How Kyle Palmieri's Return to Islanders Practice Affects Lineup Decisions

Deciding the New York Islanders starting lineup was always going to be a challenge for head coach Lane Lambert. Things get harder now that Kyle Palmieri is back.

EAST MEADOW, NY -- Deciding the New York Islanders starting lineup was always going to be a challenge for head coach Lane Lambert. 

With Kyle Palmieri making his training camp debut Wednesday, feeling good with sights set on opening night, Lambert's job just got harder. 

"It was nice to get back with the group and start working toward the season," Palmieri said Wednesday. 

With only two games left on the preseason slate, Palmieri may not be ready for game-action before the final game on Friday. 

But that's not something he believes will impact his availability for the first game of the 2023-24 season, when the Islanders host the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 14 at UBS Arena. 

"It's kind of a weird schedule, as far as preseason being over Friday and then seven, eight days [before the home opener], but it's practice, and we got a veteran group here," Palmieri said.  "We like to push each other in practice, and the pace has been high. I've been watching all the practices here, so I'd like to get into a game, but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't make too big of a difference as far as working toward the season opener."

Palmieri did practice with the non-game group on Monday. 

As for how long Lambert believes it will take Palmieri to get back up to speed, he doesn't think long. 

"He has been skating on his own doing some really productive stuff. So, I don't think it's that long of a window," Lambert said. 

Lambert now believes Palmieri can be ready for opening night. 

"I do now. I guess we'll just see how he progresses."

Before Palmieri was back healthy, five players were fighting for three opening-night spots: Hudson Fasching, Simon Holmstrom, Oliver Wahlstrom, Julien Gauthier, and Ross Johnston.

Now, that number is down to two spots. 

Here's how the Islanders' forwards lined up at Wednesday's practice:

Simon Holmstrom-Bo Horvat-Mathew Barzal

Pierre Engvall-Brock Nelson-Kyle Palmieri

Anders Lee-Jean-Gabriel Pageau Oliver Wahlstrom

Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Cal Clutterbuck

EXTRA: Ross Johnston-Julien-Gauthier-Hudson Fasching

All three of the extras rotated during drills. 

If Palmieri is healthy for opening night, he will play in a top-six role, likely alongside Nelson and Engvall.

That means Bo Horvat's left and Jean-Gabriel Pageau's right is open for business, that is, if Lee stays on Pageau's left as he has for most of camp.

Holmstrom has been given countless chances alongside Horvat and Barzal, and while his defensive play works with that line, his struggles to hit the net aren't helping his case. 

It's worth noting that Holmstrom is waiver-exempt, so if he doesn't win the starting first-line job, he will likely begin his season in Bridgeport. 

Wahlstrom's struggled in preseason play, as it's certainly tough getting back up to game speed after being on the shelf since late December. 

But there comes a point in time where he needs to show something, whether it's showing off his shot or making a strong play, to at least put himself ahead of the competition, and we haven't seen that just yet.

The Hockey News asked Lambert what more he needs to see from Wahlstrom.

"I think he's fared himself well [...] It's been a long time since he's been off, and we have to be cognizant of that. It's not necessarily what I'm looking more for as much as him getting back up to speed," Lambert said. 

Gauthier and Fasching don't play the same game but are versatile options for Lambert, which helps alleviate the Zach Parise loss. 

Gauthier has shown off impeccable speed, a strong IQ, and, more importantly, an accurate, hard shot, which had been an issue over his career. 

Fasching, as he did last season, goes to work and can play whatever game is needed, increasing his offensive awareness alongside Nelson or focusing more on his defense alongside Pageau or Cizikas. 

Both Gauthier and Fasching were signed to multi-year deals this summer, so it's safe to say they will be making the NHL roster. 

Unfortunately for Ross Johnston, his contract certainly plays a part in him making the team. 

The Islanders are currently around $486,000 over the salary cap, per CapFriendly. 

While a stand-up guy in the room and on the ice, the Islanders could bury all of his $1.1 million salary in the minors, which would provide more spending opportunities at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. 

The longer Johnston's contract is buried, the more money accrued. 

Johnston doesn't have to be waived for the Islanders to be cap-compliant, as Karson Kuhlman and his $775,000 would do the trick. But if Johnston is going to be a scratch every night, that hurts New York financially. 

Competition at training camp is something that every NHL team wants.

With a few prospects taking that next step and depth signings putting pressure on NHL regulars, this has been the Islanders' most competitive camp in quite some time.

"Anybody who's fighting for position and for a spot has to continue doing what they're doing," Lambert said. " I think they've done a good job at this point. They just have to continue doing what they do, play their game, don't overthink things, and just control what you can control."

With only two preseason games left, Thursday and Friday of this week, we are getting down to crunch time.