Matias Maccelli Scores Twice in Preseason, Easing Islanders' Concerns

Matias Maccelli scored two goals, both on the power play, in the New York Islanders' second preseason game, offering early solutions to two key training camp uncertainties. The forward's performance also addressed concerns about the team's power play unit, which finished with the third-worst success rate in the NHL last season.

Maccelli, who skated on the second line, expressed his goal to secure a top-six role. "Obviously, that’s the goal, to play in that role," Maccelli said. "It was a good start for that [Tuesday], and try not to think about it too much and just come to the rink and do my job and play as good as I can."

Maccelli's first goal came off a deflected puck, while his second was a rebound. "You need a certain amount of goals in this league in order to get in the playoffs, regardless of how well you defend," Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer commented. "You still have to put the puck in the net at a certain level in order to give yourself a chance to get in the playoffs. So I think our conversations were around ‘how do we add some goals to the lineup,’ and that included adding guys that could help our power play — and I think he checked both those boxes."

DeBoer added that Maccelli "did what he’s supposed to do [Tuesday] in order to make a statement about where he fits on this team." The coach also praised Matthew Schaefer, who scored the team's other goal, suggesting he "will be a future captain of this team."

Defenseman Ethan Bear and goaltender Henrik Tikkanen were waived Tuesday for assignment to the AHL Hamilton. Several other players were also assigned to the AHL team, including Cameron Berg, Cam Thiesing, Jesse Pulkkinen, Hunter Drew, Ryan Healey, Luke Rowe, Ryan Fanti, Brandon Scanlon, Jesse Nurmi, Joey Larson, Gleb Veremyev, and Calle Odelius. Kyle MacLean scored the Islanders' first goal of the game.