On the Islanders Beat

The German league has turned into the Islanders’ farm system at a time when injuries have decimated their defense. General manager Garth Snow today signed Deron Quint, who had been playing this season in Berlin. Snow previously signed Todd Simpson, who was with Hannover.

Neither player is available for tonight’s game against Buffalo, but both are expected at the morning skate tomorrow before the Islanders face Ottawa tomorrow night at the Coliseum. Simpson cleared waivers earlier today, and if Quint clears waivers at noon Saturday, he will be eligible to play. It’s almost assured that Allan Rourke, who is scheduled to play tonight, will return to Bridgeport tomorrow with Simpson taking his place in the lineup.

It’s uncertain whether Nolan also will play Quint ahead of any other veterans. Sean Hill said his groin is fine and the injury he received Tuesday against the Devils, when a puck hit his heel, also is all right.

Quint, 31, is a veteran of nine NHL seasons, but he last played with Chicago in 2003-04. All indications are that he has overcome the alcohol problem that affected his career previously. He’s a two-way defender capable of playing on the power play. This season, he had 18 goals and 28 assists for 46 points with Berlin.

Forwards Ryan Smyth (leg) and Andy Hilbert (shoulder) will be game-time decisions. Smyth took part in the pre-game skate but then stayed long after everyone else left, testing his leg in an extended conditioning session on the ice. He’s worried about whether he can get his full stride. Hilbert’s shoulder obviously is painful and makes it difficult for him to shoot. Both players were injured against the Devils.

“Andy tried a little bit on his own after practice, but he’s a little bit sore,” coach Ted Nolan said. “Ryan will play with one arm and one leg if you allow him to. We’re going to sit down with him this afternoon and see what the best situation for him is going to be, and then, we’ll make that decision.”

Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro will not accompany the team to Buffalo this afternoon for tomorrow night’s game, a team spokesman said after practice. It will be the second straight game DiPietro has missed since suffering headaches following the Isles’ 2-1 over time loss to the Rangers on Sunday at the Coliseum.

The fact he can’t fly suggests DiPietro’s concussion symptoms are more severe than originally believed by the team. But general manager Garth Snow said in a recent statement that DiPietro’s health would be the team’s first priority, especially since the goaltender was signed to a 15-year contract at the beginning of this season.

The Buffalo trip is the last one the Islanders have to make by air during the regular season. Following the Sabres game, the Islanders play five more games, starting at home Saturday night against Ottawa. They also play home games against the Rangers on Tuesday and Toronto on Thursday before finishing with road games April 7 at Philadelphia and the next day at New Jersey. The Islanders will make that final trip by bus. Of course, if DiPietro’s headaches continue, he won’t be playing then, either.

The Islanders’ practice session began today at 11 a.m. with Mike Dunham and Wade Dubielewicz in goal and Rick DiPietro not on the ice. Not only that, but forwards Ryan Smyth (leg) and Andy Hilbert (shoulder) are not practicing and have been listed as day-to-day but will travel with the team to Buffalo later this afternoon for tomorrow night’s game.

On the positive side, Newsday has learned the Islanders have signed former NHL defenseman Todd Simpson for the remainder of the regular season. Simpson spent the past season playing in Germany and must clear waivers in order to play. He will not arrive in time to go to Buffalo, but will be on the ice against Ottawa Saturday night at the Coliseum if no other team blocks the move with a claim.

Simpson, 33, is a veteran of 10 NHL seasons with Calgary, Florida, Phoenix, Anaheim, Ottawa, Chicago and Montreal. The 6-3, 215-pounder is a stay-at-home defenseman who can play tough. The Islanders most likely have lost Freddy Meyer (broken finger) and Bruno Gervais (high ankle sprain) for the season. When Simpson arrives, it’s likely he would replace Allan Rourke, who is up from Bridgeport.

The Islanders made the move to sign Simpson as a sign to the team that management still is committed to the effort to make the playoffs with six games remaining and the Isles only two points out of playoff position. Forward Steve Regier also has been called up from Bridgeport in the event either Smyth or Hilbert can’t go Friday night. The Sound Tigers’ roster also has been decimated by injuries. Neither Frans Nielsen nor Eric Boguniecki was available for callup.

DiPietro’s absence from practice today, obviously, is not a good sign. Following his original head injury in a March 13 collision in Montreal, coach Ted Nolan expressed doubt whether a goaltender could miss time and then step into a game without practicing. When DiPietro returned March 20 at Tampa Bay, he practiced the day before the game and then was re-evaluated the next day at the morning skate.

A published report today said DiPietro has a concussion based on a source close to him. The Islanders never have used that term to describe his injury, but it would not be a surprise. As Newsday reported on March 17, DiPietro made comments on that day that openly implied he was suffering from a concussion.

However, there are degrees of concussions. Earlier this week, a person with knowledge of DiPietro’s situation said there was a strong chance he would be available in Buffalo. It’s unclear at the moment whether that situation has changed. We’ll know a little more later today when it’s determined whether or not DiPietro will accompany the team on its flight to Buffalo.

If the headache that knocked Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro out of tonight’s game against the Devils is gone in time, he will start Friday night in Buffalo.

Contrary to an earlier report by The Sports Network in Canada, DiPietro has not been diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome and was not ruled out of tonight’s game because he failed to pass the neuro-psychological exam that was administered. According to a person with knowledge of the situation, DiPietro’s status is based simply on the fact that he reported experiencing a headache following the Islanders’ 2-1 overtime loss to the Rangers Sunday at Nassau Coliseum.

As a precaution, DiPietro did undergo a neuro-psychological exam. Although he didn’t score particularly well on it, neither did he score poorly enough to be diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. Essentially, DiPietro is categorized as day-to-day, and his playing status comes down to how he feels in terms of whether or not he has a headache.

CAT scans performed on DiPietro were good, and the results of the other tests he has taken are such that his condition cannot be ruled definitively as a concussion. DiPietro suffered a head injury in a collision with Montreal forward Steve Begin in the first period of a game on March 13. He left that game and missed the following two games at Ottawa and Florida.

But he returned in an overtime loss at Tampa Bay and then won at home against Pittsburgh and in Philadelphia before the overtime loss to the Rangers. DiPietro faced 122 shots on goal and allowed eight goals while going 2-0-2 in those games. It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for someone with a serious concussion to perform that well.

During the Rangers game, DiPietro was involved in a pileup in which opposing forward Sean Avery landed on his head and other players from both teams also added their weight to the pile. He took a puck off the mask during the game and also took a puck off the mask during practice last week. But in none of those cases was he forced to leave the ice, as he did in Montreal after Begin’s knee hit his head. That’s why those close to him will be shocked if DiPietro doesn’t start in Buffalo.

DiPietro’s agent, Paul Krepelka, deferred comment pending a statement the Islanders are expected to release around 4 p.m. today. But he gave no indication of any dispute with the team’s medical findings.

The Islanders’ tenuous playoff hopes might just have suffered a crippling blow. Goaltender Rick DiPietro has been ruled out of tonight’s game against the Devils and goaltender Martin Brodeur, who has yielded one goal in the past three meetings with the Isles.

No official announcement has been made yet by the Islanders, but DiPietro was not at the morning skate, and he likely is suffering from post-concussion syndrome. The team is expected to issue a statement around 5 p.m. today.

Goaltender Wade Dubielewicz has been recalled from Bridgeport for the Devils game. Although coach Ted Nolan said he was prepared to start Dubielewicz in a recent game at Tampa Bay after three poor outings by backup Mike Dunham, there has been no indication of whom Nolan will start tonight.

DiPietro suffered a head injury in a collision with Canadiens forward Steve Begin late in the first period on March 13 at Montreal. The Isles lost that game and the next two without DiPietro at Ottawa and Florida. He returned at Tampa Bay and salvaged a point in an overtime loss to the Lightning and then won the next two against Pittsburgh and at Philadelphia and got a point in Sunday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Rangers.

It’s speculation at this point, but DiPietro was involved in a third-period pileup against the Rangers after making a save on a rebound shot in front by Sean Avery. The Isles’ goaltender covered the puck, and Avery landed on DiPietro’s head before players from both teams piled on.

DiPietro sat out yesterday’s practice when the Islanders used only Dunham in goal while practicing their power play. It’s fair to assume he was experiencing the symptoms at that time, and they didn’t clear up today. As with all head injuries, it’s uncertain how long the symptoms will continue and how much time DiPietro will miss.

When more details become available, they will be posted here.

There has been more good news than anyone could have predicted on the Islanders beat this season. But if the Isles want the story to have a happy ending with a playoff berth, they’re going to have to reverse some depressingly bad numbers against their next four opponents, starting with the Devils and goaltender Martin Brodeur tomorrow night at the Coliseum and following with games against Buffalo, Ottawa and the Rangers.

If you play with statistics, you can manipulate them to prove any number of things. In this case, I’m going to ignore the Islanders’ four wins over the Rangers before New Year’s and their one win over the Devils in November and just look at the most recent nine meetings with those two teams plus three games apiece with Buffalo and Ottawa over the entire season.

In those 14 games, the Islanders have a 1-10-3 record and have scored only 17 goals to 37 for their conference opponents. That includes five shutouts of the Isles and 10 games in which they scored one goal or less against Brodeur, the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist, Buffalo’s Ryan Miller and Ottawa’s Ray Emery. They have scored three goals or more only twice and managed to lose one of those games.

Backup goaltender Mike Dunham was in net for two of the losses to Ottawa, giving up a total of nine goals. Starter Rick DiPietro’s numbers – 28 goals allowed in 12 games – have been very good, but they translate into a 1-8-3 record. In other words, if the Islanders’ don’t begin to generate some serious offense against the top teams, DiPietro pretty much has to pitch shutouts to reach the playoffs.

The Islanders’ 2-1 loss to the Rangers Sunday afternoon was a perfect example of their small margin for error. “Well, it was a one-goal game -- one fluky one and one four-on-three in overtime,” coach Ted Nolan said, referring to goals by Rangers Colton Orr and Michael Nylander. “I thought we outplayed them.

“We outchanced them. Sometimes, as much as you want to execute, it comes down to luck and bounces. We just didn’t get the bounces at the right time. Do we need big goals? Sure. It’s going to get tighter and tighter. Are we going to explode for seven or eight goals a game? No, that’s not going to happen. It’s probably going to come down to one goal protecting [a lead] or one goal behind.”

By now, the Devils’ Brodeur must be giving the Islanders nightmares. He shut them out in the past two meetings, and in the game before that, he gave up only Miro Satan’s goal with 0.7 seconds left in regulation of a game the Devils won in OT.

I have to laugh when people say Brodeur is a “system goaltender,” as if that explains his superb record season after season. Yes, he plays in a defense-oriented system that limits shots against and results in routinely low scoring games. But the description reminds me of when I covered the NFL and some called Joe Montana a “system quarterback” because Bill Walsh’s offense emphasized short- and medium-range passes. Montana could lay the deep ball in there when necessary, and he could survive eight sacks, as I saw him do once in Philadelphia, to lead a fourth-quarter comeback.

Brodeur is like that in the way he rises to the occasion. The good news for the Islanders is that DiPietro usually is at his best against Brodeur. But he’s going to need some offensive support.

Ryan Smyth said something today after practice that also will be in my Newsday story tomorrow on the Islanders’ power play and the difference it can make. When I mentioned that he hadn’t faced Brodeur this season while with Edmonton, Smyth said, “Nope, not this year. He’s going to see me, though.”

Whether it’s on the power play or at even strength, Smyth plans to set up shop on Brodeur’s doorstep. Nolan said something about going “through the front door” to reach the playoffs while facing the top teams, and he’d better hope Smyth or someone else in the Islanders’ locker room can find the key to go through the likes of Brodeur, Miller, Emery and Lundqvist in the next four games. It would be a shame to see this season end short of the playoffs.

Forwards Miroslav Satan and Richard Zednik both were excused from the Islanders’ game against Philadelphia this afternoon at Wachovia Center for family-related personal reasons. Jeff Tambellini was recalled from Bridgeport to replace Satan last night, but when Zednik had to leave this morning, it was too late to bring in a replacement, leaving the Isles with 11 forwards.

Tambellini and Richard Park will be the extras that coach Ted Nolan mixes in, and Arron Asham will take Satan’s place on a line with Viktor Kozlov and Alexei Yashin. An Islanders spokesman said the team is hopeful Satan will return to meet the Rangers tomorrow afternoon at the Coliseum. Zednik’s return is uncertain.

Speaking of Satan and Zednik before the game, Nolan said, “We’re a family-oriented team, and both guys are where they should be.”

From the moment he set foot on Long Island for his 19-game regular season with the Islanders, Ryan Smyth has been doing all the little things that, taken together, spell: W – I – N – N – E – R.

To all the skeptics who say general manager Garth Snow overpaid with Robert Nilsson, Ryan O’Marra and this year’s first-round pick for what might be a short-term rental, I say, when you get a shot to make a player like Smyth part of your franchise long enough to let him get comfortable and to assure your team of an exclusive negotiating period before the free-agent market opens on July 1, it’s worth it.

To those who point to the Islanders’ 3-4-3 record since the trade, I say a whole lot of factors beyond Smyth’s control went into that: goaltender Rick DiPietro’s injury, the Isles’ defensive breakdown and the replay that said the tying goal that went in off Smyth’s skate against the Rangers on March 8 wasn’t a goal despite the puck clearly standing on end behind the goal line.

Smyth showed what kind of player he is in his very first game when he saw the goal come off its moorings and coolly put it back in place just in time to make Marc-Andre Bergeron’s deflected goal count. That game ended with a defensive breakdown that cost the Islanders a point. Last Saturday against Florida, Smyth and Mike Sillinger were brilliant, contributing to all three Isles power-play goals plus a goal by Sillinger 10 seconds after the other power play ended plus an even-strength goal by Smyth in what turned out to be the worst defensive meltdown of the season, costing two points.

In 10 games, Smyth has 12 points on four goals and eight assists. He’s the kind of selfless player who is willing to dry dishes, mop up or even do windows if that’s what it takes to win. If there were any doubt about that, you just had to watch his all-encompassing performance in the Islanders’ must-have 3-1 victory over Pittsburgh last night.

Smyth was in the middle of one good play after another, starting with the first of six successful penalty kills when he forced a neutral zone turnover, which is a specialty of his, and turned it into a two-on-one short-handed rush with Richard Park. His uncanny knack of knowing where to be at all times was evident a few minutes later when Pittsburgh was on a breakout and Jason Blake intercepted a pass just inside the Penguins’ blue line. By the time Blake turned around with the puck, Smyth was at the right post for a deflection that goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury did well to stop.

Smyth’s pass that led to Blake’s game-winning goal in the second period was a piece of brilliance. Most players are pretty good at seeing the ice in front of them and making a decent pass, but Smyth drove in deep into the right circle, pulling the defense with him before sending a perfect pass back out to a wide-open Blake in the high slot.

In the third period, when the Islanders’ 3-1 lead was threatened by a Penguins power play, Smyth had one of the all-time penalty kills, basically controlling the puck in Pittsburgh’s end for nearly a minute and finally pinning it behind the Pens’ net, setting an example that Miro Satan emulated moments later.

Since Smyth arrived, the Islanders’ special teams have improved dramatically. His net presence together with Bergeron’s point shot has sent the power play’s success rate soaring from 15.8 percent to 28.9 percent over the past 10 games. Smyth’s ability to defend the neutral zone on the penalty kill has improved the Islanders’ percentage of successful kills from 80.5 percent to 88.9 percent over the past 10 games. No doubt, it would be difficult to maintain those percentages over a full season, but if they did, the Islanders would leap from 19th in both categories to first in the NHL.

How many wins would that translate into? Would Nilsson and O’Marra ever have that kind of impact?

The day after the Florida loss, I had a chance to talk with Sillinger, who is business partners with Smyth in a golf development in Victoria, B.C. and has known him since they played together for Canada in the 2000 world championships. Not only did Smyth find Sillinger at the Panthers’ blue line with a cross-ice pass that led to a goal, but also he influenced Sillinger’s power-play goal in that game.

Describing Smyth’s net presence in front of Florida goaltender Ed Belfour, Sillinger said, “On my second goal, he kind of whacked Belfour’s knob [on his stick], the top of the knob. So, it was kind of like I shot it below his blocker. [Belfour] was going, ‘What’s going on here?’ He’s a very, very smart player. He knows how to control the net, he controls the corners, the back of the net, the front of the net really well. He knows when the puck’s coming, and he wants to get in position to hunt down that rebound and get his stick on it. He’s a solid player.”

When you see a player who combines hard work with a great sense of anticipation and the coolness under fire to do all the little things that win games, it’s easy to understand why he was so appreciated in Edmonton. Smyth’s numbers might not always be flashy, but Bergeron, who was taken in by Smyth and his wife when he first joined the Oilers, credits Smyth as the driving force behind the Oilers’ run to the Stanley Cup Finals last season as the eighth seed from the Western Conference.

As emotional as Smyth’s departure was from Edmonton, Sillinger said he’s done a good job of adjusting to new teammates in a foreign locker room after spending 12 seasons in one place. “Yeah, we’ve been hanging out a little bit,” Sillinger said. “He’s hanging out with everybody. He’s a great team guy. Obviously, he likes to figure out his teammates. He hangs with all different guys. So, he brings a lot to the table, not only on the ice but off the ice as well.

“I think every game he gets a little more comfortable. If anything right now, he’s a little more frustrated than comfortable.”

That was in Florida, but Smyth relieved a lot of that frustration for himself and for his teammates last night against Pittsburgh. Now, he begins the second half of his Islanders “season” Saturday in Philadelphia before another Rangers game Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum. If the Islanders can put their injuries, the adjustment period and their defensive lapses behind them, maybe Smyth can do the things, big and small, to help lead them to a playoff berth.

If ever owner Charles Wang were going to overpay for a player when the time comes, the guy known as "Captain Canada" is worth the investment. Smyth is the definition of a leader.

Islanders captain Alexei Yashin emerged from a 25-minute meeting with coach Ted Nolan, general manager Garth Snow and owner Charles Wang with a smile on his face following today’s morning skate. His demotion to the fourth line during a 4-3 overtime loss Tuesday night in Tampa, it turned out, was temporary.

The fact is that, with 10 do-or-die games remaining and the Islanders one point out of playoff position, Nolan knows it will be tough to get the most out of Yashin’s talent if he’s limited to a few shifts with the fourth line. So, Nolan ended Yashin’s punishment for a defensive mistake in Tampa by putting him on a line with Miro Satan and either Viktor Kozlov or Richard Zednik against Pittsburgh tonight at the Coliseum.

“We just wanted to talk to Alexei to see how he’s feeling today and get him going,” Nolan said. “We know the importance of our next number of games. So, we just wanted to talk to him and tell him how important he is to our team and how vital it is for him to play well.”

When the door to the coaches’ office at Iceworks remained closed for an extended period, there was some question whether Nolan might take the “C” from Yashin. But the coach later said that wasn’t a consideration.

“Oh yeah, he’s the captain,” Nolan affirmed.

Yashin’s failure to cover NHL goal-scoring leader Vincent Lecavalier, who scored Tampa’s second goal, prompted an irate Nolan to demote Yashin to the fourth line and play him only 12 shifts, totaling 9:22 of ice time.

But Nolan said he met with Yashin for two hours following an off-day workout on Wednesday, and he changed his mind after their heart-to-heart. Alexei’s not a fourth-line guy,” Nolan said. “The way he was playing the last game, he was a fourth-line player. But is he a fourth-line guy? No. He’s got to play, and he’ll play on our top two lines.”

Yashin certainly isn’t paid like a fourth-line guy at $7.6 million per season, but with two goals in his past 24 games and 14 for the season, he’s not producing as expected for one so talented. Tonight’s game will be the seventh for Yashin since his return from a rehab stint that lasted 36 days and 16 games. He believes his timing is coming back, and if that’s so, it’s not a moment too soon.

“What I need from him is for Yashin to play the way Yashin is capable of playing,” Nolan said. “I don’t need him playing a certain style like an Andy Hilbert. He needs to be Yashin-caliber. He has to make intelligent plays for us because he’s a very intelligent player. I just want him to play the way he’s capable of playing.”

Maybe if Yashin pushed himself as hard as Hilbert does, he’d get as many opportunities at open nets, the difference being that he would hit them. Yashin had 12 goals in his first 24 games this season. If he could be that player, the Islanders’ chances of making the playoffs would improve immeasurably. If not…well, that’s a story for another day.

CHRIS SIMON UPDATE: For the first time since he was suspended for a minimum of 25 games, Chris Simon showed up at an Islanders practice today and spoke with reporters about the incident in which he hit the Rangers' Ryan Hollweg with his stick. Simon said he has no plans to appeal the sentence. The full interview will appear in tomorrow's edition of Newsday.

If Rick DiPietro doesn’t start in goal for the Islanders in their hour of need against Tampa Bay tonight at St. Pete Times Forum, it will be the upset of the season. The last of three goalies to hit the ice at the morning skate, DiPietro charged out onto the smooth surface and skated around with a big smile on his face before settling into the net to face enough shots to tell him he has recovered from the head injury he suffered a week ago today at Montreal.

“I’m just playing it by ear,” DiPietro said when he left the ice. “I wanted to see how I felt this morning and how I responded to skating again today. I felt pretty good in there, and hopefully, that will translate into a good game tonight.”

Asked if that means he’s a definite go, DiPietro said: “I guess, unless someone tells me otherwise that I’m not playing tonight.”

Coach Ted Nolan has to follow medical protocol. He said DiPietro would discuss how he feels with the club’s medical advisors, and a final decision will be made after the pregame meal. But there are no red flags on the horizon.

“For a guy who misses that length of time in a normal situation, he still looked good [in practice Monday], and today, he looked good again,” Nolan said. “We have certain guys on this team who led us all season long as far as their grittiness and preparation and willingness to compete. He’s at the top of the food chain in that category. Him coming back is definitely a big boost.”

When DiPietro was escorted off the ice after a first-period collision with Canadiens forward Steve Begin, the Islanders had a 1-0 lead. But the defense broke down without DiPietro to backstop it as the Isles gave up 18 goals in losses to Montreal, Ottawa and Florida. They now have fallen into a three-way tie for ninth place, two points behind eighth-place Carolina, three behind the seventh-place Rangers and four behind the sixth-place Lightning.

DiPietro would like to see a return to the defense-oriented style of hockey that served the Islanders so well earlier this season. “I think we got away from playing smart hockey in the offensive zone,” he said. “That’s where your defense starts. Keeping that third guy high and having good back pressure. It just seemed like we were doing a lot of running around.

“I don’t think we’re a team that wants to run and gun with teams. We want to play a ‘New Jersey-type’ game, smart and simple and capitalize on odd-man rushes and special teams. That’s the kind of hockey you have to play, especially come playoff time and crunch time now. I think we got away from that for a bit, and we have to bear down tonight and play a smart game.”

If nothing else, the value of the goaltender with the 15-year contract has been underlined in unmistakeable terms as a result of the slide without him. Nolan previously said DiPietro “spoiled” the Isles by covering up a whole lot of their defensive mistakes.

“I guess any person will tell you, it’s always nice to be appreciated,” DiPietro said. “But I look at it as my job to come in and do whatever I can to stop hockey pucks. I’ve been fortunate to play with a group of great defensemen this year that have put their necks on the line every night and have done whatever it takes to protect me and protect the net. You look at Sean Hill right now. He’s got stitches all over his face. Guys are battling through all sorts of injuries. As a goaltender, you appreciate that, and it makes you want to fight that much harder to help the team out.”

The word “concussion” never has been used to describe DiPietro’s injury, but he admitted to having the symptoms associated with a concussion. “Yeah, the first couple of days, you’ll feel good a little bit,” DiPietro said. “Then, you’ll kind of crash and feel bad. It’s a weird feeling. It’s one of the first times I’ve ever felt like that. I’m hoping never to feel like that again.”

But when asked if he would leave the net to come out almost to his blue line to stop a breakaway, as he did against Begin, DiPietro said nothing has changed in that department with the possible exception of a few modifications to his sliding technique for a poke check.

“If it happened tonight and I had to do the same thing, I’d probably do the same thing,” DiPietro said. “I’d maybe cover up a little bit better this time or maybe slide different, but it’s just one of those freak plays. You don’t expect something like that to happen. It’s unfortunate, but it’s the game, and things like that happen.”

If it happens again tonight, it will give a team and its fan base plenty of heart palpitations. With 11 games left and ground to make up, the Islanders know better than ever they need a healthy DiPietro to make the playoffs.

For the first time since Steve Begin’s knee clocked him in the head last Tuesday in Montreal, goaltender Rick DiPietro put on the pads and skated today in practice. And not a moment too soon because the clock is ticking on the Islanders' playoff hopes.

As bad as the Islanders have looked while surrendering 18 goals in three straight losses on a road trip that concludes tomorrow night against Tampa Bay, they still are tied for ninth in the thick of the playoff race. Depending on how DiPietro responds to the effects of his head injury, the Isles could start winning again just as quickly as they began losing.

DiPietro’s comments after practice will appear in tomorrow’s editions of Newsday, but he was encouraged by his first practice outing in a week, said he saw the puck well and felt as sharp as could be expected. Obviously, he was cleared medically to return to the ice, but he still must wait to see how he responds overnight and in the morning skate tomorrow before a decision on his playing status is made.

The smile on coach Ted Nolan’s face said it all about how excited he was to have DiPietro back in uniform. Again, he also urged caution to see how DiPietro is tomorrow, but if all goes as well as it did today, the Islanders should have their regular goaltender back in net against the Lightning.

If DiPietro starts, Nolan said Mike Dunham would remain in his role as backup even though he was “fighting the puck” the past three games. Bridgeport goaltender Wade Dubielewicz will remain with the team as a precautionary measure. If DiPietro isn’t ready to start against Tampa Bay, Nolan said Dubielewicz likely would get the call.

NOTES AND QUOTES: Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced no charges will be filed against Islanders forward Chris Simon, who hit the Rangers’ Ryan Hollweg in the face with his hockey stick on March 8 at Nassau Coliseum. Simon was suspended by the NHL for a minimum of 25 games, including the rest of this season and all of the playoffs…Nolan also made a change with the forward lines, dropping Viktor Kozlov to the fourth line with Richard Park and Arron Asham and moving Richard Zednik up to play left wing with center Randy Robitaille and right wing Miroslav Satan…Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron went home to Quebec to be with his wife, who was expected to give birth today, but Bergeron should return in time to play against the Lightning…Mike Sillinger and Ryan Smyth tied their career highs with four points apiece in the Isles’ 8-5 loss to Florida.

After turning down interview requests for a few days following a head injury suffered Tuesday night in Montreal, Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro all but admitted the “general body soreness” explanation for his condition is another way of saying minor concussion. DiPietro was uncomfortable because he didn’t want to be in the position of having to issue a series of “no comments” about his status.

“Do you think if I had ‘general body soreness’ I’d be sitting out right now?” DiPietro said at today’s morning skate. “It’s up to the team to tell you.”

Questioned about possible problems with motion, DiPietro said, “You know the answer to that…Do you think I don’t want to play? I want to play, but it’s up to the team.”

Ultimately, DiPietro granted a candid interview that will appear in Sunday’s Newsday in which he discusses his thinking on the play that resulted in his collision with Montreal forward Steve Begin. But tonight, DiPietro will miss his second straight start in favor of backup Mike Dunham against Florida. Coach Ted Nolan indicated hope DiPietro will return Tuesday night at Tampa Bay because there are two days in between to rest and get the practice he would need first.

In Nolan’s view, the injury that put the Islanders’ playoff hopes at risk is as much the fault of Begin as of DiPietro. “He did have a pretty good lane on getting the puck, which he did,” Nolan said of DiPietro. “The player just didn’t jump over him. In this league, you have to do everything in your power to avoid the goaltenders.

“I don’t think [the Rangers’ Sean] Avery listens to that rule. And a couple other players don’t listen to that rule. They bang into goaltenders. [Begin] could have jumped. He’s a seasoned veteran. He’s a fourth-line guy.

“He knew exactly what he was doing: ‘By hitting this goaltender, maybe I can knock him out, and we can get a chance to play in the playoffs.’ It’s one of those things.”

Montreal now is two points out of a playoff spot, while the Rangers and Toronto are one point behind the seventh-place Isles and Carolina for the final berths. Nolan acknowledged DiPietro put himself at risk of an injury when he made the decision to go out almost to his blue line to stop a possible breakaway by Begin, but the coach said he has no intention of telling DiPietro to alter his gambling style.

“Goaltenders do that once in a while,” Nolan said. “If I get in a car accident, maybe I shouldn’t have driven to work that day.”

In other words, it’s the chance you take by playing the game. The problem is that the fallout from an injury to a player as valuable as DiPietro could be enormous. Nolan said there’s “no question” one of the main reasons the Islanders were willing to give up former first-round picks Robert Nilsson and Ryan O’Marra to get veteran forward Ryan Smyth from Edmonton was because management believed DiPietro was playing well enough to carry the Islanders deep into the playoffs if they could just add a little offense.

If DiPietro’s injury lingers and the Islanders don’t make the playoffs and, worse, don’t sign Smyth before he becomes a free agent on July 1, well, it won’t look good at all. The Islanders did almost everything right to position themselves for a playoff push, but now they stand to lose big if DiPietro’s not in goal.

“You can’t control certain things,” Nolan said. Likening the situation to Chris Simon’s suspension and defenseman Radek Martinek’s season-ending broken leg, the coach added, “You can’t control Ricky going down or the unfortunate situation that happened with Simon. Those two things happened. We forget about Martinek being hurt. We lost three of our original six defensemen to start the season off [Martinek to injury, Alexei Zhitnik in a trade and injured Bruno Gervais]. Those aren’t excuses. Those things happen.

“We can’t sit down and feel sorry for ourselves. We have to rebound and get better performances from certain people. If we do that, it has nothing to do with Ryan Smyth, it has nothing to do with Ricky DiPietro being out. It has to do with us playing this game right now.”

After making a career-high 18 straight starts, Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro will sit out tonight’s game against Ottawa to help speed his recovery from his mid-ice collision with Montreal’s Steve Begin Tuesday night. DiPietro did not take part in the morning skate, nor was he made available to the media.

Backup Mike Dunham will make his first start since Feb. 1 in Atlanta, and Wade Dubielewicz will be available in reserve. DiPietro remains day-to-day with the all-encompassing “general body soreness.” The team neither has confirmed nor denied in an official way whether he suffered a concussion or not.

But coach Ted Nolan sounded hopeful of a quick return when questioned today about DiPietro’s condition. “Ricky’s still day-to-day,” Nolan said. “He’s still pretty sore today. We’ll evaluate one more day, and let’s see what happens.

“You’re always concerned when one of your top athletes goes down, but he’s under good medical care right now. We’ll have to depend on their opinion, and we’ll see. Just one more day, and you never now what happens.”

Nolan did confirm that Alexei Yashin will make his debut between Ryan Smyth and Jason Blake on the top line. That means he should receive considerably more than the 12:33 of ice time he got against Montreal, when he scored one goal and was one of the few consistent offensive threats the Islanders had in that game. The coach explained Yashin’s limited ice time as a result of killing eight penalties. Of course, Yashin was killing penalties at the beginning of the season when he was at his most productive.

Okay, so the title of this blog is a little whimsical. But instead of still seeing stars today, Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro is counting his lucky stars that the outcome of his collision with Montreal’s Steve Begin Tuesday night was not worse. Inventing a new description to describe DiPietro’s condition, the Islanders came up with “general body soreness.” He’s considered day-to-day.

Coach Ted Nolan even said DiPietro told him he could be ready to play tomorrow night in Ottawa. However, the Islanders called up Wade Dubielewicz from Bridgeport to serve as backup to Mike Dunham, who spent part of practice today working with goaltending coach Gilles Lefebvre as if sharpening up to start against the Senators.

Although Nolan declined to say whether or not DiPietro officially was diagnosed with a concussion, another high-ranking person in the organization said they don’t believe he has a concussion. DiPietro has some stiffness in his neck and “general soreness,” but the feeling is he’s likely to miss one game and probably will return for the final two games of this road trip at Florida and Tampa Bay. It’s even possible DiPietro might skate tomorrow morning in Ottawa, so, you never know.

When I arrived a few minutes into practice, I found DiPietro watching from behind the glass at the end of the tunnel to the locker room. When asked how he was feeling, DiPietro shook his head and said, “I’ve felt better.” It was obvious he still was feeling the effects of a blow that left him groggy on the ice for several minutes.

DiPietro said he had a concussion last season in Washington but said he was uncertain of the diagnosis this time. Politely ending our brief conversation, he headed back to the locker room and was ruled off-limits for a longer interview after practice by a team spokesman.

So, I concentrated on Dunham and Nolan and how the Islanders will handle this latest bump in their road to the playoffs. All those details will be in tomorrow’s edition of Newsday.

When I got to the locker room, I peeked through the open door to the trainer’s room and saw Rick DiPietro sitting up on a training table, looking downcast after the Islanders’ 5-3 loss to Montreal. In that brief glance before the door was closed, he looked none the worse for wear.

But he was taken to the hospital during the game to be examined for a head injury after a collision with Steve Begin’s right leg near the Islanders’ blue line at 15:41 of the first period. After the game, coach Ted Nolan said, “We’ll wait until tomorrow to get a doctor’s opinion on the seriousness and the length of time. He’s a little groggy. That’s quite a hit he took. We’ll give him 24 hours and evaluate it from there.”

An Islanders spokesman said no further word on DiPietro’s condition will be released until after tomorrow’s 1:30 p.m. practice in Montreal. The team then will fly to Ottawa after practice for a game Thursday. One teammate indicated it’s “nothing serious,” but no definitive information was available and it’s unclear whether DiPietro is suffering from a temporary headache or a concussion.

No word is yet available on the condition of Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro, who collided with Montreal’s Steve Begin while coming out to stop a breakaway just inside the Isles’ blue line last night at 15:41 of the first period. After lying on the ice for several minutes after absorbing a kick to the head from Begin, DiPietro was escorted to the locker room and replaced by backup Mike Dunham.

According to an Islanders spokesman, the club plans to provide an update on DiPietro’s condition after the game. The cautious approach is necessary to provide a complete and accurate diagnosis. There’s no reason to read anything ominous into that because DiPietro left under his own power, showed no sign of any musculature injury and simply appeared to be dazed by the force of the blow.

As soon as the diagnosis is available, I will post it here when I return to the press box from the locker room.

Coming so closely on the heels of Chris Simon’s suspension for swinging his stick at the head of Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg, it was somewhat shocking to see Washington’s Donald Brashear throw a straight left hand to the chin of Brendan Witt that dropped the Islanders defenseman like a shot Saturday night.

I’ve covered a lot of boxing in my time, and that was a stone-cold knockout punch from the hardest-hitting heavyweight in hockey while both of Witt’s hands were down at his side holding onto his stick. Witt was down long enough for Islanders trainer Garrett Timms to get to him from the opposite side of the ice, but he got up, shook it off and kept playing. Brashear merely received a two-minute roughing penalty.

After the game, I asked Witt if he lost consciousness. “No, he just dropped me,” Witt said. “I was seeing stars, but I didn’t expect him to cold-cock me. I asked the ref, ‘Is that a free head shot?’ He said, ‘It’s either a five or a two.’ I go, ‘Well then, you need to call the five if the league’s going to crack down on head shots.’ I doubt if they’ll even look at it.”

In the previous loss to the Rangers, Witt criticized the NHL replay judges in Toronto for upholding a no-goal call with 20.4 seconds left and the puck standing on end with white ice showing between it and the goal line. Regarding Brashear’s punch, Witt took a similar tack.

“We were battling in front of the net, and obviously, the rebound came right to him and he whacked it in,” Witt said of the play that led to Brashear’s goal. “He mouthed off to me, so, I faked to go at him and he suckered me. The league won’t do anything about that because they’re going to be gutless for head shots. The ref knows it could have been a five-minute [penalty]. When you get cold-cocked like that, there’s got to be something called there. It was a head shot, and that was pretty gutless for him to use a head shot like that. Anybody can do that. I could have turned around and tomahawked him. But stay composed and get the two points.”

Earlier today, I interviewed NHL director of operations Colin Campbell, who handed out Simon’s minimum 25-game suspension, for a story in Monday’s edition of Newsday. At the end of our discussion, I brought up Brashear’s punch and Witt’s belief it should have been a five-minute major.

It turns out Campbell was paying close attention to the game and saw the whole sequence play out. “Brendan Witt’s got a lot to say lately,” Campbell said. “He had a lot to say about our reviewed goal the other night. We take reviews very seriously in Toronto, and we take our jobs very seriously. If Brendan Witt wants to say something, he knows my number. He can call me.

“As far as the situation with Brashear, I saw the incident. Brendan Witt plays a role on the team where he’s assigned to various players on certain teams. He gets into a number of situations. Last night, that was a fairly robust shift, and just before Brashear gave him the straight arm, Witt feigned at Brashear. So, what does he expect Brashear to do but lash out? It wasn’t a sucker shot. Was it Gino Odjick on Darius Kasparaitis? Not a chance. We look at everything. We watch everything. If that’s his opinion, that’s his opinion. But I think a two-minute penalty was applicable in this case and was fine.”

It might not have been the answer Witt wanted to hear, but at least he knows the NHL is watching and listening.

The NHL just announced that Islanders forward Chris Simon has been suspended for the remainder of the regular season and the entirety of the playoffs. The league also set the minimum number of games Simon must serve at 25 for his stick-swinging attack on Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg Thursday night at Nassau Coliseum.

That means the ban could carry over into next season, depending on how many playoff games the Islanders have. The sentence includes the Islanders’ final 15 regular-season games beginning with Saturday night’s 5-2 win over Washington. If the Islanders play less than 10 playoff games, the difference must be made up at the start of next season whether Simon, who is an unrestricted free agent, signs with the Islanders or another team.

The sentence does not end if the Islanders play more than 10 playoff games. So, in the event they play seven games in all four rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, it conceivably could go as high as 43 games. But based on his $1 million contract, Simon forfeits a minimum of $80,213.90 if he serves the minimum 25 games and could go higher. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

“The National Hockey League will not accept use of the stick in the manner and fashion in which Mr. Simon used his Thursday night,” NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell said in the release. “As a consequence of his actions, Mr. Simon has forfeited the privilege of playing in an NHL game again this season, regardless of how many games the Islanders ultimately play.”

Islanders general manager Garth Snow learned of the decision from Campbell this morning and released the following statement: “Chris Simon has played a major role in our success this season, and we will miss his presence in our lineup. His regret is clearly evident in the statement he released last night. Our entire organization supports Chris every step of the way.”

Chris Simon’s 2006-07 season is completely over. Sometime within the next hour, the league will announce that Simon has been suspended for the duration of the regular season and the playoffs for his stick-swinging incident with the Rangers’ Ryan Hollweg, according to an NHL source.

Not only that, but the sentence could extend into next season depending on how many playoff games the Islanders have. If they do not reach a certain minimum number of playoff games, then, the difference will be added onto the suspension at the beginning of next season. For instance, if the minimum is 10 playoff games, and they only play seven, then, Simon would serve an additional three games next season.

The Islanders are expected to issue a statement later today after the sentence is announced.

Here’s Chris Simon’s statement:

“After watching the tape the morning after Thursday’s game, I was disgusted. There is absolutely no place in hockey for what I did.

“I want to apologize to Ryan Hollweg. I was grateful to learn that Ryan is okay and that he returned to the game. My hope is to reach out to him in the near future.

“I want to apologize to my team and Islanders fans everywhere. My actions Thursday night played a major part in our team losing a crucial game. I also want to apologize to the National Hockey League for the damage I have caused to this great game of ours.

“What you saw Thursday is not the person, player and competitor that I am. I know my teammates and my opponents over 14 years understand that.

“I do not remember much about Thursday’s incident. When I saw the tape on Friday morning, it explained a lot to me when I saw the look on my face after being hit into the boards. I was completely out of it. When I met with the media about 30 minutes later, I still was not feeling well.

“I met with our medical staff briefly Thursday night and underwent a series of tests on Friday afternoon. They have told me that I suffered a concussion when I hit the boards. Because I was not cleared by our doctors to travel, I would like to thank Colin Campbell for traveling to New York for today’s hearing.

“I need to make clear that this is not justification for the danger I put Ryan Hollweg in and the damage I have caused the game. I understand disciplinary action will be taken.

“Since Ryan is thankfully okay, what hurts the most is knowing my actions will result in me losing the privilege of being in the Islanders’ lineup.

“Finally, I want to thank my Islanders teammates for their support throughout this process. It means everything to me.”

Word from the NHL office is that Chris Simon’s sentence for his stick-swinging shot to Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg will be handed down tonight after all. The Islanders also are expected to release a statement from Simon at that point.

As soon as the release comes out, the information will be posted here on the Islanders Beat blog.

Chris Simon’s NHL disciplinary hearing, which lasted approximately 80 minutes this morning, is over, but no decision was rendered immediately on a penalty for Simon’s stick-swinging attack on Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg Thursday night. For the moment, league officials are content to let stand Simon’s indefinite suspension stemming from the match penalty he received.

The NHL quickly shot down a report by MSG Network that Simon had received a 22-game suspension. “A decision relative to that hearing has not been made,” a release from the league office said. “Any report to the contrary is false.”

NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell presided over the hearing, which included Simon, Islanders general manager Garth Snow and attorneys for the Islanders, the NHL and the NHL Players Association. Videotape replays of the incident were shown, and Simon presented his side of the story.

The meeting was held at the league’s Manhattan offices because Simon might have suffered a concussion when Hollweg drove him into the glass, and he still did not feel well today.

It’s uncertain when a decision will be handed down. There might be concern on the league’s part about how its ruling could affect a criminal probe launched by the office of Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, especially in a situation where neither Hollweg, the Rangers nor the league requested legal intervention.

Campbell was on a flight home to Toronto this afternoon and was not immediately available for comment. Because of the high-profile nature of the incident, it’s likely Simon will not get off lightly even though Hollweg required just two stitches to the chin and played for the Rangers this afternoon in Pittsburgh.

The Islanders have 15 games remaining in the regular season, starting against Washington tonight at Nassau Coliseum, and they meet the Rangers two more times. If the league wants to avoid another confrontation between Simon and the Rangers this season, it would require a minimum 12-game suspension to carry through the April 3 Isles-Rangers match. But for now, the length of the suspension remains a matter of speculation.

ISLANDERS CALLUP: Jeff Tambellini will be back in the Isles’ lineup tonight against the Capitals in place of Viktor Kozlov, who will miss his first game this season after taking a puck to the foot against the Rangers. Kozlov is listed as day-to-day and is likely to return for a four-game road trip that begins Tuesday in Montreal.

Chris Simon’s disciplinary hearing stemming from his stick-swinging attack on Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg Thursday night at the Coliseum is set for Saturday at the NHL offices in Manhattan. Normally, Simon would be required to appear at league headquarters in Toronto, but a source said Simon isn’t allowed to fly because he might have a concussion from the hit by Hollweg that drove him into the glass and prompted his retaliation.

Of course, Simon automatically was suspended without pay yesterday because of the match penalty he received for intent to injure Hollweg. The location of the hearing wasn’t determined until tonight. Simon was examined earlier today for symptoms of a concussion at ProHEALTH Care in Lake Success, but no official diagnosis was released by the team.

Hollweg also was checked for signs of a concussion but was cleared to suit up for the Rangers tomorrow afternoon in Pittsburgh. Simon’s place on the fourth line will be taken by Richard Zednik against Washington tomorrow night at the Coliseum.

Coach Ted Nolan and Islanders players generally declined to discuss specifics of the stick-swinging incident before the hearing but expressed support for their teammate. Simon took part in a team photo session before practice today but did not speak with reporters.

“I spoke to Chris a couple of times today,” Nolan said. “Obviously, he’s not feeling very good right now. But we’ll wait until later to get into more details.”

RYAN SMYTH RECOVERS FROM BLOW TO HIP: New Islanders forward Ryan Smyth said the hit he received from Rangers defenseman Marek Malik just before the final buzzer of the Isles’ 2-1 loss momentarily aggravated a right hip injury and left him unable to put weight on his right side as he left the ice. But Smyth skated in practice today and will play against the Capitals.

“I have a little bit of a hip flexor problem,” Smyth said. “I had my leg up in the air so I didn’t have any weight on it, and he just hit it and tweaked it a bit. I didn’t have any strength in my leg. I couldn’t put any pressure on it. But it’s okay.”

Asked if he had experienced that problem before, Smyth said, “Well, I haven’t been hit like that. But I’ve had a little bit of achiness in my leg. I wanted to get some feeling in there because, when he hit me, it was like a stinger down my leg.”

With 20.4 seconds left in the game, Smyth was battling in front of the net when Marc-Andre Bergeron’s right point shot hit Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and ricocheted off Smyth’s skate and appeared to cross the goal line before Lundqvist pulled it back. Referee Kevin Pollock ruled no-goal on the ice and was upheld by replay officials in Toronto, who deemed the videotape evidence inconclusive.

“I saw white,” Smyth said, referring to white ice between the puck, which was standing on its side, and the goal line. “I saw it cross the line. But they were talking about the puck being up on edge. Anyway, it’s past tense. But obviously, it’s a very intense rivalry against those guys. It’s like the Battle of Alberta, no question.”

Brendan Witt, who expressed his disagreement with the call by replay officials in harsh terms was equally strong today in his conviction the shot should have been ruled a goal. “What I don’t understand is, in this day and age when they can put cameras anywhere, why don’t they put them at every angle in the net? Especially in the posts. There’s got to be a way to put fiber optics in there. The league has had so many close calls over the years, and they still don’t do anythin