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Islanders Bits: Palffy the Prolific Pensioner; Kichton the Scorer; Lottery Date...If You Care

Before tonight's match with the Habs, we catch up on some reading around the Islanders and beyond.

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Traveling fans.
Traveling fans.
USA TODAY Sports

The New York Islanders host the Montreal Canadiens today, as their seven-game homestand has evolved like so in the first four: L, L, OTL, SOW. It should get harder now with the conference-leading Canadiens and rival Rangers up next.

(FIG players, if you're looking for where to leave your pick for tonight's First Islanders Goal, head here.)

But before the full preview, let's catch up on other reading:

Isles, Former Isles, and Future Spec

In Newsday, good insight overall into how Travis Hamonic and Andrew MacDonald are viewing their play, and luck, lately, including:

"I scrutinize every game, I know how I play. I can confidently say I'm not playing the way the results show. Even the first goal [on Sunday], I put my stick in the lane to block a shot, and are you kidding me?"

[...]

"It is frustrating when you see those kinds of numbers and then you think back to, a number of the goals are on bounces, or off Hammer's chest," MacDonald said. "But there's also instances where we deserve the minus. It's something we're conscious of.

I've no idea why you'd be interested in this, dear Isles fan, but the NHL Draft Lottery date is set for April 29 (with draft day June 30). As previously noted, the odds for winning the lottery have not changed, however with all 14 non-playoff teams eligible to move up to #1, the odds of selecting #1 have changed: In other words, where previously the Oilers 30th-place team had a nearly 50% shot of retaining the 1st overall pick, now the Oilers whoever finishes in last has a 75% chance of selecting 2nd overall.

Beyond

More game preview stuff up later. FIG picks go here.