Cizikas Earns Second Iron Man Mask

Iron Zeeker has officially been reactivated.

Casey Cizikas took home his second Iron Man helmet of the season following the Islanders’ 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night. The win sends the Islanders into the Olympic break on a two-game winning streak.

“Those are massive points,” Cizikas said after the win. “Eight games in 13 days, six games in nine days. We gutted it out. It wasn’t pretty, but we got the job done.”

Cizikas opened the scoring at 6:30 of the second period, knocking home a rebound in a game that featured limited offense on either side. Still, the Islanders’ energy line of Cizikas, Marc Gatcomb and Kyle MacLean made its presence felt throughout the first 30 minutes.

“Gatcomb made a good read on the wall to take it away and find MacLean in the middle,” Cizikas said of his goal. “Mac got it towards the net, I was able to get a tip and then the rebound. It’s nice to get rewarded.”

It was a deserved reward for the 34-year-old forward, who has provided a spark since being paired with Gatcomb and MacLean, even if it has not always shown up on the scoresheet.

“I feel like the three of us have been playing well lately,” Cizikas said. “We’ve had opportunities, but to get rewarded tonight was definitely nice.”

Islanders Head Coach Patrick Roy praised Cizikas and his line following the game.

“Casey played another strong game,” Roy said. “I thought that line played simple hockey and smart hockey.”

With a 21-day break looming before the next game and a heavy recent workload, Cizikas understood the type of game it would be.

“It wasn’t easy out there,” Cizikas said. “They did a good job of taking away space and we just stuck with it. We kept pushing forward. We didn’t break, and when we needed big saves, we got them from Ilya [Sorokin]. We got a timely goal from Bo [Horvat].”

The Islanders enter the break with two more points and sole possession of third place in the Metropolitan Division. They trail the Pittsburgh Penguins by one point for second.

“It’s massive,” Cizikas said. “We just had six games in nine days, five of them against division opponents, and those wear on you. To finish 4-2 in that stretch going into the break is big for the team.”