The Islanders are in Toronto tonight, hopefully aware that the All-Star Break is over. They did not show much awareness of such last night.
Asked how he resolves last night’s disturbing performance, Doug Weight paused, thought a bit, said, “Probably yell and scream and tell them to be ready to go tomorrow. [...] The deficit is, we’re out of the playoffs right now. There’s 30 games left, there should be no need to explain it. ... They should be ready to go at 7 o’clock, not at 8:30.”
He also said Andrew Ladd has a chance of playing tonight. “We miss Ladd’s maturity, which is a word that is hitting us right now…we need guys who know how to play this time of year, who can make simple decisions.”
Leave your FIG picks for tonight here.
Islanders News
- About last night: Not good. Not good, guys. [LHH | Newsday | Post | Isles | NHL]
- Post-game interviews from: Tavares | Lone goal scorer Pelech (on a nifty shot)
- Casey Cizikas returned to the lineup after missing six games, though he played mostly on the wing to ease back in. Also: Doug Weight talked about what he learned from Jack Capuano (insert 500-comment thread war here). [Newsday]
- Jordan Eberle had one outlier year, and thankfully the Oilers sold low on him because of it. He’s rebounded big time this year with the Isles. [TSN]
- Some (already known?) issues with LIRR expansion for Belmont: It’s set up for traffic from the city, but not from the rest of the island. [Village Voice]
- Toronto media got a head start on Tavares Contract talk ahead of tonight’s visit, though these quotes from All-Star weekend all make it sound quite promising. [Sportsnet]
- Of course Denis Potvin, in town to broadcast for the Panthers, was thrilled to hear the Isles would be back at Nassau Coliseum. [Newsday]
- Stan Fischler hypes how the Isles will rock the barn again. [MSG]
- John Tonelli talked to Butch Goring to reminisce on his time with the Islanders, as a legend, and he dropped the puck last night. [MSG]
- Chris Botta takes that nostalgia to 11 and says they should retire his #27, revealing some info about the abridged Isles hall of fame. [SNY]
Tonelli: “I’ll never, ever forget Al. Al plays a role in my life every day. There’s a lot of days where I ask myself, ‘What would Al do? How would he handle his situation? Very, very special part of my life.” #Isles
— Brian Compton (@BComptonNHL) January 31, 2018
Elsewhere
Last night’s scores include a bunch of Metro foes (Devils, Hurricanes, Penguins) winning, though the Blue Jackets lost in a shootout. So, more bad news and ground lost there.
- I don’t have much hope for the Isles’ season, so I was hoping they’d (but knew they wouldn’t) claim Jaromir Jagr just for the entertainment of it all. Instead, he’s headed home to Kladno. Here’s some great trivia from his career. Here’s the day he saved the Penguins. Here’s a ton of career highlights.
- Paul Ranger owes us nothing. No explanation. No inspiring story. No nothing. But cheers to this former Lightning, who dropped out of hockey suddenly, for sharing his story in the name of hopefully getting others mental health help. [TSN Video]
- The Pens are still seeking a third-line center but having Phil Kessel available to deploy next to him should make that an enticing job opportunity. [Post-Gazette]
- The JUNO Cup: Musicians vs. ex-NHLers, including Brad Dalgarno and a bunch of ex-Canucks. [Vancouver Courier]
With Jagr now back in the Czech Republic, a reminder that an opera called NAGANO was a real thing after the country's gold-medal win in '98. That's "Hasek" break-dance goaltending. pic.twitter.com/YnGKmqHPAY
— Joe Pack (@JoePack) January 30, 2018