Tuesday February 26

While 45 players changed affiliations on Tuesday they were still 8 games to be played come nighttime. Points are especially an issue considering we have entered the final push toward the playoffs. No current Former Islanders changed addresses but 2 new ones were created as Marc-Andre Bergeron will join the Anaheim Ducks and Chris Simon was shipped off the the new gulag for FI bad boys, the Minnesota Wild. Let us take a look at the efforts made by FIs in play on Tuesday night:

* Defenseman Tom Poti lent some aid by assisting on an insurance goal as the Washington Capitals downed the visiting Minnesota Wild 4-1. Poti received 3rd star of the game honor and now has 18 points on 1 goal and 17 assists.

* Captain and d-man Zdeno Chara notched 2 goals (1 powerplay, 1 empty-net) to pad the lead on the Boston Bruins' 4-0 home win over the offensively-lacking Ottawa Senators. Chara was awarded the second star of the game and now has 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points on 62 games. He now has a new single-season high in points surpassing the 43 points he scored in each of the last 2 seasons. Chara is currently riding a hot streak having tallied points in each of his last 5 games. During this stretch he has 7 points on 5 goals and 2 assists. It was the 6th time on his career and the 2nd time this season that Chara has had a multi-goal game.

* Eric Brewer had a powerplay assist on the lone St. Louis goal as the Blues fell to the visiting Dallas Stars 3-1. Brewer has 1 goal and 19 assists for 20 points on 58 games. With the helper Brewer snapped a 4 game point-less streak. It is only the 3rd time in his career that Brewer has recorded 20+ points on a season.

* Robert Nilsson assisted on the opening goal of the game then sealed the victory with a SO goal as the Edmonton Oilers edged the visiting Detroit Red Wings 4-3. Nilsson has 7 goals and 20 assists for 27 points on 53 games. He has been especially productive as of late with 4 assists over his last 5 games. The goal in the last half of the 3rd round broke a scoreless tie and vaulted Edmonton to a single season record 13th SO win. Chris Osgood took the loss for Detroit stopping 29 shots (3 in OT) and 2 of 3 in the SO. Ozzie is now 23-8-3 on the season with a 2.10 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.

* Ryan Smyth put up some numbers for the first time since returning from injury. Smyth opened the scoring with his 12th of the season only 4:08 into the 1st period then assisted on the powerplay game winner with 1:58 left in OT to help the Colorado Avalanche eke by the host Calgary Flames 3-2. Smyth has 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) on 43 games. With the points he snapped a 9 game point-less streak that started 2 games prior to his December 31 injury and extended through his 6th game since returning on February 14. It is the 11th consecutive time on his career that he has recorded 30+ points on a season.

Check in soon with FIW for news when it happens.