Brian Rolston leaves to attend birth of his child
Brian Rolston and goalie Evgeni Nabokov in action on Islanders Media Day. (Sept. 21, 2011) Credit: Newsday/Audrey C. Tiernan
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Brian Rolston headed home to New Jersey early Saturday morning to be with his wife, Jennifer, for the birth of their fourth child, a boy, and missed Saturday night's game.
Trevor Gillies, who played the past two games but was slated to be a healthy scratch Saturday night, slotted back in on the fourth line. Blake Comeau, a healthy scratch the previous two, started the game on the left side with Josh Bailey and Matt Martin, who was in Rolston's spot.
Panthers trade Booth
After being shut out two straight games, the Panthers didn't waste time in changing things up, announcing just before the puck dropped Saturday night that they had traded David Booth, one of their few homegrown talents, to the Canucks for Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm.
Panthers GM Dale Tallon held a quick news conference Saturday night to say he was "fed up" with the way his reconstructed team, which added 10 new players over the summer, had been playing and dealt one of his cornerstone players in the 26-year-old Booth.
DiPietro, Jurcina closer
G Rick DiPietro (concussion) skated Saturday morning and took some shots on goal from a few teammates as he inches closer to being in the goaltender rotation.
He said he doesn't have a target date for when he'll get a start. "Being injured so much the last few years, I find it's better to not put a date on things so you're not disappointed," he said.
Also on the ice skating hard Saturday morning was D Milan Jurcina (groin), who has missed all six games but also is getting closer to full health. The Islanders have used the same six defensemen in all six games, something they weren't able to do all last season due to injuries.
