Islanders Gameday News: Ho-Sang speaks; Leddy-Boychuk returns; State pays

The Islanders resume the season-ending sleepwalk with the Maple Leafs in town tonight, which basically just means there will be a whole bunch more stories about John Tavares surely signing with a Canadian team in July.

Leave your First Islanders Goal picks here.

Islanders Reading

• Tavares could maybe play at the World Championships, but then again you might have heard he doesn’t have a contract for next year so... [Newsday]
• You knew something like this was coming when Arthur Staple visited Bridgeport to catch up with Josh Ho-Sang. The winger is still optimistic about the Isles and his own game, but he feels others received a much longer leash for defensive errors on the NHL’s worst defensive team. Here’s Staple’s piece for The Athletic. Here’s what I think it means. Here’s a good overview with a hyperbolic NBC headline.
• Casey Cizikas will be held out of both games this weekend, but Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk should return tonight. And Alan Quine soon! [Isles]
• Dan and Mike’s latest Islanders Anxiety podcast was recorded before the Ho-Sang quotes, but fits perfectly. They lament this stupid team and recall some better days by some worse rosters. [LHH - Islanders Anxiety]
• Kyle Burroughs has been a standout guy for the Sound Tigers on the ice and in the community, getting their nod for the Yanick Dupre award again. [CT Post]
• Some “day to day” injury updates down in Bridgeport. [Soundin’ Off]
• Worcester signs a couple of players, one from Canadian university (after a WHL career) and another out of the OHL. [Railers]
• Dan updated the Tavares Contract Wild Speculation Encyclopedia because we got guys saying Montreal! San Jose! St. Louis! Nashville! Not that any of them have a clue. [LHH]
• Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment has indeed been awarded the $6 million grant that is supposedly necessary to upgrade the already upgraded Nassau Coliseum to the NHL’s supposed standards to supposedly have the Islanders play some games there again. [Newsday]

Elsewhere

Last night’s NHL scores increased the Islanders’ chances of having a slightly better chance of winning the draft lottery, so that’s definitely something worth following until you remember it’s the Islanders and the team below them will probably win it anyway.

• You know how teams need to have an emergency goalie in the stands? Well the Blackhawks actually had to use one, on the ice, last night. And the 36-year-old beer leaguer and accountant Scott Foster didn’t give up a goal. [NHL | TSN]
• Sidney Crosby scored a pretty sweet bat-out-of-the-air rebound OT winner last night but I’m not abusing you by forcing you to watch it on this page. Here’s a Twitter link and here’s an NHL link.
• The Bruins beat the Lightning in regulation to take over the top spot in the East. [TSN]
• The Blues signed the Providence College junior they acquired in the Paul Stastny trade. [Blues]
• In a novel move, the Golden Knights will offer season ticket holders cheaper playoff tickets if they promise not to resell them to rival fans. [ESPN]
• Justin Bourne discusses why sometimes teammates fight at practice, and how it’s kind of annoying but also kind of cool, sort of. [The Athletic]
• Erik Karlsson opens up about handling his family’s loss. [Ottawa Sun]
• Chris Thorburn opens up about moving to a new team and country with a son who has autism. [Blues]