The New York Islanders hit the ice for practice at Northwell Health Ice Center on Monday morning, putting in the work ahead of Tuesday's matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Roy confirmed Ilya Sorokin as the starting netminder for Tuesday's tilt.
The session was a productive and positive one, as the team is building on what they're doing well while working on their weaknesses. Despite dropping four of their last five games, Head Coach Patrick Roy is pleased overall with his team's performance.
"We're playing good hockey. The only thing we don't have for us right now is results," Roy said. "There's always things you think you could get better at, win or lose. We gave a little too many chances on our tracking, so we need to be better at it. And I love the way we possess the puck. I love the way we control the game yesterday, and that's something that we want to continue to work at."
The Isles are stepping up in light of injuries in their forward group and the blueline. Up front, the Islanders are without Mathew Barzal (LTIR, upper-body) and Anthony Duclair (LTIR, retroactive to Oct. 19, lower-body). Alexander Romanov (day to day, upper-body) and Mike Reilly (day to day, upper-body) missed Monday's practice, while the Isles are without Adam Pelech (IR, upper body).
Roy has been relying on his veteran d to handle extra minutes - including Ryan Pulock who logged a career-high 29:24 on Sunday - but pointed out that the blueline as a whole can hold down the fort.
"The other guys did a great job, these guys are capable handling those minutes," Roy said. "They're capable of doing a good job, learning, and [feeling] more comfortable."
Cholowski skated in his fourth game this season with the Islanders on Sunday and logged a season-high 13:53.
"I'm feeling good, just trying to play consistent and solid, and that helps the team in whatever way I can," Cholowski said. "Some injuries have happened, and just whenever I'm called upon to try to do my best."
The Islanders announced on Monday afternoon that Samuel Bolduc was returned on loan to Bridgeport. He played one NHL game this season, which was Sunday's tilt against the Rangers. The 23-year-old defenseman recorded 5:56 TOI. Bolduc has collected five points (1G, 4A) in nine games for Bridgeport this season.
