Handling Hiatus: ‘This Isn’t a Vacation or a Break for Us’

There’s time for fun, and there’s time for business. And even with no games this week, the New York Islanders have been hard at work in preparation for their next game on Jan. 15 against the New Jersey Devils and for the grind of a schedule that will follow.

The Islanders have taken full advantage of this newfound practice time, as they hit the Northwell Ice Center ice three straight days from Monday to Wednesday, before an off day Thursday.

“The intensity has been high, lots of games, lots of compete drills,” Islanders forward Mat Barzal said following practice on Wednesday.  “This isn’t a vacation or a break for us.”

“I think we are going to come out of this thing hopefully in good shape and ready to go.”

Even though practices are critical, having fun and keeping the team loose is essential. With the Islanders’ lack of game performances to build on, Barzal has brought his energy to practice.

And it’s something that his teammates appreciate.

#Isles Casey Cizikas on the energy Mat Barzal brings to practice:

"The way he practices, the way he works, guys feed off of that and want to get better. He's leading the charge out there." pic.twitter.com/bJfbTP1ocv

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) January 5, 2022

Following practice on Tuesday, forward Austin Czarnik spoke about his attitude when he comes to work every day, especially given his current situation as a “next man up” player for Islanders head coach Barry Trotz.

“I think you just have to focus on what you can control,” Czarnik said. “That’s coming to the rink every day ready to work and just having fun.”

Austin Czarnik’s Uncertain Future, ‘Just Going to Have Fun’

Winning does help with the overall mood in the room. 

The Islanders, before the break, had won two games in a row and three of their last four. The offense has been clicking, having outscored their opponents 13-8 over that span. 

And those strong performances came without certain pieces in their lineup present. With this break in the schedule, the Islanders are in a unique spot that not many teams can be in, come January.

In the middle of an 82-game season, the Islanders have the luxury of getting healthy.

The Islanders welcomed Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri to practice on Monday and saw the final player on the COVID-19 list in Sebastian Aho, activated on Wednesday.

Ryan Pulock is the lone Islander not skating with the team, but his return should be sooner than later as he has been skating independently.

“It certainly is something to look forward to,” associate head coach Lane Lambert said Wednesday. “We haven’t had that. Knowing that’s a possibility is exciting.”

The Islanders have a lot of work to do once their season resumes. They are currently 10 points out of a wild-card spot and while the Islanders have many games in hand as they have played the least amount of games in the NHL.

But the team holding down the final wild-card spot is the Boston Bruins, who have 10 more points than the Islanders, and have just one more game played.

With still a week before the Islanders’ next game, that hole could be significantly deeper depending on what Boston and the other four teams in front of them do.

All the Islanders can control is their performance and until their next game, they are doing what they can in practice to make adjustments based on past performances while getting healthy in the process.

After an off day on Thursday, the Islanders will be back on the ice for practice Thursday morning.