Islanders News: Do you feel the same? Am I only dreaming? Is this burning an eternal flame?

While the Islanders travel the 100-plus miles to Edmonton, you get to sit at home and read these links during your weekend. The game against the Oilers is 9:30 pm EST Sunday night.

Islanders links

• Recaps of an extinguishing: LHH | Newsday | Islanders | NHL.com | Matchsticks and Gasoline | The Skinny
• Brock Nelson personifies this Islanders' season. [Calgary Sun]
• John Tavares isn't the only Islander meeting fans on the road. Thomas Hickey has a few admirers in his hometown of Calgary. [Islanders]
• This weekend in Edmonton is Johnny Boychuk's turn to see his family and his boisterous brothers. [Newsday]
• And here's your controversial, sleep-destroying, Fires of Mordor-stoking, creeping other shoe of the weekend: Michael Grabner is ready for the Islanders, but the Islanders aren't ready for him. [Newsday]
  
• Dom reminds us that it's good to reach outside the echo chamber to get another look at your team. [LHH]
• And Willhoft lays it out for the non-believers: the Islanders are indeed good. [LHH]
• The passing stats project continues through 37 games. [LHH Fanpost]
  
• TSN stats guy Scott Cullen trumpets the Kid Line in his weekly Statistically Speaking. [TSN.ca]
• The Calgary Herald does the "final season at the Coliseum" thing via George Johnson and his legendary mustache.
  
• Matt Donovan knows what you're thinking in this funny tweet you might have missed. [Islanders Insight]
• This Islanders Hometown Hero saved a passenger on the LIRR.
• The future Nassau Coliseum will sell some naming rights to... something, with the county pocketing 8 percent. [Atlantic Yards Report]
• Some of us were wondering why Jets fans were booing Lubomir Visnovsky during the game last Wednesday. Seems they blamed him for a dive I honestly can't remember seeing. [The Carillon]

Prospect stuff

• Bridgeport lost to Providence last night, and lost Ryan Pulock to an upper body injury just a few seconds into the game. [Soundin' Off]
  
• Any loss of Pulock is a shame because he has torn up the AHL this season. [NHL.com]
• Here's some Sound Tigers Trivia Crack for you from Michael Fornabaio. [Soundin' Off]
• Meanwhile David Leggio adjusts to back-up goaliehood. [Soundin' Off]
• And goalie Philippe Trudeau and the Sound Tigers have parted ways so cancel that jersey order. [BST]

• Bonus Junior News: Joshua Ho-Sang had three points in Niagara's win over Kitchener. [St. Catherine's Standard]

Elsewhere

• The BIG news: The Oilers sent David Perron to Pittsburgh for a first rounder and awesomely named center Rob Klinkhammer. Normally, trading a disgruntled player for a high pick is no big deal. But when you're the Oilers, selling the future is increasingly difficult. Nice pick-up for the Penguins. Send condolences to Copper and Blue.
• Maybe Perron can help keep the Penguins from fighting in practice. Malkin! Adams! Cool it! [CBS Sports]
• World Junior Championship: Team USA is out after a loss to Russia [SBN College Hockey], while Canada smacked Denmark around [Eyes on the Prize].
  
• This year's Winter Classic was the least watched version of the event. That's a lot less ominous than it sounds. [Puck Daddy]
• It might have felt like it, but 2014 was not the worst year for New York sports. [NY Magazine]
• Let's check in with Tyler Pitlick who has a... lacerated spleen? OK, good talk. [Copper and Blue]
• Why do good goalies have bad seasons? Could be aliens. [Puck Daddy]
• Ref Vomit in Pittsburgh. [Sporting News]