On the Islanders Beat

All along, coach Scott Gordon has said his team's problems adjusting to his forechecking system have been more mental than physical. As the Islanders' play continues to improve, they certainly have shown signs of progress in that area with solid 60-minute efforts in recent home-and-home wins over Ottawa.

Following Saturday's 3-2 victory at the Coliseum, Gordon told this story about what was said on the bench: "I think Dougie Weight said it in the third period, and it was the first time I heard it and maybe the mindset is starting to change with our team," Gordon said. "'Skate, skate, skate, boys.' That was [Weight's] exact quote. That's the mindset. It shouldn't be me that has to say that. It should be something they take upon themselves. The more we get a comfort level with our system play, the more it will come from the players and not me."

When Gordon's remark was relayed to him, Weight said, "I wouldn't argue with that comment. It wasn't about not believing. It was about training our brains that, even with a lead, you have to attack. But for so long, you think retreat because you don't want to get scored on. That's emptying out of our minds now…It's going to be a challenge every night, but so far, we've been up to that energy level, and hopefully, we can continue."

Luongo's numbers (MacDonald, too)

Vancouver held its pre-game skate today at Iceworks, and it was interesting to see Isles backup goalie Yann Danis and goaltender coach Mike Dunham stick around to watch the Canucks' Roberto Luongo take some shots. The former Islanders draft pick is on an incredible roll right now, having allowed just six goals in his past six games, including only one at even strength.

Luongo leads the NHL with five shutouts, has a 10-5-1 record and has a 2.22 goals against average with a .924 save percentage. He also ranks third in the NHL in total saves. Want to guess who's fifth in that category? Islanders goaltender Joey MacDonald, who has played two fewer games. MacDonald is expected to make his eighth straight start tonight at the Coliseum.

Following the skate, Luongo spoke briefly to reporters about returning to Long Island to play for the first time since the 2005-06 season when he was with Florida. I'll have a sidebar in Tuesday's Newsday about that conversation, and it will post later tonight on the website.

Isles files

Islanders center Frans Nielsen is the first NHL player born and raised in Denmark, and tonight, he will face the second, winger Jannik Hansen of the Canucks…Two other former Isles on Vancouver's roster are Taylor Pyatt and Rob Davison…Kyle Wellwood, who tops the Canucks with seven goals, was passed over by the Islanders last summer when Toronto placed him on waivers.