Isles Come Home to Face Devils; Blood Drive Scheduled

The New Jersey Devils, coming off of a 4-3 preseason loss to the New York Rangers arrive at the Nassau Coliseum to take on the Islanders. It's the Isles only true home preseason game on the Island.

According to the Isles website, the lines are as follows:

Matt Moulson - John Tavares - Nino Niederreiter
Michael Grabner - Frans Nielsen - Kyle Okposo
Jay Pandolfo - Ryan Strome - Tim Wallace
Matt Martin - Josh Bailey - Trevor Gillies


Mark Streit - Steve Staios
Mark Eaton - Milan Jurcina
Aaron Ness - Travis Hamonic


Al Montoya
Kevin Poulin

Pandolfo appears to get a bit of an upgrade in linemates, and for good reason. His showing on Friday night with Trevor Frischmon and Jeremy Colliton (until the latter left with an injury) was pretty strong and warrants more of a look.

Steve Staios, who wore an 'A' on his jersey Friday night in Boston returns to action as Mark Streit's partner on the top pairing. Thats another guy to keep an eye on.

Ryan Strome will be playing his first professional game (sort of, I guess) against a decent NHL line-up. We've seen already what he can do against other prospects both in the orgianization and abroad, but now we'll get to see him against NHL players. He's hoping to stick, even if it's only for nine games. A strong performance Saturday night can go a long way in helping him make the case for that.

BLOOD DRIVE: The Islanders and the American Red Cross are teaming up for a blood drive before the game. Fans who wish to participate can donate blood at any time from 12 noon up until game time at the Coliseum. There is an effort to help replenish the blood supply, which is rather depleted. According to the Red Cross, Hurricane Irene cancelled close to 150 blood drives, causing this sudden drop in levels across blood banks.

It's always good to help out those in need, and this is no different. If you are able to do so, it's highly encouraged that you participate. The first 200 people who participate will receive two vouchers to a future Isles home game. Those who donate and are also attending Saturday night's preseason game will be entered into a raffle to "high five" the players as they come out to the ice.

For more info, check out the Isles press release on the blood drive and remember to do a good deed that can go a long way for others.

-Chris

nyifyi@gmail.com