Kyle Okposo limited in Isles morning skate; other injury updates
Kyle Okposo was limited in practice during the Islanders morning skate. Coach Scott Gordon said he'll consult with head trainer Garrett Timms before making a decision on him tonight.
Jeff Tambellini, who hails from Vancouver, is in the lineup tonight and will have about 40 family members and friends at GM Place.
Trent Hunter (upper body) is still questionable, although he looked pretty close in practice today. Both of Hunter's parents are in town today too, down from Red Deer, Alberta, so we'll see if they get to see their son in action.
Dwayne Roloson in net tonight.
The Islanders had the day off tonight to rest and get themselves acclimated to West Coast time. A group of them spent their day curling.
Apparently Jon Sim, Josh Bailey, Blake Comeau, and Tim Jackman dominated Bruno Gervais, Matt Moulson, Dwayne Roloson, Martin Biron, and Frans Nielsen, although they may had a bit of an upper-hand....
Sounds like Blake Comeau, who spent a good chunk of time curling while he was younger, was instrumental in hustling the other team.
SEEN & HEARD:
Seen: A Vancouver newspaper taped to the dry erase board in the Islanders dressing room. Highlighted were the two paragraphs in which leading goal-scorer Matt Moulson's name was misspelled as "Matt Coulson" and a matchup grid that gave the Canucks the advantage in every single category. Apparently this was the same paper that guaranteed a Canucks win the last time the two teams squared off...a 2-1 shootout win for the Islanders.
Somewhat surprised this part was not also highlighted:
"This year, especially with the slew of injuries they have at the moment, the Isles look more like the mixed squad of AHL and ECHL players the squad sent in preseason to Terrace for Kraft Hockeyville to face a likewise no-name Canucks lineup last fall."
Heard: (And I'm paraphrasing here...) Canucks defenseman Shane O'Brien greeting old AHL buddy Trevor Gillies and saluting his impressive Fu Manchu mustache:
"Shoot, that mustache looks good!"
