Roy demands a fearless power forward game from Tsyplakov, urging him to embrace his defensive strengths and drive the net.
VANCOUVER -- The New York Islanders hit the ice against on Sunday afternoon ahead of their Monday showdown against the Vancouver Canucks.
Mathew Barzal is from Coquitlam, British Columbia, which is about a half hour from Vancouver, so he'll have family and friends in the stands for this one.
After backing up David Rittich in their 4-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday, Ilya Sorokin will return to the crease. He stopped all 26 shots that came his way in a 1-0 shutout win against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
Maxim Tsyplakov, who hasn't played since the Islanders' 4-3 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild, will draw back in for Maxim Shabanov. He'll skate alongside Calum Ritchie and Emil Heineman.
"There's nothing personal," head coach Patrick Roy said. "I mean, sometimes you've got to try different things. And Tsyppy hasn't played since the Minnesota game, and so we thought this was a good time for it."
Tsyplakov has just one goal in 24 games this season. Roy wants to see the player he saw in the KHL footage before the forward signed with the Islanders ahead of the 2024-25 season.
"I want him to play his game," Roy said. "When I was watching him two years ago, before he came to the Islanders, I thought that, the way I was watching him, he was a power forward. He's a guy that will bring pucks to the net, a guy that plays really well defensively...to me, that's his DNA, and I want him to play that game. I don't need him to be fancy with the puck -- I know he will, which is fine with me at times. But what I really want to see is his net presence, his ability to do a great job in the defensive zone, and stuff like that. And I know he could do it."
Here's the rest of the lines:
Puck drop between the Islanders and Canucks comes your way at 10 PM ET.