Islanders Gameday News: Leddy Reunion; Conacher cut loose; Crosby's condition; Brunner bolts and Farewell, Flåbuse

FIG picks for tonight's game against the Chicago Blackhawks can be registered here. Game time is 7 pm. Don't pick Conacher.

Islanders news:

• Bargain signing but frequent healthy scratch Cory Conacher was placed on waivers yesterday and we'll know at noon if he's bound for another NHL city or Bridgeport. He was given ice time and primo linemates but simply didn't produce. I hope he finds success wherever he ends up. [LHH]
• Tonight's game against Chicago is Nick Leddy's first against his old teammates. [CSN Chicago]
• Can the Islanders get Travis Hamonic or Johnny Boychuk back tonight? Pretty please? [Newsday]
• Michael Willhoft posed a difficult question: should we worry about John Tavares' unspectacular (so-far) season? Spoiler: No.
• Chris formulated a handy chart for tracking how much Islanders Kool-Aid you've been imbibing lately. [@TheChrisMcNally]
• Dominik downloaded some notes and observations from seeing the Isles and meeting some traveling fans in St. Louis. [LHH]
• Newsday's Barbara Barker talks with Hamonic about the loss of his father, the kids he hosts at games and the ESPN E:60 episode that revealed everything.
• Here's that great MSG video with Al Arbour's old players - both dynasty and post-dynasty - talking about the coach as you would expect: with respect, admiration and love.
• The Sound Tigers dropped a 4-1 decision to Wilkes-Barre on Friday night. Bridgeport's last road win was November 14th. [Soundin' Off on the penalty parade]
• Fornabaio also reports that Sebastian Collberg suffered a possible wrist injury in Stockon's loss to Colorado. Collberg scored twice in the game.
• Michael Dal Colle has his sights set on the World Juniors. [Yahoo.ca]
• In the battle of Dal Colle's Oshawa Generals versus Joshua Ho-Sang's Niagara Ice Dogs, the dogs come out the winners. Ho-sang had a goal and two assists. [Niagara This Week]
  
• Bruce Ratner and some other big shots talk about the next Nassau Coliseum project. [Opb.org]

Around the NHL

• Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews took an unfortunate hit from Dennis Seidenberg of the Bruins on Thursday and left the game. No word yet on whether Toews plays against the Islanders tonight, but he is on the trip. Seidenberg was not penalized for the hit (and really shouldn't have been) [Puck Daddy]
• So Sidney Crosby shows up for practice with a huge lump where his cheek used to be. He insists he doesn't have the mumps virus that's been going around the NHL. Now he'll miss the next two games as a "precautionary measure." OK, guys. [Triblive]
• More waiver action of note: The Devils have washed their hands of disappointing Damien Brunner, who heads back to Switzerland [Fire & Ice] | And fare thee well, Flåbuse: Jesse Joensuu is also off to Switzerland after being waived by the Oilers. [Copper & Blue]
• Speaking of the Devils, what does their future look like? [In Lou We Trust]
• Joe Haggerty thinks the Bruins need to fight more because Joe Haggerty thinks this is 1974. [CSN New England]
• I already feel like I've read a million articles about the NHL's Las Vegas franchise, which doesn't actually exist yet. Like this one with prospective owner Bill Foley and his adviser, former NHLer Murray Craven. [ESPN]
• I've changed my original position: these Sharks Stadium Series jerseys look like some a bootleg sweatshirt your aunt bought you on Canal Street. [Fear the Fin]