Islanders Gameday News: A flickering glimmer of hope

The Islanders travel to Philadelphia tonight to take on the Flyers, in what is surely a critical game to stay alive. Though their loss to Nashville (and every other team in the race winning Tuesday night) might have been their final nail in the coffin, they're not completely dead yet. Win tonight, win tomorrow, and we'll see where we go. At least try harder than the other night.

Every other team in the race plays tonight as well:

Combo of Leafs/Bruins loss tonight & wins (or at least a point) from TB CAR & NYI would make the EC playoff race pic.twitter.com/d3XlWX781c

— Gus Katsaros (@KatsHockey) March 30, 2017

FIG picks go here. Still can't pick Pulock yet.

Islanders News

• Newsday confirms the obvious: the Islanders are a desperate team, and they know it.
• Tanner Fritz has agreed to a two-way contract with the organization; the 25 year-old AHL rookie has 19 goals and 40 points in 61 games for the Sound Tigers. Nothing to sneeze at, for sure. [Sound Tigers]
• Bridgeport also managed to beat the Springfield Thunderbirds last night to stay in the playoff race. I could get angry about Ryan Pulock helping their playoff push and not ours, but what hasn't been said about that already? [CT Post]
• Defensive prospect David Quenneville finished the series with 9 points as his Medicine Hat Tigers swept the defending WHL champion Brandon Wheat Kings, who were without star, captain, and presumed #1 overall pick in June Nolan Patrick, in Round 1 of the playoffs.
• Anders Lee was featured in the Players' Tribune for his work with the Kancer Jam event - he talks about the teen battling cancer that inspired him to lead this endeavor. Keep tissues handy. [Players' Tribune | NHL.com]

Leaguewide Potpurri

• Last night's NHL scores. Nothing of any interest to us, though. Except the Penguins lost 5-1. That's always fun.
• Frans Nielsen and the Detroit Red Wings have missed the playoffs for the first time since 1989-90. That's right folks: the Wings' 25-year streak predates my existence by about 5 seasons. Hope I'm not making you feel too old! [NHL.com]
• Patrick O'Sullivan and Craig Button discussed Kasperi Kapanen's recall, and their latest hot taek are that AHL scorers are a "dime a dozen." Here's why they're wrong, like the two of them almost always are. [TheLeafsNation]
• Remember North Dakota's strong-willed fight to retain the "Fighting Sioux" nickname? Because they were a hockey school with rich tradition? Yeah, they're cutting their women's team now. And those same fans that screamed about the nickname remain strangely silent through this. HMMMM.
• The Kings and the Canucks will play preseason games in China this September. Sorry China, you're in for some boring hockey.
• The Oilers are making the orange jerseys their full-time homers and waving good-bye to the blue. Poor decision, in my opinion: I like the orange, but the blue is great as well, and has oodles of history attached to it. [Puck Daddy]
• Speaking of the Oilers: Dimitri Filipovic breaks down the data to show why Connor McDavid should win the Hart. [Sportsnet]
• Apparently Michael Del Zotto is a DJ, and he made the Flyers goal song this season. There is a sentence I never thought I'd write. [BSH]