Islanders News: Officially a slump

With a 6-3 loss that unraveled late, the New York Islanders now have a three-game losing streak. They've done that before, and broken it against a tough team. They'll have to try it again against the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday.

I was at the game last night. I met a lot of very cool Islanders fans, several of whom traveled from Long Island for the occasion. More on all that later.

Islanders Reads

• Last night didn't start well and didn't end well. Can we just take the middle? [LHH] Capuano was upset with the puck (mis)management. [Newsday] And the being too individualistic. (Communist!) [Isles]
  
• After blowing the two-goal lead, the Blues talked of "getting pucks deep," "avoiding turnovers," and "letting their foot off the gas." They're just like us! [stltoday] Oh, and "structure." [NHL]
  
• Hey, if you fancy any Lighthouse Hockey-designed t-shirts -- thank you to everyone who made us SB Nation's top store in November -- our vendor offers free shipping today only. See the code here. Our entire share of proceeds goes directly to dementia research in the name of Al Arbour.
  
• This is an analysis of the Leafs penalty killing (under Greg Cronin) the previous two seasons. [Maple Leaf Hot Stove] I've been working on a post that focuses on one aspect that irks me -- not the zone entries/concessions, but the one "roaming forward" while the second forward stays anchored to the high slot. In my opinion, it concedes way too much time and space.
• The Isles visited Levittown. [Patch]
• Kevin Czuczman, pronounced with an urchman because he likes to get funky, is getting a feel for the pro game. [CT Post]
• Jiggs McDonald talks the Isles and the Coliseum. If you don't love Jiggs, we can't be friends. [New$12]

Beyond the Loss

• The Center for Disease Control now has a special website for the NHL mumps oubreak. (Okay, not rally.) [LHH Zeitgeist]
• No dude, the Sabres don't need no stinking tanking. [USA Today]
• It seems someone made up that Mike Babcock was about to sign an extension, which set everyone atwitter until it was refuted. [Puck Daddy]
  
• Yost: Shooting tendencies tell different stories for Flames, Stars - Article - TSN
• Taking the salary cap temperature of the NHL. [Grantland]
• Sergei Bobrovsky and Steve Mason were kind of swapped for each other, and they are "succeeding differently." [NHL]
• No one trolls the Wild like Battle of California.
• Scotty Bowman and son, some time in the '70s. Awww.