FanHouse DavidJones

Nikita Filatov, the No. 5 overall pick in this year's Entry Draft, entered play on Saturday night for Columbus with one goal in his first five NHL games. During the Blue Jackets 4-2 win over Minnesota, the 18-year-old rookie notched his first career hat trick -- and recorded an assist -- helping lead Columbus to its second straight win and sixth in its past eight games.

Steve Mason continued his strong play in net for the Blue Jackets, turning aside 21 of 23 shots to pick up his 15th win of the season. It's a big win for Columbus, as it entered the game trailing the Wild by one point in the Western Conference standings.

Mason is still leading the league in goals against average and save percentage, and he is still not an all-star. Crazy.

Okay, so maybe the title is a bit of an overreaction. Still, that doesn't change the fact the New York Islanders are a terrible, terrible third period hockey team, and they proved it once again on Tuesday, giving up four goals in the final 20 minutes on their way to a 5-4 loss to the Rangers.

The Islanders actually entered the third with a 2-1 lead, only to watch the Rangers beat Joey MacDonald -- starting in place of Rick Dipietro -- four times on their final 12 shots. Petr Prucha, playing for the first time in eight games, tied the game just 49 seconds into the third period, while Michal Rozsival gave the Rangers their first lead of the night two minutes later. Markus Naslund and Nigel Dawes also tallied late goals for the Rangers, while Scott Gomez tapped in a tic-tac-toe pass from Nikolai Zherdev and Brandon Dubinsky in the second period, opening the scoring for the Rangers.

Mike Sillinger, Kyle Okposo, Blake Comeau and Mike Comrie scored for the Islanders.

Physical game between the crosstown rivals, resulting in a pair of fights in the first 10 minutes, and capped off with a crushing hit by Ryan Callahan on Trent Hunter early in the third. Callahan smashed the Islanders forward into the penalty box door, forcing it open, resulting in Hunter's midsection smashing off the boards. He was down for quite a while, and appeared to be in severe pain, resulting in a stretcher being brought on the ice. Hunter, however, managed to bring himself to his feet and skate off because, you know, he's a hockey player.

Amidst the splendid news that the Saints have inked three of their draft choices -- third-rounders Andy Alleman and Usama Young, with fifth-rounder David Jones -- comes a bit of sadness, as the team has cut two long-standing, beloved Saints. The releases of return man Michael Lewis and defensive end/tackle Willie Whitehead were announced today.

Whitehead is the last last hold-over from Mike Ditka's disastrous run in the Big Easy, and has proved to be incredibly valuable. His versatility has done a lot in bolstering a Saints defensive line that has been the strength of the team for years, even as the rest of the roster lagged behind. He never received a ton of attention (if any) outside of New Orleans, but Whitehead always showed up for work prepared and did his job admirably.

Michael Lewis, meanwhile, has become a legend in New Orleans. Forget Invincible -- Vince Papale's got nothing on "Beerman." A local product who never went to college (driving a Budweiser truck for a living) and walked on at the NFL level, Lewis didn't just make it into a game, as Papale did. He owns the Saints records for kickoff and punt return yards. He also owns the season-high marks in both categories, and in 2002 set an NFL record with 2,432 combined return yards, a distinction that sent him to the Pro Bowl.

But both are long in the tooth, and room is needed for the Saints' influx of young talent. Lewis' release was expected -- he's dealt with injuries the last two seasons and with Reggie Bush, Lance Moore, and Jones looming, Lewis' inability to play receiver hurt his chances -- but Whitehead's was a bit more of a surprise. The team must feel comfortable in their depth at end behind starters Charles Grant and Will Smith, but Rob Ninkovich and Josh Cooper are largely unproven.

Though the future is exciting, it's hard for Saints fans not to be a bit saddened by today's news. Was it Nietzsche who said "It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday"? Actually, it was Boyz II Men. Still poignant.