Islanders, Rangers make interesting lineup changes ahead of crucial game
The Islanders' Scott Mayfield, left, and the Rangers' Chris Kreider. Credit: Dawn McCormick; Getty Images/Bill Wippert
February 25, 7:30 PM ET
Status quo it was not.
Both Islanders coach Patrick Roy and Rangers counterpart Peter Laviolette made interesting lineup choices — whether by necessity or not — for Tuesday night’s crucial match at UBS Arena with both Eastern Conference wild-card candidates needing to win in regulation.
Roy made core defenseman Scott Mayfield — who had just returned to the lineup after a four-game absence for a lower-body injury — a healthy scratch in favor of the speedier Adam Boqvist, who can also quarterback the power play. And Simon Holmstrom was elevated to Brock Nelson’s second line to start the game after being moved there during Sunday night’s 4-3 loss to the visiting Stars.
Laviolette inserted Brennan Othmann, the 16th overall pick in 2021, for his first game this season and just his fourth NHL game overall after he was recalled from the Rangers’ AHL affiliate in Hartford on Monday. Chris Kreider, who missed Sunday’s 5-3 win in Pittsburgh with an upper-body injury, did not play after being listed as a game-time decision and Othmann was used ahead of Arthur Kaliyev, who had dressed for the three previous games.
“It's exciting for sure, to be able to know that the staff here has that kind of trust in me to come in the lineup, if I'm in,” said Othmann, who has 12 goals and eight assists in 27 games for Hartford while missing more than two months with an upper-body injury. “I feel good about my game, where it's at, and I feel confident in myself and the progress that I made from when I first started coming back from the injury.”
Boqvist, too, felt the trust from his coaching staff after being a healthy scratch against the Stars with both Mayfield and Ryan Pulock returning from injuries.
“Yeah, for sure,” said Boqvist, claimed off waivers from the Panthers on Jan. 31. “The biggest thing is when I got picked up here, there are a lot of defensemen and it’s a good competition. You’ve got to play at your best every shift.”
Roy limited Mayfield to just 10:36 of ice time against the Stars, well below his season’s average of 17:25.
“It was tough but, sometimes, you have to make a decision,” Roy said. “I had a good conversation with Scotty and we talked about the way we liked to see him play. He hasn’t played a lot so I think it would be good for him to go on the ice and practice. When the time comes and we put him back in the lineup, I’m sure he will be ready.”
Roy cited Boqvist’s speed, his ability to join the rush and the possibility to help the Islanders’ power play, which entered Tuesday still mired in last place in the NHL and without a man-advantage goal in the last four games and just one in the last 10 matches, as factors in his decision.
Giving Holmstrom more ice time as a top-six forward — with Maxim Tsyplakov flip-flopping onto Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s third line — was purely about the numbers.
Holmstrom, with increasingly emerging confidence in his shot, has five goals and three assists in his last 11 games and is consistently one of the Islanders’ most effective forwards.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Holmstrom said. “I’m just going to stick to my game and what has brought me there.
“When you play good, the confidence kind of comes automatically.”
Notes & quotes: Islanders defenseman Mike Reilly (heart condition/long-term injured reserve) was a full participant in the team’s morning skate, marking the first time he’s gone through contact drills since suffering a concussion on Nov. 1. There’s still no timetable for his potential return . . . The Islanders placed fourth-liner Matt Martin who has not played since Jan. 16 and has dressed just four times in the previous 24 games, on injured reserve with a lower-body issue. That frees a roster spot to potentially activate defenseman Noah Dobson (lower body), who is eligible to come off LTIR . . . Rangers defenseman Adam Fox of Jericho missed the morning skate for personal reasons but was in the lineup . . . Defenseman Zac Jones returned from his two-game AHL conditioning stint but was a healthy scratch. “Lots of minutes in a couple games,” Laviolette said. “Which is what we wanted to accomplish.”
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.
