"I want to come out here and prove to everybody that for five years I'm going to give it all that I have," Cizikas said. "I am going to leave it all out on the ice and do whatever it takes to help the team out. No matter what position I'm put in I'm going to try and exceed at that and be the best player at that role."
With the raised expectations, Cizikas has raised his game early in the season. He's the top penalty killer on the league's top penalty kill, averaging 3:28 of shorthanded icetime per game, while the Islanders have gone five straight games without allowing a power-play goal. He's been the Islanders' best fac-eoff man, winning 50.5% of his draws. He's averaging a career-high 14:49 TOI and has three assists in six games.
"As his role expands, his ability to play to that role will follow," said Cal Clutterbuck, who's played nearly exclusively with Cizikas for the past two seasons. "He's good enough to do that, so I think with more opportunity comes more production for him because he's a good player."
His offensive instincts are showing through as well. He's still looking for his first goal, but his radar has been up for pinching defensemen. He set up Dennis Seidenberg's first-period goal against Arizona, carrying the puck into the zone, spotting Seidenberg and feathering a pass between two Coyotes. He made a similar heads-up play, spotting a pinching Nick Leddy in the Isles season opener.
