Parise Question from Hockey Night in New York The New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/game-day/islanders-game-day-the-7-0-penguins-drubbing-is-cause-for-revenge] hit the road to close out 2023, playing the first of a four-game road trip Sunday night in Pittsburgh before traveling to Colorado, Arizona, and Las Vegas. Defenseman Scott Mayfield, [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/players/scott-mayfield-new-york-islanders-injury-ankle-season-2023-24-contract] who had been skating with the Islanders the last few days, made the trip, along with Adam Pelech [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/new-york-islanders-adam-pelech-sebastian-aho-injury-report] and goaltender Semyon Varlamov [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/islanders-should-address-goaltending-depth-before-its-too-late], per Newsday's Andrew Gross [https://twitter.com/AGrossNewsday]. Mayfield missed the last eight games after taking a puck to the finger in the Islanders' 4-3 overtime win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 11. The injury forced the 31-year-old blueliner onto injured reserve, and he would need to be activated to play Sunday. After the Islanders' morning skate, Mayfield was activated off IR. Mayfield has had a tough start to his 2023-24 campaign, already missing 15 of the Islanders' first 35 games of the season. He suffered a lower-body injury in the season-opening 3-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres, forcing him to miss seven games. Even after returning, one could tell that his ankle was not 100 percent after blocking a Rasmus Dahlin slapshot, but with the Islanders backend banged up, Mayfield tried to power through. One would think that Mayfield being sidelined with the upper-body injury allowed him more time to heal the ankle. Pelech, who suffered a lower-body injury in the Islanders 5-3 win against the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 24, also made the trip, skating with his teammates for the first time since his injury. The 29-year-old has played in just 16 of the Islanders 35 games this season, is currently on long-term injured reserve but could have been activated as soon as Dec. 19. With Pulock on LTIR, the Islanders have the cap space to activate Pelech when he is ready to return, but they would need to create a roster spot first. Varlamov's injury scare was quite concerning, given the lack of goaltending depth in the Islanders' system. The 35-year-old "tweaked" something in relief of Ilya Sorokin Wednesday night in a 7-0 blowout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Varlamov did not practice with the team on Thursday nor skate on Friday as Ken Appleby had been recalled, serving as Sorokin's backup in the 5-1 over the Washington Capitals. When the Islanders announced that Ryan Pulock was headed from injured reserve to long-term injured reserve on Saturday, they also shared that Appleby had been returned to Bridgeport, which was a rather strong indicator that Varlamov would make the trip.
