Marcus Vinnerborg

No, he's not some Swedish Islanders prospect. He's scheduled to be one of
tonight's referees. Vinnerborg is the first European-trained official in the
NHL; he debuted in a game in Dallas last month.

He created a minor stir earlier in the month when Johan Franzen shook his hand
on-ice after a game -- apparently the idea was Franzen's and Vinnerborg didn't
know what to do so they shook. (There are 6 prominent Swedes on Detroit's
roster)

The Devils have two Swedes on their active roster (Johan Hedberg and Mattias
Tedenby) while the Isles have none, although Frans Nielsen did play in the
Swedish Elite League.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home
telecasts since 1982. Visit my blog: forever1940.blogspot.com and follow me on
Twitter @ehornick