Islanders are passing on goaltender Smith

PITTSBURGH - There will be no repeat of the Evgeni Nabokov drama that surfaced on Long Island in recent weeks; Newsday has learned that the Islanders are "not interested" in goaltender Mike Smith.

Smith, 28, was placed on waivers by Tampa Bay Wednesday afternoon to relieve the Lightning of their logjam at the goaltending position. In addition to starter Dwayne Roloson, whom the Islanders traded to Tampa Bay last month, the Lightning also have Dan Ellis.

The Islanders put in a claim on the veteran Russian goaltender Nabokov less than two weeks ago, but they have no intent on dipping back into the waiver wire again for Smith.

Smith's numbers aren't terribly enticing. He has a 10-5-0 record in 17 games for Tampa Bay, but only a .883 save percentage and a 3.20 goals-against average. His $2.2-million salary would be pro-rated, but it's far more cost-prohibitive than Nabokov's, which worked out to be roughly $250,000 for the remainder of the season.

Perhaps the biggest reason why the Islanders were prompted to claim Nabokov (who has subsequently been suspended for his failure to report) was their desire to send 20-year-old rookie goaltender Kevin Poulin back to the minors for more seasoning.

Poulin delivered a stellar 25-save performance in the Islanders' 4-1 win over the Thrashers Tuesday night, only his eighth NHL game. Nathan Lawson, who has shared goaltending duties with Poulin and Rick DiPietro, is out 2-4 weeks with an MCL strain in his left knee.

Wishart doesn't play

Bridgeport defenseman Ty Wishart, who was acquired from Tampa Bay in the Roloson trade, dressed for warm-ups but did not play. Wishart was called up from Bridgeport along with Poulin and defenseman Dylan Reese.