"They're playing really well defensively," said Carbonneau, who stressed defence and five-on-five play in the Canadiens' practice at the Bell Centre prior to flying here Tuesday.
"I know it's going to be a hard game. There are two teams nobody expected to be there so it's going to be fun."
Canadian Press: Pierre Lebrun has the usual Islanders are a quiet surprise in a division they were predicted to finish last in. Comments from GM Garth Snow and a lot of praise from Mike Comrie on Guerin, Ted Nolan and Rick DiPietro.
"It's still early in the season," cautioned Isles GM Garth Snow. "We haven't even got to the 20-game mark yet. But the encouraging part of that is that we feel we should have a better record than what we have."
"We got the players that we thought would give us the best opportunity to win," said Snow. "I know some people outside this organization were sceptical and maybe didn't know what was going on, but we had a plan and we stuck to it."
On Ted Nolan:
"He's been great," said Comrie. "He really lets the players do their thing. The thing that he demands is that everybody works hard. "You look at his track record, he seems to get the most out of the players that he has," added Comrie. "I don't think it's a secret there's a reason why he's considered a players' coach."
"Ricky DiPietro gives us a chance to win every night," said Comrie. "He's a goaltender that never gives up. He's very athletic. You can tell in practice, he doesn't want one puck to get in."
Globe and Mail : David Shoalts claims a source told the Globe and Mail NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has ruled Neil Smith is not entitled to any meaningful compensation for his brief run as the New York Islanders because he did not have an enforceable contract. The ruling is not final because not all parties have signed off on it but the commissioner did make his decision known to the parties involved. An NHL spokesman said Bettman has not rendered a decision and has not held an official hearing and a settlement could still be reached.
NYI Fan Central Comments:
Hopefully this stays buried behind the scenes. If Mr Wang introduced him as the gm by committee or otherwise he should be entitled to some compensation. I guess Bettman knows something we do not know.
Espn.com: Jonah Keri has a very good feature article on Mike Sillinger.
Canada.com/Cam West News: Reports The New York Islanders became the first team in NHL history to play seven straight regulation games decided by one goal. The streak includes five wins and two losses.
MLN Newswire : Reports former Islander Dave Scatchard has signed a PTO with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League.
NYI Fan Central Comments:
Have to admire Scatchard for wanting to continue his career but at this point it's fair to ask what is wrong with his game to where he's at this point?
Espn.com: Scott Burnside of course keeps the glass as empty as possible for the Islanders in his breakdown of teams to this point and predicts a precipitous drop in the standings.
NYI Fan Central Comments:
Does Burnside understand the Islanders were a good team last year with ninety two points and anyone who has covered them on a daily basis see them as a team that's going to be very competitive who improved by not resigning players they did not want any longer? It's not like the club had seventy points last season or has not qualified for a playoff. They could start to struggle but not for the reason's Burnside claims.
Yahoo sports: Ross McKeon moves the Islanders into fifth in his power rankings league wide.
Seven straight one-goal games and winners in eight of 11 decided by a single tally for the season. And check this out, six are against rival Rangers and Devils, and Isles have won them all.
Media Blog: Cory Witt reports Time Warner Cable FSN NY HD is now available in NYC.
NYI Fan Central Comments:
Ok, now let's have Time Warner Cable in New York advertise the FSN-2 games on it's cable guide, not the TV guide channel and put the games on HD there also. Just as important drop the blackout for the FSN-2 team when the Islanders-Rangers-Devils play a head to head game.
At least let's put all the New York City Stations for Islander telecasts on the teams game preview, I'm tired of on reading about stations on Long Island.
Not the time to celebrate on this one. Why not put some Islander games on channel nine being that Msg can do that for another local team this Sunday instead of FSN-2.
Point Blank: Chris Botta talks about how great the players have been behind the scenes, how that seems to translate to their game when they are on pressure in games to this point and writes there's never been a better Islander team to deal with and notes the 01-02 group.
Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio's blog reports
lines Tuesday remained Tambellini-Walter-Bates and Bentivoglio-Nielsen-Regier. Tomorrow will be the first time since since 2006 that Tambellini and Nielsen won't begin the game on the same line.