The Islanders’ morning skate before facing the Los Angeles Kings turned into a puzzle with too many moving pieces and not nearly enough answers.
The biggest development came with JG Pageau, who did not finish the skate. He had already sat out Tuesday’s practice, which was labeled a maintenance day, but this was different.
Pageau started on the ice, then headed to the back with a trainer within minutes. That immediately put his status in question, especially given how important he is to the Islanders’ penalty kill and their work in the defensive-zone faceoff circle.
By the end of the skate, the uncertainty only grew. The Islanders were shuffling players through different colored jerseys, and the combinations kept changing in ways that made it hard to read what head coach Peter DeBoer had in mind.
Mathew Barzal and Matias Maccelli were both in green at one point with Casey Cizikas, while Mitchell Chaffee was in red. Later, Kyle MacLean also joined the ice in red and skated with Chaffee and Cizikas.
The line work continued to shift from there. Cizikas eventually switched into a blue jersey, while Chaffee moved to green. That left Barzal, Maccelli and Chaffee together on the ice, which at least raised the possibility that could be a combination DeBoer is considering.
There was a similar clue on the power play. Maccelli worked with the top unit, while Barzal did not take part, a sign that Barzal likely still needs more time before he is ready to return. Maccelli, meanwhile, looks close.
The final word from DeBoer cleared up at least part of the picture: Pageau is dealing with a lower-body injury and will not play against Los Angeles. Maccelli is going into the lineup, and defenseman Ryan Pulock, who was also dealing with an injury, is in as well. The exact line combinations, though, are still to be determined.
Gross also noted that if Pageau is unavailable, it would require a roster move.
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