Isles Practice News: Pageau Practices, Engvall Scratched; Roster Cuts Looming?

The New York Islanders gathered at Northwell Health Ice Center for practice Monday morning before facing the Montreal Canadiens in the Bell Centre tomorrow night. Jean-Gabriel Pageau returned to the ice to practice and will make the trip to Montreal. Pageau did not play in the team’s two most recent games this past weekend.

Marcus Hogberg received an emergency recall to practice today, with Semyon Varlamov sidelined day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The team already announced that Varlamov will travel tomorrow and Hogberg will not.

The lines, courtesy of Ethan Sears of the NY Post, shook out like this:

Forwards:

Anders Lee – Bo Horvat – Simon Holmstrom

Maxim Tsyplakov – Brock Nelson – Kyle Palmieri

Kyle MacLean – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Oliver Wahlstrom

Matt Martin – Casey Cizikas – Hudson Fasching

E: Pierre Engvall

Defense:

Alexander Romanov – Ryan Pulock

Isaiah George – Noah Dobson

Dennis Cholowski – Scott Mayfield

E- Grant Hutton

G’s: Ilya Sorokin, Magnus Hogberg

Roy to Scratch Engvall Again, Future Uncertain:

For a second straight game, Islanders Head Coach Patrick Roy will healthy scratch Pierre Engvall. After practice, Roy defended his decision quite harshly afterward, saying “Very simple. Bring the puck to the net and stay at the net. That’s it. It’s sad, but right now, there’s guys that are playing better than him. They’re probably not as talented as him, but they’re playing better than he is… If he was helping me, I promise you this, he’d play.”

Yowch. That’s just about as harsh as a coach will be publicly. It’s growing clearer and clearer that Engvall does not have a future with the Islanders so long as Roy is coach. It’s an ugly situation that grows uglier. Moreover, Roy already said the Islanders will go 11/7 tomorrow night if Pageau cannot go. Yeesh.

He’s clearly going to be the first player Roy submits to Team President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello to cut from the roster. The roster can afford to hold everyone when Anthony Duclair is re-instated from LTIR.

The roster currently sits at 22 skaters and goalies. The maximum is 23. Adam Pelech might just be ready before Duclair. Still, if so, it’s expected the team will demote Isaiah George to Bridgeport for regular playing time as opposed to being an extra defenseman.

Duclair and Pelech have continued to skate on their own in the build up to their returns. Mathew Barzal has yet to resume skating, but his 4-6 week timeline approaches soon.

When Barzal returns, however, the salary cap and roster limit come right back into play. If, and this is a big if, the Islanders can clear Pierre Engvall’s entire salary via a trade, the team can keep everyone else on the roster and carry a full 23-man roster by $50k and change.

However, it’s going to be rather hard to do that which leads to a conundrum with the bottom six.

The Bottom Six Conundrum:

The other options on the chop-block should include Oliver Wahlstrom and Kyle MacLean.

Wahlstrom’s inconsistencies and lack of finish led to Roy removing him from the power play and leaving him in the lineup despite some frustrations from his perceived lack of effort. I honestly haven’t hated his game this year, but there’s no doubt he needs more offense to keep his spot. If it were a pure forechecking forward Roy wanted, Hudson Fasching would’ve been reinserted long ago.

Roy sees something in Wahlstrom and continues to give him an opportunity to stay. It’s showing even now, with Wahlstrom receiving the elevation to line three on Saturday and now again for tomorrow’s game in Montreal.

MacLean, however, has struggled to start the season. At first, you can give the benefit of the doubt to an early sophomore slump. However, through 25 games now, it’s hard to see that same forechecking effectiveness that made him work so well last year.

At times, it’s been hard to recognize the same player. His energy and work level are still quite high- he’s fighting hard, make no mistake. But, his struggles have affected his line, no matter who the wingers have been. It would not shock me when the team is at full health to see MacLean on the outside looking in.

Roy has seemingly admitted that to himself now. MacLean has been bumped out of his natural position at center and shifted to left wing, up on the third line with Wahlstrom and Pageau. It’s a big opportunity for MacLean to reset and find his game ahead of an impending roster crunch.

What About Martin and Fasching?

Matt Martin has done what he does quite well since signing his contract in the wake of Duclair’s injury. He’s honest about it and works hard. At full strength, it’s hard to see him in the lineup regularly, but with the struggles of players like Engvall and MacLean, it’s impossible to rule it out. Martin had a goal taken away from him on Saturday on a flimsy review that took about two hours to decide whether or not it’d count before the linesmen ruled the play offside.

As outlined earlier, Fasching does not seem to fit the mold Roy likes. I’ve liked Fasching when he plays, but too often, he lacks any true offensive upside, and that isn’t Roy’s preferred brand of hockey. Fasching would’ve had the primary assist on Martin’s disallowed goal yesterday, so perhaps there’s more in there yet.

Decisions are coming about what to do with the outer crust of this hockey team. All along, Roy has wanted hard decisions. Another one is coming soon.