Isles trade number five, confirmed

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Look out Canada, two wild and crazy bloggers are on their way to Ottawa for a weekend of drafty goodness. Tom Liodice and I are sitting at our terminal (way too early) posting from our phones because we are not paying for wifi. It was nice breezing through check in and security, but now we have lots of downtime.
At least we are technically on our way, right?
More in a bit!

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Well for everyone who wanted to see some of the kids get more icetime, this is definately your chance.

With Fedotenko and Hilbert being felled to injury last night, the Islanders had no choice but to bring in even MORE help from Bridgeport in the form of Steve Reiger, Tim Jackman and Matthew Spiller. This is in addition to: Tambellini, Colliton, Comeau, and Walter. One can only assume that Kyle Okposo will get his proverbial “cup of coffee” here in the next few games with this insane lack of scoring and rash of injuries.

Another intersting day in Islanders Country - I think this “Were all Islanders” motto has been taken a little too far.

Update!

Just some updates per Greg Logan’s latest blog entry!

Seems as if Spiller will be replacing Witt who has decided he can no longer work with his bum knee. I think this is a good choice as it appears the Islanders hopes of reaching the playoffs has faded. I would prefer Witt concentrates on getting healthy for next year.

Vasicek will be returning from the flu for tonight’s game, so Jeremy Colliton was sent back to Bridgeport. Reiger and Jackman will indeed fill in for Hilbert and Fedotenko.

Maybe Nolan really is coaching the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Three reinforcements arrived from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate to fill out the lineup tonight. Defenseman Matthew Spiller has the biggest shoes to fill. He’s in for Brendan Witt, who no longer can play effectively on his sprained knee. Forwards Steve Regier and Tim Jackman also will play in place of injured Ruslan Fedotenko and Andy Hilbert. Josef Vasicek, who missed the Tampa Bay game because of the flu, returns to the lineup, replacing Jeremy Colliton, who was returned to Bridgeport. Jackman and Spiller should add a physical element that has been missing since Chris Simon was traded. Certainly, Spiller’s callup might be a reaction to the way defenseman Rob Davison was handled last night in his second fight as an Islander.

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Islanders d-man Andy Sutton was injured in last nights thrilling come from behind victory over San Jose, and it was costly. The 6′6″ 245 lb defenseman took Jeremy Roenick into the boards behind DiPietro pretty hard and came away looking like he had just gotten shot. He managed to hunker down and stay in position helping DiPietro maintain the teams lead, but needed to be helped off the ice after the play stopped. We were informed during the post game press conference that Sutton had felt some discomfort in his hamstring area and would be re-evaluated the next day. Sutton underwent an MRI on his hamstring this morning, which revealed a partial tear - he will be out four to six weeks.

Add this injury to the ones to Witt (sprained MCL), Campoli (season ending shoulder surgery) and Gervais (strained oblique) and you have quite the shortage of blueliners. Bridgeport Sound Tiger Drew Fata gets the call on an emergency basis for the first time this season. The Isles have laughed in the face of diversity and injuries the last four games - can they continue the pace with yet another key injury or will management now add a defenseman to the list of parts the Islanders need in order to reach the playoffs.

With Islanders GM Garth Snow in Florida for the general mangagers meeting, he could very well be shopping pick and/or prospects (much to the dismay of Islanders fans everywhere) to the other GM’s in attendance. Just to add a friendly reminder, the GM meetings last year is where Snow had preliminary discussion with Edmonton’s GM in what would later be the Ryan Smyth trade that shocked the league - so don’t be surprised if Garth is sending feelers out.

It’s not going to be easy, but the Islanders have the momentum they need and have their own destiny in their hands. Tommorow’s game against the Capitals just became even more important. Hopefully the team has the intestinal fortitude to weather this latest injury and build on what is the longest point streak of the season.

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Per Islanders insider; Okposo inked to three year deal and will join the organization after the World Juniors Tournament is over!

More info plus links when I get home.

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Per TSN: The NHL has announced their decision on Chris Simon. It appears he will be sitting for 30 games, however TSN says a source close to the Isles says he will likely appeal.

TSN Article

More when I get home.

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