Islanders News: Blueline growth, Rath-gone?

Don’t the Bruins know about The Curse of the Sweep? The Islanders swept the Penguins...then got swept by the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes swept the Isles...and are now on the verge of a sweep at the hands of the Bruins.

If they’re not careful they’ll set up a very short Stanley Cup final.

Islanders Reading

• On the latest Islanders Anxiety, Carey Haber filled in for Mike and talked with Dan about free agents, possible trades, and underrated performances this year. Give it a listen. [LHH]
• The Islanders’ homegrown defensemen Scott Mayfield, Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock each took steps forward in 2018-19. [Isles]
• Meanwhile, their former Isles prospect contemporaries Griffin Reinhart and Jake Bischoff are in the AHL conference final. [Soundin’ Off]
• Last summer’s Swiss signing Yannick Rathgeb was reportedly placed on unconditional waivers, so that’d be the end of that experiment. [Cap Friendly]
• I can relate: If you asked Billy Smith to play a “friendly” competition with money on the line...well, there’s no such thing in his book and he wasn’t going to hold back. [Maven’s Memories]
• Tryouts are open for 2007 and 2008 birth years. [Isles]

Elsewhere

• After Petr Mrazek’s struggles since returning from injury, the Hurricanes went with Curtis McElhinney in goal. [NHL]
• The Blues are getting by with a range of depth scoring. Game 3 vs. the Sharks is tonight at 8 p.m. EDT. [NHL]
• Speaking of Game 3, this is a wonderful, brief and tear-jerking story. [Blues]
• Jaden Schwartz leads the way for them after a snakebitten regular season. [TSN]
• Former Oilers fired-via-Skype coach Ralph Krueger is going to be the Buffalo Sabres’ next coach. [TSN]
• How much time do the Predators have left to make a run with Pekka Rinne? [On the Forecheck]
• As expected, Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin headed to South Florida (for vacation, duh). [Athletic]
• Nathan MacKinnon will not need shoulder surgery after that injury in the Avalanche’s elimination game. [NHL]
• Top draft prospect Jack Hughes changed from a cage to a visor at the World Championship. Because he turned 18. So that’s legal. The U.S. play the Brexiteers this morning. [NHL]
• The Germans are perfect thus far, though it’s three games against weaker competition. [IIHF]
• Derek Boogaard’s mother wants to make sure his death and the problems leading to it are not forgotten. [THN]
• The Leafs extended Brendan Shanahan’s contract by six years. [NHL]