Nino Niederreiter suffers (minor) injury in Quebec

 Islanders first-round draft pick Nino Niederreiter left the Islanders' split-squad game in Quebec during the second period with a bruised calf after being slashed in the back of the leg by Montreal's Mike Cammalleri.

Apparently Cammalleri was upset about a hit from Niederreiter and speared him in the chest. After that, Cammalleri kept trying to goad Niederreiter into fighting but the 18-year-old rookie did not engage.

Shortly thereafter Cammalleri delivered a two-handed slash to the back of Niederreiter's leg and was subsequently ejected. Niederreiter limped off the ice and iced his calf during the second intermission and will not return.

Scott Gordon said he did not see Niederreiter's hit on Cammalleri but he did see a replay of the slash and thought it was "overkill."

According to a team official in Quebec, Niederreiter is "Fine but sore. Bruised." So nothing serious, which Im sure is a relief to Islanders fans disheartened with the team's recent injury news.

Both top defenseman Mark Streit and workhorse forward Kyle Okposo went down with injury recently. Streit will likely miss six months with a torn labrum, torn rotator cuff and dislocated left shoulder after falling awkwardly into the boards during last Saturday's intra-squad scrimmage. Okposo suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder two days prior in a special teams scrimmage and is not expected to return until December.

Both underwent successful surgery Friday at the Cleveland Clinic.