Islanders Gameday News: Clash of the also-rans

The Isles aim to keep hope alive against a Penguins team enjoying a stress-free wee win streak.

The wild card scene in the east is starting to clarify a bit, as the Ottawa Senators are pulling away in the first wild card spot, five points ahead of the Rangers and with two games in hand.

After them, it’s the Rangers with 72 points in 68 games, followed by the Canadiens (71 in 66), Red Wings (70 in 67), Blue Jackets (70 in 67), Bruins (69 in 69) and Islanders (68 in 66).

After that group, of course, is tonight’s opponent. The Pittsburgh Penguins have won four in a row and have 66 points in 69 games. They’re not really there, given they have just 13 games to go, but a regulation win tonight would pull them even with the Islanders to be both a nuisance and subscriber to false hope.

The Red Wings and Rangers are also in action tonight, so how much an Isles win moves the needle is dependent on other results, which of course is why they remain far away despite looking close.

First Islanders Goal picks go here.

For tonight, Adam Boqvist and Alex Romanov are both dealing with “illness,” per the Isles via Andrew Gross:

Islanders News

• Previewing tonight: The Isles are 8-3-0 in their last 11 against the Penguins, but they were swept in a back-to-back in December, which certainly affects where they stand today. [Isles]
• Takeaways from the comeback win over the Panthers: Good start, steady persistence even after falling behind. And a big return for Mike Reilly. [Isles]
• The Skinny: Ilya Sorokin has passed Kelly Hrudey for fourth all-time in goalie games played for the Isles, and is the first to record four straight 25-win seasons (shootout/OT asterisk applies). [NYI Skinny]
• Sorokin should add to those totals, as he’s unlikely to get much rest down the stretch. [Post]
• What’s this?! A new Identity Line?! Marc Gatcomb, Kyle MacLean and Max Tsyplakov. [Newsday]
• That Noah Dobson interception and run to goal? The Isles could use more of that. [Post]
• Prospect Report: Cole Eiserman scored the big OT winner to advance with BU, while Cameron Berg’s North Dakota also advances. Danny Nelson and Notre Dame’s season is over. Eiserman’s shot probably shouldn’t have gone in, but then Eiserman has the kind of shot that goes in when you think it shouldn’t. [Isles]
• Stan Fischler has rave reviews for Ken Morrow’s new autobiography. [Isles] And Andrew Gross talks to Morrow’s co-author, longtime hockey scribe Allan Kreda. [Island Ice]

Elsewhere

Monday’s scores included the Bruins falling to Buffalo in overtime, and Columbus losing its fourth straight, to New Jersey.

• Against the odds, Tristan Jarry is back and performing competently after a demoralizing demotion to the AHL. It won’t last. [NHL]
• With all their deadline shuffles, Conor Timmins is an intriguing addition for the Penguins. [PensBurgh]
• At the GM meetings, they discussed video review because nobody knows what the hell goalie interference is. [NHL | Sportsnet]
• Overall though, they’re happy with the game and the amount of offense that is unleashed most nights. [NHL] If only the office of player discipline had a clue about punishing head shots and checks from behind.
• Gabriel Landeskog is joining the Avalanche on the road, maybe just maybe inching toward a return. [Sportsnet]