Wisniewski suspended two games for gesture

The NHL last night slapped Islanders defenseman James Wisniewski with a two-game suspension for an obscene gesture directed at Sean Avery of the Rangers during Monday's game at Nassau Coliseum.

Wisniewski will miss tonight's game in Washington and Friday in Pittsburgh.

Wisniewski expressed contrition in a statement released by the team. "A lot of actions on the ice are regrettable," he was quoted. "I've been given a suspension from the league and I'm going to accept it and move on from here."

Before the league's ruling, the Islanders neither condoned nor condemned Wisniewski's action, but captain Doug Weight implied that Avery instigated the incident, which occurred with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in attendance.

"Wiz is a good guy and it certainly wasn't a one-way street," Weight said. "The things that come out of some people's mouth on the ice . . . They say all's fair in love and war, but I don't know about that. You play hard, once in a while you are going to throw out some expletives and challenge guys in different ways. But the stuff that starts in warm-ups is ridiculous, and I don't think there's room for it in any line of work. But it happens and you have to be able to react to those things in this game and you can't let it bother you. Certainly, James is a big part of our team. We're behind him . . . "

Coach Scott Gordon said he would address the matter in private with Wisniewski, who is in his first season with the Islanders.

"I'm not going to air that out here," he said. "At the end of the day it's a conversation I'll have with him one-on-one."

Defenseman Andrew MacDonald said he understands that all players will not react the same to the opposition's tactics.

"Obviously, everyone has different personalities," he said. "I think for myself it would be just more my play, playing hard and let them know you are there to play. It's not so much my thing to talk jock stuff. Some guys, that's part of their job, that's what they do."

The loss of Wisniewski, who has one goal and two assists in the first two games, is unsettling for the Islanders, who are without Mark Streit, Kyle Okposo and John Tavares, who is out for at least two more games, suffering from the effects of a concussion.

"When you lose key players like that everyone realizes they have to step up and maybe play above what they are normally asked to play," MacDonald said. "So far, a number of guys have stepped up."