The Islanders are back in action for a mid-day game and if you have tickets, you should totally sell them for $700 or whatever some history-chasing sap will pay.

The eyes of the hockey world are on this game vs. the Capitals because Alex Ovechkin has now tied Wayne Gretzky’s all-time (regular season) goal mark, so Ovechkin’s next goal will break the record. They’ll probably stop the game and ask Gretzky to give a dull-ass vanilla speech and everything.

Hoping it doesn’t happen today, but anyway: First Islanders Goal picks go here.

Islanders News

• Previewing tonight: The Isles have to ignore the potential history and just focus on their game. [Isles]
• Islanders players have “great respect” for Ovechkin, so that’s swell. [Newsday]
• Three Takeaways: Man, the Isles hadn’t beaten the Wild since before the pandemic. [Isles]
• An honor in memory of and tribute to Clark Gillies. [Isles]
• Matt Martin on shaking off rust and returning after 30 games as a scratch. [Post]

Elsewhere

There were 13 games around the league on Friday, including the Rangers and Blue Jackets getting blanked while the Canadiens scraped by the Flyers. The Bruins also ended their 10-game winless streak while the Blues broke a franchise record (set in the year they beat Boston for the Cup) with their 12th consecutive win.

• Nick Suzuki is proving he’s “one of the best players in the world.” Okay. [Sportsnet]
• Matthew Tkachuk is targeting the start of the playoffs for a return. [TSN]