Islanders Team Report from Yahoo! Sports

Inside Shots

The relatively small amount of fans and media who ardently follow the Islanders might be eyeing the first pick in the June entry draft, but the John Tavares sweepstakes continue to be a taboo topic among the existing players in the locker room.

“We know a lot of people talk about that, but we don’t,” emerging star Kyle Okposo told the New York Post. “Never. We’re trying to win games and play the best we can. That stuff comes with how the results go at end of the year.

“For sure it’s important to us, but you never know how a player’s gonna turn out. I know there’s a lot of good players in this draft, but we’re not thinking about it.”

With the worst record in the NHL through Saturday’s 5-2 loss in Ottawa, the Islanders would pick no worse than second in the draft because teams can’t drop more than one spot via the lottery. An unexpected hot streak earlier this month had threatened to lift them out of the NHL basement, but they have dropped three of four games entering Wednesday’s game against Minnesota.

“I told them earlier that we weren’t going to worry about our record, and that’s still true,” coach Scott Gordon said. “It says a lot about the approach we’ve had. At this time of year, you can have the mindset that, ‘I can’t wait ‘til the season’s over.’ That’s not the case here. It’s almost like our record doesn’t exist.”

Senators 5, Islanders 2: The Islanders netted four second-period goals Friday in Carolina and allowed four in the middle session one night later in Ottawa. Both extremes somehow resulted in the latest two losses for the Isles, who have dropped three of four games overall following a surprising 5-1-1 stretch that briefly threatened to get the NHL’s 30th-ranked team out of the league cellar.

Notes, Quotes

• D Bruno Gervais’ overall play recently has been “leaps and bounds ahead of where he started this year,” according to coach Scott Gordon. Gervais has been playing on the top defensive pairing with All-Star D Mark Streit, and he even has scored two goals in his last 10 games after being held scoreless for 160 appearances since 2006.

“One thing I’ve been noticing is that players are a lot more relaxed now, and I think skill comes out when guys are relaxed,” Gervais told Newsday. “I used to feel every loss was the end of the world…You bring your best effort to the rink, but people around you don’t deserve to pay for your performance. You want to win; you’re intense, but I have a rule. When it turns midnight, it’s a new day.”

• C Doug Weight is skating and trying to make it back to the lineup from a knee injury before the season is over. The veteran pivot and pending unrestricted free agent also has expressed interest in returning next season after the Islanders took a chance on him last summer.

“Let’s put it this way: there’s nothing that’s making me run from Long Island,” Weight said recently. “I love it here and I love this organization and the guys on the team. There’s nothing I’d like more than to get something done for next season.”

Quote To Note: “If you have a good night, it makes it a lot sweeter if it’s a ‘W.’”—Center Josh Bailey, after the first two-goal game of his career was wasted in a 5-2 loss Saturday in Ottawa.