Islanders Gameday News: Rangers on tap, someone’s getting shut out

Not a ton of news between games with North America sporting eyes trained on the Super Bowl (Did you watch the game? Did I miss anything? Should we have had an off-topic thread? I apologize, I was reading a book. Seriously. I can’t put Midnight in Chernobyl down. No spoilers please.)...

... But the Islanders are back in action tonight at the Garden to face the Rangers, a reunion after they traded season-opening shutouts. Leave your FIG picks here, won’t you?

Also, Dan will have the weekly Back & Forth a little later this morning.

Islanders News

• A preview and snapshot of both teams. [Isles]
• The fourth line, er Identity Line, hopes the big goal they produced Saturday is a sign of things to come. [Newsday]
• The Sound Tigers are back! Good beginning for the rising stock known as Samuel Bolduc, who scored his first goal as a pro. [Sound Tigers]
• ICYMI: The seven Isles games that have been rescheduled (so far) thanks to the dominoes from other teams’ Covid issues. [Isles]
• Faceoffs are a “glaring” issue for tonight’s opponent. [Post]

Elsewhere

Yesterday’s NHL scores include the Flyers, who got Sean Couturier back, torching the Capitals in a goalfest.

• The Blue Jackets were rejected on a coach’s challenge that probably should have reversed a goal, and they lost by a goal the Hurricanes. [Sportsnet]
• The Oilers welcome Mike Smith back, which is good news maybe? They’re having big goalie troubles, including ugly numbers for Mikko Koskinen. [Sportsnet]
• The Rangers promoted Chris Drury from Assistant GM to Associate GM (I know, I know, like the whole “assistant”/”associate” coach thing, it’s a bit of titular silliness). But perhaps that’s a sign they’d like to keep him rather than let him be the Penguins’ pick to succeed Ol’ Man Rutherford. [Blueshirt Banter]