Islanders News, Real Version: Johnston County Line; 50 for 8; Milestone watch

Editor's note from Dom: Hello, this is the "real" version of the day's news bits. You could follow links to these same stories in the earlier, April Fool's-y version, but no one could use that post to clog up comments with the same, tired, repetitive vents everyone has heard/read a thousand times already. Hope you had a more productive morning!)

Islanders links

• Lost in Sunday's win was the decision to not pull Jaroslav Halak after that wacky first period, which was a confidence boost for the goalie. [Newsday]
  
• Ross Johnston is a big man and the Islanders have decided to give him some money for the next three seasons. [LHH | The PE Guardian on their local boy | Soundin' Off]
• Watch Joshua Ho-Sang spin-and-dish again and again. [LHH]
• The Islanders are feeling their oats again after Sunday's win. And Lubomir Visnovsky is the team's nominee for the Masterton Trophy. [Islanders]
• Waiting has always been a tough spot for an Islanders fan. Especially when the team is good. [Altar of Bossy]
• Actually, the Islanders are looking pretty good going into the (still not clinched) playoffs. [Today's Slap Shot]
• Frans Nielsen's next goal will be his 100th in the NHL and other milestones around the corner. [The Hockey Writers]
  
• The Mall Rat likes to shop at some high-end stores. [CT Post]
• Nassau democrat Judy Jacobs wants the "new" Nassau Coliseum to entice the Islanders back to the county. These guys aren't even trying to hide their stupidity anymore. [Newsday | Insight breaks down the madness]
• Video: Steve Webb stops by News12 to talk about The Toast to the Coliseum that's next week.
  

Other team links

• Alexander Ovechkin is once again a 50-goal scorer. Come on, baby, don't fear the Russian. [Japers | SI.com on Barry Trotz's conversion to an Ovi-ite]
  
• Drew Miller's face was slashed by a skate. Oof. [SB Nation | Winging It has the aftermath. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.]
  
• Alex Burrows and Kevin Bieksa lost their dang minds last night, one laying a bad hit on Paul Guastad and the other getting thrown out of the game for taunting him. [SB Nation]
• It's been the best season in Winnipeg for the Jets no matter how things turn out in the next few weeks. [Arctic Ice Hockey]
  
• If you plan on hiring a coach or GM away from another team, get ready to cough up some draft picks. [PHT]
• Video: Also from the same report is a story on Pat LaFontaine's efforts to hold a summit to discuss ideas for making the game better. [TSN Insider Trading]
• FORGOTTEN IN MY APRIL FOOLISHNESS: Here's the play that should get Dustin Byfuglien suspended for a while: an idiotic crosscheck from behind to a prone J.T. Miller's neck [SBN]. Byfuglien has a phone hearing scheduled for tomorrow so expect no more thane five games. [Friedman]