Isles Drop Preseason Opener 4-2

The New York Islanders dropped their preseason opener 4-2 Tuesday night at the Meadowlands. It was no surprise that the two Isles goals came from Ales Hemsky and Kristian Huselius respectively. In fact, the only surprise was that the game was so close. The expectations for the Isles are really low this season, and to start out with a close loss against the cup champs has to be a motivator for this young team. The Isles were also happy to get the services of wingers Mattias Weinhandl and Vladimir Orszagh who played the game for a sandwich, which they shared. Both holdouts are obviously in great spirits as they were quick to dress for the club despite lacking any type of contract or insurance policy. Martin Gerber also put in a solid performance, making 21 saves on 25 shots. Despite youngsters Bryzgalov and Auld backing him up, expect the veteran to get the majority of starts in the preseason. More to come...