Jack Capuano not panicking about injuries to defensemen

The Islanders had their fourth sellout in 11 home dates Saturday night, helped by having their first four Metro Division home dates either on Saturdays or the day before Thanksgiving.

The players, who haven't played before many sellouts during the past few seasons, have noticed the renewed energy at the Coliseum. So has the coach.

"We're feeding off it," Jack Capuano said. "It's a little bit of a change and the guys are feeling that for sure."

The Islanders had only two sellouts last season -- one of their home dates with the Rangers was moved to Yankee Stadium -- and five sellouts in the shortened, playoff-bound season of 2012-13.

"It's been awesome," Kyle Okposo said. "You get 16,000 [actually 16,170] in here, the building gets rocking and we definitely feed off that."

The 9-2-0 record at home -- the Isles' best home start in well over a decade -- and 17-7 overall record don't hurt, either.

Day-to-day for 'D'

Capuano didn't sound overly concerned about the injuries to veteran defensemen Lubomir Visnovsky and Johnny Boychuk, who both missed Saturday night's 3-1 win over the Devils with upper-body injuries.

"We'll know more early next week," Capuano said. "It's day-to-day, really, for both guys."

Boychuk missed his second straight game after sitting out Friday's loss in Washington. This latest injury is not related to the swollen knee that kept him out on Nov. 8 in Glendale against the Coyotes.

Visnovsky has had a couple of worrisome injuries during the past year, most notably the concussion that cost him 58 games last season. He does not have a concussion now, and Saturday's absence was the result of a play in Friday's 5-2 loss.

Brian Strait played his second straight game in Boychuk's spot and Matt Donovan made his second appearance of the season in Visnovsky's spot.