Islanders News: Best Halak of the season

Doug Weight wasn’t overall thrilled (or shall I say complacent) with last night’s 3-1 win over the Capitals, but he was happy with Jaroslav Halak, he was (and has been) happy with Ryan Pulock, he was happy with the pace, and he knows that the goaltending position is a nonstop microscope.

Have a listen (bonus points for “we sound like spoiled Easterners” after the road trip):

Islanders Reads

• About last night, and praise of Halak and the “mystical dominance” at Barclays Center [LHH | Newsday | Post | Isles | NHL]
• Remember that Halak basically single-handedly ruined the dreams of the best Capitals team in recent memory (except arguably last year’s), so it’s always fun when he beats them again. [Japers’ Rink] Channeling Jack Capuano, Tom Wilson said the Isles played hard and smart. [AP]
• Sure, Brad Marchand escaped league discipline after his cheap headshot, but Tavares ain’t worried. [Newsday | Isles Insight]
• Brent Thompson works the Sound Tigers. [Soundin’ Off]
• LeBrun on the Erik Karlsson circus, but also us: “It’s one thing for the Islanders to manage that with John Tavares right now where they essentially have one terrific beat writer in Arthur Staple, but not an army of media. And he doesn’t get asked about it every day. I was just there a couple of weeks ago and chatted about it with Tavares. But people leave him alone. It’s a whole different fish here in Canada.” [FanRag]

Not Only But Also

Let it be forever known that the 2017-18 Metropolitan Division is bloodsport:

And, not for nothing but:

Episode 12 of Dan’s Golden Girls Sports is up, and cheerleaders are involved. [Golden Girls Sports]

The rise and fall of Dance, Dance Revolution. [Polygon]

Elsewhere

Last night’s scores include the Stars (our next opponent) beating the Smurfs via shootout, and the Penguins and Hurricanes losing in regulation.

• Which teams will benefit if the cap goes to $78 or $82 million? (Hint: the teams that are cap-stressed but want to spend a lot) [THN]
• Elliotte Friedman’s 31 Thoughts deals extensively with Karlsson: “The difference between the two is where they play. It sounds insane to write that Karlsson must be more careful in Ottawa than Doughty in media-heavy Los Angeles, but that’s NHL reality.” [Sportsnet]
• But maybe dealing Karlsson would save the Sens, sort of. [Puck Daddy]
• Speaking of Sportsnet, their proprietary stats leave some questions. [PPP]
• Ex-Isles/Bridgeport property David Leggio is at it again. [Puck Daddy]