Birthday boy Lee nets OT winner for Isles

By IRA PODELL, AP Hockey Writer

NEWARK, N.J. (AP)—Chris Lee scored 2:28 into overtime on his 28th birthday Friday night, lifting the New York Islanders to a 3-2 preseason victory over the New Jersey Devils.

Lee snapped a drive that beat backup goalie Kevin Weekes on New York’s 20th shot. Fellow defenseman Bruno Gervais, who turned 24 Friday, earned an assist. The Islanders got the win after losing a 2-1 lead late in the second period.

“I don’t think the goalie saw it, and to be honest I didn’t see it go in, either,” Lee said. “It was a delayed celebration, but it was a great feeling. This is definitely the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten.”

After recording only five shots in the first period against Islanders third-string goalie Yann Danis, the Devils got even on Zach Parise’s power-play goal with 26.4 seconds left in the middle period.

New York couldn’t get the puck out of its zone during New Jersey’s third power play of the period—a high-sticking double-minor against Jeremy Colliton.

Devils defenseman Anssi Salmela slid a diagonal pass from the left point to Parise in the low right circle. Parise snapped a shot that beat Danis for his fifth goal of the preseason.

The Devils went on a 5-on-3 power play 13 seconds later when Lee was sent off for hooking. New Jersey enjoyed that manpower edge for well over a minute into the third period, but couldn’t take the lead.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying, though. The Islanders killed off the penalties only to go short-handed again at 2:04. The Devils pumped in five shots and hit the post with two other attempts. Patrik Elias slid the puck through the crease, but it caught the right post.

“At 5-on-5, I thought our guys did a tremendous job,” first-year Islanders coach Scott Gordon said. “I’d be surprised if they had more than 15 shots 5-on-5. The majority of their shots came on the power play, particularly the 5-on-3.

“When you’re short-handed for pretty much six consecutive minutes and close to eight, you’re going to lose momentum.”

New Jersey took a 1-0 lead 3:32 in on its first shot. Johnny Oduya let go a drive from above the left circle that hit the right post and caromed in.

The Islanders tied it on Andy Hilbert’s stuff shot near the right post with 4:29 left in the first period, and Kurtis McLean made it 2-1 for New York 2:55 later when his drive from the left point seemed to hit Salmela in flight and take a dip past Weekes.

That was quite a change from Wednesday on Long Island when the Devils defeated the Islanders 3-0 behind a 17-save effort by No. 1 goalie Martin Brodeur.

“Every game you play you want to win,” said Mike Comrie, one of the few Islanders veterans in the lineup. “When you’re playing a division rival, you just expect a lot out of everybody. It’s nice to get a win but we know we have a long road ahead of us.”

The Devils outshot New York 12-0 in the third on Friday before the Islanders recorded their first shot of the period shortly after the 13-minute mark. Until then, New Jersey had showed mostly lackluster play.

“For the first half of the game, that’s exactly what we were,” Devils coach Brent Sutter said. “We did a much better job in the second half of having some assertiveness and puck pursuit. Our forecheck was a lot better, there wasn’t as many gaps. The shots on goal showed that.”

Danis finished with 28 saves. Regular backup Joey MacDonald also dressed, but New York’s No. 1 netminder Rick DiPietro is close to returning. He skated with teammates Friday morning and is expected to get the start Monday when the Islanders finish their preseason schedule at Florida.

The Islanders and Devils will open the regular season against each other next Friday in New Jersey.

Notes

The Islanders are expected to be without defensemen Andy Sutton and Chris Campoli for several weeks. Sutton is out because of hand surgery. Campoli is sidelined by an injured shoulder, not the one he dislocated last season that knocked him out for the season in January. … Veteran forwards Bill Guerin and Doug Weight sat out for the Islanders. They are expected to play the final two preseason games.

Brent Sutter

Can't escape the news all over the place that former Islander captain Brent Sutter is going to be coaching the Devils this season. I was a big fan of Brent's back in the day and I wish him nothing but the best of luck with the Devils. This so would be harder to swallow if we didn't have Ted Nolan coaching the Islanders, wouldn't you think?

Other news from around the league that intrigues me:

Sheldon Souray signed to play in Edmonton. I have to admit that I am glad that nothing came true regarding the rumors that the Isles were in the chase. Don't get me wrong, I think Souray is a heck of a player, but that gaudy -28 at even strength scares the heck out of me. Edmonton (stop me if you've heard this one before) overpaid for Souray--to the point of a five-year, $27 million contract. The guy certainly can bring it with that shot of his and watching both he and Marc-Andre Bergeron on the powerplay together would have been fun...it just wouldn't be $5.2 million dollars a year fun. Fiscal responsibility may not get you in the papers, but it does leave the team with cap room to improve the Islanders throughout the season. Losing Smyth was a crusher but it is hard to argue with anything the Islanders Jedi Council has been doing this summer.

Also, how cool is it that the Sabres will be hosting the Penguins on New Year's Day in an outdoor game at the Bills' stadium? I know the well-known (and shouty) hockey experts on ESPN's Around the Horn think it is a bad idea because of the college bowl games on New Year's Day but I think it is a great idea to have the outdoor game on January 1. Nobody cares about 85 freaking bowl games and no matter how many people watch it, highlights will be all over the news because it is so unusual. If there are 85 football games featuring teams no one cares about and one hockey game that is played outdoors featuring some of the most hearty fans and, oh by the way, the best player in the sport, it's going to get attention. Anything with Sidney Crosby in it that is used to sell the game is a good idea. I am seriously considering the Buffalo
road trip from Connecticut in the middle of winter!

Remember how last year there was that talk about the Isles and Rangers playing an outdoor game at Yankee Stadium? Well, that would have been great stuff. We're probably lucky it didn't happen because last winter was such a mild one. I wonder if it got approval from everyone involved (NHL; NBC; etc.) and then George Steinbrenner shot it down. We may never know. The Boss is getting up there these days and he might be dribbling his mush on one of those fancy Yashin-esque turtlenecks he
uses to hide the waddle.

Speaking of Yash, his agent is telling people that unless they cough up a contract worth a minimum of $2 million per, his client is going to play the next season in Russia. I think that means that Alexei is going to be very, very cold this winter.

Last but not least, David Beckham is arriving in the states today. Normally this space is not reserved for the gossip pages, but Beckham's arrival is a big deal. As a fan of Major League Soccer, I sort of see him as a necessary evil in growing the game on these shores. I guess he can still play but he is going to have to be something more than special to get his LA Galaxy out of last place.