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UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Along the hallway to the New York Islanders dressing room, there are nine plaques commemorating key people from the franchise's Stanley Cup seasons.
From left to right, the wall of fame reads: Bill Torrey, Al Arbour, Denis Potvin, Mike Bossy, Billy Smith, Bob Nystrom, Clark Gillies, Bryan Trottier and Bob Bourne — and this morning Jason Blake.
Somebody placed a 10th tribute this morning, a picture of Blake , the former Islander and current Toronto Maple Leafs forward. Under the picture, it read "40-goal scorer."
"Yeah, I have my sources as to who did it, but I'm not going to say," said Blake, who will make his second appearance at the Nassau Coliseum since he signed as a free agent with the Leafs last summer.
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"The first time in here was a lot different, a lot tougher. Any player or athlete who plays a significant amount of time in a place, it will still feel like home. It's good and important to not only see some of my old teammates and people with the team, but the staff around the building."
The former Islanders forward had dinner with injured Islanders Mike Sillinger and Chris Campoli on Monday evening.
Blake, who at the end of each practice or morning skate spends extra time working on his shot, only has scored 13 goals this season, way below the pace he set last year in his career-best 40-goal year.
"It would be great to finish strong," Blake said.
The Leafs will be without captain Mats Sundin (groin) and Nik Antropov (knee). Sundin skated after his teammates went through their morning skate, but said he didn't push it beyond 70 per cent. He still is aiming to play this weekend, either against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday or the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
Antropov remained back in Toronto for treatment.
Tonight will mark the NHL debuts for two youngsters, Kyle Okposo with the Islanders, and Alex Foster for the Leafs. Foster, 23, is the son of former NHLer Dwight Foster.
"He told me to enjoy it because whether you're Wayne Gretzky or anybody else, you only get one of these," the younger Foster said.
"My Dad scored goals in his first two games [with the Boston Bruins]. He reminded me of that."
Foster was first called up three weeks ago for the Leafs trip in Florida, but didn't find his way into the lineup.
"I'm a little nervous, but it's nervous excitement," said Foster, a grinding-type forward. "The coach said it's okay to be nervous. I'm just trying to take everything in."
Okposo, a right wing who will turn 20 next month, was the seventh overall selection at the 2006 NHL draft. He will wear No. 21, Brent Sutter's number when he played for the Islanders. Okposo will skate on a line with centre Richard Park and wing Blake Comeau.
"This is an important day for the franchise," Islanders coach Ted Nolan said of Okposo's first game. "We have to be careful not to over-hype it or under-hype it."
The Islanders will start backup Wade Dubielewicz in goal because Rick DiPietro has been bothered by hip problems and is scheduled to have an MRI exam done later today.
The Islanders have been struggling through a five-game losing streak and have lost nine of its past 11 matches.
