No matter what, it will be for Minnesota native Kyle Okposo who is being celebrated by friends and family during this mini-homecoming. A glimpse into Kyle’s personal life revealed in today’s Newsday paints a picture of a young man with a very large, loving family.

But the truth is the Islanders have not been able to win a game at the Excel Energy center in the last six. Hmmm…. We already know "seven" seems to be a charm for them. Could this be the night they take two points in St. Paul? We’ll have to wait and see.

I have a photo from 2004 of the sunrise over the Mississippi from a few blocks away from the arena. It’s a beautiful, friendly city. But I wondered if these three games in four night stints ever caused the players to pull a “Bruce” (Springsteen) and wake up forgetting where they are.

According to Bruno Gervais he hasn’t had that happen. “No, not yet. I sleep really well. It kind of helps when you’re winning too. We had a good road trip and we’re getting points, so. It makes life a lot easier." It makes life easier on me too, Bruno. Trust me.
With the three games coming up in Minnesota, St. Louis and Toronto, I asked him if any of the three were the most important.

“No, not really. I think all of them are really important. We need every point we can get right now. It’s so tight already and we’re in a playoff spot and we want to keep going up. So Minnesota is a big game, then St. Louis is a big game, then we play Toronto and Toronto is a hockey hotbed so we have to be ready for that.”

I decided to ask one of the “vets” on the team to see if HE would forget where he was on a three day road trip, so I stopped Jon Sim on his way to the weight room to ask. He laughed.

“Ha! It feels like that at times, but you know I think it’s good. We have a young team, we all love the game and I think it keeps us sharp. When you get layoffs, some bad habits can creep into your game. I think when you’re playing all the time, it keeps you sharp.”

Well, tonight we see how “sharp” they’ve managed to stay after their little break back home.

If you’re on Twitter tonight, look for the #NotoriousNateThompson hashtag and join the conversation. Puck drops at 8 pm which will give me time to get dinner over with so I can actually enjoy the pre-game show and the first period.

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