Morning meetings; Special teams practice tonight

 No skate this morning for the Islanders, just meetings and workouts. The team will reconvene tonight for a special teams practice, though.

Some quick hits from the Coliseum to tide you over until then:

--One player was on the ice this morning, however. Kirill Kabanov, who was disciplined with conditioning sprints yesterday, was back at it this morning with Bridgeport coach Jack Capuano.

--In following his weekly schedule, Rick DiPietro will take a day off today and will not participate in tonight's festivities. DiPietro, who said his body responded well after the first hard couple days of practice, said he's happy to get a chance to rest before the grind of the regular season sets in

"It's nice, although it makes me feel old. But it's good to walk in Doug's shoes once in a while."

--Ex-NHL'er Geoff Sanderson has been on the ice helping out during training camp. Although the team does not have an official position for him yet, don't be surprised to see him hired as part of the staff soon.

--Robin Figren was without the boot this morning and appeared to be walking much better.

--IMG Media will be back to the Coliseum on October 2 to gather all the behind-the-scenes footage of the Islanders first pre-season game. The production team was here this week to collect material for a Hard Knocks-type documentary.

--I can report that veteran defenseman Mark Eaton, who played one season at Notre Dame, was very gracious while I bragged about  my alma mater MSU's remarkable overtime victory over the Irish. Couldn't resist.