Bailey skates with Islanders teammates after taking test for COVID-19

Josh Bailey said things felt somewhat normal for the first time in a long time when he and three of his New York Islanders teammates skated at their practice facility in East Meadow, New York, on Monday.

Bailey and fellow forwards Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck, along with goalie Thomas Greiss, skated as NHL teams have begun limited workouts with small groups at their team facilities, the start of Phase 2 of the Return to Play Plan.

"It was good. It was nice to just get back in there," Bailey said. "It's a familiar place for us. It's nice to get back on the ice too; it's obviously been a while. That's where we're comfortable out there, so it was nice to feel the puck. We didn't go too crazy on Day One, but nonetheless, it was fun to get out there."

The Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights were among the teams expected to open their facilities Monday. Players will be participating on a voluntary basis, and workouts will be limited to a maximum of six players at any time, plus a limited number of staff.

Bailey has been in New York throughout the pandemic; his wife gave birth to their third child shortly after the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. He said he has already been tested twice by team physicians.

"We did a test on the weekend, and then we did one today," Bailey said. "As far as going forward, I'm not entirely sure how many we'll have to do, but it was a pretty easy test so we're not too worried about that. With the groups, I think we can have up to six, so we'll see. It could change, I really don't know. I'm just kind of going with what we're told here and taking it day by day I guess you could say. We'll see where we land a couple of days from now and then next week and beyond. For now, just taking it day by day."

The NHL on May 26 announced its Return to Play Plan, which will involve 24 teams, 12 from each conference, competing for the Stanley Cup. The Islanders (35-23-10, .588 points percentage) are the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and will play the No. 10 Florida Panthers (35-26-8, .565) in a best-of-5 series in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers when the NHL season resumes. A restart date and two hub city locations have not been announced.

Bailey, who was tied for third on the Islanders in scoring during the regular season with 43 points (14 goals, 29 assists) in 68 games, said he treated Monday like a normal offseason skate.

"I think it was a good first step," Bailey said. "As far as playing goes, it's exciting. You just refocus. Everyone's going through a different time, everything's changed for a lot of people. For us, it's obviously not a typical schedule that we would be accustomed to. We kind of think of it like an August of another year, except this year you're not going to be going into training camp and the first game of the season, you're going to the playoffs. That side of things is different, but that's even more motivation to make sure you're ready to go. I'm sure our guys will be.

"We just kind of went through some puck-handling, pretty basic stuff. For preparation, it was different. We were all in a different situation; some guys had home gyms, some guys didn't. I think a lot of guys got on the Peloton train, got some bikes going. When it was nice outside to get a good workout outside, there were still ways.

"The trainers definitely gave us lots of options and stuff to keep up with, so you do everything you can to be ready. I think there's no substitute for skating, so that side of things will be nice. I think our schedule going forward will probably just increase as we go and treat it like as if it were a typical August of leading into training camp."

Phase 3 of the Return to Play Plan would be the opening of training camps and will not start before July 10, the NHL has said. Phase 4 would be the start of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.

Bailey said he's hopeful the next steps will occur.

"There's definitely things that need to be sorted out," Bailey said. "As far as optimism goes, I'm absolutely optimistic. We're just hoping for the best and that we can get a resolution and get this thing rolling."