[Bay Area Bits] Johnny Garlic, Vanek's Wasabi & some cold side dishes.

Try my deep fried Ranchero Banditio Chipped Beef Hoagiewich with extra spicy Donkey Sauce! And if that doesn't give you enough heartburn to make you want to perform your own tracheotomy, let's read about the Islanders! Their losing streak is off the chain, off the hook, off the rails and jammin' with big bold flavors! Mostly bad ones!

FIG picks go here for tonight's game against the Sharks go here.

Islanders News

• Arthur Staple brings nautical metaphors and grave questions about the organization in his recap for Newsday. [$$]
• Keith with the recap at Point Blank: "Somehow, you turn around and the game is spiraling out of control."
• Eric Hornick's Skinny with the relevant numbers.
• Former teammates bid adieu and bonne chance  to Pierre-Marc Bouchard. [NHL]
• And if you missed it, here's Dom's take on the move.
• Lyle Richardson rounds up some possible landing places for Bouchard. [Spector's Hockey]
• Bridgeport's Newest Islander Ryan Strome was named AHL player of the week for the second consecutive week on Monday. As Arthur Staple tweeted yesterday, there will not be a third.
• Eyes on Isles breaks down the Islanders piece by piece to find out how it all went so wrong.

Out There, Man

• Last night's NHL scores. Senators come back to beat Philly in a shootout and the Canucks appear to have two good goalies again. Great.
  
• James Neal will sit five games for idiotically driving his knee into Brad Marchand's coconut on Saturday. I guess repeat offender + hit to head + reckless and unnecessary - Pittsburgh Penguin = lighter sentence. [SB Nation]
• Shawn Thornton still awaits his punishment from the league. In the meantime, what may have been going through his mind when he attacked Brooks Orpik? Laura of St. Louis Game Time and Puck Drunk Loves has the answer.
• And Andrew Berkshire of Eyes on the Prize and lover of all things Boston says the Bruins gets the exact type of games they ask to play.
  
• Word out of the Board of Governors' meeting is that the salary cap will rise to $71 million per team next year. Lockout worked, everyone! [SB Nation]
• Vinny Lecavalier will be out about a month with a back injury. [Broadstreet Hockey]
• His teammate Steve Mason needs a new contract. Mason's agent thinks Carey Price's contract with Montreal is a good starting point. This won't end well. (although, to be fair, Mason's played very well this season). [Puck Daddy]
• The story of Mitch Korn, Nashville's goalie guru. [CBC]
• But Dirk Hoag thinks it's time for David Poile to step away from the franchise he built from the ground up. [On the Forecheck]
• Europe is getting a hockey champions league featuring the best of the best from around the continent. Reminder: Asia is a separate continent. [R Sport]
• Dallas Eakins' Oiilers really aren't that different from Ralph Krueger's Oilers. Go figure. [Edmonton Journal]
• Tonight, Jarome Iginla returns to Calgary for the first time since his trade last season. He's kind of a big deal there. [Calgary Sun]

If you're in the New York/New Jersey area today, be safe out there in the snowstorm.

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Follow @LHHockey Follow @SBNationNHL

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