Brad Boyes confident he'll get good deal for next season

WINNIPEG, Manitoba

Brad Boyes and the trade deadline are not a good mix. Boyes, who is on a one-year deal with the Islanders, could have been a candidate to be moved on or before April 3, seeing as how he'd been traded four times at or near the deadline in his career.

He made it through this year, even though efforts between his agent and Isles general manager Garth Snow to sign an extension didn't pan out before the deadline. But Boyes, who turned 31 Wednesday, isn't lamenting the fact that he's without a deal for next season despite being in the top 40 in the NHL in scoring.

"There's always more questions around the deadline if you're going to be a UFA, but once we were past that, it wasn't something to worry about,'' Boyes said. "We don't have much time to think about anything right now except getting in the playoffs.''

Boyes has more than earned his $1-million salary for this season with nine goals and 25 assists while filling the right wing spot on John Tavares' line that belonged to P.A. Parenteau last season.

Parenteau, who signed a four-year, $16-million deal with the Avalanche in July, is having a stellar year in Denver, with 17 goals and 24 assists. But the Avalanche will have a lottery pick in the June draft, lending credence to Snow's decision not to chase Parenteau before he went out the door.

Depending on what Boyes asks for, Snow could pursue the same strategy this summer.

"I think I proved what I needed to this season with the deal I took,'' Boyes said. "We'll have to see what happens when this season ends.''

PP runs through Streit

It seemed that when Lubomir Visnovsky arrived on the Island in February, the Islanders had their big shot from the power-play point. But Mark Streit has been the one most often on the one-timer side on the point, with Visnovsky doing more roving and distributing.

"I think we know it starts with a good shot,'' said Streit, who has 11 of his 26 points on the power play. "You take a shot and then the pretty plays can happen down low. When you try to start with a pretty play or make a seam pass, it's probably going to get picked off and then you have to start all over again.''

The Isles entered Saturday's game here ranked sixth in the league on the power play at 21.5 percent. They've been in the top 10 all season in percentage despite ranking 19th in power-play opportunities (144).

"I think we've been really good all year,'' Streit said. "Sometimes it gets hot, sometimes it struggles a little, but we've been top five, six all year. That to me is pretty good.''

Radek up for MastertonRadek Martinek, in his second tour of duty with the Islanders, was voted the team's Masterton Trophy nominee by the hockey writers' association. The award is given to the player who displays the greatest perseverance and dedication to the game.

Martinek, 36, missed all but seven games last season with a concussion while playing for the Blue Jackets and has had numerous injuries that have limited his time during an 11-year career. He's played 466 games with the Islanders, 27th on the franchise's all-time list.