The Islanders are ready to face the Blackhawks with two key players back in action. Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech have returned from their injuries, as reported by Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. To make room for them, goalie Semyon Varlamov was placed on injured reserve.
Barzal’s return comes after a four-to-six-week recovery from an upper-body injury he got against the Blue Jackets on October 30th, which made him miss 21 out of 31 games. Meanwhile, Pelech has been out almost as long due to a fractured jaw sustained during a game against the Sabres right after Barzal’s injury.
Both players’ returns were expected. Barzal practiced without restrictions last Thursday and was listed as day-to-day. Coach Patrick Roy mentioned he would be a game-time decision for Sunday’s match. Pelech also rejoined practice last week and is now cleared for full contact alongside Barzal. The team managed to hold a 9-7-5 record without them, despite losing Anthony Duclair earlier in October due to a leg injury . Fans might feel hopeful seeing these key players back on the ice.
Team Strategy and Future Moves:
The Islanders are currently just one point behind the Senators for a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race, although Ottawa has played one less game than them. With about 62% of their schedule remaining, there’s plenty of time to climb higher in the standings.
After Sunday’s roster adjustments, they have just over $100K in cap space according to PuckPedia. To activate Duclair soon, they’ll need to clear some salaries—likely sending Engvall back to the minors after clearing waivers yesterday.
In Sunday’s game lineup changes: with Duclair still sidelined and Bo Horvat likely missing due to minor lower-body issues, Barzal will center between Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau once again—a position he hasn’t played recently since his injury limited him offensively before with only two goals and three assists in ten games this season! Last year though? He had his best performance since winning Rookie-of-the-Year honors back then; scoring career-highs across board including reaching point-per-game average!
Defensive Adjustments:
Pelech resumes his role alongside Ryan Pulock on top-pairing duties where before breaking jaw averaged more than twenty minutes per contest while contributing four assists but carried minus-three rating through eleven matches so far this campaign…yet when healthy? His possession stats showed why once considered among elite defenders globally controlling nearly fifty-five percent shot attempts even strength which if maintained would mark personal best ten-year veteran career-wise!
Isaiah George & Grant Hutton sit out defensively today while Dennis Cholowski partners Scott Mayfield bottom-pairing setup instead—what do you think about these changes?
