Isles lose Simon, lose to Sabres, but gain Okposo

While it may seem hard to believe that Chris Simon got an NHL-record 30-game suspension for what he did to Jarkko Ruutu, I can't argue with the decision by Colin Campbell. This is the new NHL, after all, and you have to take into account a player's past transgressions, and Simon is currently one of the league's worst offenders and should not -- cannot -- be on the ice.

Simon's seventh career suspension in 15 seasons was his second in nine months, coming on the heels of the 25-gamer for whacking Ryan Hollweg in the face. I thought that suspension was a bit harsh considering the circumstances, but the league has a zero-tolerance policy now and all the players know it. And while tripping Ruutu and then stepping on his foot isn't nearly as bad as the fouls committed by Jesse Boulerice or Steve Downie, or the cowardly hit by Dale Hunter on Pierre Turgeon, or Todd Bertuzzi's sucker punch of Steve Moore, it's still, in Campbell's words, "repugnant and totally unacceptable."

It's good to see that Simon will undergo counseling "at the behest of Charles Wang" according to Newsday, and everyone who knows the Islanders knows Simon is well-liked and respected by his teammates. Here's hoping he can resolve whatever issues he has, but his time on the Islanders is very close to an end.

Regarding Campbell's comment that Simon would meet with "drug and alcohol doctors," that's typical Campbell. The guy seems to be a few cents short of a dollar, and Ted Nolan was right on the money for calling Campbell's comment "idiotic" as well as racially insensitive. But we're not surprised.

Meanwhile, the Isles fell to .500 with a 2-1 loss to the Sabres at the Coliseum Wednesday night, despite outshooting Buffalo, 43-17. Credit Ryan Miller for making several big stops, but it's the quality of chances that count, not the quantity. The power play lost its recent momentum, going 0-for-5. Brendan Witt, of all people, scored the only goal with a great screen by Sean Bergenheim, who has really played well lately.

All those shots couldn't get the Isles the lead, and then Maxim Afinogenov provided the backbreaker with a backhander with 2:17 left in the third. A 6-on-4 with DiPietro pulled came up empty, and now the Islanders have only won two of their last 10 games. The offensive problems are really taking their toll now.

But help COULD be on the way in the form of Kyle Okposo, which is making our pal Ken at Okposo Net a happy man - even moving him to compose poetry! The seventh overall pick in the 2006 draft was struggling in his sophomore year at Minnesota after a fine freshman year, and decided to call it quits and go pro. Unhappy playing center for coach Don Lucia (and with the Golden Gophers playing like, well, gophers) Okposo will represent the U.S. at the Under-20 World Juniors next week in the Czech Republic and could be an Islander (or at least a Sound Tiger) in January, if they can work out a deal - which they should.

The 19-year-old Okposo is a stud, a guy who can really help on the right wing, and the Isles could use some new blood up front. With Freddy Meyer and Blake Comeau playing against Buffalo, is a major shakeup coming? Probably not, but some change is needed to snap this team out of the goal-scoring doldrums.

Just one last note on the attendance Wednesday - just over 10,000. Not horrible, but the pattern of sparse weekday crowds and big weekend crowds at the Coliseum was not lost on Mike and the Mad Dog, who opened last Friday's show -- believe it or not -- talking about the Islanders. Francesa actually watched some of the game against the Coyotes, and - admitting he knows almost nothing about the Islanders - had praise for, as he put it, "number 28." Told it was Tim Jackman, Francesa said he liked what he saw from him, but didn't have much to say about anyone else.

Thanks for the insight, Mikey.

Russo harped on the attendance, noting that it was terrible weather against a Western Conference opponent, but he still didn't think those were reasons enough for so many empty seats. He has a point - you would like to see more fans and it's something I've noticed - but the weather combined with the who-are-these-guys Coyotes PLUS the way the Isles have been playing lately doesn't add up to a sellout, no matter how you slice it.

So should we be happy that M&MD took some time to talk Islanders hockey? Or should they stick to football, tennis and horse racing?

Game recap: Isles 3, Sabres 2

Jason who?

You remember, little guy, goal scorer, brought lots of energy, fan favorite? Blake, yeah. Well, it looks like the Islanders found a suitable replacement in Mike Comrie, who scored two goals for the second straight game as the Islanders swept the season-opening home-and-home with the Sabres with Saturday night's 3-2 win.

Comrie, Guerin and Fedotenko (The leftovers line? Can we come up with something better?) have combined for 16 points in these first two games and put on another show in a much more defensively sound game than the Friday premiere in Buffalo. Comrie scored twice in the first nine minutes of the third period with his two linemates recording an assist on each goal.

The second was a joy to behold. Guerin banked a clearing pass off the boards and Comrie chased it down deep in the Sabres end for a scoring chance. He was stopped, but Fedotenko swept in, won the puck, slid behind the net and then fed Comrie in the slot with a perfect pass, and Comrie converted to make it 3-1. A sloppy/fluky goal by Hecht cut the gap to one but DiPietro shut the Sabres down at the end and had another solid game, despite a couple of near-misses. The Islanders' defense was much stronger tonight, particularly in front, and the special teams was outstanding once again.

Chris Campoli also scored for the second straight game, roofing a shot in the second period to tie the game 1-1. Campoli has looked terrific so far and the coaches are praising his maturity. A breakout season for him on the backline would be a huge boost for a team that -- and we know it's early -- has looked very, very promising thus far.

The Islanders last opened the season this well in 2001, when they won their first four games, all on the road. They'll look to continue the momentum Monday afternoon against the Caps on Kids' Opening Day. Take Sunday off, fellas. You deserve it.

Game recap: Isles 6, Sabres 4

Ten goals are not exactly a coach's delight, but there was plenty to like about tonight's season opener in Buffalo, not the least of which was the two points on the road.

What more could you have asked for from the new-guy line? (There has to be a better name than that - we'll work on it.) Two goals and two assists from Comrie, a goal and two assists from Fedotenko and three assists by Guerin -- these guys were a rash on the scoresheet. Toss in a goal by Vasicek (off a nice cross by Gervais) and the additions wasted no time making their mark.

Goal of the night? While Comrie had a terrific individual effort on his breakaway goal in the second to make it 5-4, you had to love the tic-tac-toe passing and Campoli's anticipation on the power play goal that gave the Isles a 3-2 lead in the first; Guerin to Fedotenko in the corner, then the one-touch pass to Campoli sneaking in? You couldn't have drawn that up better on Sega NHL '94.

DiPietro played very well despite the four goals allowed and made 22 saves. He flat-out never saw the first one and the Isles had a couple of bad defensive lapses, which the coaches will surely remind them of. But DiPietro's fine save seven minutes into the third led to a 3-on-2 that ended with Hunter shoving the puck past Miller in the goalmouth, which we hope we'll see a lot of this season.

All in all not a bad start. Still getting used to the new unis, but they grew on me as the night went on. I'm not a fan of the string ties or the orange sleeves. I think I'll end up getting a blue jersey at some point. But then again, fashion was never my thing.

The opener is just six hours away...

Some thoughts as the Islanders prepare for their season-opening, home-and-home series against the Sabres:

- Always great to begin the season against the team that bounced you from the playoffs the previous year, and the Islanders get that team twice in two days. And have we mentioned that it's also the team Ted Nolan used to coach? With so many new faces looking to make a statement from the get-go, expect the Islanders to be absolutely flying.

Good job by the team in signing Radek Martinek to a three-year contract extension. This guy was sorely missed and will be a huge difference maker if he can stay healthy.

- The Sabres had a rough off-season. That may be more of an understatement than saying Willie Randolph is on the hot seat. Daniel Briere is in Philly and we all know where Chris Drury is. And don't forget Danius Zubrus in New Jersey. Throw in Teppo Numminen's heart troubles and the Sabres could be in for some trouble. Then again, with Ryan Miller between the pipes, there's always hope.

- Have you seen the Versus TV ads? The one with the little guy in a Flyers T-shirt breaking panes of glass from 30 yards? That's Briere. He looks like he should be skateboarding in a Waldbaum's parking lot somewhere, and he just turned 30! Are we sure he's not related to Doug Flutie? How many times did we all yell "Just HIT HIM!" last season? And now we'll get to do it even more when the Flyers are across the ice. Beautiful.

- Three games in less than four days for the Islanders when they host the Capitals Monday afternoon in Kids' Opening Day. When you think of the Caps, do you picture Bryan Murray behind the bench? Me, too.