Jack Capuano will not elaborate, will not speak lines that people can try to read between, and will not rationalize his decision for the court of public opinion.
What the Islanders’ coach will do is take action, and that’s exactly what he did at the Coliseum Saturday night, when he decided to make Blake Comeau a healthy scratch in favor of Trevor Gillies in what would be a 4-2 win over the Rangers.
“I’m still not 100 percent sure why I was out of the lineup,” Comeau told The Post yesterday. “I guess I’ll wait to see if I’m in the lineup [tomorrow at Tampa Bay] and play the way I know I can.”
Comeau said he and Capuano spoke on Monday about the decision.
“He just told me he has confidence in me as a player,” Comeau said. “To be honest, I was surprised I was taken out of the lineup.”
The most the coach has said about the matter came after Saturday’s game in which Gillies played a total of 2:47.
“It’s a decision we made this afternoon,” Capuano said then, “and I’ll leave it at that.”
By being terse in his answer and by reiterating he will do whatever is necessary to help the team win, Capuano was making an indirect judgment on Comeau’s play through the three games, and sees no value in elaborating.
“Obviously, the points aren’t coming right now, but it’s only three games in,” said Comeau, who so far has been held off the scoresheet.
Comeau signed a one-year deal with $2.5 million this offseason, just two days before he was set to head to arbitration.
“I’d like to score every game, but that’s not the way it’s going to go,” Comeau said. “I felt like I was doing some other things out there and I was improving the more games I played. I was surprised to be out of the lineup but I’m moving on.”
Whether he wanted to do it like this or not, it’s clear that Capuano has sent a message.
“I’ve done a lot of thinking the last couple of days,” Comeau said. “I’ve just got to relax and try to have a positive outlook on things and when I get back in the lineup, try to make an impact.”
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Concussed goalie Rick DiPietro skated again yesterday morning, taking shots from a fellow injured player, defenseman Milan Jurcina (groin, day-to-day). It should be determined after today’s practice whether DiPietro will make the two-game trip to Florida. Tomorrow’s game against the Lightning is followed by a game Saturday at the Panthers.
“It was encouraging to see him out there,” Capuano said. “I don’t know if he’s symptom-free, but the fact the he’s out there is encouraging.”
Nino Niederreiter (groin) is expected to start skating later this week.