Mathew Barzal practiced without restrictions for the first time all season on Saturday, a sign the New York Islanders center is nearing a return from a left-knee injury that has sidelined him since before opening night.
Barzal shed his non-contact jersey and skated as a full participant during Saturday morning’s practice, just a week after rejoining the team. Coach Pete DeBoer said it has not yet been decided whether Barzal will travel with the club to California on Sunday, but a return to game action now looks like a matter of when, not if.
Winger Matias Maccelli hit the same milestone Saturday, taking part fully for the first time since a lower-body injury sidelined him three weeks ago.
“It’s not fun when you have injuries. We have a few injuries: Barzy, ‘Chelly, [Calum Ritchie],” defenseman Matthew Schaefer said. “When your full roster’s healthy, it’s nice. All the boys are rolling, we’re feeling good together. We’re just having fun out there.”
The Islanders did not make Barzal or Maccelli available to reporters. DeBoer said both would meet with the team’s medical staff after practice to determine whether they travel.
“It’s all medical doctors,” DeBoer said. “If they have a chance to play, I think that’s part of it. The other part of it is, we have some practice time on the road, real practice time. Even if they can’t play, practicing with us as a group.”
Barzal and Maccelli are not the only players the Islanders are waiting on. Defenseman Ryan Pulock remained in a red non-contact jersey Saturday with an upper-body injury, and forward Calum Ritchie, also dealing with an upper-body injury, has not yet started skating. Those four absences have weighed on the team during its current homestand.
Responding to back-to-back losses, DeBoer shuffled his lineup for Saturday’s game against the Devils, moving Ondrej Palat to the second line, Simon Holmstrom to the third, and inserting Emil Heineman on the top line in Holmstrom’s place. Ben Hutton replaced Scott Mayfield on the third defense pairing.
Those changes are stopgaps until Barzal and Maccelli are back in the lineup. Their return, and eventually Ritchie’s, will hand DeBoer options he has not had all season — including whether to center Barzal or pair him with Bo Horvat on the top wing. Barzal’s speed could also help a struggling power play, while Maccelli’s skill fills a gap in the top six that has been missing since his injury.
The ripple effects would run deep into the lineup. Barzal, Ritchie and Maccelli alone could form a capable second line once healthy, which would push the Islanders’ current third and fourth lines up a notch.
“Especially when you lose a game or two, you tend to look at [future lineup options] a little bit more,” DeBoer said. “I think we’ve done a good job of staying in the moment and focusing on the group that’s available to us, and playing a good brand of hockey with the guys we have available.”
Fifteen games into the season, the Islanders still have not iced a lineup that includes one of their best players — making it impossible to say with certainty what this team really is.
