Islanders Gameday News: Enmity for the Devils, while in St. Petersburg, time for a change

Three games left! Soon, we shall never speak of the 13-game road odyssey again. (Okay, that’s not true. But at least we’ll be able to put it behind and focus on a more regular rhythm to the season.)

The Islanders are in Newark to face the Devils tonight, a geo-friendly road game compared to last weekend’s travels and next week’s trip finale through Florida.

Today is J-G Pageau’s birthday, and tonight is Mat Barzal’s 300th game.

Leave your First Islanders Goal picks here.

Islanders News

• Tonight vs. the Devils: An official site preview. [Isles]
• Oliver Wahlstrom is the sniper the Isles needed. [Fourth Period]
• The Islanders know the Devils have changed a bit since they last saw them. [Newsday]
• Island Ice: Andrew Gross’ podcast speaks with Neil Best and Andrew Cangialosi. [Newsday]
• Mathew Barzal on reaching 300(!) games: Happy, more improvement to come. [Post]
• “Maybe I live under a rock [ed. Ahem...] and was unaware they were starting with 13 straight on the road, but it does put their modest start into context. The team has the 16th-best points percentage to start the season, though to their credit seem to still be an elite five-on-five team with a 53 percent expected goals rate and 60 percent of the actual goals. Watch out for them when they start adding some home games to the mix. [Athletic, 16 Stats]
• Leo Komarov’s reported termination for a move to St. Petersburg gets frontpage treatment at TSN because Former Leaf. [TSN]
• Bridgeport beat Syracuse 3-1, as Jakub Skarek made 35 saves on his 22nd birthday. [BP-Isles]
• An extensive (~10 minutes) media availability with Barry Trotz yesterday. He “heard the rumors too” about Leo Komarov’s move to SKA but didn’t have anything more. He discussed Mat Barzal’s evolution as he reaches the 300 milestone, among other topics:

Because hockey is on ESPN now: Scott Mayfield and his Air Force brother, on Sportscenter:

Elsewhere

Last night’s NHL scores were few, but in Metro terms the Flyers were blanked by the team representing Toronto. The Wild won again, putting Arizona at 1-11-1.

Is tonight’s Kings-Senators game in jeopardy due to the Sens’ Covid situation?

And things are going well in Dallas:

• The Devils are coming off their biggest win of the season — convincingly over the Panthers — and without Dougie Hamilton. [All About The Jersey]
• Ducks GM Bob Murray was initially placed on administrative lead while they investigate “professional conduct” allegations (reportedly related to verbal abuse), and he has now resigned to enter an alcohol abuse program. [AP | Sportsnet | ESPN]
• A tough start continues for Nathan MacKinnon as he will be out three weeks. Sorry in advance for your fantasy team or whatever. [ESPN]
• Jack Eichel cranks the siren at a Golden Knights game, aims to build up hype for his addition. [NHL]
• With a full 82-game season on the schedule, early opinions of teams should adjust accordingly. [Sportsnet]
• Debating Hall of Fame cases for the Cowardly Marchand, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal. [Athletic]
• A reflection on fans and media (mostly) giving Carey Price privacy as he addresses his own mental health issues. [Sportsnet]