Getting back to work, but on what, exactly?

The Islanders return to action tonight to face the Atlanta Thrashers in a game that is, shockingly, not on Versus.

The Isles have had eight days off for the All-Star break, so they'll either be raring to go or rusty as a barn door hinge. Some of the players really enjoyed their time off, none more so than Mark Streit, who got to represent at an All-Star game that was decided by a shootout. Streit had two assists to help the East win. (If anyone cares.)

Some players won't be back. Joining Rick DiPietro on the shelf is Mike Sillinger, who is lost for the season thanks to another hip surgery. Which means the Isles will lose more faceoffs down the stretch, which won't help their chances for, you know, winning games.

Which is the point, isn't it? I forgot.

Anyway, appropo of nothing, enjoy this, the best beer commercial of all time. (Which was banned from running during the Super Bowl, by the way).

Trade deadline day madness

So at 4:07 p.m., more than an hour past the NHL trade deadline, the burning question for me was -- WHAT THE DEVIL IS GOING ON IN ROOM SIX?

You see, unlike five of my Blog Box brethren, I had to follow the deadline day doings from work while they got to spend the day at the Coliseum, rubbing elbows with the likes of Newsday's Jim Baumbach as they monitored the day's events. So like a good little Blog Boxer I kept tabs on all their blogs, as well as ESPN.com, TSN.ca, SI.com.

So on Baumbach's blog and on The Tiger Track, right around 3:30 they say that everyone was called into Room 6. Was it to talk to Ted Nolan or Garth Snow about the trades involving Marc-Andre Bergeron, Chris Simon and Rob Davison? Was there bigger news coming?

I had no clue and it was KILLING ME ... until Baumbach posted an update at 4:15 that they talked with Snow about the deals, and how he said there was one big deal he tried to do that fell through that involved a player that ended up not getting traded anywhere. Bryan McCabe? The return of Olli Jokinen? Perhaps we will never know.

So, as to the trades that DID happen -- no surprises. A couple of small deals, all solid. Bergeron has been expendable almost from day one this season and has been a defensive liability. The fans' reaction to Chris Simon sealed his fate but he also had no role on this team any more. Getting a third-round and sixth-round pick for the two of them in a deep draft is good business. Dealing a seventh-round pick for Davison to add needed blue line depth was also a no-brainer.

The biggest news was the signing of Mike Comrie to a one-year deal, which took him off the table. Comrie brings plenty to the club, is the team's leading scorer and is a Nolan favorite. He's been essential in the team's recent resurgence and I'm glad he's staying.

Fedotenko, Vasicek and Satan were all rumored to be available but they're not going anywhere now, so this is your team heading into the final stretch. It's a team that will be without Sillinger for the rest of the way, and that hurts, but I've always liked this group of players and we'll see how they respond now that the deadline is passed.

The biggest deal of the day came at the deadline, with Marian Hossa going to the Pens, who are tonight's opponent. So the trade deadline could help the Isles in the very short term, as the Pens will be shorthanded without the three guys they dealt, no Hossa (unless he's on a flight RIGHT NOW) and Sid the Kid still hurt.

It would be great to see the Isles come out blazing at home tonight and grab two points against Pittsburgh for their seventh win in eight games. Faceoff in 2 hours and 30 minutes and counting...

And to the Blog Boxers who toiled all day -- great job, and thanks for helping me keep tabs on all the action. You lucky stiffs.

Game recap: Ducks 3, Islanders 0

And the hits just keep on comin.'

On the day the Islanders learned Mike Sillinger will be out three weeks with a hip injury, they dropped their fifth straight game, falling to the defending-champion Ducks, 3-0.

Anaheim came into the game on a six-game losing binge but were riding a surge provided by the return of Teemu Selanne, who made his 2007-08 debut by assisting on the Ducks' first goal. Selanne sat out the first 56 games of the season before coming back to help the Ducks in their quest for another title.

That was bad news for the Isles, who are getting used to it by now. The Islanders have won only once in their last eight games, and Tuesday night they didn't help themselves by giving the Ducks six power play chances. Scott Niedermayer scored on the PP to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead. The Isles had only one chance with the man advantage.

If you thought the scoring drought earlier in the season was bad, this stretch is far worse. At least then they were able to tread water. Now they're sinking. The Isles have been outscored 19-5 in the last five games, so they can't stop goals, let alone score. All-Star Rick DiPietro is now sub-.500.

Maybe the Isles can find inspiration in the Giants. The NFC was wide-open and the Giants capitalized by coming together at the right time and used that momentum to win the Super Bowl. The fight for the final playoff spots in the East is also a free-for-all, and there's still time for the Isles to get on the stick. The pressure is on Garth Snow as well, to determine if he can help the team not only in the short run but in the long term as well.

By the way, terrific article by Gordon Sinclair in the Winnipeg Free Press about Chris Simon.

Game recap: Islanders 6, Hurricanes 3

So let me get this straight: The Islanders actually have the advantage when they're shorthanded, and they win more often when they're outshot. Make sense? Not really, but a win is a win.

Tuesday night's 6-3 win over the Hurricanes was the Isles' fourth straight road win (which dovetails fittingly with the team's four-game home losing streak) and got the two points back that they gave away the night before. Unfortunately, any good feelings generated by the win were tempered mightily by the news that Chris Campoli needs shoulder surgery and will be lost for the season.

It's a huge blow to the defense as Campoli has been a real asset so far this season, despite the occasional youthful mistake. The loss of Campoli means Freddy Meyer will continue to get a regular turn, and his solid play has been rewarded with a two-year contract extension.

Back to the game, and what more can you say about a penalty kill that scores three times? How messed up is this -- the first four goals of the game were scored with Carolina on the power play, and three of the goals were for the Islanders. Think Peter Laviolette had a few choice words for his club after the game?

Mike Sillinger had two of the shorties while Richard Park had the third on a beautiful breakaway triggered by Martinek flipping the puck high off the glass and out of the Islanders' zone. Park picked the puck up at center ice and did the rest.

Up 4-1, the Islanders let the Canes back into it; Matt Cullen somehow found some space between the left post and Wade Dubielewicz's pads to make it 4-3. But Dubie stood tall against a withering Hurricane attack in the third and finished with 44 saves. Brendan Witt scored the clincher off a nice drop pass by Blake Comeau, whose empty netter polished off the win.

The Isles visit Beantown Thursday night and get four days off for the All-Star Break (everyone but D.P., that is) before hosting the Senators on Jan. 29.

Game recap: Islanders 3, Devils 1

What more can you say about Rick DiPietro? The guy was outstanding tonight as the Islanders bounced back big-time from their lackluster performance against the Canadiens, beating the Devils at the Rock, 3-1. The Isles are now 5-0 against the first-place Devils, four wins supplied by D.P.

DiPietro made 37 saves and stood on his head in the third period, stopping 15 of 16 shots as the Devils threw everything but Chico Resch's hairpiece at him in a desperate effort to tie the score. DiPietro has allowed just five goals in his four games against New Jersey this season.

DiPietro made a terrific glove save against Zubrus but also stopped Gionta, Langenbrunner and Zajac down the stretch. Zajac scored the Devils' only goal to cut the Islanders' lead to 2-1 on a deflection of a shot by Gionta.

Bill Guerin gave the Isles a 1-0 lead on a two-man advantage in the first period, set up Satan and Comrie. Mike Sillinger made it 2-0 in the second, taking a feed from Trent Hunter and beating Martin Brodeur. Guerin's empty netter secured the win.

The Devils are now winless in 9 games against the Isles and Rangers, and the Islanders have beaten the Devils six straight. Some bad news - Chris Campoli left the game with a shoulder injury and missed the final 2 periods. He joins Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek on the list of injured blueliners.

Game recap: Isles win a shootout; D.P. an All-Star after all

I generally don't like being wrong, but in this case, I don't mind.

I mentioned in my previous post that Rick DiPietro might not be selected as an All-Star, but that anyone who watched this team knew how valuable he was. Well, I guess his worth was recognized as he was selected to his first All-Star game. He and Tomas Vokoun of the Panthers will back up starting goalie Martin Brodeur.

D.P.'s value was again on display Friday night as the Isles beat the Flames, 5-4, in a shootout. DiPietro made 38 saves, including two in the shootout, and while the four goals allowed isn't terrific, this was just one of those games.

It was the Islanders' first victory of this five-game road trip, which ends tomorrow night against the Senators. Mike Sillinger scored twice in the first period - the second goal coming off a sweet feed from Ruslan Fedotenko - and Trent Hunter scored on a deflection as the Isles led 3-1 after one. Calgary - red-hot with five straight wins coming into the game - rallied to take a 4-3 lead before Tenk deflected a Bergeron shot past a shaky Kiprusoff.

I loved the difference between the first two Islanders goals in the shootout. Sillinger took it straight to Kiprusoff, beating him stick side. Then Richard Park took his time getting there, before a triple deke beat Kiprusoff with a backhander. Nice change of pace. And it's clear Ted Nolan trusts Park to do pretty much anything.

By the way, it's interesting how there's not so much hoo-hah any more about long-term deals in the NHL. There was much hand-wringing and shouting about DiPietro's deal, but now it seems like a trend after the decade-plus-long contracts signed by Brad Richards and now, Alex Ovetchkin.

Read Minnesota Wild GM Doug Riserbough's comments in John Buccigross' column and you'll see that GMs are reacting to the cap in interesting ways. Maybe Charles Wang is a genius after all.

Also, ESPN's Terry Frei takes a shot at Garth Snow. What he wanted Gary Bettman to do to Snow for his comments about the Kyle Okposo's coach at Minnesota is unclear. Fifty lashes with a wet noodle? Do his laundry for a year like Dwight Schrute?

Game recap: Islanders 3, Senators 2 (OT)

There are games over the course of the season that are measuring-stick games, and this was one of them for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the Senators are one of the best -- if not THE best - teams in the NHL, and they have absolutely owned the Islanders, winning the last eight games between the clubs.

Not this time. Thanks to tremendous goaltending by Rick DiPietro and terrific efforts from players like Mike Sillinger, Richard Park, Josef Vasicek and Bill Guerin, the Islanders overcame two fluky goals by Andres Meszaros of all people and came away with a 3-2 shootout victory Wednesday night at the Coliseum, before another disappointing crowd of just over 9,200.

Maybe the Isles' dismal recent history against the recently-cold Senators kept fans from coming to the barn, but past performance is no guarantee of future earnings. The Islanders came to play in a hard-hitting, tightly-played game that featured yet another standout performance by DiPietro, who's certainly playing up to his contract now, isn't he? D.P. made 35 stops in the first 65 minutes, includes a few of the WOW variety, and then came up huge in the shootout. He made the final stop on Dean McAmmond look easy, moments after Sillinger beat Ray Emery for what proved to be the game-winner. Guerin scored the first shootout goal for the Isles on their third shot, after Ottawa had put one in off the stick of Daniel Alfredsson.

The Isles continue to live dangerously. This was the 11th game in the last 12 decided by one goal, and the ninth straight game where the Islanders scored two or fewer goals (shootouts notwithstanding). When the margin for error is that thin, you're going to get burned by goals like Meszaros' second, which deflected off Park. But give the Isles credit for not letting the second point get away from them, as happened the game prior against Dallas. Fun fact - the Isles are now 11-1 against Eastern Conference teams who made the playoffs last season.

We'll see how much the Isles have left in the tank when they play the Rangers at the Garden Thursday night. One player who won't enjoy that game is Sean Avery, who's injured -- again, what a fragile flower he is -- having just had wrist surgery. Get well soon, big guy. We'll miss you. And say hi to Mary-Kate (or is it Ashley?) - we always get them confused.