after time? He wears number 39, he is quite athletic and loves to steal games for the Islanders?

We’re talkin’ bout Rick DiPietro folks, and he gets the start tonight in Dallas against the Stars.

Check out my latest post over at The Bleacher Report for more on this glorious day:

In a journey that started in a galaxy not far from our own, but in a time that seemed light years away, the Islanders franchise netminder—Rick DiPietro has finally reached the end of his road to recovery and is set as the starter tonight in Dallas.

If you have not been following along, in early December DiPietro was assigned to the Islanders AHL affiliate Bridgeport Soundtigers for a conditioning stint. DiPietro was to play in an unspecified amount of games, but would not play a complete game during his brief stay in Connecticut. Instead, DiPietro would start in one—and only play two periods, he cited “tightness” as a concern after the game and was sidelined once again.

The team erred on the side of caution and shuffled DiPietro to several Doctor’s for help. Claiming the problem was corrected, DiPietro was again cleared for practice and under cloak and dagger type secrecy, was shuttled to the Soundtigers once again for a conditioning stint. This go around in the AHL, DiPietro would play in two complete games and suffer losses in both making his conditioning record 1-2-0 with a 3.31 GAA and .883 save percentage. Read the full article HERE

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Just wanted to spend a few minutes ahead of tonight’s tilt with the Boston Bruins to get some thoughts down about what’s in store for the team and what has happened the last few games.

If you caught my USTREAM video thoughts, my biggest concerns for the team are Scoring, Toughness and Defense. Not that they are in any particular order, but toughness is a big issue for me.

For one, the one on one battles for the puck just never seem to go well for the team. It’s not that all the forwards are small-ish or cannot get the job done, it’s just that every other team seems to be larger and stronger. Chalk it up to a young team in a rebuild I guess. Fortunately for the Islanders, they have Jesse Joensuu at their beck and call down in Bridgeport. I loved what I saw out of Joensuu last season during his time with the Islanders because I felt he was a true power forward that the Islanders have sorely missed (not a knock on Okposo mind you).

When I saw Joensuu play down in Bridgeport’s win last weekend at Harbor Yard, I knew it would only be a matter of time before we saw him again. Joensuu had three points on the night (1 goal and 2 assists) and just seemed to be involved in every single play. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who noticed these positives about his game, because he was recalled earlier this week by the Islanders and will be on a line with Shremp and Comeau per reports from practice.

Last week, Chris Botta pointed out on his blog some reports about Josh Bailey and how the Islanders appeared to be “turning him into a third-liner”. For reasons that seem to be genuine, Bailey has been moved to left wing next to Thompson and Park. Scott Gordon claims this is to help Bailey round out his game and ensure he can win battles along the wall, hopefully it is something temporary and doesn’t do too much damage to the young players confidence.

The Islanders have lost the last few games, but have shown the same glimpses that the team understands what they are supposed to do to succeed. Their forecheck has been outstanding at times and teams go through fits establishing opposing pressure at times – that is until there are defensive lapses. The Islanders defensive corps are thin, and makes you really value injured players like Radek Martinek and Andy Sutton for what they add to the team. It also drives home the point that if any moves are made here after the Holiday’s – it MUST be a defenseman. Scoring will also help, but unless the Islanders are willing to sacrifice some of their youth or prospects – the return won’t be a game changer. Either way, there are glaring holes in the roster right now, especially when your last first round pick, taken first overall – has your last five goals scored.

I will be heading out to the Coliseum shortly, when I arrive and set up I will be doing a LIVE USTREAM broadcast which should be fun! Be sure to check back around game time for the links and embedded video!

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Well here we are, three home games and six games overall remaining in the race for Tavares last stretch of the season. Tampa, having only six points on the Islanders before last night, lost in overtime to the Devils and gained a point in the standings – giving us a seven point cushion. It is certainly imperative that we do not win tonight as the Lightning have a pretty tough schedule to finish out their season. I am sorry to say that (about gaining very few points from here on out) and I know I will continue to catch hell for it, I just feel it’s more important than a feel good win at this juncture. The other team to watch (and root for) is the Colorado Avalanche who have not won many games in the year 2009. Colorado has 64 points, they are more of a threat to the Isles than Tampa and also have a tough schedule for their remaining games – it will be a tight three-way race for the 30th overall position in the NHL this season.

The Lightning have come to town without their scoring prowess and captain in Vincent Lecavalier, the Islanders are another team with a ridiculous amount of many injuries and have recalled five from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for tonight’s game. In the latest string of injuries, Mark Streit and Kyle Okposo each suffered groin injuries, Dean MacAmmond is out with what is described as “an illness” and Andy Hilbert suffered a rib injury against Montreal on Thursday. Taking their places – Mitch Fritz, Mike Iggulden, Jesse Joensuu and Joel Rechlicz and defenseman Jamie Fraser. Here is the official Islanders press release that came into my inbox about 40 minutes ago:

The New York Islanders have recalled forwards Mitch Fritz, Mike Iggulden, Jesse Joensuu and Joel Rechlicz and defenseman Jamie Fraser from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis. All five will be in the Islanders’ lineup tonight when they take the ice against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Fraser will make his NHL debut, marking the 12th Islander to appear in his first career game this season. The 23-year-old Sarnia native has played in 63 games with Bridgeport this season, recording seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points and 28 penalty minutes. He also ranks fourth on the team with a +12 plus/minus rating. Fraser was signed by the Islanders as an undrafted free agent on December 30, 2006.

Fritz, Joensuu and Rechlicz all made their NHL debuts earlier this season. Iggulden had appeared in one game prior to 2008-09, but made his debut as an Islander on March 7th against New Jersey.

Fritz has played in 16 games with the Islanders, recording 33 penalty minutes. In 36 contests with Bridgeport, he has two assists and 58 penalty minutes. He made his NHL debut on October 30th at Philadelphia.

Iggulden has appeared in nine games with the Islanders, recording one goal and four assists for five points. He currently leads Bridgeport with 60 points (23 goals, 37 assists) in 69 contests this season.

Joensuu has played in four games with the Islanders, scoring his first NHL goal in his first game on March 2nd versus Colorado. In 68 games with Bridgeport, he has 19 goals and 17 assists for 36 points and a team-leading +21 rating.

Rechlicz made his NHL debut on March 5th versus the New York Rangers and recorded an assist for his first point. He has appeared in 12 games with the Islanders, recording 44 penalty minutes. He has also played in four games with Bridgeport recording 12 penalty minutes in addition to playing in 45 games with the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL recording one assist and 110 penalty minutes.

Some stats per Newsday’s Greg Logan on the debute of Jamie Fraser: “After a recount and the addition of Fraser, the accurate numbers are 12 players making their NHL debuts and 16 rookies who have played [this season.]”

Twelve players making their NHL DEBUT and 16 rookies total suiting up for the Islanders? When Garth Snow proclaimed over the summer that this was the chance to see what prospects the team had in their system, I really doubt he had this in mind. Injuries aside, do you feel that this years Islanders team could have done something different if their actual team was able to grow and learn under the tutelage of Scott Gordon?

I don’t think it would have made much of a difference, it could have meant that we would have seen more veteran players shipped out in order to make room for prospects down the stretch. Sure, the team would have been able to gel a bit and learn the system and build chemistry, but I did not see them getting farther than the 8th seed and a early playoff exit. At least now that the injury situation has “happened”, the team will bear the fruits of an extremely deep and important draft – perhaps one of the most important in franchise history.

This is a saga that will be extremely interesting to see how it plays out and tonight’s episode is certainly a key juncture in what happens at the upcoming draft lottery.

Live Tracker

Here is the live tracker for tonight’s game, I will be bouncing around the Coliseum as always. Be sure to follow me on Twitter for updates or the occasional photo.

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Out with the old – in with the, well – Sound Tigers?

Having traded veteran Bill Guerin yesterday during the trade deadline, coupled with the fact that Brendan Witt is still serving his suspension, Nate Thompson not ready, Trent Hunter not ready and Thomas Pock also not ready – the Islanders have recalled four players from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Forward Jesse Joensuu who scored in his first NHL game on Monday gets another go, while forward Joel Rechlicz gets his first call up of the season. Defensemen Joe Callahan who has been impressive while up with the big club and Andrew MacDonald another impressive young d-man also get the call. So while the Islanders did not make too many trades yesterday – it sure might feel that way with so many new faces in the locker room tonight.

Here is the official press release:

The New York Islanders have recalled forwards Jesse Joensuu and Joel Rechlicz and defensemen Joe Callahan and Andrew MacDonald from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis.

Joensuu (YOH-ehn-soo) made his NHL debut on Monday night against Colorado and scored his first career NHL goal on his first shot. In 56 games with Bridgeport this season, he has recorded 17 goals and 14 assists to rank fifth on the team with 31 points. Joensuu was drafted by the Islanders in the second round (60th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Rechlicz (REHK-lihj) has split time between Bridgeport (AHL) and Utah (ECHL) this season. He has seven penalty minutes in three games with Bridgeport and one assist to go along with 110 penalty minutes in 45 games with Utah. Rechlicz was signed by the Islanders as a free agent on May 6, 2008.

Callahan has one assist and a +2 rating in 13 games with the Islanders this season. In 42 games with Bridgeport, he has scored three goals and added six assists for nine points. Callahan was signed by the Islanders as a free agent on July 8, 2008.

MacDonald made his NHL debut on February 28th against Buffalo and has a +2 rating in two games. In 52 games with Bridgeport this season, he has six goals and 13 assists to lead all Sound Tigers’ defensemen with 19 points. He also represented the Sound Tigers in the AHL All-Star game as a member of Team Canada this season. MacDonald was drafted by the Islanders in the sixth round (160th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

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No, that is not a misprint. It seems that the Islanders have encountered one of the best festivals in sunny Tampa this weekend. It’s called the Gasparilla festival and it involves pirates, pirate ships, pirate wenches, beer, liquor and all things associated with such. Think of it of a Las Vegas or New Orleans environment – but on the water in a beach town setting.

If you think it is all fun and games, clear it is not if you are a visiting NHL club looking for some rest before a game. If you happened to catch Corey Witt’s blog from earlier today – the team was woken up by canons firing and boat horns blaring. He also talks about an elevator ride with a pirate and two of his lasses. Hopefully they boys do not drink before a game, it’s bad enough they get injured without being hung over or intoxicated. Unlike our Islanders team and media guys – I got to sleep in and only woke up because I was hot, being it’s about 50 degrees here today and my heat was set a bit too high.

Moving on to the hockey side of this post – a quick recap of the past few games.

Islanders vs Lighting: Win at Home 3-1

The last time that Tampa and the Islanders played was on Tuesday – think of tonight’s game as a delayed home and home. The Islanders did well against the Bolts, scoring three goals in just over three minutes and chasing rookie netminder Kari Ramo. We would see goals by Mark Streit, Trent Hunter and a player who had not scored in over two seasons – Radek Martinek. Martinek’s goal was just as strange feeling as when Brendan Witt scores his annual goal – a feat he has yet to accomplish this season, but has come awfully close. For the third straight game, Yann Danis would carry a shutout into the third period only to lose it late in the game, it’s not really the biggest deal because he has been playing very well – but it would be nice to see him get the no-no. The Islanders would win the game 3-1, but would lose their go-to defenseman in Mark Streit – whom at that point was one of only three Islanders to play in every game the entire season. Streit injured his shoulder during the second period in a collision and Tomas Pock was lost for four weeks after injuring his hand. While Okposo did not score and we saw his goal streak snapped, he did pick up and assist and extended his point streak to five games (5g, 1a). The kids continue to shine.

I wanted to give this next bit a paragraph all to itself because I felt it was really important. In the first period Tim Jackman went hard to the net and collided with Ramo whom fell over as if he was shot. Of all people to stand up and challenge Jackman – Vincent Lecavalier tried to fire his team up by dropping the gloves. The fight wasn’t really much to speak about, but it left me feeling conflicted – apparently Jacko as well. I didn’t get the chance to speak to him after the game, but it was clear he showed respect (and restraint) by not really pummeling him as he is capable of. It’s one thing when it’s two enforcers duking it out, it become something else entirely when it’s you are fighting one of the leagues superstars. Do you really risk injuring the player or do you just wrestle and throw a few punches as they wound up doing.

You can see the fight as always on Hockey Fights, but here is the youtube clip:

Islanders vs Panthers: Loss on Road 3-2

The trip out to the sunshine state usually involves the fathers making the trip with their sons, this year is no different it’s just unfortunate that they opened their little road trip on a loss. The Islanders would elect to start Joey MacDonald whom returned from a groin injury suffered on January 13th and also feature two call up defenseman in Jack Hillen and Joe Callahan. They would look to extend their win streak to a season high five games and a point streak to six games.

The Panthers are another team that the Islanders have faced recently, the Cats were in town on 1/31 and the Islanders walked all over them in a 3-1 win. The game on Thursday started a little later than we are used to, even though it was only a half hour later – I still didn’t manage to stay up for the entire contest. From what I did see, I saw the Islanders struggle against a team that looks much better when David Booth is in the lineup. I am sure Nate Thompson feels the same way – Thompson took a big open ice hit from Booth and immediately left the ice in pain. We would later find out that he injured his shoulder and would miss some time. The Panthers took an early lead, going up two goals before the end of the first period on goals by their defensemen – Jay Bouwmeester and Karlis Skrastins (Scratch and Sniff).

The Islanders would get on the board in the second period on a power play goal by Josh Bailey. Bailey had gone 11 games without a goal, but would get his second of the season on a nice feed from Nielsen and fire it past Florida goaltender Tomas Vokoun low glove side. The one goal deficit would be short lived however, as ex-Isle Richard Zednik would beat Martinek along the boards and dance to the middle of the ice and OVER a sprawled out Brendan Witt, while mid air he was able to deposit the puck through MacDonald’s pads to give the Cats their second two goal lead of the game. The goal was highlight worthy, and those plays are kind of hard to be mad at – see for yourself:

Armed with another power play, the Islanders would strike again – this time Trent Hunter would find himself all alone in front of Vokoun and again make it a one goal game. On the face off that lead to the goal, Josh Bailey would lose the draw but out of desperation dive forward and chip the puck out to Hunter who would deposit it backhand past Vokoun. Hunters goal gives him points in four straight games (3g, 1a) and also Bailey his second point of the night. It was Bailey’s third time this season with a two-point game and he now has 2 goals and 13 assists for 15 points in 37 games.

I missed a majority of the third period because I fell asleep, but I saw the Islanders make a last ditch effort to get the equalizer with MacDonald pulled. It was exciting to wake up and see some good hockey – but they were unable to score. It snapped their win streak – but I was ok with the effort I saw after the first period and happy with the play of the young players again.

Tonight’s Tampa Re-Match

Tonight should prove to be a fun contest to watch as you know the Lightning will come out with intensity looking for revenge against the Isles for their performance last week. The Bolts are not too far removed from the tight Eastern Conference playoff picture should they string together a group of wins – they need tonight’s two points a lot more then the Islanders do.

Greg Logan reports in his blog today that Sean Bergenheim will replace the injured Nate Thompson – which sort of confuses me a bit. It was said in all the games that Bergy was scratched he was out with an injured “side” – to me it just seems per Logan’s blog that he was more of a healthy scratch. Whatever the case, Bergenheim, does possess more of a scoring touch than Thompson but is not a centerman – so there will need to be some line juggling. MacDonald didn’t play too bad on Thursday – but coming off an injury will the team decide to give him a rest and go with Danis tonight?

I am still really conflicted with this team – which sounds confusing. As a fan, I have accepted the fact that this team really won’t amount to anything come playoff time – I know they won’t even be close. They also had a horrible stretch of hockey that only saw them win maybe two or three games through December and much of January. It was nice to see a nice little stretch of wins – especially at home because it gives us a look at the kids progressing nicely and how they will help in the future. This is where I get conflicted, I want them to finish dead last in the league with the fewest points as I want them to have the best shot at either Tavares or Hedman. If this team finishes with the fewest amount of points, the lowest we can pick is number two – because we cannot move down any more than one position should we wind up not picking first due to the lottery. There will still be great players available in the top six picks, but this team needs someone who will sell tickets and give hope to a fan base dealing with politicians who are balking and stalling on a decision regarding a new arena and rumors that the team will be sold and/or moved.

It’s a rough time to be a fan of the Islanders for sure, but it’s sadly an exciting time in a way.

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Thank goodness it’s the very last day of 2008 – it’s not been all bad mind you, I just want to move past all these injuries.

In what is now a daily trend, the Islanders have announced several injuries and players recalled from Bridgeport to serve as replacement for said players. Here is what we know, thanks to Islanders Point Blank:

Trevor Smith has been recalled to replace Mike Sillinger who finds himself back in a familiar place – Injured Reserve with a hip injury. No word if this is an injury to his surgically repaired hip or to his “good hip”. It’s a shame too, because he has been pretty good for the Islanders in between missing time with that groin strain and all.

Trent Hunter is reportedly sore, nothing major after that scary hit at the Garden on Monday. If Hunts cannot go – Botta says to expect Sim to take his place.

Sean Bergenheim will likely dress for Mitch Fritz, Bergy is the better choice providing he can find a way to remain out of the sin bin.

The question at this point is why is Yann Danis recalled once again so soon after he was sent back down? Will he serve as backup for a returning DiPietro or will he backup MacDonald. The tricky part about this situation is how Joey Mac took a shot up high off the neck during yesterday’s practice. This is something to watch for sure. The last time I checked everyone thought that DiPietro would be today’s starting goalie – who knows at this point. I know I don’t profess to know or understand anything anymore.

No live blog again today, my apologies – if the mood strikes me I may do something from my phone while in my seats. Follow along with the live tracker at the bottom of the post for all those stuck at work!

Enjoy the game!

Vote for Islesblogger!

Today is the very last day to vote in the Yes Islanders 2008 Best Blog awards!

I know I did not really push this too much, I honestly don’t expect to win – but Yes Islanders is a great community and deserves an extra plug here and there. Head on over there (click the banner below) and sign up to vote – it’s free and easy!

Live Tracker

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Well, in what is becoming a regular update, we have lots of new injuries and injury updates to talk about.

New Injuries

Josh Bailey is day to day with an ankle sprain. Hopefully it’s not of the dreaded “high ankle” variety that keeps players out long stretches. Last I checked the team did not know if he would play tonight. UPDATE Chris Botta reports from the morning skate that Josh Bailey is all systems go for tonight! This up and down stuff is crazy!

Nate Thompson (or should we call him “yo-yo”) is down again, this time with a fractured ankle that will keep him sidelined 3-4 weeks.

Injury Updates

Rick DiPietro is skating in full equipment, practicing with the team and is said to be going on the mini road trip this weekend. He should get some game time in the coming week.

Mike Comrie is coming along, it is said he should be back in about a week.

Kyle Okposo is doing well, no timetable just yet, although he is very close.

Mike Sillinger is still suffering from discomfort in his groin and is currently day to day.

Greg Logan has broken some callup news:

Center Ben Walter has been called up from Bridgeport by the Islanders to replace Nate Thompson in the lineup against Washington tonight at the Coliseum. Thompson reportedly is out 2-4 weeks with a fractured ankle suffered Saturday at Columbus.

In 16 games with the Sound Tigers, Walter has five goals and nine assists for 14 points. He’s likely slated for fourth-line duty but has played for coach Scott Gordon in the past and understands the system.

And yet another twist, Mike Fornabaio claims that Jeremy Colliton was recalled as well:

Ben Walter and Jeremy Colliton were missing for the good reason, called up; word is, though, that at least one of the two is himself sick. Now, does somebody else go, too? Good question. You are informed as I am informed.

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Just got back from the morning skate at the Coliseum, Tom Liodice and I filmed an interview with Josh Bailey for Islanders TV which should be up soon. That WAS the news of the day – but I have some breaking news type stuff.

Blake Comeau has been recalled from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Jeff Tambellini has been sent down. This is all per Mike Fornabaio of course!

Details behind Tambellini being sent down aren’t there just yet, but we have to assume it is the rumored conditioning stint that enables the club to make this move (Tambo is on a one way contract and would be subject to waivers). Blake Comeau has been on fire the past several games and is currently at a point a game (4-15-19 points in 19 games) so it’s great to see him get his “second” shot with the Islanders.

The other story today is that Nate Thompson was out on the ice and will be playing tonight against the Atlanta Thrashers. Between Thompson and Jackman, this is the element of toughness the Islanders need as they are both pests who can put the puck in the net. As always, Jon Sim will add his antagonistic element to the mix, as well as Bergenheim.

One more bit of information, Mike Comrie was skating with the team today – he looked like he was laboring a bit out there – so he is getting closer but in no way ready to return just yet. Other sightings (in street clothes) Bruno Gervais and Frans Nielsen – each of those players look “ok”.

Updated!!!

The Islanders just announced the Tambellini-Comeau swap:

The New York Islanders have announced that left wing Jeff Tambellini has agreed to a conditioning assignment with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League and right wing Blake Comeau has been recalled from Bridgeport. Comeau will be in the Islanders’ lineup tonight when they host the Atlanta Thrashers at the Nassau Coliseum.

In 23 games with the Islanders this season, Tambellini has recorded two assists for two points. In 102 career NHL games, he has scored four goals with 15 assists for 19 points. Tambellini was acquired on March 8, 2006 from the Los Angeles Kings in a trade.

Comeau has played in 19 games for Bridgeport this season and has scored four goals with 15 assists for 19 points. This will be his third season appearing in games with the Islanders. In 54 career NHL games, all with the Islanders, Comeau has scored eight goals with seven assists for 15 points. Comeau was drafted by the Islanders in the second round (47th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

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Injuries happen all the time in sports, sometimes they can be attributed to conditioning, others times the playing surface conditions (football is turf, for hockey ice naturally) and still other injuries are just bad luck, accidental or the result of deliberate acts.

For the New York Islanders injury “situation”, I would venture to say that it is the result of bad luck. I know that one of my fellow blogger brethren B.D. Gallof blames it on ice conditions – but I disagree. The ice is bad league wide (as it is early in the season every year), I don’t really beleive that the injuries we have seen this season can be attributed to ice quality and here is why; maybe two out of all the current and recent injuries can POSSIBLY be blamed on the ice. Let’s break down player injuries CSI style -up to this point:

• Rick DiPietro: Knee surgery following off season knee and hip surgery (and returning too soon).
• Mike Sillinger: Just returning from hip surgery).
• Mike Comrie: Out after returning too soon from hip surgery.
• Andy Sutton: Missed time due to a hand injury requiring surgery.
• Josh Bailey: Missed time due to a “lower body injury”. It was speculated groin – but could have been anything below the waist.
• Kyle Okposo: Out with an arm injury – wrist sprain.
• Nate Thompson: Day to day “banged up”, the latest is “leg-ish”.
• Radek Martinek: “Glass Man” missed time with a shoulder injury, returned only to go down again.
• Bruno Gervais: Out with a leg injury.
• Chris Campoli: Missed the start if the season due to a separated shoulder.
• Freddy Meyer: Missed time with a sports hernia that required surgery.
• Brendan Witt: Missed time due to a knee injury.
• Frans Nielsen: Out with multiple leg injuries.

Now, let’s discuss these injuries in detail.

Brendan Witt suffered his knee injury the result of a knee-on-knee collision October 23rd against the Dallas Stars. Hard to attribute that to ice conditions, no? Not really sure it was a dirty deliberate attack though, we will chalk it up to a normal hockey injury.

Kyle Okposo injured his wrist. Now this could be blamed on the ice if he fell on it – but I clearly remember the play in which Okie was injured. He collided with a player during the Islanders 2-1 win over the Canucks and grimmaced in pain. This is another injury that “just happens” and has even happened to myself. It’s unfortunate, but I say it’s bad luck – “Thems the breaks!”.

Andy Sutton injured his hand during a preseason game September 25th against Philadelphia. This injury could have happened in a scuffle or blocking a shot. This isn’t something that happens often and injuries to the phalanges don’t really happen because of bad ice. Sorry, to say – this is another bad luck injury.

Josh Bailey injured his “lower body” during the preseason. We don’t really know specifics, but we have speculated it was his groin based on what we knew from news reports. This is a possible candidate for ice conditions, but without more information it could also be the result of a young player not prepared for the rigors of the NHL. To me, this is the something more related to conditioning.

Freddy Meyer has “Sean Bates” style bad “groins”. This is an injury that could have started at any point in his career and gotten worse over time. Meyer could also just have a different physical makeup that leaves his susceptible to this type of injury. Could it be aggravated by bad ice – yes, but this is something that could be hurt anywhere anytime.

Chris Campoli is another player felled to injury during the preseason. His shoulder was separated by a massive hit that some found questionable during a preseason game against the Bruins on September 23rd. It is another one of those situations that always seems to happen to the Islanders.

Frans Nielsen was injured in a game against New Jersey that was the result of a high hit by Mike Mottau. As Nielsen went down his skate caught a rut in the ice and rotated awkwardly. Mottau was suspended because of the play, but the injury would not have happened if he was not hit. Sure, the ice was the main culprit – but it was a perfect storm. No hit and you don’t see that leg injury.

Nate Thompson has been a solid pick up since the Islanders claimed him off waivers from the Bruins. Nate has been banged up as of late, it’s hard not to understand why – he can fight, skate, and play the body. He also spends a ton of time on the penalty kill and blocks shots all over the place. Thompson missed some time with a lower body injury and now it appears he has some sort of leg injury. With his style of play, it is hard to blame whatever his ailments are on anything other than that.

Mike Sillinger hurt his hip sometime during the 2007/2008 season and it required season ending surgery the tail end of 2008. Sillinger rehabilitated his hip and worked on it all summer long, although unfortunately he had a tough time with the recovery and needed injections to help the process. Sillinger returns tonight against the Capitals after a conditioning stint in Bridgeport. At 36 years old, he has had a long career and it is likely that his age caught up with him. Because this injury goes back to last season – there is not enough evidence to really blame this on any other specific cause.

Bruno Gervais has been one of those up and down players. It seems no matter how many times his game begins to turn around, he suffers a setback and it takes him a while to get back in the groove. Somewhere along the last week, Gervais suffered what is described as a “leg injury”. Knowing Gervais has a history with ankle injuries – I would venture to say this is in that area. Not really seeing a play, this is one of those injuries that could be blamed on the ice – but without proof, could be anything.

Mike Comrie is another one of the Islanders who went down with a hip injury last season. Comrie had his surgery at the same “hip specialist” as DiPietro and Sillinger, yet he is also having issues with recovery. It is my belief that Comrie returned entirely too soon and reinjured himself in the process. This injury falls on the responsibility of the training staff, who may have been persuaded by Comrie to let him jump into action too soon.

Rick DiPietro is another player I feel rushed back into action way too soon. Undergoing hip surgery towards the end of last season and then knee surgery during the offseason – coming back into action cold without much time for rehabilitation was just plain stupid. Once again, DiPietro likely talked his way back into action instead of doing the right thing and taking as much time as he needed. When you are the “franchise player” who is also signed to a mega deal, you really need to think about your health and well being a bit more. Unfortunately for us Islanders fans – DiPietro is forever known now as being “injury prone”. As if the people mocking the ridiculous contract needed any more reason to mock the team.

So what is the root cause of all of these injuries? BAD LUCK, very very bad luck specifically. Injuries happen all the time in sports, like I mentioned earlier – even moving into tonight’s match up against the Washington Capitals – they are without several players. I don’t think the blame can be placed on any one specific area after looking at the injuries in depth. Could it be the strength and conditioning coach Chris Schwarz, or head trainer Garret Timms? Surely both of these guys have a large stake and responsibility in the health of their players – why do these things (especially hip injuries…) keep happening?

The answers are out there, it’s up to the Islanders to find out what is causing the amount of injuries the last two seasons. I am not gullible enough to chalk it up to coincidence at this point.

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Every now and then one or two (or in the Islanders case SEVEN) of your players will go down to injury. Luckily, the Islanders are fortunate enough to have their minor league affiliate an hours drive away. With rookie Kyle Okposo down and out with an arm/hand injury for about a week – enforcer Mitch Fritz has been recalled from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. With one call up, two call ups comes one activation from the injured reserve, (defenseman Brendan Witt will make his return Friday against the Devils) a conditioning stint (center Mike Sillinger has been cleared to play and has agreed to a three game conditioning stint with Bridgeport) and one goaltender exchange (Yann Danis was returned to Bridgeport for backup of the backup to the backup – Peter Mannino).

A quick listen to the fans around Islanders Nation will tell you they think Fritz is the wrong choice. A player who certainly needs another look is 07/08 standout Blake Comeau, who is playing very well down in B’port (2 goals 9 assists in 13 games). If the schedule were any different the next few days I would completely agree – but obviously I do not.

The Islanders will face several tough opponents in the next three games – New Jersey, Buffalo and Montreal. The key to having Fritz up now is clear, at least to me – New Jersey is still hurting with Brodeur injured and having scoring trouble to boot. Going into a game against them right now is going to be tough without a physical element. Sure, we have players such as Sim, Jackman and Witt (said to be playing limited minutes) – but it’s always great to have a guy you can send out to win key battles. If the past is any indication of the tone the games will have – look no further than the 7-1 pummeling the Sabres handed to the Islanders earlier this year, or the tough physical game the Devils brought to them a few weeks ago. The Islanders will look to exact revenge, no doubt – but they need to continue their stretch of solid hockey. The team has greatly improved their all around game since the first time the team faced these opponents – it is a big weekend for them in a number of ways.

To me the smartest of all these moves is sending Danis down to Bridgeport. Sometimes maybe it takes a former goaltender as the head coach to fully understand what it’s like to go too many games without being tested – much as we saw for long stretches the previous two seasons under Nolan. Gordon is taking a proactive approach to handling this precarious goaltending situation while DiPietro is out – he recognized that one of his backups has been sitting idle too long and wants him fresh – thus the swap. Mannino has been tearing it up down in Bridgeport (6-1-2 record, 2.46 GAA .912 save%) – so it is rewarding for him to get the nod to backup MacDonald.

This is certainly the closest the Islanders have been to being completely healthy in almost a full season – hopefully now that we got through the injury bug early, the team can focus on sticking to their game plan and creeping closer to .500.

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I figured, since the Islanders do not want to disclose any injuries – it would be fitting to get an “Undisclosed Injury Report” out there.

If you haven’t already heard, the Islanders would not confirm last night that DiPietro suffered any specific injury during the first period against Carolina. Lies, deceit, fibs – whatever you want to call it, the only bits of information trickling down from upper management through head coach Scott Gordon, captain Bill Guerin and Rick DiPietro himself were clearly part of a mass conspiracy. What we were able to figure out is that there was “something” ailing DP.

Greg Logan was furious during the interviews, absolutely furious. You can see for yourself in his latest blog entry – it was almost a full five-hours after the final buzzer of the game when Logan posted in his blog. Normally, you just don’t see an opinion as critical and harsh come from any beat writer – but as a blogger (part of the non-mainstream) it’s good Greg has a place he can go to air his concerns and frustrations. For me – you already know how I feel about this foolish injury policy the Islanders are practicing.

It just shouldn’t come down to being fed false information about injuries – especially when the Islanders are likely near the top of the list regarding man-games lost to injury, much like they were last season.

The Walking Wounded

Here is a current list of the “injured” players currently out, recovering or “scratches” for the New York Islanders.

Josh Bailey

Perhaps one of the most curious injuries – 2008 1st round draft pick Josh Bailey has been missing in action since the pre-season. Having only played in two exhibition games – the young center was supposed to play in nine NHL contests before being sent back down to juniors. A monkey wrench got thrown into the mix however, as somewhere along the line Josh was injured. It was never really disclosed what exactly was ailing him – but he was just about to be cleared to return when the “injury” was tweaked during practice. Josh has been a scratch for all of the Islanders games to this point.

Best guess, Bailey has some sort of groin, abdominal or hamstring injury.

Estimated time of return: Per news reports – 2-4 weeks

Rick DiPietro

Rick DiPietro is the bionic man, he has had two hip surgeries and one knee surgery in two seasons. We call it the 1-2-2 deal. DiPietro missed almost all of the preseason matches and only played in one exhibition game before riding the pine as back-up for Joey MacDonald. DiPietro was finally allowed to play – came in and got shellacked in his first start. He claimed he felt great and that the wait was well worth it. In every game since, DiPietro looked ok – but not anything like his pre-all star performance last season. DiPietro has let in weak goal after weak goal, and when he has been sharp the defense let him down. In the loss to Carolina on Saturday – DiPietro threw the puck up the middle – a basic fundamental mistake, which lead to a turnover and ultimately a goal against. Gordon made everyone’s head spin by bringing out Joey Macdonald in the second period – leading to speculation that DiPietro was re-injured.

The rumors and personal thoughts among the media were rampant and questions began to fly from every direction during Gordon’s press conference. Gordon laughed about the precarious situation he found himself in and claimed DiPietro was day-to-day, right in the line of fire. Bill Guerin played dumb, giving a sarcastic answer and claiming he knew nothing of an injury, then with a laugh saying “You know how it goes”. When it came to DiPietro facing the media, he said the questions were becoming a bit of a distraction and that he couldn’t talk about any specifics. It was like a soap opera, a badly written soap opera.

Chris Botta claimed this morning on his blog that Yann Dennis was recalled on an emergency basis to back up MacDonald – but then Greg Logan couldn’t get clear cut confirmation that Dennis would even dress on Monday. In the same blog entry, Logan claims that DiPietro is going to the doctor tomorrow – interesting development for one of those mild “undisclosed injuries” – eh?

Best guess: DiPietro tweaked his knee, it was red and it looked like there was some swelling. He came into the room sans ice-pack however – further deepening the mystery.

Estimated time of return: listed as day to day

Andy Sutton

Andy Sutton was all set to return from season ending hamstring surgery and played in a few exhibition games – that was until he suffered a “hand injury”. Sutton underwent hand surgery, at the time the injury was announced – his return was around 6 weeks. Sutton was just cleared to take part in full contact practices and has been practicing with the team daily.

Once Sutton returns, he will replace the size that Witt presented back there – but what about his intensity? Reports from some of the other players are that Sutton is dying to get back out the ice. His conditioning hasn’t been better and his skating ability has improved since last season. It remains to be seen being we have not seen much of him since last season – but a guy like him returning from injury when other key guys are down is certainly a plus.

Estimated time of return: within a week.

Mike Sillinger

Mike Sillinger is another player who underwent surgery during the off season. Sillinger did not take well to the surgery and needed some injections to jump start the healing process. He has been skating since the summer, but did not take part in camp from what I could gather. He has been skating and working with the Islanders coaches and could return sometime within the next month. Out of all the injuries – the Islanders have been most upfront about this one.

Estimated time of return: 2-4 weeks or about a month

Freddy Meyer

Chalk another up on the undisclosed injury list. Defenseman Freddy Meyer IV was injured at some point during Saturday’s game against Carolina. Meyer had a fair game, scoring and assisting on Bergenheim’s short handed tally – although he also had a bad give away that lead to Staal scoring effortlessly.

Defenseman Brett Skinner has been called up on an emergency basis to fill in for Meyer should the need arise. Greg Logan said that Meyer is also going to see the Doctor on Monday.

Estimated time of return: listed as day to day

Radek Martinek

AKA “Glass Man” – Radek Martinek went down in only the second game of this season. I had joked at the time he got hurt we should have started a Martinek injury pool amongst the Blog Box – but I really hate when Marty goes down with injury. Martinek is a solid d-man when healthy, it’s just a shame the poor guy can’t ever play a complete season. Hopefully now that he got an injury out of the way early – he can come back healthy and remain that way for the rest of the season.

Martinek suffered what is believed to be a separated shoulder, but the team wouldn’t say much other than “an upper body injury”. To those of us who saw the play – it did not look good and he was clearly in pain. A positive however, I saw him in the locker room on Thursday and he wasn’t in a sling that was visible to me – so maybe he isn’t as bad as speculated.

Estimated time of return: Per news reports – 4 to 6 weeks

Brendan Witt

Brendan Witt is the guy you associate with playing through pain, he is a man’s man and is THE shutdown guy for the Islanders. Witt injured one of his knees last season and seemed to be fully recovered – that was until he took a knee-on-knee collision against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. Witt limped off the ice and appeared to be in agony and could not put much weight on the knee. He was listed as questionable for the game yesterday against Carolina and the same for the game against the Rangers tomorrow.

If Witt loses any length of time it will be detrimental to the Islanders defense – especially with Martinek already injured and now a potential injury to Meyer. The Islanders were also mum on this injury – claiming Witt sustained “a lower body injury”.

I happened to see Brendan walking around yesterday in the locker room – he looked to be favoring one leg over the other, so not really sure what is going on with him.

Estimated time of return: listed as day-to-day

Seven

Seven players currently down because of injuries. Here we are 7 games into the 2008/2009 NHL season and the Islanders already have enough injuries to last them an entire season. Thankfully Chris Campoli made his return, otherwise it would be eight.

When this many injuries happen, you have to start looking into why. Last season – it seemed freaky that all the injuries happened, especially to hips. This year, it cannot be chalked up to coincidence – it has to point to conditioning. Maybe that’s why the Islanders are deflecting so much away from their injured players, they are hiding something much more serious.

Simply amazing though, looking through all the “injuries” and how they are explained though – isn’t it?

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