The New York Islanders could soon see the return of an injured trio, with forwards Mathew Barzal and Matias Maccelli, along with defenseman Ryan Pulock, potentially rejoining the team this week in California. Coach Pete DeBoer indicated that their inclusion on the current road trip suggests an imminent return.
"There's a potential," DeBoer said when asked if any of the three might play on the trip. "That's not a guarantee, but there's a potential. We also felt we had a better opportunity to work with them with the group, which is the point they're at now. They need to start reintegrating with the group."
While Pulock participated in full contact during Monday's morning skate, Barzal and Maccelli were in non-contact jerseys, a step forward from their previous status. DeBoer noted that Barzal's progress indicated he was "closer" to playing.
The next step for the injured players involves engaging in physical contact to assess their response. The plan is for them to participate in drills with extra players following morning skates.
Barzal has not played this season due to inflammation around a left kneecap injury sustained two seasons ago. Pulock is recovering from an upper-body injury, and Maccelli is dealing with a lower-body injury. Pulock's initial recovery timeline was estimated at two to four weeks after he was injured on November 1st. Maccelli's injury occurred on October 17th, also with a projected recovery period of two to four weeks.
Forward Calum Ritchie, who is not traveling with the team, faces a four-to-six-week recovery period after sustaining an injury in the same game as Maccelli on October 17th.
Following Monday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Sharks, the Islanders have two days before their next game against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. One practice is scheduled before that matchup. The team maintained its forward lines from Saturday's game, with Simon Holmstrom on the top line, Emil Heineman on the second, and Ondrej Palat on the third. The defensive pairings saw Adam Pelech paired with Matthew Schaefer, Logan Stanley with Tony DeAngelo, and Ben Hutton with Matt Kessel.