If Casey Cizikas has to miss some time, here's a few options for the New York Islanders.
If Casey Cizikas has to miss some time, here's a few options for the New York Islanders.
It seems like every time a player returns to the New York Islanders lineup, another goes down.
In the first period of Tuesday night's 5-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks, in which defenseman Adam Pelech returned from a 20-game absence, forward Casey Cizikas suffered a lower-body injury after blocking a Filip Hronek laser from the right point off his left leg:
The Canucks would score seconds after as Cizikas lay on the ice before needing to be helped off the ice. He went down the tunnel but did return before the end of the first period.
However, after coming out for the second and playing two shifts, the 32-year-old center left the game at 1:41 of the middle frame and did not return.
"We don't have any update," Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said following the loss.
The organization does have a few options if Cizikas has to miss time.
For starters, if they don't want to go to the prospect well, Cal Clutterbuck could slot in as the fourth-line center.
He played that role against the Washington Capitals on Dec. 29 in a 5-1 win after Cizikas was unable to play due to illness. That would allow Hudson Fasching, who hasn't played since Jan. 2 in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche, to get back into the lineup after playing well before becoming a healthy scratch.
If Cizikas is going to need time to heal, a minimum of seven days, the Islanders could place him on injured reserve and recall someone from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League.
The clear-cut option would be 24-year-old centerman Kyle MacLean, who has six goals and 13 assists in 32 games with Bridgeport this season.
The son of Islanders power-play coach John MacLean, Kyle is a strong bottom-six center who is physical, responsible, and an avid penalty killer.
MacLean's play this past summer at training camp opened some eyes, as a once looked-over prospect seemed more NHL-ready than anyone else.
“I’m comfortable with that [fourth-line role],” MacLean said after one of the final preseason games. “Down in Bridgeport, I [killed penalties] a lot. I was relied on to be a good two-way forward. Up here, the message is the same. Keep trying to be solid defensively, up and down the ice.
"Penalty killing is a part of my game. I need to be good at it. Up here, I embrace it, just as I would down there.”
Lambert spoke on his intelligence this past summer.
“I’ve liked him,” Lambert said. “I think he’s extremely intelligent. He fits well into that [fourth-line] role. He killed penalties in both the games that he played and did a really good job. He takes faceoffs, and he can skate.”
The Islanders did sign two depth centers this past summer: Karson Kuhlman and Brian Pinho.
Kuhlman, who has 147 NHL games under his belt, has seven goals and two assists, while Pinho, who played just two NHL games, has four goals and 13 assists in 32 games played for Bridgeport this season.
With the Islanders off on Wednesday, we likely will not learn of a potential call-up until the Islanders hit the ice for morning skate on Thursday ahead of their 7 PM showdown with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
If Cizikas ends up on injured reserve, retroactive to Tuesday, he will be eligible to return to the Islanders lineup no earlier than the finale of their upcoming road trip next Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks.