Islanders defensemen Robert Bortuzzo, Mike Reilly looking to contribute now

Robert Bortuzzo and Mike Reilly, defensemen with a combined 22 seasons of NHL experience, know they can’t worry about what comes next and whether their status as current regulars among the top six will end when the Islanders get healthier.

Too much can happen between now and then.

“For me in my career, it’s kind of just control what you can control, and that’s being ready to play every night,” Bortuzzo said. “Buying into what the team is trying to do. And things usually work themselves out. In this game, the minute you start letting your mind wander and thinking you can control things, that’s when you get in trouble.”

The in-season acquisitions again were in the lineup on Friday night as the Islanders played their last home game of 2023 against the Capitals at UBS Arena. Core defensemen Adam Pelech (long-term injured reserve/upper body), Ryan Pulock (injured reserve/lower body) and Scott Mayfield (IR/upper body) have been sidelined for lengthy stretches with no timetable for their return, though Mayfield has resumed skating with the team.

So rather than project what might happen when any of that injured trio returns, Bortuzzo and Reilly are focused on the current playing time that eluded them earlier this season with their previous teams.

Bortuzzo dressed for only four games with the Blues before the Islanders acquired him for a seventh-round pick on Dec. 8. The physical, stay-at-home defenseman had gone without a point in 13 games for the Islanders entering Friday but had 19 penalty minutes. He’s skating with rookie Samuel Bolduc.

The smooth-skating Reilly, who likes to join the rush and get deep in the offensive zone, played only two games with the Panthers before the Islanders claimed him off waivers on Nov. 25. He entered Friday with two goals and five assists in 16 games and has been paired with Sebastian Aho.

“I haven’t even really thought about it,” Reilly said. “Just trying to come in and keep growing my game a little bit. It will be good to have those guys back and see where it shakes out. It’s three important guys. Just try not to think about that too much and what could happen. We’re all a group together and we’re pushing each other in a good way.”

The Islanders have struggled with their defensive game and penalty kill — ranked 31st in the NHL — without Pelech, who last played on Nov. 24; Pulock, injured on Dec. 7, and Mayfield, whose last game was Dec. 11. That was most evident as the Penguins humiliated the Islanders, 7-0, on Wednesday at UBS Arena, scoring six goals in the second period.

But the struggles could have been far worse without Bortuzzo and Reilly in the lineup.

“You’ve got to step up a little bit but, at the same time, not try to do too much,” Reilly said of stepping in for Pelech, Pulock and Mayfield. “You want to up your game a little bit. Those are three really good defenders.”

“They came in seamlessly,” general manager Lou Lamoriello said. “They’ve done everything and anything we could have asked from them. They’ve been a tremendous asset.”

Notes & quotes: Goalie Semyon Varlamov did not participate in the morning skate after missing Thursday’s practice and Ken Appleby dressed as Ilya Sorokin’s backup against the Capitals. Coach Lane Lambert listed Varlamov as day-to-day and said it is unclear whether he will be able to accompany the Islanders on a four-game road trip that begins on Sunday in Pittsburgh . . . Lambert said it is possible that Mayfield, who missed his eighth game, will travel with the team.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

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.