The New York Islanders appear to be skating on thin ice.

Barclays Center, the team's home arena, is reportedly ill equipped to make it, at least by the NHL's standards.

A couple players were critical of ice conditions Friday, according to Arthur Staple of Newsday, with Cal Clutterbuck calling it "unplayable" and Johnny Boychuk describing it as "bouncy."

Switching from plastic pipes to steel would require shutting the arena down for an entire summer, something Staple believes there's almost zero chance of happening.

The Islanders can reportedly opt out of Barclays Center after the 2017-18 season, and the club was also eyeing different spots around New York in which to build a new arena as recently as July.

Here's to a cold winter in Brooklyn, for the Islanders' sake.

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The Dallas Stars will be showing their support for play-by-play announcer Dave Strader with a helmet sticker to be worn throughout the season.

Strader, who joined the Stars' broadcast team prior to last season, was diagnosed with cancer back in June.

Prior to his stint with the Stars, Strader handled play-by-play duties for NBCSN's regular-season and Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage, beginning with the 2011-12 season. He had also called every Stanley Cup Final for NHL International since 1997.

Strader previously worked as the broadcast voice of the Red Wings, Panthers, and Coyotes.

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Should the Anaheim Ducks re-sign top blue-liner Hampus Lindholm, it may be fellow defenseman Cam Fowler who pays the price.

Carrying a $4-million cap hit, Fowler is a valuable left-shot defenseman, but one the cap-strapped Ducks will likely no longer be able to afford.

Despite the speculation, the 24-year-old Fowler remains focused on the task at hand.

"I have a clear mind despite all the stuff that's going around me," Fowler told Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register. "At the end of the day, this is a business and decisions have to be made. All I can do is go out and play my game to the best of my ability."

Fowler has been a go-to guy in the early season for Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, with a team-leading 24:46 through five games, recording four points.

"Any time I come to the rink, that’s the only thing on my mind," Fowler added. "Doing the best that I can to help contribute to this team. Whatever happens after that is out of my control."

Trade talk certainly isn't new to Fowler. It's believed he was very much in play on the draft floor, but no deal was consummated to send him out of Southern California.

If the Ducks are to move Fowler, the team has fellow left-shot blue-liner Shea Theodore ready to step in. The 21-year-old made his NHL debut last season, scoring eight points in 19 games.

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The Dallas Stars announced forward Ales Hemsky will return to the lineup Saturday when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The 33-year-old hasn't played this season after suffering a groin injury with Team Czech Republic at the World Cup.

Hemsky scored 39 points in 75 games with the Stars last season. The veteran winger is expected to line up with center Tyler Seguin and captain Jamie Benn.

In a corresponding roster move, the team placed winger Jiri Hudler on injured reserve.

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Aim high.

No team has reached the level of success achieved by the Chicago Blackhawks over the past decade, with three Stanley Cups to their credit since 2010.

It all began with a series of down years and high draft picks, giving Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock a vision of the path he sees his team heading down.

Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane joined the team in 2007 after respectively being selected third and first overall in consecutive drafts. Sure enough, the Blackhawks advanced to the Western Conference Finals in 2009, losing to Babcock's Red Wings in five games.

That, of course, was just the beginning.

Clearly there's great potential for success in Toronto, with a roster built around the likes of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner.

Whether the Maple Leafs can rise as high as the Blackhawks - let alone stay there over the course of multiple seasons - remains to be seen.

The two clubs will face off in Chicago on Saturday.

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Daniel Winnik is playing it by ear.

The Washington Capitals forward was believed to have lost a piece of his right ear after taking a slap shot to the head Thursday.

Turns out, it was all just a matter of cut and paste.

Here's a look at the ear in question.

Winnik is expected to be in the lineup when the Capitals take on the Rangers at home Saturday.

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General soreness will keep Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask from dressing Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Finn is feeling better, head coach Claude Julien said, and is considered day to day early in the season.

The Bruins summoned Zane McIntyre from the farm on an emergency basis, and he'll likely back up Anton Khudobin against the Habs.

Rask is 3-0 with a .947 save percentage this season, while Khudobin was beat four times on only 24 shots in his one game.

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The New York Islanders will be without defenseman Ryan Pulock for the foreseeable future.

Pulock played only 3:57 in his debut Friday.

The Islanders were upset with the state of the ice Friday at Barclays Center, according to Newsday's Arthur Staple, but the injury wasn't a result of conditions, he added.

The good news: Nick Leddy, who didn't play Friday, was back on the ice for practice Saturday.

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Follow theScore's fantasy feed on Twitter (@theScoreFantasy) for the latest news, features and more. And download Squad Up, theScore's free-to-win-money sports game.

Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Saturday, October 22:

Triple Threat

• LW Mikkel Boedker (25K), C Logan Couture (44K), RW Joonas Donskoi (25K), Sharks (at Red Wings): Couture has been a steady producer, as he has recorded two goals and three assists. Boedker has a lone goal, while Donskoi has an assist. With Couture driving the line, the other two should start producing against a tired Red Wings team.

• LW Jonathan Drouin (48K), C Steven Stamkos (75K), RW Nikita Kucherov (47K), Lightning (at Senators): A creative combination is needed for Tampa Bay, as first-liners Drouin and Ondrej Palat are listed at the same position, despite playing on opposite sides of Stamkos. Kucherov works on the second power-play unit with Drouin, offering more exposure.

• LW Jeff Skinner (58K), C Victor Rask (49K), RW Lee Stempniak (48K), Hurricanes (at Flyers): The Hurricanes' top line has the fourth-highest Corsi For rating at 5v5 of any trio with at least 30 minutes played together. The Flyers lack a shutdown defense pairing, and they own a CF% of just 48.61 as a team. These three remain together on the power play.

Goalie Breakdown

• TARGET - Roberto Luongo (98K), Panthers (vs. Avalanche): The Avalanche own the worst team CF% in the league at a paltry 44.30 percent. New head coach Jared Bednar has the team off to a 3-1-0 start through his first four games, but the possession issues remain. Luongo is coming off a Third Star of the Week performance to open the season.

• BARGAIN - Martin Jones (75K), Sharks (at Red Wings): Jones is once again available at the minimum price for goaltenders. He has allowed just 11 goals through four games, despite surrendering five to the New York Rangers in his second-to-last game. The Red Wings played Friday and own the league's second worst CF%.

• FADE - Braden Holtby (102K), Capitals (vs. Rangers): The Rangers have been driving possession so far this season, en route to a 54.09 CF%. Holtby hasn't allowed more than two goals in any of his three starts, but he faces a tougher test against a Rangers team scoring over three goals per game.

• CONTRARIAN - Ryan Miller (80K), Canucks (at Kings): The Kings own the best CF% but it has led to just 10 goals through their opening four games, as they are clearly suffering from a depleted forward group. Miller hasn't played since recording a shutout in the season opener, and he'll have a low ownership with the over-achieving Canucks heading on the road.

Bargain Plays

• C Zack Smith (25K), Senators (vs. Lightning): Smith has scored in two of his past three games, tallying three shots on goal in each. He hasn't played under 15:30 in any of Ottawa's first four games, as he carries his offensive success over from 2015-16. Only two teams have scored more goals than Ottawa's 17.

• LW Carl Hagelin (27K), Penguins (at Predators): Hagelin has been held without a shot in two of his past three games, but he hasn't logged less than 15:15 of ice time in any one game. The Predators are coming off a loss Friday and surprisingly own the league's third-worst CF% through their opening four games.

• D Zach Werenski (25K), Blue Jackets (at Stars): Werenski is quickly becoming the most appealing target from the Blue Jackets on any given night. He has 14 shots on goal through three games, and he recorded his first multi-point game of the season Friday. He has played over 22 minutes in each of the past two games.

Top Fades

• LW Johnny Gaudreau (62K), Flames (vs. Blues): Gaudreau had his best game of the season Thursday, firing five SOG and scoring his first goal of the season, despite playing a season-low 16:41. The Flames schedule has been extremely favorable thus far, but they'll face a stiffer challenge with the Blues and G Jake Allen in town Saturday.

• C Jeff Carter (68K), Kings (vs. Canucks): Carter is more expensive than teammate C Anze Kopitar, as his salary has soared with back-to-back two-point games. His offense is doomed to be short lived, as he totaled just four SOG in those two games. The Canucks' strong defensive play and goaltending will regress before much longer, but Carter needs to be faded in the interim.

• RW David Pastrnak (64K), Bruins (vs. Canadiens): Pastrnak has stuck beside LW Brad Marchand and C Patrice Bergeron, but his production has dipped since his strong two-game start. He has recorded a point in every game this season, but he has benefited from a staggering shooting percentage of 22.2. He hasn't yet faced Canadiens G Carey Price this season.

Contrarian Options

• RW Phil Kessel (61K), Penguins (at Predators): Kessel opened the season by registering three SOG in each of his first four games, before tallying just one in his most recent outing. He did play a season-high 20:49, as the Penguins' second line continues to see an expanded role with C Sidney Crosby still sidelined. The Predators are likely to start backup G Marek Mazanec.

• LW Brandon Saad (48K), Blue Jackets (at Stars): W Boone Jenner was the first Blue Jackets forward to be blamed for the team's offensive woes thus far, as he was dropped to the fourth line. Saad remains beside C Alexander Wennberg and W Nick Foligno. Saad tallied seven SOG in Columbus' win over the Chicago Blackhawks Friday night.

• D Torey Krug (38K), Bruins (vs. Canadiens): Krug hasn't played less than 20 minutes in a single game this season, and he has played at least 21 minutes in each of his past three games. He launched a season-high six SOG in Thursday's win over the New Jersey Devils. He hasn't tallied a point yet this season, but he's on the top power play unit.

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It's official: Martin Brodeur is forever.

The New Jersey Devils will officially unveil Brodeur's statue - dubbed "The Salute," according to Gross - Saturday night at 6 p.m. ET, but the tarp's off as of Saturday morning.

Brodeur, now the assistant general manager of the St. Louis Blues, spent all but seven games of his 22-year career with the Devils, winning Stanley Cups with New Jersey in 1995, 2000, and 2003.

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