Islanders prospects daily: Scoring streaks and trophies

Prospects (and players in the system) in Action Today

• Matias Rajaniemi (Pelicans)
• Ruslan Iskhakov (TPS)
• Alex Ljungkrantz (Stromsbro)
• Ben Mirageas (Providence)

Rajaniemi wasn’t in the lineup for the Pelicans the last time out. A team spokesperson told me the reason was due to squad rotation. He’s in the lineup today as Lahti takes on top side Lukko. Rajaniemi is listed as the team’s top pair for this game.

It’s a bit strange to take out a top-four defender for squad rotation purposes, but Matias’s side was on a four-game winning streak at the time of the scatch. Giving the 19-year-old a rest isn’t a terrible idea.

Another game, another point for Iskhakov? Hopefully. The Isles prospect has found a good role as the team’s second-line center. The team keeps rolling with a seven-game winning streak. With a few teams out of competition for a few weeks, this stretch of strong play is going to help a lot in the finals standings which might be based on points-percentage.

Ljungkrantz has been out of action for a bit, with Stromsbro not in action for a bit and with Brynas not calling him up. The break should help Ljungkrantz whose been jumping between his SHL and HockeyEttan side constantly.

Mirageas and Providence take on UMass. Providence holds a 0-1-2 record against UMass this year. The last time they played, UMass embarrassed Mirageas’s side with an 8-1 win. Providence should be extra motivated to get something from this semi-final matchup.