Islanders Gameday News: A wild Islanders game appears!; Bellows buzzes, Barzal bummed; Jackets finally unfit

Whoa. An actual Islanders game tonight? I’m not sure I’m ready for it.

FIG picks go here. Game time is 9 pm Eastern because it’s in Denver.

World Juniors

• Kieffer Bellows scored twice and Team USA won its first World Junior gold medal since 2013 with a 5-4 shootout win over Team Canada last night. If you missed it, find it and watch it. It was a classic. Sad that Mathew Barzal ended up on the wrong side of it. [LHH | SBN | Sportsnet on Canada's shootout defeat]

Islanders stuff

• Jack Capuano says his team feels good coming out of their CBA-mandated break. [Newsday]
• Have you checked in on the Sound Tigers lately? They've been having a rough time of things. [LHH]
• One guy who's got it working right now is defenseman Devon Toews, who will represent Bridgeport in the AHL All Star Classic. Congrats, young man. [Soundin' Off | CT Post | BST]
• Bad news for prospect David Quenneville. The Medicine Hat defenseman will miss 4-6 weeks with a broken leg. He is the WHL's leading scorer among defensemen as of now. [LHH]

Around the league

• The Blue Jackets win streak is over, killed at 16 games by a shutout at the hands of the Washington Capitals. [The Cannon]
• Matt Nieto was picked up on waivers by the Avalanche just in time to play tonight, which means he'll probably score against the Islanders. [Denver Post]
• Tonight, the Devils will christen their Ring of Honor with its first inductee, the man who brought the team to New Jersey, the honorable Dr. John McMullen. [NHL.com]
• California has some new labor laws that could (but really won't) affect athletes that play there. Time to bring the Dodgers back to Brooklyn. [SBN]