First round of cuts, pre-game notes

Beyond sending Kirill Kabanov back to his junior team last week, the Islanders cut their first round of players, a move that came unusually late this training camp because of the team's need for bodies during the two days of split-squad games.

Tony Romano, Anton Klemetyev, and Dustin Kohn went home today. The Islanders will likely make their next significant trim-down either tomorrow or Monday.

--Scott Gordon said the team has no set plan for how much Rick DiPietro will play tonight; DiPietro didn't get much work against Calgary Wednesday, but Gordon said he was encouraged by his goalies reads/positioning...he'll hope to see more of that tonight.

--With regards to the last-minute switcheroo of Trent Hunter and Nino Niederreiter. Hunter, who was originally slated to play in Quebec, will now play at home and switch spots with Niederreiter. Gordon said he wanted to see how Hunter looked with certain guys (he'll pla with center Frans Nielsen tonight) and try out a few options.

--Speaking of Trent Hunter, he delivered a towel full of shaving cream to Josh Bailey, who turned 21 today. 

--Beyond some rustiness timing-wise, Frans Nielsen said he felt good in his first pre-season game last night after missing some time with a lingering groin/hip flexor issue. Said he's good to go in back-to-backs.

--Rob Schremp will undergo x-rays on his back today to determine the extent of the injury. Schremp suffered back spasms toward the end of the second period of last night's game after being cross-checked in the back by Brian Rolston.