Russell’s Roundup: Islanders Trade Option; Crosby Injury Update

The New York Islanders play their final two games for 15 days in the next 48 hours. That starts tonight in Winnipeg when the Islanders take on the first-place Winnipeg Jets. Tomorrow night, the Islanders will be in Minnesota to take on the Wild in a difficult back-to-back scenario right before an extended break. Injuries will again hamper New York, as Scott Mayfield did not make the trip and will not play.

Last night in the NHL, the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Ottawa Senators 5-1 and leapfrogged them for third in the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights ran over the New Jersey Devils.

News-wise, Sidney Crosby’s injury status remains the hottest topic, with the Four Nation’s Face-Off looming, but the Pittsburgh Penguins did not overplay their hand yesterday. Dylan Cozens continues to percolate in trade rumors as the Buffalo Sabres look to shuffle the deck again in their never-ending rebuild.

New York Islanders:

Yesterday, we reviewed a potential Islanders trade target to help replace Matthew Barzal in the lineup. While not the popular target, his play style fits the system in New York quite well. What’s more, he could probably be had on the cheap, with his value plummeting in the last 18 months. Trevor Zegras is worth a look for the Islanders.

ICYMI: The Islanders continue to have major injury woes. Without Mayfield and Barzal, the team used strictly internal replacements. Once again, that seems to be the route, but here are some other potential options.

In the Islanders’ most recent game, they gritted their way to an ugly, but very effective win over the Vegas Golden Knights, 2-1

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now:

The Chris Johnston Show: A new episode of the Chris Johnson Show dropped on SDPN, and it once again had nuggets strewn about. The most interesting? CJ said, “At least 20 teams have called about Dylan Cozens.” The interest is real, and Buffalo is looking to make a hockey trade to make it happen.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: As the city of Pittsburgh and the entire nation of Canada wait with bated breath for Sidney Crosby’s health status, he did not practice for a second straight day. He did have a workout but did not meet with the media. Dave Molinari writes up the latest.

Vegas Hockey Now: The great and new Hannah Kirkell wrote up all about how the Golden Knights surged back to life and crushed the Devils. Oddly, the total shots mirrored that of the game on Tuesday. Vegas shots total in the 30s while their opposition is down in the teens. This time, Vegas won.

New Jersey Hockey Now: On the flip side, it was a lifeless effort from the Devils. Very quietly, the Devils have struggled mightily since Christmas. They’re just 7-8-3 during that time and have plummeted to third in the Metropolitan Division. As crazy as it sounds, the Islanders are actually within striking distance. They are nine points back but hold three games in hand on the plummeting Devils. In NJ’s room, Stefan Noesen called the entire team out.

Ottawa Hockey Now: Entering this week, the Ottawa Senators held a four-point lead on the Lightning with two consecutive matchups in Tampa on the schedule. Put up or shut up time for the plucky Senators. Tampa Bay beat them twice, and they really did a number on Ottawa last night. The game finished 5-1 and sent Ottawa down to the wild card race while Tampa Bay is back in the top three of the Atlantic. Danny McCloskey writes up the disaster for Ottawa.