Just ahead of puck drop, we received some fresh news on the Brock Nelson front for the first time since before the 4 Nations Face-Off. On TSN’s Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports that the New York Islanders have not made Brock Nelson available for trade as of today.

So even as Wednesday passed without news coming from the Islanders as the NHL trade deadline approaches on Friday, there was still plenty to talk about. All indications are that president/general manager Lou Lamoriello has fielded calls from other teams with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri pending unrestricted free agents and potential fits for several playoff contenders.

Maybe the Islanders should consider more day games. In the only afternoon start on home ice all year on Saturday, they were shot out of a cannon, beating the Predators, 7-4, for a second straight victory with an Ilya Sorokin empty-net goal to boot as the trade deadline ticked closer.

But the hard-luck first period of the Islanders’ 4-0 loss to the Rangers on Monday night at Madison Square Garden – their second regulation loss to their rivals in six days – should tell president/general manager Lou Lamoriello all he needs to know heading into Friday’s NHL trade deadline.

The Islanders are looking to sell before the NHL trade deadline, but will New York's front office move long-time fan-favorite Brock Nelson?

It almost felt fitting, poetic one might say, that Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri starred in the final New York Islanders game before the trade deadline.

Lamoriello, as has been his practice on every NHL team he has run, does not allow the Islanders to grow beards or mustaches or have long hair during the regular season.

The New York Islanders have balanced the playoff bubble for several years; after Monday's 4-0 defeat to the New York Rangers to keep them five points out with

One New York reporter shared a bittersweet prediction, that's mostly bitter, on the Islanders' heat and soul ahead of the NHL trade deadline and in the aftermath of a 4-0 loss to the Rangers.

NHL Rumors: Pittsburgh Penguins, Winnipeg Jets, Centers, New Jersey Devils, and the Vancouver Canucks Tom Gulitti of NHL.com: It’ll be the first trade deadline for Washington Capitals GM Chris Patrick, and he doesn’t feel any urgency to make a big trade by the deadline.

A second-round pick (No. 39) by the Washington Capitals at the 2014 NHL Draft, Vanecek is 94-52-20 with a 2.82 GAA, a .903 save percentage and nine shutouts in 181 regular-season games (169 starts) with the Capitals, Devils and Sharks, and 2-4 with a 4.52 GAA and an .834 save percentage in 10 Stanley Cup Playoff games (seven starts).