Islanders rookie goalie Jakub Skarek has a good chance of making debut in the next week

TAMPA, Fla. — He’s a rookie as defined by statistics, but goalie Jakub Skarek is 25 and in his sixth season in the Islanders’ organization. And this coming week marks his best chance yet to make his NHL debut with two sets of back-to-back games and five games in eight days before the two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.

If so, with every point precious for the Islanders, Skarek must be up to the challenge. He was recalled from AHL Bridgeport on Monday with backup Marcus Hogberg (upper body) placed on injured reserve and Semyon Varlamov (lower body) already on long-term injured reserve.

“I had to, a little bit, adjust to the speed,” Skarek told Newsday. “The first practice, the first few drills, I was trying to get used to it. Otherwise, after that, I’m feeling more comfortable now. I’m ready to put the work in here. If the chance comes, I’m going to be really happy about it and I will do my best to help the team win the game. We need every point to make the playoffs.”

The Islanders will bring a season-best six-game winning streak into Saturday night’s game against the Lightning at Amalie Arena, then conclude a three-game road trip against the Stanley Cup champion Panthers on Sunday night. The Islanders also have a tough back-to-back next Friday and Saturday in Winnipeg and Minnesota.

The Islanders are four points behind the Lightning, who hold the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They are three points behind the Bruins, who have played three more games, and two points behind the Red Wings, who have played one more game.

The Czech Republic-born Skarek is 5-11-1 with a 3.22 goals-against average and .895 save percentage for Bridgeport, which entered Friday’s play with a woeful 10-28-2 mark. He stopped 31 of 34 shots across three preseason appearances for the Islanders that amounted to just shy of two full games.

“The season in Bridgeport is not going as we all want,” Skarek said. “But me personally, I’m feeling good. In training camp, I felt good about myself, about the work I’ve done with my coaches back in Finland or back home. So I felt prepared right from the start.

“Since I got here, I’m just trying to take it day by day.”

Serving as Ilya Sorokin’s unused backup, as Skarek did the past two games, has afforded him valuable one-on-one practice time with Islanders goalie coach Piero Greco, who does not get enough public credit for his work in seven seasons with the team.

“It doesn’t matter if I would be a rookie or this is my sixth season, it’s always a great experience,” said Skarek, a third-round pick in 2018. “Even in a training camp or during the season, I level up and compete with these guys. It’s always great for my progress to be a better goalie. I’m very grateful for it.”

Coach Patrick Roy was not willing to divulge his goalie plans in advance of this weekend’s back-to-back, and the Islanders did not practice on Friday. But Skarek’s preseason play did make a positive impression on the Hall of Fame goalie.

“He played really well,” Roy said. “We’re all curious to see what he will do and how well he will play. Because he will play. When? We don’t know. But he will play.”

Notes & quotes: The Islanders claimed defenseman Adam Boqvist, 24, off waivers from the Panthers and assigned rookie defenseman Isaiah George, benched for long stretches in the last two games, to Bridgeport. Boqvist, a 6-foot, 191-pound Swede who had two goals and four assists in 18 games in his first season with the Panthers, will join his fourth NHL team since Chicago selected him eighth overall in 2018, four spots before the Islanders took defenseman Noah Dobson.

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.