The New York Islanders Training Camp was narrowed down to one group on Sunday after 12 players were loaned to Bridgeport. More moves are expected before the final 23-man roster is announced, but the trimmed group got a chance to skate together and get a healthy practice in at Northwell Health Ice Center.
"I was joking with a couple guys this morning that I haven't seen them in over a week, with the groups split up with like that," Ryan Pulock said on Sunday morning. "It was nice today to all be together, get the whole group on the ice, really focusing in on opening night."
The Isles have two more preseason games - both at home, on Monday against the Philadelphia Flyers and Friday against the New York Rangers - before the regular season opens on Oct. 10 vs Utah. Head Coach Patrick Roy has noted that the final two preseason games will be helpful in rolling more realistic lines and defense pairings, allowing his team to hone in and get comfortable in their respective roles.
"I think these two [next] exhibition games are important in that regard, to see how everybody will fit in and be comfortable with the role that we need them for," Roy said. "Not only that, but also see if we could maintain that intensity level using those four lines."
The Isles have already been through a week and a half of intense practices under Roy. The consensus among the players is that these hard practices - though challenging both physically and mentally - will help the team as a whole in the thick of the season, especially with back-to-backs and late travel nights.
"It's exactly what we needed to be tested and pushed," Anders Lee said. "We're gonna be pushed throughout the season and we had a lot of hockey ahead of us."
See below for a full list of players that practiced together on Sunday.
Forwards:
13 - Mathew Barzal
53 - Casey Cizikas
11 - Anthony Duclair
18 - Pierre Engvall
16 - Julien Gauthier
10 - Simon Holmstrom
14 - Bo Horvat
27 - Anders Lee
32 - Kyle MacLean
17 - Matt Martin
29 - Brock Nelson
44 - Jean-Gabriel Pageau
21 - Kyle Palmieri
7 - Maxim Tsyplakov
26 - Oliver Wahlstrom
Defensemen:
25 - Dennis Cholowski
8 - Noah Dobson
34 - Grant Hutton
24 - Scott Mayfield
3 - Adam Pelech
6 - Ryan Pulock
2 - Mike Reilly
28 - Alexander Romanov
Goalies:
50 - Marcus Hogberg
1 - Jakub Skarek