Islanders All-Star Nominees The New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/players/alexander-romanov-new-york-islanders-hits-montreal-canadiens-lane-lambert] hit the practice ice in Raliegh Friday afternoon ahead of their Saturday night showdown with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Islanders are 1-0-1 against Carolina this season, blowing a 3-0 lead at UBS in a 4-3 overtime loss on Nov. 4 before defeating the Hurricanes in overtime 5-4 on Nov. 30. Per Andrew Gross [https://twitter.com/AGrossNewsday] of Newsday, Julien Gauthier [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/julien-gauthier-new-york-islanders-lane-lambert-nhl-roster] (upper body, day-to-day) was back on the ice for the Islanders after missing Wednesday night's 3-2 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/new-york-islanders-2023-24-regular-season-32-games]. The first-year Islanders suffered an injury in the opening two minutes of the second period Monday night against the Edmonton Oilers in a 3-1 win. In his absence against D.C., Oliver Wahlstrom [https://twitter.com/stefen_rosner/status/1737679016188952856] drew back in for the first time in eight games. The 23-year-old recorded one shot in 11:39 minutes alongside Jean-Gabriel Pageau [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/players/simon-holmstrom-jean-gabriel-pageau-new-york-islanders-duo-penalty-kill] and Simon Holmstrom [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/players/simon-holmstrom-new-york-islanders-shorthanded-goals-penalty-kill-pageau-lambert]. "He made a couple of nice plays. He made a couple of strong plays," Lambert said following the game. "He made a great play in the third period, winning a battle along the wall just over their blue line and setting up real good scoring opportunities. "I thought he went up and down, and I thought that he tried to do what he's supposed to do." Following Friday's practice, Lambert said that he expects Gauthier to be ready, but based on line rushes, per Gross, Wahlstrom remained with the third line. So, Gauthier being ready may not mean he draws back in. Gauthier could slot in on the fourth line in the place of Hudson Fasching [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/hudson-fasching-new-york-islanders-2022-23-zach-parise-extension] if Lambert wants him and Wahlstrom to remain in the lineup. But that line has been rolling largely due to Fasching's forechecking and energy. If Wahlstrom does remain in, he will get a huge opportunity to build on his last outing. The struggling Hurricanes have an elite defense, and Lambert will look for Wahlstrom to create chances in the offensive zone when they present themselves and show off that NHL sniper-level shot. With the strong competition amongst the Islanders' depth forward, Wahlstrom has to start to prove that he deserves more ice time. As we saw Wednesday, Wahlstrom doing the little things goes a long way to generating more ice time and more games for himself. Moving on to the injured defenseman, Lambert told us back in D.C. that defensemen Adam Pelech (upper body, LTIR), Ryan Pulock (lower body, IR), and Scott Mayfield (upper body) did not make the trip. Nothing changed since Wednesday, as all three are not in Carolina. The latest update on those three is that Pelech and Mayfield have been skating on their own, while Pulock has yet to do so. Ilya Sorokin [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/features/ilya-sorokin-new-york-islanders-extension-anders-lee-scott-mayfield] was the first goaltender off at Islanders skate, as he's expected to start against the Hurricanes for the second time this season. The 2022-23 Verzina finalist shook off an early goal by Leon Draisailt back on Monday before shutting the door for the remainder of the game in prime Sorokin fashion. The Islanders will hold an optional morning skate ahead of a 7:30 p.m. puck drop at PNC Arena on Saturday night. The game can be found on MSGSN.
