It's 12:05 pm Saturday -- & by 3 pm Nabby said NO

3 pm Saturday: And Nabby's agent said NO. He won't show up.
And Chris Osgood was misquoted and all hell broke lose on Twitter while I was at the Deli counter at Pathmark. It never freakin' fails.

But you have to say this: Garth Snow did what he felt was best for his team. If the 35-year-old disgruntled Russian goalie doestn't want to play by the rules of this league's CBA, then I suppose he can go back to Russia or some place else.

But right now: You're an Islander dude. Deal with it.



And finally the news everyone waited for and expected hit the wire. NY Islanders have put in a claim on Evgeni Nobokov:

UNIONDALE, NY, January 22, 2010 – The New York Islanders have claimed goaltender Evgeni Nabokov off of waivers. Nabokov will play under the one-year contract that he signed with the Detroit Red Wings on Jan 20.

Nabokov, 35, began this season with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). According to the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement, any player that plays in a different professional league before signing an NHL contract must go through waivers before joining the team.



In 22 games this season with St. Petersburg, Nabokov posted an 8-8-5 record with a 3.02 goals against average (GAA) and a .888 save percentage (sv%). The Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan native was drafted in the ninth round, 219th overall, of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks. In nine NHL seasons with San Jose, Nabokov appeared in 563 games, posting a 293-178-29-37 (W-L-T-OT) record with a 2.39 GAA and a .912 sv%. He also played in 80 NHL playoff games with San Jose, posting a 40-38 record with a 2.29 GAA and a .913 sv%.

After losing Nate Lawson to injury in last nights 5 - 2 win over the Buffalo Sabres, this is the safest move the Islanders can make. Kevin Poulin is a great goalie, but he is young. Last night, should something have happened to him, the Islanders would have had some tough, if not impossible, decisions to make.

No word as of yet if Nate Lawson will be unable to play for an extended period of time. Rick DiPietro was practicing today and should be available for Sunday's game again against the Sabres.

Kevin Poulin should be returned to Bridgeport in order to continue his stellar development. Of course the biggest question will be if Nabokov will actually report to the NY Islanders or if he say's "Nyet" because he had intentions of being a staring goalie.

As long as Rick DiPietro is healthy enough to play, he is the No. 1 on this team. However, it also means that the Islanders have no intention of tanking the rest of the season. They could have let the kids continue to play and risked loss and injury. But by putting a claim on a veteran, 35-year-old NHL goalie, it shows -- they ain't quitting yet.