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At the Rink blog

Islanders place Bouchard on waivers

Monday, 12.09.2013 / 3:49 PM

By Curtis Zupke - NHL.com Correspondent / 2013-2014 At the Rink Blog

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2013-2014 At the Rink Blog
Islanders place Bouchard on waivers

ANAHEIM -- The New York Islanders are stuck in a nine-game winless skid (0-7-2) and have lost a team-record nine straight on the road. So it certainly got their attention when three-time 50-point scorer Pierre-Marc Bouchard was placed on waivers Monday.

"When you lose as many as we have in a row, I think it's the business we're in," Thomas Vanek said. "Obviously there's a lot of good guys here but sometimes you have to make tough decisions. [Bouchard] was a good guy. I only got to know him for a little bit here. It's definitely not his fault that he's gone. I think it's more ours. I think anytime someone leaves it's on the team."

Islanders coach Jack Capuano wouldn't comment on personnel matters. New York reportedly is making room to recall center Ryan Strome, the leading scorer in the American Hockey League. Strome on Monday became the third player in the past 20 years to be named the AHL's player of the week in consecutive weeks.

Capuano said he wasn't happy with his top line of Vanek, John Tavares and Kyle Okposo in a 3-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, when the trio produced three shots. Capuano said he'll keep the line together but said, "We've talked to them. We've had meetings with a lot of guys. It's just simplifying their game. When you get those three guys on the ice they try to be a little bit too cute and looking for those short pocket little plays that we talked about. You've got to get pucks to the net."

The Anaheim Ducks are coming off a 2-0-2 run against the San Jose Sharks, Kings, Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues. A game against the Islanders would constitute a challenge to ramp it back up emotionally.

Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau watched the Islanders' loss to the Kings in which New York was in it for most of the game.

"I see a lot of speed and a lot of talent, a team that's snake bit right now," Boudreau said. "They've had four shorthanded breakaways the last three games and they just haven't been able to put it in … when you're snake bit a little bit you need that break. Hopefully it doesn't come [Monday]. But when they do, we know they're good enough to turn it around to go on a streak like they did last year."

Here are the expected lineups for both teams:

ISLANDERS

Thomas Vanek - John Tavares - Kyle Okposo

Brock Nelson - Frans Nielsen - Josh Bailey

Michael Grabner - Peter Regin - Cal Clutterbuck

Matt Martin - Casey Cizikas - Colin McDonald

Calvin de Haan - Travis Hamonic

Thomas Hickey - Andrew MacDonald

Aaron Ness - Matt Carkner

Anders Nilsson

Kevin Poulin

Scratched: Eric Boulton, Radek Martinek

Injured: Brian Strait (upper body), Evgeni Nabokov (groin), Lubomir Visnovsky (concussion)

Notes: Capuano said he'll leave the third line of Grabner, Regin and Clutterbuck intact. He also said Nilsson will start. The Islanders visit the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

DUCKS

Dustin Penner - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry

Emerson Etem - Nick Bonino - Teemu Selanne

Daniel Winnik - Saku Koivu - Andrew Cogliano

Matt Beleskey - David Steckel - Tim Jackman

Cam Fowler - Ben Lovejoy

Hampus Lindholm - Mark Fistric

Bryan Allen - Sami Vatanen

Jonas Hiller

Frederik Andersen

Scratched: Kyle Palmieri, Patrick Maroon, Alex Grant

Injured: Mathieu Perreault (lower body), Francois Beauchemin (upper body), Luca Sbisa (hand), Viktor Fasth (muscle inflammation), Jakob Silfverberg (hand), Sheldon Souray (wrist)

Notes: Etem and Selanne return to the lineup after being scratched Saturday, when Selanne sat out the second game of a back-to-back. Perreault did not skate and Boudreau ruled him out.

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