Calder Cup Playoffs Update!

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins tonight in an attempt to stave off elimination in the Calder Cup playoffs. The Tigers--with a refreshed Blake Comeau in the lineup--lost to the Penguins 2-1 last night. ThePenguins now hold a 3-1 lead in the best of seven series.

Peter Mannino had a strong game in net for the Sound Tigers, making 19 saves. Penguins goalie John Curry turned away 32 of 33 shots. Ben Walter scored on the PP for Bridgeport.

Game five can be seen live online at the Sound Tigers website.

Greg Logan's writeup on the Sound Tigers and Comeau is here.

Mike Fornabaio's Sound Tigers blog from the Connecticut Post is here.

Sound Tigers web pregame notes on game five are here.

Islanders Team Report from Yahoo! Sports

Inside Shots

A recent hot streak might make the question moot, but top junior prospect John Tavares has no plans to channel his inner Eric Lindros and force a trade if the Islanders wind up with the No. 1 overall pick in the June entry draft.

“I know they won four Stanley Cups in a row. They had great players there. Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier played there. They’ve got a great history, obviously,” Tavares told Newsday. “They’re looking to get a new arena—I’ve heard that, too.

“I haven’t heard too many bad things about Long Island.”

The Isles remain in 30th place in the 30-team NHL, a scenario in which they would pick no worse than second in the draft this summer. But with a 4-2 win Sunday in Chicago, they improved to 6-2-2 in their last 10 games and moved four points behind 29th-place Tampa Bay entering Monday’s league action.

“Assuming John goes first in the draft, I think he will go where he is chosen,” Tavares’ agent, Pat Brisson, told ESPN. “Let’s say it’s (the Islanders). I know (owner) Charles Wang is trying to get a new building. … Look at Mario (Lemieux) when he went to Pittsburgh. There wasn’t anything there. And it wasn’t too nice when Sidney (Crosby) went there, either. If you start picking where you want to go, you may not make the right decision.

“There are always better franchises, better organizations. But I don’t see John avoiding anywhere. … John respects the process and the league.”

Islanders 4, Blackhawks 2: How’s this for March Madness? Peter Mannino had appeared in just one previous NHL game in his career, allowing three goals in just 13 minutes of mop-up duty earlier this season for a whopping 13.81 goals-against average. But Mannino made the most of his first league start Sunday, making 40 saves as the improving Islanders rebounded from a tight loss one day earlier in Boston. Mannino became the fourth goalie to start a game this season for the Isles, who remain without injured starter Rick DiPietro and backup Joey MacDonald.

“I felt good right away,” said Mannino, who lowered that GAA to 4.11. “Chicago is an unbelievable offensive team. I wanted to get out the nerves as much as possible and stay focused. When you get a lot of shots, it helps, especially if you’re not letting them in right away.”

Notes, Quotes

• D Mark Streit has lived up to, if not exceeded, expectations after signing a five-year, $20.5 million contract with the Islanders last summer. The former Canadiens power-play specialist not only is averaging 25 minutes per game, he became the first Isles defenseman since Vladimir Malakhov in 1993-94 to record a 50-point season with two goals and an assist in a 4-2 win Sunday over Chicago.

Still, Streit (52 points) has a long way to go to catch Denis Potvin’s team record for a defenseman of 13 50-point seasons.

• The season-high three power-play goals scored by the Islanders on Sunday in Chicago—two by Streit and one by C Frans Nielsen—marked the first time they’d netted that many with the man advantage since they also scored three on Feb. 14, 2008 in Toronto.

Quote To Note: “I couldn’t ask for anything better. That’s the dream come true, to get a start in the NHL and to get a win on the first one. … It’s picture perfect.”—G Peter Mannino, who made 40 saves in his first NHL start, a 4-2 win Sunday in Chicago.

Roster Report

Goaltenders: Yann Danis, Peter Mannino
Defensemen: Mark Streit, Brendan Witt, Radek Martinek, Bruno Gervais, Jack Hillen, Thomas Pock
First Line: Jeff Tambellini, Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo
Second Line: Blake Comeau, Josh Bailey, Mike Iggulden
Third Line: Andy Hilbert, Nate Thompson, Tim Jackman
Fourth Line: Richard Park, Dean McAmmond, Joel Rechlicz

Player Notes:

• G Peter Mannino made 40 saves for his first NHL win in his first NHL start in a 4-2 victory Sunday in Chicago.
• LW Blake Comeau had two assists and has 10 points in his last seven appearances.
• RW Kyle Okposo extended his point-scoring streak to six straight games (4-3-7) with assists on each of Mark Streit’s goals.

Medical Watch:

• LW Sean Bergenheim missed his third straight game since suffering a strained groin March 10 in Toronto. He is expected to be out until late March.
• G Rick DiPietro, who appeared in just five games because of multiple injuries, has been shut down for the remainder of the season with swelling in his surgically repaired left knee.
• RW Trent Hunter suffered a fractured left ankle in the first period of Saturday’s game against New Jersey and will miss the remainder of the season.
• G Joey MacDonald remains day-to-day with a knee injury suffered March 10 in Toronto.
• RW Kurtis McLean suffered an undisclosed leg injury March 12 and is out indefinitely.
• D Freddy Meyer remains out indefinitely with a groin strain suffered Jan. 5 in Edmonton.
• C Mike Sillinger underwent season-ending hip surgery for the second consecutive season on Jan. 26.
• D Andy Sutton suffered a broken right foot on a blocked shot Dec. 19 in Minnesota and underwent surgery. He is not expected back until late March.
• C Doug Weight will be out until late March, and possibly for the rest of the season, with a knee injury suffered Feb. 11 vs. New Jersey.

Blue Jackets claim G Dubielewicz off waivers - - WTF?

COLUMBUS, OHIO (TICKER) —The plight of the New York Islanders continues.

Two days after the Islanders signed Wade Dubielewicz due to injuries to Rick DiPietro and Joey MacDonald, the goaltender was claimed off waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

With DiPietro and MacDonald sidelined, New York was forced to use third-stringer Yann Danis in Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins. It was the sixth consecutive setback for the struggling Islanders and 18th in 20 games.

Seeking a more experienced option in net, New York turned to Dubielewicz, who had spent his entire professional career in the Islanders’ organization before signing with Ak Bars Kazan of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League last summer.

In order for the 29-year-old native of Invermere, British Columbia to return to New York, he needed to clear NHL waivers on which he was placed Friday. But with Pascal Leclaire currently on injured reserve, leaving their goaltending duties to rookies Steve Mason and Dan LaCosta, the Blue Jackets pulled the rug from under the Islanders and claimed Dubielewicz, who posted an 11-8-3 mark with a 2.77 GAA in 21 games with Ak Bars Kazan.

Signed by New York as an undrafted free agent in May 2003, the product of the University of Denver owns a 16-13-2 record with a 2.55 GAA and .920 save percentage in 37 career games with the Islanders. Last season, he went 9-9-1 with a 2.70 GAA in 20 contests.

To make room for Dubielewicz, Columbus assigned LaCosta to Syracuse of the American Hockey League.

The 22-year-old LaCosta has appeared in one game for the Blue Jackets this season, allowing two goals on 19 shots in 35 minutes of relief action in a 6-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on October 18. A third-round pick in 2004, the 6-1, 186-pound native of Labrador City, Newfoundland has posted a 12-11-2 record with one shutout and a 2.72 GAA in 28 contests with Syracuse.

LaCosta made his NHL debut last campaign, turning aside all five shots he faced in 13 minutes of relief duty on March 25 in a 3-0 loss - also to Nashville.

To back up Danis against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, the Islanders recalled Peter Mannino from Bridgeport of the AHL.

Mannino, 24, made his NHL debut on November 28, allowing three goals on eight shots in 13 minutes of action in a 7-2 loss to Boston. In 21 games with the Sound Tigers, the 6-foot, 195-pound native of Farmington Hills, Michigan has gone 9-9-2 with one shutout and a 3.09 goals-against average.