PGP (New Year's Eve Edition!) Game 38 Isles @ Canes 12/31/07 8:00 PM

The Isles will face off in Carolina tonight in the last game of 2007.

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BIG MATCHUP:

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19-16-2

The Isles have had an on and off first half of the year. After having a suprisingly good start, the Islanders' scoring took a downfall, and pucks weren't going in. This has seemed to be overcomed now, and scoring isn't much of a problem anymore.

Battling injuries, the Isles have a lot of backups in the lineup tonight. Here is my most recent injury update.

-G Rick DiPietro will miss his 3rd straight game with a sprained left knee. He wants to get back in there, but Ted Nolan reccommends being very careful with DiPietro, so he does not sustain another injury. He did not make the trip to Carolina, and will be watching the game in his own home. Dubielewicz will get his 3rd start in a row.

-D Radek Martinek will miss another game as well with a leg bruise.

-F Mike Sillinger will miss the game tonight for undisclosed reasons. Ben Walter will fill in his place in the lineup tonight.


Morning Skate Notes: (USA Today)

-The New Year's resolution for the Islanders is to get healthy.

-Ted Nolan's team is banged up going into Monday's game at Carolina. Goalie Rick DiPietro (knee) and top defenseman Radek Martinek (leg) were sidelined again Saturday because of injuries, and Ruslan Fedotenko (finger) and Chris Campoli (black eye) are playing through bumps and bruises.

-"It's a full-contact league," Fedotenko said before the Islanders' 5-2 win Saturday behind backup goalie Wade Dubielewicz.

-"You look at our schedule," coach Ted Nolan said, "and we've had a lot of tight-checking, hard-fought games. It takes its toll on you. That Christmas break was a nice couple of days to get some rest. Then you go right back at it and have another tough game against Toronto. Then 24 hours later we play in Ottawa.

-"With this game you have to make sure you're physically and mentally fit all the time. Injuries are part of the process. We're like every other team in the league. We just have to pick ourselves up and play hard."

-Defenseman Aaron Johnson, who hasn't played since Nov. 3 because of a knee injury, skated with the team Saturday for the first time in almost two months, but still appears to be a couple of weeks from returning.

-DiPietro also skated with the team Saturday morning but missed his second straight game after suffering a sprained knee but no structural damage in warmups before playing one period of Wednesday's overtime win against Toronto.

-"Ricky wants to play all the time," Nolan said. "We just have to make sure we're 100plus percent sure before we put him back in."


Tonight will be yet another edition of the classic New Year's Eve Islanders game. It should be a great way to close off 2007.

My Projected Lines:

Goaltenders
34 Wade Dubielewicz
35 Joey MacDonald

Defensemen
32 Brendan Witt – 8 Bruno Gervais
25 Andy Sutton – 44 Freddy Meyer
14 Chris Campoli – 47 Marc-Andre Bergeron

Forwards
10 Richard Park – 89 Mike Comrie – 13 Bill Guerin
20 Sean Bergenheim– 63 Josef Vasicek – 81 Miroslav Satan
26 Ruslan Fedotenko – 11 Andy Hilbert – 7 Trent Hunter
28 Tim Jackman – 29 Ben Walter - 57 Blake Comeau

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20-17-3

The last time the Hurricanes and Islanders faced off, the Hurricanes came out on top with a whopping 8-3 victory. Rod Brind'Amour, Ray Whitney, and Justin Williams all had great games, coming out with 7 of the 8 goals. The 8th goal was scored by Eric Staal.

Both teams are pretty equal in records, except for the Hurricanes having 1 more win, loss, and OT loss.


Morning Skate Notes: (hurricanes.nhl.com)

-Both Matt Cullen and coach Peter Laviolette list the player's chances of playing tonight at 50/50. Cullen, who broke his nose and was briefly knocked unconscious last week after taking a hit from the New York Rangers' Colton Orr, will take the afternoon to consult with doctors and see how he feels.

-With Justin Williams, David Tanabe, possibly Matt Cullen and now Bret Hedican on the shelf, the Hurricanes have now lost 96 man games to injury. Only four players, Glen Wesley, Eric Staal, Ray Whitney and Tim Gleason, have appeared in all 40 games thus far.

-Monday’s game marks the sixth time the Hurricanes have hosted a New Year’s Eve game since moving into the RBC Center in 1999. The Hurricanes post a 2-3-0 record in New Year’s Eve games played at the RBC Center. Carolina scored New Year’s Eve home wins against Chicago in 2000-01 and Montreal in 2005-06, while suffering losses to the New York Rangers in 2002-03, Anaheim in 2003-04 and Philadelphia in 2006-07.

-The Hurricanes and Islanders have met once this season, an 8-3 Carolina win at Nassau Coliseum on Oct. 27. While neither team has swept a season series against the other since Carolina did so in a five-game set in 1998-99, the Islanders have not won a season-series against the Hurricanes franchise since the Hartford Whalers went 1-2-1 against the Islanders in 1996-97.

-Carolina’s eight goals on Oct. 27 against the Islanders marked the second time in franchise history the team has accomplished that feat. The Hartford Whalers scored an 8-2 home win against the Islanders on March 14, 1989.

-Of Hurricanes captain Rod Brind’Amour’s 1,098 career NHL points, 88 have come against the Islanders marking his highest scoring output against any NHL team. Of Brind’Amour’s three career hat tricks, two have come against the Islanders, including one this season in the teams’ Oct. 27 meeting at Nassau Coliseum. Brind’Amour has played 80 career games against the Islanders in his 18-plus NHL seasons, the second-most games he’s played against another team (Washington – 90).

-After not recording a shorthanded goal in their first 37 games this season, the Hurricanes have netted shorthanded tallies in two of their last three games. Scott Walker scored a shorthanded goal on Dec. 26 at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers, and Chad LaRose followed that up by beating Boston’s Tim Thomas with a shorthanded penalty-shot goal on Dec. 28.

Injury Report: (hurricanes.nhl.com)

-Defenseman Bret Hedican, knee (suffered 12/28), day-to-day, expected to miss 10-14 days, missed one game. MISSING TONIGHT'S GAME.

-Forward Matt Cullen, illness, day-to-day, missed two games. POSSIBLY MISSING TONIGHT'S GAME.

-Defenseman David Tanabe, concussion, day-to-day, missed five games. MISSING TONIGHT'S GAME.

-Forward Justin Williams, ACL/MCL (left knee), injured reserve, out 4-6 months, missed four games. MISSING TONIGHT'S GAME.

My Projected Lines:

Goaltenders
30 Cam Ward
47 John Grahame

Defensemen
2 Glen Wesley - 5 Frantisek Kaberle
42 Tim Gleason - 22 Mike Commodore
4 Dennis Seidenberg - 7 Niclas Wallin
28 Wade Brookbank

Forwards
61 Cory Stillman - 17 Rod Brind'Amour - 24 Scott Walker
13 Ray Whitney - 12 Eric Staal - 26 Erik Cole
16 Andrew Ladd - 8 Matt Cullen - 59 Chad LaRose
51 Jeff Hamilton - 19 Trevor Letowski

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Official Preview:

"Tonight on New Year’s Eve, the Islanders face-off against the Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC Center. For the third game in a row, the Islanders meet an Eastern division leader, taking on the Southeast Division pacers to close out the 2007 calendar.

The Islanders used three third-period goals to earn their third win in four games, topping New Jersey 5-2 Saturday night at the Nassau Coliseum. Andy Sutton recorded the first “Gordie Howe” hat trick of the season for the Islanders, combining his fight with a goal and an assist. Mike Sillinger, who will not play in tonight’s game, Richard Park and Trent Hunter each recorded two assists. Chris Campoli scored a goal and added an assist, and was one of three defensemen that netted goals.

"It felt pretty good," said Wade Dubielewicz . "I hadn't had a win in a game I started this year. Our team, as a group, played a pretty smart game tonight. They kept New Jersey on the perimeter, which made my job a little easier."

Dubielewicz stopped 27 shots for his third win of the season. Dubie will start again tonight.

"It was a big game for Dubie," coach Ted Nolan said. "It helps his confidence, and in turn, it gives the team confidence that they can win with Dubie in the net."

Mike Comrie’s empty-net goal put him in a tie with Bill Guerin for the team lead in goals with 12. Park, meanwhile, has been on a point-scoring tear recently. During a four-game point streak, Park has recorded a goal and six assists. He is tied with Ruslan Fedotenko and Hunter for fifth on the team in scoring.

In a fight-filled game which saw Sutton, Comrie and Guerin drop the gloves, only six minor penalties were assessed – three to each side. The Islanders scored the lone power play goal of the game.

Since being called up from Bridgeport of the AHL, Blake Comeau has impressed the coaching staff. On Saturday, he took a season-high 15 shifts and was a +1. In six games, Comeau has a goal and two assists, and leads the Islanders with a +5 rating.

This is the second of four meeting between the Islanders and Carolina. In their first matchup, the Hurricanes came away with an 8-3 victory at the Nassau Coliseum on October 27.

Carolina sports a balanced attack up front with six forwards having already amassed 30 or more points. Ray Whitney and Cory Stillman lead the team with 39 points.

Former Conn Smyth Trophy winner Cam Ward is putting up another fine season in goal with a 16-12-2 record. He has helped Carolina to a four-point lead over Atlanta for the division lead.

The Hurricanes have traded wins and losses since over their past six games. Tonight will be the sixth time Carolina hosts a game on New Year’s Eve since the RBC Center opened in 1999."

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