Pierre Engvall will draw back into the New York Islanders lineup on Saturday against the Nashville Predators after missing Thursday as a healthy scratch, while Max Tsyplakov will come out, per Head Coach Patrick Roy.
Engvall is expected to skate a line with Kyle MacLean and Marc Gatcomb. Roy said it’s a matter of wanting Tsyplakov to get back to his game.
“Nothing that I don’t like about [Tsyplakov], I just feel like I want him to go back to what he was doing so well,” Roy said. “The compete level, around the net, stuff like that.”
Roy also revealed that Hudson Fasching will start the game on a line with JG Pageau and Casey Cizikas against the Predators on Saturday. Fasching made his return to action on Thursday against the Bruins after missing 17 games. He skated 9:47 on Thursday and was elevated the Pageau line after starting the game with MacLean and Gatcomb.
“I thought he did really well in that third period,” Roy said of Fasching, who played with Pageau and Cizikas in the final frame of their 2-1 win over the Bruins.
The team announced on Friday that Mike Reilly has been officially cleared for contact. He participated in an optional practice on Friday and has worn a non-contact jersey for the past several team skates.
It’s been a long journey for Reilly, who underwent a heart procedure on Nov. 19 and was ruled out indefinitely. He’s been making strides towards returning to game action, as he participated in his first skate with the team on Feb. 23. His timeline to return is unknown.
