Islanders News: Dal Colle takes King

The Islanders enter Sunday — is there something else going on today? — with a four-point lead in the Metropolitan Division thanks to last night’s turnaround against the Kings.

Well done, Barzal, Pulock, Dal Colle and the gang. Now to enjoy their Sunday*.

Islanders Reading

• About last night: Like so many NHL games, it could’ve gone either way. But the Isles fought for the right inches to take the game back in the third. [LHH | Isles | NHL | Newsday | Isles Insight]
• In the NYI Skinny, Eric Hornick notes this 16-3-2 stretch is their best 21-game stretch in 29 YEARS. [NYI Skinny]
• One takeaway for Mathew Barzal’s All-Star weekend experience was how driven the top players are. He’s all in. [Newsday]
• Thomas Hickey and Andrew Ladd are skating again, and the Islanders will want them back, but they’ve both been out for a while and will be rusty. What to do? Barry Trotz discussed. [LHH]
• The NHL owes it to the fans to have Islanders playoff games happen at Nassau Coliseum, Mark Herrmann writes. [Newsday]
• The Sound Tigers recover for a grind-it-out road win. [Sound Tigers]
• The Railers rebounded from Friday’s loss to smoke Newfoundland. [Railers]

Elsewhere

Nice goal:

Last night’s NHL scores include the Penguins losing to the Leafs, the Blue Jackets losing in regulation to the Blues, and a stunning Flyers comeback OT win over the Oilers to continue their seven-game streak under Scott Gordon.

• Holy cow, the Jets also put up nine goals on the Ducks. [TSN]
• Nikita Kucherov was fined for his slew-foot on Scott Mayfield. [NHL]
• Duncan Keith says he’s unaware, and unbothered of rumors about the Blackhawks approaching him to “discuss his future.” [NHL | TSN]
• The Knights lost their fourth straight for the first time in their young history. [NHL]
• Auston Mathews just wants his agent and the Leafs to find a long-term deal arrangement that makes sense. (He should ask #91 for advice.) [Sportsnet]

Enjoy* your Sunday!

*Confession: I stopped watching or following the NFL a decade(!) ago, and it was the greatest thing I’ve ever done for my Sundays. For a while we still held or attended Super Bowl parties because our crew had some epic ones, but now even that is a thing of the past. Gonna spend the day outside in 60-degree weather. Not advocating or preaching, just remarking: It’s amazing the zen you can attain by removing a culturally mandatory thing that in fact brings you (me, personally) little joy.

May this day bring you as little angst as possible.