Roy liked what he saw from George alongside Dobson, but putting Romanov back with Noah was an easy decision.
New York Islanders rookie Isaiah George had been a strong partner for Noah Dobson when Alexander Romanov was out injured.
"They're good for both of each other," Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said about Dobson and George on Saturday afternoon. "George is fast and skates well. He's capable of recovering and does a good job. He opens up for Dobson when he's under pressure. So I think they're doing really well together."
But ahead of Romanov's return to the lineup on Tuesday against the Calgary Flames, Roy elected to place No. 28 back with Dobson, moving George to Ryan Pulock's left.
While Roy is completely correct about George's recovery ability being rather helpful alongside Dobson, Romanov is great with that as well.
The one flaw we have seen in George's game is while he can get back to make plays, he lacks the true physicality to knock players off the puck, especially the bigger players.
For Romanov, that's his specialty.
The advanced statistics back up the eye test.
When Romanov and Dobson were on the ice through eight games, the Islanders outshot their opponents 75-61, outscored them 8-5, and allowed 60 scoring chances to their 64.
In six games for George and Dobson, the Islanders were outshot 47-41, outscored 4-1, and outchanced 43-42.
George has only 4:58 alongside Pulock, with the Islanders outshooting their opponents 3-2, but were outscored 1-0 and outchanced 5-2.
Once the puck drops, will see how Romanov fairs throughout the game.
It shouldn’t be a situation where Romanov’s playing time is less than usual, as he’s a warrior and if he’s back, it’s because he’s more than 100 percent ready to go.