Islanders Gameday News: How Now Town Cow

After three days without an Islanders game, my brain has melted into mush. I will be spending the day molding it back into form, hopefully in time for the game tonight against the Calgary Flames. Given that it is in Calgary, in the Mountain Time Zone, I will have some extra time to achieve this task. The puck droppeth at 9:30 p.m. ET.

Leave your FIG picks here. Don’t pick Michael Dal Colle.

Islanders News

• Why shouldn’t you pick Dal Colle? Well, you silly so-and-so, he got sent to Bridgeport today! Andrew Ladd and Thomas Hickey were recalled from their conditioning stints but not taken off LTIR yet. They will need to waive or find an injury for someone else when they’re ready. [LHH | Newsday]

• According to Elliotte Friedman, the two known front-runners for Matt Duchene are the Predators and Blue Jackets, but he was careful to note there may be teams he hasn’t heard of in on him, like tonight’s competitors, the Isles and Flames. Also connects the Isles to Ilya Kovalchuk, but that seems more like a logical conclusion than what he’s heard, I think. [31 Thoughts]
• If you have any Trade Deadline or other Islander questions you’ve been itching to ask, Arthur Staple is hosting a live Q&A today from 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET. [The Athletic]
• AUDIO: Barry Trotz went on American radio, specifically The FAN, and talked to Evan and Joe about the team’s surprising success, echoing what we’ve heard all year about buying in: “The strength is in the group.” It’s a good interview, though, if you’ve got about 15 minutes to kill. [WFAN]
• MORE AUDIO: Our own Dan and Noel talked to former Islanders Rob Schremp about that Tavares tweet and a number of other topics including his latest initiative and working through his anxiety issues. An excellent listen as always. From this morning, a rebuttal of sorts from current Islanders about Tavares’s comportment in the locker room.
• Darren Dreger went on Canadian radio and sort of chided Islanders fans for still holding resentment toward John Tavares, not fully understanding that it’s how he left, not that he left. [Nichols on Hockey]
• 12 year-old Kaden Symington, a die-hard Sound Tigers fan, signed a one-day contract with the team and practiced with them as part of Make-A-Wish, and the players welcomed him as a teammate. [CT Post]
• Railers goalie Evan Buitenhuis was named the ECHL Goaltender of the Week, going 2-0-0 with a .973 save percentage in three appearances last week. [ECHL]

Elsewhere

Last night’s NHL scores include the Penguins beating the Devils, the Rangers defeating the Hurricanes, and the Canadiens topping the Blue Jackets, all in regulation. Pittsburgh has now moved into third in the division, two points up on Columbus, who has a game-in-hand on the Pens.

• Ouch: Nazem Kadri left last night’s game against the Blues after a crushing hit from Vince Dunn. He was diagnosed with a concussion. [NBC Sports]
• An addendum to the above Duchene notes in 31 Thoughts: he would be open to a sign-and-trade or simply signing an extension with his acquiring team. [The Fourth Period]
• Tyler Dellow dives into the question of whether left-shot defensemen playing their weak side produce less than when playing their strong side. [The Athletic]
• Ray Emery died mysteriously from drowning over the summer; for the first time, we find out what really happened to him and what may have led to his demise. [The Athletic]