Islanders Gameday News: Into the freeze [+Game #43 thread]
I’m sure this will suck.
The road trip continues with a frozen, border-crossing back-to-back in the Central Division. The Islanders continue their road trip today in Minnesota, where the projected high temperature on this Martin Luther King Day is minus-2.
But the Isles feature lots of Minnesota natives, plus the Chicago-born, Shattuck and U. of Minnesota-educated Mike Reilly, so it should feel just like home.
Coming off a painful, “calamitous” regulation loss in Nashville where they were ahead late in the third and still tied with eight seconds left, this back-to-back set in Minnesota and Winnipeg takes on renewed importance.
Tonight is an earlier 6:00 EST holiday start. FIG Picks go here.
Islanders News
Previewing tonight: The Isles dropped out of the wild card spot; Kirill Kaprizov is back for the Wild. [Isles]
The latest Islanders Anxiety podcast is still full of anxiety but has a twist: Dan is joined by Jon Zella of the Nassaumen Hockey podcast. Good, cathartic stuff. [LHH]
On that note, the Islanders’ identity crisis continues to haunt them. [Newsday]
The Islanders’ star trio of Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat and Noah Dobson are all-star snubs and I selfishly couldn’t be happier for them to avoid that circus. [Post]
In Bridgeport, William Dufour is finding his groove. [THN]
Some options to keep Barzal and Horvat together during Casey Cizikas’ injury absence. [THN]
Give out your personal information in this Isles jersey number trivia game for “a chance to win a signed Pelech puck” and to be marketed to till the end of time, surely. [Isles]
Elsewhere
Yesterday’s scores were the Wings beating the Leafs (and leaping the Isles) — the second loss-from-ahead of the weekend for Taranna, and the Rangers doubling the Capitals, both in regulation.
Final all-star participants debated by people who are contractually obligated to debate such things. [NHL]
Rick Bowness, Rick Tocchet, Jim Montgomery and Peter Laviolette are the All-Star Game coaches, each of them fired not too long ago. [NHL]
Vegas and the Kings slumping, the Oilers surging, the Pacific Division is in the middle of another shakeup. [Sportsnet]
Patrick Kane left the Wings-Leafs games after two shifts with a “lower body” injury, that you have to wonder if it’s his surgically repaired hip. [Sportsnet]
The Leafs were all about pumping Ilya Samsonov’s tires in his return from a waiving and team-forced timeout. He allowed three goals in the loss to the Wings. [TSN]
“Shoresy” Terry Ryan suited up in an ECHL game at age 47 after a 20-year layoff and fought. How very Slapshot. [TSN]
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