FanHouse Islanders

Thanksgiving is a holiday where we get together with family and friends to celebrate all that is important in our lives. We here at NHL FanHouse will be doing that today but before we get to the turkey, we decided to get together and talk about something else that is important in all of our lives -- hockey.

For starters, we're thankful that we get to follow hockey all day long and that you take the time to read what we've got to say. But there's a lot more that we love about the "coolest game on ice" that plays such a big role in each of our lives.

We're trying something different to replace the old Newsmakers in the NHL posts. Hopefully you'll like it. Each weekday we'll take a look at one positive performance from the previous night (a plus), and one negative performance from the previous night (a minus). It's the plus/minus.Tell us what you think at nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

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With the issue of head shots becoming more and more talked about in NHL circles, it's time to tackle it on Puck Talk. We're joined this week by Anthony Curatolo, who is a senior writer at Crash the Crease and also has a podcast every week. Since Anthony is an Islanders fan, we also let him talk up his red-hot team and discuss the Blackhawks' impending cap woes. Listen after the jump.

We have a lot of stuff to cover on our weekly NHL FanHouse chat. At 2 pm ET, we'll discuss Alex Ovechkin's return, the topic of headshots in hockey, the red-hot, playoff-bound (maybe) Islanders, and so much more. Join the FanHouse staff for the chat after the jump.

We're trying something different to replace the old Newsmakers in the NHL posts. Hopefully you'll like it. Each weekday we'll take a look at one positive performance from the previous night (a plus), and one negative performance from the previous night (a minus). It's the plus/minus.Tell us what you think at nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

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Scott Gordon was told, with a purposeful tint of vagueness, that a reporter had a question "about your days in Boston College."

"I bet you do," said the head coach of the New York Islanders.

Gordon had been warned about this two weeks ago. The video, the one he filmed in 1986, was recently re-discovered, dropped on the world wide web and slowly but surely was starting to go viral.

As if being a goalie in the National Hockey League is not difficult enough. As if 6-3 power forwards standing in front of you on power plays is not enough of a distraction.

From now until the day he is dealt -- and he almost definitely will before the March 3 deadline -- Martin Biron is going to hear his name in trade rumors. This is what happens when you're on a one-year contract at a very reasonable $1.4 million. This is what happens when your team has an established No. 1 goalie (Dwayne Roloson) under contract through 2010-2011 and their best netminder (Rick DiPietro) in the fold for another eleven years. This is also what happens when you're low-maintenance, talented, accomplished and respected.

According to team officials, New York Islanders right wing Kyle Okposo has been diagnosed with the H1N1 flu.

The 21-year-old Okposo did not travel accompany the team on its flight on Tuesday afternoon to Washington, where they face the Capitals on Wednesday. The team did not release any further details on Okposo's illness or a timetable for his recovery.

The Devils are a perfect 7-0 on the road this year, but a pedestrian 2-4 at The Rock in Newark, where they'll be hosting the Islanders Friday night. After six straight losses to open the season, the Isles have won four out of their last five behind John Tavares, who has four points in that stretch. FanHouse's Christopher Botta is live-blogging the Atlantic Division contest from the time the puck drops at 7 p.m. ET.

UNIONDALE, NY -- New York Rangers sniper Marian Gaborik will miss Wednesday night's game against the Islanders. Gaborik suffered what appeared to be a leg injury in the third period of New York's win over Phoenix on Monday at Madison Square Garden.

"He won't be playing tonight," Rangers coach John Tortorella said after Wednesday's morning skate at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. "I'm not going to get into what he has."