Top-Shelf – Islanders Daily 10/15/13

Oct 11, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; New York Islanders right wing Kyle Okposo (21) with the puck during the second period against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

After ending their first road-trip point-less, the New York Islanders head back home tonight looking to avenge back to back losses in Chicago and Nashville this past weekend.

Two consecutive losses surely wasn’t in the game plan before hitting the road. After gaining zero points in said games, Head Coach Jack Capuano mixed things up in practice. The familiar lines were rearranged, most notably with Matt Moulson spending some time with Frans Nielsen and Cal Clutterbuck on the “third” line. Meanwhile, on the top line, Michael Grabner filled in Moulson’s vacant spot on the left wing.

Of course, this was practice and much may not deviate from the lines  we’ve seen thus far into the season, but a change of plans and a slight sense of “wake up calls” is never a bad thing. Part of those wake up calls included an appearance by Radek Martinek, who skated with the team after signing a waiver allowing him to do so.

In other NHL news yesterday, the New York Rangers placed Rich Nash on injured reserve, while goaltender Martin Biron and forward Arron Asham were placed on waivers. Many fans began playing fortune teller, predicting a trade in the works for the Isles cross town rivals. While we wait for any news on the trade front, Isles fans remained busy debating whether or not Garth Snow would be giving Biron a call (he won’t).

In Case You Missed It:

Super-Stats : New York Islanders After Five Games (Eyes on Isles)

NHL TV Schedule : Week Of Oct 14 (Eyes on Isles)

Pierre-Marc Bouchard’s New York Islanders Career Off to Slow Start (Rant Sports)

Isles Look Towards Playing Better, Playing ‘Their Game’ (Islanders Point Blank)

Islanders Looking to Bounce Back on Homestand (Newsday)

Two Minutes for Tweeting:

• Preach, Dan…preach! While I do believe Strome would do just fine and outperform some guys on the current roster, I love the decision by the Isles to send Strome back to Bridgeport. We’ve seen what happens when a player is rushed. Strome’s time will certainly come.

• With all this fighting talk, tidbits like this usually get buried…which it did. Keep it in the game? Remove it from the game? Either way, the Isles are five games in and no one has needed to drop the gloves yet.

• Dedication with a capital D. When a jersey just doesn’t cut it, it’s time to go straight for the real deal and ink some Isles on ya for life. We’ll be waiting on the final product.

Around the NHL:

• Detroit Red Wings 3, Boston Bruins 2 – DET (Zetterberg, Weiss, Cleary); BOS (Eriksson, Lucic) – Monday afternoon Columbus Day matinee.
• Washington Capitals 4, Edmonton Oilers 2 – WSH (Laich, Ward, Ovechkin, Brouwer); EDM (Gordon, Acton) – Capitals snap three game losing streak.
• Minnesota Wild 2, Buffalo Sabres 1 – MIN (Brodziak, Pominville); BUF (Flynn) – Jason Pominville scores in the debut against his former team, keeping the Sabres winless.

Across the Sound:

The Sound Tigers have the week off before facing off at home against the Binghamton Senators on Sunday, October 20th at 3PM.