Opening Night: Wednesday April 15

Tax Day in the U.S. decided to coincide with the start of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. We suffered a little glitch here at FIW so we will not have the Eastern Conference Former Islander list like there was for the Western Conference since it takes forever to write. So here is the fastest possible list of FIs:

#1 Boston: Zdeno Chara (D)
#2 Washington: Viktor Kozlov (F), Tom Poti (D), John Erskine (D)
#3 New Jersey: Kevin Weekes (G)
#4 Pittsburgh: Miroslav Satan(?) (RW), Bill Guerin (RW), Ruslan Fedotenko (LW), Eric Godard (RW)
#5 Philadelphia: Arron Asham (RW)
#6 Carolina: Nobody for this bunch of clowns!
#7 New York Rangers: Stephen Valiquette (G)
#8 Montreal: Roman Hamrlik (D), Mathieu Schneider (D)

Now onto the games. There were 4 contests on Wednesday night. FIs stepped up 2 of those contests. Here are the recaps:

Washington forward Viktor Kozlov scored the Capitals' 2nd goal as the hosts fell to the New York Rangers in a close 4-3 game. The Blueshirts took a 1-0 series lead with the victory. The tally snapped a post-season goal-less streak of 17 games. In his 18th career playoff game Kozlov finally found the net. Koz has, however, managed 6 assists in the playoffs.



Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo dominated stopping 25 of 26 shots, which was just enough, as the the Canucks edged the visiting St. Louis Blues 2-1 to take a 1-0 series lead. With the victory Lu snapped a 3 game postseason losing streak dating back to April 27, 2007 when the 'Nucks were in the 2nd round against the future Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks.



Check back soon with FIW as we will continue to follow the playoffs.

Tuesday March 17

It was a Happy St. Patrick's Day for 11 teams as there were a boatload of beer-fueled games around the NHL on Tuesday. With Monday's 2 games a wash for Former Islander action we received a with FIs posting their help in 8 games on St. Patty's Day. Here is a look at the plethora of FI contributions:

Toronto winger Jason BLake notched a goal and added an asssist as the Maple Leafs came back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the host Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in SO. Blake has 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) over the last 4 games and now has 23 goals and 32 assists for 56 points on 67 games. For the 4th time Blake has reached the 55+ point mark surpassing his 52 point effort from his first season with the Leafs. Center Jeff Hamilton scored a goal with about 5 and a half minutes remaining in regulation to tie the score and then popped home a goal in the 1st Round of the 6 Round SO. Later in the frame (3rd Round) Blake missed on his attempt. Hammy has goals in 2 straight games and now has 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) on 7 games. The point was career #75 coming in his 149th game which means Hamilton is a point-per-every-2-games kind of player.

Pittsburgh winger Bill Guerin had an assist on his team's first goal as the Penguins crushed visiting Atlanta Thrashers 6-2. Guerin has 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) over the last 2 games and now has an impressive 9 points (2 goals, 7 assists) in 7 games since joining the Pens. Billy G has 45 points (18 goals, 27 assists) on 68 games. For the 10th time on his career Guerin has reached the 45 point level.


Montreal defenseman Mathieu Schneider had an assist on the Canadiens' first goal as the Habs were edged by the visiting New York Rangers 4-3 in SO. Schneids now has 7 goals and 18 assists for 25 points on 57 games. Since re-joining Montreal he has 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) on 14 games. Eight of those points (3 goals, 5 assists) have been with the extra man. For the 17th time on his career Schneider has notched 25 or more points.


Recently refreshed goaltender Chris Osgood stopped 24 of 26 shots for another win as the host Detroit Red Wings downed the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2. With 3 straight wins Ozzie is now 23-6-7 on the season with a 3.14 goals against average and an .884 save percentage. He has stopped 77 of the last 81 shots he has faced for a recent save percentage of .951 while surrendering only 4 goals for a slim 1.33 goals against average.


Washington d-man John Erskine had 2 assists including 1 on the shorthanded game winner as the Capitals blanked the host Florida Panthers 3-0. Erskine snapped a 31 game point-less streak with the helpers and now has 4 assists on 44 games this season. The 2 point night was a first for Erskine since December 10, 2007 during his 2nd season with the Caps. Notching the first insurance goal for the Caps was forward Viktor Kozlov. He snapped a 3 game point-less streak and an 11 game goal-less streak with the netter. He now has 12 goals and 22 assists for 34 points on 57 games. Kozzer is only 3 goals shy of career #200.


Winger Ryan Smyth scored the Avalanche's 2nd goal as Colorado was toppled by the host Minnesota Wild 3-2 in SO. Smyth now has 26 goals and 32 assists for 58 points on 71 games. Eight times this season Smyth has scored goals in consecutive games.



Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo stopped 24 of 26 shots as the Canucks doubled up on the visiting Dallas Stars for a 4-2 victory. Lu is an unbelievable 15-2-1 over his last 18 starts and is now 26-9-6 on the season. He has won 3 straight games, his 3rd winning streak of this 18 game stretch which has also including 4 and 8 game streaks. He has been even more consistent in these last 3 games surrendering exactly 2 goals-per-game while his team has staked him to consecutive 4-2 wins.

Edmonton d-man Denis Grebeshkov had a powerplay assist on the opening goal midway through the 1st Period as the Oilers slipped by the visiting St. Louis Blues 2-1 in SO. Greb has 5 assists over the last 6 games and now has 4 goals and 27 assists for 31 points on 59 games pushing his single season highs further and further up. For the first time on a season Greb has 10 powerplay points (1 goal, 9 assists).


Check back soon for more updates and highlights at FIW.

FI Injury Report

As of the end of the week a total of 11 Former Islanders were on Injured Reserve for various ailments. Here is a brief look at these players:

Tim Connolly (Buffalo): The Sabres are used to winning when Tim Connolly is in the lineup. Problem is that TimCo has not been the lineup for more than 56 regular games of the last 3 seasons. He has had an impressive 48 points (10 goals, 38 assists) over than span. All that might change as Connolly is expected to suit up Friday night for his first game since November 14. The problems have been varied for Connolly who most recent trip to the IR was triggered by a rib injury.

Brent Sopel (Chicago): Chicago signed Sopel to an contract extension last season yet from the day the deal was inked Sopel has been hit with a variety of injuries. Sopel's most recent is the delightfully descriptive "upper-body injury". There is no real timetable for Sopel's return to the Blackhawk's blueline.




Raffi Torres (Columbus): Winger Torres is Lloyd's of London's worst nightmare - a walking injury waiting to happen. An injury last season cost Torres 50 games of the season while his recent arthroscopic knee surgery will cost him supposedly 2-4 weeks yet that time frame has come and gone as Torres was placed on IR on December 2. Torres is not yet ready to return to play and the mystery is when and if he will every really be ready to compete without some nagging injury haunting him.

Marc-Andre Bergeron (Minnesota): The saddest FI injury of the year so far has to be defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron who was leading the Wild blueliners in scoring. Bergeron suffered an "upper-body injury" in early December and has been on the IR since December 12. No details have arisen about the true nature of MAB's injury nor has an expected return date been announced yet.

Ruslan Fedotenko(Pittsburgh):Penguins' winger Fedotenko broke his hand in a one punch knockout of Atlanta Thrashers' forward Colby Armstrong only 2 minutes in to a January 6 game. Fedo will miss 4 to 6 weeks and has been placed on the IR retroactive to January 7.




Eric Brewer (St. Louis): The Blues' captain and d-man Eric Brewer has had a relatively healthy career until his recent herniated disk required surgery. St. Louis, currently without its leader, will spend what is most likely the rest of the season without Brewer's presence in the locker room. Brewer had surgery on December 17 and was placed of the IR retroactive to December 13.


Jamie Heward (Tampa Bay): To be brutally honest Jamie Heward's absence on the Lightning blueline will not really affect any outcomes considering the d-man has only suited up for 13 games so far this season but Heward is probably missing the ice. Heward was slammed head first in to the boards by Washington Capitals' superstar Alex Ovechkin in a game on New Year's Day. Considering the severity of the injury there is not expected return date and Heward was placed on IR as of January 2.

Roberto Luongo (Vancouver): Possibly the most notable injury in the league right now is the absence of Canucks' goaltender Roberto Luongo who suffered a groin injury during a November 22 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rumor has it that Luongo is almost ready to make a return, possibly in time for him to get a few starts in before the All-Star Game to which he has been tapped as a reserve goalie. Luongo was having a good start to the season before the injured sidelined him on IR since November 23.

Taylor Pyatt (Vancouver): The Canucks have a second injured FI in the form of winger Pyatt who broke his foot during a December 26 game. Pyatt is out "at least four weeks" and was placed on the IR on December 27. To make things worse it appears that T-Py played the whole game possibly compounding the injury with extra shifts.



Tom Poti (Washington): Capitals' d-man Tom Poti suffered a groin strain in late December landing him on the IR on December 23. The absence of Poti leaves a gaping whole on the Caps' blueline that is currently being filled by rookie Karl Alzner. There is no time table for a Poti return yet.




John Erskine (Washington): Another Caps' d-man also has his own injury woes. Erskine suffered a concussion during a November 24 game and was immediately placed on the IR list. There is no expected return date yet for Erskine who has never played more than 51 games on any given season.




Check here soon for more news and updates at FIW.

Monday November 10

There were a slim 2 games up for grabs on Monday night in what was clearly a wind down from the hectic weekend. FIs made contributions in only one of those 2 tilts. Here is a quick look:

Washington defenseman Tom Poti potted the first goal of the game 8:20 in to play to help the Capitals down visiting former franchise goaltender Olaf Kolzig and the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2. Poti received 2nd star of the game honor and has goals in back-to-back competitions. He has 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) on 9 games this season. This was the first time since December 29-30, 2003 that Poti had notched goals in back-to-back contests. At that time Poti was still a member of the New York Rangers. Receiving the secondary assist on the Poti goal was fellow FI d-man John Erskine. He snapped a 7 game point drought and now has 2 assists on 12 games.

Check back soon for more news and updates.

Extension: John Erskine

According to this story from The Fourth Period, the Washington Capitals have signed defenseman John Erskine to another 2 years at a total hit of $2.5 million. Poised to become a UFA at the end of the season, the 28 year old d-man has spent the last 3 seasons with the Caps.

Erskine started his NHL career during the 2001-02 season with Dallas after being drafted in the 2nd Round, 39th overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the Stars. Erskine played parts of 4 seasons with the Stars before being traded to the Isles midway through the 2005-06 campaign. Despite having played 6 seasons prior to this year, Erskine has never logged more than 60 games in a season. In 226 games he has 6 goals and 16 assists for 22 points along with 512 penalty minutes, a -41 rating and 1 game winner.

We wish John the best as he is poised to be an FI in the capital city for at least the next few years.

Saturday October 18

Busy, busy, busy. The NHL was buzzing on Saturday with 13 games including 12 nighttime matchups. One week removed from a full 15 game schedule, the competition definitely seems to be heating up. Former Islanders are making their efforts known and continued to make noise in 6 of those rumbles. Here is a recap of their workload:

Colorado winger Ryan Smyth continued to show off what he can do when he is healthy as he notched the Avalanche's 4th goal of the game as they beat the host Dallas Stars 5-4. Smyth popped in a powerplay goal for his 2nd tally of the season. He now has 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) on 5 games with all 4 points coming in the last 3. All 4 of Smyth's points have come on the man advantage.


Washington defenseman John Erskine made his first offensive impact of the year receiving the primary assist on the game tying goal as the Capitals eventually fell 4-3 to the visiting New Jersey Devils in the SO. Erskine now has 1 assist on 4 games this season.




Detroit goalie Chris Osgood improved to above .500 by holding off the pesky New York Rangers for a 5-4 OT win. Ozzie stopped 28 of 32 shots faced to improve to 2-1-1 on the season. He currently has a 3.25 goals against average and an .884 save percentage. Osgood has not dropped a decision in regulation since the season opener going 2-0-1 over his last 3 starts.


Quiz: Who has as many goals as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, combined? Answer: Miroslav Satan. Miro continued his quick start by netting the game winning powerplay goal midway through the 2nd period as the Pittsburgh Penguins knocked off the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1. Satan has 3 goals and 2 assists for 5 points on 6 games. All 3 of Satan's goals and 1 assist have come on the man advantage. Also getting involved in the extra man action was former teammate and current Leaf Jason Blake. Blakey had an assist on the opening goal of the game, a powerplay special courtesy of Nik Antropov. Blake has 1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points on the first 5 games of the year.

Chicago d-man Aaron Johnson assisted on a Brian Campbell goal for the 2nd time is as many games. Johnson now has 2 assists on 3 games with the Blackhawks and helped his new team as Chicago fell 4-3 in SO to the host St. Louis Blues. The last time Johnson had assists in consecutive games was between March 28-31, 2006 while in his sophomore year with the Columbus Blue Jackets.


Calgary winger Todd Bertuzzi kept his scoring streak going on Saturday netting his 5th goal in 4 games as he opened the scoring with a powerplay goal only 4:17 in to play as the Flames fell to the host Edmonton Oilers 3-2. Bert has 5 goals on only 5 games to lead the Calgary offense. As well, Bertuzzi is riding a 3 game powerplay goal scoring streak. Considering he has only taken 13 shots, Bertuzzi is doing remarkably currently scoring at a 38.5% rate.

Check in soon for more news and updates.

Preseason Thursday September 25

A hectic weekend later, FIW is back with all the updates you missed out on. We begin with Thursday night where 16 teams faced off in 8 exhibition competitions. Former Islanders were active in 7 of them. Let us take a look at their work effort from Thursday:

Bryan Berard, who is still looking to seal up a job on the Philadelphia blueline, assisted on an insurance goal against his old team as the Flyers blanked the visiting Islanders 4-0. One of Philly's camp invites, Berard is looking to continue an NHL career that has seen its share of ups and downs. We hope this former Calder Trophy winner gets offered a spot real soon.


Washington defenseman John Erkine assisted on the 4th Capitals goal as they dumped the visiting Carolina Hurricanes like a bad habit 5-2. Erskine is looking to play a full season for the first time in his career after logging 51 games with the Caps last season. Erskine has never played more than 60 games in any season since he started with the Dallas Stars during the 2001-02 campaign.


New York Rangers' backup goaltender Stephen Valiquette took the loss as the Blueshirts were downed by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2. Vali surrendered all 4 Lightning goals on 22 shots as he clocked 59 minutes of ice time.





Colorado winger Ryan Smyth kept up his hot play as he scored another 2 points as the Avalanche beat the host Dallas Stars 4-2. Smyth had a goal only 40 seconds in to the 2nd period and then logged the primary assist on the powerplay game winner less than 6 minutes in to the 3rd to help lead the Avs' charge. Smyth has 4 points (3 goals, 1 assist) over the last 2 preseason tilts.


Edmonton Oilers' d-man Denis Grebeshkov assisted on his team's 2nd goal, a powerplay tally, midway through the 2nd period and was awarded 2nd star of the game honor after logging over 24 minutes of ice time as the Oil beat the visiting Florida Panthers 3-2 in the SO. Grebeshkov's assist came on an extra man goal by fellow FI Robert Nilsson. The goal was Nilsson's first of the preseason.

Calgary d-man Adrian Aucoin has taken his few chances to shine in the preseason when he has had them. Aucoin had a powerplay assist on the Flames' first goal as they outplayed the visiting Phoenix Coyotes 3-1. Aucoin is poised to have a major bounceback season after being plagued by injuries over the last few years.



And finally, Detroit goaltender Chris Osgood received no decision as the Red Wings edged the host Boston Bruins 4-3. Complete statistical account of the game coud not be found but we do know that Osgood played about half of the game giving up one goal before giving way to prospect goalie Daniel Larsson. No shots or minutes could be located.



Check back for updates and news soon at FIW.