Islanders Practice: Mayfield, Pulock Join; Players Discuss 4 Nations

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — After 10 days off, the New York Islanders returned to practice following a well-earned break. Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield returned to practice and looked sharp.

Pulock wore a non-contact injury, so his return time is still in the air. Mayfield, however, wore a normal jersey and told Andrew Gross of Newsday he expects to play on Sunday against the Dallas Stars.

The return of Mayfield is a very welcome one. The Islanders labeled him day-to-day after he suffered an injury in Tampa Bay. Mayfield missed the final four games before the break and the Islanders went just 1-3-0 without him in the lineup.

Dennis Cholowski filled in for Mayfield but hardly played and is expected to be waived by the organization when the team activates Pulock.

Defensive Set Up at Practice:

It’s noteworthy that during practice, the Islanders ran some pairs. Here’s what they looked like:

Alexander Romanov – Anthony DeAngelo

Scott Perunovich – Ryan Pulock

Adam Pelech – Scott Mayfield

Extra pair:  Dennis Cholowski – Adam Boqvist

It’s extremely noteworthy how the pairs looked. While Pulock may not be ready for contact, the fact he took rushes already provides a sneak peek at what head coach Patrick Roy is thinking of running when fully healthy.

Scott Perunovich and Pulock make a very high–IQ pair with offensive flair, while Adam Pelech and Mayfield would be a complete shutdown unit.

When Noah Dobson returns, one thinks he will replace Anthony DeAngelo in the lineup.

Islanders Discuss 4 Nations:

The 4 Nations Face-Off has been a smash hit for the NHL. The tournament has drawn a ton of attention, and the Islanders were eager to discuss some of their takeaways from it:

Roy expressed his excitement and surprise at the tournament’s success: “Yes, especially the game between Canada and the U.S. in Montreal. Those first nine seconds- I’m not a huge fan of fighting, but I love the intensity of that game. I mean, a couple of body checks from [Charlie] McAvoy against [Connor] McDavid, I thought it was a physical game. I certainly appreciate to see guys pushing that hard and playing with so much pride for this event. It’s just good for our game.”

Simon Holmstrom mentioned how he watched the games and said, “It’s such a great watch for us, even as hockey fans. It’s a quick game, a lot of fun, and high intensity.”

Meanwhile, DeAngelo gushed over how well the tournament’s gone: “I watched almost every game, to be honest. It’s probably a little more, I shouldn’t say intense, but physical. I didn’t even know they were allowed to fight, so that was a cool start. It’s good for the game and it’s good to see how serious the guys are taking it.”

Pelech, DeAngelo praise Jaccob Slavin:

Another major takeaway for DeAngelo was Jaccob Slavin’s excellent play. For the Islanders, it’s no shock to see just how good he is. He’s been arguably the biggest reason the Islanders couldn’t get past the Carolina Hurricanes in the two previous seasons.

Said DeAngelo, “This is just what he does on a nightly basis. Guys don’t want to play against him because of how good he is defensively. He makes everybody around him better on the defensive side of the park. You don’t see many guys who can defend like that against anybody. And in Carolina, they play man coverage, so he’s doing that nightly against guys one-on-one. So it’s very impressive.”

Adam Pelech, the Islanders’ premier shutdown defender, also praised Slavin’s game: “He’s an outstanding player. He’s been doing it for years, and he’s one of the best at what he does. He deserves to be one of the top D-men on that team, logging a ton of minutes, so good for him. He’s a great player. I definitely watch his game and appreciate his game.”

DeAngelo compared Pelech and Slavin, stating how good both are at shutting down plays. DeAngelo made sure to note that Pelech’s mobility impressed him: “He’s very mobile, too, for a guy that size, he moves around as the skater. That makes a big difference for him, too.