The New York Islanders defense corps continues to get healthy. The club announced that veteran blueliner Brendan Witt will return to the lineup Friday night when the Islanders visit New Jersey to face the Devils. Witt injured his left knee during the Islanders October 23rd contest against the Dallas Stars. In six games thus far this season, the 33-year-old Humboldt, Saskatchewan, native has zero points, 17 penalty minutes and is a minus-one.

In order to make room for Witt on the roster, the Islanders returned Brett Skinner to their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. Skinner played in 11 games with the Islanders and although he did not manage any points, he was a plus-two while accumulating four penalty minutes.

Skinner also earned the praise of coach Scott Gordon. "Brett’s given us minutes and has been solid for us while establishing himself in the NHL," Gordon said. "He hasn’t done anything that says he can’t play in the NHL."

The Islanders also announced that rookie forward Kyle Okposo will be out of the lineup for about a week with an undisclosed arm injury. Okposo suffered the injury during Monday's 2-1 shootout win over Vancouver. In fact, Gordon indicated after the game that Okposo would have participated in the shootout had he been healthy. Josh Bailey was selected instead.

Veteran center Mike Sillinger, who has not played since undergoing hip surgery in February, has accepted a three-game conditioning stint in Bridgeport. Sillinger has practiced with the team for some time now but this will be his first game contact. His third game at Bridgeport is scheduled to be played November 29th.