Islanders Gameday News: Yooooou're learnin' the Blues

Gooooooooood Thursday morning everyone. Gorgeous sunrise! The Isles take on the St. Louis Blues in the latest edition of Dom's self-torture. Looked at another way, at least one team he likes wins. But also, one loses. FIGs can go here.

The Islanders played and beat the Rangers on Tuesday and will hopefully feel no hangover-like effects.

Islanders News

• The Isles can count the number of ways in which they've improved after the season's poor beginning. [Newsday]
• LISTEN/READ: John Tavares was on WFAN with Joe and Evan and he tries to explain the team's slow start. Not much in there about coaching and roster construction, though. [CBS NY]
• On the Point Blank Podcast, Brian and Mike answer listener questions, try to put the last couple of weeks in perspective and call out Thomas Vanek for (still) hating Brooklyn, a place he does not play in.
• Clark Gillies, Bobby Nystrom, and Butch Goring help promote free ice skating in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.
• Barclays Center hosted a charity hockey game to raise money for the Long Island chapter of Autism Speaks. [News 12 Brooklyn]
• JT's Dynasty gives us a rousing version of Billy Joel's "Allentown," and relates it back to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. [LHH]
• Michael Fornabaio gives a nice tribute to Eric Boguniecki, a Sound Tigers assistant coach who grew up and played in the Bridgeport area. [CT Post]
• Flu bug is going around in Bridgeport, too. [CT News]
• ICEBERG, the Russian analytics startup recently contracted out to the Islanders, wants to create an intellectual revolution in the sport. The article also goes into the stuff they'll be tracking - sadly, I'm skeptical that what they're tracking is actually meaningful and increases the chances of winning.
• The Mothership looks into what could be done to fix ailing should-be contenders, like us!

Non-Islanders News

• Okay, well sorta: the Islanders "physically punished" the Rangers and they're hurting. [NY Post]
• The Rangers also think they're being too cute, when in reality they've been too ugly! Ha, got 'em! [NY Post]
• Last night's NHL scores.
• Kevin Shattenkirk has been linked to the Rangers for as long as he's been on the trade market and, quite frankly, he's probably going to sign there if the Vanek situation was any indication (it's not but I'm not changing it). Let's see what kind of gymnastics will need to be done to make it work financially. [NHL Numbers]
• Elliotte Friedman's always-essential 30 Thoughts touches on the Isles in Thoughts 4, 5, and 6, and also Olympic participation which is seeming less and less likely.
• John Scott formally announces his retirement through the Players' Tribune, reflecting on last year's All-Star Game debacle-turned-feel-good-story. If you're feeling lazy, you can also just look at the most interesting nuggets from the article.
• Oof: the Canadiens will be without both Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais for 6-8 weeks. [EOTP]
• In what can only be described as Classic NHL: after teasing everyone for months about the name, the Vegas Golden Knights announced their name, hoping to having their trademark approved after. *Extremely Ron Howard Voice* It wasn't.
• And finally, the one we've all been waiting for: how Kris Russell is defying his analytics critics. Alternatively, how Mark Spector continually looks and sounds like an arse. [Sportsnet]

Lots and lots to pore over today folks. Enjoy your Thursday.