Russell’s Roundup: NHL Returns; Pulock Officially Activated

That was a fun Saturday, wasn’t it? The NHL returned with a bang on Saturday with a massive slate of 14 games. The highlights for you New York Islanders fans include the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins getting humiliated in blowout losses. Additionally, the wild card race opened up in a big way, with the Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, and Ottawa Senators losing on Saturday. Truth be told, from an Islanders’ perspective, that Saturday went as ideal as possible.

Add that the team officially activated Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield from the injured reserve, and you’ve got a perfect day. That fails to include Noah Dobson’s return to practice and looming return on Tuesday against the New York Rangers in UBS Arena. Marcus Hogberg continues to work toward a return on his own. Mathew Barzal and Semyon Varlamov remain out indefinitely. Other than that, the Islanders are truly getting healthy and gearing up for another charge toward the playoff.

New York Islanders:

First, here is the big news from yesterday’s practice. Dobson participated while the team activated Pulock and Mayfield. Things are looking up. Here’s the full scoop on the news and what roster cuts may be looming.

The trade deadline is now just 12 days away. The Islanders find themselves in the thick of the fight for a playoff spot. So, what is their planning heading into the deadline?

ICYMI: Casey Cizikas sat down with NYI Hockey Now to discuss the trade rumors percolating and how his season has gone thus far.

NHL News & National Hockey Now:

Forever Blueshirts: Let’s start with something that’ll make Islanders fans smile. In the Rangers first game out of the break, the Buffalo Sabres ran them over and humiliated the Blueshirts 8-2. Yowch. Read all about it here.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Well, the Penguins are back. I watched most of this game, and the Penguins looked really good for the first 25 minutes or so. Unfortunately, Alex Nedeljkovic forgot how to save a puck, and the team gave up. Here is Pittsburgh’s report card.

Detroit Hockey Now: With seven minutes left to play in Detroit, the Red Wings led the Minnesota Wild 3-1. Detroit played well and deserved a big win in the playoff race. Instead, they imploded and lost in overtime. Here’s Kevin Allen’s analysis.

Ottawa Hockey Now: The Senators began the night in the WC1 place and a favorite against the Montreal Canadiens. Instead, a lifeless performance doomed the Sens to drop into a tie with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final playoff spot. Here’s the story from Ottawa.

Vegas Hockey Now: In the late game, the Vegas Golden Knights relied on a brilliant Adin Hill performance en route to a victory over the Vancouver Canucks. Hannah Kirkell’s got the recap.

Boston Hockey Now: The Bruins came back from an early, lifeless performance to salvage a point against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday evening. It felt like an empty result regardless of the comeback, writes Andrew Fantucchio.