With Ryan Pulock the latest defenseman to hit IR, Lou returns to the bargain bin.
The Islanders complete their seven-game homestand with the other half of the big Rantanen trade, as Mikko’s former team comes to town with their new pieces, Jack Drury and Islander killer Martin Necas.
Leave First Islanders Goal picks here.
Islanders News
- Ryan Pulock and Marcus Hogberg are both on IR, meaning Jakub Skarek is recalled and the Isles face another hurdle… [Isles | Newsday]
- …and also Scott Perunovich is the latest blueline addition. He’d run out of opportunities with the Blues. (The condition for the 5th is reportedly if he plays 20 more games, otherwise it’s nothing.) [LHH | Isles | THN | Newsday | Post]
- With Semyon Varlamov still out, Hogberg’s injury is a blow as Ilya Sorokin was finally getting some rest. [Post]
- Patrick Roy on injured guys, new guys, old guys: “Mayfield plays his best when he’s not thinking out there.” Pierre Engvall will sit but not because of bad behavior, rather because Max Tsyplakov’s suspension is over. [Isles Video]
- Islanders Anxiety: What’s this? Some joy amid the madness? [LHH]
- Brock Nelson gets emotional talking about his family’s Team USA lineage and grandpa Bill Christian does the same. (Also, this line made me feel ancient: “He learned more about his uncle and the 1980 team from the movie “Miracle,” which premiered in the United States on Feb. 2, 2004, when Nelson was 12 years old.”) [NHL]
- Prospect Report: With Brock Nelson’s pending UFA status, we may never get a Nelson-Nelson moment to harken back to the days of Nelson-Nielsen-Nilsson of yore. But Danny Nelson continues to play like he might one day wear the orange and blue. [Isles]
- Tony DeAngelo says he’s actually a really swell guy. [THN]
Elsewhere
Monday’s NHL scores included the Flyers doubling the Devils and the Red Wings digesting the Kings.
- Rantanen was “shocked” by the trade and said he was ready to take “a significant discount to my market value” to stay in Colorado. [Athletic]
- Logan Thompson gets a six-year extension with the Capitals. [NHL]
- An improbable story: How Dylan Strome became a good and important player for the Capitals. [ESPN]
- Alex Pietrangelo will miss the 4 Nations thing, but Canada has lots of options to replace him. [NHL]
- Here are some other replacement options at every position. [Sportsnet]
- LOL sure, okay Cooke: Matt Rempe is a changed man after his latest suspension. [Post]
- Senators management shot themselves in the foot with a Sens-Nordiques hybrid thing that was received poorly. [Sportsnet]