The Islanders "welcome" the Kings to town tonight. Please don't slaughter us. Leave your FIG Picks for tonight here.
Islanders Reads
- The Isles didn't change much in our power rankings, but the pundits sure dropped them after losses in D.C. and Detroit. [LHH]
- As the trade deadline nears, Bob McKenzie gives his understanding of several issues right now. [TSN] Dan tackled what he said about Travis Hamonic, Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen. [LHH]
- Okposo reflected on his 500th game. [Newsday]
- The importance of locker room chemistry for the Isles. [IPB]
Look who looks good from last year's draft...
A look at how first round CHL forwards from last year's draft are faring so far in primary points (G+1A) per game pic.twitter.com/A7UUKWcKEK
— Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) February 10, 2016
Beyond the Isle
- Fantastic read from Victor Hedman on Swedes in hockey and their adjustment to the NHL. [Players Tribune]
- Looking back at how the "Great Expansion" of 1967 brought the NHL to the big time. [AP]
- Looking back at the five worst Stanley Cup finals of the last 50 years, with an Isles mention ("at least the Canucks forced OT in Game 1," thanks be Bossy). [Down Goes Brown]
- Looking back at the Dion Phaneuf trade...the first one. [M&G]
- ...and in praise of the latest one and the demolition of the Leafs roster. [Puck Daddy]
- But Flames UFA Kris Russell is going to look for "at least" 5 years, $27.5 million? [FlamesNation]
- The brain of Todd Ewen, the enforcer who committed suicide last year, did not show signs of CTE. [Puck Daddy]
- Tanner Glass nominates himself to enforce against Wayne Simmonds. [BSH]
- Bloggers fighting cancer. [Flames Nation]
- And finally, John Fontana -- essentially the godfather of Lightning bloggers, having done it for 12 years at what is now Raw Charge -- starts a "Deke the Deuce" awareness campaign of the genetic neurological disease he suffers from but rarely talks about, Neurofibromatosis Type II. Please do the minimum of at least familiarizing yourself with the ways this disease attacks. [Raw Charge