BREAKING NEWS: Okposo, McAmmond, Streit Out
Smith, Bentivoglio up; Lawson named AHL All-Rookie
12:20 pm - The Islanders have just announced that Kyle Okposo (groin strain), Mark Streit (groin strain) and Dean McAmmond (sickness) are out of the lineup tonight when the Islanders host Montreal. All are listed as day-to-day.
Recalled from Bridgeport on an emergency basis are forwards Trevor Smith and Sean Bentivoglio. The 23-year old Bentivoglio, signed in the summer of 2007 after playing 15 games under coach Scott Gordon at Providence (AHL), will make his NHL debut.
Congratulations to Sound Tigers goaltender Nathan Lawson on his selection to the AHL All-Rookie team. We know some Lawson relatives readers who are especially proud of the goalie, who is 18-9-2 this season with a 2.13 GAA and .929 save percentage.
Comments.
62 Responses to BREAKING NEWS: Okposo, McAmmond, Streit Out
Smith, Bentivoglio up; Lawson named AHL All-Rookie
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Matt says:
please don’t rush Okposo back Islanders.
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Coach B says:
Looked like Kyle would get to 20 goals but it depends how severe it is. No need to take a chance because he has played like a top line player.
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bergie20 says:
the loss of okposo certainly won’t hurt our chances of finishing last. i hope he does come back this year to have a shot at 20 goals. is lawson a legit nhl prospect at this point? he’s very quietly had a great year.
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Staten Islander says:
I agree with Coach and Mike on KO, no reason for him to rush back. I was hoping he’d hit 20 too. I had a feeling he’d be out today.
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The Mick says:
Unfortunately for both Streit and Okposo as they were closing out the year strong. The one positive spin on this is that the Isles really just need to lose the reset of these games so that they can lock up the #1 or #2 spot in the draft to get one of the two big guys. That’s what I’m hoping for.
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Good, so now we can add Bruno Gervais to the shootout list as well. Colorado is scaring the hell out of me. Are they tanking it on purpose? Looks that way. Why is it that all the bottom 5 teams are beating the playoff contenders and Colorado is just sitting idle. Makes no sense. They have nothing to lose. They should be able to win one playing all offense.
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joe sakic is planning on coming back this year which should help us. excited to get another look at trevor smith.
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Giaco says:
Tampa and Avs are both a disgrace with the talent/veterans they have on the team
The Isles have half the talent but 1000 times mroe heart than both teams combined
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jim from St James says:
Someone tell Flash to sit’em all out and we can get up a team of PB readers, I’ve got my skates sharpened & ready to go. Taveres, here we come.
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Gloobenberg says:
Love KO but I’m glad he’s sitting out. Yeah, please take your time with this guy Garth!
We gotta lose now tonight, right!? lol
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Spartiarti - RVC says:
im going to game tonight and my friend is huge habs fan. we should be 3-0 on these guys. Im upset streit not playing b/c its priceless to see my friend face when streit blasts a goal on them.
Okposo went down pretty bad last night. we are lucky its just a groin.
Dont like our chance tonight but with Lanche purposely losing i guess we have to shut down too.
Colorado has so been tanking on purpose. Isle are playing competitive ever night at least.
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Looks like it will be Jaroslav Halak in goal for Montreal, Carey Price has the flu.
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of course Avalanche are purposely tanking. 23 shots on net vs Al Montaya in phoenix. give me a break. 8 straight losses. 10 goals scored in all that time. are you kidding me.
Smyth, Hejduk, Wolski, Statsny, Svatos?isles are playing .500 hockey since all star break. we are hardly tanking, I guess i can take some abuse from my habs fan friend. We need to lose every game till end.
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peluso says:
i think we need some new trainers, someone who can stretch some groins this is excessive.
I have to laugh when i see the avs playing terrible. It couldn’t happen to a nicer couple of guys….ryan smith and darci tucker. -
Jerky says:
From the replay last night, it looked like KO’s foot/ankle bent awkwardly when he went down in the third. I was surprised he was back on the ice 5 minutes later and I wonder if that’s the real injury and not a groin strain. Seems ridiculous that every player this season seems to have had one or more groin strains and me thinks this is not the real story for everyone.
Tampa and Colorado both seem to be tanking their games as I’ve been watching them a bit on the Center Ice package. The truth is that I see a lot of the Isles from the first half of this season and last year where they have vets who play without heart and don’t seem to care as much as younger players (simiar to how we all felt about Comrie, Fedotenko, etc). But Colorado is ridiculous – to get shut out 3-0 by Phoenix last night was (IMO) a blatant lack of intent to win but there’s nothing the league can do about it. The league could come back to the Isles and accuse them of the same because of certain moves (Witt shootout for example) or certain 5-minute intervals during games where they give up a lead by allowing 3 goals – even if it’s not the case.
Looking forward to seeing Bentivoglio tonight!
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Gary says:
I have 2 suggestions for anyone who suggests that Colorado is tanking on purpose. First, show any proof that you have to Commissioner Bettman or Bill Daly. I’m sure they would appreciate it and would certainly take action against the Avs. Second, go visit the Avs locker room and relay your observations to Ian Laperriere, Darcy Tucker or some guy named Smyth. Certainly make sure you have left yourself enough time to go around and find all of your teeth after those guys slap them out of your heads. Teams do NOT tank on purpose. These are professional players who try to win everygame. Get over it already.
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Scottay says:
All these injuries are a result of Gordons System it was only time until striet went down. This system might have some good,it will land the islanders a #1 pick.
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Greg says:
Going to the game tonight as well. Would have liked to see okposo and streit play, because well they make things really exciting to watch.
Quick recovery to both and hopefully catch them one more time before the seasons end at the NC.
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Fist of Gillies says:
I agree with sitting Okposo and Streit.
I would also advocate pulling the goalie for random 2 minutes stretches during the game.
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Daniel says:
Thank God Okposo’s injury isn’t too bad. It hurt to watch him go down last night it looked pretty bad at first. I hope he gets back in before the end of the season so he can get that 20th goal. And regarding the play of Colorado, the only thing more embarrassing then their play is Kate Murray’s politics.
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Dan says:
All this talk about using Witt in the shootout. What if he scored? I mean it wasn’t like he didn’t even get the shot off or anything. I don’t see the big deal. Anyone could purposely miss a shot but thats ok???
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Outside says:
breaking: lecalvier out for year with surgery.. the tampa tank has begun…
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Big Dog says:
awww gary that hit a sore spot with you fella?
players dont have to tank it coaches can create chaos
take for example brendan witt in a shootout? cmon be real..
isles just lose and get that #1
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Macch says:
This can’t bode well for Ben Walter
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islesfan says:
#20 Fist of Gillies.
Cracked me up.
My friends and I were talking about the same thing just the other day.
Think we would be penalized by the league, EH ? -
blitz says:
(23) the tamba bay has not really played with emotion for weeks.
however, if Vinny is injured and on that contract, then there is no reason to exacerbate the injury by playing him.
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Marc from Troy says:
Did some of you jokers even watch last night’s game? Or is it just more fun to sit there and take misinformed potshots? If you had seen the play Okposo got hurt on, it was pretty clear. Blaming that injury, and several others this year, on either the trainers or the “system” is simply idiotic. About right, however, for some of you who just keep singing the same, tired old tunes.
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Ron from Forest Hills says:
It’s going to be tough for KO to get to 20 goals now.
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Gary (#17) – I respectfully disagree with you on the tanking issue. There may be some players (the ones you mentioned specifically) who I’m sure have no desire to lose for a higher draft pick. But there are others who don’t feel that way and they infect the team. You have to look no further than the Islanders from last year to see it firsthand. Do you think guys like Park and Hilbert want to lose? Clearly not, but Comrie and Fedotenko (among others) overshadow them with their laziness and lack of interest. We can agree to disagree – I respect your opinion on the issue!
Dan (#22) – the only reason I bring up Witt in the shootout is because other teams fighting for a playoff spot or jockeying for home ice advantage may perceive it as a slap in the face and it could cost them a spot in the postseason or to face a much tougher opponent in the first round. I personally got a kick out of watching Witt in the shootout but he has never been an offensive defenseman like Streit and therefore it was odd to throw him out there.
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cgs878 says:
Rest up, Kyle. You gave it a good go-go this season. Thanks for adding spark to the last 20-something games.
I’m going to the game tonight, and I’m excited to see Trevor Smith play again. Can we sing-song to Halak if he plays like crap? Ole, ole ole ole…
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Dan from Westchester says:
Avs had 8 regulars out last night. . and now Ryan Smyth may be done, too with a hand injury. Funny to hear Tony Granato complaining how he’s never seen so many injuries to one team. . sound familiar??
Certainly looks like Avs and Lightning may not win one more game.
Isles are SO CLOSE to getting the top pick – yet can still end up at #3 or lower because they actually compete in their final games!
And Ranger fans will be pulling hard for the Isles tonight – what a crazy season.
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Swan says:
Only team with less than 60 pts. No 20 goal scorers.
Isles will finish last, because they are definitely tanking. Intentionally or not.
Pathetic to watch fans complain about Col or TB. The Isles are the worst team in hockey and have been all season. The Islanders are the team that is tanking.
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Swan – Tanking specifically refers to quitting, mailing in games, not playing hard ON PURPOSE. If youe saying that the Isles are the worst team in hockey and have been all year, fine, But the difference in my view is that the Isles have been trying hard to win games for the last month, and they haven’t played like the worst team in hockey during that window. Colorado is not even trying.
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bergie20 (8): Maybe he was before, but the latest is that Sakic is not likely to be returning this year. Ryan Smyth is probably out for the rest of the games, as well.
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Swan (34), you and I both know that Tim Jackman would drop the gloves if he heard you say that. Sure he might slip and fall on his way over to you, but still… that isnt the point! the point is that the Isles are not “tanking” (meaning not trying or losing on purpose) they have never been “tanking” and there is no reason to think otherwise.
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d-man says:
swan: you are obviously lying (and a troll) and you don’t believe what you wrote… hmmm did Kate Murray just leave a post under the name swan?
and i am with Gary… Colorado is not tanking… they are depressed… unlike the isles, Colorado expected to compete this year and are in a place they never thought they’d be in… depressed, injured, unmotivated… they look like the isles in December and most of January.
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Is it me or do these last 6 games have the feeling of playoff hockey, only that we need to lose to win????I was rooting for Wash the whole time last night, and will have to make amends with the Isles next year, but its for the greated good and thats all that matters. I personally think we have more heart and desire that TB or Col and have a harder remaining schedule. Saturday is huge and just maybe Col can bring up some hungry AHL players who can score
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d-man(38): Just to let you know, Swans a cool guy- I was talking with him at PB2. And he is a Jackman fan like me.
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Tanking,losing, what the heck is the difference what you call it when you are a the bottom of the league(dead last) it is not called being succesful.
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isles have played .500 hockey since allstar break with injuries and trading away vets.
Hardly tanking.I never accused tampa, they still winnning games. But Colorado. 8 losses. 12 goals score in that time. Give me a break. they have Smyth, Hedjuk, Svaotos, Statsny.
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Hockey1919 says:
Luckily Hilbert managed to avoid Green’s hit or there’d be another Islander out. Any word if the Islanders are sending the tape to the NHL? Seems anytime an Islanders is involved they are made an example of, but it is open season on Head hunting anyone in the blue and orange.
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Johnny Islander says:
Okposo (Groin)…. uh huh.
All is well on the strength and conditioning fron.
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Scottay, that’s really just a stupid thing to say. It matters a hell of a lot if you lose despite your best effort vs. losing because you’re a gutless quitter who gives up on your teammates. If the team’s really that terrible, then it won’t matter if they play all-out or just coast, so they may as well play all-out and earn their salary, have some respect for their team and the sport. It matters in every possible way that’s important in life.
If that means the Isles finish ahead of the Avs, then so be it. Even if the Isles stay in last they may lose the lottery anyway. May as well play the games hard.
(And I’ve always liked the idea of a tournament among the non-playoff teams to determine the draft order – the winner gets #1 overall. That would stop everyone from tanking and be incredibly exciting.)
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#37, thanks Chris. Btw, please contact me thru C.B. I lost your contact info.
#38. ?? Currently less than 60 pts and no 20 goal scorers? They are fact and yes, I definitely believe them. I also firmly believe the Isles will finish last, regardless what Col, TB do. The Isles have been that bad.
I do find it laughable that some Isles fans complain about Col tanking and losing games in a row, yet the Isles are STILL 5 pts worst than them. If the Avs are bad, how pathetic has this Isles season been?
I want the #1 pick, too. But vocally rooting for Isles losses during games? Writing to the Isles front office to tank games in order to finish last? Ridiculous. I have Ranger friends that behave better than that.
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We lose tonight and it’s a “win-win?” We get closer to the top pick AND we screw the Rangers.
I’m not saying we should lose, I’m just stating a fact.
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Willis says:
“Scottay”, why do you insist on using all those other names and trying to cause trouble with some other people on here, why not just stick with the second one. It’s not like you’re fooling most of us anyway and you’re pissing me off.
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UIF says:
Hope KO can still get to 20. It’d have to be a big sense of accomplishment for him to look back on the stats and see that number for his rookie year.
Congrats to Bentivoglio on making his debut tonight. What’s the scoop on him?
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Hey #28 0 if u don’t like what I say please ignore me. I don’t comment on u,so mind your own and I use one name only that’s all!
Sorry for this CB, but some people love to start problems. -
UIF (49), and anyone else interested: I was @ Bridgeport’s game @ Albany two nights ago, about 5 rows from their bench. In that game, Bentivoglio scored his 1st professional hat trick. First goal less than 30 seconds in. Not a big guy – surprise – but part of what was clearly the Sound Tigers’ best line on that night – along with Jon Sim. (Don’t laugh. Sim was terrific, both on ice – scored his 9th in the short time he’s been there – and off. Great seeing him talking things over and helping younger teammates on the bench – Bentivoglio, specifically – and great interacting w/fans, too. Another story for another time.) In contrast, lines which included Joensuu/Walter and Iggulden/Smith were much less effective, the former being damn near invisible and the latter probably because Colliton (their regular center) was out.
Congrats to the kid for getting his shot.
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Steve S says:
Islanders out with groin strains? Shocker! Thank God we have the best training staff in the world.
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19 ISLE in NJ 22 says:
(45) — I agree there should be a better way to decide draft order in the first round.
IMO having a tournament isn’t the way to decide order … Teams on the playoff bubble, like the Rangers could miss playoffs. You’d want them as best of the worst to have a shot at the #1 pick?
My idea? Use last 3 seasons, greater value assigned to most recent. 1 point for 3 seasons ago, 2 points for 2, and 3 points for current. This affects only teams in the bottom 5. Teams finishing 16th – 25th would have lottery based on current year’s performance. A few variations may work.
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From today’s Denver Post:
“Riding down the elevator tonight, after the latest dismal Avs showing against Phoenix, a Coyotes team official said out loud, “The tank job is in, isn’t it?” He was talking about YOUR Colorado Avalanche. Serious or not, what the unnamed Phoenix official said is what a couple of other league-related people have also mused lately – the possibility that the Avs are, in fact, tanking it down the stretch to get the highest possible draft choice this June.”
Who knows if he was joking or not, but the fact that an official from another team voiced it out loud right after a game is interesting. If I’m that writer, I’m not sure that official would have gone “unnamed”, either.
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KO21 says:
This blows, I was hoping KO would get his 20 goals and who knows how many more…A huge reason to watch this team is to watch KO skate like a man possessed every shift…I hope he gets back soon and Streit obviously as well…The 2 most exciting players are hurt with groin strains…This is preposterous!!!
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Marc … what ever possessed that Yote “team official” to say that? … Perhaps it might be feedback from his players feeling that the Avs didn’t even put up a fight … you can tell when your opposition is pushing you and when they aren’t … even the worst teams in any sport in any league put forth an effort … and you can tell when they give up.
I didn’t see last night’s game … so I can only look back on the last 3 weeks of the Av’s performance to formulate an opinion … and even at that … it’s just my opinion that the Av’s play a listless no-fight game…. Tanking? Probably … but just try to prove it.
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I think if KO comes back with 3 games left he still has a good shot at 20 goals … but his long term health is more important than a 20 goal milestone… Perhaps next season he’ll crack 30/35 next season?
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Bergy got hurt and he was playing the best hockey of his young career…He was dynamic but he’s got a groin strain also…This is definitely a disturbing trend and needs to be addressed…
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19 Isle – I admit the possibility, but I don’t think that a team would tank to miss the playoffs and get into the draft tournament: anyone who gets in has at least some shot at the Cup, and I can’t see any team passing up that shot. Besides, the worst team could always get a few hot games and knock off those “missed it by THAT much” teams. Anything can happen with a hot keeper and a short series (best 2 of 3 at most). If you limit a tournament only to the worst eight clubs then you do raise the possibility that 9-14 will start tanking furiously.
A variation of your idea may well be healthier, or a larger lottery pool (bottom ten teams, maybe), in which it would make less sense to tank to improve one’s odds since that team was already in the running to move up. Also, I’d make teams able to fall more than one spot in the draft. The whole point of “tanking” is to lock one of those two spots, but if you could finish fifth in the lottery regardless there would be less incentive to do that.
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Scott Gordan defended his trainers bringing up other excuses for the excessive groin strains…He’s says “its happenning thru out the NHL and some players are complaining that the new skates have no give in them”…I don’t think any other team has had the frequency as the Isles in the last 2 years…I wonder if the high pressure skate skate skate system is part of the groin pulls…Obviously a player worker there legs hard all game will have a higher chance of getting an injury simply thru excessive exertion compared to a team like the Wild who doesn’t skate skate skate…Just wondering if it could be an issue and what the heck can they do to prevent the frequency…This team can never win with this happening
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Especially proud?? Can you imagine being the (statistical) best goalie in the AHL, in the system of the worst team in the league who has no go-to goalie (since the stud is hurt) and not getting ONE GAME?? Boggling.
PS, I’m not a Lawson relative. I’m Justin Bourne, four year teammate and friend of Nathan Lawson (as much as it pains me to say nice things about him). Also, congrats to Smitty and Benty, both great guys in their own right.
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was anyone as upset to me to see the WRECKER be too scared to engage with Larque. It was purely sad. I had found new respect for him fighting Cote last week which totally got thrown out the window in that piteful display of cowardness.
For the record. Cote is tougher than the older Larque right now.
Are these the actual injuries or just the Isles standard status for someone who is injured? Seems like an awful lot of groin strains this year.