Islanders News: Capuano Eases; Bridgeport Struggles; DiPietro Debuts for Charlotte

Jack Capuano seems generally liked by New York Islanders players, and several of them cite this: He points out mistakes and gets on them when things are done wrong, but he doesn't publicly slam individuals and resists the management voodoo tactic of maintaining an atmosphere of fear and tension.

That approach may explain why, the day after fuming in his post-game presser after the 3-2 loss to the Short Island Smurfs, Capuano eased up and was talking about maintaining a positive outlook as the Isles head into back-to-backs:

In Newsday: "You have to stay positive," Jack Capuano said yesterday, after a blown third-period lead and a 3-2 loss to the Rangers on Tuesday. "These guys know what we need to be doing and they have to stick with it. There's no time for panic or being overly critical. They know."

And at the official site: "We talked about it today – new attitude, new challenge," head coach Jack Capuano said. "We’ve got to stay positive. Special teams were a huge factor in last night’s game. But at the same time, we had some things we needed to work on today to move forward."

More Islanders Reads

• Bridgeport led for the first time in five games but still lost 5-3 to Hartford last night. [Soundin Off] [Post] [Cary K FanPost]
• At least Scott Mayfield scored his first pro goal on his mother's birthday.
• Captain Chris Bruton had hand surgery, so he's out for a few more weeks for sure.
• With Jack Capuano briefly (and not seriously, we think) referencing the threat of recalls, Kevin Schultz at IPB looks at the reality of what Bridgeport's been like so far.
  
• Also in the AHL, Rick DiPietro made his professional outside-the-Islanders-organization debut last night for the Hurricanes' American Hockey League affiliate and stopped 25 of 29 shots in a 5-2 loss.
• Does the Vanek trade impact Buffalo's ability to move Ryan Miller? [THN]
• Tacking a familiar theme, Rob McGowan says "what about the goaltending and defense?" [TCL]

Reads about Those Other Teams 'n Stuff

• NHL Scores: Pens edge Boston, L.A. beats San Jose in overtime (but I was told good teams don't blow one-goal third-period leads!), and stop me if you've heard this before: Toronto was heavily outshot in Calgary yet won.
  
• Semyon Varlamov turned himself into police and spent the night in jail on domestic assault charges, including kidnapping. [Insert your own Patrick Roy joke here!]
• People tend to focus on season starts as dooming playoff chances, but history shows playoff teams can have bad stretches like eight points in 14 games. [mc79hockey]
• Uh oh: Braden Holtby Calls Capitals' Preparation Into Question | NBC4 Washington
• This is an interesting approach (h/t Afrosupreme): Boys on the Bus " Combining Shot Differentials with Shot Distances
• You want fancy stats? I got your Corgis right here...
  
• Dan covered the Isles-related items here, but in case you missed this week's full 30 Thoughts from Elliotte Friedman.
• Luke Schenn's stupid stick has deprived us of Teemu Selanne for a while.
  
• The Coyotes PR staff have fun animating the Mike Smith goal. [Puck Daddy]
• Pascal Dupuis' turn to pull his own tooth on the bench. Out of respect for Sidney Crosby.
  
• More fun: Parody video: NHL ruling on John Scott blindside hit on Loui Eriksson - Stanley Cup of Chowder
• And one more, Happy Halloween: The top 25 creepiest hockey logos of all-time | Puck Daddy