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How important is Brock Nelson’s return to the Islanders?
Nelson last played on Nov. 21, recording 6:58 of ice time before leaving with a lower-body injury against the Maple Leafs. Heading into Thursday’s game against the Predators, Nelson still led the team in goals, with nine to Oliver Wahlstrom’s eight.
The original diagnosis on Nelson was two to four weeks. Sunday will make it three weeks, but Nelson was a participant in morning skate on Thursday. So was Casey Cizikas, who is still working his way back from COVID-19.
“They’re days away, I would think,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “But they missed some time. They’re getting closer. And it was a morning skate, so there wasn’t grind or contact. We’ll see where the doctors, the therapists, the strength coaches, the sports science department thinks both those guys are at and hopefully we get them sooner rather than later.”
Though the Islanders recorded five goals at five-on-five in a win over Ottawa on Tuesday, their numbers at even strength have been nothing short of disastrous. At 43.33 percent goals for, they’re 25th in the league with the fewest total number of goals at five-on-five in the NHL, per Natural Stat Trick. They’re also 23rd in the percentage of high-danger chances that have gone their way, according to the analytics website.
Finally snapping an 11-game losing streak against the Senators will doubtless give them some encouragement. But getting to full health would be a different kind of encouragement.
Trotz was asked Thursday morning if things were starting to feel a little more normal around the team. He started by saying yes, a little bit. But by the end of his answer, he was talking about health.
“We’ve gotta get everybody back, get playing,” he said, “and then I’ll answer that a little more accurately than I am right now.”
Noah Dobson played his 100th NHL game on Thursday night. He scored his first goal of the season on Sunday but leads Islanders defensemen with five assists.
“I think everybody sees the growth and some of it has been well calculated by the organization,” Trotz said. “… Noah’s been put into a more prominent position out of necessity. And he’s dealt with it pretty well.”
Speaking to media for the first time since recovering from COVID-19, Ross Johnston said he had some symptoms but feels back to normal now.
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