Islanders host Devils: K.C.'s past meets K.C.'s future

[Update: I promoted it yesterday, but for this post I was remiss in not originally mentioning that In Lou We Trust's John -- and Islanders Outsider -- will be on Hockey Night in Long Island this afternoon]

The New Jersey Devils "grinded out" a win last night -- those are John's words at "In Lou We Trust," where he has the low-down on last night's game, as well as the rule by which the controversial deciding goal was called over Blue Jackets' objections.

Now bring me the head of Mike Mottau.

            (via The Rivalry)

Kansas City's Past (26-15-3, 3rd/Atl) at Kansas City's Future (12-28-4, 30th)

7 p.m. | Nassau [future lighthouse?] Coliseum | MSG+

Devils blogs: In Lou We Trust (and many more - check his blogroll)

It's somewhat remarkable, for divisional opponents, that this is their first meeting since Frans Nielsen was knocked out by Mottau. Nielsen only recently returned -- and we'll never get those intervening five weeks of development back -- but it's difficult to tell whether this will be an issue. Nielsen thinks it was a bad hit, but he also doesn't (publicly) suspect the worst of Mottau.

Meanwhile, Mitchell Fritz -- who, to the chagrin of many fans, was not even used by coach Scott Gordon to exact justice -- has since been waived. Tim Jackman has become the de facto enforcer. And divisional games like these, when the standings' interests are not equal, can sometimes devolve into chest-thumping fightfests anyway. But my read is that Gordon doesn't encourage such things.

Sounds like NHL journeyman (ha) Brendan Shanahan will not be in the lineup yet, although he's aiming for a pre-All Star Break return, so ... who knows. Whenever he does debut with the no-longer-green Devils, it will be interesting to see how team chemistry -- and his own rust -- shakes out.

Speaking of returns, Wade Dubielewicz will not see action yet. It's still Yann Danis' spot to show Gordon he's worthy of trust. ... Doug Weight and Bill Guerin will be honored for their 1,000th regular season point and 400th goal, respectively.