Islanders lose Nielsen to injury
NEWARK - In addition to the drubbing at the hands of the Devils, the Islanders were saddled with an additional loss yesterday. Frans Nielsen left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return.
Nielsen appeared to suffer the injury after being hit by Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador at 4:07 of the first. His status isn't known.
"We lost [Andy Sutton] and Nielsen," coach Scott Gordon said of the recent injuries. "That's not a good thing for us. Obviously, we're going to need to regroup."
Sutton suffered a groin injury in Friday's game against Pittsburgh and missed yesterday's game.
Nielsen already has missed a chunk of time - the first six games of the season - after injuring his right knee during training camp.
The last time the Islanders played the Devils at the Prudential Center on Nov. 6, they lost defenseman Radek Martinek to a season-ending knee injury and Doug Weight to an upper-body injury.
Biron needs goals
Goaltender Martin Biron, who fell to 2-8-2, has not won a game since Nov. 13 against Carolina. Despite comparable stats to fellow starting goaltender Dwayne Roloson, Biron has not had nearly the same offensive help that Roloson has enjoyed. In Biron's 12 starts, the Islanders have averaged 1.75 goals. In Roloson's 15 starts, the Islanders have averaged 3.40.
