It’s a late-season, high-stakes rivalry game, except is it really?
It’s taken until almost March for the schedule to feature a second New York derby, with the Rangers visiting Long Island for the first time this season. Both teams are “in the wild card race” so this game technically “means something,” but it feels like one team’s management and the other team’s fanbase are more in retool, “let’s not scratch and crawl for a first-round exit” mode.
Brock Nelson, who was linemates with Vincent Trocheck and sometimes Chris Kreider at the Four Nations, returns to his regular role opposing such scum, while J.T. Miller (2G vs. the Penguins) continues his rebirth and Adam Fox (2 pts. vs. the Pens) returns to…whatever it is he does when not disappointing on national team duty.
Leave First Islanders Goal picks for tonight here.
Islanders News
- Previewing tonight: The Smurfs are coming off a 5-3 win where they were outshot 39-16. (If nothing else, remember that they started this season 12-4-1 before they returned to their proper place in the universe.) [Isles]
- Let’s pretend both teams are desperate. [Post]
- High stakes in the lineup decisions for Patrick Roy, I guess? [Newsday]
- The Skinny: The Isles have lost three straight after going 8-1 in their previous nine games. The three losses were by no means terrible; the Isles just aren’t that good. [Isles]
- Three Takeaways: “It’s one of those nights where we fought to the end and came up just short,” Captain Anders Lee had to say for perhaps the 200th time. [Isles]
- Prospect Report: The Next Nelson continues his hot run with a four-point weekend in the NCAA. [Isles]
- Maven’s Memories: I missed this over the break, but this is a great rundown of what Ken Baumgartner and Hubie McDonagh meant to the team after Bill Torrey traded Oleg Ho-Mäkelä for the goons. Oddly and miraculously, the Isles team culture improved even though Baumgartner had long hair. [Isles]
- Max Tsyplakov “sets the record straight” about his contract status according to the Post, although it’s really just a “nothing to report” kind of thing. Pins and needles here. [Post]
- R.I.P. Al Trautwig, Long Islander and longtime MSG broadcaster. [Post]
Elsewhere
Only two games last night, both out west.
- NHL Buzz: Brad Marchand wants to stay in Boston, Mikko Rantanen just wants to get settled, and Set Jones wants out of Chicago. [NHL]
- Tough reality for the Bruins ahead of the deadline though. [Sportsnet]
- The Canucks have re-signed some UFAs but not Brock Boeser; here are four potential destinations. [Sportsnet]
- Trevor Zegras gets a three-game suspension for an interference headshot. [NHL]
- Ryan Hartman’s 10-game suspension was reduced to eight games. [Sportsnet]
- We’re always told the NHL needs to market players and “grow the game” so it’s nice that Matthew Tkachuk was on The Tonight Show, though to be honest “grow the game” always translates to me as “so we can charge more for tickets” and “so more radio sports jocks windbag about a sport they know nothing about.” [Sportsnet]