Weight to his words

Islanders responding to first-year coach Gordon

On Monday, the Islanders swiped a 4-3 shootout win over the Canadiens at the Bell Centre, partly because Montreal defenseman Ryan O'Byrne shot the puck into his net in the third period when he didn't realize goalie Carey Price had vacated the goal because of a delayed penalty.

But from first-year Islanders coach Scott Gordon's viewpoint, that tying goal would never have been scored had veteran Doug Weight not been forechecking aggressively on O'Byrne.

"Earlier in the year, that's something where our players would have pulled back," said Gordon. "O'Byrne would have gotten the puck. But Dougie Weight, instead of pulling back, went right at him. As a result, that pressure forced him to make a mistake. Under a normal set of circumstances, the goalie probably would have gotten it, but he wasn't there. We came back to the bench and talked about being aggressive. That was a lesson learned. Those small areas are improving all the time."

Yesterday marked the first regular-season game for Gordon, the former Providence Bruins coach, against his old employer. The Easton native saw his team take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, but then watched the Islanders crack under Boston's third-period pressure. The Bruins poured five goals into the net, two within a 10-second span.

But such are the hiccups that can be considered standard practice for a rookie coach and an organization undergoing a makeover. Even without No. 1 goalie Rick DiPietro (knee) and forwards Mike Sillinger (hip), Kyle Okposo (arm), and Mike Comrie (hip), the Islanders have gone 7-6-1 in November, with much of the credit going to Gordon.

"[Gordon is] very easy to know and very easy to like," said Weight, who can count Peter Laviolette, another ex-Providence coach, among his former bosses. "That said, he's a guy that has a tremendous amount of confidence in what he believes in. He believes in accountability, which I think is what makes a team run. He's put a lot of responsibility on the veterans on this team to buy into that and buy into his system. He's been honest. He's been forthright. He's been very good to us."

Weight said that like Laviolette, Gordon prefers an uptempo game that relies on a strong forecheck and thorough neutral-zone play. Last season, when he led Providence to the best record in the AHL, Gordon preached an aggressive style to force opponents to shift their coverage and open up seams for his players to attack.

In September, when the Islanders parted ways with assistant coach Gerard Gallant, Gordon hoped to fish former right-hand man Rob Murray out of Providence to join him on the New York bench. But Murray, by then the top man in Providence, was not released by the Bruins. Despite not being able to be united with Murray, Gordon said he had nothing but good feelings about the Bruins and his time with the organization.

"I'm not coming back here with a grudge," said Gordon. "I enjoyed my time here. I was treated so well."

Off the draw

Patrice Bergeron, Boston's best man on faceoffs (59 percent success rate), didn't take a single draw yesterday for the first time this season. Linemates P.J. Axelsson (1 for 6) and Chuck Kobasew (1 for 2) took even-strength faceoffs instead.

Bergeron was limited to only two faceoffs against Buffalo Wednesday. Last Saturday against Montreal, Bergeron won 11 of 17 faceoffs. But coach Claude Julien tabbed Marc Savard for two late defensive-zone draws against captain Saku Koivu, explaining that Bergeron was not ready to take either faceoff.

Yesterday, Bergeron took 20 shifts for 18:53 of ice time, landing two shots and going without a point. Bergeron killed penalties and manned his usual spot on the point on the No. 1 power-play unit. In the third period, Bergeron broke up a two-on-one shorthanded rush.

"He can do absolutely anything. Just right now, we're keeping him away from faceoffs," Julien said, again declining to disclose Bergeron's ailment.

Concussion for Sturm

Marco Sturm missed his fifth straight game yesterday because of post-concussion syndrome. Sturm said he suffered a concussion Nov. 12 against Chicago. Sturm played in the three following games but felt at his worst against Toronto Nov. 17, the last time he saw action. Sturm said he's feeling better and anticipated getting back on the ice soon . . . Milan Lucic led all players with six hits, including a first-period blast when he plastered Tim Jackman facefirst into the boards. No penalty was called. "All of a sudden, my face was in the glass," said Jackman. "I figured if I sat there, I thought they were going to get a penalty for that. But I guess it was a clean hit." . . . In the third period, following Dennis Wideman's power-play goal, Lucic dropped the gloves with defenseman Brendan Witt for his third fight of the season. "He gave me three cross-checks in the lower back that I didn't like," Lucic said. "Just took care of the situation." . . . When Blake Wheeler and David Krejci scored within 10 seconds in the third period, it was the fastest two-goal outburst for the Bruins since Feb. 14, 2003. That day, Mike Knuble potted two goals in 10 seconds against Florida . . . Phil Kessel (goal, assist) has at least one point in a career-best eight straight games. Also in the best run of his career is Matt Hunwick (two assists), who's recorded at least one point in six straight matches . . . The Bruins host Detroit tonight. The defending champs are a league-best 10-1-2 on the road. "This is a good test for us," Julien said. "You're going to be facing the best in the Stanley Cup champions. Obviously we have to be up to the task. We'll see where we stand afterward."