Islanders + NHL Playoff News: Extra prep for Game 6

With an extra day in between games, the Islanders and Hurricanes were able to chill a bit on Wednesday before preparing for Game 6 Friday in Elmont.

The NHL did (finally) announce a start time, 7:00 Friday, so these teams again kick off the league slate for that night.

Islanders News

• “What he’s doing is extremely impressive.” Alex Romanov fights through the pain to stay in the lineup. [Newsday]
• Mathew Barzal may be finding his groove (or at least finding more forgiving line matchups). [THN]
• Andrew Gross reviews Game 5 in his latest episode of Island Ice. [Newsday]
• Lane Lambert professed to be unsure whether he’d keep the line tweaks he made in Game 5. [Post]
• The Isles players loved having Johnny Boychuk on the ice ahead of Game 5. [THN]
• You know, if there could just be no more penalty calls, that would be an advantage for the Isles. [Post]
• Stan Fischler does a trippy take on what the Isles need to do to keep extending the series. [THN]
• (Yester)day in Isles History: The 1975 squad completes the comeback from 0-3 in the series to beat the Penguins in Game 7. [Isles]

Elsewhere

• Last night the Kraken won in Denver to push the Avalanche to the brink. [NHL]
• The Bruins made a couple of mistakes in overtime, and the Panthers pounced to send the series back to Florida for Game 6. [NHL]
• Swiss-born Akira Schmid is calm and has gone through many North American stops to reach the Devils’ starter’s net for the playoffs. [NHL]
• As the Leafs look to win their first series since before YouTube and Facebook existed, they’ll keep their lineup, thanks. [Sportsnet]
• How Tampa’s softened defense has made their goalie’s job harder. [Sportsnet]
• The Stars’ Joe Pavelski may be ready for Game 6 vs. the Wild. [NHL]
• Goalless Smurfs Zibanejad and Panarin feel pressure to score. [NHL]
• Politics, politics, and then over year you have Calgary talking about a new arena. [TSN]
• Evidently the Senators should look at a package of several UFA goaltenders. [Sportsnet]