Tuesday morning brought another question about the Islanders’ defense corps as Tony DeAngelo was absent from the morning skate because of illness and uncertain to play at night against the Lightning in the penultimate game of a seven-game homestand.
It marked the seventh game since physical defenseman Alexander Romanov (right shoulder) was lost for the season.
But while the offense faltered with just six goals in a 1-3-1 start to the homestand, the defense held steady. Twelve goals were scored against the Islanders in that five-game span but that includes two late empty-netters for the Capitals in their 4-1 win on Sunday.
Their defense gave the Islanders a chance to win all five games. And despite Matthew Schaefer logging heavy minutes, the ice-time increases with Romanov missing have been comfortably manageable.
“I feel like when you get in a groove, you’re feeling comfortable out there and that’s what you want to see from our guys,” coach Patrick Roy said. “They’ve been playing really well in their zone. There’s no reason for us to worry about the ice time right now. It’s not like a pitcher in baseball. You’re not calculating the number of pitches, or the ice time for guys. You wake the next morning and say, ‘Oh, my God, he played 22 minutes or 23 minutes.’ ”
On Tuesday morning, depth defensemen Adam Boqvist and Travis Mitchell, a recent call-up from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, both prepared to play. But with Mitchell averaging 10:15 in his two games and Boqvist on ice for an average of 12:46 through his first 10 games, the onus was sure to fall even further on Schaefer and veterans Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield.
Since Romanov’s injury, the 18-year-old Schaefer saw his ice time increase to an average of 23:26 entering Tuesday’s match from 22:29 on Nov. 18. He logged 26:12 against the Capitals after being on ice for a career-high 28:53 in Friday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Flyers. He played 24:53 in this past Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to the Bruins.
“I think it depends on the way the game goes, if there are more power plays, more penalty kills,” said Schaefer, who quarterbacks the first power-play unit and also plays shorthanded. “That will determine how much you play. You definitely know because sometimes you’re going out a lot. But whatever the coach gives you, it’s always good.”
Pulock’s ice time went up to 20:23 from 20:11, Pelech to 19:46 from 19:18 and DeAngelo to 17:29 from 17:01. Only Mayfield saw a dip in his playing time, entering Tuesday with an average of 18:03 after being at 18:55 on Nov. 18.
“It depends what kind of minutes you’re playing,” Roy said. “The last four or five games, we spent a lot of time in the offensive zone. We’re not a lot in our zone. So those minutes are not as tough as if you play in your zone and you’ve got to push guys around and you competing in front of the net.”
Every player craves ice time so heavy minutes are not an issue.
Likewise, players consider the cumulative effect of playing more minutes a positive rather than a potential concern over injury or wearing down.
“You feel better the more you play,” Pelech said. “That can be as small as in a period when you’re jumping over [the boards] every other shift or over the course of a month when you’re playing a ton and feeling good about your game.”
Right now, it’s good for the Islanders’ defense.
Pageau on the ice
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (upper body) participated in the morning skate wearing a non-contact jersey, his first time on ice with teammates since getting hurt in a 2-1 loss to the Blues on Nov. 22 to start the homestand. Pageau said he resumed skating “three, four days ago.” General manager Mathieu Darche said last week he expected the third-line center to miss two to three weeks, adding Pageau would be back in the lineup before Christmas. “We just want to make sure we do it right,” Pageau said. “I am progressing every day and I feel better . . . I’ve always had the tendency to come back quick after injuries. I want to make sure I do it right.”
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.