Preseason gives Islanders coach Patrick Roy time to balance his forward lines
Islanders coach Patrick Roy speaks after practice at the Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow on Friday. Credit: Barry Sloan
The Islanders’ second preseason match offered the first in-game look at their expected top line of free agent signee Anthony Duclair joining center Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal. But it also presented additional insight into how coach Patrick Roy plans to balance his four lines once the regular season starts.
“I think any coach will say this, you need your four lines,” Roy said as the Islanders faced the Rangers on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. “There’s going to be some nights where [the top line] is going to be the difference maker and the other night will be another line. It could be the line with [Kyle] MacLean and [Casey Cizikas] and whoever they’re going to play with.”
Cizikas and MacLean, who both centered the fourth line at different points last season, were not together on Monday night but, as Roy indicated, should be against Utah on Oct. 10 at UBS Arena.
Cizikas, who finished last season on Horvat and Barzal’s left wing before Duclair signed a four-year, $14 million deal, skated with longtime linemate Matt Martin, in training camp on a professional tryout offer, and Hudson Fasching. MacLean was in between prospect Eetu Liukas and Pierre Engvall.
Roy used Simon Holmstrom on second-line center Brock Nelson’s left wing along with Kyle Palmieri in the Islanders’ 4-2 win over the host Devils on Sunday night in their preseason opener. That line could make it to the season opener intact while third-line center Jean-Gabriel Pageau is likely to open the season with captain Anders Lee remaining on his left wing. Right wing is still TBD with Russian import Maxim Tsyplakov likely to find a spot somewhere among the top 12.
Even if Martin earns a contract, the Islanders’ fourth line will be vastly different this season with Cal Clutterbuck, who remains an unrestricted free agent, not returning. Fasching could complete this season’s trio.
“It’s definitely weird not having him here at camp and him being a part of this,” Cizikas said. “That’s a tough part about being in professional sport, you lose a lot of good friends along the way.
Cizikas said his biggest takeaway from his time on the top line was just how Horvat and Barzal see the ice and having to anticipate the puck coming his way even when he didn’t think he was open.
That’s the chemistry Horvat and Barzal have to build with the speedy Duclair.
“He brings a lot of skill and possession and speed,” Barzal said. “I’m going to try get him the puck. I feel comfortable giving it to him.”
“For us, it’s a lot of communication at the beginning,” Horvat said. “Talking through where we’re going to be. How we’re going to attack things that way. Even defensively, too, if he’s the first guy back, take my spot low and kind of vice versa.”
Notes & quotes: Semyon Varlamov, the No. 1 goalie for now until Ilya Sorokin (back) recovers from offseason surgery, started his first preseason game. Henrik Tikkanen, a seventh-round pick in 2020, was the other netminder.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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