Much like your in-laws I have a cold that refuses to go away and I apologize for being off the grid the past couple of days. I’d like to start and wish all my hockey buzzers and isles fans a very Happy New Year. As for the Islanders they start off the new calendar year riding a modest two game win streak and host the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks tonight at the coliseum.
Despite the incoming blizzard both teams are in Long Island so the game will be played tonight as scheduled. Aaron Ness was sent back to Bridgeport yesterday and the Islanders are now only carrying six healthy defenseman. Islander head coach Jack Capuano said at practice that he expects a “dman to be called up from Bridgeport soon.… I would expect that would be Matt Donovan or maybe perhaps Scotty Mayfield but regardless of who is called up one would think that the team would want a seventh defenseman before game time. What if someone is injured in the pregame skate? I’m not making a big deal out of this it is just rather perplexing. As for the lineup it will remain the same tonight with Josh Bailey still out. Evgeni Nabokov will return between the pipes and I would expect the line combos to remain the same.
As for the defending champion Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford will make a return to the net after an extended stint on injured reserves. The Islanders will have to try to slow down the “Patricks’ tonight as both Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp have been playing some unreal hockey. Kane is riding a 9 game point streak where he has racked up 16 points in that span and in Sharp’s past nine games he has amassed 14 points. The Blackhawks can certainly light the lamp so the Islanders must stay out of the box and must limit their turnovers.
This game will no doubt be a challenge tonight but the Islanders have started to show some signs of life. Any points tonight would go a long way of climbing out of the basement. If you are going to the game tonight please take extreme caution as conditions are going to go downhill quickly and as always for all things hockey please follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @DanDanNoodles78.