All eyes are rightly on Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri, but those are not the only two players teams will be checking in on for the remainder of this week.
The New York Islanders (28-27-7) defeated the Winnipeg Jets (42-16-4) 3-2 on Tuesday night in UBS Arena. It couldn’t have been more poetic if it is indeed the send-off game for Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri.
As the final horn sounded, with it came the end of any notion that this New York Islanders (25-25-7) team could possibly contend this season.
But, very notably, pending unrestricted free agents Brock Nelson — No. 1 on most trade target projection boards — and Kyle Palmieri both remained in the lineup on Tuesday as president/general manager Lou Lamoriello opted not to hold his assets out for protection. Nor, for that matter, was any other potential trade target protected.
The New York Islanders (25-23-7) face the Dallas Stars (38-16-2) in the first game back after the 4 Nations Face-Off. Ilya Sorokin vs Jake Oettinger is the expected goalie matchup. The Isles Morning Minute is presented by Acrisure.
The Winnipeg Jets have now lost three consecutive games, losing 3-2 to the New York Islanders to kick off their four-game road trip.