Quick Notes From A Saturday Night

While I couldn't attend the Islanders' preseason game on Saturday night (10/2) in Nassau due to a prior commitment, I did manage to scrape together a few notes and thoughts:

- Of utmost importance to readers of this site, Kyle Okposo had successful surgery on his injured shoulder, reports Newsday's Katie Strang. When a timetable for his return becomes known we will post it here.

- In a similar vein, the same doctor performed surgery on fellow assistant captain Mark Streit in Cleveland. Word is that Streit's procedure also went well, though he is expected to return later in the season than Kyle, perhaps February.

- The Islanders defeated the New Jersey Devils in the aforementioned home exhibition by a 2-1 score. Rick DiPietro was solid in goal, saving 25 of the 26 shots he faced. Also returning to the ice was Doug Weight, the team's captain. Josh Bailey and Blake Comeau netted the goals for the winning side.

- Goalie Manny Legace didn't fare as well in the split squad game in Quebec City. The Islanders' "B" team was steamrolled 7-2 by Montreal. Nino Niederreiter was slashed on the leg in this game and left the ice. No word yet on the severity of his injury.

- The Islanders issued a release announcing that Rob Figren, Kevin Poulin, Anton Klementyev and Tony Romano had been reassigned to the minor league Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Also of note, Dustin Kohn was placed on waivers.

- Lastly, the regular season opens just one week from now on Saturday, October 9th. My goal from that night onward is to function less as a news aggregator, but to give you all the vital storylines, images, and opinions from this critical season of New York Islanders hockey.