Anders Lee Jam Kancer NEW YORK, NY -- New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/game-recaps/new-york-islanders-new-york-rangers-4-2-preseason-msg-dufour-durandeau] prospect Matthew Maggio [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/matthew-maggio-new-york-islanders-prospect-rookie-camp] showcased a warrior mentality in his first-ever preseason game. Logging 13:46 primarily alongside Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, the 20-year-old had to grind after sustaining a few injuries early in the 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers. READ MORE: Slow Start Sinks Islanders, Fall to Rangers 4-2 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/game-recaps/new-york-islanders-new-york-rangers-4-2-preseason-msg-dufour-durandeau] At the 9:19 mark of the first period, Maggio quickly passed the puck up the ice out of the Islanders' zone. Seconds later, Rangers forward Vincent Trochek clipped him with a knee-on-knee hit, leading to a power play for New York. It also left Maggio on the ice as he struggled to get to his feet. After staying down for a little, Maggio skated off and remained in the game. But it certainly was a scary situation for him. "I was just praying that I can keep going," Maggio said. "I don't think really anything was gonna take me out of that game. I tried to move the puck quick and get the puck out, and I wasn't really expecting it. You just want to suck it up and finish the game." After the game, Maggio said he took an elbow to the nose the shift prior, breaking it. "Forecheck second shift," Maggio said. "Just got hit with an elbow, and I could tell right away that it was pretty bad." As for how he will recover, with a scrimmage Wednesday at Northwell Ice Center: "Just take Advil. Take some Tylenol and be ready for tomorrow." Teammate Ross Johnston went after Trochek following a whistle later on in the opening frame, earning himself a double-minor for roughing. To see that meant the world to Maggio. "That's pretty special. Just him coming in there -- and he kind of told me it was gonna happen to before -- it really just shows the culture that they have built here, that they're going to stick up for younger guys even in a preseason game. So to have a veteran do that for me, it definitely brings you a lot of comfort and a lot of respect." Maggio did find the stat sheet, earning a secondary assist on William Dufour's power-play tally in the first, adding a shot as well. Losing isn't fun, but Maggio was thrilled to get his first NHL game out of the way, even if it didn't count. "It was obviously good to get out there and get the first one under the belt," Maggio said. "Coming in, obviously, there's a good amount of nerves, and it's something that you look forward to your whole life, so to come out here and just put on that jersey for the first time definitely felt really good. "There's a bitter feeling right now. I know it's exhibition, but I'm still pretty upset that we lost, and at the end of the day, I need to do more. I think it was a good start.” "When you get banged up early, you get into the game," Maggio said. "And I mean, first period, my focus was just playing a simple game. I just wanted to make quick plays, really get the puck out, get it on the backcheck, and play with a lot of energy. "And then I think as the game went on, just like in the scrimmage, just kind of starting to create more and try to show my offense, but I think when you're playing with guys like Lee and Pageau, they play the right way so much that they make it easy for you to help them out so I think as the game went on, we got better and better. And I thought we had a lot of good looks tonight." There was a point in the second period where Maggio got caught on the ice for 2:04, a majority of that in his own zone. After finally getting off the ice, Islanders head coach Lane Lambert seemed to yell at him as he took a seat on the bench. Sure, it was a yell. But a sure positive, Maggio told The Hockey News. "They were just telling me I did the right thing there, just the way I played out there," Maggio said. "MacLean just talked to me after that one, as that's something that we've been working on in camp. Sometimes you're gonna get stuck out there. I didn't really think I could have gotten off. It would have hurt the team. "So I knew that I had to tough it out on that one. And when you're out of breath, I think that's when the positioning and the strategy comes into play. They were saying, 'good job sticking with the plan, not running around and keeping them to the outside'. So I thought I did that. Obviously, you never want to get hemmed in your own zone, but I made it out of it. Here's what Lambert had to say about Maggio after the game: "He works. He competes. He wants the puck. He'll go to the net, and he clearly can withstand some physicality." It wasn't a perfect game for Maggio but it's a game to learn from and build on as he certainly showed that even when things aren't going according to plan, he can still be effective.
