Brock Nelson OK after forearm to jaw
New York Islanders center Brock Nelson looks on against the Ottawa Senators in the second period of an NHL game at Nassau Coliseum on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Brock Nelson felt no ill effects from Marco Scandella's forearm to Nelson's jaw in the closing minutes of Tuesday's 5-4 loss to the Wild. Scandella drew a two-minute penalty in the game and then a two-game suspension for the hit.
"I checked in with the trainers after the game, yesterday, felt fine all the way along,'' Nelson said.
He didn't have much of an opinion about Scandella's suspension, but he and a few other Islanders felt an earlier dirty play by Scandella -- one in which he whipped his stick like a rodeo roper and whacked John Tavares on the back of the knee -- was far more suspendable.
"That slash was pretty vicious,'' Nelson said. "My hit was a little high. I don't really know much about him.''
There was another ugly moment from Tuesday's game, Matt Martin's hit on Wild defenseman Keith Ballard that left Ballard convulsing on the ice and with a concussion plus three facial fractures. Martin was not penalized or given any further discipline by the league. He texted Ballard after the game and Ballard responded on Wednesday, with no ill feelings on either side.
Boulton plays; Bailey out
Eric Boulton (lower body) returned from a month on injured reserve and got back into the lineup Thursday night. Josh Bailey was out, still nagged by a lower-body injury, believed to be from blocking a shot against the Senators last week.
Boulton got the nod over Cory Conacher, likely to add some size to a lineup still missing a bit of snarl with Travis Hamonic and Johnny Boychuk on IR.Hamonic, Boychuk and Casey Cizikas skated on Long Island on Thursday, their second straight day of on-ice work. All are out with upper-body injuries.
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