The New York Islanders secured a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night, ending a four-game losing streak in a messy but necessary fashion. Jean-Gabriel Pageau departed the morning skate with a lower-body injury just minutes after arriving, meaning the win carried a heavy cost. This win leaves the team with a depleted lineup even as Matias Maccelli and Ryan Pulock return to action.
A Win That Felt Like a Loss
The Islanders played with 11 forwards and seven defensemen because Pageau could not go. Head coach Pete DeBoer had to toss his planned lines and scramble to fill the gaps. Casey Cizikas centered the third line while Maccelli and Mitchell Chaffee formed the fourth line. Matt Kessel served as the extra defenseman to cover the defensive holes. DeBoer admitted the move was about safety for a returning player. “I think we wanted to give Pulock some protection,” DeBoer said, according to the New York Post. “He hadn’t played in a while, and really that was probably the main thing.”
The team struggled to find its rhythm but managed to earn the two points they needed. Bo Horvat scored an empty-net goal to seal the deal and clean up the final score. He acknowledged the messy nature of the performance after the game. “It wasn’t pretty, but we got the job done,” Horvat told The Post. The crowd was sparse and the refereeing was ugly, but the win mattered for the standings.
Stars Return But Health Remains a Question
Ryan Pulock played his first game back from offseason shoulder surgery and looked solid on the ice. He recorded two secondary assists and helped the defense look much more stable. Pulock admitted he knows he has work to do to keep his shoulder from acting up again. Pulock stated, “Obviously it could have been a lot worse,” confirming the matter involved a reaggravation of a shoulder injury. “It’s just something to deal with for four games. Originally, when it happened, I thought maybe it’d be worse.”
Matias Maccelli also returned after missing 3 ½ weeks with a lower-body injury. He was slotted for the fourth line to ease him back into the mix before the roster shuffle. Before getting hurt earlier, Maccelli accumulated six points across the eight games he played. He hopes to get his legs going early and help the team right away.
The injury to Pageau is a blow because the team was already thin. Horvat noted the difficult reality of the lineup situation after the game. “Kind of a depleted lineup,” Bo Horvat told The Post afterward. The team still found ways to win with different guys stepping up in different ways. Horvat praised the effort despite the missing pieces. “Different guys stepped up in different ways. … All-around great team effort with guys out of the lineup.”
They have the scoring depth with Maccelli back and the defensive structure with Pulock returning. But they cannot afford more injuries to key players like Pageau. Victor Eklund extended his scoring streak to four games with a goal off a feed from Brayden Schenn. This young rookie is finding his stride at the same time the veterans are coming back.
Thursday was also a milestone night for two other players in the lineup. Matthew Schaefer played his 100th NHL game while Tony DeAngelo reached his 500th NHL game.
