"The man brought in this offseason to boost the Islanders' power play already was up and gone by the time most of his team took the fresh ice in Syosset yesterday.

The good news is that it was the second day in a row that Brian Rolston skated by himself, getting closer to fully recovering from a groin strain and closer to joining the lineup, which will probably happen this weekend.

Rolston was part of the majority of the team that didn't travel to Calgary last night, where a group filled with mostly young guys and veteran tryouts lost to the Flames, 2-0.

"I feel good," Rolston told The Post after his workout. "Hopefully I'll get into a game soon. It's important because you need to get your hands and timing. The speed of the game gets faster and faster every year, and there's nothing like being in game shape.""