2 pm: Same line-up as Saturday with Nabokov in net (no surprise) and Mottau and Pandolfo scratched.

Art Staple likes to make fun of Matt Martin's music choices and Randi Marshall had to announce the Isles have the lowest ticket revenue... opps... no, SECOND lowest ticket revenue in the league. Why Thank You Randi. Nice of you to stop by.

Meanwhile, the Islanders PR dept is doing everything it can possibly do to put butts in the seats. I don't believe you will find any more creative thinking when it comes to ticket packages as the Islanders have done. There's a package for every price range and each come with perks.

So, if you have a little Christmas Cash from Aunt Teresa -- spend it on a game and have some fun. Isles will be back home next week for three games at the Coliseum.

7:30 am: Okay people. 2011 is done, the Holidays are over and the Winter Classic is in the books. It's time to get back to normal. However, the Islanders are hoping they get to a place better than NORMAL.

Tonight they meet with the Carolina Hurricanes who have just as many wins this season as the Isles. Both teams stand at 32 points but the Hurricanes have played four more games than the Isles. As both teams are at the bottom of the standings, this game is a must win for each. Jack Capuano will test his coaching skills against -- against--- ah crap, I forgot who the new coach of Carolina is. Just a second....KIRK MULLER. Okay. Muller was given the job on November 28th and is the 12th coach in the franchise history and the third since 1997. Under Muller's reign the 'Canes have won four games.

Eric Staal has two goals and three assists in his last two games. However, our own budding star, John Tavares may finally be finding his winning ways this season and has five points in his last four games. (Keep it going JT. That's what they pay you for.)

Matt Moulson will look to add to his 17 goals to get to that over 30 mark for the season and Matt Martin can continue to prove he's not just a pretty face who leads the leage in hits. The 22-year-old Left Wing has 4 goals and 8 points.

The problem is he also has the burdon of being the only true-grit player on the bench tonight as Michael Haley and his bad hand were sent back to Bridgeport. If you're noticed, Moulson has been a little more physical lately and I believe that's a by-product of not having the likes of Trevor Gillies or Michael Haley on the bench with them.

Also out for the trip is Al Montoya. Geeze that must have been one hell of a hit he took. Evgeni Nabokov will be the main-man between the pipes with Anders Nilsson backing him up. Now, Rick DiPietro making this three game trip could simply be an insurance policy so there is a dressed goalie on the bench should something (god-forbid!) happen to Evgeni and Anders has to play. Or maybe -- RDP is actually closer to being able to play.

Either way -- the entire team has to be ready to play the full 60 minutes or should I multiply that by three?

More if it comes through from Art Staple of Newsday from Carolina.

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