Islanders vs. Devils

Last night at The Rock, the Isles tripped up the Devils and ended their five game home win streak. With all precincts reporting, one thing is very true: the Isles officially own the Devils.

Also, and stop me if you've read this before, but Rick DiPietro is really emerging this season. He made many difficult saves and one thing I have noticed that is not getting a lot of attention is that the kid simply does not give up rebounds like he used to. Ricky always was able to make the big saves and had been prone to trying to do too much at times but now he definitely stays in the cage better and when a shot comes at him, he not only saves it, but smothers it.

The save of the night for DiPietro came on a penalty kill when Patrik Elias tried to rip a snapper while alone in the slot into the upper left corner. Tasty glove save by the Islanders All-Star that left the traveling Islanders fans chanting, "DP!" and nearly caused radio PBP-er Steve Mears to have an aneurysm on air. Seriously.

The line of the Tank-Mike Sillinger--Trent Hunter were working hard all night forcing turnovers and pushing the pace. Sillinger redirected a pass from Hunter on a sweet little play down low to score his eleventh of the season. Sillinger shockingly found himself alone in front of Martin Brodeur. Somebody definitely missed an assignment and that somebody definitely got an earful from Devils coach Brent Sutter between periods.

Another fun fact: with Brendan Witt nursing the injury (he expects to be back Saturday according to Newsday), Hunter was again rocking the A on his sweater. I believe that this is the first stretch in his career that Trent had been an assistant captain for the Islanders. You get the sense that the organization does not take letter-wearing lightly, so Hunter's constant effort has not gone un-noticed by the coaches and players of the Islanders.

Bill Guerin scored two goals last night. The Captain put the Islanders up 1-0 with Colin White and Mike Mottau both in the penalty box with 4:51 left in the first period. Miro Satan made a pass down low to Mike Comrie, who slid it to Guerin for a one-timer. Guerin would add an empty-netter for his second of the game and team-leading 17th goal of the season.

More tricky news for the blueline: Chris Campoli left the game in the first with an apparent shoulder injury and did not return, leaving the Islanders with five defensemen for the rest of the game. He'll be evaluated today back on Long Island. Man, it is good to have depth. Like I said, Newsday is reporting that Brendan Witt is looking to return on Saturday against the Flyers. We also know that Radek Martinek is skating so hopefully he will be ready to go soon. Andy Sutton stepped into the breach and played over 26 minutes and blocked six shots.