11:02 pm: Well, that was interesting. A turn around from the night before with the Isles besting the Bruins 7 - 2.

Niederreiter is all over the scoresheet that is hand written., so is McNeeley and strome, Cizikas and Kabanov.

After the game, the locker room was crowded with media. Probably more media than I will see during regular season. (Everyone is bored and waiting for the season.) So while the crowd and cameras huddled around Ryan Strome who "ran a marathon" as the PR guy told me, I read the name cards above the stalls and stopped at that kid named Gallant.

You would think that someone named Gallant would be just that. But Brett's manners on the ice are far from gentile.

There was blood dripping down the side of his face from above his ear. First I asked if he was okay before I turned the recorder on. He nodded and then sat down.

The PEI native told me "They came out here yesterday and beat us in our own barn. We wanted to set the tone early. Show them what kind of game it was going to be."

They certainly did. I asked if the coaches said anything to settle down the team after those first five seconds. "No, the coaches don't mind that. It's part of the hockey game. They all played, so they know how the game is played."

I asked Brett what he thought of his goal tender and then he smiled, "Ah, he's some goal tender. I never got to see him in a game until tonight. He's a great goalie."

That he is.

I tried to ask Matt Donovan (who notched an assist point on the first Islanders goal) about the back-to-back games. He said he didn't mind it and that all the jitters were spent in the game the previous night. "Personally, I think I played a little bit better. Had a better handle on the puck. I wasn't as nervous." I asked if he thought he would have had to fight as well, but it seemed Ness wanted to harrass him a little. Fighting is not Donovan's game, but he said he would have if he needed to. Ness said Matt would never fight. Donovan said Ness couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag.

Ah... the brotherhood that develops in the locker room. A thing of beauty.

8:36 pm: Justin DiBenedetto makes it 6 - 0 after two periods. Anders Nilsson makes 25 saves and looks formidable. The Bruins lost one player to the dressing room too in the second, Alexander Khokhlachev. Don't ask me to spell that twice.

8:14 pm: spending too much time just trying to get a soda in one of the few concession stands that are open, I missed Nino scoring the Isles 5th goal.

7:27 pm: 2 Isles goals on 9 Isles shots. McNeely & Strome with assists going to Niederreiter, Donovan, McNeely and Kichton.

7:11 pm 3 fights in 5 seconds. These boys don't want to play hockey, they want to kick the crap out of each other. Last night has left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. The penalty box now has three players each. Rediculous.

6:56 pm: Almost puck drop time. Sad that too few people took advantage of this special price for the rookie game. But it is a school night too. I know the drill in early September.

As I was driving here, Art Staple tweeted out that Rhett has a concussion. Just the kid's luck. Olson has been moved to forward in Rakhshani's place.

12:20 pm: As of right now, there is no word on Rhett's condition.

10:37 am: As expected, the NY Islanders announced on Twitter that Jack Capuano has mad his decision: Anders Nilsson will get teh start against the Bruins tonight. Okay, I didn't expect that. But I knew they'd announce it.

No practice today, only meetings and the business of hockey before tonight's game.


7 am: Tonight fans and coaching staff get a second look at the rookie squad as they play the second of the back-to-back games. Kevin Poulin will likely be in net for this one, but I haven't noticed official word yet.

I suppose this afternoon we will also find out how bad that hit Rhett took last night actually was. With last night having been a hard fought loss for the Isles squad, be prepared for a very physical and chippy game tonight. This will be a no-holds-barred contest.

Will Nino and Ryan continue to make a case for themselves to stay with the big club? Will Tony Romano earn the respect of his new Sound Tiger's coach by showing his maturity and ability? Will Calvin deHaan make it difficult to get cut? Questions...

With the youngsters on the ice for the game, there will still be eyes looking to see how returning-from-injury D man Mark Streit is doing. He practiced yesterday after his long trip to the Island and said he felt good. How good is "good"? We'll soon find out.

Hope to see a crowd there tonight as we get the season started.

Side note: The photo that I posted of the Twin Towers was taken by my good friend Dr. David Lubin. He was the NHL 7th Man Award winning for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. As if being a doctor wasn't enough, he is also an accomplished, professional photographer. You can check out his work for purchase at www.Dajalu.com, or even commission him if you are in the Tampa area. Good guy, great hockey fan.

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