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Islanders Bits: After 3 days of training camp, it's Scrimmage Day

As the New York Islanders prep for a mid-camp scrimmage with their AHL affiliate, Jack Capuano is asked about Nino Niederreiter and shorthanded goals.

"Remember that time you scored that one goal with the Beatles? That was awesome."
"Remember that time you scored that one goal with the Beatles? That was awesome."
Tom Szczerbowski-US PRESSWIRE

"It's been a grind. These three days have been a grind. For the first time [Tuesday] you could see it."

That's New York Islanders coach Jack Capuano talking to media after the initial "LOCKOUT's OVER!" giddiness transitioned to days of skating in the accelerated prep for the season.

Tonight they get a relief of sorts, with no morning practice and a Blue/White scrimmage in front of eager fans and with some of the other organizational prospects who are angling for their jobs. Game is at 7 p.m. at the Coliseum, with free admission, free parking, cheap hot dogs and merchandise discounts. It will also be streamed live. We'll have a thread.

But this post is about celebrating actual hockey coverage. A sampling is below, followed by video of Capuano covering a range of topics.

Wait...before we get to our first link, a quick vent or lament or warning: Hoping for regular shorthanded goals is a siren song not worth wasting too much energy on. As long as I've followed hockey, people have tried to capture the uncapturable, but small samples confound it: Consistent shorthanded goals just aren't a thing. You have good years and bad years, and two seasons ago was one hell of an unrepeatable year for both Michael Grabner and Frans Nielsen in that department.

I mention this because among the topics in the Capuano scrum was Michael Grabner's drop in shorties (a question prompted by media, not by Capuano). He said they've talked about it over the summer. Staple talked to both Grabner and higher powers on the matter. [Newsday] Also: Staple will have a chat today at noon.

Now here's Capuano, who thankfully does not mention "consistency" in this one, but does have good stuff to say about Nino Niederreiter being left in the AHL: