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Manic Monday - Isles Back to the Rink Updated 12:28 pm

October 24, 2011, 7:40 AM ET [ Comments]
Dee Karl
New York Islanders Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
12:28 pm: As per Art Staple and the Islanders staff, Milan Jurcina is practicing today for the first time with the team. That is a good sign for Jack Capuano. A bad sign is that Nino is still listed as day-to-day. Line combinations seem the same for the top two with only Rolston returning to the line up after the birth of his fourth child to skate alongside Bailey and Comeau. Fourth line Pandolfo, Reasoner, Martin and Gillies.

No word (as some suggested) of calling up Michael Haley for tomorrow. Although he was handed a two game suspension. I do not know if that is done.

7 am: After having a day off yesterday, the Islanders will be back to practice today at 11 am. Returning home with ZERO points, I'm pretty sure they will be looking to put that road trip behind them and find a way to win at home.

But can they? Their next opponent is the Pittsburgh Penguins who are 6-2-2 and know how to win even without their star players in the line-up. So how do the Islanders manage to get up for this game? That's Jack Capuano's task at hand.

Meanwhile, Art Staple has an article in today's Newsday about Comeau and Bailey and their current struggle to find their place on the team. Oh boy. I've got a feeling this will be ugly.

Sadly, these are two young men who only a short time ago were considered part of the building blocks of the young team. Now they struggle to produce with the ice time they are given. As Art brings up, they are also the two that struggled getting contracts done. Coincidence?

When I first met Josh Bailey he was a fresh faced teen stepping off the podium at the NHL draft. When I asked him what his parents thought of him NOT going to college, he seemed puzzled.

"This is all I've ever wanted to do. I just want to be a hockey player." He may have realized his dream, but it may not be what he expected. Josh is a great kid with a certain amount of talent. Everyone can hypothesize about what went wrong, but I think with the right guidance, Josh reach his full potential. However, it just might not be on the Island.

As far as Comeau goes, five years ago I was told he's "the real deal." Is he heading into Jeff Tambellini territory?

Last night Jiggs McDonald spoke with Rob Kowal of NYHockeyTalk on WGBB about the Islanders. You can check the podcast on WGBB am website. Jiggs is always great to listen to.

Tonight on NHLWeekly on SportsTalkNetwork.com we'll have ex-NYIslanders radio voice Steve Mears to discuss the upcoming game against the Penguins along with Bob McElligott from the CBJ to discuss their woes. Airtime is 6 - 7pm and we take phone calls and emails.

Seriously, have the Blue Jackets turned into the Islanders of 2010?

Sidenote: While Rick DiPietro didn't dress for a game on the road trip, that didn't mean he wasn't part of the team. A Tweet from PA Parenteau on Oct 21


Had a great diner with the boys...uncle Ricky Dipietro was on fire tonight
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