"It was a tough break to take a penalty when we already had one," Dubielewicz said. "A tough team like that with a five-on-three, they're going to bury it. From that point, I felt we were kind of on our heels. The five-on-three pretty much killed us. 'Hunts' makes a strong play and the guy falls down. It's a bad break."
"The game turned in the first two minutes of the second period," Guerin said. Referring to Spezza, Heatley and Alfredsson, he added, "They've got the best line in hockey. They dominate at five-on-five, never mind five-on-three. We put ourselves in penalty trouble, and it made a big difference. There's not much one guy can do when he's being thrown to the wolves."
"We didn't play an intelligent game," defenseman Brendan Witt said. "When we beat them at home, we were disciplined. But we exposed ourselves tonight and they took it to us. They scored three of five goals off the rush. Dubie's a good goalie. It seems like when he's in, we really expose ourselves instead of just playing with confidence. But he proved last year he's an NHL goalie."
Newsday: Greg Logan got comments from Chris Botta on Rick DiPietro's injury status, Ted Nolan comments on Radek Martinek now point to his day to day injury lasting a few weeks as he is in a walking cast. Shawn Bates season ending hip surgery and Dubie speaking to Ted Nolan about a Bridgeport conditioning stint before DiPietro was injured.
Team spokesman Chris Botta said there's a chance DiPietro might return to the lineup as soon as Saturday night against the Devils at Nassau Coliseum. "We're very convinced he's OK," Botta said.
Asked about Martinek's condition, Nolan said, "Last time I checked, it wasn't a serious injury. But it's enough to at least be two weeks."
Newsday: Greg Logan's pregame blog points to a lot of instances where the Islanders have not been up front with regard to injuries and expands a lot more on his second article.
Ottawa Citizen & Ottawa Sun: Have the Senators coverage on their win.
Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio's article is on the return of Jason Pitton from Utah who still is recovering from a shoulder injury and has to be checked out by the Islanders team doctors before returning to game action.
"I was able to go down and play a whole lot," Pitton said. "They roll three lines and an extra, so I got a lot of ice time. It was an experience I hadn't had before. I worked on my game. I worked on my skills."
PROVIDENCE BRUINS at BRIDGEPORT SOUND TIGERS
WHEN — Tonight, 7:30
WHERE — Arena at Harbor Yard
ON THE AIR — No radio; Webcast and B2 Networks Internet pay-per-view
WCF Courier: Jim Nelson has a feature on Islander draft pick Blake Kessel.